Post-Game Talk: GOATvechkin Vs McJesus @ 9:30

[Brian23]

The real issue is, if its Trotz, will never get to try this team with a more offensive minded Coach.

The real thing I can't figure out is why we've had such a "talented" team for so long but no Coach has been able to get crisp passing out of them. I don't put it on the players, its just not been coached at all.

 

[ovikovy817]

It sucks to concede a goal, when you're the better team on the ice. It's like they just stop playing after the first goal.

 

[Raikkonen]

Grim dungeons everythere

 

[HecticGlow]

It want just 8-92-65 that allowed the ES goals - Carlson and Orlov were on the ice for them too. Whose idea was it to put together one of your weakest defensive lines (who is the strong two-way player on that kuzy line?!) with Orlov?!

I think you'll see the D pairings mixed up within a few games - maybe coinciding with Chorney getting a game or two. If you told me one of our young D is forecase for great things and a top-4 role right now, I would easily assume you meant Schmidt not Orlov. Orly could easily have had an assist or two on Oilers goals tonight - throwing it down the middle at one point to an orange and blue jersey.

Once again, the Caps are caught up in having one or two pieces in the forward corps that can't easily be moved - Sanford/Connolly + Eller isn't getting much done, and while Williams could potentially be useful in the top-6, we need another skilled winger on the third line. Trotz discovered the hard way that having two 40 point wingers (MJ and Chimera) on a line with a 5 point Center doesn't, surprisingly, lead to goals - the Eller third line will only work if he replaces the offensive black hole on the line: right now he's a downgrade on chimera instead.

Oshie and Williams were a big part of how this team succeeded last year - Oshie needs to get refocused, and Williams needs better line mates because right now he can't carry a line offensively. It wouldn't surprise me at all at this point if we end up trying Sanford or Stephenson at 4C, Beagle at 3C with Mojo, and trade Eller for a good winger. Only two of our four lines are working right now, and that becomes one of four when to split up Tre Kronor...


Alternative that will probably get tried at some point:
8-19-65
90-92-14
82-20-77
26-83-43

27-74
9-2
44-88

 

[Dream Big]

It's about time Edmonton had a decent team. They've had the #1 draft pick 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015.

Talk about an embarrassment of riches with nothing to show for it until maybe now.

Besides. It was passed the boy's bedtime. I had a hard time staying awake in the 3rd period myself.

 

[trick9]

Capitals trying to tone down their hitting game has lead to nothing more offensively and overally it just constantly seems like they are lacking effort.

Sanford looked good in the pre-season but now with each team having their best players on the ice, he just doesn't belong yet. Obvious signs out there that he's not used to guys closing down on him so quickly which leads to constant turnovers. I'll be shocked if he isn't in the AHL before christmas.

4th line played well in the 1st half of the game. They cycled well and kept the puck at the Oilers end for most of their shifts. After that they were rather invisible. Beagle was dominated at the FO circle which is odd.

3rd line showed all kinds of red flags.

1st line terrible apart from Ovechkin who atleast showed some effort there and got rewarded with a goal.

Thanks for nothing, Caps.

 

[g00n]

So who got the Willpower robe last night?

 

[g00n]

I hate to say it but I am starting to think Trotz is the biggest problem with this team. The roster has some speed and some youth but the system is too 2000s.

Yeah been banging this drum and I know it's ONE GAME vs an up and coming opponent that's currently hot, but we've been sold the bill of goods before.

Oates was supposed to be a guy with at least some NHL (asst) coaching experience who had a plan for a "hybrid" system that would unleash the post-Hunter offense while also staying defensively responsible. We heard all about how the team liked the guy and appreciated his wealth of knowledge. Sounds familiar. Then after the fact we find out a lot of fan suspicions about micromanaging and ego friction with management were justified.

I'm not saying Oates=Trotz in every comparable way, but in general terms Trotz is Oates 2.0 but cuddlier...another system-happy coach in a long line of Ovechkin-era bench bosses that couldn't find a way to flip the switch on the Caps mental game and couldn't get out of the 2nd round.

 

[blupye*]

Oiler fan coming in peace. Great respect for Caps, OV is unreal. Just wondering if you guys think we are for real now. It has been a rough 10 years.

 

[Langway]

So who got the Willpower robe last night?

No one. They all fell off the wagon and have to start over.

Slackers Anonymous or something.

 

[g00n]

No one. They all fell off the wagon and have to start over.

Slackers Anonymous or something.

They should concentrate on finding Kuzy's Harry Potter robe instead

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Love this quote from Holtby: “Hockey’s testing us right now, which is good. I think a little bit of adversity never hurts to build a team. Last year, it seemed like every time after a loss the pucks would bounce our way. [Yesterday] it showed that sometimes you’ve got to work a little harder and dig yourself out to earn these wins."

Oiler fan coming in peace. Great respect for Caps, OV is unreal. Just wondering if you guys think we are for real now. It has been a rough 10 years.

It's too early to say, but my opinion before and after the game is that the Oilers right now are where the Caps were in 2008. Led by an offensive superstar, was in the playoff hunt for most of the season and really picked up the pace towards the end of the season to secure a playoff spot with home ice in the first round.

With the Kings being plagued by injuries, I think the Oilers will get their first taste of the playoffs in a long time.

As for the Capitals, we're probably not as good as you think we are. This isn't the team that destroyed the league last year.

 

[Raikkonen]

Glad I've seen McDavid in person in his short stint here in Russia He's more likeable than 87.

Also. Caps are a bit ****ed. I mean I don't care about this last game in its result.

But the problems are there. Both top-6 RWs Justin Williams and TJ Oshie aren't so speedy anymore. They're rather old and don't have contracts for next year.

Burakovsky and Wilson, while promising, aren't what many thought they'd be, at least yet.

Kuzy is struggling. Which is one of the lesser problems so far I hope. Should be able to figure it out.

Our best players are Ovi, Backy and Mojo. Soft euros with deficiencies. Also, dare I say Orpik?!

OK, it's not that grim actually. But maybe the best opportunity is to can Trotz midseason and let guys loose under some offensive coach hoping they will remember some defensive tricks Trotz's preaching now.

Next year? Could be late. Many questions about team's look beyond this year.

PS: GMGM made us a gift with Backstrom's contract.

 

[Devil Dancer]

Trotz's comments on the offensive game have always been concerning. It sounds like he just throws up his hands after zone entry and lets the skaters do whatever they think is best. I appreciate that he installed a (usually) effective defensive system, but a mediocre transition game + freewheeling forwards in the O zone without much structure isn't a recipe for playoff success.

IDK. It's early in the season, but that game really sucked last night, and I'm not seeing any positive steps for the team, or any individual development from the players so far.

 

[HecticGlow]

It's interesting how well the fourth line has gelled - it does make me wonder if it's worth swapping Wilson and Williams - adding a bit of hockey IQ and scoring ability to Beagle and Winnik's energetic grinding could create a very effective line, while Wilson might be able to buy Eller and Sanford a bit more space.

The problem we have with Sanford is we've currently no one better as a third liner, nor any cap space to acquire a good 3rd line winger. At least if we can move one of our fourth liners up Connelly would likely be okay on a physical grinding fourth line, but you're not going to get much more offence out of Winnik by moving him to 3LW.

I'm honestly starting to wonder if there's any overall improvement by having Eller and Sanford over Chimera and Richards - at least they were strong PKers and defensively responsible. The problem with Chimera is that he stopped producing near the playoffs, regardless of who his linemates were. But now we're lumbered with Eller's cap hit, there's no space for anyone new (unproven Hershey rookies aside).

Maybe trying
8-19-77
65-92-14
90-20-43/10
26-83-10/43

Might at least find some consistency again, as that's closest to our lineup last year. But I'm just not seeing Ovi and Kuzy working right now. Even more alarming, when I think about Bura's two goals so far this season, they were both due to the work and skill of Backstrom. Bura has a good shot and is skilled, but seems somewhat dependent on having good linemates set him up rather than finding his own offensive opportunities.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Yeah been banging this drum and I know it's ONE GAME vs an up and coming opponent that's currently hot, but we've been sold the bill of goods before.

Oates was supposed to be a guy with at least some NHL (asst) coaching experience who had a plan for a "hybrid" system that would unleash the post-Hunter offense while also staying defensively responsible. We heard all about how the team liked the guy and appreciated his wealth of knowledge. Sounds familiar. Then after the fact we find out a lot of fan suspicions about micromanaging and ego friction with management were justified.

I'm not saying Oates=Trotz in every comparable way, but in general terms Trotz is Oates 2.0 but cuddlier...another system-happy coach in a long line of Ovechkin-era bench bosses that couldn't find a way to flip the switch on the Caps mental game and couldn't get out of the 2nd round.

I'm starting to feel like nobody can successfully coach this team to the Finals. How many coaches will it take without some level of postseason improvement?

They can't pass very well and people want to blame Trotz. Execution is on the players and they don't execute with proficiency and haven't for years when it counts, regardless of who is the bench boss.

To me, when your team can't "get up", it shows a debilitating lack of effective leadership from within the roster.

 

[Turd Ferguson]

Didn't see the game last night since it was a 1:30am start, but seeing the comments/highlights nothing beats being a caps fan

 

[HecticGlow]

This team will only succeed when you can remove Ovi from the lineup and it still be a great - if not elite - team. That's the kind of depth that won the Penguins a cup - one that can win games when Sid Crosby is out of the lineup. Oshie and Backstrom need to carry the top six just as much as Ovi - which means Ovi needs strong support from other players. That's what's missing right now - a top-6 where both top lines are solid at the same time, before you even get to the third line. Right now we have competent lines, but even with Ovi in our top-9 is far from elite overall.

 

[AtNightWeFly]

Fell asleep at 8:00 and didn't catch the game obviously and now I'm glad that I didn't. For shame Caps!

Oh and these deflections once more. Oy vey!
They make me wanna stop watching hockey altogether...

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

We're *****, and we will continue to be ***** as long as we don't work harder to win games.

 

[RandyHolt]

I wonder what Barry's overall plan is for the season.

Clearly, he has asked forwards to not hit. Wake me up when the hitting starts. It's going to be a long year. #Hibernating

He does seem more willing to try different line combos, versus finding a line and basically having set his playoff lines already.

Otherwise, same stuff it seems. We are just a heavy team that doesn't hit and play in your face.

I saw red flags last year with Barry. Stubborn to change lines / his fav F pairs. Stubborn to stop D step ups facing waves of odd mans throughout spring and game 4 vs armPitt. Struggling to use young defensemen effectively, in doing so killing their confidence and stunting development. Barely getting by the Flyers. I could go on.

If Orlov plays great for Russia vs the elite, yet sucks in the NHL vs sucky suck, that is a red flag to me of a problem with coaching. Our coaching.

I have theorized a few times Barry will be gone by XMas. Replaced internally of course.

 

[twabby]

Everyone read the GDT against Florida last week and compare it to this one.

 

[AtNightWeFly]

We're *****, and we will continue to be ***** as long as we don't work harder to win games.

Somebody said Caps got badly outhit in every single game so far this young season.
If this is true, they just don't want to play. None of the games so far have been entertaining except for the first one.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Everyone read the GDT against Florida last week and compare it to this one.

We got the bounces in that game, two deflection goals and two opportunistic goals by Williams and Johansson. The only great game we've played so far was against the Avs.

Somebody said Caps got badly outhit in every single game so far this young season.
If this is true, they just don't want to play. None of the games so far have been entertaining except for the first one.

Normally the Caps are a very physical team, we're dead last in hits so far this year. This isn't normal, only the 4th line are playing physical, the others are playing cute perimeter hockey.

 

[Langway]

I have theorized a few times Barry will be gone by XMas. Replaced internally of course.

If there was an internal solution some of their weaknesses would have been more seriously addressed by now. Despite whatever interviews there may have been elsewhere, I doubt there's a legit internal answer. Lambert may be good for the PK but he's shown very little developmental ability for the forwards otherwise.

Maybe in a couple months if they're still flat and in a funk there could be a trade but this is the group. They'll figure it out because they're pros and pretty decent on paper but they're probably never going to be great. I don't think there's the ambition for it across the board from a conceptual standpoint.