The ‘25-‘26 boredom thread..

[BlackIce]

Remember we knew PLD was overpaid when we made the trade - that was part of the deal so we are stuck with it. I actually think the 8.5 is not too bad with the new salary caps.


Thought Lil Pro was ok last night - definitely nervous and tentative but at times he skated pretty well.

   


He may be a strapping kid, but he IS a 19 year old kid.  And he was a third-round selection; not like the guys picked in the first 5 who come up to play as teenagers.  I think we're going to be seeing the twin towers around for awhile.

[Mickstix]

I don't know what motivates Dubois, but I wish they could figure it out. You can see he's skilled, but he looks lazy on the ice. Gets pushed around by much smaller players, can't win faceoffs, etc.. He really is a good 3rd line center. Just gets paid more than double what he should.. Then after 2 weeks of meh, he'll be fired up for a game or two and you can see what he's got.

[richkrt99]

Caps are 3 points out of 3rd in Metro with 3 games remaining.
We need to win all three and have Isles and Flyers and Columbus all lose 2 of 3 and we are in.  (We win tie braker vs all 3 teams)

To win last WC spot we need all of the above, plus Detroit to lose 2/3, and Ottawa to shit the bed entirely and lose all 3.

[alta]

It would’ve been nice if played like this here, it was still time to move on though..


https://www.nhl.com/news/san-jose-sharks-anaheim-ducks-game-recap-april-9-2026

[richkrt99]

Haha, he's always had a decent shot, just been missing the net here.  Maybe west coast the nets are in a spot he can find?   
Hey good for him.  And our pick was conditional, so maybe good for us?  Not sure what the conditions were

[BlackIce]

Haha, he's always had a decent shot, just been missing the net here.  Maybe west coast the nets are in a spot he can find?   
Hey good for him.  And our pick was conditional, so maybe good for us?  Not sure what the conditions were

As I understand it, condition are:  if Anaheim makes the playoffs, the first round pick is this year.  If they don't, the first round pick moves to next year.


Tonight could be the night it ends.  All games in hand teams had against the Caps are gone.  The teams ahead of the Caps have no games left against each other, so they have no guaranteed points.  The Caps have to hope to win out and 4 teams ahead of them wipe out.  The chances of that happening can be demonstrated with a snowball and blowtorch.

[Mickstix]

Best racing in Nascar on the CW right now.. Only real nascar "stockcars" left. O'reilly/Xfinity/Busch series from Bristol TN.

[alta]

What is the CW?




Leonard gets a $250,000 performance bonus for getting 20 goals this season.

[Mickstix]

 

[alta]

 
 
 
 

[richkrt99]

What is the CW?

Leonard gets a $250,000 performance bonus for getting 20 goals this season.

No wonder he was smiling so big on the Bench.  Lilpro smile was better.  Nice to see a guy that happy.
Good on them both.
missing Dubuios tomorrow will hurt if Hens put a team out there.

[BlackIce]

No wonder he was smiling so big on the Bench.  Lilpro smile was better.  Nice to see a guy that happy.
Good on them both.
missing Dubuios tomorrow will hurt if Hens put a team out there.

   


I found it strange that, if the Pens wanted to rest some of their stars for a game, they'd do it for the home game rather than the road game.  Maybe they wanted to make as sure as they could to win at least one game by having their stars fresh for the 2nd game of the back-t0-back?   


If DuBois and Sandin are out, the Caps DO have hand-picked replacements.  Sourdif moves up to 3C and Kampf slots in to 4C, which is what we all presume that he was acquired for when Dowd was traded.  And Liljigren is a RD, who could slot alongside Fehervary.  We gave up assets for these guys, so it's time to use them if needed.

[Mickstix]

Did they ever give an update on Sandin?

[alta]

I haven’t seen one. Technically, that was an illegal check, Caps should’ve gotten a 2:00 PP out of it.

[alta]

My Saturday thing has also been every other Sunday for the last year, but less involved. I should be back by the middle of the 1st

[richkrt99]

Well Islanders are out.  Blue Jackets lost so Caps up by 1 on them, just need to win their last game vs Columbus.
AND, we need the FLyers to lose their last 2...1 in regulation and the other lose even in OT (Caps have tie-braker vs them)
Flyers have Canes and Montreal left.  But will the Canes dress a full squad, they have 1st place locked I think
Didn't the Caps sneak into the playoffs last year at the Flyers expense?

[alta]

If Pilly wins tonight the Caps are done

[BlackIce]

If Pilly wins tonight the Caps are done

   


Right - Philly needs two standings points out of their last two games to assure the playoffs.  But conversely, if Philly loses both their remaining games in regulation, the Caps can still make the playoffs even if they lose to Columbus tomorrow - as long as they take the game to overtime.  In that case all 3 teams end up with 94 standings points, and as I understand it, the Caps own the tiebreaker against both teams.  In that case, you might see the unusual circumstance where, if Philly loses tonight and is behind big to Montreal tomorrow while the Caps and Jackets are tied toward the end of regulation, Columbus would pull their goalie in a tie game.


If by some miracle the Caps DO make the playoffs, their opponent is set -- the Penguins!!!  Interestingly, through 81 games the Pens' record is 41-40, the Caps' record is 42-39.  But the Pens have lost 16 games - 1/5 of their season, and 40% of their losses - in overtime or shootout.  Those 16 loser points have them comfortably in the playoffs.

[Ozzies09tc]

What happens if filthy gets a loser point?


We HAVE to win?

[BlackIce]

What happens if filthy gets a loser point?


We HAVE to win?

 


We don't HAVE to do anything.  Philly wins in the shootout.  Playoffs by the boards.