Slava Malamud rips into Ovechkin/Caps

[jetsfan91]

zero goals scored for the Washington Capitals in game 7. Never past the second round in Ovechkins career despite multiple presidents trophies, and several divisional wins. Simply put the core including their captain and leader Ovechkin don't rise to the occasion when it matters. Great goal scorer but please show up when it matters. The "team game" is a tired excuse Washington has been good enough to win a cup the last years and have fallen way short.

 

[The Toews Era*]

He called him literally sexy twice.

In any case, a metaphor in and of itself is fine. But this one just kind of went on and on in a really awkward way.

Fair enough

 

[Samuel Culper III]

Meh, over emotional because of the close proximity to the Caps failure, but hyperboles aside it's not that far off the mark. Just my $.02

 

[Scandale du Jour]

The only thing I agree with is that the Caps catter too much to Ovechkin and are the reason why he is mostly unidimensional.

I however won't question his heart, desire to win and talent.

 

[Teppo]

I am trying to convince Slava to sign in on here and join this thread.

"I used to be on it. Let them have their say, I've had mine"

 

[Cult of Hynes]

I mean he wasn't totally off.

 

[WTFMAN99]

I mean he wasn't totally off.

Leonsis does cater to Ovechkin a lot. I loved Ovechkin when he broke into the league but never evolved really. Now lately he's that one time from the side, looks lazy, and slow 5v5.

Backstrom seemed like the best offensive threat at 5v5.

 

[Semantics]

The problem isn't Ovechkin, it's everyone else, the fans, media, management. People expect him to carry the team, but he can't. He's a goal scoring winger. Like Kessel, or Laine. That archetype cannot carry a team the way a two way center or defenseman can, even if he's the best of all time what he does.

Unless Ovechkin changes positions, he is never going to have the impact on the games of a Crosby, Getzlaf, or Karlsson.

 

[VoidCreature]

And he can be held accountable. But there's accountability for the things that are under his control (his own play) and there's hot-takey "Alex Ovechkin playing like crap caused the Caps to lose this series and he's proven that he's a loser who can't lead a team to a championship because he doesn't have "the will to win" or some other mealy-mouthed, fungible nonsense that media and observers love to use to prop up retroactive narratives because a well-woven story that flows sells better than accepting that Ovechkin and multiple other important players played poorly and the team lost because multiple parts of the machine broke down, not just one single individual."

This is especially shoddy because it's almost entirely reputation driven. If the Caps lose, it's all on Ovechkin being a loser. If the Sharks lose, it's because Joe Thornton is a choker. The Blackhawks got swept but nary a person proposed that there are cracks in the armor of the otherwise-bulletproof Jonathan Toews. This is then made worse because we go from a reputation being informed by results to that reputation being used to justify results. Ovechkin is a loser because the Caps lose, but then the Caps lose because Ovechkin is a loser. It's circular reasoning at its finest.

This isn't basketball. One player does not make or break a team by his play, no matter who he is, how big his contract is, or how important he is to the scheme by which the team plays.



Even the hottest of hot takes generally has some kernel of truth at its core. But a single beautiful diamond covered in 10 tons of refuse is still fundamentally indistinguishable from any other landfill.

This would be a valid argument if Ovechkin actually played well. He didn't. It's obviously not all his fault, but he didn't help his case at all tonight.

 

[molon labe]

Leonsis does cater to Ovechkin a lot. I loved Ovechkin when he broke into the league but never evolved really. Now lately he's that one time from the side, looks lazy, and slow 5v5.

Was it coaching or just a cheap way of systematizing his game by really relying on that point shot? Rivalry aside, my biggest rip against the Caps is their sheer questionable physicality then relying on a strong PP themselves. Always wondered why they didn't rely more on a transition game to allow Ovi to showcase his moves. Not sure he's got them anymore - as I do not watch WASH games during the season - but whenever we meet up it seems to be the same thing - and that's set up Ovi at the point at whatever cost whilst holding or bashing the bejesus out of the opponent.

 

[tacogeoff]

Meh. Fluery shut the door tonight. Ovi had one chance and was robbed by fluery on a great save. The whole team was a let down.

 

[WTFMAN99]

Was it coaching or just a cheap way of systematizing his game by really relying on that point shot? Rivalry aside, my biggest rip against the Caps is their sheer questionable physicality then relying on a strong PP themselves. Always wondered why they didn't rely more on a transition game to allow Ovi to showcase his moves. Not sure he's got them anymore - as I do not watch WASH games during the season - but whenever we meet up it seems to be the same thing - and that's set up Ovi at the point at whatever cost whilst holding or bashing the bejesus out of the opponent.

You need to be a multi-dimensional scoring thread. Crosby scores from EVERYWHERE, he's always a threat. It's why I feel like the Leafs are lucky with Matthews, he can rip a shot just fine, but he's also got ridiculous hands in time to finish things off, there is a bit of Sid in him.

 

[molon labe]

The problem isn't Ovechkin, it's everyone else, the fans, media, management. People expect him to carry the team, but he can't. He's a goal scoring winger. Like Kessel, or Laine. That archetype cannot carry a team the way a two way center or defenseman can, even if he's the best of all time what he does.

Unless Ovechkin changes positions, he is never going to have the impact on the games of a Crosby, Getzlaf, or Karlsson.

..A point often forgotten and almost precise. One of the reasons I picked the Leafs to give them fits in the first round - which they ended up doing to a point.

 

[Knave]

Is Patrick Kane a center?

 

[sincraft]

Careful everyone. If you stare directly into the hot take you might go blind.

I don't care who it is, hockey is not a game that is won or lost on the back of a single player. If Ovechkin plays poorly it certainly doesn't help the Caps win, but it doesn't make them lose.

This is the same ridiculous nonsense that has been hung around the neck of Joe Thornton for his entire career too. The media likes a scapegoat because bagging on a single player for not having some vague "it" makes for saltier sports journalism than accepting that sports contests and playoff series are complex affairs that are driven by a hundred different variables that can't be isolated and turned into 500-word narratives in service of getting more eyeballs.

Agreed. If OV had a history of being a participant in the finals , having a negative / lazy attitude during a game may set the tone for some less experienced guys but that's just not the case here. Caps have some great talent on their team INCLUDING the goalie. Game 7 the Caps still outmanaged the puck over the Pens with their passes but for whatever reason let themselves fall apart in the 3rd period. 2 goals seems like a lot but if game 6 should have taught them anything, it was that they could have easily gotten then pens off their game and dominated with some hard work. Hockey is an odd sport with a hive mentality. OV may be wearing a letter on his shirt but that's isn't an L or a W which most decidedly dictates the outcome of the game. Oh and I would be HAPPY to trade OV for Malkin ANY DAY. Malkin fan just confuse me. Sure he has moments that wow people but what you don't see is the puck hog, poor work ethic that is Malkin. Or his horrible back passing skills at the worst times which have lost many games for us or at the very least put us on our heels.
I'm a pens fan obviously, but told myself I would be cheering for the caps to win it all if they closed out the series tonight.
Don't give up hope. Look at what the pens were before they picked up Mario.

 

[molon labe]

Is Patrick Kane a center?

Are you implying that it was Kane who drove the Blackhawks to success with all the pressure on his shoulders?

Or are you asking a rhetorical question?

 

[sincraft]

You need to be a multi-dimensional scoring thread. Crosby scores from EVERYWHERE, he's always a threat. It's why I feel like the Leafs are lucky with Matthews, he can rip a shot just fine, but he's also got ridiculous hands in time to finish things off, there is a bit of Sid in him.

The very nature as to how hockey is played today kills some of the the super star from showing up. Hooking will get you a penalty if egregious, and depending on how closely the refs are calling the game however smacking a guy in the shoulder then arm then wrist then leg and several other times as he's trying to take the puck to the net, never draws a penalty. Meanwhile, guys are so much faster than they were prior so collisions in certain circumstances have guys flinching , esp the stars as they are often targeted.
I love 4 on 4 hockey. Stretches things out a bit.

 

[hototogisu]

The problem isn't Ovechkin, it's everyone else, the fans, media, management. People expect him to carry the team, but he can't. He's a goal scoring winger. Like Kessel, or Laine. That archetype cannot carry a team the way a two way center or defenseman can, even if he's the best of all time what he does.

Unless Ovechkin changes positions, he is never going to have the impact on the games of a Crosby, Getzlaf, or Karlsson.

Honestly, this is such a silly argument and just more excuse-making. You say "like Kessel" with no apparent hint of irony, despite the fact that Kessel, a winger, damn near won the Conn Smythe last year. Or like how Justin Williams, a winger, won it two years ago. Or Patrick Kane before that.

Besides, we're way past the point of asking Ovechkin, a helpless winger, to "carry his team". This isn't 2007. He doesn't have to "carry" a team like the Capitals. They have (had) elite goaltending, great defense, and plenty of scoring beyond #8. But it sure would help them if he delivered when it counted the most.

It's sheer ridiculousness to claim a guy who can score 40-60 goals routinely in the regular season is powerless to help his team when it matters most, I don't care what position he plays.

 

[Rocket of Russia]

Careful everyone. If you stare directly into the hot take you might go blind.

I don't care who it is, hockey is not a game that is won or lost on the back of a single player. If Ovechkin plays poorly it certainly doesn't help the Caps win, but it doesn't make them lose.

This is the same ridiculous nonsense that has been hung around the neck of Joe Thornton for his entire career too. The media likes a scapegoat because bagging on a single player for not having some vague "it" makes for saltier sports journalism than accepting that sports contests and playoff series are complex affairs that are driven by a hundred different variables that can't be isolated and turned into 500-word narratives in service of getting more eyeballs.

This guy gets it...

 

[Scandale du Jour]

Is Patrick Kane a center?

He has Keith and Toews with him. The team isn't built around him even though he is their best player. Their strategy never was based on Kane. Very bad example. Put Ovechkin on the Hawks and he is a 3-time Cup champ too.

 

[Boxscore]

Are you implying that it was Kane who drove the Blackhawks to success with all the pressure on his shoulders?

Or are you asking a rhetorical question?

I think what they are getting at is...

As a winger, Kane has a Conn Smythe on his shelf and came up huge multiple times during Hawk Cup championships.

A star winger can have a major impact but they need to be able to get it done when the pressure is on and it counts the most. So far, Ovechkin hasn't been able to do that.

 

[Fantomas]

He's a known name in the Russian hockey press.

No he isn't.

 

[Rockomax]

Lost in game 7 against a top team and everyone loses their minds
lol

Not the point. They underachieve every year come playoffs time. Expectations were not met for what, about 10 years now?

 

[Boxscore]

He has Keith and Toews with him. The team isn't built around him even though he is their best player. Their strategy never was based on Kane. Very bad example. Put Ovechkin on the Hawks and he is a 3-time Cup champ too.

And Ovechkin has Backstrom, Kuznetsov, Williams, Oshie, Johansson, Carlson, Shattenkirk with him. Let's not pretend Ovechkin isn't surrounded by elite talent. The Caps have won the President's trophy 2 seasons in a row.

 

[WTFMAN99]

The very nature as to how hockey is played today kills some of the the super star from showing up. Hooking will get you a penalty if egregious, and depending on how closely the refs are calling the game however smacking a guy in the shoulder then arm then wrist then leg and several other times as he's trying to take the puck to the net, never draws a penalty. Meanwhile, guys are so much faster than they were prior so collisions in certain circumstances have guys flinching , esp the stars as they are often targeted.
I love 4 on 4 hockey. Stretches things out a bit.

What are you talking about? Leon has been doing amazing in a series against the Ducks, even if they lose tonight.

Star players can show up.