GDT: GM 57: Caps to Oil the machine in B2B afternoon games

[trick9]

Where was the back check on that play? The Caps were passing the puck unhindered across the crease for what seemed like more time than a SCF team should be giving up.

Oilers loaded up Draisatl - McDavid - Savoie to get that goal back late and none of those guys seemed too eager to come back to play D once the puck was lost on the offensive zone.

Oilers are going to give a free pass to Drai and McDavid and chalk this up to a ''night to forget'' but that's a really bad look for Matt Savoie. Rare shot given to play with those 2 and just complete lack of effort coming back to defend. It wasn't his only lazy backcheck of the night, either.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

No one could’ve seen this coming!

50? That’s not a stretch….now 80….

 

[Ovechkins Wodka]

 

[zappa4ever]

If PLD isn't doing everything Selke winners do I don't know what a Selke winner is

He's had the shutdown job on ALL the big dogs in the League and has stepped up on ALL of them, could be crucial come Playoff time

Love his details of the game

 

[kicksavedave]

Yeah PLD's reputation prior to coming here was unfounded. This guy loves hockey, but not just scoring goals and doing nothing else, like say, Vrana or Sprong, but he relishes the challenge of shutting down the other teams top players. Apparently LA wouldn't give him those assignments, but Carbs did on day one, and look where we are now. Guys who play a complete two way game at a top level, even if his scoring isn't top of the leaderboard, are invaluable, especially in the playoffs.

For the record, PLD is +23, which is tied for 13th in the league, but only has 48 pts, tied for 52nd. But doing this against the entire league's top centers is what makes it incredible. Doing the dirty work to get wins, got to love it.

BTW Big Pro is +32, tied for 2nd overall in the league. f***ing love that dude!

 

[Dr John Carlson]

Yeah PLD's reputation prior to coming here was unfounded. This guy loves hockey, but not just scoring goals and doing nothing else, like say, Vrana or Sprong, but he relishes the challenge of shutting down the other teams top players. Apparently LA wouldn't give him those assignments, but Carbs did on day one, and look where we are now.

Just makes it all the more bewildering that LA traded a haul for him and instantly signed him in the first place. They already had Kopitar and Danault to handle whatever matchups they needed. He just wasn't needed for them.

Going from ~18 minutes per night of Kuznetsov to ~17 minutes per night of Dubois might be the biggest positive change on the roster, among many positive changes.

 

[kicksavedave]

Going from ~18 minutes per night of Kuznetsov to ~17 minutes per night of Dubois might be the biggest positive change on the roster, among many positive changes.

Yeah getting PLD for peanuts (contract we didn't want) and Strome for free really softens the blow of losing Backie and Kuzy in the same year, but man GMBM should get a medal for keeping this team rolling through some major changes. Its fair to say we held on to NB and Kuzy maybe longer than we should have, but finding their replacements that would come in and be better than them was not an easy task. Kudos to the pro scouting.

 

[Midnight Judges]

If PLD isn't doing everything Selke winners do I don't know what a Selke winner is

The Selke voters don’t appear to care what the actual criteria is. More often they seem to see it as a way of pumping a media darling - something PLD is not.

 

[kicksavedave]

The Selke voters don’t appear to care what the actual criteria is. More often they seem to see it as a way of pumping a media darling - something PLD is not.

Well at least it probably won't be Bergeron this year

 

[StrikingDistance]

51 goals in his last 77 games for Ovechkin.

This GDT post from the Oil board didn't age well. How much $$ did you lose?

GDT: - Game #57: Oilers @ Capitals - 11 AM - Sportsnet

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Yeah PLD's reputation prior to coming here was unfounded.

I don’t know about that; the past is right there for review.

We may very well be getting the best version of PLD the Pro. That’s on Carbs and the culture IMO, plus a little dose of PLD probably realizing he might be running out of chances around the league.

 

[hb13xchamps]

Well at least it probably won't be Bergeron this year

I’m sure it will be Bergeron 2.0 aka Barkov. He’s been labeled a selke guy forever now.

 

[kicksavedave]

I don’t know about that; the past is right there for review.

We may very well be getting the best version of PLD the Pro. That’s on Carbs and the culture IMO, plus a little dose of PLD probably realizing he might be running out of chances around the league.

The reputation that he was lazy or unmotivated seems less true than the fact that he was misfit and misused in LA. No one who plays defense like PLD is lazy. Sure, credit to the Caps for using him right and treating him like he's valuable. Why didn't LA do those things?

Anyway, I've loving PLD on the Caps and love his unselfish game.

 

[RayMartyniukTotems]

Wait. You aren’t MaacoShark, are you?

Chandler Stephenson fan? Sorry if wrong

No I'm Andy S

 

[BallardEra]

This GDT post from the Oil board didn't age well. How much $$ did you lose?

GDT: - Game #57: Oilers @ Capitals - 11 AM - Sportsnet

So happy I was wrong and that I don't gamble!

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

The reputation that he was lazy or unmotivated seems less true than the fact that he was misfit and misused in LA. No one who plays defense like PLD is lazy. Sure, credit to the Caps for using him right and treating him like he's valuable. Why didn't LA do those things?

Anyway, I've loving PLD on the Caps and love his unselfish game.

His demeanor, body language (and play) from what I’ve read from past fan bases probably led to that lazy impression. So many personality-type issues could have been in play. Could be him maturing also. I just don’t think everyone else necessarily had it all wrong with him. I hope we/he have/has figured it out and this is the guy we get going forward.

 

[kicksavedave]

His demeanor, body language (and play) from what I’ve read from past fan bases probably led to that lazy impression. So many personality-type issues could have been in play. Could be him maturing also. I just don’t think everyone else necessarily had it all wrong with him. I hope we/he have/has figured it out and this is the guy we get going forward.

I think this is exactly what happened, first with Torts then with LA. Regardless, I'm not saying there wasn't negative evidence correctly attached to PLD in the past. I'm saying the cause for that evidence may have been more on those teams handling of him than on him entirely. That long article about his journey from CBus to the Caps details a lot of it. First, just, Torts. Then, he was never able to bond in Peg because of Covid. He was miscast and misused in LA. Maybe we are just the first ones to crack the code, but I don't think he's suddenly become a different person here. He's just been 'unlocked' if you will.

 

[RayMartyniukTotems]

I don’t know about that; the past is right there for review.

We may very well be getting the best version of PLD the Pro. That’s on Carbs and the culture IMO, plus a little dose of PLD probably realizing he might be running out of chances around the league.

In LA the Kings had him playing 3rd line Centre and that was a waste...why bother trading for a guy giving him a hefty raise and playing there...dumb dumb Blake

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

In LA the Kings had him playing 3rd line Centre and that was a waste...why bother trading for a guy giving him a hefty raise and playing there...dumb dumb Blake

Isn’t that on the coach and maybe on the player in terms of his quality of play? I’m sure Blake wasn’t envisioning that play for that price.

I think this is exactly what happened, first with Torts then with LA. Regardless, I'm not saying there wasn't negative evidence correctly attached to PLD in the past. I'm saying the cause for that evidence may have been more on those teams handling of him than on him entirely. That long article about his journey from CBus to the Caps details a lot of it. First, just, Torts. Then, he was never able to bond in Peg because of Covid. He was miscast and misused in LA. Maybe we are just the first ones to crack the code, but I don't think he's suddenly become a different person here. He's just been 'unlocked' if you will.

In addition to this being a great place to play, with great teammates, he might be being a better pro here….hard to judge only by results.