Post-Game Talk: Game 2: USA Caps vs. Canada Syrup Foliage

[Jacoby4HOF66]

Polak is reportedly done for the year. Not that it matters apparently.

Every year it's just feast on what comes easy and be fancy in the regular season to hype it all up until that no longer works and they ****ing starve from lack of resourcefulness, tenacity and ingenuity. Natural selection, baby. It's beautiful and at least in theory something they probably should have picked up on by now.

It's the Caps...it's the playoffs...of course there's pointless drama. Of course they're bound to fail. It's not worth getting wrapped up over. This is just what they do.

Indeed. There is a well established script and OV and friends are following it.

 

[troyerlaw]

But the real questions are these: Should both games have been very even? Should a 1-1 series deadlock feel about right? Didn't Washington win the President's Trophy this year? Weren't the Caps considered to be the favourites to win the Stanley Cup?

I was responding to the comment that Toronto 'deserved to be up 2-0'

 

[Capitals40]

Trotz is a guy that can't coach himself out of a paper bag in the playoffs...simple as that. I respect the man and he is a great technical coach but.. .kinda reminds me of Bryan Murray

 

[HogtownSabresfan]

No fan of Leafs. Go Caps Go.

Leafs forwards are fast, young and very good. The D is their weak spot. It has to be pressured and pressured to make their forwards come back more. I watched the game and there were points where Caps were toying with Leafs D. The dam is going to break. Caps have way too much firepower to lose this series.

Washington has paid its dues and so has Trotz. I'm betting you win the cap this year.

 

[Langway]

They need to get the rest now, so they are ready when they face the top teams in the East.

But the Caps are **** when rested so it's not much of an advantage for them. It's less that they need to be fresh physically IMO than that they haven't reached a plane mentally from a performance standpoint to gain any confidence that they can settle in for the long haul. That for me is THE dynamic behind them never reaching a Conference Final in the Ovechkin Era. Those intangibles are never there. It's always helter skelter and playing on adrenaline rather than anything more controlled or cerebral. It doesn't matter who is behind the bench...they're always hyped up and lacking substance.

 

[Licentia]

I was responding to the comment that Toronto 'deserved to be up 2-0'

Sorry.

 

[troyerlaw]

That's not what I'm saying. Obviously when two teams are equal in ability, the end result will be a "drawn-out, dogfight round." This issue here is that these two teams are not equal in ability. The Capitals are far greater than > the Leafs, yet you wouldn't know it after two games. The Caps, should they get past the Leafs, will have plenty of opportunity for "drawn-out, dogfight rounds" against other opponents, such as the Pittsburgh Penguins. They need to get the rest now, so they are ready when they face the top teams in the East.

Consider the rest advantage the Blues will have if they continue to dominate Minnesota, a team who should be performing much better.

I understand your point, i just don't agree with it.

Of course it is better and more ideal to win a series 4-1 or 4-0. No one disputes that.

I'm just saying that having a tough time with the Leafs does not, by itself, mean the Cup is now impossible.

The job is to win the next game, that's all. Keep it simple, is my view.

 

[RandyHolt]

I am not surprised that we lost, and we could easily be down 2 zip.

I wonder if Barry worked any match-ups tonight. I doubt it, it's just Toronto.

Don't make me bust out a game day troll thread.

 

[Licentia]

It's less that they need to be fresh physically IMO than that they haven't reached a plane mentally from a performance standpoint to gain any confidence that they can settle in for the long haul. That for me is THE dynamic behind them never reaching a Conference Final in the Ovechkin Era. Those intangibles are never there. It's always helter skelter and playing on adrenaline rather than anything more controlled or cerebral. It doesn't matter who is behind the bench...they're always hyped up and lacking substance.

So basically you are agreeing with what I said before:

For the last two years on HFBoards, I have been 100% correctly predicting which teams Can Not Win The Cup. When a team can't get the job done, in a given round in a reasonable amount of time, they are proving that they likely don't have the character that it takes to win it all, and they are acquiring excess fatigue. In a league with so much parity, teams just don't have enough of a talent advantage to make up for character weaknesses. In a league with so much parity, fatigue is a difference maker. By not sweeping the Leafs, the Caps are digging themselves a hole here so deep, that they may not be able to climb out of it.

They seem to be lacking the character of a Cup contender, or at least it appears that way after two games.

char·ac·ter
ˈkerəktər/
noun
1. the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual.

 

[Jags]

With respect how can you be positive when the Caps have no playoff pedigree? Those that have been here a while see the same crap, they may very well win this series, but when it comes to anything more it looks bleak.

Because I love hockey.

Because I love the Caps.

Because we watched with friends, are 9 beers in, all fired up and still shouting because it's thrilling and we love hockey and the Caps.

Because I take 2 big honkin' doses of chemo a day and know that the fun of experiencing a thing is way more valuable than actually achieving it (it's the journey, not the destination, and all that).

C'mon, man. Win or lose, it's fun. You're going back to your life the next day either way. If your move is to sulk and whine and be dour over every letdown instead of filing it away because it really doesn't ****ing matter and gearing up for the next one, that's on you.

I'd rather cheer for my team. Your mileage may vary.

 

[IafrateOvie34]

But the real questions are these: Should both games have been very even? Should a 1-1 series deadlock feel about right? Didn't Washington win the President's Trophy this year? Weren't the Caps considered to be the favourites to win the Stanley Cup?

Yes which can be a kiss of death. Ask the other President Trophy teams in the past few decades. I still remember the Blackhawks getting swept by the North Stars in 91 that barely made the playoffs. At the time that was the biggest choke. This time of year anyone can get hot and right now Andersen is playing like Jon Casey in 91. This sport is one of the hardest to pick a clear winner despite regular season success. This could either be a 91 Blackhawks or 2010 Caps failure. The problem with our fanbase is we've been on the bad end of most of the choke jobs in NHL history and it's up to this group to erase that doubt. I like challenges though, I mean look at the 89 Flames first round? That was a character building series. Caps need a Joel Otto type hero and forget these two games.

Go Caps.

 

[Licentia]

It''s one thing to fail to sweep a team because you lose a game in their building. It's another thing entirely to fail to sweep a team, because they stole a game in your own building.

 

[Langway]

So basically you are agreeing with what I said before:

Not really. I wouldn't entirely chalk it up to character alone and there are recent examples that disprove your early series hypothesis. Both Boston ('11) and Los Angeles ('14) required three game sevens in their runs. Both needed seven to get out of the first round (OT G7 in Boston's case). It happens. It should not happen to this Caps team on paper given the wide disparity in blueline quality but their forward group is also incredibly overrated. They fade offensively every year and it was always a rich notion to believe Eller and Connolly were the answer.

 

[bags92]

I think I'm gonna venture over to the Blackhawks board and see how things are going over there.

 

[Licentia]

Not really. I wouldn't entirely chalk it up to character alone and there are recent examples that disprove your early series hypothesis. Both Boston and Los Angeles required three game sevens in their runs. It happens. It should not happen to this Caps team on paper given the wide disparity in blueline quality but their forward group is also incredibly overrated.

Everyone misunderstands me.

Let's consider a hockey video game, and maybe that will help people to understand:

Team A rating = 85 VS Team B rating = 83
(This series should be tight, and likely to go 7 games. If it takes "Team A" 7 games to win, this is understandable.)

Team A rating = 92 VS Team B rating = 71
(This series should not be tight, and should not go to 7 games. If it takes "Team A" 7 games to win, something just isn't right.)

It's a matter of judging performance based on a dynamic factor, such as the quality of an opponent. It's not based on something static, such as the number of games played in a series.

In the case of the LA Kings, they were the 71 team. As such it's not surprising that they would need 3 seven game rounds to win the Cup. I don't remember back to the Bruins win. Obviously there will be the odd exception to the rule, but if I'm wrong 1 time in 20 I consider that a pretty good success rate.

 

[illpucks]

Trotz is a guy that can't coach himself out of a paper bag in the playoffs...simple as that. I respect the man and he is a great technical coach but.. .kinda reminds me of Bryan Murray

Bryan Murray got his Presidents' Monster of a team to the SCF, and lost due to an own goal.

 

[Calicaps]

Everyone misunderstands me.

Let's consider a hockey video game, and maybe that will help people to understand:

Team A rating = 85 VS Team B rating = 83
(This series should be tight, and likely to go 7 games. If it takes "Team A" 7 games to win, this is understandable.)

Team A rating = 92 VS Team B rating = 71
(This series should not be tight, and should not go to 7 games. If it takes "Team A" 7 games to win, something just isn't right.)

It's a matter of judging performance based on a dynamic factor, such as the quality of an opponent. It's not based on something static, such as the number of games played in a series.

This was game 2. Maybe you want to wait until the series is over.

 

[OviTaughtMe]

So over these old school dinosaur coaches actively making their teams worse in the name of "grit" and "leadership"

Fire his ass if they don't make the ECF.

 

[Jags]

I wonder if Barry worked any match-ups tonight. I doubt it, it's just Toronto.

Marner and JVR had a point each. The rest of their stars did squat while playing a ******** of minutes.

They got a goal from their D and 2 from their 4th line.

So go ahead. Explain to me how key defensive matchups would have changed the outcome. Let's hear your expert analysis of the line-matching brilliance that goes into shutting down Kasperi Kapanen.

We're not getting it done offensively. They're doing a uniformly good job of keeping us to the outside and their goaltender is playing very well. If this were a clear case of them getting key defensive matchups on us, you might have a point. But that's clearly not the case here. Our lack of scoring right now looks 100% like our scoring droughts earlier in the year.

Not getting to the net, overpassing, too many misses from the point, and so on. It's the same ol' ****.

The personnel matchups are a non-story.

 

[Langway]

In the case of the LA Kings, they were the 71 team. As such it's not surprising that they would need 3 seven game rounds to win the Cup. I don't remember back to the Bruins win. Obviously there will be the odd exception to the rule, but if I'm wrong 1 time in 20 I consider that a pretty good success rate.

You probably should rate Washington lower and expect their series to go longer based on their history. Los Angeles probably also deserves to be rated higher. There are certain elements that translate to playoff success and some that are nice and flashy but don't end up determining much. I don't know how to rate teams objectively like that but Washington's results in the playoffs show that they're not that great. The same goes for Trotz's playoff resume. I don't doubt it will be a long series. In fact, a short series under the circumstances may be more likely to be in favor of Toronto at this point given that they're headed back home and should have way more confidence.

Taking seven games doesn't stop them from going deep. All sorts of things can happen to prolong a series. For them their Cup Final is probably the next round--should they advance--and they seem ill-prepared for that regardless of how deep this series ends up going. Five or seven doesn't really change that for me. They just don't have that elevation to their game to be able to strip it down to the essentials and gain separation.

 

[Acallabeth]

So over these old school dinosaur coaches actively making their teams worse in the name of "grit" and "leadership"

Fire his ass if they don't make the ECF.

? "Grit" and "leadership" are some of the last words I would associate with this team, and I would be very happy if the "dinosaur coach" could knock cruise control out of his disciples' heads.

 

[Revelation]

Marner and JVR had a point each. The rest of their stars did squat while playing a ******** of minutes.

They got a goal from their D and 2 from their 4th line.

So go ahead. Explain to me how key defensive matchups would have changed the outcome. Let's hear your expert analysis of the line-matching brilliance that goes into shutting down Kasperi Kapanen.

We're not getting it done offensively. They're doing a uniformly good job of keeping us to the outside and their goaltender is playing very well. If this were a clear case of them getting key defensive matchups on us, you might have a point. But that's clearly not the case here. Our lack of scoring right now looks 100% like our scoring droughts earlier in the year.

Not getting to the net, overpassing, too many misses from the point, and so on. It's the same ol' ****.

The personnel matchups are a non-story.

They get it done offensively when the defense makes things happen in transition and at the blue line. Carlson goal was Carlson and GTG was Orlov. They have 2 guys in Alzner and Orpik that are useless at that part of the game. Replacing one of them with Schmidt would go a long way to rectifying that, especially given that his speed matches well with Toronto's fast players.

 

[twabby]

There's a reason things happen offensively when Orlov and Niskanen are on the ice. The Backstrom goal was a textbook example of 5 players contributing in the offensive zone.

Is it really a surprise that the Capitals struggle at even strength, especially in a "half-court" setup when it requires both defensemen to be active? Any time Orpik or Alzner (and Carlson to a lesser extent) are out there the play just dies.

It's not a cure-all, but dressing Schmidt needs to happen. There's no way you can say with a straight face that he's a worse option than 27 or 74 right now. They are simply brutal in both zones right now.

 

[Tavares to Marner]

Leafs fan who happens to be a HUGE ovechkin fan coming in peace.

What the hell is wrong with him? his play comes off so uninspiring and depressing lately. Is their something going on? The guys had so many positions were i was like no way he misses this and he would. Guys play is SHOCKING

 

[Calicaps]

Leafs fan who happens to be a HUGE ovechkin fan coming in peace.

What the hell is wrong with him? his play comes off so uninspiring and depressing lately. Is their something going on? The guys had so many positions were i was like no way he misses this and he would. Guys play is SHOCKING

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