Reasons of pathetic PK

[Chukcha]

What's the clue? Under late BB and HunterHockey our PK was decent with the same players. I have no idea why every time we're getting a penalty call it becomes a real stress for us.

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[SimplySensational]

Late Hunter Hockey PK was good because Bruins and Rags PPs suck.

 

[Blades of Steel]

Didn't we pressure the puck significantly more with hunter?

 

[Brad Tolliver]

/thread

 

[NobodyBeatsTheWiz]

Coaching and personnel.

Way too passive a box for me, when you don't have a team that's particularly good at blocking shots.

 

[Ovechkins Wodka]

Coaching and personnel.

Way too passive a box for me, when you don't have a team that's particularly good at blocking shots.

I dont think the forwards are most the blame, alot of backdoor goals and scrums are in front of the net.

i think alot is having a AHL level D vs NHL PP1s. not gonna end good

 

[Capitlols]

and coaching and general managing.

 

[SimplySensational]

I wouldn't call them passive.

Their pressuring just sucks. The timing of it, the choices of what they pressure, and worst of all how they pressure.

They go within 3 feet of players with their stick blade 4 feet away from themselves pretending like they are blocking a passing lane.

 

[WanderingCapsFan]

No Boyd Gordon.

 

[Brad Tolliver]

They go within 3 feet of players with their stick blade 4 feet away from themselves pretending like they are blocking a passing lane.

That is passive. You don't have to invent a new word for it just because you don't understand English.

 

[Hivemind]

The biggest problem is that they take too many penalties. When you keep giving the other team chances, eventually they're going to score. The Caps are 8th in the league in minor penalties. I'd be curious to see how they fare in periods where they take only a single penalty, and how that compares to the league average.

When they pressure the other team in the neutral zone, they do a pretty good job at preventing them from getting set up. The problem is when they're not effective at stopping the other team from gaining the blue line with possession. I'm not a huge fan of their wedge +1/box hybrid scheme. They put some pressure on the puck carrier, but they don't really take away the outlets or put preemptive pressure on the likely pass receivers. They need to do a better job at disrupting the other teams' formation and forcing the puck to stay along the wall.

Once the other team gains possession, the glaring weakness is down low. They're awful around the net and at preventing back door passes. Holtby is regularly hung out to dry.

 

[Halpysback*]

Same reason their ES defense sucks, commitment to passive zone defense over aggressive man to man puck pressure.

I can count the number of times other teams could get an uncontested point shot under Jones on one hand.

 

[Brave Sir Robin]

To be honest Holtby hasn't been great in PK situations either. He often gives up soft goals, and his poor rebound control doesn't help.

 

[g00n]

That is passive. You don't have to invent a new word for it just because you don't understand English.

Yup. Close enough. Watch the best PKs in the league. They pressure the puckhandler and force him to move it or turn it over if they see the slightest deviation from the normal operation of the PP, and sometimes even if they don't. Watch what other PKs force the Caps into when the Caps just stand around or become predictable.

Whatever the stats say, the Caps PK has frequently been like this for years. They're too afraid of being beaten and then leaving 5 on 3 behind them. The philosophy seems to be to survive the 2min instead of disrupting the other team's PP.

And I may be wrong because I'm just going by impressions and not film, but it seems to me that the weakside players on the PK don't pay enough attention to who's behind them. They cheat toward the puck too much instead of sagging and taking away the cross-ice pass, or staying in position to challenge the weakside. That's why you get so many of those backdoor plays, which I realize are always going to be hard to stop if the PP does its job well.

And sometimes the guys up top play too high. They don't attack the puck when given the opportunity, but they also don't drop down far enough to cover enough of the passing lanes. It's like they're trying to take away the perimeter pass, but they don't really do it that much. Maybe there's a reason for this I'm not seeing.

If there's no man in front of the net for the screen, don't worry so much about the point shot, and keep an eye on those guys on the half-wall. Let the goalie see what's coming if it's from the point. If there is a guy trying to screen, you may have to challenge the puck even more instead of collapsing to him and falling into the trap of helping the screener(s). But you can't leave the screener alone, nor can you put someone on him that just stands there and nudges him without either moving him (legally) or lifting his stick or sweeping rebounds away (which is why 55 sucks in that role). This is also why having 2 guys around the net creates so many problems for PKs.

 

[g00n]

To be honest Holtby hasn't been great in PK situations either. He often gives up soft goals, and his poor rebound control doesn't help.

His rebound control is no worse than any other goaltender in the league. Caps fans say this all the time about their goalies, because they're looking for it in the games they watch. "Rebound = mistake = unacceptable" to many. But even the best in the league give up rebounds. It's impossible not to, especially on shots low and into the pads or to the blocker side where there's no chance to just deaden and cover.

And if your defense leaves you hanging out to dry to the point where you have to sprawl to make a save, you're in no position to control the puck or where it rebounds. You're just trying to make the initial save.

 

[RandyHolt]

It goes against all natural instincts to be that passive.

It took Bruce what 3 years before he tried to switch to an aggressive style. He had instant success in a new system.

It seems almost a foreign concept to consider changing mid season.

It doesn't help that our defensemen do not play aggressive around the net, or are too small to be effective if they try. Refs swallow the whistle and let PKD be aggressive. I haven't seen a battle in front worth noting in decades though. Forwards are uncontested in front.

Nice write up goon.

 

[Roughing]

I honestly don't know how anyone can fault Holtby and/or advocate getting another tender. That kid has saved our bacon a number of times and, along with the real OV emerging, is the highlight of the season for me. I believe our G situation is in very good hands for the next decade+

IMO, Tolliver is right. It's the coaching/scheme. Granted, our Dmen aren't great but I think they're better than the results.

 

[BobRouse]

It seems that the Caps rarely can have a top PK AND PP unit at the same time.

Whenever our PP is at the top of the league our PK is usually at the bottom and vice a versa all the way back to the 80s.

Maybe there was a year or two (Oates era) where we found a good medium.

But however bad the PK is remember how good the PP is.

 

[msrulo]

The pk movement is just plain terrible. Seems like the players goal is to conserve their energy for other areas of the game. Everybody seems stuck in mainly one position, unless the opposition turns the puck over at the blue line.

 

[Foy]

PK tends to be Holtby's weak point. I also believe it's one of Neuvy's strengths. Let's just pull Holtby at the start of every PK, and put him back in when it is over.

 

[Chukcha]

Our awesome PP (RS best) in 09/10 playoffs was pathetic against the habs, as i remember, 1 for 31! So i wouldn't rely too much on PP, that's great but it doesn't help us to run deep. At the moment our terrible PK is the main concern. I don't know why our PK units aren't working hard on it, at least i don't see any improvement. The recent game against the canes was a pure demonstration. "You have the worst PP in the league? We let you improve it!" HORRORRRRRR

 

[Hivemind]

Alternative answer: John Carlson

He's been on the ice for 25 of the 33 PPGA, 9 more than any other Cap. The entire Boston team has only had 12 PPGA the entire season.

It was him again tonight, blowing the coverage of the weakside forward crashing the net. He got there too late.

 

[RandyHolt]

Carlson has been on my radar since seeing him last playoffs, giving a full effort.

He is sandbagging his way through the regular season. Fat cat disease perhaps, saving himself for the playoffs. Doesn't care. I don't know.

If we miss the playoffs, he'd be the first player I question why he didn't do more to help our cause.

 

[Stewie G]

Alternative answer: John Carlson

He's been on the ice for 25 of the 33 PPGA, 9 more than any other Cap. The entire Boston team has only had 12 PPGA the entire season.

It was him again tonight, blowing the coverage of the weakside forward crashing the net. He got there too late.

Man, those numbers are brutal. If Schultz had those numbers, I shudder to think what the board would look like.

 

[Chukcha]

PK still remaining brutal.
No improvement at all .
Al Koken is really pissing me off. Every time he asks Calle some garbage questions instead of straight one "what's wrong with our PK?"