Post-Game Talk: Isles @ Caps 7:37PM (MOD WARNING POST #331 ALL MUST READ)

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Oshie was actually in the crease. Skating thru it and never touched Hakak, but if your looking for help or quick to blame others or hoping for a ref gaffe, Oshie was there.

Very smart play by Oshie. He got about as close as he could without making contact. If that was Williams he would have bumped into Halak and taken away another Ovechkin goal, furthering his campaign for the Selke.

 

[marcel snapshot]

We got out-worked and still won. Goal-tending and structure good enough to neutralize being outskated and losing puck battles. It's February, and we've had a long layoff, so it doesn't bother me at all.

But that game does highlight for me the value of Mojo and Beagle down the middle. Mojo is one of our speediest skaters and Beagle has the highest motor rate of anyone on the team - we need both against a team like the Isles. I like Richards' smarts, but unless his motor rate can rise, he might get pushed out when both Mojo and Beagle get back.

 

[amjay13]

Could see a lot of this the last 30 games. Almost every night the Caps will be playing a team who is fighting for every possible point. The Caps on the other hand will have very little motivation from night to night. Going into the season, all that mattered was how the Caps did in April. That combined with a huge division lead will likely result in many uneven performances from the Caps. As long as they ramp it back up in the last week or two of the regular season they'll be fine.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

We got out-worked and still won. Goal-tending and structure good enough to neutralize being outskated and losing puck battles. It's February, and we've had a long layoff, so it doesn't bother me at all.

But that game does highlight for me the value of Mojo and Beagle down the middle. Mojo is one of our speediest skaters and Beagle has the highest motor rate of anyone on the team - we need both against a team like the Isles. I like Richards' smarts, but unless his motor rate can rise, he might get pushed out when both Mojo and Beagle get back.

Agree with everything you said. I'd like to mention that we blocked the majority of their shots. Thumbs up to those who put themselves in front of their gunners (Alzner, Niskanen, Oshie, Backstrom, Ovechkin, Richards etc.). Thumbs up to Chorney for playing through his flu. I hope he hasn't contaminated anyone on the team though.

Richards is not going to lose his roster spot when MJ and Beagle return, Laich and Latta will be in the pressbox before Richards.

 

[twabby]

You sure you aren't watching Orlov?

I'm baffled at the heat Carlson constantly gets. He's not Lidstrom or Chara, but excellent most nights in all zones.

Carlson provides a lot of value to this team. He transitions well, is our best point guy on the PP, and has generally been very good in the playoffs. But he can be really careless at times, his defensive zone coverage isn't all that great, and his puck possession stats have been pretty poor for a #1 offensive-defenseman when compared to around the league.

Orlov isn't our #1 D so his expectations shouldn't be quite as high.

 

[Hivemind]

The officials don't read chat. Complaining about calls here is not going to correct any perceived bad calls on the ice. Complaining about officiating does nothing to further the conversation about the game, nor does it make reading these threads an enjoyable experience for anyone. Rather, it just creates more negativity and paints the fanbase as whiners.


The Capitals penalty differential is among the most balanced in the league, there's no conspiracy of bad officiating against the Capitals. Very few here complain about the borderline calls that go in the Caps' favor.

 

[hb12xchamps]

Last I checked this was a GDT on a Capitals board where Caps fans could voice their opinion about the game they are watching. I'm sure if you walked into GDT's on a majority of the other 29 teams on these boards there would be some form of complaining about officials. Does that make all of those teams full of whiny fanbases too?

I'd see your point if we were participating in a GDT on the main boards.

 

[g00n]

STOP attacking other posters. This is the FINAL WARNING many of you will receive on this. We will be issuing FORUM BANS in the future since some of you can't seem to control yourselves and FOLLOW THE RULES, even when messaged, warned, or infracted.

The rules do not forbid discussion of officiating in threads, so long as an individual poster is not "spamming" the boards with it or violating some other rule. But the rules DO prohibit users from acting as moderators and "policing" threads as if they were.

If a post violates a rule, report it and DO NOT RESPOND. If it does not violate a rule and you don't like it, MOVE ON. Get over it. You do not need to post anything, we will be fine without it.

 

[txpd]

Richards is not going to lose his roster spot when MJ and Beagle return, Laich and Latta will be in the pressbox before Richards.

Trotz loves Beagle's game which includes his face off skills and if nothing else he loves Richards' face off skills. If he can run Backstrom, Kuzy, Beagle and Richards out there as the 4 centers, he has 3 strong face off guys. He is going want that in the playoffs

 

[Calicaps]

Trotz loves Beagle's game which includes his face off skills and if nothing else he loves Richards' face off skills. If he can run Backstrom, Kuzy, Beagle and Richards out there as the 4 centers, he has 3 strong face off guys. He is going want that in the playoffs

I suspect, based on Trotz's comments about Mojo's play at 3C, that 90 will get the chance to keep that spot, but the guys you listed above will slot in for key face-offs and d-zone starts.

 

[4thTierSport]

I suspect, based on Trotz's comments about Mojo's play at 3C, that 90 will get the chance to keep that spot, but the guys you listed above will slot in for key face-offs and d-zone starts.

Sounded like MoJo was making some decent strides in the dot before his injury too. Hopefully he can keep it up.

 

[Carlzner]

You sure you aren't watching Orlov?

I'm baffled at the heat Carlson constantly gets. He's not Lidstrom or Chara, but excellent most nights in all zones.

It's just not worth responding to at this point. At this point the people who still can't see the value and importance of Carlson just aren't going to. Oh well. At least Barry and BMac do, that's all that really matters.

 

[twabby]

It's just not worth responding to at this point. At this point the people who still can't see the value and importance of Carlson just aren't going to. Oh well. At least Barry and BMac do, that's all that really matters.

I listed several reasons why Carlson is valuable, and a few things he can improve upon. Maybe you missed my post?

I give him a little more heat than guys like Orlov and Schmidt because Carlson is our number 1 guy and he needs to be better than he has played this season. He has an overall body of work that is quite good so I am confident he can turn it around, but this season has been subpar for him. It's the same reason I give Orpik more heat than others: he's paid and expected to be a first pairing guy by management and in my eyes he hasn't done a good enough job.

 

[nothingbeatshockey]

Out worked, out played, out hustled and we still took two points from a Metropolitan opponent.
Not happy with the play, but thrilled with the two points.
Not happy with the hit on Wilson, but impressed with his lack of a retaliation.
Isles quickly reaching Penguins level for dislike. Then again, maybe it's just because I read through their GDT for this game.

 

[Fugu]

The officials don't read chat. Complaining about calls here is not going to correct any perceived bad calls on the ice. Complaining about officiating does nothing to further the conversation about the game, nor does it make reading these threads an enjoyable experience for anyone. Rather, it just creates more negativity and paints the fanbase as whiners.


The Capitals penalty differential is among the most balanced in the league, there's no conspiracy of bad officiating against the Capitals. Very few here complain about the borderline calls that go in the Caps' favor.

You should preface that by saying, "In my opinion..." It is a discussion forum, and yes, fans will always discuss officiating.

He has as much right to gripe about it or consider it a factor as you do to think the opposite.

Last I checked this was a GDT on a Capitals board where Caps fans could voice their opinion about the game they are watching. I'm sure if you walked into GDT's on a majority of the other 29 teams on these boards there would be some form of complaining about officials. Does that make all of those teams full of whiny fanbases too?

I'd see your point if we were participating in a GDT on the main boards.

I would agree, though officiating threads pop up all the time on the main board too.

 

[artilector]

We got out-worked and still won. Goal-tending and structure good enough to neutralize being outskated and losing puck battles. It's February, and we've had a long layoff, so it doesn't bother me at all.

But that game does highlight for me the value of Mojo and Beagle down the middle. Mojo is one of our speediest skaters and Beagle has the highest motor rate of anyone on the team - we need both against a team like the Isles. I like Richards' smarts, but unless his motor rate can rise, he might get pushed out when both Mojo and Beagle get back.

Good summary.

Mojo has definitely looked better than Richards at 3C. At the same time, if Richards gets pushed to 4th line, he's still probably going to outperform Latta, and then maybe overall the 4th line will be more effective with Richards in the middle and Beagle's motor on wing.

Still pretty early with Richards. Guy has played what, 6 games over like a month? Should still improve..