Series Discussion: Caps vs Hurricanes

[Midnight Judges]

I wish McMichael would have gotten more reps at C during this regular season but I realize the Eller trade nixed that.

 

[Hivemind]

This time a year ago a good chunk of the board was complaining that CMM couldn't play wing and was only a center. I'm not too worried about him shifting back to C.

 

[Dr John Carlson]

Big fan of McMichael to PP1. Any added speed with the man advantage will help.

 

[Hivemind]

Big fan of McMichael to PP1. Any added speed with the man advantage will help.

Yeah, I like him helping fill that Marcus Johansson-role as the zone entry guy

 

[MW6]

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Yeah I would have preferred to see Pro at 3C instead of Mikey too, but Mikey can't possibly be worse than Eller...can he?

I would have taken him at wing to bolster that line..

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

We are at home so no fear for now, as we just need to win 1 game right now. Getting Eller out of the lineup was a priority to Carbs and fans here for quite some time.

We need goals... Mikey is scrappy and it was time for a shakeup.

Let’s hope Mikey can win a faceoff and not get physically dominated.

 

[Monsterrain]

Gotta try something

 

[mad4comp]

Only problem with that is Dubois has been out shutdown guy. Not sure if pairing our shutdown guy with O is the best option either. Bit of a predicament.

The shutdown guy can get the puck into the zone with speed and can for the most part keep possession. Strome and Ovi has not worked for a single minute at 5v5, the only time i notice them is in the d zone getting hemmed in for minutes at a time. You gotta split those two up.

 

[Monsterrain]

Carlson has been the heaviest part of a boat anchor in the playoffs for like 5 years or more. I wanted him traded after 2021 along with Eller.

Here we are 4 years later, making the same mistakes and scratching our heads about it instead of scratching these players (Carlson, at least, with Eller now scratched).

JC74 has a good regular season skillset but is nowhere close to what you need in a top 4 Dman in the playoffs. He should be playing sheltered minutes and limited PP duty on the 3rd pair.

We got one more year of him goon. They better not give him a final retirement deal for 2-3 years. That would be enraging.

 

[HecticGlow]

He's a righty. Bad enough having to start a spare D in the playoffs without adding insult to injury by having him play his weak side and expecting him to chew comparable minutes at evens.

But TVR was very comfortable playing his offside for an entire season when Schultz was 3RD. I’d be tempted by something like:

Sandin-Carlson
TVR-Roy
Chychrun-Mac

“It's kind of been like this from the beginning when I got here. You're given a job and a task, and you try to do the best you can with that… But it's not reasonable to expect to have production and scoring as I have done prior because the role is vastly different."

Lars Eller Opens Up About Lack Of Production, Limited Minutes Amid Likely Healthy Scratch For Game 5: 'It Is What It Is'

ARLINGTON, V.A. — Washington Capitals center Lars Eller says he's been doing the best he can at this point in his career, but admitted that the road hasn't exactly been easy.

thehockeynews.com

Hard to take that seriously, really. He was brought in to be 3C, playing with similar calibre of players as during the cup run and intended to produce while being defensively responsible. The only thing that’s changed is ice time, and that’s because he hasn’t been up to the task.

 

[Jags]

But TVR was very comfortable playing his offside for an entire season when Schultz was 3RD. I’d be tempted by something like:

Sandin-Carlson
TVR-Roy
Chychrun-Mac

Sure, but now you've "downgraded" two spots instead of one. Every defenseman is going to tell you they're comfortable on their weak side. It's just what you say to the press.

Yes, TVR is reliable on the left. But you only do it if it allows you to dress a markedly better defenseman than the one you get if TVR stays put. And that's not the case here.

In my opinion, this is the type of situation a coach just has to resist the urge to tinker with. Next man up, full stop. Put AA in there and don't shelter him in a big way. Give Fever's specialty minutes to the next best guy and let AA chew the rest. If he screws it up, he screws it up.

If this is how we weather an injury, then losing one guy is always going to derail us. Next man up, stick to your gameplan. All the sheltering and short-benching late just piles on everyone else.

 

[HecticGlow]

Sure, but now you've "downgraded" two spots instead of one. Every defenseman is going to tell you they're comfortable on their weak side. It's just what you say to the press.

Yes, TVR is reliable on the left. But you only do it if it allows you to dress a markedly better defenseman than the one you get if TVR stays put. And that's not the case here.

In my opinion, this is the type of situation a coach just has to resist the urge to tinker with. Next man up, full stop. Put AA in there and don't shelter him in a big way. Give Fever's specialty minutes to the next best guy and let AA chew the rest. If he screws it up, he screws it up.

If this is how we weather an injury, then losing one guy is always going to derail us. Next man up, stick to your gameplan. All the sheltering and short-benching late just piles on everyone else.

I think it’s arguable that Mac brings more than Alexeyev to this series, if only physicality. Heck, maybe Bear is an upgrade. Alexeyev has really struggled against the Canes and missing Fever means they’ve lost an offensively-minded D man from their third pairing as Sandin or Chych have had to play shutdown with Roy.

In the scenario I gave you also push Chychrun down to the role he’s played all season - there’s a reason he hasn’t been a top pairing defensemen or on our shutdown pair until Fever went down. Especially if you can spread out Sandin, Carlson and Chych across three pairs, you give the Caps more firepower on the backend for a full 60.

 

[wickedwitch]

Lars Eller Opens Up About Lack Of Production, Limited Minutes Amid Likely Healthy Scratch For Game 5: 'It Is What It Is'

ARLINGTON, V.A. — Washington Capitals center Lars Eller says he's been doing the best he can at this point in his career, but admitted that the road hasn't exactly been easy.

thehockeynews.com

Hard to take that seriously, really. He was brought in to be 3C, playing with similar calibre of players as during the cup run and intended to produce while being defensively responsible. The only thing that’s changed is ice time, and that’s because he hasn’t been up to the task.

They can list it however they want, but Eller is now a 4C. The Dowd line plays way more and always has.

That said, I don't think he got benched just because of the lack of production. He got benched because he's not producing and his line has gotten killed defensively this series. And he's the common denominator, not Raddysh or Leonard. If they were doing a solid job defensively, then I bet they keep him in.

Eller simply isn't as good as he used to be, just like anybody else who's 35+ years old.

 

[HecticGlow]

They can list it however they want, but Eller is now a 4C. The Dowd line plays way more and always has.

That said, I don't think he got benched just because of the lack of production. He got benched because he's not producing and his line has gotten killed defensively this series. And he's the common denominator, not Raddysh or Leonard. If they were doing a solid job defensively, then I bet they keep him in.

Eller simply isn't as good as he used to be, just like anybody else who's 35+ years old.

But the role of the Eller line is designed to be the same as it was during the Cup run. Connolly and Burakovsky weren’t playing shutdown minutes - in fact they were often playing fewer minutes than Beagle’s “fourth” line. The reality is Eller was sadly unsuitable for this lineup when we traded him, and there was no reason to think he was magically up to the task two years later. If he wasn’t a low maintenance personality with some existing relationships with a third of the roster, there’s no way they’re have brought him back.

 

[SherVaughn30]

Wish Carbs would consider Frank. He's the fastest skater for both teams, and he has some scoring touch. Mac is physical but too slow, and Alexeyev makes too many mistakes(that's why his mins are so little). Bear should be given a try, as I think he has something to prove and has faster wheels than Alexeyev. Hasn't Bear been a bright spot on the back end for the Bears, most of the season?

 

[Fred22406Capsfan]

Here I was thinking "man, when are they going to start the game"? Then it clicked. Memory lapses, sigh...

 

[Jags]

I think it’s arguable that Mac brings more than Alexeyev to this series, if only physicality.

If the plan is the bring the lumber, sure. But that shouldn't be the plan. Given what's happened to us in this series, we need to score goals. Shifting gears to punishment in an elimination game is too late. That style doesn't pay dividends in the playoffs until a couple games in, when the bruises have set in, the cuts are barely held together, and they've got reasons to flinch and retaliate. Can't do that in one game.

AA is better at everything else.

Heck, maybe Bear is an upgrade.

Maybe. But that's another righty causing the same basic issue. Now you're missing Fever AND downgrading TVR.

In the scenario I gave you also push Chychrun down to the role he’s played all season - there’s a reason he hasn’t been a top pairing defensemen or on our shutdown pair until Fever went down. Especially if you can spread out Sandin, Carlson and Chych across three pairs, you give the Caps more firepower on the backend for a full 60.

I agree with a lot of that, but it only makes sense with a different coach. Carbery is playing Alexeyev AND sheltering him down to a few minutes a night. It doesn't seem like he's going to stop doing that regardless of which replacement D he uses, which means he's piling minutes and shit deployments on beaten guys. Mix 'em up however you want at that point -- it won't make much difference.

Carbery is basically letting Brind'Amour and a single injury choose his lineup. Not going to win the matchup battles defensively if you jumbled your pairs in reactionary fashion, worried about what might happen. Be the coach. If the GM didn't give you adequate D personnel, don't let that make you a worse coach.

Stick with the systems that made your team top of the league the whole year. Martin Fehervary is not the linchpin of this team. Lars Eller was not single-handedly responsible for LT's great year. Win or lose, play YOUR f***ing game. Abandoning that to try to beat them at THEIR game is what's got us an inch from the golf course...

If he's really THIS determined to stay the (losing) course, he'd be better off replacing Eller with a 7th D. Dumb move, but better than continuing to deploy our D this way.

 

[DWGie26]

I have been an Eller Believer BUT I like this a lot. I also like that it isn’t massive change. A lot of familiars:

1 - Like Beauvillier back up here. This line was good in R1
2 - Love brining back the Beast line. I prefer PLD and Wilson together anyway.
3 - this is the major change but really changes the dynamic - shifts to an offensive mindset with a lot of speed and some nasty. I like it a lot but don’t be surprised to see an ugly turnover or two
4 - old reliable.