Post-Game Talk: Washington Capitals @ Buffalo Sabres 7:00 PM ET NBCSN,SN1,CSN-DC+

[hockeykicker]

Wow didn't get to see it tonight but I dont care whether we stunk it up or played great, take the two points and move on.

 

[EroCaps]

I've been pleasantly surprised by Kuz two way game and defensive consistency.

I don't get some of the vets, with their Cuplessness and short career lifespans not showing up and giving 100%.

If OV can do it after yesterday there's no excuse for the 3rd line being absolute ****.

Oh, and Green blows.

 

[troyerlaw]

Brouw is a good piece to have. He may not be an offensive force but he's a great 2-way player

Wow, i don't see that at all. Once upon a time, maybe. But today he is not a 'great' anything. He had some egregious turnovers today, and he is the king of the statistical hit.

Just enough of a bump to count as a hit, not enough of one to do any potential damage to his own body, nor even to inconvenience his opponent temporarily.

I see such a chunk of dead weight smack in the middle of our roster. When someone does show up with speed or skill (Kuz) or reliable finishing (GlenX), it is a radical contrast to those around them.

I can't wait for return of Beagle and Orpik and, if there is a God, Bura. I don't think we'll go far with the lineup we saw tonight. Grinder-heavy lineup that wasn't doing much actual grinding.

The little guy, Conner, impressed me. Not much speed or effectiveness on the backcheck, but quick and creative in offensive zone. Good at driving net with puck, and good at collecting puck from crowd of bigger guys behind net (exact opposite, in that regard, from Mojo).

Ward, Chimmer and Laich were brutal tonight.

Schmidt has been sketchy about tying up and moving bodies from in front of net.

Lindback was excellent for Sabres.

Green played quite well for us, IMO. He nearly ended it in OT, as did Ovie.

Gleason's puck management scares me a bit. But i guess he is still upgrade over Hillen, due to his size, toughness and experience.

 

[hockeykicker]

Alex Prewitt ‏@alex_prewitt 45s45 seconds ago
Kuznetsov said he recently made a concentrated effort to shoot more, after "Ovi yell at me every day."\


a wake up call maybe?
Alex Prewitt ‏@alex_prewitt 43s43 seconds ago
Trotz on Ovechkin's 22 shot attempts, a season-high: "I’ve got guys on the team who don’t have 22 attempts in the month."

 

[Bananas]

All kidding aside that was a very important win for us. Not many more softies on the schedule. We're gonna find out what this team is made of sooner rather than later. Very encouraged by Holtby and Kuznetsov. Outside of Orpik and Nisk, who have proven their mettle, those two are real keys moving forward and both are really impressing me this year. Especially Holtby obviously. The team needs to trim some fat for sure, but strides have been made in year one of GMBM...

Ramp it up over the last eleven and give a team or two some hell in the PO's god willing...

 

[tycoonheart]

 

[Langway]

I don't get some of the vets, with their Cuplessness and short career lifespans not showing up and giving 100%.

IMO they're just not that bright/good. When they're not playing like their hair is on fire they're just not effective. That says something...hopefully the front office begins to understand the clear limitations of such all-effort players.

They don't anticipate the play a step quicker and the lack of that up front is a clear weakness. Their 4-on-4 options outside of 8/19 and 22/92 were pretty ugly. At least with Glencross you're getting a player that can sort of slow/control the play at times unlike the vast majority of the rest of their grinder roster fodder. It's going to be essential that they realize that hockey sense and effective motors are harder to play against than blind effort "two-way" grinders. If that isn't emphasized in their personnel decisions and in their eventual developmental priorities then they'll very likely remain in the mediocre Calgary stage.

 

[Devil Dancer]

The Caps just won back-to-back games in which #8 had zero points. I'm good with that outcome regardless of who they played and how it looked.

 

[BrooklynCapsFan]

So slick. Hoping this is a springboard game for 92.

He had a great game against the Rangers the other night too. I have a hard time watching him on nights like tonight though, he's fearless and goes to the tough spots and he looks like he might weigh 170. I've never been concerned for a player's safety like I am with him.

 

[artilector]

He had a great game against the Rangers the other night too. I have a hard time watching him on nights like tonight though, he's fearless and goes to the tough spots and he looks like he might weigh 170. I've never been concerned for a player's safety like I am with him.

I think a lot of it actually has to do with confidence. You can see there are a few times when he puts his head down and goes in with the mindset that "I am going to get this puck" -- and he looks ok, maybe he'll lose 60% of the battles at this point, but he doesn't bounce off people or anything.

I think he's still being cautious about committing himself 100% on plays, and that could very well be a smart thing to do.

But anyway, he has time to put on muscle -- he seems to have a decent frame, so why not? I always mention Datsyuk in this context, who seemed pretty frail in his early years.

It's too bad we've only seen him with grinders so far.. although maybe the upside is that it'll lead to him shooting more, so that when he does get a more creative/sniper linemate, he'll be able to contribute in a more balanced way.

 

[NobodyBeatsTheWiz]

He had a great game against the Rangers the other night too. I have a hard time watching him on nights like tonight though, he's fearless and goes to the tough spots and he looks like he might weigh 170. I've never been concerned for a player's safety like I am with him.

I'm not particularly worried about it. His skating is so good that it's nearly impossible to get a clean shot on him. He's slippery.

It's really a joy to watch him in full glide. In my estimation, he's by far the best skater on the Caps and elite league-wide. Reminds me of Fedorov how effortless it is.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

I think mojo is right there with him. . They're both fun to wiatch wind it up with a little space in the neutral zone.

 

[PuckBuddy]

Reminds me of Fedorov how effortless it is.

Man. I made precisely that comparison while watching the game today; not a drop of wasted energy.

I like him playing on a line with a hockey player too.

 

[Raikkonen]

I'm not particularly worried about it. His skating is so good that it's nearly impossible to get a clean shot on him. He's slippery.

It's really a joy to watch him in full glide. In my estimation, he's by far the best skater on the Caps and elite league-wide. Reminds me of Fedorov how effortless it is.

Boris The Blade

 

[Raikkonen]

At least with Glencross you're getting a player that can sort of slow/control the play at times unlike the vast majority of the rest of their grinder roster fodder. It's going to be essential that they realize that hockey sense and effective motors are harder to play against than blind effort "two-way" grinders. If that isn't emphasized in their personnel decisions and in their eventual developmental priorities then they'll very likely remain in the mediocre Calgary stage.

A plus for the ones who made the decision about acquiring CGX. Maybe we'll see better decision making from pro scouting from now on.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Thought Johansson played well tonight, like he received the message from Trotz. Fast, aggressive, and decisive. He's a useful piece when he brings it like that. Glencross has been a fantastic addition. I wouldn't be opposed to bringing him back.

Brouwer was god awful. Possibly the worst game I've seen him play. Ditto for Chimera, Ward, and Laich. Conner was a nice little spark plug. Someone should have coached him along the way to lean into the defender some more on that wide break in and try to draw more penalties.

Loved seeing Ovie go after Weber. I know that's Wilson's job but when you see 8 take on someone it has to be good vibes in the locker room.

What more can be said about Kuz? I've been leading his bandwagon for a while. He's going to develop into that top 6 forward we desperately need.

 

[RandyHolt]

Ovi telling Kuz to shoot more.

That is our development program in two words

Glencross makes some nifty plays with the twig. He looks like 2nd line talent to me. Sure in a league where there are enough skill players to fill every top 6 league wide proper, we can call him a 3rd liner.

 

[BobRouse]

Wow, i don't see that at all. Once upon a time, maybe. But today he is not a 'great' anything. He had some egregious turnovers today, and he is the king of the statistical hit.

Just enough of a bump to count as a hit, not enough of one to do any potential damage to his own body, nor even to inconvenience his opponent temporarily.

I see such a chunk of dead weight smack in the middle of our roster. When someone does show up with speed or skill (Kuz) or reliable finishing (GlenX), it is a radical contrast to those around them.

I can't wait for return of Beagle and Orpik and, if there is a God, Bura. I don't think we'll go far with the lineup we saw tonight. Grinder-heavy lineup that wasn't doing much actual grinding.

The little guy, Conner, impressed me. Not much speed or effectiveness on the backcheck, but quick and creative in offensive zone. Good at driving net with puck, and good at collecting puck from crowd of bigger guys behind net (exact opposite, in that regard, from Mojo).

Ward, Chimmer and Laich were brutal tonight.

Schmidt has been sketchy about tying up and moving bodies from in front of net.

Lindback was excellent for Sabres.

Green played quite well for us, IMO. He nearly ended it in OT, as did Ovie.

Gleason's puck management scares me a bit. But i guess he is still upgrade over Hillen, due to his size, toughness and experience.

I agree with pretty much all of this.

Brouwer had several bad turnovers and he is simply not getting shots towards the net much these days.

I thought Fehr was about our worst player. If Chimera didn't exist that is. Fehr looked like he was hurt or sick. Worst game I've seen him play in years. I'm glad Trotz benched that line essentially.

Gleason is better than Hillen. He manages the puck better than Erskine did. You can do alot worse for a 6D I guess.

I'm not particularly worried about it. His skating is so good that it's nearly impossible to get a clean shot on him. He's slippery.

It's really a joy to watch him in full glide. In my estimation, he's by far the best skater on the Caps and elite league-wide. Reminds me of Fedorov how effortless it is.

Everytime he had the puck with some speed I thought he was going to score. Super crafty stickhandler too.

Loved seeing Ovie go after Weber. I know that's Wilson's job but when you see 8 take on someone it has to be good vibes in the locker room.

.

I haven't read throught the thread but....is it just me or was it strange that Weber dropped his gloves, threw a series of punches and yet only got 2 minutes for roughing? I still don't understand how we ended up short handed there.

 

[RandyHolt]

Wait Webber only got a minor? Can you imagine the fallout if someone threw open fist punches at S1ds face and got a minor? Canada would implode.

That should have been a major or even my fav the triple minor, and Ovi maybe a double. Maybe offsets since Ovi was clearly angered at the hard hit on Nick.

Our team really really really needs to figure out that Ovi cannot be our goon, for he is our team.

 

[BobRouse]

Wait Webber only got a minor? Can you imagine the fallout if someone threw open fist punches at S1ds face and got a minor? Canada would implode.

That should have been a major or even my fav the triple minor, and Ovi maybe a double. Maybe offsets since Ovi was clearly angered at the hard hit on Nick.

Our team really really really needs to figure out that Ovi cannot be our goon, for he is our team.

Not only that but Weber could have gotten a penalty on the strange play on Backstrom. That didn't look like a clean play and Joe B and Locker said it was illegal.

All Ovie really did was hug him just to let him know he was there. How he got 4 minutes I don't know.

Weber could have easily had 7 minutes there.

 

[um]

weber did nothing wrong to Backstrom, Locker's homerism is getting to you.

 

[stanleycaps18]

Agree, I thought the hit wasn't clean either.

 

[BobRouse]

weber did nothing wrong to Backstrom, Locker's homerism is getting to you.

Well he clearly deserved 5 for fighting IMO. Its not often that a player drops his gloves and throws 4 or 5 punches without getting that.

I'd have to see the Backstrom play again. Something was fishy about it but at first glance I thought it was clean until Joe B and Locker brought it up.

 

[Stewie G]

I thought the Backstrom hit after a second look wasn't terrible. Possibly boarding considering where the hit took place in relation to the boards, but Weber's follow through could have been much worse if it had connected. If Nick's head was any higher, it would have been smushed into the glass pretty good.

All things considered, I'm just happy Nick appeared to be OK and that Ovi went into there and mixed things up with Weber.

 

[RandyHolt]

Nick got kind of pitch forked and turned around. An awkward hit but Ovi always overreacts to Nick getting hit. If our Dmen did that to one of their forwards I would call it clean and been cheering loud.

It's kind of funny and awkward in itself that Ovi feels the need to protect him still.

I got it. Pair up Ovi with Green. All our problems solved.