Hey Everybody!
Thought I’d chime in. Haven’t posted in a little while.
I’m with Apace!
What an obvious difference in overall team mentality, from what we’ve been accustomed to over the last 10-12 games.
Its not every player that’s guilty, rather, what seems to me, a few of the major fellas, the usual suspects, that begin to turn down the energy/commitment level, just a bit, then it seems to gradually spread to some of the other guys, AND IT DOESNT TAKE BUT A FEW of these boys, to have throttled it down slightly, and then it starts going downhill.
Poor passing, weaker play along the boards, bad timing, and being out of sync, all start rearing their ugly heads!!
As if in lock step with the declining 5 on 5 play, when this issue occurs, it is NOT COINCIDENTAL, that our power play suffers, as well, as we witness our famous “Keystone Kops”, version of our PP, where it appears as though the hockey gods, have completely removed and erased the great PP skills from the collective brains of our “BIG 5”, on PP1.
Funny, how that crap often goes hand in hand!
OK... Now that this is off my chest, I must confess to having to correct a few of my opinions, that I’ve shared here recently about our wonderful Washington Capitals team!!
Although, this singular game with Philly wasn’t a good performance, by any stretch, I’ve been moved to change my general opinion on Coach Rierden.
I, like many of us “Over 50”, old school hockey fans, have been frustrated over the years, grudgingly accepting, and dealing with, the ever changing, and progressively softer, NHL product, that is today’s style of professional hockey!
This causes me to feel great dislike, for any part of NHL hockey that represents itself, in my mind, as a culprit in contributing to the demise of the game!
Lazy, entitled, player attitudes, baby’s-butt soft coaches, pussified rule changes, and so on, all have their guilty hand in the mix!
It is at this sports fan crossroad, where I’ve realized that IT AINT CHANGING!!
(For many of you more balanced individuals, the acceptance of this fact, may have been a much easier process for you, and you have my compliments)!!
For my old, unbalanced ass, LOL 😂, let’s just say its a tough pill to swallow!
Anyway, my point is in realizing that Rierden, is proving to be an extremely successful and talented coach, WITHIN THE TYPE OF NHL ATMOSPHERE, THAT HE’S BEEN ASKED TO PERFORM IN!!!
NOT the NHL, that I want and long for, from the days of yesteryear!!
(Psst...Rush, wake up, IT AINT 1972, anymore, you idiot)!!
Hence, by that logic, John Carlson is also very successful, and plays a majorly important role for our team, by today’s NHL standards!
Unfair, on my part, to judge them against old, outdated hockey standards, and my nostalgic idea of what hockey should be, when it’s NOT REALISTIC anymore!
It’s two separate things:
1) The sour, general, opinion of today’s hockey, that I can still maintain!
2) Assessment of “Today’s NHL players”, by “Today’s NHL standards”
SEE...So for some of you old traditional farts, like me....
THERE MAY BE HOPE, AFTER ALL!!!😂🤣😂
(No worries, Beags, my friend. I don’t have dementia)🤣😂
Rush
