Well Folks, there you have it!
Mostly a sad, half-effort, which was supposed to be “the response”, to game 3!
To me, it has long become obvious, that this teams WILL, whether all skaters play with great effort, for nearly 60 minutes....OR.....whether this teams WILL, where we see the sluggish, lethargic, efforts, like in games 3, and 4 tonite, IS DECIDED, solely and totally, by the players!!!
THEY DICTATE the situation, and are obviously, unafraid and not worried about the consequences!!
Rierden is absolutely INNOCUOUS, in this matter!!
These boys KNOW IT, and so does Rierden, and he spends A LOT of time in interviews, attempting to make this HUGE ISSUE, appear to be several different issues, by using different expressions, calling it different names, and such, so as to blur the DIRECT FOCUS on it!! (Which allows him to escape some of the maligned judgement of how he’s doing in his job)!!
Imagine how the players must view Rierden, privately, when they witness him protecting and covering for their asses, when they “have a bad effort”, or not having the “right commitment level”, for any given game!! He says this in the public eye MEDIA!!
The players must be like, “no problem, if we slack tonite. Coach has our back”!!
WHAT A FRICKIN’ LEADER, this guy is!! Team runs all over your pussy ass!!
THEN....we see it!!....When the boys are good and ready, and they “feel like it”, they actually play hard, kick some opponent ASS, and ALL IS GOOD, in Capitalville again!!
We are a fortunate city, that actually has a team that CAN DECIDE they want to turn it on and BEAT damn near anybody!!
And when they don’t turn it on, they KNOW IT, and we fans are simply left FUCKED at the end of the game, for the privilege of being a Caps fan!!
Yes, I still tolerate it, even as it goes on, right in front of my eyes, because it still feels AWESOME, when we put together a great effort and WIN!!
But I also know and understand the WHOLE PRODUCT, and how the players CHEAPEN and take for granted, our emotional bank!! Add a limp-dicked coach into the recipe, and you suddenly find yourself dining in front of the all comprehensive CAPITALS buffet!!
This is why I’ll STILL be a happy fan, next year, to be sure, watching from my wonderful couch, at home, saving $10K, which, by the way, I say to Ted, Todd, and the boys, is sufficient compensation, not for my emotional bank, but for MY ACTUAL BANK!!!
Rush