R1G4 Capitals @ Islanders 8:00pm ET Tue Aug 18, 2020 NBCSWA, NBCSN, SN, TVAS

[richkrt99]

Warning.....Rich's morning after sermon to follow:  (for proper effect, please visualize me on a large soapbox) (and while we are exercising our imagination muscles...go ahead and imagine I'm regal and well respected)


Good game to watch for a change.  Period 1 was ugly, but not as bad as the first three games.  Like night and day with this team.  When they play well, they are so fun.  So strange, I mean the Caps pulled their not unheard of Jeckly and Hyde move, but the Islanders didn't really show up for this game...other than Varly and a few others. (like a Caps team)  If I were more cynical I'd suggest the NHL decided we need to stretch this out cause the ONLY revenue is TV revenue and we need some more games.


Nice to see Kuzy actually play well.  That dude is silk - too bad they can't find the ON switch for him a little more frequently.  But when he is on...he is something to see.
Ovi....he is just an incredible player.  The older he gets, the more I like/respect him.  He has matured and maybe realized sometimes you have to carry your team and he does that very thing.  I really wonder sometimes how many goals and cups he would actually have if he'd had better coaching and guidance (and depth around him) throughout his career.
Wilson seems to always bring it.  He has to be one of the hardest guys to play against.  Big and strong and Fast.  I don't think he gets enough credit for his wheels.  Just wish he'd find that scoring touch a bit more.


I know you need your stars to shine if you are going to win, but like Zero said...this isn't sustainable.  You can double shift the guys that are on fire (Kuzy, Ovi, etc) at certain points, or even most of a game, but you can't do it all series long and certainly not for a long playoff run.  The "year of the cup" the Caps got contributions from all levels of players...Devante, Eller, etc.  Guys scoring KEY goals that normally don't.  I know the Islanders are tough to play against, but we need more than Ovi, Oshie, Kuzy scoring goals.  If you only have a few threats, you are easy to beat.


I'd love to see the Caps play well and win some games - so much fun to watch when they are playing well.  I just don't think they have enough this year to be a real threat.  I honestly think All the players don't have as much drive to compete for THIS Cup.  I mean some guys are true competitors and just love to compete and win no matter what, but I think this cup just is not as meaningful.  Even the games are not as fun too watch on TV without the fans in the stands.  It's got to be weird for the players too.  It feels like pre-season or a scrimmage that doesn't REALLY matter.  That's my mentality about this anyway.  Or maybe I'm just not as enthused because I don't think the Caps have a shot. To win the cup, a team has to have all the tools, And be firing on all cylinders, AND have a hot goalie, AND lucky bounces, AND players stepping up that normally don't, AND good coaching.  Love to see it differently, but just don't think the Caps have all that this year.


Tod's tantrum after the 2-0 goal was good to see, but I'm not confident that's what spurred this team into life.  Despite the 2-0, they had already looked better in play.  They did manage to swarm the Isles for long stretches.  Funny how our D looks SO much better when they don't have to play D  (like when Caps are in the O-zone most of the game rather than the D-zone).


Despite what happens this year, I hope they send Tod packing.  The more games we win the less I see that as reality, but I don't think they fire him either way.  ANd what do you do if the team makes a deep run this year?  Do you still fire the coach?  I don't see it happening, but...


Anyway, that's my rant for the day.  Great win - not just because it was a win, but because it was a good game to watch.  Some great play.


Let's hope for one or two more....or several...or a baker's dozen...meh why not 15. 


Looking forward to the next "last game of the season".


GO CAPS!

[richkrt99]

And where the hell is DC?  Did he ban himself or is he boycotting the Corona Cup?


And where was everyone last night?  This is what I mean about this year being....MEH.  Even our boards have little participation.  I know down 3-0 is ugly, but that never stopped us before...not like Caps fans haven't faced early elimination games in the playoffs before 


I know I'm not one to talk, cause I usually don't partake on the boards during games cause I'm rarely watching live, but usually there's more than 3-4 folks on during a game.


Anyway, not complaining about anyone, just curious where the faithful board die-hards are...DC...Mick...Barf..


Go Caps

[zerofox]

Agree Rich

By the way for Ovi's goal count, I think a bigger factor would be what if he didn't lose 1.5 seasons due to lockout and corona? He missed his first season I believe, part of the 2012? season, and part of this season. That's probably a good 70 or so goals if you assume ~50 goals per season. That would put him in range of 800 goals by next season, and then surpassing Gretzy 2-3 years afterwards.

Good news about Ovi is that he relies on his cannon of a shot to score goals, oftentimes from a fairly static position. He doesn't rely on his breakneck speed (he was never really lightning fast like McD). Ovi should be able to maintain that shot power as long as he keeps his strength up and leverages his weight. He's being more careful about hitting than he was in his younger days, which is also more sustainable as he gets older. As such, I cross my fingers that age won't impact his goal scoring as much as other players (particularly ones who rely on speed and lose some of that speed as they age)


Caps probably should have had another Cup during the Trotz era, and possible another Cup in prior years with better coaching. We've had some seriously stacked teams.


It's amazing that he won a Cup. He'll never be "the best player who never won a Cup" and that's great. But plenty are now going to start judging him versus multi-Cup captains like Toews, Crysby, etc.

[Mickstix]

I don't know how big that soapbox is, but that sumbitch is long!   


Yea, it's the Bubble Cup after all.. Not all that enthused, especially after the start. It -was- nice to see that they're still capable. No delusions of a cup though. Just hope they show up and have fun again tomorrow!!

[alta]

I think OV could easily play well and contribute until his 40's. Because of sports science(diet and fitness), we are routinely seeing guys play at a high level well past what the retirement age was just 10 years ago. He's 34 now, if he plays 10 more years that gretzgy record is toast.

[zerofox]

I think OV could easily play well and contribute until his 40's. Because of sports science(diet and fitness), we are routinely seeing guys play at a high level well past what the retirement age was just 10 years ago. He's 34 now, if he plays 10 more years that gretzgy record is toast.

I hope. Know what else is crazy? If Ovi didn't lose those 1.5 seasons from lockout/COVID and also could play until 40, he'd actually have a shot at 1000 goals...

[Beaglefan2]

Watching them flip the switch and turn it on to totally dominate those two periods just infuriates me.  It just shows they can do it when the want to, but prefer to just coast and not put out the 100% effort demanded by the playoffs. 


For all this "talent" that we supposedly have, what this proves is that effort trumps talent every time.

[richkrt99]

Watching them flip the switch and turn it on to totally dominate those two periods just infuriates me.  It just shows they can do it when the want to, but prefer to just coast and not put out the 100% effort demanded by the playoffs. 


For all this "talent" that we supposedly have, what this proves is that effort trumps talent every time.

Which is pretty much the way this team has been the last ten years.  Always so much potential and then just    the bed.


The SC year...they got some lucky bounces and some timely goals at key points and then an actual taste of the Cup and went on with a real drive to dominate some games.  It was wonderful to watch.  This team can be so much fun to watch when they are working properly and so disappointing and frustrating when they just don't show up to play.