Game 86: Caps @ Cans

[Pigskin]

Loved the game

Nice to see Mango rewarded ... I like his unassuming character and play and always have ... yes he is overpaid, but he has always been capable of such a goal from the bottom 6

Whining aside, I think the Habs should be given some credit ... they playing pretty good for a WC2 team

Gotta close this out asap, get some rest

 

[Cappy76]

Watching this clip of the Wilson hit, you can hear a Habs player or coach screaming: "HHHIIIIITTTT!!!!" right before impact or was it Wilson yelling it out?:

Probably Wilson, in an interview earlier this year he was saying he's started letting players know he was coming to help avoid injuries or something along those lines

 

[marcel snapshot]

My biggest concerns after tonight's game is 8 and 74. They both looked out of sorts tonight, 8 slow and behind the play and 74 with just some poor decisions and plays.

They get exposed on the road when Carbs doesn’t have the last change

 

[RandyHolt]

Shoutout to MSL for panic pulling the goalie before possession for the insta gift ENG.

 

[ahmedou]

 

[Roshi]

It’s two things:

1) The total number of fans is high so more whiners by sheer size.

2) French Canadians are whiners in general. Live in Ottawa so have experienced it for many years.

Dont know about the 2) , but 1) is absolutely what goes on. Every fanbase has their whiners and trolls, and as Habs have double the fanbase most teams they will also have double the whiners and trolls. Aswell as double the amount of really great fans. Just look at the atmosphere in Bell Centre, crazy.

Some of the stuff is really cringy, but so what. Its the playoffs. We are supposed to be on the edge, this is what being a sports-fan is all about. The ups and the downs of a best-of-7 playoff-series is unmatched.

But if someone doesnt want to see the worst of a fanbase, stay out of their subforum. lol. What do you expect. Thats the safe-space!

Gotta admit though, it is tough to keep out from the mains and not pour some salt on the tears of our current enemy. Especially well knowing thats what they would do for us if the roles were turned around

 

[trick9]

Offensive zone start % so far in the series (5-on-5):

Ovechkin 92.0%
Strome 88.46%
Beauvillier 85.19%

Hard to blame 'em for that given how well those 3 have played and how badly they've outscoren the opponents but that does make you wonder when the Big Pro returns if they want to put him on that line especially later on in away games so that they can throw that line out there a little bit more. So far they've been playing well and driving play on these road games so there's been plenty of opportunities to throw them out there but in the long run i'd guess they'd want to be able to throw that line out there even more even if it sometimes meant putting Protas in there.

 

[Agent37]

Offensive zone start % so far in the series (5-on-5):

Ovechkin 92.0%
Strome 88.46%
Beauvillier 85.19%

Hard to blame 'em for that given how well those 3 have played and how badly they've outscoren the opponents but that does make you wonder when the Big Pro returns if they want to put him on that line especially later on in away games so that they can throw that line out there a little bit more. So far they've been playing well and driving play on these road games so there's been plenty of opportunities to throw them out there but in the long run i'd guess they'd want to be able to throw that line out there even more even if it sometimes meant putting Protas in there.

Could put Protas on the 3rd line with Leonard

 

[RandyHolt]

Ok so can we talk about the elephant in the room

That Pro likely has more than a simple cut? There must be a some tendon muscle tenderloin or whatever cut to explain this prolonged absence.

 

[stanleycaps18]

I think that is a given. If it was just a cut that needed stitches, it would have been like 2 weeks.

 

[Holtbyisms]

He certainly wouldn't be skating that hard if he had some sort of structural damage. I think this is Carbery giving him additional time to rest just to be safe because he thinks Montreal is beatable without him.

 

[RandyHolt]

Other elephant in the room? Xhekaj hates Eller, Danes or hey maybe wants Greenland. X just is destroying Eller at every chance, and it seems like him alone. Its kind of funny to see.

FWIW X in the lineup didn't save Carrier from getting carried off but he hasn't appeared a liability on their backend to these eyes. X will need to target our skill guys (sorry Larry) to draw the ire of Wilson and goad him off the ice.

 

[tycoonheart]

Offensive zone start % so far in the series (5-on-5):

Ovechkin 92.0%
Strome 88.46%
Beauvillier 85.19%

Hard to blame 'em for that given how well those 3 have played and how badly they've outscoren the opponents but that does make you wonder when the Big Pro returns if they want to put him on that line especially later on in away games so that they can throw that line out there a little bit more. So far they've been playing well and driving play on these road games so there's been plenty of opportunities to throw them out there but in the long run i'd guess they'd want to be able to throw that line out there even more even if it sometimes meant putting Protas in there.

Strome line has been perfectly fine and I wouldn't mess with it. PLD's line needs help, and that's where you put Protas. CMM has been an absolute stud so far and he will work out fine in another line.

 

[Chokingdogs]

Other elephant in the room? Xhekaj hates Eller, Danes or hey maybe wants Greenland. X just is destroying Eller at every chance, and it seems like him alone. Its kind of funny to see.

FWIW X in the lineup didn't save Carrier from getting carried off but he hasn't appeared a liability on their backend to these eyes. X will need to target our skill guys (sorry Larry) to draw the ire of Wilson and goad him off the ice.

Or better yet, Wilson can Carrier xerxes?

 

[Calicaps]

They get exposed on the road when Carbs doesn’t have the last change

Gotta split them up. I know we're short a defensive D-man without Fever, but I'd try Roy with Chych and Rasmus with Carlson.

 

[usiel]

Speed

I think it was mentioned between periods that he was only going 15 mph into that hit.

 

[Neil Racki]

They get exposed on the road when Carbs doesn’t have the last change

in the 3rd .. were we skipping Ovi shifts? Seemed like Strome/Beau got less ice time but then I saw at one point they were out there but Ovi wasnt.

Another time they had the Suz line lined up against Ovis at FO .. strome/beau lined changed ASAP and Ovi didnt/stayed out there

Hard to tell watching from TV .. could be overlap of line changes etc

 

[bacchist]

Thread should be titled "Caps vs Can'ts"

 

[Random schmoe]

in the 3rd .. were we skipping Ovi shifts? Seemed like Strome/Beau got less ice time but then I saw at one point they were out there but Ovi wasnt.

Another time they had the Suz line lined up against Ovis at FO .. strome/beau lined changed ASAP and Ovi didnt/stayed out there

Hard to tell watching from TV .. could be overlap of line changes etc

The official shift chart in the 3rd period shows only one timeframe where Strome was on the ice but Ovie wasn't (around the 6 minute mark of the third period). Beauvillier was on the ice for it. (But earlier in the third, Strome and Ovie were on the ice together when Beau was not.)

Neither Ovie nor Strome saw the ice after Mange's goal to give them the lead. Beau played some of the 5 on 6 time.

NHL Stats

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[IafrateOvie34]

What a fragile fanbase. From the TNT broadcast, to the preferential reffing, the canadian bias is real. Took a peak at their GDT and there are several wishing serious injury on Ovi and the others.

Guess I expect more from an original 6 team. Bunch of babies.

It's entitlement attitude from a historical franchise. They rather watch Four Nations style BS over real hockey. Hardly any of the analysts will give the Caps credit and will randomly mention something positive about Ovy. Botterill was unbearable and then Ovy made the hit on Carrier and she gasped and was out of air. While I like the enthusiasm with Montreal home games compared to most arenas, it's still the mentality of a franchise that won the most NHL championships and expect everything to go their way. Overall, I like the Sportsnet coverage during the regular season, however yesterday was pretty homer. That said, I'll still take Sportsnet over ESPN, TNT, or TBS. Perhaps it's me being passionate about the Caps, but it always seems our team is always the underdog despite having the second best regular season and a complete team. I expect over expectations with HF due to it's a prospect site and folks are proud of their youngsters, but this is the season where veterans take over for the most part. Going back to Botterill, when LT went down in game 3 she seemed joyful about it from my perspective. Long ago I used to watch a lot of Habs/Expos games or RDS/CRT and it was unbearable then, I can't imagine now.

 

[IafrateOvie34]

Could put Protas on the 3rd line with Leonard

Please! Leonard needs to be shifted around more with his creative chances.