Post-Game Talk: Ghost of Ryan Miller’s chest vs Carl hagelins shot

[CapitalsCupReality]

Apparently not, or we would see these dramatic changes already….


Personally I’ve always loved a PP with movement. Make it harder to cover Ovy and change the shooting lanes so the D can’t just setup camp, but I dislike the idea of Ovy anywhere but in prime shooting position.

Rotate him through the crease for 15 seconds (throwing out a number), but parking him there for 2 mins on the PP is helping the defense out IMO.

 

[txpd]

You make it sound like he'll never be open again. What I'm saying is if you put movement into the formation and try things that are unusual, the PK will get confused and not know what to do next. They will default to covering Ovi but then he'd be on his forehand on the RW and he can find someone backdoor for a tap in. The weakest part of any diamond formation PK, which is the main formation used against our PP, is low to high passes. That turns the diamond into a square which opens up the cross ice pass lane.

Yes, he will never be open again. At least until someone else shows that he can score on the power play. Last season Oshie scored enough to force teams to cover him which brought the weak side guy covering Ovechkin away from him. Alexander Ovechkin isn't going to be scoring any backdoor passes that dont go thru 3 guys to get to him.

The key is Kuznetsov. 11th in the league in pp shos and almost nothing to show for it. Opposition is going to cover the other 3 threats with their 4 guys and let Kuzy do what he wants.

Frankly, I'd like for the Caps to do something like what you are saying so that you can see what happens. At the same time I am not sure I can imagine an entirely new power play structure. That takes time to impliment.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Yes, he will never be open again. At least until someone else shows that he can score on the power play. Last season Oshie scored enough to force teams to cover him which brought the weak side guy covering Ovechkin away from him. Alexander Ovechkin isn't going to be scoring any backdoor passes that dont go thru 3 guys to get to him.

The key is Kuznetsov. 11th in the league in pp shos and almost nothing to show for it. Opposition is going to cover the other 3 threats with their 4 guys and let Kuzy do what he wants.

Frankly, I'd like for the Caps to do something like what you are saying so that you can see what happens. At the same time I am not sure I can imagine an entirely new power play structure. That takes time to impliment.

It works for other teams, why not us? If we can cause the PK to be guessing even for just a few seconds, we have the skill to make the plays happen and find someone wide open (even if it's not Ovi). We can't keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect different results.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

It works for other teams, why not us? If we can cause the PK to be guessing even for just a few seconds, we have the skill to make the plays happen and find someone wide open (even if it's not Ovi). We can't keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect different results.

he’s not wrong about at least one thing…….another shooting threat is massively missed right now.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

he’s not wrong about at least one thing…….another shooting threat is massively missed right now.

We have as much talent as any other team on the PP when healthy. We got 3 guys who can shoot (8, 77 and 74). Oshie's shot is only effective in the 20-25 ft range, but Ovi and Carlson can bring it from anywhere.

Backstrom is an essential component because he directs traffic better and his passes are more accurate than Kuznetsov's passes IMO. I would wait for his return to start implementing a new scheme. We gotta be less static though no matter what, hard to get open when none of the 5 guys are moving.

If you put motion in the PP, there is no way that they can follow every single one of our players with only 4 guys, someone's bound to be open from a better location than the top of the right circle. It's how every other PP that doesn't have Alex Ovechkin on it normally functions.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

77 and 74 don’t open lanes for Ovy like we need….none are shooters teams are forced to focus on, but I’m on board with more movement.

 

[HTFN]

I am not stubborn. I am giving you a straight forward evaluation. Ovechkin does stuff the other players cant do. Move him to where you suggest and he wont be able to do them either. At present Carlson is being defended as tightly from shooting at Ovechkin. Its why he isnt shooting. They could use Orlov as a shooter in the Kuzy spot but that pass has to come from Carlson. Makes it easy to take that away. Particularly if you have moved Ovechkin to the front of the net.

I am simply saying that its not an easy fix. Backstrom will fix a lot of these problems. Sometimes I dont think we give near enough credit for what all Backstrom does that looks simple and basic that makes the whole thing work

Jesus Christ. Yeah, you're not stubborn, you've just asked about a thousand open ended questions and been difficult with every single response, slowly guiding the conversation until we're right back to square one: who will do everything exactly the same if we change parts of the gameplan? Oh but Ovechkin will be hurt by pucks, or he'll be covered, or this, or that, or who can do the thing the other guy is currently doing (to no avail). It's f***ing ridiculous, it's the antithesis of real discourse.

Maybe Ovechkin takes his moose strength and chucks his defenseman right off him, remains as immovable as most tree stumps, and slaps home goals?

 

[txpd]

77 and 74 don’t open lanes for Ovy like we need….none are shooters teams are forced to focus on, but I’m on board with more movement.

I dont know. Oshie was 2nd in the NHL in power play goals and Backstrom was 10th in power play points last season. Not having either in the lineup you would think would do damage. Maybe not

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

I dont know. Oshie was 2nd in the NHL in power play goals and Backstrom was 10th in power play points last season. Not having either in the lineup you would think would do damage. Maybe not

of course it hurts, but those guys aren’t making any D shade away Ovechkin so he has better looks. Oshie only because of where he’s deployed IMO.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Jesus Christ. Yeah, you're not stubborn, you've just asked about a thousand open ended questions and been difficult with every single response, slowly guiding the conversation until we're right back to square one: who will do everything exactly the same if we change parts of the gameplan? Oh but Ovechkin will be hurt by pucks, or he'll be covered, or this, or that, or who can do the thing the other guy is currently doing (to no avail). It's f***ing ridiculous, it's the antithesis of real discourse.

Maybe Ovechkin takes his moose strength and chucks his defenseman right off him, remains as immovable as most tree stumps, and slaps home goals?

you seem triggered lol….


All this time and Ovy is still on his same old spot. Maybe he gets where the coaches are coming from?

 

[AtNightWeFly]

Backstrom can help the PP if he starts to move faster! Maybe this rest was good for him.

 

[HTFN]

you seem triggered lol….


All this time and Ovy is still on his same old spot. Maybe he gets where the coaches are coming from?

Except when it’s not this particular point it’s “who will guard the crease” or “which rookie is going to come in and do ___ like ___”. Any answer just leads to this descending chain of pulled threads and ultimately he throws his hands up, says the coaches are doing it this way and what does lil’ old Tex know.

how you can acknowledge something needs fixed and then be resistant to any and all suggested change is beyond me

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Does the PP need fixing or do guys just need to produce? The longer each coaching regime continues with the same PP setup….well doesn’t that make you wonder?

 

[Calicaps]

I've mentioned before that whoever is on the half-wall, whether 92 or 19, PK units are giving that guy all the space and time. Both of those guys can shoot the puck and they need to. If PKs are going to give that position the whole damned circle to work in, then that guy has to step in from the wall and take some shots. Add that to the threat of 8, 74, and 77 and you start to force the PKers to make choices. But so long as there are just 3 possible shooters out of the 5 Caps skaters, the 4 PKers can play man on man and still have one guy to worry about the passes or be aggressive for the shorthanded opportunity.

EDIT: I've also noted a couple of times that I think guys are pressing too hard to Ovie the PP goal record. This always happens when he approaches a major milestone. Once he gets it, they'll all exhale and start playing looser.

 

[Hivemind]

I don't think the in-zone formation of the PP is the primary issue, but it also shouldn't be considered sacrosanct in a period of prolonged powerplay struggles. They should be trying adjustments to it to try and confuse defenses at the very least, and hopefully continue to push the system forwards.

That being said, the thing that would be most effective to aid the powerplay is being able to get into formation quicker. That's on zone entries. Not just successfully gaining the zone, but gaining the zone with clean possession and with players already in their proper lanes so that they don't have to waste 15 seconds battling in a corner and then 5-10 more seconds of repositioning. Clears are going to happen periodically, and being able to reset the formation quickly from transition is a huge asset. In the Oates and early Trotz years, the Capitals were the absolute best in the NHL at gaining the zone and getting into formation quickly. They've regressed massively in this aspect in the years since, and the coaching staffs (multiple HCs with the same PP coach) have not evolved their system in order to regain this advantage.

 

[DWGie26]

Does the PP need fixing or do guys just need to produce? The longer each coaching regime continues with the same PP setup….well doesn’t that make you wonder?

This… they don’t need a revamp. They need some tweaks to shake 77, 92/19, free. And then they need to actually score (not just shoot). That will change everything. 43 is not 77. 92 is not 19. 73 is not 20 below the goal line. 43,92,73 (or 59) all fine on PP2.

 

[txpd]

of course it hurts, but those guys aren’t making any D shade away Ovechkin so he has better looks. Oshie only because of where he’s deployed IMO.

Last season Oshie's scoring moved the pk off of Ovechkin. You see it both in Oshie's ppgs and in Ovechkin's season trend. Tbe Caps had the #3 pp last season. That means they were killing people with it. They were killing them with Oshie. Which would be fine now. Killing them with Oshie forced adjustments that opened things up for Ovechkin later in the season.

Right now Ovechkin is playing from right of center point all the way down to the left wing goal post. He's not standing still. If you want to run something like their 5 v 5 weave they will rarely be in a shooting position. If you are successful, the pk will stand in spots that require little movement but takes away the shooting lanes anyway. Lets do it. See what it looks like. Lets take Ov off pp2 and use Schultz and Orlov as the shooters and see what they get. Ov isnt scoring and Kuzy isnt doing anything. Why not try something new.

 

[txpd]

Does the PP need fixing or do guys just need to produce? The longer each coaching regime continues with the same PP setup….well doesn’t that make you wonder?

Ov leads the NHL in power play shots and has next to nothing to show for it. Thats not the pk game plan. Kuzy is 11th in the league in pp shots and has dont nothing. Oshie with the injury has scored 1 ppg all season and none since the season opener.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Ov leads the NHL in power play shots and has next to nothing to show for it. Thats not the pk game plan. Kuzy is 11th in the league in pp shots and has dont nothing. Oshie with the injury has scored 1 ppg all season and none since the season opener.

Goalies are prepared because they can shade towards him more IMO with limited other threats.....Kuzy just not a super effective shooter right now. I'd like to see him put a lot of time into that this offseason to add another dimension to his game.

 

[txpd]

Goalies are prepared because they can shade towards him more IMO with limited other threats.....Kuzy just not a super effective shooter right now. I'd like to see him put a lot of time into that this offseason to add another dimension to his game.

They need either a reliable threat to shoot the one timer off that right wing circle or they need Oshie back in the groove. A shot from Oshie can cause chaos and break down the diamond and then Ov is open. They have been looking at Orlov in that spot. The problem created there is that the puck movement off that halfwall is so important that the pp is damaged in a different way if you step down from Kuzy to Orlov. Considering the trouble the step down from Backstrom to Kuzy has caused, I understand why they hesitate.

 

[Hivemind]

This is some bizarre revisionist history going on. Backstrom has never been a consistent right circle one-timer threat on the PP.

The thought that somehow this powerplay can't be successful due to its current personnel being too poor quality is absurd. It's not like Evgeni Kuznetsov and Tom Wilson are scrubs. And there's still a singular talent in Alexander Ovechkin at the left circle.