Speculation: Caps Roster General Discussion (Coaching/FAs/Cap/Lines etc) - 2022-23 Season Part 3: Drop the puck!

[Calicaps]

My first thought when these gruesome injuries happen, especially to the face or head, is always about the player's kids. Carly comes home from the hospital looking like Frankenstein's monster and do his little kids just scream in terror and run away or what? YIKES.

 

[Ridley Simon]

Definitely. Not like I’ll be busy watching the game tonight!

No, but your sheets man. Don’t take time away from your sheets!! You need, I need it…. We ALL NEED it!!!

 

[twabby]

No, but your sheets man. Don’t take time away from your sheets!! You need, I need it…. We ALL NEED it!!!

I don't use spreadsheets any more. I use neural networks and cloud AI.

I also utilize the blockchain. It takes me 4 hours and 15 megawatts of power to retrieve the final score of a game. I am single-handedly responsible for the destruction of 2000 acres of rainforest every year.

Go Caps!

 

[Cappy76]

I’ll have to pay attention to face offs for that 2nd line but I’m wondering if Eller to lw2 is to help Backstrom on face off duty with the hip. Just a thought nothing to back it up.

 

[Calicaps]

I don't use spreadsheets any more. I use neural networks and cloud AI.

I also utilize the blockchain. It takes me 4 hours and 15 megawatts of power to retrieve the final score of a game. I am single-handedly responsible for the destruction of 2000 acres of rainforest every year.

Go Caps!

Early POTY candidate!

 

[Holtbyisms]

I said it was the ear lol nobody wanted to buy it. Seen a ear split in half once in high school and it bled like a main artery got tapped. He'll be back soon as the doctors are confident the healing is mostly done. Can probably throw an ear guard on him and roll sooner rather than later. Its all about the kucherov move now. Can we slide I to the offs without him? If so let's keep it rolling and then bring him back. If there's one thing bmac rocks at, it's cap circumvention.

 

[kicksavedave]

I don't use spreadsheets any more. I use neural networks and cloud AI.

I also utilize the blockchain. It takes me 4 hours and 15 megawatts of power to retrieve the final score of a game. I am single-handedly responsible for the destruction of 2000 acres of rainforest every year.

Go Caps!

So basically when Skynet takes over and the Caps line combo's and ice time/scratch decisions start making sense, we'll know it was you. Cool

 

[Todos a la Calle]

I really hope this is not the case, but I imagine getting hit in the head with a puck so hard that it severs your ear could also cause a concussion.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

I’ll have to pay attention to face offs for that 2nd line but I’m wondering if Eller to lw2 is to help Backstrom on face off duty with the hip. Just a thought nothing to back it up.

I thought that as well initially, maybe split draws or something…..

 

[RedRocking]

I thought that as well initially, maybe split draws or something…..

Agree, plus probably help with some defensive responsibilities. It’s likely going to be easier for Nick to find his offensive game vs having to defend, and back-check aggressively.

 

[AlexModvechkin8]

Kuzy, the Magic Man, is good at dishing out the magic and not much else… except he’s surprisingly good at the PK.

 

[um]

Kuzy, the Magic Man, is good at dishing out the magic and not much else… except he’s surprisingly good at the PK.

View attachment 633650

He’s had a brutal season. Even Strome looks better.

 

[Raikkonen]

Kuzy, the Magic Man, is good at dishing out the magic and not much else… except he’s surprisingly good at the PK.

Has to step up big time when it will matter the most. No less. He has it in him.

I mean we all expect him to degree but will it be enough?

 

[twabby]

Everyone told me he stank in 20-21

 

[AlexModvechkin8]

He’s had a brutal season. Even Strome looks better.

Strome is definitely top five in MVP candidates along with Ovechkin, Gustafson, and the goalies which is not a sentence I anticipated typing in June.

He’s like Mike Ribeiro in 2012 except hopefully he has a better ending with us and doesn’t turn out to be a gigantic turd of a human.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Kuzy, the Magic Man, is good at dishing out the magic and not much else… except he’s surprisingly good at the PK.

View attachment 633650

Hard to get your $’s worth out of this guy…

 

[AlexModvechkin8]

Just for comparison’s sake, here is Mantha. He’s elite defensive winger and distributor who may be slightly overpaid but should certainly be in the lineup every night. Scratching him in favor of Lars Eller and Marcus Johansson because they try harder is real dumb and I wish they’d stop doing it.

 

[Marshall]

I'm beginning to wonder if TvR may have a d-needy team floats him a longer offer for more money than the Caps can afford.

 

[Drakon]

Kuzy, the Magic Man, is good at dishing out the magic and not much else… except he’s surprisingly good at the PK.

View attachment 633650

Yeah, this tracks. He's been pretty lousy via the eye test for most of the season.

 

[um]

I'm beginning to wonder if TvR may have a d-needy team floats him a longer offer for more money than the Caps can afford.

Good RDs are always in demand.

4 of our top 5 Dman are UFAs, we may be in a little trouble this offseason.

 

[bacchist]

Kuzy, the Magic Man, is good at dishing out the magic and not much else… except he’s surprisingly good at the PK.

View attachment 633650

This guy stinks. He used to be good, but now he's just not. He's a liability in so many ways. Makes no sense to have him at 1C.

 

[twabby]

Just for comparison’s sake, here is Mantha. He’s elite defensive winger and distributor who may be slightly overpaid but should certainly be in the lineup every night. Scratching him in favor of Lars Eller and Marcus Johansson because they try harder is real dumb and I wish they’d stop doing it.

View attachment 633691

Mantha needs to be a lot better at Teammates. Until he does that, I’m afraid scratching him is really the only good option.

 

[RedRocking]

I feel like Lavi is making this way more complicated that it needs to be. This is what he should run:

8-17-73
15-92-43
39-19-77
90-26-21

And Eller can be available (along with some combos of Mantha or Mojo) for one of the 2 bottom 6 LW spots.

We know that top line works. Wilson helps shelter Kuzy and Milano defensively, plus Kuzy and Wilson have worked well together for years. Mantha helps shelter Nick, and provides him another good playmaker/scorer to go with Oshie. Remember: 39-19-77 was a pretty successful line last year, when healthy.

Boom - you’re basically just left trying to figure out which 2 out of Mojo, Eller, and Mantha you really need in the lineup on a nightly basis. So, just experiment with those bottom 6 LW spots, without blowing up the whole friggin’ team.

My preference would be for Nick to gradually play well enough to phase out Eller, and for Mantha to get out of the doghouse, resulting in the above lines.

 

[AlexModvechkin8]

They're certainly coming back down to Earth a bit with a 3-2-2 record in their last seven games which is a 93.7 point pace. That's not terrible and probably just on the safe side of making the playoffs but one of those wins (Columbus) was only a win because Kuemper was terrific. I think we knew there would be some type of regression after their torrid streak in December but their even strength play is slipping pretty dramatically, especially the last three games with xGF%'s of 42%, 34%, and and 40% against three bad teams in Nashville, Columbus, and Philly. They've created just 21 total high danger chances in those three games and for comparison's sake, they created 27 against just Montreal and Buffalo. So if your eye test has been telling you that they've struggled to generate quality scoring chances recently then rest assured the fancy stats back up what you're seeing.

Can't expect them to storm the barn all season but Lavi needs to stop messing around and playing favorites and start putting his best line combinations together. That means getting Kuznetsov away from Ovechkin and putting Ovi with Strome, putting Mantha (and maybe NAK) back in, removing Eller, and putting Nick and Tom back on lines that were working before instead of taking a blowtorch to what was working and essentially treating this as the preseason. I know it's expected for them to hit a few speed bumps as the team starts to gel at full strength but they don't have the buffer or the luxury to have another month like October or November while they figure it out.

 

[marcel snapshot]

Not sure why Mantha doesn't hang out in front of the net more, since that's where all the goals he doesn't score live. He has the size to establish and hold position, and everyone tells me his hands are good, but you can't really see it when he's mostly taking perimeter shots. I mean Sheary and MoJo go to the front of the net more than Mantha, and that makes no sense. Don't need Mantha to be crushing people into the boards, but the most obvious way for a forward with size to make a difference is net-front,