GDT: the Washington Stanley Cup Champions @ the Pittsburgh Not-Stanley Cup Champions | 10/4/18

[g00n]

that was clearly a hook, what are you talking about? Kuzy got beat and he didn't want Crosby alone against Holtby, a mistake but it happens.

I watched it several times in slow motion from a few angles, Kuzy got all stick. Crosby felt the pressure on his stick and removed his lower hand, flaring it wide, to draw the attention of the refs. He's not stupid, he knew what he was doing.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Burakovsky is the new Mojo. Its time this guy starts carrying his weight.

Ah, the unwarranted Johansson hate continues after he's gone. Johansson scored 20 goals twice and was a lock for 40+ points while playing top 6 minutes. He scored 40+ points in every season after his rookie season (minus the lockout year, but he was on pace for 50+ points that year too), he was a key component to one of the league's best power plays for years, and he was defensively responsible.

Burakovsky has never broken 40 points nor has he scored more than 17 goals. Granted, he doesn't get the PP minutes that Johansson did but it's disingenuous to say that Johansson didn't carry his weight around here.

 

[DDRhockey]

Burakovsky is the new Mojo. Its time this guy starts carrying his weight.

Didnt he pay his dues forever with that game 7 vs Tampa

 

[kicksavedave]

I disagree that Holtby played well, if he played well this game is 6-3 Caps, maybe 6-4. I've said before good goaltending is not about how many spectacular saves you make, its equally important how many softies you don't let in, or stated differently, stopping ALL the ones you are supposed to stop. Also when a goalie gets tired the concentration wanes and the five hole and glove just fall apart.

The first goal by Oleksiak, he had no screen, no deflection, he tracked it all the way and just whiffed on the glove - looked sleepy.

Second one, he's over aggressive coming that far out with a player (Guentzel) stationed by the post. Again, concentration.

Fourth goal, a deflection from way out went through his massive 5 hole. Proper stick positioning stops that. Guaranteed he wants that one back.

Fifth goal, no rebound control gave Brassard a gift on the doorstep.

Sixth, he could have had, he got across in time but with his pad off the ice and it slid 5 hole under the pad. Good passing play , yet he got across, just not with good form.

OT Goal, he had some screen, but he correctly looked to his right and the puck came to his right, and he simply reacted late.

Giving up 7, he did not play well, but he knows it and he will rebound, without a doubt, he's a Champion. But frankly we should have just started Copley in a B2B game on the road.

 

[marcel snapshot]

Kuznetsov on the PK is freaking awesome. He's so killer with the puck he can play keep away and kill 1/4 of the PK when he's got the puck on his stick in a single clip. Scared to death he's going to try and block a shot and get hurt though.

I have this same fear. Love the idea of him on the PK, but he must be barred from blocking shots.
I'm continually amazed by the ease with which Kuzy can gain the zone. No amount of neutral zone clogging (though there sure wasn't much of that last night) seems to deter him. The guy's ability to slither into small openings and change speeds just seems to terrify opposing D-men, and they just seem to have given up on the prospect of stepping up on, or otherwise making an affirmative challenge, his entries because they're afraid he'll make one little feint and break their ankles.
The great thing is he's still got a fair amount of additional upside

 

[Coach Travis]

Even the Pitt announcer were calling that a good goal prior to the overturn

When you look at how bent Oshie's knees were, and he's not a towering guy to begin with, it's pretty clear that his stick was below the crossbar. Refs made the right call in the end.

 

[Silky mitts]

Bura had an awful turnover on one of the crazy toe saves on Crosby and Vrana had this shift where where he manufactured this great chance for Backstrom then drew a penalty. Top 2 RFAs headed to different tax brackets.

 

[kicksavedave]

Bura had an awful turnover on one of the crazy toe saves on Crosby and Vrana had this shift where where he manufactured this great chance for Backstrom then drew a penalty. Top 2 RFAs headed to different tax brackets.

They'll both be millionaires, but yeah, trending in different directions.

Vrana's upside, if he keeps gaining strength along the boards like he's shown, is huge.

 

[NoVaCapsFan]

Sloppy, sloppy game. But par for the course for a regular season visit to Pittsburgh. Three points from back-to-back against two teams that won playoff series last year? I'll take it.

Through two games, I am liking what I see from Madison Bowey and Nathan Walker. If the early injury to Kempny and the Wilson suspension give the team some depth and experience, that may be beneficial in the long run too.

Maybe I'm still giddy from the end of last season, but I am very happy with how things are going so far.

 

[4thTierSport]

I watched it several times in slow motion from a few angles, Kuzy got all stick. Crosby felt the pressure on his stick and removed his lower hand, flaring it wide, to draw the attention of the refs. He's not stupid, he knew what he was doing.

Vrana got called for a stick on stick tap against the Bruins. Feels like last year all over again. I'm guessing we'll be back to blatant 2h'ers going uncalled and random love taps getting the box soon enough.

 

[txpd]

Ah, the unwarranted Johansson hate continues after he's gone. Johansson scored 20 goals twice and was a lock for 40+ points while playing top 6 minutes. He scored 40+ points in every season after his rookie season (minus the lockout year, but he was on pace for 50+ points that year too), he was a key component to one of the league's best power plays for years, and he was defensively responsible.

Burakovsky has never broken 40 points nor has he scored more than 17 goals. Granted, he doesn't get the PP minutes that Johansson did but it's disingenuous to say that Johansson didn't carry his weight around here.

taking this the best way possible Burt is the new forward whipping boy. Johansson was obviously a whipping boy no matter what he did.

My problem with Burakovsky is that he has these long streaks of ice cold. The turnover back pass in his own zone last night was about as bad a turnover as Ive seen. Otherwise I barely noticed him

 

[Langway]

Through two games, I am liking what I see from Madison Bowey and Nathan Walker. If the early injury to Kempny and the Wilson suspension give the team some depth and experience, that may be beneficial in the long run too.

Maybe I'm still giddy from the end of last season, but I am very happy with how things are going so far.

I don't really see it from Bowey so far. He's had the worst possession stats through two games despite pretty limited TOI. It's not Orpik weighing him down...he still doesn't have the toolbox/composure. Mainly it comes down to whether he's competitive with Djoos to stay in the lineup and I don't think it's at all close. Thus far I don't think there's been very strong internal competition but that could change if they consider some of their alternatives. My main concern with a Siegenthaler call-up is that it may knock Djoos down since Orpik/Siegenthaler doesn't figure to be a fit. Overall I think that's the better play nonetheless, even if it may not work once Kempny returns. Walker has been fine but 18/65 haven't been and Connolly hasn't done much with a great opportunity. I'd give Jaskin a shot over one of 18/65 and see whether he can bring more of an edge.

They've going to need a Plan B for when Turbo Mode isn't tenable. I like Turbo Mode. It's exciting and includes some heady team play but I'm not sure it's all that sustainable this season. They rightly have confidence in their skill level and persistence but need to guard against that becoming a defensive complacency and a belief that they can just out-score mistakes. Whether it's the schedule, flat legs or just not really feeling it, they're going to need a slower, more methodical and defensively-responsible approach. This sort of looseness/sloppiness is common early on but they're going to need to manage risk better. PIT has a lot of pride and are one of the more dangerous teams so it's a good early lesson. Monitoring their energy level and strategizing around that at times is IMO one of the big storylines for the regular season.

 

[txpd]

Bowey's ice time reflects his level of play right now. They are back to playing 3 over 20 minutes and 3 under 20. Bowey is getting by far the fewest mins. I expect the Caps will recall Siegenthaler for the road trip and he will get to play some. Bowey is not winning back his spot on the depth chart that he lost to Siege

 

[searle]

I'm over Bura and Bowey .

When Wilson and Kempny are back I would be ok with packaging them both and shipping them to somewhere like Edmonton .

I think we have enough in the AHL to replace what they bring - they're blocking the pipe and stagnating right now, and taking up more cap space than is needed.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

taking this the best way possible Burt is the new forward whipping boy. Johansson was obviously a whipping boy no matter what he did.

My problem with Burakovsky is that he has these long streaks of ice cold. The turnover back pass in his own zone last night was about as bad a turnover as Ive seen. Otherwise I barely noticed him

I think Johansson's whipping boy status was unwarranted. People wanted him to be a 30G / 60P player but he was good and he was the best player on the team at zone entries.

Burt's status is warranted. He disappears or is terrible for 25-30 games followed by a 2-3 game outburst where you wonder how he isn't an All-Star.

 

[txpd]

I think Johansson's whipping boy status was unwarranted. People wanted him to be a 30G / 60P player but he was good and he was the best player on the team at zone entries.

Burt's status is warranted. He disappears or is terrible for 25-30 games followed by a 2-3 game outburst where you wonder how he isn't an All-Star.

I can buy all of that. Do you swipe?

 

[maacoshark]

Ah, the unwarranted Johansson hate continues after he's gone. Johansson scored 20 goals twice and was a lock for 40+ points while playing top 6 minutes. He scored 40+ points in every season after his rookie season (minus the lockout year, but he was on pace for 50+ points that year too), he was a key component to one of the league's best power plays for years, and he was defensively responsible.

Burakovsky has never broken 40 points nor has he scored more than 17 goals. Granted, he doesn't get the PP minutes that Johansson did but it's disingenuous to say that Johansson didn't carry his weight around here.

He was definitely better than burakovsky

 

[Silky mitts]

That line is actually "Earn this"

 

[maacoshark]

I don't really see it from Bowey so far. He's had the worst possession stats through two games despite pretty limited TOI. It's not Orpik weighing him down...he still doesn't have the toolbox/composure. Mainly it comes down to whether he's competitive with Djoos to stay in the lineup and I don't think it's at all close. Thus far I don't think there's been very strong internal competition but that could change if they consider some of their alternatives. My main concern with a Siegenthaler call-up is that it may knock Djoos down since Orpik/Siegenthaler doesn't figure to be a fit. Overall I think that's the better play nonetheless, even if it may not work once Kempny returns. Walker has been fine but 18/65 haven't been and Connolly hasn't done much with a great opportunity. I'd give Jaskin a shot over one of 18/65 and see whether he can bring more of an edge.

They've going to need a Plan B for when Turbo Mode isn't tenable. I like Turbo Mode. It's exciting and includes some heady team play but I'm not sure it's all that sustainable this season. They rightly have confidence in their skill level and persistence but need to guard against that becoming a defensive complacency and a belief that they can just out-score mistakes. Whether it's the schedule, flat legs or just not really feeling it, they're going to need a slower, more methodical and defensively-responsible approach. This sort of looseness/sloppiness is common early on but they're going to need to manage risk better. PIT has a lot of pride and are one of the more dangerous teams so it's a good early lesson. Monitoring their energy level and strategizing around that at times is IMO one of the big storylines for the regular season.

You are already bashing Bowey. Its only been 2 games. And what are you using for your possession numbers. There really is no accurate possession numbers. Bowey has made some mistakes but I think he has been alright. He is still young and still learning the position.
My question is, why aren't you bashing the veterans Niskanen and Orlov? Looks like they are still recovering from hangovers. They were very bad lastnight.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

I can buy all of that. Do you swipe?

Prefer under-the-table cash but I'll go hi-tech if that's your game.

 

[shtorm2005]

I like Burakovsky, I hope Caps keep him. He's our dark horse who can shot when everything goes wrong.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Bowey hasn’t been good, but it’s early, it’s a long season and we can afford to let him sink or swim.

 

[artilector]

They've going to need a Plan B for when Turbo Mode isn't tenable. I like Turbo Mode. It's exciting and includes some heady team play but I'm not sure it's all that sustainable this season. They rightly have confidence in their skill level and persistence but need to guard against that becoming a defensive complacency and a belief that they can just out-score mistakes. Whether it's the schedule, flat legs or just not really feeling it, they're going to need a slower, more methodical and defensively-responsible approach. This sort of looseness/sloppiness is common early on but they're going to need to manage risk better. PIT has a lot of pride and are one of the more dangerous teams so it's a good early lesson. Monitoring their energy level and strategizing around that at times is IMO one of the big storylines for the regular season.

It makes sense to have a Trotz-type Trench Mode in case the team is tired (or decimated by injuries), or if the opponent is playing that style better at the moment (not inconceivable against teams like Tampa/Pens/etc).

But I like Turbo Mode even if it occasionally yields out-of-control games. Because the main thing is, IMO -- everybody gets used to doing everything at max speed -- passing, decision-making, etc. That's exactly what you need for playoff hockey -- and it will also push the players to improve, as well as help you identify players and schemes that thrive at that kind of pace.

I think I'd rather the Caps make turbo pace their second nature first -- and make defensive adjustments later, than play at a slower pace in order to eliminate occasional pond-hockey outcomes. Of course, that might make it harder for the coaches to prevent bad habits from creeping in, but there ought to be some ways to do it without sacrificing pace. Also, this team should have enough experience to know when it's time to really get all the details right.

 

[trick9]

I disagree that Holtby played well, if he played well this game is 6-3 Caps, maybe 6-4. I've said before good goaltending is not about how many spectacular saves you make, its equally important how many softies you don't let in, or stated differently, stopping ALL the ones you are supposed to stop. Also when a goalie gets tired the concentration wanes and the five hole and glove just fall apart.

The first goal by Oleksiak, he had no screen, no deflection, he tracked it all the way and just whiffed on the glove - looked sleepy.

Second one, he's over aggressive coming that far out with a player (Guentzel) stationed by the post. Again, concentration.

Fourth goal, a deflection from way out went through his massive 5 hole. Proper stick positioning stops that. Guaranteed he wants that one back.

Fifth goal, no rebound control gave Brassard a gift on the doorstep.

Sixth, he could have had, he got across in time but with his pad off the ice and it slid 5 hole under the pad. Good passing play , yet he got across, just not with good form.

OT Goal, he had some screen, but he correctly looked to his right and the puck came to his right, and he simply reacted late.

Giving up 7, he did not play well, but he knows it and he will rebound, without a doubt, he's a Champion. But frankly we should have just started Copley in a B2B game on the road.

Ugh you got to be kidding me.

How are those goals his fault? The PK falls apart in Goal 2 leaving Hornqvist wide open in the Oshie -spot. If Holtby stays deep in his net it greatly reduces his chances of making the save on the initial shot. Obviously in this case it backfires because one of the Capitals partially blocks the shot right to Guentzel, bad luck. It's ridiculous to start suggesting that goalies should start anticipating shots getting whiffed/partially blocked when a guy taking a shot from the slot.

On the fifth goal you propably missed the Brassard deflecting that initial shot right in front of Holtby... next to impossible to contain the rebound like that.

On the 6th goal his PK let him down. Failed clearance and complete breakdown which lead to Crosby-Malkin-Guentzel 3-on-1. Malkin is never going to miss from that pass and no goalie in the league today would have gotten that so your expectations are pretty unrealistic here. Dominik Hasek on a good day may have saved that.

It wasn't a good game from Holtby for sure, but his defense left him out to dry constantly. Most of these are not even talked about since Holtby bailed them out (saves on Guentzel and Crosby).

 

[Langway]

You are already bashing Bowey. Its only been 2 games. And what are you using for your possession numbers. There really is no accurate possession numbers. Bowey has made some mistakes but I think he has been alright. He is still young and still learning the position.
My question is, why aren't you bashing the veterans Niskanen and Orlov? Looks like they are still recovering from hangovers. They were very bad lastnight.

I'm not really bashing Bowey. He's just the same player he was and needs to be better. Whereas we know what 9/2 can be. They weren't good vs. PIT but they also play against tougher competition and it's still a team game. Okay for 12:27 a night isn't going to do anything for Bowey not falling behind the rest. (Corsi/Fenwick on the possession part. Not possession per se but territorially IMO it works.) I do tend to cut more slack to players that have generally earned it.

I do like emphasizing pace but there needs to be situational awareness along with it. They need to be able to adapt and maintain defensive structure at times and reel the game in. Against lesser skilled or less experienced teams maybe they can get away with it more easily. I do also wonder whether turbo is all that great a fit for 19/77 ultimately. Not sure they can do it over the course of the regular season, though of course I'd like more of it than the opposite. Pace can challenge their fitness but I wonder about them hitting walls. They seemed to hit a wall later in the second period. Is it viable to maintain that pace under the circumstances? Not sure that or a heavy workload for Holtby will fly. They're likely going to need to spread it out further and involve the sixth D, fourth line and back-up so as to guard against burnout.