Series Discussion: Round 2 (Caps vs Penguins) 2016 Playoffs (Pens fans, read note in OP)

Status
Not open for further replies.

EroCaps

Registered User
Aug 24, 2003
18,026
1,636
Virginia
Sorry, I just have a hard time believing guys like Bryan Rust, Sheary, and Kuhnackle(sp) are going to have their way with Holtby.

Get your OT pants ready.
 

Bladerunner

Registered User
Aug 12, 2009
3,223
1,465
N VA
Also popping in here to say hello, and good luck. Hopefully it's a clean series, and let's be honest, the winner of this one is going to move right along by the atlantic division to the Stanley Cup Final. :laugh:

Should be a good one.
Yes.
Even before the Metro semis were over I thought the EC playoff champ will most likely be the winner of the Metro final.
 

Bladerunner

Registered User
Aug 12, 2009
3,223
1,465
N VA
Rangers thought that as well. I hope Wilson and co. run around. Give the Pens lots of PP chances and it may not be a long series. Either way good luck. If the Pens can't win I'd like to see Ovie get a cup.
You're comparing Caps and Rongos even up? :huh:

Wilson and co. can dish out heavy hits w/o necessarily going to the box :)
 

Fallschirmyager

Registered User
Jun 25, 2009
5,481
866
I'm not certain how far anyone is from starting and I don't much care. Pittsburgh has three goalies who suck. We're going to score at will and punch their best players in the nose repeatedly.

I was more worried about Philly than I am Pittsburgh.

Their goalies don't suck. I believe this series will come down to which defense can slow down the opposing offense more. I believe we can win this series too if we show up and do the work without taking a game off like game 4. We can play the hitting game but it has to be under control. Don't get out of position to make a hit.

Caps in 4. They shock everyone.

Your mouth to God's ears.
 

Bladerunner

Registered User
Aug 12, 2009
3,223
1,465
N VA
You (and some others) are going way ahead of things.

Lets win one game first.
What does Lets win one game first have to do w/my comment.

I included the Pens as most likely to be EC playoff winner if they advance. Now if Bolts were very healthy...
 

Corby78

65 - 10 - 20
Jan 14, 2014
11,705
7,875
Ramstein Germany
This is THE series IMO. The round we can't pass, vs the hated rival, vs the hottest team. If the caps win this round they are into the cup finals, the pens are the best team left in the east. I'm sure they want to get that crappy end of the year loss out of the way too.

Put up or shut up time for Ovie and Nicky
 

SpinningEdge

Registered User
Feb 12, 2015
7,719
3,492
Fairfax, VA
Honestly, if Caps beat Pittsburgh I'd be so happy that this season would already not be a disappointment for me.

Yes, Stanley Cup is the ultimate goal and what I really want.... but getting to rd 3 by beating the Pens would at least make me not think Caps just choked again, can't get over some demons, 2nd rd woes, etc. Basically, if Caps beat Pitt then all that can really happen is me being more and more happy as the playoffs go on. My happiness towards the team would just be house money at that point.
 

HecticGlow

Registered User
Mar 14, 2016
1,585
1,094
Europe
What concerns me about the 65-92-14 line is actually whether or not they'll stand up defensively against the Pens - in their latter regular season scoring drought they weren't that strong defensively.

I'm reluctant, too, to break up the top line when it's just found its groove again - although splitting up Ovi and Backstrom, if they can continue to score, would be very useful in terms of match ups.

I'd like to see more of MJ and Beagle together, and less of them with Chimera. Given the offensive chances Winnick has been creating of late, I wonder what a Winnick-X-Burakovsky line would be like? I don't want 65 there if he'll be a liability, but imagine if he's the guy Winnick could pass to...

This team has enormous depth and talent - it's just not clicking. Some of that's on Trotz (what did MJ do to deserve being paired with Richards?!) and some on the players (hey, second line.). I really hope they figure out what isn't working between now and game 1, because we will lose if Trotz takes a 'stay the course' approach to our lines.

Defensively we were as sharp as we've ever been - and credit to Schmidt to seamlessly transitioning back into that top-4 role, and players like Oshie and MJ stepping up. Offensively we were blunt like we haven't been all year. Pray for power plays (in our favour)...
 

66-30-33

Registered User
Jan 24, 2006
62,616
15,644
Victoria, BC
Pens fan here. Looking forward to this series, it's going to be heart attack inducing! Hope we have a great series, one for the ages! Let's ****in GOOOOOOO!
 

Sam Spade

Registered User
May 4, 2009
27,484
16,207
Maryland
Caps really need to keep a physical game like they did agains the Flyers. Hit, hit, hit. Wear them down, get them banged up and bruised up.

Caps only need to hit one guy, over and over. Kris Letang.

Hitting is good and yes it wears down the oppo, but getting Letang off his game needs to be strategy one. Just as every team did to Green every year. Letang is the engine, they have to wear him down.

Honestly it is the only chance I think the Caps have as the Pens are firing on all cylinders right now.

I also think the best thing for the Caps would be MAF coming back because Murray is a damn good goaltender.
 

txpd

Registered User
Jan 25, 2003
69,649
14,131
New Bern, NC
Want Oprik back. Hope they win game 1 and go from there. No talk about winning the series or advancing past this round. Just win the 1st game. Then we can talk about g2.
 

Slappy

Registered User
May 29, 2007
398
0
So, what do the Pens lines look like? I haven't followed them closely enough to know.

Assuming that Crosby and Malkin play on different lines, how would you match up with them? Strength on strength? I'm guessing that's the way Trotz is going to go matchup-wise.
 

Acallabeth

Heart ablaze
Jul 30, 2011
9,936
1,233
Moscow
It's good that we're playing them. Stay physical and disciplined, target Letang, do not sleepwalk, and we'll win.
I certainly expect the 2nd line to look better than in the 1st round.
 

DeadPuckEra

Registered User
Dec 19, 2014
1,298
670
So, what do the Pens lines look like? I haven't followed them closely enough to know.

Assuming that Crosby and Malkin play on different lines, how would you match up with them? Strength on strength? I'm guessing that's the way Trotz is going to go matchup-wise.

Not sure about match ups but a good summary of the Penguins is a team with four lines who score on a regular basis. They've had 3-4 young guys step in this year and surprise everyone with their play. They are a deep team.

Line 1 has Crosby
Line 2 has Malkin
Line 3 has Kessel

Pens D is average at best. Lovejoy and Cole can be exposed heavily IF the forwards aren't doing their thing. Matta gets torched often due to skating ability. Letang, Daley and Dumolin are tough however.

Goaltending has been rock solid.



Pens are small. The capitals using their size will be critical to their success. With that said, the Pens are fast and typically haven't had problems with bigger, heavier teams. The playoffs are a different animal, so whether they can still remain elusive to physical teams is TBD.
 

4thTierSport

Registered User
Feb 15, 2009
8,830
1,399
Pens:
• Their offense and defense is their transition. A lot of winging/lofting the puck up the ice. Control that and it's manageable. Murray is pretty good, but the defense in front of him is thin and not consistent. It's made more to get the puck up the ice then to actually defend.
– Rangers lost a lot of speed and had no real offensive threat to test the Pens defense. Hank looked awful to boot.

Not sure about match ups but a good summary of the Penguins is a team with four lines who score on a regular basis. They've had 3-4 young guys step in this year and surprise everyone with their play. They are a deep team.

Line 1 has Crosby
Line 2 has Malkin
Line 3 has Kessel

Pens D is average at best. Lovejoy and Cole can be exposed heavily IF the forwards aren't doing their thing. Matta gets torched often due to skating ability. Letang, Daley and Dumolin are tough however.

Goaltending has been rock solid.
Kessel has been second line and really don't see that changing. More likely to see Bonino moved down and Kessel/Malkin on the second line.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad

-->