Pretty sure nobody has brought that up already...
Who was the 4th top 4 team and where did the Pens rank?
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Pretty sure nobody has brought that up already...
Who was the 4th top 4 team and where did the Pens rank?
NJ was the 4th; if they get NHL goaltending they could have been something, maybe...
Pens were 15th in the league. Got to the top by shooting better (/luckier, depending on your perspective) than anyone in the league other than TOR. Underwhelming D compared to the others might be a big part of that, too...
(note, those rankings are for "close" situations, which I think is +/- one goal in the 1st two periods or tied in the 3rd)
Yeah I am looking at Behind the Net now and there doesn't seem to be a 'total' number. There is tied, +1, +2, -1, -2, and close.
Caps were 2nd best in the league up 2, wooooo!!!!!
Pretty sure nobody has brought that up already...
Who was the 4th top 4 team and where did the Pens rank?
Haha, oh by the way...LA, Chicago, and Boston were all in the top 4. Sorry j/k.
Pens ranked 15th (but most of the season were without a lot of their starters right?) still higher than the Capitals.
Yeah I am looking at Behind the Net now and there doesn't seem to be a 'total' number. There is tied, +1, +2, -1, -2, and close.
Caps were 2nd best in the league up 2, wooooo!!!!!
Haha. Yes! Get a big lead and crush it. They do it that way, because obviously the ice tilts if a team is trying to mount a comeback and loading up a desperate amount of shots etc....
Yeah I am looking at Behind the Net now and there doesn't seem to be a 'total' number. There is tied, +1, +2, -1, -2, and close.
Caps were 2nd best in the league up 2, wooooo!!!!!
stats.hockeyanalysis.com is where I go for that (since you can easily get SF% and CF% too)...
An "overall" number wouldn't be that useful anyways, though. Score effects throw it all out of whack. And scored-adjusting is a bit of work.
(That said, being good with a lead is nothing to sneeze at. Hate teams that take the foot off the gas, and if Oates actually isn't one of those coaches then cool).
ChibiPooky
Yay hockey!
Two things. One play does not make a trend, and do you think the Ovechkin we saw in the playoffs in 2008 and 2009 resembles the Ovechkin we saw in the playoffs the last 2/3 years or especially this past series?
Is still feel that the top-6 will have more success if they play Laich-Ribeiro-Ovechkin together and Erat-Backstrom-Brouwer.
The first line should probably be handed favorable o-zone starts, while the 2nd line can go against the other teams top line.
Laich can handle Ribs faceoffs and help Ovi bang bodies on the forecheck, more then MoJo will at least. And judging by what we saw from the 2nd line in the playoff Ribs need a top finisher to be successful.
Erat-Backy-Brouwer are all defensively responsible and should have a nice blend of skill to compliment each other. It also takes some offensive production responsibility off of Backstrom which should benefit him and give him the chance to cycle the puck once in a while since both Ovi and MoJo suck at it.
Re-signing Ribeiro won't be as hard if Mojo is traded for help at 2LD (Luca Sbisa?) and Schultz and Ward's contracts are terminated.
A 3rd line with Chimera-Perreault-Fehr is totally fine with me and some combo of Hendricks, Volpatti, Beagle, Latta, Mitchell, Wilson, UFA? On te 4th line.
The first line should probably be handed favorable o-zone starts, while the 2nd line can go against the other teams top line.
Laich can handle Ribs faceoffs and help Ovi bang bodies on the forecheck, more then MoJo will at least. And judging by what we saw from the 2nd line in the playoff Ribs need a top finisher to be successful.
Erat-Backy-Brouwer are all defensively responsible and should have a nice blend of skill to compliment each other. It also takes some offensive production responsibility off of Backstrom which should benefit him and give him the chance to cycle the puck once in a while since both Ovi and MoJo suck at it.
Re-signing Ribeiro won't be as hard if Mojo is traded for help at 2LD (Luca Sbisa?) and Schultz and Ward's contracts are terminated.
A 3rd line with Chimera-Perreault-Fehr is totally fine with me and some combo of Hendricks, Volpatti, Beagle, Latta, Mitchell, Wilson, UFA? On te 4th line.
ChibiPooky
Yay hockey!
Ribeiro-Brouwer seemed to have some chemistry together even at ES. They just bled chances against, so the fact that both of them scored a ton is significantly dampened by the fact that they gave just about every one of those goals back to the other team.
I'd wonder if it's the system (and maybe matchups) rather than the players, but that's been Ribeiro's MO for like 4 years now and lines 1 and 3 didn't have that issue.
I don't have much problem splitting up Backstrom and Ovi. Ribeiro isn't the guy to do it with, but whatever stopgap they do plug in might do a little better there than with, say, Erat-Brouwer.
I'd wonder if it's the system (and maybe matchups) rather than the players, but that's been Ribeiro's MO for like 4 years now and lines 1 and 3 didn't have that issue.
I don't have much problem splitting up Backstrom and Ovi. Ribeiro isn't the guy to do it with, but whatever stopgap they do plug in might do a little better there than with, say, Erat-Brouwer.
I've never thought Backstrom and Ovechkin actually had chemistry. They're just two good players playing together. Ribeiro probably isn't a good option for Ovechkin though. I still think Ribeiro works much better with grinders, and he's shown more chemistry with Joel Ward than with anyone else on the team. Too bad they can't play together.
RandyHolt
Keep truckin'
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Its tough to have Chemistry with the old Ovi who largely cherry picked and drove in one and one and shot at every chance. With the new Ovi, Nick can have better relations with.
Chemistry is like leadership, if it looks good to the fan it's true.
Chimera MP Ward had good chemistry.
It's actually not science, just 3 dudes that work well together; a logically constructed line. A LW C and RW, imagine that.
Chemistry is like leadership, if it looks good to the fan it's true.
Chimera MP Ward had good chemistry.
It's actually not science, just 3 dudes that work well together; a logically constructed line. A LW C and RW, imagine that.
hb12xchamps
Registered User
I just don't see a soir for him being a right twig, even if we DID have the Cap space. So no?
Anybody think ference would leave Boston after this year. Could he be a potential Carlson or green partner?
I'd say chemistry is a tier above leadership science-wise. Different players have different things that come more naturally to them. Ovechkin is by far at his best from the red line out rushing north-south. Backstrom is a slower east west player. Ovechkin is at his best with the puck. Backstrom is at his best with the puck. Disconnect right there. Someone who plays north-south effectively (be it through speed or timing or willingness or whatever), is good at defense, and has enough top 6 skills that Ovechkin's plays don't die on their stick (but who also knows to defer to Ovechkin) would be a good bet for having chemistry with Ovechkin. Zubrus from when he was here. Not the fastest guy but still played a very effective north-south game because of how good he was on the forecheck. Vermette seems to fit the bill for potential candidates, Weiss too, Plekanec if canadiens entertain moving him. Potentially Grabovski but he's a puck hog so I wouldn't be as sure there. It's pretty much why Vermette, Malhotra, etc had ridiculous chemistry with Nash despite not being the best players, and Ovechkin is a fairly Nash-type player at least in broadest terms.
Just look at how Bylsma was able to utterly sap the chemistry from his roster despite having a pile of all-stars to work with while Julien got far more out of Marchand, Jagr, Horton than one would normally expect. Iginla-Malkin-Neal was practically a case study of how to do the least with the most. We do have a pretty serious chemistry problem and McPhee seems like he doesn't take play styles into account in the slightest when getting players, as long as they're a "#2C" or a "physical winger" or a "defensive defenseman" that fills an open spot at the inventory.
Speaking of players fitting, Ward seems to be as good if not better on LW than on RW. Hopefully Oates can get past his L-R worship and uses that to fix our RW jam while easing our LW deficiency.
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That's why I want Vermette as well. Has the two-way ability to play with the defensively deficient high-end skill players on the Caps roster and brings leadership that they lack as well.
Vermette and klesla for johansson and neuvirth makes too much sense and thus probably won't happen.
I bet it's andrew ebbett or some similar reclamation project (not that there is much to reclaim there)
If we're dumpster diving Lombardi could pay pretty good dividends as a reclamation project if he comes cheaply and regains his pre-concussion form.
RandyHolt
Keep truckin'
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@Halpy I heard JoeB say Ward likes LW. A guy being on his off wing is fine as long as it simply works for him. As long as he can assist in the breakout, he is doing the same thing at RW or LW, which for Ward is heading to the boards to battle.
Oates seems a bit of a stickler for sticks on boards for Fs more than other coaches.
Maybe it is a critical part of his vaunted system, knowing where a guys forehand will be. But I still wonder about a system that takes 25 games to learn. Its only hockey and they all how to play. Bruce's system was implemented overnight and the system was, go play.
Oates seems a bit of a stickler for sticks on boards for Fs more than other coaches.
Maybe it is a critical part of his vaunted system, knowing where a guys forehand will be. But I still wonder about a system that takes 25 games to learn. Its only hockey and they all how to play. Bruce's system was implemented overnight and the system was, go play.
Wonder if we could trade Brouwer and sign Bickell for similar money to replace him. Get assets (Brouwer seems like a player teams would overpay for), shift RW overload to help at LW while getting bigger, and get a guy who has consistently looked great in the playoffs every year. His career numbers aren't exactly stellar and he's a bit dumb but the same held/holds true for Brouwer.
If we simply plug playoff performers anywhere we can it should pay off eventually. Right?
If we simply plug playoff performers anywhere we can it should pay off eventually. Right?
fedfed
@FedFedRMNB
InjuredChoker
Registered User
Bickell-Nicky-OV
Erat-Ribs-Ward
MaJo-Perreault-Fehr
As a basic idea, lines can be changed ofc. Trade Laich somewhere. Or MaJo if no takers but then it would be tight with the cap. Or if they let Ribs walk then that is solved.
Guess it could work.
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