Post-Game Talk: Capitals win game 1, lead series 1-0

[Habssince89]

Bad luck for us but can't say the capitals dominated, or ran us out of the rink. Once again this team shows heart and resilience under MSL.

Key takeaways:
Caps are very beatable
Xhekaj would've made no real difference at all
Refs want Washington to win

 

[CzarDemidov]

Habs need to play much better team D… but this series isn’t impossible to overcome. I can’t believe I’m saying this with such bad forward depth and no second line and a crazy young team but it’s true. We don’t necessarily need to think this is an insurmountable series but the Habs need to dig deep and play like lions. The 24-25 Habs won't out-tactic or out-skill WSH but they can definitely out-hustle.

I'm not sure if Xhekaj would've made a difference but inserting him in game 2 would probably help to distract WSH enough that it gives us a minor edge.

 

[Hostile Offer]

Bench Laine. Can't take it anymore with him slowing down the play only to lose it 100% of the time. Or dangle at the blue line and lose it 100% of the time.

This. Dude needs to get benched or at the very most play like 8 minutes on the 4th line to minimize the damage he's doing on ES. However our PP is a lot worse without his ridiculous shot so I guess we just have to dress him, it's just too important when one goal at the right time can make all the difference. Give Heineman a chance with Demidov, at least he plays with tenacity and has a cannon of a shot on top of that.

 

[Essenege]

The problem with the reffing is the inconsistency. I’ve seen teams get 10 penalties (like Habs in 21 against Vegas), sometime a nothing called.

The game is not the same when you can cross check in the back (on newhook/Laine) and interfere like the play on Anderson.

I don’t care less penalties (especially charging, scrums after the whistles, etc.) but make it transparent.

 

[Justin11]

I thought they played very well, especially after 2nd half of the game.

I’m just content with the fact that they made it this far, this will be a valuable experience for a very young team.

 

[Victoire HuGo]

Carrier, Heineman, Suzuki, Monty, Guhle and Hutson all had good games. I liked Struble's physical presence. Those first 10 minutes of play were rough to watch. Habs also had a very bad stretch in the 2nd before the 2nd goal went in. The Caps are beatable.

Matheson and the refs need to do a much better job.

 

[salbutera]

Oh wow our 6'4 230lbs forward is too scared to throw a hit but man did he make some great panic passes! Whatever helps you sleep at night.

Truculence is not Slaf’s game, never will be just as it wasn’t for John LeClair or Tim Kerr, gentle giants who used their size for puck possession / protection & slot / net front presence

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

They lost, but battled back, so I have no issues with that.

Would like to see some more push back physically, but they didn't let it deter them and battled hard.

I can respect this loss.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Habs are in a good spot with our future. Skill and guys who can skate are there. Our major flaw is lack of big guys that can skate to compliment our skill. You could clearly see that in the 1st two periods last night.

We have a resilient group. They are going to put all the energy they can into this. As we found out in the 3rd period last night.

Interesting series for the Habs to monitor where we are in our transition out of the rebuild. The Caps are a good team for us to play IMO.... regardless of who wins this series. Habs will find a lot about the makeup of our core and the flaws we need to address from this series.

 

[General Fanager]

If they start the games like they played in the 2nd half they have a chance for sure. Now the test is for them to believe they can.....

 

[BLONG7]

If they start the games like they played in the 2nd half they have a chance for sure. Now the test is for them to believe they can.....

Starting on time is a huge issue for this group.
They will be better in game two off the get go.............the Caps are big and fast guys. HuGo is watching and we need to tweak a few things this offseason.

 

[Essenege]

2nd line was the defensive black home tonight no question. Unfortunately there is no solution, you can’t touch the other 3 lines. Play them less and hope Suzy’s line compensate.

 

[SallyBalls]

Demidov should not have talked.

Woke the beast in Ovie.

You think his tongue is out like Jordan’s is a coincidence? Same mentality there, don’t give him fire

wtf? Some of the dumbest shit i've read in my life. Lets all suck Ovi's cock or we will wake the beast. holy f***.

 

[Kobe Armstrong]

This. Dude needs to get benched or at the very most play like 8 minutes on the 4th line to minimize the damage he's doing on ES. However our PP is a lot worse without his ridiculous shot so I guess we just have to dress him, it's just too important when one goal at the right time can make all the difference. Give Heineman a chance with Demidov, at least he plays with tenacity and has a cannon of a shot on top of that.

Honestly Demidov was the worst player on the ice last night aside from Matheson.

I’m hoping it was just an adjustment game for him but he had zero time and space, couldn’t complete a single pass, and had no physical presence. Laine was definitely more ready to play

 

[BagusJohn]

Mike Matheson plays hard minutes, but good Lord does he fumble the puck a lot, can't generate much on offense, and irritates me with his boneheaded plays. We either have to package him for an upgrade, or lessen his ice-time next season.

Patrick Laine... Powerplay specialist. I told my friends when that icing was called this didn't bode well for us with our second line starting in our D zone. I trust Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton will revamp that second line, as neither Newhook nor Laine deserve to play on it. And Demidov was non-existent yesterday... Just a rough spot for the coaching staff, who will have to manage that line's ice-time very carefully. At this point, if we are to beat the Caps in the playoffs, we will need secondary scoring from either the Dvorak or Evans lines.

Overall, I'm actually happy with the how the team played and battled in the third period. Basically, we're hoping for a slight miracle to happen against a much more seasoned and hardened Washington team, let's be honest.

 

[CzarDemidov]

I fully agree. Can't have Hutson, Matheson, Carrier, Struble on the same D core.

The team is "Ahead of schedule" but Hughes has a lot of work to do in order to build a contender.

It's a tougher go than you'd think. Any time I look at CapWages and try to find ways to improve the roster it seems pretty daunting.
1) We dont have as much cap space as you'd think (and we can't leverage our cap space at all either because other teams have a lot more)
2) We have a handedness and size issue in the top6 and the defense -- so we have a handedness and size issue overall
3) Gorton constantly emphasizes character and lockerroom dynamics so it seems to me they won't be wheeling and dealing like VGK or DAL
4) What in the world do we do with Newhook and Dach? Neither have a spot in the top6

Getting a sufficiently good 2C will be the priority but the roster needs a lot more work if HuGo intend on being a regular playoff team with ambitions.

 

[le_sean]

Well, no.

Its a small sample size, so its not worth a lot.

Laine is having one of the worst seasons of his career after having missed a full calendar year, and Demidov is just getting his feet wet in the nhl, so both could look very different next season.

Their center won't be Newhook, so that will also completely change the dynamic of that line.

Not unless Laine smartens up. He seems to think he can be the primary puck carrier and distributor on that line. He needs to never touch the puck unless it’s to shoot it right away.

 

[morhilane]

Reading this thread feels like reading a in-season thread.

I'm not sure why some people expected the team's issues to be resolved just by being in the playoffs. Same players, same coaching staff.

 

[Cole Caulifield]

When I saw Laine-Newhook-Demidov-Hutson-Guhle taking that D zone faceoff I told my dad ''that's not who you want taking a faceoff in the D-zone in OT, this could end here.'' it was over 3 seconds after I said that. I am sorry guys. My bad.

 

[Cole Caulifield]

He's not our best PP player. He's litterally just a pylon with a cannon shot.

At this stage of his career/health he's Pierre Dagenais. Truly the exact same thing.

 

[Tuggy]

I know it's not going to happen but I think I'd prefer Kapanen to Laine at this point.

Laine contributes nothing positive and is only really negative right now.

 

[Saundies]

We were completely overwhelmed in the first, but that’s to be expected. Caps were insanely rested, fired up and on home ice in game 1 of the playoffs (not just the series). It was always going to have to be a storm we weathered.

Once they calmed down, which they had to do (no team can keep that pace up) then we took over. And they turned back into the same team that people are saying they are. The momentum completely turned.

Despite the loss, hopefully it shows the lads they can hang with these guys. If they come home with a split, that would be amazing but if not, I think we eat this team’s lunch at the Bell.

 

[sandviper]

I think 92-15-93 statistically would be less damning without the BS icing call but I think we need a shakeup ASAP. I’d go back to the debut lines for Demidov and do 40-15-93 and put Laine with Evans and Heinemen. I think there’s enough hustle from those two to make up for Laine’s poor 5v5.

Armia digs pucks and battles harder than Laine which I think will help Newhook and Demidov. He’s also responsible defensively which will be massive for those two.

I love Xhejak, but he would not have tipped the scales last night. Washington’s physicality definitely tapered off second half of the game. I get being hit all night is tough but throwing hits is tough also.

Anyhow… #FreeDemidov

HockeyStatCards.com

 

[CaptainKirk]

When I saw Laine-Newhook-Demidov-Hutson-Guhle taking that D zone faceoff I told my dad ''that's not who you want taking a faceoff in the D-zone in OT, this could end here.'' it was over 3 seconds after I said that. I am sorry guys. My bad.

I was an icing, so they had no choice

 

[Kobe Armstrong]

The obvious issues are 2C and RD, but team defense as a whole really.

Guhle is the only D on the team that can shut down top players and he had a really bad night and was targeted a lot.

There's just no time and space in the playoffs and the team is way too nervous trying to get the puck out of their own end without making a turnover. The short passes were predictable and worked against us many times, and Matheson had as bad a game as I've ever seen. Carrier was soft on the puck too.

Need to see some adjustments, but going back to Montreal with a 1-1 split is still on the table, and the boys should have some juice now despite the OT loss