Larry Gude
Strung Out
No, it won't. They'll win, fairly comfortably tonight. Then, game 7 and we'll see.
NHL 2015-2016 Season
- Thread starter Hank
- Start date
No, it won't. They'll win, fairly comfortably tonight. Then, game 7 and we'll see.
Chris0nllyn
Well-Known Member
I'd think you'd want as long as possible. More time = possibility of Stamkos coming back.
PsyOps
Pixelated
I hope you're right. I'm just not feeling the mojo.
PsyOps
Pixelated
The most dominant team in the NHL by miles - the best Caps team I've ever seen - does a Phil Mickelson. It was good while it lasted.
Larry Gude
Strung Out
The most dominant team in the NHL by miles - the best Caps team I've ever seen - does a Phil Mickelson. It was good while it lasted.
They got beat by a clearly better team. That's all I got. :shrug:
PsyOps
Pixelated
I'd rather look at like Mickelson. That guy is the best, except that he's his own worst enemy. Players don't beat him; he loses. The Caps blew away the season. Rarely do you see such a dominant team in the NHL; yet in the playoffs they struggled nearly every game. They seem to have a completely different mentality going into playoff games. Watching last night, they consistently left the crease wide open. During the regular season they effectively kept the crease clear. Ovechkin seemed to lose steam quickly. He was routinely off the ice in a matter of about 20 seconds. I don't know, maybe they just suffered from burnout.
In any event; I thought this was their year. A very hopeful team into next season.
Larry Gude
Strung Out
I was wondering about the crease. The whole series, that's how they scored and we didn't.
Chris0nllyn
Well-Known Member
Playoff hockey is a different animal. And to be fair, the Penguins were the hottest team since December. The Caps were never their same dominant force after the blizzard and all star breaks.
Leaving the crease open give Holtby better sight lines, but it can bite you. They rely on keeping the puck along the boards defensively so keeping the crease open allows Holtby to see the pucks coming from the outside.
Ovi goes off the ice when they aren't in the offensive zone. Ovi is a hell of a goal scorer, but a ####ty defenseman. If stuck playing defense he routinely just glides down ice not really doing much (besides throwing his body around sometimes). I don't want him in the D-zone so I'm okay with him going to the bench in those situations.
Matt Murray saved this postseason for the Pens. I'd even argue he's candidate for the Smythe trophy. Pens had a few lucky bounces along the way. Bounces off of blockers, off skates, Hagelin's back-of-the-stick deflection last night, pucks seemingly bouncing to Pens players. It was all series and looking back, it's easy to say Holtby should not have let the first goal in. He shouldn't have given up a few that he did, but it's hockey.
You can argue the Caps should have gained a bit more (at least one more goal) from those (3) back-to-back-to-back delay of game penalties. You can argue that Orpik shouldn't have hit Matta like he did and force one of your top four defensemen to sit for 3 games. You can argue Orlov got way too many chances after his #### ups at the end of the season. You can argue all that, but it's hockey. Not only hockey, but playoff hockey.
No. Stralman returning is more important to TB, in my opinion. Stamkos would be nice, but with that blood clot situation of his, I doubt if we would see him before the finals, if they get that far. Returning any of those players would displace others playing at a high level, except for Stralman. He is the leader on defense, but Thor (Hedman) is a beast both defending and scoring. Just get the darn thing going @ Pitt.
Larry Gude
Strung Out
I guess the OP may as well stick a fork in this thread and pull it, like taking the puck and going home when you lose. As long as anything NHL doesn't contain Capitols in it, is no NHL news at all.
Not at all. That was a great game last night and a real eye opener as to what the Caps are missing, constantly, this time of year. Actually not an eye opener as much as a reminder. The Caps are always missing a second or even third line guy, several of them, who, unless you're a true fan, you've never heard of who just play with this sense of urgency and sense of purpose that is palpable. We often have one of those guys but they stick out for being that one or two guys. The lighting made the Pens look like the Pens made us look; just a step slow, relying a bit too much on the stars, just not quite that sense of urgency those guys bring.
And they always seem to be a small guy. A St. Louis kinda guy who is a pest and plays his guts out. Guys like Kessel and Hornqvuist who are all a tad smaller than most of the Caps. So, the lighting, those guys all seemed just a tad big and the lighting seemed faster, quicker, guys like Johnson and Callahan. I really didn't realize how big the caps were until I looked it up for this piece. And I didn't know Sidney was under 6'.
In any event, when you get to the final four, this is when the NHL, finally, shines, I
Chris0nllyn
Well-Known Member
That's the thing. Caps have a few great 2nd and 3rd line guys. They just don't show up in the playoffs (but they make a head scratcher goal in the Worlds...looking at you Kuzy)
Larry Gude
Strung Out
But why? What is it? From the Langway era on, there have been something terrific teams, really, really good, deep, talented teams. There has LONG been a solid fan base. Has anyone in hockey had the ongoing, endless sports tragedy of this team?
Chris0nllyn
Well-Known Member
As a Caps fan, I wish I knew.
Not even just hockey, but sports in general. Year after year, team after team, coach after coach. Nothing seems to help.
Larry Gude
Strung Out
As a Caps fan, I wish I knew.
Not even just hockey, but sports in general. Year after year, team after team, coach after coach. Nothing seems to help.
Hold up. The SKins had some of the best glory years, ever. 5 super bowls is no small potatoes. The problem there is simply the owner. He may have decided winning is more important than playing with his toy but, we will see. That doesn't take away those 5 trips to the show and 3 wins. The Bullets had a time, too.
More like the Caps is the Nats; great teams that can't get it done. But, they are FAR younger and newer at this.
Larry Gude
Strung Out
This is the best hockey has to offer, their final 4. The finals usually aren't as good as this.
Larry Gude
Strung Out
What????? OT doesn't even begin to get good until late in the FIRST over time. If there is one thing hockey has that no other sport has, it's the closing minutes of a period, especially the 3rd and even more so in over time. The tension is stunning.
Basketball has endless timeouts.
Baseball in the bottom of the ninth with based loaded, two outs, 3-2 count comes kinda close except for all of the rest of the game which is pretty dull.
Football has enormous ebb and flow.
Hockey is like a balloon that gets fuller and fuller and fuller and fuller and...BOOM!!!!!!!!!!!! Bedlam.