Another uninspired effort tonight. 4- loss.
There was some shoddy officiating (Sens getting away with behind the play mugging that the Bears were called for) that eventually evened out. But holy hell is their pp awful. With the personnel they have, their pp should frankly not be below top 5 let alone 20ish or so. Sometimes they get too cute, and I hate hate hate the neutral zone drop pass and powerplay dump and chase that they seem to employ regularly. They actually had their asses saved on a Belleville 2-on-0 by a behind-the-play penalty on the Senators... only for Belleville to score a go-ahead shorthanded goal (McMichael got completely faked out by the Senator one on one). And somehow their powerplay ranking is almost ten spots higher than it was a month and a half ago!
A lot of their deficiencies have been present all year, but they were able to outscore them before. Inability to hold a lead, anemic powerplay, etc. Now the offense is a lot more sporadic/hot and cold and it bites them in the ass. I'm not sure if the trade deadline will bring anyone new in, especially if the Caps continue to sell, but if their issues persist I see this team being a first round out if I'm being honest.
Also postgame was the meet the team party for season ticket holders. The first and only other one I went to in 2005 was a skating party and pretty fun even though I couldn't skate and just walked on the ice. It was kind of like the autograph nights they have each year, except the players were free roaming instead of stationed at chairs around the ice. This was basically an assembly line with the players all at one long table on the concourse. I know in years past it's been on season ticket pickup night but they didn't do it then this year because a lot of the players were in the Caps' training camp. I'm not sure if those were the same tonight but I didn't like how rushed it was. I'm not looking to sit down and chat with these guys like they're my best buds but some of my stops were so rushed some of the players didn't even really have a chance to say the standard "how are you doing" or anything. No chance for pictures either. Definitely prefer autograph night and will probably just keep attending those in the future and skip the STH event (if it's the same format). No one was a jackass or anything, it was just disappointingly rushed. Silver lining, at least I got everyone's autograph (except Lapierre- he left the game early- not sure if he got hurt?- but I got him on autograph night in December).
Did still manage a couple fun interactions. Morelli (who's been a really friendly, personable guy both times I've met him) got a kick out of the Stockton Heat puck I had him signed (as did Malenstyn, who was next to him). I had to help him open the puck case I had it in because he couldn't get it, lol. That was the interaction I think caused me to slow down a little, if I'm being honest. Massie ("did you make these yourself??") and Carlsson sitting beside him. both were impressed by the custom cards I made for everyone.
