Post-Game Talk: game 2: phi vs wsh (mod note post #32)
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HecticGlow
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It's one of the things they need. They need a lot of other things, too, not all of which are currently functional.
g00n
Retired Global Mod
- Nov 22, 2007
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Are people really still worried about this team's ability? Now we're whittling down the analysis to 3 even strength goals after going up 2-0 and outscoring the opposition 6-1? In games that were hit-fests and required special teams excellence to win, not just as a crutch?
The switch has been flipped. Clearly. You cannot watch this team the last 2 games (or even vs the Blues) and honestly say they look the same as the Caps squad that coasted through the 2nd half of the season. They may or may not go deep in the playoffs, but the question of recapturing their intensity and precision has been answered in my mind. Last night's game could've been 8-1 or 9-1, easily.
The switch has been flipped. Clearly. You cannot watch this team the last 2 games (or even vs the Blues) and honestly say they look the same as the Caps squad that coasted through the 2nd half of the season. They may or may not go deep in the playoffs, but the question of recapturing their intensity and precision has been answered in my mind. Last night's game could've been 8-1 or 9-1, easily.
Mackinnonen
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- Sep 6, 2015
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Really REALLY awesome to see that Ovi, Backy, Oshie and Mojo have been playing great so far. 2nd line is cold at the moment, but we all know that's not going to last long!
NoMoreChoking
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- Sep 30, 2009
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Considering in the past, when we use to have the best power play in the regular season, we would go 1-23 against the Rangers. This is how you capitalize
It's refreshing
HecticGlow
Registered User
Firstly, the whole "could have been 9-1" logic is nonsense. Maybe, had Mason not screwed his own team over, it could have been 3-2. The Flyers and their fans consider they dominated the first half of the game, and if it wasn't for Holtby they could have won it.
The Beagle/mojo goal was beautiful, but might have been stopped had Ghost defended. How many other teams in the playoffs have a young, inexperienced player dominating the TOI?
To all intents and purposes it's two ES goals, three PP goals and a gift. I'm not even sure all five players were still on the ice when Chimera's deflection went in.
I'm not suggesting the Caps are playing badly - they're not. But I tend to agree with Carlson and Richards that they had a poor start to the game, struggled to adapt to the Flyers at ES for a while, and relied heavily on Holtby. I'm less convinced that we're scoring PP goals because our PP is rocking than because the Flyers struggle to PK against us.
If the Penguins get their goaltending issue under control, it's going to take a much greater effort and execution to win against them. This team has been strong in the regular season because it scores and wins even when you subtract the first line and PP from the equation. If I'm the Pens, achieving that is going to be my priority. The way we're playing right now, without those, it's much closer to a coin toss than it otherwise appears to be.
Nice
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- Jan 26, 2016
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Honestly, the shot differentials in last nights game don't tell the whole story. The Caps kept everything to the outside, Philly was just throwing pucks at the net and not generating that many high quality scoring chances. Holtby didn't have it as hard as some people think. He made some good saves on the PK though.
p.s. And I'm not trying to take anything away from Holts, I thought he was solid and made the saves he needed to.
p.s. And I'm not trying to take anything away from Holts, I thought he was solid and made the saves he needed to.
HecticGlow
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All of those things were true the last four or five games of the regular season, too.
What concerns me about the second line is I'm not convinced its woes have been coasting related - Kuzy in particular has seemed more determined than ever. Yet he's 24 games without a goal. In his last 14 games he's -7, with 4 assists, two of which came on the power play (PP1, I believe?). I'm not sure if he needs to find new ways to be creative, or needs to simplify his game. But something right now isn't working for him.
I really hope that line's switched back on by series 2 (and, of course, that there is a second series for Washington). Ditto for the third line.
As for difference makers so far:
- Carlson
- Backstrom
- Ricahrds
- Johansson
- Ovechkin (physical)
- Holtby.
I've barely noticed Kuzy, and I still don't think Chimmers close to his season peak.
There is still a team wide issue of not shooting the puck and trying for the cute play that needs to be worked on. I think Kuzy is at the high end of the problem. Even Backstrom is shooting more now.
g00n
Retired Global Mod
- Nov 22, 2007
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It's not nonsense. Mason was cleanly beaten several times and there would be more goals on the board but for some bad luck. The Caps were generating quality scoring opportunities and could've run the Flyers out of the arena even worse than they did.
I did not see the Flyers dominating the Caps so much as riding early adrenaline and trying to effort their way to an early lead. The Caps in response kept their cool and got the puck out of the zone, then capitalized on the chances they got. If you're in a boxing match and the other guy is just wailing away, you put up your guard. You don't flail away wildly.
And what's with all the "yeah, but for Holtby" talk? Cup-quality teams are SUPPOSED to have great goaltending. That's how you win championships. I don't see a Muir or Kiwi standing around looking clueless while Flyers pound Holtby with shots from point blank range over and over. I see professional hockey players doing their jobs pretty damn well from front to back.
The Caps were coached well last game. They knew what to expect and they executed. We are sitting here from a distance looking for reasons to repeat old habits of complaining, because we fear another collapse. **** that.
Kuz is going to have a breakout game soon, maybe the next one.
Dr John Carlson
Registered User
Kuznetsov's line has been the most effective at ES, without question. Goals will come from them. That's not a concern to me.
The bottom-6 is a concern, however. They have been laying big hits and have been grinding but if they don't start actually generating shots then they will be exposed against a deeper team than Philadelpha, such as Pittsburgh.
The overall team defense has been pretty solid, though. Holtby looks like playoff Holtby which doesn't hurt.
The bottom-6 is a concern, however. They have been laying big hits and have been grinding but if they don't start actually generating shots then they will be exposed against a deeper team than Philadelpha, such as Pittsburgh.
The overall team defense has been pretty solid, though. Holtby looks like playoff Holtby which doesn't hurt.
CapitalsCupReality
It’s Go Time!!
- Feb 27, 2002
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It's two games. Reel it in.
Will be interesting to see how we respond next game to the Flyer's initial push. Holtby and a few timely bounces are the difference makers right now. I'm cool and confident but not cocky and ready to call out anyone until that Cup is raised.
Will be interesting to see how we respond next game to the Flyer's initial push. Holtby and a few timely bounces are the difference makers right now. I'm cool and confident but not cocky and ready to call out anyone until that Cup is raised.
Why doesn't Barry unite Richards and Wilson on the 4th line? Kind of puzzling. Winnik and Wilson can hardly help Beagle in generating scoring chances. Richards isn't generating them (@ 3rd line) too. Why not switch 10 and 83 then? I think they will do better that way.
txpd
Registered User
Yup. The reason you have a great goaltender is because the other team is getting paid too. Sometimes you beat the opposition with the goalie. Same thing with the 5 on 5 whining we see. You have a great pp and a great pk to win with.
That's the thing with this Caps team. They can beat you in a track meet or a trapfest. They can beat you up in a let em play physical game and they can beat you in a pp/pk filled game.
Game 1 was all about the Flyers 0-3 on the pp in the first period.
Game 2 was not all about the goof Mason made but the Ovechkin goal.
Its good to get Holtby in the series anyway.
BobRouse
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- Mar 18, 2009
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Caps seemed to have more high danger chances for sure. Chimera and Ovie missed/D deflected wide open nets and both Ovechkin and Carlson were absolutely robbed on other occasions.
Flyers had a couple in tight great chances on 5-3 and 4-3 PPs by Schenn and Simmonds.
Otherwise Flyers were employing the "chuck everything at the net" philosophy and not even trying to work for high danger chances unless it was the PP.
I mean that's not a bad strategy and it really turns on the advanced stats crowd but in the end it can end up making you feel like you dominated a game and deserved to win when its simply not always the case.
5-5 the Flyers really don't look dangerous at all this series (outside of a few brief spurts) while the Caps are still generating good looks.
Flyers had a couple in tight great chances on 5-3 and 4-3 PPs by Schenn and Simmonds.
Otherwise Flyers were employing the "chuck everything at the net" philosophy and not even trying to work for high danger chances unless it was the PP.
I mean that's not a bad strategy and it really turns on the advanced stats crowd but in the end it can end up making you feel like you dominated a game and deserved to win when its simply not always the case.
5-5 the Flyers really don't look dangerous at all this series (outside of a few brief spurts) while the Caps are still generating good looks.
NobodyBeatsTheWiz
Happy now?
Some people need to do themselves a favor and watch other teams with the same subjectivity they apply to the Caps. Watch any team in the league looking for their imperfections, and you'll find them. Every team is highly flawed, even those in the mighty West. The picking of nits is absurd. The Caps have essentially had two bad first periods (shocking, I know). Outside of those, the Flyers have barely had a sniff of a good ES scoring chance.
Portable Mink
Registered User
Deep teams win cups. Deep teams means not just the stars need to fire or produce every game.
This is hockey. It's a game of absolute inches, who will step up in game 3? Dunno, but we have the best team which gives us the best chance of at least someone stepping up each game. Ride it.
This is hockey. It's a game of absolute inches, who will step up in game 3? Dunno, but we have the best team which gives us the best chance of at least someone stepping up each game. Ride it.
BobRouse
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This is how I see it. There are some (we know who they are) who are just always going to find fault regardless.
The Flyers generated high danger chances this series...on a 5-3 and a 4-3 PP.
Caps are physically imposing their will on them.
hockeykicker
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- Dec 3, 2014
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exactly. look even out west, LA is down 2-0, Chicago should have been down 2-0, Anaheim didnt even show up their first game.
in east, rangers knocked around first game, pens were knocked around 2nd game
HecticGlow
Registered User
Actually Mason had been playing pretty well until he let that Chimera goal in. No one can argue that was bad luck - it was bad technique. He messed up. That almost certainly had a bearing on his performance the remainder of the game.
Why are we back in the position of letting the other team set the pace and tempo of the game, and try to build up to that, and then if they haven't taken the lead by the end of the first find a way of making the game ours? We were massively outshot in the first period again. If we were playing so well, and the Flyers so badly, why did we have to take so many f
ing penalties? Again. I'm in no way diminishing or undervaluing the great aspects of our games so far, but recognising that there are crucial areas we still seem unnecessarily weak in, and that against another opponent we'll have to be able to turn on an entirely different light switch, and we haven't yet seen evidence they can do that.If it could have been a 9-1 game - in reality, with those same players in the same circumstances - it would have been. You're talking about an alternate version of the game, in which every player was that bit more accurate with their shot, or that bit more perceptive, or that bit faster to the puck.
We have one of the best power players in the league, and we've scored a tonne of goals on it. We will have to rely on that less and less as we face opposition with better and stronger PKs than ours if we want a deep run. What I'm saying is that our current line combinations, as they stand, are not providing reliable, regular scoring. It's never bad luck - not unless you want to recognise that all the times good things happen are at much at the mercy of luck as the bad ones are. If we're regularly hitting the post, why are we aiming it so close to the damn post all of a sudden? And if we're not aiming it there, why has our players' shooting accuracy been reduced compared to the season norm. Talking about luck suggests it'll likely right itself - if only because it presupposes there isn't an actual correlation, it just happens that the dice roll against us. But it's not luck, it's that some part of their game, however subtle, is different. Maybe Kuzy isnt getting enough sleep. Maybe Burakovsky needs to refocus his game again. Maybe Williams is frustrated they're not hitting the back of the net.
Right now, Kuzy's line is cold. The only reason to keep Mojo in the bottom six, if he's not at Center, is because the second line is improved with Burakovsky. Why, if Mojo and Richards are both playing so well, are our third and fourth lines still not scoring? Burakovsky couldn't score before Christmas, and that line has been MIA since the beginning of March: how do you know the 65-92-14 line wasn't just going through an extended hot streak, that wasn't going to survive in the longer term?
Being complacent now doesn't seem useful in the slightest. If we win this series in 4, and then find ourselves in game 7 against the Pens, you won't remember this series as a strong team beating the Flyers, but a good team beating a weak one. We know the caps are good - they've already got a trophy that says just that. If it was ok to be angry and worried and frustrated when the caps were coasting, because they mightn't therefore succeed in the playoffs, it's only logical to be concerned that we'd probably struggle against Anaheim tomorrow, and our game will have to improve in other areas if that's going to change. That's why, until I see them build their game and improve those underperforming areas that have remained, to an extent, unchanged for weeks or months now, I'm not declaring victory just yet.
HecticGlow
Registered User
Yes, that's true. And by that same logic, we are facing an easy opponent, and capitalising on their stupidities and weaknesses. Watching the Blues vs the Blackhawks, that's not what I see.
Which lines, against the Pens, have proven in recent weeks to be capable of scoring regular, reliable goals at ES? How do we get that first goal - the one that gives you the momentum to build on - if we face a strong PK? Back in February, I would have been confident either 65-92-14 or 25-90-43 could have got it done, and that 8-19-77 and 21-10-46 stood a good chance. Our bottom three lines seem to be succeeding against the grain these days, not with it, and we haven't seen anything in the playoffs (it was 65-83-90 on the ice for the Beagle goal and 10-19-77 for the Backstrom one) or last five games of the regular season to suggest the regular lines are back on track at ES.
In contrast, Holtby and our defence very definitely are. Alzner-Niskanen are playing their best hockey of an already impressive year, Carlson's back to his great self, and Orpik, Orlov and Schmidt are all playing well. We're certainly deep enough in terms of talent in our forward ranks - but you have to admit its disappointing we still haven't found our well-oiled second, third and fourth lines again from a production point of view.
Langway
In den Wolken
- Jul 7, 2006
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The killer instinct question will be there until it's put to bed without any doubt and they're hoisting the Cup. They've been solid and certainly upping their physical play as you'd expect. I do continue to wonder if they create dangerous chances easily enough and if their overall pace is fast and crisp enough. They have had chances to their credit but Philadelphia's blueline might be the very weakest in the playoffs on paper. The Caps should have their way with the Flyers unless that team's top line leads the way. Otherwise that team doesn't have a route to success and in the playoffs even that doesn't tend to take a team very far.
The Caps certainly deserve credit for shutting those guys down but this is a team they really should beat. They've averted disaster thus far and there are promising signs as far as Holtby and special teams go. I do think the 5-on-5 concerns are somewhat legit. Against better teams they're going to have to find another level. Hell, in Philadelphia they're probably going to need to find another level. Other teams in other series in tough battles but even if the Caps were to sweep the Flyers (knock wood) I don't think that necessarily means anything more than that the Caps are just considerably better at this stage.
The Caps certainly deserve credit for shutting those guys down but this is a team they really should beat. They've averted disaster thus far and there are promising signs as far as Holtby and special teams go. I do think the 5-on-5 concerns are somewhat legit. Against better teams they're going to have to find another level. Hell, in Philadelphia they're probably going to need to find another level. Other teams in other series in tough battles but even if the Caps were to sweep the Flyers (knock wood) I don't think that necessarily means anything more than that the Caps are just considerably better at this stage.
Alexander the Gr8
Registered User
The 2nd line is getting a lot of scoring chances, they're just not going in anymore. Kuznetsov came 1vs1 against MacDonald, toe drag under the stick and quick backhand on Mason but Schenn came from behind and threw Kuzy face first on the crossbar.
This is Barry Trotz. What kind of production do you expect?
Scored 7 times, scored against once. Trotz doesn't want to score 10 goals in 2 games. This is not his MO. He's OK with 3-2 and 2-1. We are doing better so far, and we are seeing signs of better things offensively.
1st line is OK.
2nd line is due.
3rd line is out of sorts but Mojo is on fire.
4th line is out there not for scoring.
Holtby and the defense - the backbone made by GMBM/Trotz/Korn - are buying forwards more time. Those are experienced and/or skilled forwards. That's a plan.
No cohesiveness is a part of a system due to Trotz not being offensive master I guess. He knows how to get the puck to Ovi. Next step is not his best expertise.
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