GDT: Game 1: Caps vs. Blue Jackets

[kmart]

I'm the biggest Ovie supporter and fan. Heck, I even became the caps fan because of him, but how he played yesterday is inexcusable. I saw just the last 6 mins and overtime. When he casually skated to the bench, I screamed. I thought I would be relaxed and enjoy the hockey, but that play of him made my blood boil! How can you be like that in the ****ing playoffs??? Columbus, the perennial chokers, looked a greedy clutch team in comparison to us lol. That how much Washington Capitals are the choke artists

he doesnt get a pass for me here aswell... there no excuse to skate to the bench in that situation, i dont care if u are gassed... stand there for a one timer or deflection, u can go to the bench AFTER the possession loss. i am too, just tuned in for the over time... i was like wow ot !! lets see how they do this year.... oh well same old same old

 

[trick9]

They don't scream like a team that's gone through the playoff hell like they have recently. They look like a team that wants to skip the Round 1 and get another crack at the Penguins. That's mostly on Ovechkin and that attitude needs to change quickly or they are golfing in a week or so.

 

[Langway]

They seem more like a team that's just numb to it all rather than one eager to meet their foes again. I don't think they're looking past Columbus so much as just mentally blocked from summoning any urgency required beyond their typical 'on' level.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

It's really something, this playoff dynamic. I've never seen anything like it.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Weird game. Crowd was ok. When it went to overtime, decent amount of fans left. That should tell Leonsis something about what fans truly believe about this team.

I just wish we had the proper player leaders to get them over the hump, but I don’t believe they do. I still believe we beat Columbus, but the players should be very disappointed in themselves today.

I bet Sunday there are noticeably empty seats.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

They seem more like a team that's just numb to it all rather than one eager to meet their foes again. I don't think they're looking past Columbus so much as just mentally blocked from summoning any urgency required beyond their typical 'on' level.

If they can’t get up for the postseason, then it starts at the C and trickles down.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

he doesnt get a pass for me here aswell... there no excuse to skate to the bench in that situation, i dont care if u are gassed... stand there for a one timer or deflection, u can go to the bench AFTER the possession loss. i am too, just tuned in for the over time... i was like wow ot !! lets see how they do this year.... oh well same old same old

Me and a bunch of fans near me lost our minds on that loafing assed play. He literally coasted to the bench when the puck was coming too him. f***ing inexcusable attitude.

 

[marcel snapshot]

They seem more like a team that's just numb to it all rather than one eager to meet their foes again. I don't think they're looking past Columbus so much as just mentally blocked from summoning any urgency required beyond their typical 'on' level.

It's like every year, the playoffs trigger their "fight or flight" impulse - and every year they pick flight. It's suggestive of a high-level of stress - instead of engaging the challenge aggressively, the aggregate response is to check out due to the pressure to perform. This mentality has been in this organization forever. And it's on those at the very top Patrick and Ted - for not fixing it.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Lemme rephrase on the home crowd. After I got home and turned on the late games, it made me wish our fan base was vocal. Our barn was like a ghost town compared to some others I’ve seen the last two days.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Lemme rephrase on the home crowd. After I got home and turned on the late games, it made me wish our fan base was vocal. Our barn was like a ghost town compared to some others I’ve seen the last two days.

The only way that changes is if they get to the Conference Final... otherwise it's only going to get worse.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

The alternative is to provide a team the fans actually believe in, but since that’s not happening...

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

I didn't say they turtled, though you may be referencing what others are saying. I said they didn't handle the pressure, both mentally and in transition. They took dumb penalties, made dumb mistakes, and failed to execute some routine plays while the clock ticked down. Cbus was bearing down on them enough to make them pay for it.

Can't argue with that. Pucks need to leave the zone on the PK, players need to watch their sticks all the time.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

he doesnt get a pass for me here aswell... there no excuse to skate to the bench in that situation, i dont care if u are gassed... stand there for a one timer or deflection, u can go to the bench AFTER the possession loss. i am too, just tuned in for the over time... i was like wow ot !! lets see how they do this year.... oh well same old same old

We were really good last year in OT. Had a 4-2 record in OT games.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

You are kidding, right?

He passed the puck twice to Kuznetsov in their D zone on the PP. Sure those still count as points but he had very little impact in the game.

These assists are exactly why I believe goals should be worth more than assists.

 

[tycoonheart]

They seem more like a team that's just numb to it all rather than one eager to meet their foes again. I don't think they're looking past Columbus so much as just mentally blocked from summoning any urgency required beyond their typical 'on' level.

Boom. This right here.

 

[HunterSThompson]

I had a solidly pathetic conversation with BMac last night as I walked to my car. Started with "ah that was a tough one," and ended with "I am this way," as I crossed behind him and went into the parking garage.

Only real nugget I got was that he thought Panarin should have gone off with Kuzy on his slash. What a boob I am.

 

[Bladerunner]

These assists are exactly why I believe goals should be worth more than assists.

Agree.
Any good stat analysis will show that - on average - in terms of value or contribution to Wins: goal > 1st assist > 2nd assist.

But how complex can you make the weighting for the three types of scoring points for the "Statistical Art Ross"? Most fans won't understand it and will complain. Plus going against precedent in a sport that is as resistant to change as (world) football.

 

[trick9]

I had a solidly pathetic conversation with BMac last night as I walked to my car. Started with "ah that was a tough one," and ended with "I am this way," as I crossed behind him and went into the parking garage.

Only real nugget I got was that he thought Panarin should have gone off with Kuzy on his slash. What a boob I am.

Makes sense. That whole sequence started with Panarin slashing Kuznetsov. He then slashed back and then Panarin slashed him again. Somehow the middle slash was the only one they called even though it was the ref who was watching that whole sequence.

That being said the officiating wasn't the reason they lost that game. They blew it themselves.

 

[Bladerunner]

Lemme rephrase on the home crowd. After I got home and turned on the late games, it made me wish our fan base was vocal. Our barn was like a ghost town compared to some others I’ve seen the last two days.

Well, it wasn't that bad although you have a valid point. The 400s eventually were mostly packed - after the game started. But it seems some of the blue bloods in the 100s/200s decided not to show and/or asked too much for their seats on the resellers.

Fans have become jaded and dispirited by the constant 2nd round (or sooner) losses. The entire sports psyche in this area is one of gloomy fatalism.
Just think. This past decade which franchise has been the most successful in the metro area. The Caps, by far. Let that sink in

With respect to our home crowd. No city will beat Toronto and pretty much any Canadian team in fanaticism.
Then there are franchises like Vegas who is having a "Cinderella" season and their first playoffs.
The Cbus crowd will be jacked if it's 1-1 never mind 2-0. That crowd will be thinking this will/might be our first playoff series win !

 

[Capsman]

he doesnt get a pass for me here aswell... there no excuse to skate to the bench in that situation, i dont care if u are gassed... stand there for a one timer or deflection, u can go to the bench AFTER the possession loss. i am too, just tuned in for the over time... i was like wow ot !! lets see how they do this year.... oh well same old same old

He had plenty of energy to stay on the ice and go for 50. That play was ridiculous, couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Well, it wasn't that bad although you have a valid point. The 400s eventually were mostly packed - after the game started. But it seems some of the blue bloods in the 100s/200s decided not to show and/or asked too much for their seats on the resellers.

Fans have become jaded and dispirited by the constant 2nd round (or sooner) losses. The entire sports psyche in this area is one of gloomy fatalism.
Just think. This past decade which franchise has been the most successful in the metro area. The Caps, by far. Let that sink in

With respect to our home crowd. No city will beat Toronto and pretty much any Canadian team in fanaticism.
Then there are franchises like Vegas who is having a "Cinderella" season and their first playoffs.
The Cbus crowd will be jacked if it's 1-1 never mind 2-0. That crowd will be thinking this will/might be our first playoff series win !

I agree it wasn’t like game 7 omg we’re f***ed bad, but compared to some other barns it is. Nashville was chanting like a European soccer match. Impressive IMO. I’d rather we match that intensity instead of trying to find justification for why we can’t.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

He had plenty of energy to stay on the ice and go for 50. That play was ridiculous, couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

If we lose this series and someone makes a gif of him controller disconnecting to the bench with the puck following him, that’s my new avatar.

 

[VaCaps Fan]

Keep truckin, Washington is a unique hockey market and I love every minute of it.

 

[RandyHolt]

We suck at any man advantage more than 5 on 4 / 2 minutes. We are PP1 or bust yet again. I didn't even bother to clamor for Willy on the PP much at all this year, yet sure enough in game 1 period 1 our PP depth was put to the test. You know damn well Barry didn't bother wasting time on PP2/3 yet our stars were gassed and the backups didn't do dick because they weren't allowed to the entire year. Vrana was flashing, flying around, yet stapled to the bench on every PP. His PP TOI last night? 0.0. That is literally the best time to play him if Barry is concerned about his defense.

CBus clearly out heavies us IMO especially with Ovi not giving a rats ass about being physical after missing out on fiddy. Seriously was that final 10 minutes of the regular season his playoffs? Maybe they want 7 so he sandbagged out of protest.

But we are not going to out heavy them. Barry will likely be befuddled for another game or 2, trying to figure out how to out grind em. But it was easy to see. Speed and skill killed CBus, but it's not in Barry's DNA. Losingest record heh. It's now or never for Barry, to figure out how to win without a coin flip.

It will be interesting to see Djoos out there.

 

[ovikovy817]

So, we now lost that game, because Ovi went to the bench?? Really?? daver ageless changed their usernames?

Ovi was doing right because he wanted the team to continue to press them in their zone.
-it's a long change
-Caps were already changing their line (DSP on the ice)
- DSP sees Ovi going for a change, should backhand it to Kuzya.
- Ovi cannot win this puck, he wouldn't be first on the puck even if he was facing the play. #28 CBJ was there.
+ Caps had another entry in the o-zone after that play. Jerabek, Vrana and Eller didn't win their battles and lost the puck