GM2: Caps vs Rags - after 7pm EST

[Capsman]

Also, Ovie has been really quiet. I know he can't put the team on his back like he used to, but we really need him in game 3 if we're going to have any hope. I'm an optimist, so I think he comes out flying and has a big game in the next one.

That’s a generous take. I see it as being a loud negative. There are other ways he can contribute, but because he can’t shake loose rip a one-timer he looks to me to be disinterested, discouraged, whatever you want to call it. And it’s not just the turnover I’m referring to, but also taking useless shots into the legs of defenders 5 feet away, etc.

I’d like to see more effort and urgency from him.

 

[YippieKaey]

The Caps had one advantage going into the series, Big Mac, Wilson and Ovi are the strongest on the ice when they're out there and Wilson kind of owns many of the Rangers by proxy. They need to leverage that into a greasy, dirty game in order to win. The Caps won't outplay the Rangers so might aswell hurt them instead. When tiny Panarin headhunts the Oshbabe and no Ranger gets in trouble for it it's a problem.

Granted i want this in most playoff games but still.

 

[YippieKaey]

Lappy with 15 lbs and two years of experience might be a pretty great two-way C. So many takeaways and puck rushes today. Shades of good Kuzy

 

[HTFN]

There was that recent incident where Oshie appeared to intentionally knee a player in the nards in retaliation while he was being hit against the boards. Some here charitably wrote it off, saying "Well he's constantly off balance, so maybe that was it." But, IIRC, it didn't look good. (In the slow motion replays, at least. I missed that game.)

That was the first time I ever noticed any of those "low-key dirty" comments, so I imagine a bunch of angry haters are desperately hanging on to that?

Nah, it's a thing.

Or more accurately: it's a thing mainly among the more emotionally stunted Metro fans who can't just sit and accept when a player regularly gets the better of their favorite players and start finding ways to cope. Oshie's has always been that he's "sneaky dirty" because he's good in the corners and doesn't stop trying.

Seems like it's mostly Pens and Rangers fans that talk about it, so if we're being really generous we could say that the extended playoff exposure has left them with a sour taste but it's mostly just a bad take.

 

[HeyMattyB]

Seems like it's mostly Pens and Rangers fans that talk about it, so if we're being really generous we could say that the extended playoff exposure has left them with a sour taste.

You know, if everything leaves a bad taste in your mouth, it's probably because you're full of shit. But I don't expect those perpetually pissed Pens and Rangers fans to figure that out anytime soon.

So, in the meantime...

 

[PlushMinus]

There was that recent incident where Oshie appeared to intentionally knee a player in the nards in retaliation while he was being hit against the boards. Some here charitably wrote it off, saying "Well he's constantly off balance, so maybe that was it." But, IIRC, it didn't look good. (In the slow motion replays, at least. I missed that game.)

That was the first time I ever noticed any of those "low-key dirty" comments, so I imagine a bunch of angry haters are desperately hanging on to that?

Yeah I saw that thread on the mains as well. I gave Oshie the benefit of the doubt but it kind of looked intentional.

Definitely nowhere near as bad as an intentional hit to the head though. I think Oshie is just ultra-competitive and that means battling hard for the puck.

I've read other team's GDT's when Caps played them and every now and again they'd pile on Oshie. Which is why I asked if anybody around here thought there was anything to it. Probably just HF mains being full of shit as usual.

 

[HTFN]

Yeah I saw that thread on the mains as well. I gave Oshie the benefit of the doubt but it kind of looked intentional.

Definitely nowhere near as bad as an intentional hit to the head though. I think Oshie is just ultra-competitive and that means battling hard for the puck.

I've read other team's GDT's when Caps played them and every now and again they'd pile on Oshie. Which is why I asked if anybody around here thought there was anything to it. Probably just HF mains being full of shit as usual.

He's a frustrating but sometimes vulnerable higher skill/event player, it just happens. It's like... imagine the frustration and "he's dirty" talk that surrounded Cal Clutterbuck but make him a guy with hands who can score goals and play top line minutes. The fact that he's not giving off an aura of "untouchable" makes fans want to see him get blown up, and he does now and then but not nearly as often as he could be, and they have to rationalize that.

Oshie's not that kind of heat seeker but he's been a very talented pitbull for his career and when a guy frustrates teams that bad but won't remove himself from games without being a.) injured or b.) suspended you end up with other fans calling him "sneaky dirty" because he's hard to deal with and not afraid to play in the corners.

Call me Principal Skinner but in this case it's hockey and it's the fans who are wrong.