Talk about Capitals hockey & more! > Washington Capitals & Other Hockey Discussion
G65 Capitals @ Wild 8:00pm Sun Mar 1, 2020 NBCSWA, ESPN+, TSN3
PUCKNRUSH:
--- Quote from: Mickstix on Monday March 02, 2020, 04:44:20 PM Eastern ---
:rofl:
To be fair: Hath, Dowd, Haglin, Eller, Panik are all hard working, they just don't have skills to produce much on the score sheet. I know it's not really their job, but that's the "dig" on that group, imo.. The top guys barely have 200' between the 6.. Kovy hasn't really showed me why we need/got him, to this point..
* If it was to spark Kuzy, he looked pretty coked up the 1st game, but not much since.. :snicker:
--- End quote ---
Excellent post, Mick!
And well said!
Recently, YES, Kuzy’s performance looks like his nostrils HAVE successfully intersected with his substance of choice, timing the event just before each period, because the effect shit doesn’t last long with a veteran!!😂🤣😂🤣
Good one, too, with Top 6 barely get 200’ between them!😂🤣
Rush
PUCKNRUSH:
--- Quote from: richkrt99 on Monday March 02, 2020, 08:51:43 AM Eastern ---So I'm a little confused on where Lil :hearts: stands on this game :raspberry:
--- End quote ---
Earlier, somebody said to stop talking about balls.....
Now, THAT, is BALLS, Rich!!
(and hilarious)!👍
Rush
PUCKNRUSH:
--- Quote from: Beaglefan2 on Monday March 02, 2020, 06:19:23 PM Eastern ---
Backstrom has been coasting since he got back. I said at the time they re-signed him, that we are going to really regret that contract. Don't get me wrong, I have appreciated what he has done for us, but I'm not looking forward to watching him age.
--- End quote ---
Partial disagreement w/ya Beags.
Backy HAS definitely shown digression in age, especially where the energy, and stamina, enter the picture! And the lesser effort, always shows on the defensive side, for almost any forward!
Obviously, we all know that energy and stamina are easily applied from the youngsters, as we see players, from all sports, as they age, some of the performances just drop off and some of them have degrees of the old “work smarter not harder“ category.
Hell I think all of us, middle-aged or better, can identify with that one! LOL
My point though, is that when I think of Nick Backstrom‘s overall career, he’s not super speedy, super hustle, super energy, or any of those categories that tend to fall off more with age!
The more standout words describing Nick Backstrom’s career, IMO, are, reliability, consistency, excellent situational awareness, passing accuracy, extremely high hockey IQ, very competitive, etc. that is, those things more cognitive and requiring less “brawny” skill!
Again, in my opinion, these qualities actually tend to improve with experience, and age, and at a minimum, weather better, than physical strength and speed, over time!
So although there’s a little caution on my part about Backy’s new contract, I’m not heavily worried about it, as he may end up slightly overpaid by the end of it, but it also means that Ovi will be re-upping his contract as well and we may actually see a record!
Over the long haul, It will be interesting to see if Ovi, chasing the record, will inhibit our ability to win, as DC has mentioned, that management, may favor Ovi, over TEAM!
I’m not sure I agree with that point, but I know I’ve counted Ovi OUT, for 50 goal seasons, for the last five years, and he’s proven me wrong, repeatedly!
So I’m learning to drop “he’ll never do it again”, out of my vocabulary, and THAT, I believe, is indirectly related to Backstrom‘s signing also !
Rush
Beaglefan2:
Rush - I agree with your post. I don't dislike Backy and it was clear they were going to sign him to help Ovie keep scoring with the shot at the record. I have gotten a bit frustrated with Backstrom from time to time because I think he has only hit about 75% of his potential.
Part of that is his decision-making as he prefers to set other people up, rather than take more shots himself. You can argue that as a center, and with playing with Ovie, that is his role. However, there have been plenty of times that Nicky should get more aggressive and look to score.
The other reason he hasn't hit his potential, is simply that he is just not a fired-up, ultra competitive guy and he doesn't always run at 100% of effort. If you watch him closely, there are plenty of times that he could have skated a bit harder/faster, or forechecked a little more. Because of his talent, he gets by with this and is still a really good player.
I just fear that with the added years, the fat bank account and the Stanley Cup in hand, that his 75% will slip a bit more and we end up paying big bucks for an average player.
PUCKNRUSH:
Thanks for that post Beags!
You make some good points about effort level and passing the buck when he should be shooting. And the competitive in him has dropped.
As you stated correctly, Backstrom at 75% still brings a lot to the table then your standard level center, the question will be if he will be worth his contract 3 to 5 years from now! 😀
Rush
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version