Series Discussion: Washington Capitals vs Pittsburgh Penguins

[maacoshark]

No NHL (and probably AHL) head coach would ever play DSP or Chiasson on the first line in a crucial playoff game. That is literally ****ING INSANE, Trotz is the worst coach in the league and it’s not even close.

To say say that really shows how much oif a Debbie downer you really are. Trotz is far from the worst coach in the league. He might be the best coach we have ever had. I personally think Bryan Murray was our best coach.

 

[maacoshark]

then why did 3/4 of this board say no playoffs will happen?

That's exactly what was said and now that they are within a game of getting to round 3 people are still complaining. You guys contradict yourselves.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Great news about Backstrom... but I might keep Eller at 2C. 18-20-77 could be really effective and if Backstrom isn't 100% I'd rather not ask him to do all the heavy lifting defensively. Lars has played well this series and looked great in the 3rd last night.

It would not surprise me to see Trotz go mostly 3 lines tomorrow. The 4th line got buried last night. Knowing that Pittsburgh controls the matchups and will certainly matchup Corsby vs the Kunzetsov line, if it's a defensive zone faceoff I could see him substituting Vrana for Beagle but otherwise keeping Vrana on the top line.

 

[maacoshark]

What will be the next argument if we finally defeat the Pens and move on to the ECF?

It doesn't matter what this team does. The fans will still whine.

 

[ALLCAPSALLTHETIME]

I never said they wouldn't make the playoffs. Pretty much everyone else here did. I always expected them to be in the playoffs. I have never seen such a Debbie downer fanfase before. You guys cry about Trotz not making adjustments. But he has made the adjustments and they have worked but you guys still complain. You guys aren't happy unless you are whining about something. Other fan bases are a bunch of homers. We are the exact opposite.
BTW this has nothing to do with Trotz. This has to do with the fact that the Caps don't have the greatest fans. I had no clue Caps fans were like this until I joined this site.

Trotz has made lots of adjustments. Credit to him. He is up against a pretty good coach and he is holding his own. Nice to see.

 

[maacoshark]

Who cares?

I think quite a few people care. I care. I like Trotz. Maybe he isn't the answer. Is there a better option out there. I really don't think Reirdon is.

 

[ALLCAPSALLTHETIME]

It doesn't matter what this team does. The fans will still whine.

It’s Caps fans. We complain, therefore we are.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

It doesn't matter what this team does. The fans will still whine.

Whining is ok as long as there is a reason for it. We have all summer to whine if/when we lose.

 

[Sam Spade]

It's pointless to show that stuff to Pens fans. There's always an excuse. They live in the ROOT Sports bubble that spins everything into anti-Pens conspiracies (Sid is most abused player in the league, refs never call the other team for enough penalties, Caps are trying to injure their players every year, etc) while simultaneously pumping the team's tires at every turn.

Look, I don't complain about refs, my post history might have 10 posts were I do this but the numbers from Corsica are pretty insane and can't simply be chalked up to "of course the Pens get more PP's they possess the puck more" because that is NOT really the case. This season in the playoffs they are 6th in 5v5 CF%, last season they were 15th, '15-'16 they were 7th, season before 5th, etc.

No tin foil hat crap from me but the numbers are the numbers, Pens might deserve every PP they get and that's fine, but there is zero chance they are not committing any either.

 

[maacoshark]

Whining is ok as long as there is a reason for it. We have all summer to whine if/when we lose.

Its disappointing when we lose. But at the end we have to realize it is a difficult road. Nothing comes easy in the playoffs. We gave been close but so far away. People complain that we haven't gotten past the 2nd round in the Ovi era. True, we were unfortunate the last 2 seasons to get the Pens in the 2nd round. I'm sure if we get a different opponent that we easily advance. I'm also sure that if we got by the Pens those 2 seasons that we would have 2 cups.

 

[maacoshark]

Look, I don't complain about refs, my post history might have 10 posts were I do this but the numbers from Corsica are pretty insane and can't simply be chalked up to "of course the Pens get more PP's they possess the puck more" because that is NOT really the case. This season in the playoffs they are 6th in 5v5 CF%, last season they were 15th, '15-'16 they were 7th, season before 5th, etc.

No tin foil hat crap from me but the numbers are the numbers, Pens might deserve every PP they get and that's fine, but there is zero chance they are not committing any either.

You shouldn't have to look at charts and stats. Watch the games and its clear as day.

 

[ovikovy817]

What will be the next argument if we finally defeat the Pens and move on to the ECF?

I don't know what will be the excuse, but if Caps wins against Pens, I Imagine Pierre, Milbury & co telling to their boss to stop broadcasting the nhl playoffs lol. Pens are out = hockey season ended lol

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

I don't know what will be the excuse, but if Caps wins against Pens, I Imagine Pierre, Milbury & co telling to their boss to stop broadcasting the nhl playoffs lol. Pens are out = hockey season ended lol

Milbury hates the Pens, but Pierre is gonna be sad for sure lol.

 

[VaCaps Fan]

No fan of Milbury, but you can tell peNBC forces him to back off bashing the Pens....

 

[ALLCAPSALLTHETIME]

Good grief. NHL.com has like 5 articles about the Pens and I don’t believe there is one about the Caps. Biased much?

 

[Sam Spade]

You shouldn't have to look at charts and stats. Watch the games and its clear as day.

I agree but, just take last night for instance. I just finished watching the replay and the NBC feed does not even show Dumoulin actually dragging Holtby's head across the crease with his stick, so if I had not been sitting 100 feet from it I would not have known it even happened. So sometimes charts and stats can help tell the whole story.

I wonder how many more I miss just because the camera cuts off one third of the ice?

 

[maacoshark]

Great news about Backstrom... but I might keep Eller at 2C. 18-20-77 could be really effective and if Backstrom isn't 100% I'd rather not ask him to do all the heavy lifting defensively. Lars has played well this series and looked great in the 3rd last night.

It would not surprise me to see Trotz go mostly 3 lines tomorrow. The 4th line got buried last night. Knowing that Pittsburgh controls the matchups and will certainly matchup Corsby vs the Kunzetsov line, if it's a defensive zone faceoff I could see him substituting Vrana for Beagle but otherwise keeping Vrana on the top line.

They might bump Vrana down because of matchups. We will have to see what happens.

 

[maacoshark]

I agree but, just take last night for instance. I just finished watching the replay and the NBC feed does not even show Dumoulin actually dragging Holtby's head across the crease with his stick, so if I had not been sitting 100 feet from it I would not have known it even happened. So sometimes charts and stats can help tell the whole story.

I wonder how many more I miss just because the camera cuts off one third of the ice?

I saw it happen but I thought it was Brassard.

 

[maacoshark]

Good grief. NHL.com has like 5 articles about the Pens and I don’t believe there is one about the Caps. Biased much?

Lol are you serious. I think I would actually be embarrassed if I was a Pens fan knowing that the Pens get favorable treatment.

 

[Scotty Pucks]

Does anyone remember some random guy on Twitter after the Penguins-Capitals series last year, out of nowhere, absolutely unloaded on Ovi?

Where will that clown be this year?

 

[Sam Spade]

I saw it happen but I thought it was Brassard.

Brassard may have hit Holtby as well but it was Dumoulin who took Holtby out as he was scrambling to get back up the ice on the Vrana game winner.

 

[ALLCAPSALLTHETIME]

Lol are you serious. I think I would actually be embarrassed if I was a Pens fan knowing that the Pens get favorable treatment.

Here they are:

Crosby enjoying best career start to playoffs for Penguins

Penguins confident facing elimination in Game 6 against Capitals

Crosby climbing all-time playoff scoring list for Penguins

Crosby’s PPG video.

Penguins remain confident after loss to Capitals in Game 5

Crosby, Penguins give hockey equipment to kid who lost his in fire

I see one article on Backstrom playing in Game 6.

Yeah, kind of one sided.

 

[ALLCAPSALLTHETIME]

Does anyone remember some random guy on Twitter after the Penguins-Capitals series last year, out of nowhere, absolutely unloaded on Ovi?

Where will that clown be this year?

Under the bridge where he lives, I suppose.

 

[Scotty Pucks]

Under the bridge where he lives, I suppose.

Things just feel different this year. The way Games 3 and 5 ended - normally that’s the type of BS the Penguins do against the Caps. But not in this series so far.

If the Caps can take care of business (which I’d be surprised if they don’t with all of the Penguins’ issues) the winner of Tampa/Boston and whoever comes out of the West will be tough, but momentum and confidence with plenty of sufficient talent is a powerful thing.

I just really hope Ovi gets his this year.

 

[hockeykicker]