GDT: Rangers at Capitals Game 2

[msrulo]

Just watched the replay and it looked like Johansson missed a wide open net because he wasn't staring at the net. He had his head down staring at the puck.

MoJo needs to work on having his head up when he's on the ice. That could seriously be dangerous, and he could miss opportunities like the one last night... No Eric Lindros please.

 

[BrooklynCapsFan]

Wait, Laich is back??

And yeah... Backstrom had a rough first game, but he was fine this game. He doesn't deserve to be called out at all.

He goes cold sometimes too.

I know, he's human - sometimes it is unbelievable (no sarcasm intended)

He's not, I was responding to the idiot notion that Backstrom should be scratched.

 

[Vladiator16*]

I would think the worst player sits for Laich. And that player was, by far, 19 for BOTH game 1 and game 2.

Don't be ridiculous, you do not sit your best playmaker, even though he hasn't played the way he really can. That would be like Hunter and OV situation last year.

 

[Ovechkins Wodka]

Don't be ridiculous, you do not sit your best playmaker, even though he hasn't played the way he really can. That would be like Hunter and OV situation last year.

he missed scoring a goal yesterday by an inch if that puck that got past lundy finds the net none of this talk would be happening.

 

[caps4cup]

Backstrom is fine. He's the last player I'm worried about, even after 2 of the worst games of his career. He will come back and play great tomorrow night, helping us to a 3-0 series lead.

 

[Vladiator16*]

he missed scoring a goal yesterday by an inch if that puck that got past lundy finds the net none of this talk would be happening.

**** it then, send him to the minors!

 

[RandyHolt]

Don't be ridiculous, you do not sit your best playmaker, even though he hasn't played the way he really can. That would be like Hunter and OV situation last year.

Dale wouldnt have scratched Ovi of course. Point taken though. And Nick wouldn't be scratched, either.

Ovi is averaging just under 20 minutes TOI in this series. Padded with plenty of PP time IIRC.

Almost Hunter like numbers. I can't remember Ovi's TOI under Dale in the playoffs but suspect it was around the same. OT really kills bothering to do research.

 

[tycoonheart]

Ovi lead all our forwards in TOI in the regular season.

 

[RandyHolt]

Rocket Richard certainly earned top TOI this year. But in this playoffs Nick and Troy have logged a little bit more.

Last year, only F's Nick and Laich led Ovi.

3rd in playoff TOI both years, but last years OT's / and PPs both years make the numbers all but meaningless to compare.

Dale did use him less than all fans wanted.

 

[txpd]

i love how people love consequences. backstrom: 3rd in the nhl in assists. top 10 in scoring. ovechkin's running mate.

so....what? scratch him? demote him? give perreault his ice time?

what's the value in that?

 

[txpd]

Dale wouldnt have scratched Ovi of course. Point taken though. And Nick wouldn't be scratched, either.

Ovi is averaging just under 20 minutes TOI in this series. Padded with plenty of PP time IIRC.

Almost Hunter like numbers. I can't remember Ovi's TOI under Dale in the playoffs but suspect it was around the same. OT really kills bothering to do research.

yup....hunter returns. ov is 36th among forwards in ice time. less than tyler bozak. less than...gulp....nicklas backstrom. hell....less than troy brouwer. dang.

 

[brs03]

Wow, Caps don't have anyone in the top 30 in ESTOI/game. Not like the games have been dominated by special teams' time... Oates must really be rolling his 4 lines.

 

[RandyHolt]

4th line is averaging about 10 per game so he is rolling 3.5 lets say.

I assume TOI on NHL.com does not differentiate between games with OT, and without.

Oates likes to roll his lines and his dpairs. He is not sheltering his bottom pair either. They will be put to the test WRT last change in NY.

Dale was all about the matchups while Oates is closer to Bruce... I suppose.

Oates has impressed to no end. Sure the shiny new coach has all the eager beavers ears but his handling of Green and Ovi deserve a shout out, among other things. He keeps calm and seems to know the right things to say.

I have seen a presumed PK adjustment - can anyone see anything different? I seem to see Fehr a lot more lately.

Al May said Oates changed up the PP, rolling 2 point men to force the Rags to adjust before rolling back to the brella. And he seems to swap out guys from PP1 without it missing a beat. Erat Ferh MP all sneak into PP1. We dont really have a PP2, do we?

Flash on PP1 vs Montreal drove me bonkers, on an unrelated note to why we sucked on the PP vs them.

He does not horde his timeouts.

 

[Calicaps]

Wow, Caps don't have anyone in the top 30 in ESTOI/game. Not like the games have been dominated by special teams' time... Oates must really be rolling his 4 lines.

This is a strategy that expects winning. Playoffs are a marathon not a sprint. And the competition gets tougher not easier. You roll 4 lines as long as you can, get 8, 19, 90, 20, 10, 9, etc... as much rest as possible for as long as possible.

 

[BrooklynCapsFan]

This is a strategy that expects winning. Playoffs are a marathon not a sprint. And the competition gets tougher not easier. You roll 4 lines as long as you can, get 8, 19, 90, 20, 10, 9, etc... as much rest as possible for as long as possible.

The advantage to the strategy is obvious as early as game 2 in OT. NY had no answer at all for Ribeiro/Erat on the boards. It was sad almost.

 

[txpd]

Dale was all about the matchups while Oates is closer to Bruce... I suppose.

Oates has impressed to no end. .

i thought that you hated that bruce didnt match lines and loved that dale did. youve changed your mind now? rolling lines impresses you?

my guess is that you like more ice time for your tough guys than more line matching. right?

besides, torts uses such a short bench that if oates matched with him, the caps would only use half their players....eh?

 

[Calicaps]

The advantage to the strategy is obvious as early as game 2 in OT. NY had no answer at all for Ribeiro/Erat on the boards. It was sad almost.

Yep. Also really shows the confidence. 0-0 late. A win means a 2-0 lead and a loss means a best if 5 series. But no panic. No rush to play to Ovie til he drops. Stick to the plan. Be patient. Keep working. Roll the lines. Win.

 

[caps4cup]

Rags fans are getting all worked up about Holtby and how our team is so cocky. Go take a look at their game 2 post GDT for a good laugh

 

[artilector]

As far as line matching goes, it could just be that the Rangers aren't good enough to make it worthwhile for the Caps to match lines, lol. Plus the Caps have neither a shutdown line nor really the personnel for a 3rd line like that at the moment, at least until Laich comes back. With the current lines it's not even clear which one is the best/worst defensively, so what is there really to match?

On the other hand, it does seem to me that the Caps are matching up D-men, with Carlson and Erskine being to the go-to shutdown pair. If that's the case it seems quite likely that Oates is not averse to matching lines -- when it is necessary and when he has the personnel for it.

 

[RandyHolt]

Art is right. We don't even have a checking line

And fact is Oates has given shutdown assignments to players, aka shadows. Specifically Hillen, when a favorable matchup is there. And with 2 good dpair assembled, he ostensibly does use shutdown pairs. No, Carlson does not need to be with Alzner; Green needed a partner first.

It took Bruce 2-3 years before he tried something different. We are only but 2 games into Oates's first test, so its a little early to pass judgement.

Tex trying to talk tough whiffs again.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

I would think the worst player sits for Laich. And that player was, by far, 19 for BOTH game 1 and game 2.

Let the madness stop already....

 

[Kegger]

Let the madness stop already....

No doubt. About the only move i "might" consider would be Laich in for Hendricks or Beagle and even that I am not sure about. I would not want Laich replacing anyone in the top 9 thats for sure. Think at this point Sepan is doing his job to best neutralize Backstrom, though both are taking a hit on the offensive side of their game.