The Crow Buffet

[txpd]

Eh, this was a "show me" year. Trying to find my personal crow but I always said it was mental and they had enough talent if the coaching adjusted. I suppose maybe calling for Bura to be in the press box? That did seem like the call at the time, and he was indeed scratched, but he got his act together after that.

I think almost all of us were wrong about Gruby starting the Cbus series, but it was corrected and luckily Holtby got back into form.

I don't remember the consensus being that Holtby should have started the playoffs.

 

[Corby78]

Eh, this was a "show me" year. Trying to find my personal crow but I always said it was mental and they had enough talent if the coaching adjusted. I suppose maybe calling for Bura to be in the press box? That did seem like the call at the time, and he was indeed scratched, but he got his act together after that.

I think almost all of us were wrong about Gruby starting the Cbus series, but it was corrected and luckily Holtby got back into form.

I wouldn’t call that wrong (grubs/holtby). Grubi was the hot goalie going in. Glad we went back to holtby, but at the time I think it was correct

 

[ovikovy817]

I am happy to be one of those 13 who said that I won't Trotz to be fired back in February

 

[Cush]

Orpik: hated the terms of the contract due to injury concerns
GMBM: Thought he would end up being GMGM clone. Wanted someone form outside the organization.
Trotz: another coach who couldn't get past the 2nd round joining a team who couldn't get past the 2nd round

 

[John Price]

I didn't see Holtby coming back that strong.

Lot of people criticized Trotz and his line up changes but it's a long season. In the playoffs he made mistakes and learned from them and counteracted them. Ie starting Grubauer, putting Holt instead. Starting DSP when Wilson was suspended, putting Vrana instead.

I didn't really see the need to worry like everyone else, I was just a bit concerned about the goaltending and that was it.

--------------

Also I didn't really imagine us beating anyone after columbus. Arguably the Caps were underdogs in every series after that, and won them all. No way I saw that coming.

 

[twabby]

Things I was way wrong about:

1. Trotz. I didn’t think he would change his ways but he did. He adjusted, outcoached some pretty good opposing coaches, trusted the youth for the most part, and pushed all of the right buttons.

2. Orpik/intangibles in general. Not much more so say. I’ve been dogging him for a long time and he came through in a big way.

3. Wilson. Never thought he’d amount to more than a 3rd liner. Now he produces at a top 6 clip along with delivering in every other area of the game.

Plenty of other things too, but those are the big 3.

I think I got some other things right: Orlov, I liked the Kempny and Jerabek acquisitions from day 1, having faith in Kuznetsov living up to his contract.

 

[Hivemind]

That the team had tuned out Barry Trotz. Obviously not the case.

That Barry Trotz couldn’t adjust and couldn’t formulate effective neutral zone schemes for playoff hockey. Proven 100% wrong during the Penguins and Lightning series.

That if this team ever won the Cup, it would be on the backs of Braden Holtby. Don’t get me wrong, Holtby still carried the load and was my personal pick for the Conn Smythe. But the rest of the team stepped up huge when they had to.

That Chandler Stephenson wouldn’t amount to anything more than a marginal player. He stepped up huge in the first two rounds, and even if ends up being a flash in the pan he more than carried his weight when he had to.

That Tom Wilson was an offensive black hole. He managed to hang in there with 8 and 92 and had a few golden moments in the O Zone during the run.

That Matt Niskanen was an overpaid power play specialist. I dropped this opinion quite a while ago, as it was a pretty reactionary claim I formed immediately after his contract (which was likely also colored by my opinion of the Orpik contract). But Nisky has been worth every penny and become one of the most underheralded D in the league.

That it doesn’t make sense to invest in a backup goaltender, because if your starter is underperforming you’re doomed anyway. Just about everyone aside of txpd eats crow on this one. Grubauer bailed this team out when they needed him, and was a huge part of them even reaching the playoffs in the first place.

That they should fire Barry Trotz. Oops.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

@apollo71426 ; @Mr Gone

Where are you guys?

 

[Ridley Simon]

I was wrong on:

Tom Wilson. I was “off” of him all last year, and wanted him exposed this past summer to George (thought we’d keep Schmidt then....)

Brett Connolly. Thought he was the ultimate “stat grabbing winger” who couldn’t do anything when it mattered, and was a playoff turd.

John Carlson. I’ve called him lazy and a knucklehead for a few years. He stepped up huge.

I was right on:

This team. I said coming into the playoffs that I thought this was their best “team” I had ever seen. Due to emerging studs and their youth/speed coming on. I felt it.

Barry Trotz. I was one of the 13 in the polls that didn’t want him fired.

GMBM. I was thrilled he was resigned, and have been very supportive of his moves, including this past summer.

I am sure there are others for me on both sides, but these 3 stick out on both sides for me.

 

[Silky mitts]

I was wrong on:

Tom Wilson. I was “off” of him all last year, and wanted him exposed this past summer to George (thought we’d keep Schmidt then....)

I forgot how pissed I was at Wilson after game 2 vs Columbus.

Trotz started Jerabek and Grubauer at the beginning of the playoffs, moved up DSP during Wilson’s suspension hurting 2 lines, had Carlson in Ovy’s spot at the end of r3g4 and it cost them the game, I don’t know what he did in the playoffs that makes him a better coach than he was other sticking to the 1-1-3.

 

[Nice]

Thought Orpik was a burden and we'd never win with him in the lineup. Now I don't think we win the Cup without him.

I also thought there was no hope of going anywhere after last year. Started to believe again after game 3 in Columbus. I'm pretty gullible.

 

[BobRouse]

I have no crow to eat. At least not that I can remember.

I’m starving though and being a team player I’ll eat some crow for anyone who has excess

 

[ovikovy817]

Same here

I always liked the team the moves by gmgm. Didn't want to move orpik because he sucks or fire Trotz or trade Holtby
Not criticizing the big players when they were not at the top of their games

 

[kicksavedave]

I have no crow to eat. At least not that I can remember.

I’m starving though and being a team player I’ll eat some crow for anyone who has excess

Same here

I always liked the team the moves by gmgm. Didn't want to move orpik because he sucks or fire Trotz or trade Holtby
Not criticizing the big players when they were not at the top of their games

Fanboys!

 

[Midnight Judges]

Massive helping of crow for me on Trotz. I wanted him fired. I thought he was a "what you see in the regular season is what you get in the playoffs" coach forever. That seemed to have been the case in the past. He was slow to adjust.

This year Trotz was masterful. Pushed all the right buttons, made all the right adjustments. He seemed to be getting the most out of every player. The offense looked more organized. The team played a brilliant transition game. The offensive guys were buying into the defensive responsibilities. The defensemen were pinching at all the right times and not taking big risks.

Trotz seemingly had his team getting way more odd man rushes than opponents. They were smart physical, not reckless physical.

Everything was perfect. Amazing job from Trotz and his staff.

Boy do I feel dumb.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Eh, this was a "show me" year. Trying to find my personal crow but I always said it was mental and they had enough talent if the coaching adjusted. I suppose maybe calling for Bura to be in the press box? That did seem like the call at the time, and he was indeed scratched, but he got his act together after that.

I think almost all of us were wrong about Gruby starting the Cbus series, but it was corrected and luckily Holtby got back into form.

I actually don't think we were wrong. Holtby had been a mess for an entire calendar year at that point and Grubi carried the team for parts of this season. Grubauer earned the right to start and I think it was beneficial for Holtby to be able to sit and watch for a little while.

 

[Ridley Simon]

I actually don't think we were wrong. Holtby had been a mess for an entire calendar year at that point and Grubi carried the team for parts of this season. Grubauer earned the right to start and I think it was beneficial for Holtby to be able to sit and watch for a little while.

I tend to agree. What if Holtby started and we lost those 2 games anyway? Would Holts have rebounded? Would Grubs have come in and won?

For all we know, Holts needed to come in an be the saviour. That may have been what righted his personal ship.

 

[marcel snapshot]

I expressed a lot of worry about Ovie's ability to lead the team - due to years of playing in the D zone w/o moving his feet, the puck fumbling/declining stick-handling/predictable move-doing, the decline in separation speed, and the brooding bummed out vibe that would emanate from him when things started to go wrong. It was all sort of there on display in Game 1 vs CBJ - and then poof it was gone. Hmmm crow - good. I did acknowledge early in this year, however, that the team was in the hunt chiefly because Ovie was putting them on his back and he was showing a different kind of leadership this year than he had before.

I was equally skeptical of Trotz's ability to adjust to his opponent's strengths and to find ways to neutralize or eliminate our weaknesses. The stronger, 5-man team D shown toward the end of the regular season and throughout the playoffs, the consistent ability of the team to play crisply with pace (especially out of the D zone and in the neutral), whatever adjustments Trotz and co. made to the PK (which was awful early in the CBJ series, and problematic early in the Pens and in the Bolts' series - and got better toward the end of every series), and the coaching brilliance of Game 6 vs Pittsburgh all entitle me to a crow whopper.

I loved the idea of Orpik, his heart, and his leadership - but I thought he was a broken down old man who had just become too physically compromised to be at all effective. In fact, he actually was the thing we used to joke about here - a leader of men.

 

[VaCaps Fan]

Orpik was amazing and really kept himself rested for the playoffs!

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

My biggest pile of crow is with Trotz. I questioned why he was back as coach this year with my reasoning being if he couldn't get past the 2nd round with the roster he had the past two years, why in the world would we expect him to do better with a worse roster? He had been thoroughly outcoached in most of the playoff series that he's coached in for Washington... why would we expect him to magically be able to learn and adjust now?

Welp, I was dead wrong. His tactics in the playoffs were simply brilliant. He lost his top two centers for significant periods of time at different points and the team didn't skip a beat. The special teams continued to adjust and were major positive differentiating factors and his lineup decisions were nearly flawless, minus keeping DSP up on the 1st line for too long. He was one step ahead every time and it was amazing to witness so I will eat some serious crow there.

 

[artilector]

There are many players whose performance during this run exceeded my expectations. Did I think it was possible for guys like Ovi, Holtby, Oshie, etc, even Trotz, to have this kind of impact/success during a run? Yeah, but all at the same time? Heck no!

Even some guys that I was always (very) optimistic on, e.g. Kuz, Wilson, Vrana, pretty much outperformed the hell out of my expectations.

The one guy I'd say I'll unequivocally eat crow for is Orpik. Every year I thought the wheels might fall off, every year he kept on trucking. Kind of like Orlov, at times he can get exploited on defense, but it's manageable, and the stuff that he does well has made it worth it.

With respect to the guys that outperformed expectations, I (once again) think major credit is due to the guys that burst onto the scene and injected much needed speed into the lineup.

I don't know if Ovi, Kuz, Backstrom, Oshie could have this kind of playoff-long performance without Wilson moving mountains of mortal flesh, and without Vrana keeping the rocket fuel flowing. Or if Orpik/others could've handled increased top-4 minutes with the same vigor if Kempny didn't come out of nowhere to be a stud back there. Or if the 4th line would perform those heroics without Stephenson boosting those cast-iron engine blocks. Caps were starving for speed for a long time, and this year they got it, to go along with all the other stuff they pretty much already had.

 

[marcel snapshot]

What I really give Trotz credit for is Orlov's development. That's something that would have been so easy to mess up, because Orlov has frequently been the epitome of the high-risk, high-reward young D guy. There were many times - including in these playoffs - where a Trotz could have consigned him to the doghouse, and there are plenty of old school no tolerance for big mistakes regardless of your upside coaches that woulda dog housed him.

Trotz has been really patient with Orlov, and as a result Orlov has never lost one of his best qualities as a player: he plays with pace and with no f***ing fear ever. And this team sorely needed that. I think Trotz realized that, and it's part of the reason Orlv's leash got longer - and so he never lost confidence in what he does best, which is to step up on guys, play aggressive on your toes D, and push the hell out of the pace when he has the puck.

 

[Ridley Simon]

I just still simply cannot believe that our WASHINGTON Capitals WON the freaking Stanley Cup'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good Lord!!!!!!

 

[RandyHolt]

I was quietly down on Ovi a year ago, after picking up 2 big fat minuses in our final game vs Pitt. Like taking candy from a kid... only it was a kid taking candy from an Ogre. But it was clear this year he was different, and the rest is history. You cannot float your team to a cup.

I am glad Barry called those kids out.

 

[g00n]

I always look at guys like DSP, Connolly, Vrana, Bura, etc with the idea "maybe that guy is the one who pots the huge goal in a big playoff game". Does the player have that potential? Then it's worth the investment.

I was hardest on Trotz for some of his methods but you can never be sure how things will pay off in the long run.

The big questions with BT were obviously 2nd round barrier, youth development, and in-series/game adjustments in the playoffs. There was no reason to believe he would break through this year other than, as I noted, possibly having nothing to lose if this was indeed his last season behind the bench. I advocated going for it. Keep hitting. Let them suspend guys, who cares. Keep pushing.

Well, as noted in the Cbus series he put a lot of those fears to rest, at least for me. BT is now a legendary coach in DC, and it's well-earned.

I didn't think the talk about promoting from within were realistic before the playoffs, but now it makes sense if BT retires. I wouldn't blame him.