- Feb 15, 2005
- 5,090
- 3,755
Good post jsykes - Schultz played well vs. the Ducks. What it reinforces to me is the importance of a team’s mindset and how that affects individual play. No one is ever going to call Jeff Schultz a hard-nosed, physical D guy, but he showed a bit more grit and was noticeably less passive in the games he played vs. the Ducks. No doubt he realized that he had little hope of being in that lineup as even a marginal guy unless he played a more assertive, tenacious game - which he did (though he had nowhere to go but up in those departments). The crap he (and others) get away with in this organization was simply not tolerated on the Kings.
Watching the Kings run this year just affirms how far, far away the Caps are from displaying the level of mental toughness, tenacity and ability to cast off adversity that the Kings (and to a lesser extent the Black Hawks and Rangers) showed to be necessary to sustain a deep playoff run. In game after game, the Caps default to taking the easy way out, relax as soon as they have any success (and thereby negate that success), and fold in the face of adversity. Unless and until a serious and substantial effort is made to overhaul the collective mental attitude of this team, there seems little point in investing much hope (or ticket money or attention span) in this group.
Watching the Kings run this year just affirms how far, far away the Caps are from displaying the level of mental toughness, tenacity and ability to cast off adversity that the Kings (and to a lesser extent the Black Hawks and Rangers) showed to be necessary to sustain a deep playoff run. In game after game, the Caps default to taking the easy way out, relax as soon as they have any success (and thereby negate that success), and fold in the face of adversity. Unless and until a serious and substantial effort is made to overhaul the collective mental attitude of this team, there seems little point in investing much hope (or ticket money or attention span) in this group.
