| :spacer50pix: 8-Ovechkin | :spacer50pix: 19-Bäckström | :spacer50pix: 43-Wilson |
| :spacer50pix: 13-Vrana | :spacer50pix: 92-Kuznetsov | :spacer50pix: 77-Oshie |
| :spacer50pix: 62-Hagelin | :spacer50pix: 20-Eller | :spacer50pix: 14-Panik |
| :spacer50pix: 28-Leipsic | :spacer50pix: 72-Boyd | :spacer50pix: 21-Hathaway |
| :spacer50pix: :spacer50pix: 34-Siegenthaler | :spacer50pix: 74-Carlson |
| :spacer50pix: :spacer50pix: 9-Orlov | :spacer50pix: 3-Jensen |
| :spacer50pix: :spacer50pix: 6-Kempny | :spacer50pix: 33-Gudas |
| :spacer50pix::spacer50pix::spacer50pix::spacer50pix: 70-Holtby (starter) |
| :spacer50pix::spacer50pix::spacer50pix::spacer50pix: 30-Samsonov |
| :spacer50pix::spacer50pix::spacer50pix::spacer50pix: 29-Djoos (upper body) |
| :spacer50pix::spacer50pix::spacer50pix::spacer50pix: 26-Dowd |
| :spacer50pix::spacer50pix::spacer50pix::spacer50pix: None |
| :spacer50pix: 19-Bäckström | :spacer50pix: 92-Kuznetsov | :spacer50pix: 13-Vrana |
| :spacer50pix: :spacer50pix: 8-Ovechkin | :spacer50pix: :spacer50pix: 74-Carlson |
| :spacer50pix: 72-Boyd | :spacer50pix: 20-Eller | :spacer50pix: 43-Wilson |
| :spacer50pix: :spacer50pix: 28-Leipsic/8-Ovechkin | :spacer50pix: 9-Orlov |
Let's GO CAPS!Just a normal matinee game, as scheduled.
Happy New Yar everyone.
Why is the game on so early today?
this is bad timing, I need to go to the store today
It will be open later! no?
We’re at our first game in almost two seasonsSweet!
That was a awesome goal by Willie!!
Why the fuck won’t the Caps get ice girls? Man up Ted, no one wants to see guys do that
And game by game, evidence keeps accumulating that will affect the franchise's decision about who to keep as the starting goaltender. The decision is going to have to be made within the next 6 months. As of 7/1/20 Holtby will either be resigned or he will be a UFA and will likely be signed not too long after that, by somebody.It was interesting that they did not announce a starting goalie for today's game until an hour before game time. A message IMO.
Could also conceivably have something to do with the illness working its way through the team, AJ.Nice catch on that. I think you might be right.
Our TOI looks a little strange at this point. Hagelin and Panik have the most TOI among the forwards, and Siegenthaler has the most among the defensemen, while Kempny as at the bottom. I wonder if this team is continuing to play short-cylindered.
this is an overall improvement from the last two gamesOffensively for sure, but defense still sucks.
Well, losing definitely sucks. That said, not super worried considering their performance could conceivably be blamed on injuries/illnesses. That said, I am worried about a couple of things outside of known injuries or illnesses:Our salary cap is to fucked up for us to keep Holts, without making moves (IE Kuzy) that would make sense and let us keep one of the top goalies in the league.
1. Ovechkin hasn't seemed as sharp as usual. While 24 goals in 41 games is still a ridiculous pace, Ovechkin just hasn't been Ovechkin-like recently. I think he may be nursing some sort of injury. It seemed like his goal scoring fell off a cliff after that DET game when he scored that hat trick and that fucking DET retard plowed into him. Absolutely unnecessary and dangerous play, and I think it may have tweaked something.
2. Holtby just isn't super sharp right now. Maybe that's also due to illnesses or something, but I still think (and have thought since the beginning of the season) that Sammy should be given many more starts. The reasons are as follows:
- Holtby will likely command somewhere in the ballpark of $10 million a year on a contract with some decent amount of term, given that his comparables have signed similar contracts. I fully believe Holtby will be paid based on his Cup and Vezina wins.
- While Holtby will likely command a $10 million a year salary, I don't think he's worth the price. He's a good goalie, although runs hot and cold occasionally. I think he's just not the same guy without Mitch Korn, period. He's not 10x better than Samsonov who has played admirably at less than $1 million per year.
- Given the above, the Caps should probably NOT entertain keeping Holtby past the end of this season. Available cap space should first and foremost go towards Ovechkin and Backstrom, as they should be kept. Their next contracts would be part keeping two really great players and part appreciating two Caps lifers who have done so much for the franchise. So yeah, even if they're aging and on the decline we should be willing to pay up a bit as thanks to those two, but not necessarily Holtby.
- Therefore, it probably makes sense that Sammy will be our starter next year. If he's going to do that, he needs to get more starts this year. The other alternative is to find another solid goalie at $3-5 million per, and have them split starts with Sammy as a 1a and 1b. Goalies in the $3-5 million range include Varly, Gruby, Ben Bishop, Matt Murray, Binnington, and even Vasilevsky (though I'm sure he'll get a big contract soon). Either way, giving Sammy some more starts now, especially since we've got plenty of points under our belts, will be beneficial to us in a post-Holtby future.
...so that he could have the proper amount of time to prepare mentally, get his Hockey is for everyone sweater on, get his pride mantra centered on his being, and so on. :-\
Don't blame Holtby. Someone should have announced more than 1 hour prior to game time that he was the starter, so that he could have the proper amount of time to prepare mentally, get his Hockey is for everyone sweater on, get his pride mantra centered on his being, and so on. :-\
Funny! I was wondering earlier as I read DC's post about Holtby that his LBGT garbage was going to factor into the decision. I know it affected any respect I had for him as a person. That shit needs to go back into the closet or the same place I keep my hetero.
Not that this is the thread for it, but.....
Not that this is the thread for it, but.....