Post-Game Talk: Um, Champs vs Left Sharks, try to stay up for it

[Blades of Steel]

We are not f***ing suck again!

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Every time I watch Kuznetsov, he looks like a 100 point superstar and top-10 player in the league.

What do you guys think of him?

He's one of the most talented players in the world. He's also very self aware and readily admits to not caring that much about every game and getting bored during the regular season which makes watching him equally fascinating and frustrating. When he's on I think he's near unstoppable.

It's no surprise the Caps finally broke through when Kuznetsov became a star. He was arguably their best player last postseason.

 

[Empty Goal Net]

Bailed after the 2nd ended with positive feelings about how the boys were playing. But also didn't want to suffer through a collapse, in case that was in the cards. Very happy with the result and the way they got there - mostly cohesive team play in the two periods I saw. Bodes well for a more-successful-than-most West Coast trip.

 

[tycoonheart]

First game this season but it is his natural position.

He is so much better as a center.

 

[RandyHolt]

He is so much better as a center.

He sure seems cut from the 3-4C mould. His niche in this league will be speed and defense. Center puts him at "home", where he should be most comfortable. He won't have the pressure to shoot as much... faceoffs smaceoffs he can learn.

My DFS lineup cranked led by Oshie, Kuzy, Ovi and Willy. I ride the hot hand, Nick or Kuz, Oshie Willy or Vrana OK or all 3, and flip coins on Eller Conno etc. As someone already mentioned its all about heart and effort. Without Alzner here to tell the media "how the hell are we supposed to get sized when we are playing carolina on a Tuesday?" folks forget how much motivation plays a part in regular season effort among the stars. Its a marathon, not a sprint. Learn it. Know it. Be it.

So, stack Caps on nights when we are facing a worthy opponent. #ShowEmWho'sTheBoss

 

[notDkristich]

I guess we weren't 'tired'. Solid win.

 

[RandyHolt]

I guess we weren't 'tired'. Solid win.

LOL. Or bored.

Me and my out of shape buddies hungover lack of sleep would lace up the roller blades come spring and play 3 hours in blazing sun with no line changes and nothing more than beer breaks every once in a while.

It's comical to think these guys are tired from playing hockey for 22 minutes the day before. And that 3 hour flight where they slept or played cards, whoppdie doo ding dong. Its not like flying to Europe arriving at 7am with no sleep and drinking/partying all day (who could do such a thing). Oh and drinking on the flight too.


With almost no incentive based contracts, incentive is often lacking.

 

[StrikingDistance]

Bura is playing really really well. For a while now.

Agreed. Same with Oshie the Albatross.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

The 2-0 win in San Jose on March 10 last season started a run in which they won 12 of their final 15 games heading into the playoffs. This year's trip is a month earlier than last year's road trip but here's hoping this west coast trip sparks another strong end of season run.

 

[Jacoby4HOF66]

Went to bed at the 2nd intermission and wondered what the final score would be. Pleasantly surprised at what I saw this morning.

Also, of the 2 periods I did watch thats the best the team has looked in a long time.

 

[twabby]

Dare I say the curse of San Jose is over? 3-0-1 the last 4 games against the Sharks including 2 regulation wins in SJ.

 

[Devil Dancer]

I didn't watch a minute of it. Does that mean I can't watch any more Caps hockey this year?

 

[Sam Spade]

Every time I watch Kuznetsov, he looks like a 100 point superstar and top-10 player in the league.

What do you guys think of him?

I think he is exactly as you have said, a top ten talent in the league.

He is also one of the most honest professional athletes you will ever come across. Zero pretense, no bullshit robotic answers, he says exactly what he believes. He has said many times that it is hard to get up for regular season games, he has said he doesn't care about points, or awards, or recognition.

This pretty much sums up Kuznetsov"

“I don’t give [an expletive] about that,” he said. “To be MVP, you have to work hard 365 [days] in a year, but I’m not ready for that. I want to have fun, and I want to make those risky plays when sometimes you don’t have a play and you guys don’t understand every time those plays. It’s not easy to make. But to be MVP in this league, you have to play even better. You have to go next level. It’s not easy. More important, you have to stay focused 365 [days], but that’s not my style.”

 

[kicksavedave]

I didn't watch a minute of it. Does that mean I can't watch any more Caps hockey this year?

Correct. Clearly, the secret mystery behind their lackluster play of late wasn't Todd Reirden, it was your channel selection on your TV. Glad we got that fixed now

 

[kicksavedave]

I think he is exactly as you have said, a top ten talent in the league.

He is also one of the most honest professional athletes you will ever come across. Zero pretense, no bull**** robotic answers, he says exactly what he believes. He has said many times that it is hard to get up for regular season games, he has said he doesn't care about points, or awards, or recognition.

This pretty much sums up Kuznetsov"

Honestly that quote sorta sums up Ovi a bit as well, although unlike Kuz he won't say it out loud. I think he could give a lot more effort in the RS than he does night in, night out, we see it occasionally but not consistently. But I couldn't care less about that if we get CS Ovi in May and June again.

 

[BallardEra]

Honestly that quote sorta sums up Ovi a bit as well, although unlike Kuz he won't say it out loud. I think he could give a lot more effort in the RS than he does night in, night out, we see it occasionally but not consistently. But I couldn't care less about that if we get CS Ovi in May and June again.

Crosby is very similar. I think these guys just realize that they are no longer 21-22 year olds running around like pinballs out there.

Now it's all about pacing and peaking when it matters.

Priorities.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

I didn't watch a minute of it. Does that mean I can't watch any more Caps hockey this year?

As long as you and Kuzy manage to care when the playoffs start, we’re good!

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

I think he is exactly as you have said, a top ten talent in the league.

He is also one of the most honest professional athletes you will ever come across. Zero pretense, no bull**** robotic answers, he says exactly what he believes. He has said many times that it is hard to get up for regular season games, he has said he doesn't care about points, or awards, or recognition.

This pretty much sums up Kuznetsov"

The difference in good and great is often desire. I’d love to see him spurred on for just one year to see what he could top out as....

Otherwise if he can half-ass it and be a PPG guy in the regular season, then kick it up in the postseason.....that’s about the level we’re paying for at $7.8.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Honestly that quote sorta sums up Ovi a bit as well, although unlike Kuz he won't say it out loud. I think he could give a lot more effort in the RS than he does night in, night out, we see it occasionally but not consistently. But I couldn't care less about that if we get CS Ovi in May and June again.

I think Ovechkin gets the self preservation thing and he’s human, but I think his desire to be great is right up there with any HOF’er EVER. Same for Sid.

 

[kicksavedave]

The difference in good and great is often desire. I’d love to see him spurred on for just one year to see what he could top out as....

Otherwise if he can half-ass it and be a PPG guy in the regular season, then kick it up in the postseason.....that’s about the level we’re paying for at $7.8.

Oh yeah, just as long as its not his UFA year

 

[Calicaps]

I didn't watch a minute of it. Does that mean I can't watch any more Caps hockey this year?

Yes

 

[43sfriends]

I think Ovechkin gets the self preservation thing and he’s human, but I think his desire to be great is right up there with any HOF’er EVER. Same for Sid.

I wanna say so, but don't you think he could have improved his stick handling a bit more over time? For an amazing player he is so weak on the puck, and that's something that the really dedicated guys seem to excel at. I get that he can't do everything and if he spends all his time practicing his shot, well you can't really argue with the result.

I'd say Ovi and Kuzy both have the desire to be great but neither is willing to go all out; they want to play the game on their terms. For Ovi that means being a one man wrecking machine with the league's best shot, and for Kuzy it means vision and creativity and not always making the simple, effective play. Compare that to someone like Kucherov, who doesn't have the natural talent but clearly studies the game immensely and works extremely hard to improve all the details of his game.

 

[Midnight Judges]

Every time I watch Kuznetsov, he looks like a 100 point superstar and top-10 player in the league.

What do you guys think of him?

He's not a top 10 player because he is not consistent enough. People make it sound like that is some small thing but it's like, kind of important.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

I wanna say so, but don't you think he could have improved his stick handling a bit more over time? For an amazing player he is so weak on the puck, and that's something that the really dedicated guys seem to excel at. I get that he can't do everything and if he spends all his time practicing his shot, well you can't really argue with the result.

I'd say Ovi and Kuzy both have the desire to be great but neither is willing to go all out; they want to play the game on their terms. For Ovi that means being a one man wrecking machine with the league's best shot, and for Kuzy it means vision and creativity and not always making the simple, effective play. Compare that to someone like Kucherov, who doesn't have the natural talent but clearly studies the game immensely and works extremely hard to improve all the details of his game.

It’s hard to say. I think we all want to believe these guys can become great at anything they want to, but maybe they can’t.

I disagree with you lumping in Ovy and Kuzy together. Better to lump Kuzy in with Semin at this point in the effort/all-in category. (92 with the advantage of course)

Also, I see an extremely talented guy in Kucherov, not some limited talent guy that has crawled his way to the top with only hard work and film study. That’s crazy. This is one of the most talented guys on the planet.

 

[maacoshark]

It’s hard to say. I think we all want to believe these guys can become great at anything they want to, but maybe they can’t.

I disagree with you lumping in Ovy and Kuzy together. Better to lump Kuzy in with Semin at this point in the effort/all-in category. (92 with the advantage of course)

Also, I see an extremely talented guy in Kucherov, not some limited talent guy that has crawled his way to the top with only hard work and film study. That’s crazy. This is one of the most talented guys on the planet.

Kucherov is definitely very talented. My only issue with his game is that he can be lazy on the back check. Infact quite often he doesnt come back into the defensive zone. It is something that can be hidden when playing for a strong team. It would be more noticeable if he was playing on a mediocre team.