What does Washington do differently than us?

6ix

HitEmWit4LikeAustonM
Nov 26, 2014
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John Carlson is the exact dman the leafs need. That RHD one timer threat on the PP is a beauty to. We don’t really have a player that can tee up a one time like that.
 
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Battle Lin

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Dec 18, 2015
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like pens they have two 1C's centering the top 2 lines, and offensive wingers to follow, that always helps you know....very good looking 6 Ds, and a great goalie...they also have nice gritty, physical depth guys, that play tough, and actually have some hockey skills, unlike guys like polak, leo, and martin

but their stars and group is older than ours, their time is now or never, our time will come we are young and talented
 
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thewave

Registered User
Jun 17, 2011
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They drafted their franchise player 14 years ago.

12 more years and we will be right there....

Funny. I think outside that they have a found they have to play heavy and hard with urgency and a quickness. They dialed in finally and are determined.

The Leafs hurt WSH bad last year. Kadri on OVI took a lot of steam out of them etc.

Leafs need to dial in to that next year, Marner has it so far. Waiting on Matthews and Nylander.
 

Buds17

Registered User
Nov 29, 2015
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Finally overcame a formidable foe in the defending champs, and now they're a win away from a franchise first and assuming the mantle of champion. Sometimes it takes a while, but what matters is that the job eventually gets done. It's the toughest win to get but they're in a good position to get it.
 

GoldenGOOSE

Registered User
Jan 14, 2018
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They have been playing so long, and they can wheel in a way the Leafs and everyone else in the league are hard pressed to do, for 60 minutes. The Leafs were exhausted trying to keep up with the cycle of the Washington team rush. But yeah, Kadri took a massive shark bite out of them, to ensure they didn't go any farther.
 

Voodoo Child

Registered User
Jun 16, 2009
6,317
2,408
Choked for a ton longer?

Aside from that Vegas is really just about the perfect match up for them - a fast, skilled team who scores by committee and lacks star power, versus the Caps: a heavy but not slow team with experience, vets, stars and depth at all positions.

Ovie and Kuzy want it and are carrying the offense, Holtby has entered beast mode.

Winnipeg would have given them fits, to which I say thank God Vegas took them out. I am happy for the Vegas fan base and this year has gone amazingly but there's no way in hell I wanted to see them win...in addition to our long struggles, an expansion team winning the Cup in the first year makes the league look like a joke, it could even be argued the success they've had to this point does that.

But I would take a Vegas expansion year win over a Winnipeg win in any circumstances ten times out of ten.
 

TimPeel

Registered User
Dec 10, 2017
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The Caps are willing to take a hit to make a play. They also play tough and are willing to stick up for each other to a man. I hate the Caps, but I respect the lengths they are willing to go through to win. I envy how composed they are with the puck in all ends of the ice. This is a team of destiny and lets face it, if the Penguins didn't exist this is probably a three peat for them. All that adversity they went through for the last 14 years is finally paying off.
 
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ponder

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Jul 11, 2007
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They drafted Ovie 14 years ago, Backstrom 12 years ago, Carlson and Holtby 10 years ago, and Kuznetsov 8 years ago. In all that time this is their first trip past the 2nd round. The number 1 thing we should learn from this is patience - there were endless calls to blow the team up, but they knew they had a great core, and their best shot at a cup was to continually tweak the cast around it.

We’ve got an amazing core with Matthews, Marner, Nylander, Kadri, Rielly, Dermott and Andersen. They need time to mature, and management need time to try different supporting casts (and maybe coaches/GMs). But we should be behind this core long term, because it really is special, just as the Caps were with their core.
 

biotk

Registered User
Jan 3, 2017
7,091
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Buffalo
Most of Washington's players are players who they drafted and developed. They have a couple obtained as free agents, but only one of them were expensive - Niskanen (I forgot about Orpik - so two pretty costly UFAs). None of their players are the result of a big trade either (they did get Oshie for Brouwer, a 3rd and a low end prospect). They picked up two depth D at the trade deadline this year, and while only one of them has been a regular, I think that he has played a decent role this playoff.

Maybe it was luck this year. But put together a strong core built from the draft. Recognized that they had some holes in their D 4 years ago or so, and brought in a couple UFAs for long term to fix that problem. But otherwise stayed the course with the offensive talent they mostly drafted.
 
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IPS

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Sep 28, 2017
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They drafted Ovie 14 years ago, Backstrom 12 years ago, Carlson and Holtby 10 years ago, and Kuznetsov 8 years ago. In all that time this is their first trip past the 2nd round. The number 1 thing we should learn from this is patience - there were endless calls to blow the team up, but they knew they had a great core, and their best shot at a cup was to continually tweak the cast around it.

We’ve got an amazing core with Matthews, Marner, Nylander, Kadri, Rielly, Dermott and Andersen. They need time to mature, and management need time to try different supporting casts (and maybe coaches/GMs). But we should be behind this core long term, because it really is special, just as the Caps were with their core.
Yup, they just stuck with it. They didn't go gunning after any franchise-altering free agents (just a few solid defensemen, that's all), they didn't do anything drastic like trade any of their core players. They may not have a #1 stud D who's a top-5 D-man in the game (I think people will finally start shutting up about that somehow being a requirement to win a cup), but they got a decent collection of guys who can get the job done.

I think Washington winning just shows us that if you get an elite core together (kind of like what we have) your time will most likely come eventually.
 
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DopeyFish

Mitchy McDangles
Nov 17, 2009
6,598
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they won.

hell... last year they had a better team than this year.

get hot at the right time of year... get lucky at the right time of year... and you win.
 
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CantLoseWithMatthews

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Sep 28, 2015
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Washington was a better team last year and got bounced in the second round. this team isn't better than the Leafs by much, if at all
 

firstemperor

Registered User
May 25, 2011
8,755
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Wash was better than Pitts last year but Holtby laid and egg and Fleury stole the series. That's all it takes sometimes.

Also, they have guys that are seasoned vets, willing to take a hit and play physical. They have no holes throughout their lineup when it comes to compete. And the Leafs have either young players/one-dimensional players that don't fit that M.O littered in different spots in the lineup. At this level, even if one person isn't holding their weight, leaks are going to happen.

That, and they just have better talent on their roster. Niskanen has evolved into a legit #1D. Orlov/Carlson are good compliments. Holtby is a legit #1G. We don't have two #1C's like they do, or a franchise winger. We can perhaps match them, or exceed them, depth-wise but top-end talent usually wins out at the end of the day.
 
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93LEAFS

Registered User
Nov 7, 2009
33,841
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Toronto
The thing I actually find interesting about Washington if they managed to win, is they would be the worst possession team to win the cup since they were tracked. Washington was 25th in xGF% in the regular season and 24th in CF%. The previous cup champions since it has been tracked (2007-08). Pretty much every other team around them was in the Dahlin sweepstakes. The only other playoff teams close to as bad were the Wild and the Avs. Teams like Pitt have been elite in xGF% even when they were average in CF%.

I think it just shows you need to be patient and have faith in your guys. Remember how often Trotz, Ovi and Holtby have been scapegoated.
 

Havoc

Registered User
Jul 25, 2009
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Kuznetsov is why you don't trade Nylander.

Nylander's career already off to a better start than Kuznetsov's (start)
 

GoldenGOOSE

Registered User
Jan 14, 2018
828
400
If the Leafs bounce Mike Babcock and promote Sheldon Keefe, they will win the Stanley Cup at some point. Babcock, will drive two of the big three right out of town with his b.s.
 

bluumax

Registered User
Mar 7, 2008
2,169
185
Jesus Christ are these threads a f***ing joke?

Washingtons "road" started when they drafted Ovie, its been a pretty up and down journey....

next up; What did the 82 Oilers do differently than us?
 

ToneDog

56 years and counting. #FireTheShanaClan!
Jun 11, 2017
23,349
21,364
Richmond Hill, ON
Strong down the middle, decent D and solid goalie. Kuz, Backstrom, Eller and Beagle (both playing over their heads). The fact that OV has bought in after 14 years and wants it like a dog wants bone helps.

So Caps are close to the holy grail after 14 years of OV. God, I hope we don't have to wait 14 years to see Matthews hoist the Cup.
 

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