GDT: Pens @ Caps - 3/10/14 7 PM

[Kegger]

Personally, i don't think Green is any more deficient than usual...what stands out is that he is not jumping up into the play nearly as much as he use to he's not scoring goals, which boils down to coaching. That is what he excels at. He's being misused, miscoached. I bet other teams would trade for him/sign him too without even flinching, BB for instance...

Green needs to be on PP1, he needs to be allowed to jump into the play more. Its all in how you use the player. He practically leads Caps blueliners in rel CF and SF, and we need to be using that to our advantage. Sadly I dont think we are.

 

[Blades of Steel]

yeah when the canucks come to town there will be plenty of empty seats.. ive noticed it as well. hell my buddy and myself used to buy season tickets and split the cost and sell the games we didnt want to go to or couldnt attend. after last season we stopped that noise, this team isnt worth paying to see. I already pay enough to comcast to watch them on t.v.

 

[hb12xchamps]

Personally, i don't think Green is any more deficient than usual...what stands out is that he is not jumping up into the play nearly as much as he use to he's not scoring goals, which boils down to coaching. That is what he excels at. He's being misused, miscoached. I bet other teams would trade for him/sign him too without even flinching, BB for instance...

Green needs to be on PP1, he needs to be allowed to jump into the play more. Its all in how you use the player. He practically leads Caps blueliners in rel CF and SF, and we need to be using that to our advantage. Sadly I dont think we are.

These are great points. I think we are undervaluing Green even with his poor play lately. His best years were when BB was here and that's because Bruce developed him and coached him based on his strengths. If Green became available, I'm sure the Ducks would be one of the first teams to call on him.

 

[Blades of Steel]

These are great points. I think we are undervaluing Green even with his poor play lately. His best years were when BB was here and that's because Bruce developed him and coached him based on his strengths. If Green became available, I'm sure the Ducks would be one of the first teams to call on him.

I agree.. It's just pitiful to watch Green get hammered over and over in a game, usually leading to turn overs or poor defensive plays. He needs to be paired with someone that can cover and protect him. Right now hes fair game all over the ice and it shows.

 

[RandyHolt]

I think Green has to stand up for himself at this point.

The next guy that tries to crush him, cross check him on approach. Back to the boards, and let it rip right up under the chin. Take a major even. Get suspended. Serve notice. Or, hit them first.

Until he protects himself, injuries and turnovers should be expected. While he has made progress on being better bracing himself for hits, and not being exposed so much, we all saw he was just destroyed vs Philly.

And is likely now injured.

 

[malyk]

It's funny, but the only defenseman who seems willing to go below the tops of the circles is Alzner. He'll rush the puck, dump it into the corner, and chase it. Very rarely do any other defenseman do that. They get over the blueline, and if the don't have a play, they dump it into the corner. Orlov does it a handful of times a game.

That makes me believe that the defensive system doesn't allow them to attack with the puck. Occassionally there will be a rush where Carlson or Green or Orlov jump in, but if they are the ones carrying the puck over the blueline they almost never skate the puck wide into the zone.

It's frustrating because you have a potentially dynamic player in Green tied down to outlet passes and dump ins. You have Orlov, another dynamic player doing the same...and playing in the same pairing as green. Let those guys play their game a bit, and teach the late forward to be defensively responsible, and you'll generate more chances. As it is now you have people who don't work the boards well having to fight for a puck in the corner...which they never seem to win (unless chimera/ward are on the ice)

 

[RandyHolt]

It's funny, but the only defenseman who seems willing to go below the tops of the circles is Alzner. He'll rush the puck, dump it into the corner, and chase it. Very rarely do any other defenseman do that. They get over the blueline, and if the don't have a play, they dump it into the corner. Orlov does it a handful of times a game.

....

Agreed 100% and I have seen the same thing under Bruce. We almost always have had our very defensive LDs taking the big offensive risks, more than our uber offensive RD's.

Over and over. It used to kill me seeing Sarge Erskine Hannan etc trying for aggressive keep ins, while our RD's would rarely to never contest.

We are doing it exactly backwards. With Hillen and Orlov in the fold, at least we have some O on that left side. Alzner is ready to take on more offensively IMO. But then its often Green the only guy back, sorry but its like he cannot even play a 2 on 1 correctly anymore. Or, a Carrick - these are our stay at homers.

Its crazy.

 

[hb12xchamps]

Green doesn't have a mean streak in him. If he knows he is going to constantly get targeted on hits then why not change his offseason workouts to add muscle? He just seems to weak to me

 

[RandyHolt]

Green doesn't have a mean streak in him. If he knows he is going to constantly get targeted on hits then why not change his offseason workouts to add muscle? He just seems to weak to me

Agreed and maybe even worse, mentally weak. I concede its tough to know you are going to get crushed every night. But eventually, you gotta hit back. If he is not going to do it clean, its gotta be dirty.

He had been known to throw 1 or 2 massive hits every year, but those days are long gone. He targets no one to be hit.

It appears he just hopes the bullies will move on to someone else. Can you imagine how he is going to get targeted in a 7 game series vs Philly? It will be hard to watch.

 

[hb12xchamps]

Agreed and maybe even worse, mentally weak. I concede its tough to know you are going to get crushed every night. But eventually, you gotta hit back. If he is not going to do it clean, its gotta be dirty.

He had been known to throw 1 or 2 massive hits every year, but those days are long gone. He targets no one to be hit.

It appears he just hopes the bullies will move on to someone else. Can you imagine how he is going to get targeted in a 7 game series vs Philly? It will be hard to watch.

Oh I agree. It was hard watching the last two games against Philly. It was bad when teams knew he had concussion issues and still targeted him high. A change of scenery would do wonders for Green in my opinion.

 

[g00n]

It's funny, but the only defenseman who seems willing to go below the tops of the circles is Alzner. He'll rush the puck, dump it into the corner, and chase it. Very rarely do any other defenseman do that. They get over the blueline, and if the don't have a play, they dump it into the corner. Orlov does it a handful of times a game.

That makes me believe that the defensive system doesn't allow them to attack with the puck. Occassionally there will be a rush where Carlson or Green or Orlov jump in, but if they are the ones carrying the puck over the blueline they almost never skate the puck wide into the zone.

It's frustrating because you have a potentially dynamic player in Green tied down to outlet passes and dump ins. You have Orlov, another dynamic player doing the same...and playing in the same pairing as green. Let those guys play their game a bit, and teach the late forward to be defensively responsible, and you'll generate more chances. As it is now you have people who don't work the boards well having to fight for a puck in the corner...which they never seem to win (unless chimera/ward are on the ice)

We don't have to guess why they do this. We know. We've known since last year. It's Oates.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs.../adam-oatess-ray-bourque-rule-for-mike-green/

This season, Coach Adam Oates certainly encourages Green to be involved offensively, but he’s placed some restrictions on the two-time Norris Trophy finalist. Oates doesn’t want Green below the top of the faceoff circles, as CBC’s Elliotte Friedman first noted in his weekly 30 Thoughts column.

Call it the Ray Bourque rule, if you will. Oates always respected the Hall of Famer defenseman’s ability to contribute offensively while still being a sound defensive player during their time as teammates in Boston. He wants to give Green the same type of structure and allow for the Calgary native to be in better position to distribute the puck in breakouts and offensive zone entries.

 

[Mothra]

all these reasons why 52 is an ineffective player....and none seem to point back to him....

his peak was a long time ago now.....he hasnt been that player in years. Even in the short season last season he wasnt a game changing type of player

no one even seems to think that the league has figured out how to play him....he is great example of a player that needs some room to operate...teams just dont give him an opportunity to do that anymore. He still has yet to learn how to avoid hits better...at times he seems to set himself up to be hit. No partner can protect him from himself. Then of course, he makes dumb decisions way too often and just seems to be...well....stoned, thats no joke.

Look at his pinch at the start of the 2nd the other day. This lead to a penalty, i think on Laich....what was 52 hoping to gain from his pinch? What was the play he was hoping to make?

52 getting nearly 23 minutes a game is just a big problem

 

[caps4cup]

all these reasons why 52 is an ineffective player....and none seem to point back to him....

his peak was a long time ago now.....he hasnt been that player in years. Even in the short season last season he wasnt a game changing type of player

no one even seems to think that the league has figured out how to play him....he is great example of a player that needs some room to operate...teams just dont give him an opportunity to do that anymore. He still has yet to learn how to avoid hits better...at times he seems to set himself up to be hit. No partner can protect him from himself. Then of course, he makes dumb decisions way too often and just seems to be...well....stoned, thats no joke.

Look at his pinch at the start of the 2nd the other day. This lead to a penalty, i think on Laich....what was 52 hoping to gain from his pinch? What was the play he was hoping to make?

52 getting nearly 23 minutes a game is just a big problem

Yeah I wouldn't call a Dman scoring at a 28 goal, 61 point pace a game breaker... Ya know because all those other Dmen scoring at a goal per game are so much better. Jeez. Some of the hatred and scapegoating going on here is unbelievable. The simple fact of the matter is Mike Green is an elite offensive Dman but is average defensively. He is what he is. Without him we don't have a Dman that can score over 40 points. How many good teams don't have a good offensive Dman? He would be better if he had a better partner to play with but he sure as hell isn't a problem on this team, let alone the biggest. The problems are we need another top pairing Dman and a solid 3rd pairing Dman. And Holtby/Halak to step it up. They both can be top notch goalies if they play the way they're capable of, but that's not happening right now.

And when I say he's not a problem, I am not saying he doesn't make fatal errors at times. That's the kind of Dman he is. He is still valuable, but I will definitely take the good with the bad.

 

[malyk]

We don't have to guess why they do this. We know. We've known since last year. It's Oates.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs.../adam-oatess-ray-bourque-rule-for-mike-green/

Yup. Forgot about that reporting.

I think it really ****s with the offensive guys heads. They have to create before they get into the zone or it's dump it and stay back. Dumb to limit guys like that. Teach them to pick their spots better, but don't cut the ice down to 140 feet long with a hard rule.