Talk about Capitals hockey & more! > Washington Capitals & Other Hockey Discussion
BEAR for the volcano?
alta:
At 23 this will be his 5th season. The age would indicate he has room to grow, but after four seasons I haven't seen the type of improvement you'd expect from a player this young. He wouldn't be the first player to vastly improve with a new team, he wouldn't be the last either
richkrt99:
--- Quote from: 4 Caps on Friday October 26, 2018, 04:38:47 PM Eastern ---According to reports from the Caps practice today Burakovsky was on a line with Backstrom and Oshie and Vrana was on the first line with Kuzy and Ovi. Interesting, I am looking forward to seeing how those lines look tomorrow against Calgary. Stephenson is on a line with Eller and Connelly and Smith-Pelly is back on the 4th line with Dowd and Jaskin. Also Bowey is in for Djoos.
Playing with Backstrom and Oshie, Burakovsky should get plenty of opportunities to score. I am hoping he makes the most of it. Also Vrana’s speed should open things up for Kuzy and Ovi and that could be a dynamite line. Hopefully it won’t be too much of a defensive liability.
--- End quote ---
Well I stated earlier (somewhere, sometime) that Bura is never going to "blossom" on a third or fourth line. He is a top line skills type guy. He hasn't "earned" that chance, but putting a round peg in a square hole hasn't exactly helped him blossom either.
Hopefully he will have success on the second line - I think that actually is the best fit for him and I like Stephenson on line 3 also. I was curious about seeing Vrana on the top line. He has some wicked speed and good shot. Hopefully this works out as an improvement for all four lines.
Willy's absence is driving this....making due with players that are available.
Bura BETTER make the best of this....otherwise it's in the Volcano with him.
Of course, I used to campaign for Vrana to be moved also (traded), but I like him now....just hope he can continue to improve.
Djoos is pretty much on my s-list also. I just can't get over his size - he's playing with heavy weights and he's a fly weight. You can't be a successful D man in the NHL at 160lbs. He just gets pushed around. I want my D to push people out of the crease, not the other way round.
Why again does the font size change when I hit the backspace key?
PUCKNRUSH:
Of course I was glad to see Bura get on the board, finally, last night. Every breakout, from a slump, must always start with that first goal! As with any recovering player, we shall see!
The issue with Bura has never been about skills, speed, or talent. He’s been blessed with some natural gifts! The issue has ALWAYS been CONSISTENCY.
Erratic production problems are always hard to pinpoint. With Bura, whether scratched, reset, or injured, it all goes into the equation. Rierden just shed a little more light as to how he’s dealing with Bura, at last nights post game interview.
Rierden said, and I’m paraphrasing, that looking at Andre, it’s all about “chances for, versus chances against”! Adding that for a guy like Bura, the differential should not be EVEN, but rather tilted to the offensive side, and I think we’re getting closer to that!
The media, had asked Rierden to comment on Bura’s performance, having just scored a goal, looking to get some Bura praise from the coach. Rierden obliged, but also added the above comments as some kind of neutralizer. IMO, I heard some subtle, restrained, frustration in Rierdens voice, when saying the part about the differential “shouldn’t be even”.
For me, watching Bura this season, I still see the lost puck battles, and handling issues, but far worse is that he still appears “alone” out there on the ice, in his overall style. That the teamwork and line chemistry he tries to show, feels forced, and unnatural, almost as an afterthought, that occurs to him because he knows he “has to”!
Last nights awesome pass from Dowd, behind the net, leading to a great shot and goal by Bura, is an example of teamwork being jammed down Bura’s throat. Don’t get me wrong, Bura made an extremely talented shot, at a sharp angle to make that goal! Awesome talent to do that! But if you think that Andre realized that it actually TOOK A TEAM EFFORT to produce....just check his post game interview out, specifically when asked about his goal! Nothing but “I this”, and “I that” all through his response! What a team player, I say!!🤣😂🤣
Rush
alta:
So Bear took a half step back from the edge with the goal a couple games ago, but he's still right there. I say he's trade bait for a defenseman or a hotel room..
alta:
if Carlson doesn’t get his head out of his ass he may be bumped to the front of the line
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