GDT: GDT: Washington @ Columbus 7:00 PM EST

[CapitalsCupReality]

I'd put Kuzy with Ovie tonight.

Kuzy has come to play.

Feeling that trade heat!

Woooooo!

 

[Marshall]

Holy crow do the Caps look gassed.

They will benefit from the 10 day break, no?

 

[Empty Goal Net]

Peraton is Japanese for Pelaton. /end off-color 1970s humor

 

[bacchist]

Team is so mid

 

[shtorm2005]

 

[EYEuhFRAYtee]

Holy crow do the Caps look gassed.

They will benefit from the 10 day break, no?

So will the fans, glad it ended with a win.

 

[marcel snapshot]

Man, does this team need a break. Regroup boys (and organization)

 

[RedRocking]

I hope Lavi and the staff spend the break, in the room, figuring out how to not give up odd man breaks when protecting a late lead.

 

[SecretaryofDefense5]

Before people ask if they should still trade Kuzy, yes, yes they should.

 

[Corby78]

Well that OT goal was a huge sigh of relief. Losing that game and sitting on it for 10 days would have sucked. Team is just…….. ugh I don’t even know. Part lazy, part unlucky, part poorly coached…. Just not impressive

 

[SherVaughn30]

Before people ask if they should still trade Kuzy, yes, yes they should.

Both Mantha and Eller should be traded first!

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Well that OT goal was a huge sigh of relief. Losing that game and sitting on it for 10 days would have sucked. Team is just…….. ugh I don’t even know. Part lazy, part unlucky, part poorly coached…. Just not impressive

It’s pretty simple: they’re old and not that good. Their best players are no longer their best players and they’re sure not better than the best players on the other team most nights so every game is a fight and they need to win based on depth and structure.

Given that, I actually think Lavi is doing a pretty good job. He has one of the more anemic top sixes in the league. He doesn’t have any top line talents any more outside of Ovi who needs people to feed him pucks (and I don’t say that in a derogatory way towards #8). He has a bunch of 2/3/4Cs and no number one pivot. There’s no top line winger and you could argue with Wilson out they don’t have a top six winger on the roster right now. They’re missing Carlson. Depth is solid but they’re really lacking in elite forward talent right now. Their finishing is not what it used to be.

I’m not sure what people expect out of Lavi and sure his lineup choices stink some times but he’s squeezing the blood out of this stone. A different coach isn’t likely to provide anything more than a dead cat bounce.

 

[notDkristich]

It’s pretty simple: they’re old and not that good. Their best players are no longer their best players and they’re sure not better than the best players on the other team most nights so every game is a fight and they need to win based on depth and structure.

Given that, I actually think Lavi is doing a pretty good job. He has one of the more anemic top sixes in the league. He doesn’t have any top line talents any more outside of Ovi who needs people to feed him pucks He has a bunch of 2/3/4Cs and no number one pivot. There’s no top line winger and you could argue with Wilson out they don’t have a top six winger on the roster right now. They’re missing Carlson. Depth is solid but they’re really lacking in elite forward talent right now. Their finishing is not what it used to be.

I’m not sure what people expect out of Lavi and sure his lineup choices stink some times but he’s squeezing the blood out of this stone. A different coach isn’t likely to provide anything more than a dead cat bounce.

They are missing Carlson, yes. But only in the sense that he can fill some minutes. He bleeds odd man chances against.

Kuzy needs to go, and Sheary needs to be back on the top line with OV and Strome. Seriously, it was good. WTH

 

[HTFN]

Yes, entirely. Kuzy turned it over and didn't chase the guy he gave it away to. It's on him and only him, he should've one timed the perfect pass he got. Mantha did exactly what you'd want him to do on offense. Or I guess you can blame the LD for being out of position too.

You can say Kuznetsov is primarily at fault if you want but it doesn't ignore or excuse the fact that Mantha could have, with two strides, very easily kept that puck in the zone and just didn't for no apparent reason.

 

[DWGie26]

Good way to go into the break. Which they need. In a playoff spot in standing but goot lord we have played so many more games.

 

[usiel]

Holy crow do the Caps look gassed.

They will benefit from the 10 day break, no?

For me this is what I saw. A lot of youth and speed getting on top of the Caps. On the Caps Dside seeing the Columbus forwards getting on top of them when means they have to go into taxing full battle mode on the boards.

After the break this is on Lavi to balance the line up with youth. Have no idea why AA was not in the line up today. Tbh sometimes Lavi's lineups are set by fear of losing.

Also might not be popular but I'd rather Protas in the lineup instead of Sheary. Need that size, youth, and board domination more than what Sheary brings at this point.

 

[Roshi]

Well done to force a point for Tank-Jackets and make their Bedard-chase one small step tougher. We dont want CB ending up for CB. Send his ass to West.

So it was a organizational strategic OT win, exactly what we needed to achieve for the last game in 10 days. Let the rest begin. As the rest is followed by the run, which will decide our faith. Will we get to lose to Bruins or Canes in the first round, or do we have to sideline to see someone else do it.

We have 9 games between february 10. and 27. 4 of those against teams that are playing for our conference playoff-spots.

See you all in 10 days.

 

[g00n]

For me this is what I saw. A lot of youth and speed getting on top of the Caps. On the Caps Dside seeing the Columbus forwards getting on top of them when means they have to go into taxing full battle mode on the boards.

After the break this is on Lavi to balance the line up with youth. Have no idea why AA was not in the line up today. Tbh sometimes Lavi's lineups are set by fear of losing.

Also might not be popular but I'd rather Protas in the lineup instead of Sheary. Need that size, youth, and board domination more than what Sheary brings at this point.

I didn't see the forwards getting burned a lot based on sheer foot speed. I watched guys like Backstrom and Oshie in isolation for several shifts and they were keeping up.

I did see almost the entire team handling the puck like a hand grenade. Except for a few bursts where they created significant chances it seemed like passing, spacing, timing, and puck control were just off for whatever reason. Oshie in particular was very careless and created some bad turnovers.

Maybe it was the ice because Columbus players were also hacking at it quite a bit. But they also managed to move the puck around better for several stretches and imo that gives the impression of being put on your heels, while also tiring you out if you're chasing it.

 

[max21]

If Kuznetsov played like that every other game we might be in good shape, I’m just really glad we went into the break with a Win

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Good way to go into the break. Which they need. In a playoff spot in standing but goot lord we have played so many more games.

They must have a light March and April because February is brutal too... 9 games in 16 days. They start off with a three games in four nights stretch against Boston, San Jose, and Carolina. There are two different back-to-backs, the second of which is huge since they're playing the Rangers and the Sabres. Only one time do they have more than one day between games and that's a two day break. Then they start March with three games on the West coast.

The silver lining is six of those nine are at home and their away games aren't long travel distances (@ Boston, @ Carolina for Stadium Series, @ Buffalo). The other good thing is February should give them some clarity as to where they stand before the March 3 deadline.

 

[twabby]

My game puck for last night's game goes to Trevor van Riemsdyk for his first ever multi-goal game and a tidy 64% xGF on the night, with honorable mentions to Garnet Hathaway (1 G, 85% xGF%), the Irwin/Fehervary duo (both > 75% xGF%), and Evgeny Kuznetsov (2 primary points including the OT GWG).

 

[Monsterrain]

They are missing Carlson, yes. But only in the sense that he can fill some minutes. He bleeds odd man chances against.

Kuzy needs to go, and Sheary needs to be back on the top line with OV and Strome. Seriously, it was good. WTH

I think the only area they miss carlson is on the pp. he's a liability everywhere else.

 

[um]

Either that ... or they showed how unrealistic/unsustainable the December run was.

Sure the Caps weren't going to keep up that pace, but I didn't approve breaking up the 1st line and putting Backstrom at 1C in his first game back.

Lavy made the transition as difficult as possible with his terrible decisions.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

They are missing Carlson, yes. But only in the sense that he can fill some minutes. He bleeds odd man chances against.

Kuzy needs to go, and Sheary needs to be back on the top line with OV and Strome. Seriously, it was good. WTH

I don’t think that’s totally fair to Carlson. Irwin fills minutes. Carlson does much more than that. Yes, he is prone to making some awful decisions especially in the neutral or defensive zones and he turns the puck over a lot but the complaints around Carlson stem mainly from comparing his performance relative to expectations of a true 1RD. He’s certainly missed, especially as it relates to driving offense from defense and on the PP.

 

[tycoonheart]

Carlson was also playing pretty well before got injured. Honestly think the teams decline started after Carlson got injured. I think people here are a little too hard on Carlson.