Talk about Capitals hockey & more! > Washington Capitals & Other Hockey Discussion
GDT#32 Sabres @ Capitals 7:00p.m. Sat Dec 15, 2018 NBCSWA, MSG-B
Mickstix:
Confidence was what they lacked in years past.. Not like they made it to the playoffs and then got blown out or something. They usually just choked. And it was usually the offense/depth.. Whether it was the D and or Holtby, they didn't lose because of some loose style game they were playing or because their defenders were too small.. They just couldn't get over the mental hurdle and score goals when it was most needed.. So now they won a cup and the confidence is/will be there.. Do the statistics say they'll not repeat? Sure.. So what? :raspberry:
alta:
--- Quote from: Mickstix on Monday December 17, 2018, 09:12:20 AM Eastern ---Confidence was what they lacked in years past.. Not like they made it to the playoffs and then got blown out or something. They usually just choked. And it was usually the offense/depth.. Whether it was the D and or Holtby, they didn't lose because of some loose style game they were playing or because their defenders were too small.. They just couldn't get over the mental hurdle and score goals when it was most needed.. So now they won a cup and the confidence is/will be there.. Do the statistics say they'll not repeat? Sure.. So what? :raspberry:
--- End quote ---
the only reason statistics are kept is for the bookies in Vegas :uh-huh:
DC_1908:
--- Quote from: BlackIce on Monday December 17, 2018, 04:15:42 AM Eastern ---
DC, my statement had nothing to do with what I perceive the Capitals' chances for success in the playoffs would be. I said that I suspected the reason Ovie might be doing well IN THE REGULAR SEASON is that he has the Stanley Cup monkey off his back. So he doesn't have the "but the playoffs" bugaboo nagging at him, either in a personal psychological way or through the media. All the last statement about "the playoffs will take care of themselves" represented was the opinion that he doesn't really have to worry about them anymore until they arrive, IF they arrive. It was NOT a prediction that the playoffs will go well for the team. And anyway, even if the team has struggled in the playoffs over the years, Ovie has actually played quite well in them. All he can do is control his own performance -- he can't control everyone else's. So drawing a conclusion from my last statement that because some pressure is off Ovie means the TEAM will do well in the playoffs is bad logic.
The Metro standings are very tight so far this season, and it is not at all certain that the Caps will even be in them. Their recent hot streak has given them a little cushion, and they've weathered their injury/suspension issues well so far, but we are just now getting into the meat of the season.
--- End quote ---
while my statement was sarcastically exaggerated, albeit a tad aggressive, the logic is quite sound.
You’re post sounds like he had a literal exorcism where his head was spinning 360 degrees and/or projectile vomiting pea soup about the Verizon Center every spring, but now everything’s just honkey-dory and he go about happy and taking care of himself and he will be rewarded. . .
But the biggest reason his stats are so high: Reidon wants to keep his job, and for the players and management to like him, so he’s using a pond-hockey playbook. Players and teams in a D-first/200ft system, do not score this many goals for this long, or GIVE UP as many, particularly with an elite goalie.
Reidens systen is built for stat padding, players like their stats padded so they have fun while they can
BlackIce:
--- Quote from: DC_1908 on Monday December 17, 2018, 12:25:20 PM Eastern ---while my statement was sarcastically exaggerated, albeit a tad aggressive, the logic is quite sound.
You’re post sounds like he had a literal exorcism where his head was spinning 360 degrees and/or projectile vomiting pea soup about the Verizon Center every spring, but now everything’s just honkey-dory and he go about happy and taking care of himself and he will be rewarded. . .
But the biggest reason his stats are so high: Reidon wants to keep his job, and for the players and management to like him, so he’s using a pond-hockey playbook. Players and teams in a D-first/200ft system, do not score this many goals for this long, or GIVE UP as many, particularly with an elite goalie.
Reidens systen is built for stat padding, players like their stats padded so they have fun while they can
--- End quote ---
Regardless of the hyperbole defense, you still haven't addressed what I really meant in my original post, which I can't know for sure, but I think is valid speculation: That Ovie has some pressure off him this year, he is playing like it, and the results so far have turned out very well.
And I don't buy your Reirden/pond hockey theory. At least, it's not borne out by the partial-year stats we have thus far.
Last year the Caps scored 3.16 goals/game in the regular season, and gave up 2.91 goals/game (259/239). Now this year they are scoring 3.72 per game thus far, and giving up 3.09 (119/99). Yep, they are scoring more, and giving up more. But the funny thing is, the ENTIRE difference between their goals allowed per game last year and their goals allowed per game this year is in the extra goals they've yielded on the PK, which is the one time when the team is focused on trying to defend. (PK % is about 75 this year vs. slightly over 80 last year, which accounts for about a 6+ goal difference given the number of PK situations they've had so far this season.) So if the team is focused on playing "pond hockey," it hasn't affected their GA thus far. However, for whatever reasons, their offensive game has picked up significantly from last year.
Now I wanted to check the league as a whole, because I was under the impression that scoring was up significantly, which I suspected was due to the increasing removal of physicality and letting the skilled guys do their thing, + the reduction in size of some of the goalie equipment. Scoring is up a bit, but not all that much: 3.08 goals per team per game this year as opposed to 2.98 per team per game last year, which surprised me.
Bottom line is this -- IF we were to assume that the Caps were more "pond hockeyish" this year than last (which, having attended some games, I don't really see), it is showing up ONLY on the offensive side of the scoresheet. Which means that so far, if Reirden has pushed more wide-open hockey, it's been to the team's net benefit, and it seems to have been to this teams net benefit more than it has been to the league as a whole.
Now, will things need to change if the Caps make the playoffs? I'd think so. But the objective of the regular season is to do as well as you can in the regular season, because you can't win playoff games in the regular season. And I have no criticism of Reirden for the hockey he has this team playing thus far.
Maacoshark:
Just curious Black Ice if you have ever played pond hockey. Because a lot if Caps games have looked like pond hockey. They have been undisciplined and havent played with structure.
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