GDT: Scrimmage 82 - Caps @ Pens 7PM EST

[PlushMinus]

I would. He's got the talent and playoff experience will boost him, especially after being close in college. He's built for playoff hockey.

So if all forwards are healthy he won't start in the playoffs, right? That is what I'm thinking.

Who would sit instead - Manigapane or Beauvillier have the age and experience so don't expect it to be them.

Would have to be Raddysh.

 

[Fred22406Capsfan]

Didn't this regulation win push them out of the lottery? Worth it if so!

 

[tycoonheart]

There is no such thing as flipping the switch. You don't go from playing like ass for months to magically playing like a well oiled machine. Not saying they're going to lose to the Habs. But for them to get back to playing the way they used to when they won all those games, it's going to take a while. In the meantime, if they want to win games, they are going to need something or someone to come through. And I don't know what that is considering they are terrible offensively, defensively and goaltending has been subpar.

 

[Langway]

We all watch the same games...

Speak for yourself. @twabby had it right.

 

[Lindemann]

There is no such thing as flipping the switch. You don't go from playing like ass for months to magically playing like a well oiled machine. Not saying they're going to lose to the Habs. But for them to get back to playing the way they used to when they won all those games, it's going to take a while. In the meantime, if they want to win games, they are going to need something or someone to come through. And I don't know what that is considering they are terrible offensively, defensively and goaltending has been subpar.

 

[Lou Sassole]

If we post happy thoughts or sad thoughts on here … it doesn’t change what will happen on the ice. We all watch the same games, we know we’ve struggled for a while and just assuming we can magically turn it on isn’t ideal.

But we’re also a really good deep squad. Pro back, Logan back … the likes of Mcilrath and others to the bench.

We won’t know how round 1 plays out until round 1 plays out.

You can be a hopeful positive fan.

You can be a negative pessimist fan.

No wrong choice.

2 things we can agree on.

Go Caps

f*** the Habs

Agreed, I guess I'm more of a hopeful, positive, yet pissed off with the shit effort, type of fan. If i was going to eat at a 3 star michelin restaurant, I would be hopeful and positive, if the chef serves me a plate full of dog shit he prepared, I'm not gonna be pleased. I need them to get their shit together from the opening faceoff on Monday.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

I just don’t know how you can expect that with them sucking defensively lately.

Unless someone channels their inner Kelly Hrudey….


Besides, they shot their wad just qualifying last year….they had nothing left to give.

Disagree, goaltending was the first area with visible cracks. 92 goals against in the past 27 games tells me the goaltending just hasn’t been good enough.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Stevenson sure as f*** wasn't the problem tonight.

Wasn’t blaming him in particular, just a bigger picture observation. The goaltending has been mediocre since the 4 Nations break.

 

[max21]

Im surprised so many people are so pissed about tonight, I could care less about that game. I was just hoping for some Leonard highlights. IIRC 22 playoffs against the Panthers we lost 5 in a row to end the season. Even though we lost that series we def showed up. They’ll be a different looking team Monday

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Disagree, goaltending was the first area with visible cracks. 92 goals against in the past 27 games tells me the goaltending just hasn’t been good enough.

I’m just saying if your plan is for the goalies to steal games, we’re in trouble. Team D Ai needs to be rebooted or something.

 

[LesDiablesRouges]

Six of the last ten games we’ve lost by three or more goals.

 

[SherVaughn30]

So much negativity for an almost meaningless final regular season game.

My takes from this:
- Stevenson played a strong game and looks more comfortable at the NHL level than Shepard
- Another OV goal(it's never enough when he scores goals)
- I'm sorry but Leonard is not NHL ready enough. I think he would be better off playing with Hershey than playing with the Caps in the playoffs. There are areas of his game that need work(he passed up shots tonight and he needs build his frame a bit), and inserting him into the lineup when they start the playoffs, is not necessarily a good thing for the team. Leonard has his work cut out for him to grasp the pro game. Give the guy like 15 - 20 mins a night playing with Hershey.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

I’m just saying if your plan is for the goalies to steal games, we’re in trouble. Team D Ai needs to be rebooted or something.

You need them to steal some from time to time, or at least be more reliable than they have been lately. It has a positive effect on the defense in front of them as well.

We’ll see how it goes. Great 50th season!

Worst thing about tonight was Strome getting robbed of his 30th goal.

 

[SherVaughn30]

You need them to steal some from time to time, or at least be more reliable than they have been lately. It has a positive effect on the defense in front of them as well.

We’ll see how it goes. Great 50th season!

Worst thing about tonight was Strome getting robbed of his 30th goal.

Yeah that sucked, but it was the right call. Overall, I think for the NHL too many good plays of goals scored have been taken away by replay. I feel there are some things that could be done better to diminish this, but the NHL feels it's doing fine in that regard.

 

[EroCaps]

So much negativity for an almost meaningless final regular season game.

My takes from this:
- Stevenson played a strong game and looks more comfortable at the NHL level than Shepard
- Another OV goal(it's never enough when he scores goals)
- I'm sorry but Leonard is not NHL ready enough. I think he would be better off playing with Hershey than playing with the Caps in the playoffs. There are areas of his game that need work(he passed up shots tonight and he needs build his frame a bit), and inserting him into the lineup when they start the playoffs, is not necessarily a good thing for the team. Leonard has his work cut out for him to grasp the pro game. Give the guy like 15 - 20 mins a night playing with Hershey.

with you on Leonard. He looks like a guy who’s going to be real good… in 2-3 years.

 

[Corby78]

I don’t care about the result, and I liked what I saw from Stephenson. What I hated was the continued stupid decision play that is continuing. We looked like ass again. Turnover after turnover, dumb play after dumb play. I would be very confident if I was Montreal.

 

[StrikingDistance]

We isn't playing with this line-up next week so:

 

[SherVaughn30]

with you on Leonard. He looks like a guy who’s going to be real good… in 2-3 years.

I get an early sense Leonard's development could be like CMM. Remember we kept saying(I think for 2 years?)CMM was gonna cracked the lineup and it didn't happen like we thought? CMM had to work hard in Hershey and look what he surprisingly showed this season. Leonard could be slow cooked a bit in Hershey and be a lot better for it.

 

[SherVaughn30]

I don’t care about the result, and I liked what I saw from Stephenson. What I hated was the continued stupid decision play that is continuing. We looked like ass again. Turnover after turnover, dumb play after dumb play. I would be very confident if I was Montreal.

Only playing the whole game with 5 d-men(3 regulars were rested)! So turnovers were bound to happen in different ways. And it's spelled Stevenson, not Stephenson. Stephenson was part of the Caps roster that won the Cup!

 

[SherVaughn30]

For those who haven't seen the clip yet, take a look at Stevenson's post-game interview. Such a very humble guy! He really put his 1st ever NHL start in a very good perspective. I like how he views the game, going with the strong mentality that he can stop every shot he faces. Honestly, it's the same way that I have approached every time I have stepped on the ice, whether it's playing pickup, a practice or a game. At least for me, I really want to root for this guy to succeed!

 

[TheSmokingMan]

- I'm sorry but Leonard is not NHL ready enough. I think he would be better off playing with Hershey than playing with the Caps in the playoffs. There are areas of his game that need work(he passed up shots tonight and he needs build his frame a bit), and inserting him into the lineup when they start the playoffs, is not necessarily a good thing for the team. Leonard has his work cut out for him to grasp the pro game. Give the guy like 15 - 20 mins a night playing with Hershey.

I'm not with you on Leonard. I don't think it's fair to judge him too harshly over the last few games. With the Ovi goal chase and already clinching the east, the team was not really playing with any drive or focus, basically just waiting for the playoffs to start. Combine that with lots of players coming in and out of the line-up and I don't think that really creates a good atmosphere for a rookie to find their game.

He has the skillset and attitude that should make him a standout playoff performer. Nothing will be gained by sending him to Hershey. He's already too good for that league. Let him get some experience against Montreal and give him a chance to find a place in the lineup where he can contribute. If we end up going deep, we're going to need him, and I think we'll be glad we got him some action in round one.

 

[g00n]

This is in response to Lindemann's post which is just an image. Not seeing the quote here.

This image should be stickied in its own thread at the top of this forum. I looked up these same sorts of numbers recently and made a similar observation: there is no correlation and certainly no causal relationship between going in hot and winning the Cup or even going massively deep in the playoffs.

It's a new season.

It's 4-7 games against one team where the stakes get higher with each game instead of lower, as with early clinchers.

It's a battle between coaches for strategy, line matching, and deception across an entire series against a coach/team attempting to do the same.

It's endurance and toughness and fortitude for the players.

It's a stage where goaltenders of all stripes can make or break reputations and careers and can virtually steal a Cup themselves.

It's the opposite of the regular season.

As we found out the last time we played Montreal in Round 1.

 

[crab]

Wasn’t able to watch this game but from the other games Leonard looked solid to me. Obviously would like to see better end results but a large part of that is the team is just going through the motions. Leonard’s advanced stats are really solid too.

 

[Nice]

Leonards given his line some golden opportunities but they haven't been able to finish. He's generated like 4 breakaways from what I can remember. He's a little snakebit, some points will eventually begin to fall. He could get his shot off quicker and more often, coaches are probably letting him know that. Looks like he's figuring out what he can do with what space he's given in the league too

 

[g00n]

Looked to me like Leno was looking to set up the other guys more than anything else