How Do You Feel...about the Caps?

[Ridley Simon]

It doesnt much matter to me. Sure, we have made it past rd 2 as a fanbase (only 2x), and beaten the Pens (only 1x), but that in a vacuum doesnt matter to me.

Probably a better question is which hurts more? Losing in Rd 2 again past 2 years...or losing to the Pens again over the same time period.

For me, its the latter. I loathe the Pens. I loathe Crosby. I loathe Lemieux. I loathe a lot of their other players, past and present. AND I loathe (most) of their arrogant fanbase.

So, yeah. There it is.

 

[maacoshark]

It doesnt much matter to me. Sure, we have made it past rd 2 as a fanbase (only 2x), and beaten the Pens (only 1x), but that in a vacuum doesnt matter to me.

Probably a better question is which hurts more? Losing in Rd 2 again past 2 years...or losing to the Pens again over the same time period.

For me, its the latter. I loathe the Pens. I loathe Crosby. I loathe Lemieux. I loathe a lot of their other players, past and present. AND I loathe (most) of their arrogant fanbase.

So, yeah. There it is.

Ya I'd rather lose to any other team then the Pens.

 

[txpd]

All of those losses hurt but the one to the Rangers was one we should have had. We choked. And the officials helped the Rangers out on that series if I remember correctly.

Holtby.

 

[maacoshark]

Holtby.

What about Holtby?

 

[Roughing]

Happy with the roster and prospects now and going forward. It needs some improvement - we aren't real contenders this year - but we're on the right track.

Only real problem is Trotz. Dude is a loser and needs to be gone.

 

[txpd]

What about Holtby?

The goal Holtby allowed was a backbreaker

 

[maacoshark]

The goal Holtby allowed was a backbreaker

He didn't lose us that series.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

I knew as soon as Kreider scored that goal in G5 that we lost the series. The sting was minimized in that situation by the rapid improvement the team showed in Trotz's first year compared to the Oates debacle. Seemed like the team was on the up-and-up.

The Pittsburgh losses were so devastating because it seemed like they were the organization's best chance(s) to get that elusive ring with Ovechkin as the center piece, so there was certainly an aura of desperation and anxiety around the team the past two years, even as they stormed through the regular season, which made the defeats feel all the more crushing. Cup-or-bust is not a fun feeling. Compound that with watching Sid get his second and third rings while Ovie and the Caps sit at zero and you have a real gut punch to the fanbase.

 

[notDkristich]

Happy with the roster and prospects now and going forward. It needs some improvement - we aren't real contenders this year - but we're on the right track.

Only real problem is Trotz. Dude is a loser and needs to be gone.

I second the motion. You can not teach an old dog new tricks. Trotz is too slow or too stubborn to make the necessary tactical changes during playoffs. Fire the dinosaur.

His regular season results are meaningless.

 

[maacoshark]

I second the motion. You can not teach an old dog new tricks. Trotz is too slow or too stubborn to make the necessary tactical changes during playoffs. Fire the dinosaur.

His regular season results are meaningless.

Disagree. I think Trotz has done an excellent job with this team. He has managed to convince Ovi to buy into the team concept. Something other coaches couldn't do. Other coaches were run out of town for trying. Trotz has done a good job with the young players on this team. Trotz hasnt lost for us in the playoffs. To tell you the truth the Pens got pretty lucky 2 years in a row to get past us. A big chunk of the Pens goals were total fluke. Bad bounces. It can be very frustrating and can take the wind out of your sails when you are outplaying your opponent only to fall behind on a bad bounce. It happened to the Caps 2 years in a row. If a couple of those bounces don't happen the Pens would have been bumped instead. I still think this team is a cup contender. Anything can happen in the playoffs. And its rarely the top regular season team that wins in the playoffs.

 

[maacoshark]

I'm liking the direction this team is going but a few guys concern me. Burakovsky has been pretty invisible. I know he is coming off an injury so I'll give him a pass. And Eller has pulled his disappearing act again. He is very streaky. Had a hot stretch and now 1 point in his last 10 games. He has always been like that. Tom Wilson has been a pleasant surprise. He is playing good 2way hockey even in the games that he hasnt been on the score sheet. That's OK. Tom doesn't get paid to score. He gets paid to f*** shit UP

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

If Trotz is a loser, is Ovy? Nicky? Etc....

Is there a certain number of years you have to fail to reach this status? I ask because I’m unsure of the accepted criteria being used right now. Me, I have a hard time calling any Caps coach or player a loser.

 

[traparatus]

My biggest frustration is not losing in the 2nd round or losing to Pens. It's losing to a team that had Ron Hainsey, Ian Cole, Trevor Dailey all playing over 19min a game. I don't think Caps should have won. I think they should have obliterated any team with that defense core.

One thing has remained persistent for a better part of the decade. Caps suck at manufacturing offense. They want to create. Our top-3 centers will not shoot pucks for deflections and rebounds. Our two big offense-from-defense guys, Orlov and Carlson, will not shoot pucks for deflections and rebounds.

We are grooming two super talented top-6 wingers in Vrana and Burakovsky and all they are learning is that the only way to be successful is to rip the puck into the back of the net with a clean shot. We are shaping them in the mold of past playoff failures.

Over the past three seasons Capitals are combined 1st in regular season Goals-For at 3.03G/G. Over that same period Capitals are 14th in playoff scoring at 2.38G/G. Nothing about this has to do with luck, playoff matchups, reffing or any other bulls***t excuse people want to come up with. As long as our offense is driven by Backstrom, Kuznetsov and Eller, nothing about this is likely to change, either.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Agreed on the C’s refusing to shoot for rebounds/deflections. Simple hockey works in the playoffs. Elite talent should be able to execute simple hockey at a higher level of success IMO, yet our guys almost refuse at times and it’s MADDENING!

 

[txpd]

I knew as soon as Kreider scored that goal in G5 that we lost the series. The sting was minimized in that situation by the rapid improvement the team showed in Trotz's first year compared to the Oates debacle. Seemed like the team was on the up-and-up.
.

The sting was minimized? The entire team, including the new coach and gm and the new leadership defensemen he brought in were immediately painted as chokers. They weren't so also ran team that was dismissed from the playoffs. They were the juggernaut team they played the next two seasons as.

Come playoffs they were already proven chokers. Trotz spent a lot of media time trying to dismiss the whole idea of being serial chokers. That Rangers loss was far worse than either of the Pens series. My view is that the Rangers series opened the door for the Pens series.

 

[txpd]

Our two big offense-from-defense guys, Orlov and Carlson, will not shoot pucks for deflections and rebounds.
.

That's not true. Carlson is 2nd in the NHL in shots on goal from defense. They try to avoid getting their shots blocked but they are not reluctant to shoot...other maybe than the two rookies. which is understandable

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Disagree. I think Trotz has done an excellent job with this team. He has managed to convince Ovi to buy into the team concept. Something other coaches couldn't do. Other coaches were run out of town for trying. Trotz has done a good job with the young players on this team. Trotz hasnt lost for us in the playoffs. To tell you the truth the Pens got pretty lucky 2 years in a row to get past us. A big chunk of the Pens goals were total fluke. Bad bounces. It can be very frustrating and can take the wind out of your sails when you are outplaying your opponent only to fall behind on a bad bounce. It happened to the Caps 2 years in a row. If a couple of those bounces don't happen the Pens would have been bumped instead. I still think this team is a cup contender. Anything can happen in the playoffs. And its rarely the top regular season team that wins in the playoffs.

No offense, but I disagree with your entire post. The narrative that Ovie is or has been uncoachable is total garbage and patently false. He has done everything any coach has ever asked him. Bruce asked to play free-wheeling firewagon hockey so he did. Hunter asked him to play dump and chase turtle hockey and he did. Oates asked him to switch positions and play with Beagle as his center and he did. Trotz asked him to switch back and he did.

And Trotz has been awful in the playoffs. Out of the 6 series he's coached, he was unquestionably (in my opinion) outcoached in 4 of them with an argument that he was outcoached in the series with the Islanders as well (he even almost got torpedoed by the Flyers when they switched to Neuvirth). Trotz is the one who played Mike Weber over Orlov or Schmidt. Trotz is the one who played a gimpy Alzner against the speedy Leafs and almost waited until it was too late to correct the glaring mismatch. Trotz is the one who deployed Alzner and Orpik together against Pittsburgh. Trotz is the one who waited until they were down 3-1 in the series last year to make any type of adjustment against the Pens' counterattacking style. Simply put, Trotz has been exposed tactically when it matters the most on a consistent year-after-year basis. Bounces do happen randomly in hockey, sure, but they happen repeatedly in hockey because you earn them. Neither of the Pens' wins were flukes.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

The sting was minimized? The entire team, including the new coach and gm and the new leadership defensemen he brought in were immediately painted as chokers. They weren't so also ran team that was dismissed from the playoffs. They were the juggernaut team they played the next two seasons as.

Come playoffs they were already proven chokers. Trotz spent a lot of media time trying to dismiss the whole idea of being serial chokers. That Rangers loss was far worse than either of the Pens series. My view is that the Rangers series opened the door for the Pens series.

Yeah, I think it was minimized. There was still hope after that Rangers series. After the last two years, no hope.

 

[maacoshark]

No offense, but I disagree with your entire post. The narrative that Ovie is or has been uncoachable is total garbage and patently false. He has done everything any coach has ever asked him. Bruce asked to play free-wheeling firewagon hockey so he did. Hunter asked him to play dump and chase turtle hockey and he did. Oates asked him to switch positions and play with Beagle as his center and he did. Trotz asked him to switch back and he did.

And Trotz has been awful in the playoffs. Out of the 6 series he's coached, he was questionably (in my opinion) outcoached in 4 of them with an argument that he was outcoached in the series with the Islanders as well (he even almost got torpedoed by the Flyers when they switched to Neuvirth). Trotz is the one who played Mike Weber over Orlov or Schmidt. Trotz is the one who played a gimpy Alzner against the speedy Leafs and almost waited until it was too late to correct the glaring mismatch. Trotz is the one who deployed Alzner and Orpik together against Pittsburgh. Trotz is the one who waited until they were down 3-1 in the series last year to make any type of adjustment against the Pens' counterattacking style. Simply put, Trotz has been exposed tactically when it matters the most on a consistent year-after-year basis. Bounces do happen randomly in hockey, sure, but they happen repeatedly in hockey because you earn them. Neither of the Pens' wins were flukes.

How many coaches did he Ovi run out of town? As far as bad bounces go I know they happen but that doesn't mean they were really earned. I mean we scored on our own net in that series.

 

[txpd]

Yeah, I think it was minimized. There was still hope after that Rangers series. After the last two years, no hope.

Hope? There is hope today. Maybe more hope than the last couple of seasons. The point is that we hoped that Ov and Backstrom and 52 who had no tie to the choking dogs and had that fun coach letting them run wild would be free of the monkey. Maybe they were til they choked the first time. Then it was full on. Then they fell apart and brought in Trotz and a veteran D and a new GM and they were clean of the stink til Krieder scored that goal.

So maybe you saw hope. I saw broad brush strokes of the choking dog stink all over all the clean fresh assets. Their chance was against the Rangers. Losing the way they did to the Rangers couldn't have been any worse other than a catastrophic injury to Ov or Holtby.

They stink now. They are what they are. They can win but have to do it with the stink on. I don't really think they have a reasonable chance again til they start fresh with new players and coaches with no stink on them. I think Ov plays til he is 40 for the Caps and makes a run at the big record. So that stink free team is a long way off.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

How many coaches did he Ovi run out of town? As far as bad bounces go I know they happen but that doesn't mean they were really earned. I mean we scored on our own net in that series.

I don't know, you tell me -- how many coaches did he run out of town?

 

[Devil Dancer]

Hope? There is hope today. Maybe more hope than the last couple of seasons. The point is that we hoped that Ov and Backstrom and 52 who had no tie to the choking dogs and had that fun coach letting them run wild would be free of the monkey. Maybe they were til they choked the first time. Then it was full on. Then they fell apart and brought in Trotz and a veteran D and a new GM and they were clean of the stink til Krieder scored that goal.

So maybe you saw hope. I saw broad brush strokes of the choking dog stink all over all the clean fresh assets. Their chance was against the Rangers. Losing the way they did to the Rangers couldn't have been any worse other than a catastrophic injury to Ov or Holtby.

They stink now. They are what they are. They can win but have to do it with the stink on. I don't really think they have a reasonable chance again til they start fresh with new players and coaches with no stink on them. I think Ov plays til he is 40 for the Caps and makes a run at the big record. So that stink free team is a long way off.

Melodramatic BS. If the Sharks overcame their choking playoff history to make a serious run late in the Thornton regime there's no reason the Caps can't relatively late in Ovie's tenure.

I think Trotz is a problem, but there's no magic curse keeping this team from post season success.

 

[maacoshark]

Melodramatic BS. If the Sharks overcame their choking playoff history to make a serious run late in the Thornton regime there's no reason the Caps can't relatively late in Ovie's tenure.

I think Trotz is a problem, but there's no magic curse keeping this team from post season success.

Well I'm not convinced he is a problem.

 

[maacoshark]

I don't know, you tell me -- how many coaches did he run out of town?

Boudreau and Oates. Hunter left before he could get run out of town. Did I miss anyone? Anyway Trotz seems to be able to work with Ovi. If Trotz is replaced will the next coach be able to work with him.

 

[traparatus]

Boudreau and Oates. Hunter left before he could get run out of town. Did I miss anyone? Anyway Trotz seems to be able to work with Ovi. If Trotz is replaced will the next coach be able to work with him.

You think that Ovechkin ran Oates out of town? I thought being incompetent and horrible at his job ran Oates out of town.