I see alot of back and forth about Ovi's play and stupid coaching about having him out there, etc...
I thought Ovi played a great game. He scored the hattie, but he hustled too. He WAS hustling back on D the whole game. He was putting forth the effort.
He was the one guy hustling back on the 3 on 0. He was the first back and took his man out of the play. Not his fault the first guy in shot and beat the goaltender. Had there been a rebound (gasp - ye blasphemer) Ovi had his man covered. You can't put ANY of that goal on Ovi except that he happened to be on the ice. Kuzy made a stupid pass back to the point which Dylan was too stoned to keep in. Ovi was on the far wing and hustled his ass off to get back. He could not catch the first guy in but he went to the second man (well...one of them) and took him out of the play.
I'm not one to defend Ovi's typical defensive game play because he has earned some of the reputation for taking shifts off and not playing D. Last night's effort was not one of those. He played a good game.
7 goals against is a team loss. It's on everyone, and Ovi is the Captain so he gets his share. Our team D is just gone, but Holtby sucked all game. Holtby owns more of this loss because it's ultimately HIS job to stop the puck - regardless of whether he gets any help or not.
Say the Caps win in OT instead of the other way round - Caps get a win, but Holtby still had a BAD game. Both goaltenders did.
I hope Ovi gets 50+ goals this year. I think he deserves it. His game has been better this year, and not just about scoring goals. Not looking like he's going to get a chance to have a good playoff.
Man I hope this team is just coasting toward the break, and they actually come back afterward, but this looks/feels like much more.
Toronto is going to shred them. But maybe that would be better than stringing one whole win together so they can feel good going to the break.
Carlson and Holtby: All-Stars.