Post-Game Talk: Game 1: Caps v. Flyers

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Win the next one.

 

[HecticGlow]

That second goal...

A great play by Mojo, a great snipe by Beagle, and as RMNB pointed out, a good job by Bura taking his D with him (and snow showering Mason just a moment before the goal - that might have made the difference).

Mojo seems to have had a few of these moments over the last ten games - making a play or scoring a goal when the lines are messed up. It's been an awfully long time now since he earned a point with his actual line three linemates.

I think Chimmers might have scored that goal if it had been him, and we know Beagle could (because he did). But I somehow doubt Richards or Wilson would have got it in. While having Beags on the fourth line probably increases that lines scoring chances, I suspect pairing Beagle with two guys who don't have much finish, and Johansson and Chimera with a guy who has no finish, risks limiting secondary scoring. I can only imagine Trotz and co regard these bottom six lines as the most defensively-balanced (I.e. 25-10-90 is better defensively than 25-83-90). Would like to see Richards and Beagle swapped for a shift or two.

Johansson with the fourth-highest TOI of all the forwards; Schmidt with just seven minutes. Wonder what it was about his game they didn't like - I didn't notice any mistakes or shakiness from him or Orlov. Note as well as the 74-88 44-9 pairings were used as well as the 44-74 one? Seems like the smartest way of reducing the risk of having two young Ds with no playoff experience on the ice.

Not the fanciest game, but one of the better games they could have played. I can't remember the last time we shutout another team...

 

[stanleycaps18]

The Caps are hitting. Its just a guess but the Flyer fan complaints may have more to do with what was not called on the Capitals than what was called on the Flyers.
For instance I think they wanted Burakovsky kicked out of the game instead of matching minor penalties. I could be wrong

And 4-5 non calls on the Flyers has been mentioned. Caps got more "judgement" calls and the Flyers couldn't convert on their PP's. Those fans really don't have anything to complain about where the zebras are concerned.

 

[stanleycaps18]

Guessing they didn't like Schmidt in this one given the physicality, and would probably swap him for Weber in game two.

 

[HecticGlow]

Guessing they didn't like Schmidt in this one given the physicality, and would probably swap him for Weber in game two.

Wonder why they started with Schmidt in the first place, then?

By the way, I had to watch via the CBC stream... "Not something you expect from him" seemed to be code for "we haven't actually seen this team play before" throughout... Orlov hits? Wow, yeah, never seen that before...

 

[Marshall]

No problem with Schenn or the hit on Alzner. Bring it *****.

Similar. If anything, I'm mad at Alzner for taking his foot off the gas before the final whistle.

 

[ovikovy817]

Hope they can build a 2 or 3 goals lead early in the game, so #88 and #9 can play more minutes. It could (and I hope it will) be a long run, so it's difficult to go just with 4D
But in this game we had also a lot of PIMs on both side, so it can explain a little bit those 7 minutes.

Maybe #88 will play in game 2, but Weber will be in for game 3 and 4, also a possibility

 

[um]

Wonder why they started with Schmidt in the first place, then?

By the way, I had to watch via the CBC stream... "Not something you expect from him" seemed to be code for "we haven't actually seen this team play before" throughout... Orlov hits? Wow, yeah, never seen that before...

Yeah CBC was pretty bad, I'm amazed at how little homework they do at times.

 

[Blades of Steel]

yeah, I was wondering if I missed it, did Schmidt make a bad play? I thought maybe it was just Trotz keeping the trust leash short.

 

[NobodyBeatsTheWiz]

yeah, I was wondering if I missed it, did Schmidt make a bad play? I thought maybe it was just Trotz keeping the trust leash short.

I didn't see it. Only noticed Schmidt once, and it was absolutely erasing a Flyer on the boards.

 

[Capitals40]

That second goal...

A great play by Mojo, a great snipe by Beagle, and as RMNB pointed out, a good job by Bura taking his D with him (and snow showering Mason just a moment before the goal - that might have made the difference).

Mojo seems to have had a few of these moments over the last ten games - making a play or scoring a goal when the lines are messed up. It's been an awfully long time now since he earned a point with his actual line three linemates.

I think Chimmers might have scored that goal if it had been him, and we know Beagle could (because he did). But I somehow doubt Richards or Wilson would have got it in. While having Beags on the fourth line probably increases that lines scoring chances, I suspect pairing Beagle with two guys who don't have much finish, and Johansson and Chimera with a guy who has no finish, risks limiting secondary scoring. I can only imagine Trotz and co regard these bottom six lines as the most defensively-balanced (I.e. 25-10-90 is better defensively than 25-83-90). Would like to see Richards and Beagle swapped for a shift or two.

Johansson with the fourth-highest TOI of all the forwards; Schmidt with just seven minutes. Wonder what it was about his game they didn't like - I didn't notice any mistakes or shakiness from him or Orlov. Note as well as the 74-88 44-9 pairings were used as well as the 44-74 one? Seems like the smartest way of reducing the risk of having two young Ds with no playoff experience on the ice.

Not the fanciest game, but one of the better games they could have played. I can't remember the last time we shutout another team...

I didn't notice Schmidt making mistakes either...if he or Orlov had made mistakes like Orpik did they wouldn't see the ice the rest of the series.

 

[NoLookPass]

Yeah CBC was pretty bad, I'm amazed at how little homework they do at times.

Had to watch the Flyers feed on NBCSN. I don't know why they didn't use the home team broadcast like the majority of the time? Sucked watching the game with such bias.

 

[RandyHolt]

In their first playoff game, it being a 1 goal game, it makes sense to limit the TOI of the bottom pair.

I loved their hits though. Bottom pair, and bottom 6ers, have to bring the thunder... what else are they going to bring in 7TOI?

 

[HecticGlow]

In their first playoff game, it being a 1 goal game, it makes sense to limit the TOI of the bottom pair.

I loved their hits though. Bottom pair, and bottom 6ers, have to bring the thunder... what else are they going to bring in 7TOI?

Fair point actually, if Orlov and Schmidt are both there for offensive drive, there's no need to risk it when you're 2 goals up.

The other thing they must factor in is what happens if one or more of your top 4 get banged up mid game and have to take time in the locker room... Would you rather have Schmidt out there for an extended period of time, or Weber? I think Weber is a useful addition to the team, but you don't trust him more (or with more TOI) than Schmidt.

 

[4thTierSport]

The Caps are hitting. Its just a guess but the Flyer fan complaints may have more to do with what was not called on the Capitals than what was called on the Flyers.
For instance I think they wanted Burakovsky kicked out of the game instead of matching minor penalties. I could be wrong

What exactly happened there? I remember a Flyer taking a 2 hand swing at a Cap player and it going from there. Didn't catch anything before the slash live. There were penalties committed but the actual calls didn't match the actions from what I remember.

 

[um]

That second goal...

A great play by Mojo, a great snipe by Beagle, and as RMNB pointed out, a good job by Bura taking his D with him (and snow showering Mason just a moment before the goal - that might have made the difference).

Mojo seems to have had a few of these moments over the last ten games - making a play or scoring a goal when the lines are messed up. It's been an awfully long time now since he earned a point with his actual line three linemates.

I think Chimmers might have scored that goal if it had been him, and we know Beagle could (because he did). But I somehow doubt Richards or Wilson would have got it in. While having Beags on the fourth line probably increases that lines scoring chances, I suspect pairing Beagle with two guys who don't have much finish, and Johansson and Chimera with a guy who has no finish, risks limiting secondary scoring. I can only imagine Trotz and co regard these bottom six lines as the most defensively-balanced (I.e. 25-10-90 is better defensively than 25-83-90). Would like to see Richards and Beagle swapped for a shift or two.

Johansson with the fourth-highest TOI of all the forwards; Schmidt with just seven minutes. Wonder what it was about his game they didn't like - I didn't notice any mistakes or shakiness from him or Orlov. Note as well as the 74-88 44-9 pairings were used as well as the 44-74 one? Seems like the smartest way of reducing the risk of having two young Ds with no playoff experience on the ice.

Not the fanciest game, but one of the better games they could have played. I can't remember the last time we shutout another team...

I would also like to see Richards taken off the third line, Beagle is clearly the better player and actually contributes offensively. Not to mention the speed of Chimera-Beagle-Johansson could really give their defense trouble.

 

[Blades of Steel]

I would also like to see Richards taken off the third line, Beagle is clearly the better player and actually contributes offensively. Not to mention the speed of Chimera-Beagle-Johansson could really give their defense trouble.

I thought Richards played a damn good game, I'm actually fine with the lines so far. Rich and Beags both played around 13 minutes and both had 3 or so minutes of PK time. Seems like we have two third lines.

 

[um]

I thought Richards played a damn good game, I'm actually fine with the lines so far. Rich and Beags both played around 13 minutes and both had 3 or so minutes of PK time. Seems like we have two third lines.

It's not that Richards played a bad game, it's just that Beagle is a better player and he should be playing with the more offensively talented players.

 

[strungout]

Dont change a thing.

 

[JenniferH]

I just remember at one point during the 2nd period (past the halfway point), they showed a few Flyers players skating towards the bench and then showed the whole Flyers bench and I just said to myself: "They look so demoralized." And they really, really did. You could just see it all over them. The Capitals with their hitting, and blocking shots, and keeping them from attempting shots had just knocked hope out of the Flyers.

You could tell by the pre-game interviews that the Flyers had believed they were up to the challenge of facing the Caps. They bought into the story that the Capitals weren't as good as their record with the whole coasting and such since there was no need since the Playoff berth has essentially been locked up since February. Pretty quickly our boys showed them--now that there is a motivation to win--yeah, there's a reason the Capitals are the #1 seed and the Flyers are #8. You could just see it written all over them. The Capitals more than demolished their bodies; they demolished their spirits.

It was AWESOME!

 

[NoMoreChoking]

What I noticed and loved, was the little things Richards and Williams did specifically, they were trash talking so bad, getting into their head. I never use to see it that much on the past but I definitely noticed the entire team, those 2 in particular get close, talking garbage, it seems as if they got into their heads

I loved it, stick up for your team

 

[Blades of Steel]

I saw Richards take a hit up high from Schenn and Wilson wanted to retaliate but Richards stopped Wilson from sticking up for him. Smart vets make a big, big difference.

 

[Roughing]

Great game from all. A nod to TJ for that play on the Carlson goal.

 

[Ozolinsh_27]

Great game, Caps looked like vets..just had to weather the storm early and took over afterwards.

This reminded me why I hate Schenn. Loved the sly shot Richards gave him as Schenn was getting up after hitting Alzner.

 

[John Price]

That being said all they have to do is win three more games. And that's been the problem all this time. They can't win four games out of seven.

Caps also won game one against new York. This is a good message to send. But keep the pressure on. Win game two and three. Settle business and don't leave the door open.