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:ovechkincup2:
(https://galactichub.com/caps/Capitals @ Flyers.gif)
Game 71: 89-41-22-7 (PTS-W-L-OT) Streak - L1
Thu Mar 14, 2019 Washington Capitals @ Philadelphia Flyers
Place: Wells Fargo Center
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSWA, ESPN+, NBCSP
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, Caps Radio 24/7 (http://tunein.com/radio/Caps-Radio-247-s231201/)
NHL.COM (https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/2018021085) for Live Box Score
Last Game: Tue March 12 Capitals lost 5-2 against Penguins
Next Game: Sat Mar 16, 7:00 pm ET Capitals @ Lightning
| :spacer50pix: 8-Ovechkin | :spacer50pix: 92-Kuznetsov | :spacer50pix: 43-Wilson |
| :spacer50pix: 13-Vrana | :spacer50pix: 19-Bäckström | :spacer50pix: 77-Oshie |
| :spacer50pix: 62-Hagelin | :spacer50pix: 20-Eller | :spacer50pix: 10-Connolly |
| :spacer50pix: 65-Burakovsky | :spacer50pix: 18-Stephenson | :spacer50pix: 72-Boyd |
| :spacer50pix: :spacer50pix: 6-Kempny | :spacer50pix: :spacer50pix: 74-Carlson |
| :spacer50pix: :spacer50pix: 9-Orlov | :spacer50pix: :spacer50pix: 2-Niskanen |
| :spacer50pix: :spacer50pix: 44-Orpik | :spacer50pix: :spacer50pix: 3-Jensen |
|
| :spacer50pix::spacer50pix::spacer50pix::spacer50pix: 70-Holtby (starter) |
| :spacer50pix::spacer50pix::spacer50pix::spacer50pix: 1-Copley |
-- SCRATCH --
| :spacer50pix::spacer50pix::spacer50pix::spacer50pix: 23-Jaskin |
| :spacer50pix::spacer50pix::spacer50pix::spacer50pix: 26-Dowd |
| :spacer50pix::spacer50pix::spacer50pix::spacer50pix: 29-Djoos |
-- INJURED RESERVE --
| :spacer50pix::spacer50pix::spacer50pix::spacer50pix: |
-- 1st Powerplay Unit --
| :spacer50pix: 92-Kuznetsov | :spacer50pix: 19-Bäckström | :spacer50pix: 77-Oshie |
| :spacer50pix: :spacer50pix: 8-Ovechkin | :spacer50pix: :spacer50pix: 74-Carlson |
-- 2nd Powerplay Unit --
| :spacer50pix: 13-Vrana | :spacer50pix: 20-Eller | :spacer50pix: 43-Wilson |
| :spacer50pix: :spacer50pix: 2-Niskanen | :spacer50pix: :spacer50pix: 9-Orlov |
:spacer50pix: Referees: Chris Rooney (#5), Graham Skilliter (#24)
:spacer50pix: Linesmen: David Brisebois (#xx), Darren Gibbs (#66)
FLYERS LINEUP
28-Claude Giroux -- 14-Sean Couturier -- 23-Oskar Lindblom
25-James van Riemsdyk -- 19-Nolan Patrick -- 11-Travis Konecny
12-Michael Raffl -- 21-Scott Laughton -- 38-Ryan Hartman
44-Phil Varone -- 10-Corban Knight -- 27-Justin Bailey
9-Ivan Provorov -- 6-Travis Sanheim
8-Robert Hägg -- 3-Radko Gudas
53-Shayne Gostisbehere -- 61-Phil Myers
79-Carter Hart (starter)
37-Brian Elliott
Scratched: 47-Andrew MacDonald, 33-Cam Talbot, 50-Samuel Morin
Injuries: 30-Michal Neuvirth – lower-body injury, injured reserve
Suspended: 93-Jakub Voracek
(https://washingtoncapitalsfanforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fgalactichub.com%2Fcaps%2Fscoring_summary.gif&hash=a5539380153e9a0902e0b6fc1ce40d49d66becf2)
1st Period
02:53 GOAL 10-Connolly, assists 6-Kempny & 74-Carlson 1-0 WSH
09:30 GOAL 20-Eller, assists 10-Connolly & 62-Hagelin 2-1 WSH
2nd Period
01:03 Flyers GOAL Riemsdyk, assist Gosostibehere 2-1 WSH
08:43 GOAL 10-Connolly, unassisted 3-1 WSH
09:48 GOAL 43-Wilson, assists 92-Kuznetsov & 9-Orlov 4-1 WSH
12:22 Flyers GOAL Laughton, assists Hartman & Hagg 4-2 WSH
3rd Period
17:34 EN GOAL 92-Kuznetsov, assists 8-Ovechkin & 6-Kempny 5-2 WSH
FINAL: 5-2 WSH
(https://russianmachineneverbreaks.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/rmnb-retina.png)
By Brennin Weiswerda March 14, 2019 1:33 pm
John Carlson once hugged Nate Schmidt so hard it felt like being hit by a linebacker
(https://i0.wp.com/russianmachineneverbreaks.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/schmidt-carlson-hug.jpg?fit=960%2C480&ssl=1)
Headline photo: NHL Tonight
Vegas Golden Knights defenseman and former Capital Nate Schmidt guest-starred on the February 14 episode of 31 Thoughts with Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman. While the conversation covered many topics, the most entertaining was a throwback to the year 2013.
Schmidt scored his first career NHL goal against the Nashville Predators on December 7, 2013. After the puck hit the back of the net, John Carlson hugged Schmidt. The two were defensive partners at the time, and Carlson skated up the ice, beating all the forwards in the footrace. Instead of breaking his momentum, he slammed into Schmidty, who then slammed into the boards.
Schmidt said it was like getting hit by a linebacker and nearly knocked him into the stands.
“I really felt I was going to eat popcorn with the people in the third row,” Schmidt said.
VIDEO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9T13_ybG9E
Comments from 31 Thoughts
| :spacer50pix: | You remember before, we were talking a little bit about running into a linebacker, you know? Well running into John Carlson who’s skating full speed at you in ice skates literally [unintelligible]. I really felt I was going to eat popcorn with the people in the third row. |
| :spacer50pix: | It was awesome. John’s a good friend of mine and it was awesome to be a part of it too. It was all such a blur, right? But you can always remember that first one. |
| :spacer50pix: | I vaguely remember, like you said, probably the hit more than the actual goal going into the net, because that might’ve been the hardest I got hit all game. |
| :spacer50pix: | You’ll never forget that. I know I won’t. My shoulder will probably never forget either. |
https://thumbs.gfycat.com/HelpfulDependableCivet-mobile.mp4
In 2015 Nate Schmidt got another John Carlson aggressive check-in when he scored his first goal of that season. Alex Prewitt wrote about that for the Washington Post.
| :spacer50pix: | Defenseman John Carlson reached Schmidt first, just like he had Dec. 7, 2013, when Schmidt uncorked his first career NHL goal. Carlson, who had spent 67 straight games paired beside Orpik, wrapped his new partner in a massive hug and, like two Decembers ago, almost drove Schmidt into the third row, slamming him against the glass. |
| :spacer50pix: | “That was probably the hardest I got hit all night,” Schmidt joked. “I’ll take that at this time of the year for me. Getting that first one of the year feels great. I hope you guys could see his expression too, because I think that might have been as good as mine. It was a big goal for us at the time, and it really put us ahead for the rest of the game.” |
And here’s the 2013 goal again, but in slow-motion this time, because we deserve good things.
https://thumbs.gfycat.com/FamousDesertedAcaciarat-mobile.mp4
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From the article's picture, looks like Carlson is time travelling.
Let's GO CAPS!
Oh and on a side note, I won a Nystrom signed jersey, don't know much about him.
I miss Schmidty!
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From the article's picture, looks like Carlson is time travelling.
Let's GO CAPS!
Oh and on a side note, I won a Nystrom signed jersey, don't know much about him.
I miss Schmidty!
I really liked Schmidt too. I was the first person to predict that he would soon be a star soon after he joined us.
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Dowd scratched. What did he do, play physical and hit someone :raspberry:
Um.....scratch the worthless Burka Fuck.
Go Caps
Where the heck is everyone. Someone tell Lill how to tell time :hearts:
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Evening chaps. :wackysmile:
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Dowd scratched. What did he do, play physical and hit someone :raspberry:
Um.....scratch the worthless Burka Fuck.
Go Caps
Where the heck is everyone. Someone tell Lill how to tell time :hearts:
:raspberry:
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(https://galactichub.com/caps/Capitals_mascot-Flyers.png) :B:
:10:
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Whoooo Hoooo! :clap:
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Didn't see much on the hit to Willie. Kind of took an elbow to the ribs but didn't look like that much.
Also....Caps lucky pn that goal. Carlson played it with a high stick and Kempny picked it up right from that. Probably should have been a whistle.
Go Caps
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(https://galactichub.com/caps/Capitals_mascot-Flyers.png) :B:
:20:
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Yipppeeeee! :super:
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Dowd scratched. What did he do, play physical and hit someone :raspberry:
Um.....scratch the worthless Burka Fuck.
Go Caps
Where the heck is everyone. Someone tell Lill how to tell time :hearts:
Have you not been watching games lately? Burka has been very good for a while now. I think they just wanted Stephenson to have some ice time and he plays center as well as wing.
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Goals from 10, then 20, so I am going to guess that Vrana or Wilson scores next. It's a numbers thing.
:wackysmile:
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Decent start. ;)
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Goals from 10, then 20, so I am going to guess that Vrana or Wilson scores next. It's a numbers thing.
:wackysmile:
Jensen's a "3".
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:pointdown:
Solid 20 minutes..
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If we score the next goal I will feel much better. That Pittsburgh game still haunts me. Caps don’t do well with 2 goal leads.
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:O=
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If we score the next goal I will feel much better. That Pittsburgh game still haunts me. Caps don’t do well with 2 goal leads.
Jinx
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When was the last time Ovi scored on the PP?
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Holy FUck Caps. They know that stupid break in play
QUIT IT
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:raised-eyebrow: :O= :raspberry:
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Peace out peeps. I'm catching the rest on delay.
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(https://galactichub.com/caps/Capitals_mascot-Flyers.png) :B:
:10:
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CONNO!!!!!!
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when Conno gets his hattie tonight, it will be his 20th goal of the season
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Ooooh! That was purdy. :uh-huh:
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(https://galactichub.com/caps/Capitals_mascot-Flyers.png) :B:
:43:
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I called Wilson or Vrana. Woohoo!!
:clap:
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hell of gift for
Willy !!!
with his 20th
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Congrats Willy. 20. 8)
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:O= :huh:
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Would of rather the ref just kept his whistle in his pocket on that last one.. Our PP sucks, only gonna give them momentum and probably 2x PPs of their own in the 3rd..
When was the last time Ovi scored on the PP?
2018? Dude looks off to me, as far as his shot(s).. :-\
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OV has a couple PPGs this year, the stat that sucks, well, the two stats that suck are Kuzy with 1 road goal this season, and the Caps are dead last in the league at the face off dot
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Other than the Caps winning the game I really want to see Ovie score a goal, even an EN goal will do. I am getting worried that he is not going to get 50 goals this season. Has to get 4 more in 12 games.
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Other than the Caps winning the game I really want to see Ovie score a goal, even an EN goal will do. I am getting worried that he is not going to get 50 goals this season. Has to get 4 more in 12 games.
Agree. I want him to get 50+ and win his 8th Rocket. Would be a damn shame if he doesn't, because an 8th win puts him in the all time lead for Rockets. But yeah, he's been cold and Draisaitl and Kane are still running pretty hot. I'm worried. Yeah Ovi needs 4 to hit 50, but I think he may need more like 5-6 to put it out of reach for the two guys behind him.
Kuzy needs to be benched for the rest of the season. Fucking idiot hurts the team more than he benefits them.
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if the players know there is a good chance of getting called for hooking, why do they continue to put their sticks there
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......
Kuzy needs to be benched for the rest of the season. Fucking idiot hurts the team more than he benefits them.
Kuzy is in danger of turning into Semin 2.0
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that is a bullshit call
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That was one of the worst calls of the season. Jensen did absolutely nothing to deserve a penalty.
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Told ya that cheap hold at the end of the 2nd was so they could call 2x the cheapies on us in the 3rd.. :poop:
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I hate the whole concept of makeup calls based solely on number of penalties. On;ly reason for a makeup call is if the refs fucked up and made a bad call.
I would also like to see a hell of a lot more embellishment calls, even if no penalty is called on the other team. So many pussy divers in the Metro division.
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That was one of the worst calls of the season. Jensen did absolutely nothing to deserve a penalty.
He's wearing a shirt that says, "Capitals" on it. ::)
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(https://galactichub.com/caps/Capitals_mascot-Flyers.png) :B:
:92:
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road goal #2 this season for Kuzy
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I'm sorry but Kuzy is a retard he doesn't deserve that goal.
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PapaJohns!
Hi Lil!
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Did Papa John's increase the number of goals required and a win to 5 goals for 50% off pizza? Seems like what Joe B. said.
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Yeah, I rewinded it and he says " ... they scored at least 5 tonight..." but I think it's still 4.
I tried the Philly and the Meatball last couple times, it wasn't that bad.
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Actually Kuzy had a strong game tonight. Set up Wilson’s goal and had the empty netter. In addition, he had a pretty good night in the faceoff circle. No way can you compare him to Semin.
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.Better thn the last game. :clap: That whole third line looking good.
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Nighty night peeps. Sweet dreams. :hearts:
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Kuzy had a good game.. Was still a lazy/pussy fucker.. Dude is allergic to contact, avoids it at all cost, even if the puck is 5' away in the offensive zone. He'll reach out with his stick and that's it.. Net drive? LoL.. He'll beak for one of the corners 20' out from the paint, to avoid ending up in front of the net.. I ignore all that when he's in god mode, but lately he's on my nerves.
There's no reason we should feel uneasy with a 2 goal lead and 5 minutes to play, yet there I was, nervous as a long tail cat in a room full of rocking chairs.. :raspberry:
Night people!
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and that's 20 goals in 52 games for Willy, I expect him to be knocking on 30 next season
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I thought they played well this game and last but we just have some guys coasting. Kuzy hasn’t played near his potential for at least 15 games. Tonight I thought Backstrom was just along for the ride and he has done that a lot this year.
And one more thing - PLEASE lose the slingshot play!!! It’s risky, doesn’t work and is just embarrassing watching them mess it up.
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Nighty night peeps. Sweet dreams. :hearts:
Good night Lil.
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(https://washingtoncapitalsfanforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fgalactichub.com%2Fcaps%2Fscoring_summary.gif&hash=a5539380153e9a0902e0b6fc1ce40d49d66becf2)
1st Period
02:53 GOAL 10-Connolly, assists 6-Kempny & 74-Carlson 1-0 WSH
09:30 GOAL 20-Eller, assists 10-Connolly & 62-Hagelin 2-1 WSH
2nd Period
01:03 Flyers GOAL Riemsdyk, assist Gosostibehere 2-1 WSH
08:43 GOAL 10-Connolly, unassisted 3-1 WSH
09:48 GOAL 43-Wilson, assists 92-Kuznetsov & 9-Orlov 4-1 WSH
12:22 Flyers GOAL Laughton, assists Hartman & Hagg 4-2 WSH
3rd Period
17:34 EN GOAL 92-Kuznetsov, assists 8-Ovechkin & 6-Kempny 5-2 WSH
FINAL: 5-2 WSH
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Wilson has more goals, and is (the laughable) +/- of 16 compared to Kuzy who as a “number one center” is just +5
And Connolly scored is 19th and is +2 for a one way player (bang up job)
Oh and LARS, aka Helen, aka Keller netted his 11th whole goal! and is a -8!
Oh Wilson missed 20games do to politics/marketing.
(Note the sarcasm of the shitty +/- stat, all the while pointing out all but Wilson are one-way or attempted 2way players)
5-2 wins against teams 5 pts out of a Wild Card in March are fine and good, but in no way indicates success in a best of 7 series, or validates subpar performance so far this season.
If “back to back” is gonna be uttered, the entire team needs to step up WAY above the level they’ve been playing at.
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and that's 20 goals in 52 games for Willy, I expect him to be knocking on 30 next season
If Uncle Gary doesn’t suspend him for dropping the Gatorade bottle the wrong way on the bench 🤣
Willies strength and physicality allows him to dominate the physically inferior defenseman and forwards of “today’s (woman’s rules) NHL”, making him one of, maybe the, most dominant player in the league.
That being said, his stats do benefit from being on Ovies line, which is fine and good, but for next year, if the rest of the Conference sticks to the rules woman’s fad, let him keep dominating the physically inferior opponents, defeating the subpar fighters as the other teams won’t sign better fighters, and let him wreck havoc on a weaker division.
That being said, some may say The Caps are “all Ovie”, heh the Caps are all Wilson. Unfortunately, he needs to do this alone
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Good teams are all about skill, heart, and most of all chemistry. Finding that perfect balance up and down your line combinations requires good coaching staff that know the game.
We are witnessing a coalescing of the above again with the Capitals. It's not perfect, but it never is going to be.
We ALL have known for years that this team had the skill. We ALL knew that this team was capable of pulling out the heart virtually anytime they felt like it, which I must say is immensely frustrating. This team last year put all of the above together at the right time to win the cup. Then after playing two months longer than most teams they went on an epic binger for three months.
This year started with pretty much a continuation of the cup run. Then they started to fall flat on all the above. The break came to the rescue, which doesn't seem like much since it's only ten days, but it is clear this team benefited.
We picked up two GREAT additions by GMBM which allowed the balance on the lines to finally be found. Suddenly both scoring and defensive play goes up considerably while mistakes for the most part decline.
There is no denying that the trajectory of this team is heading upward fast. Defensive mistakes are being limited and we can sometimes not tell which is our top line because the contributions are coming from everyone. Hell, even Burky is playing well and both Dima and Dylan are hitting opponents like freight trains lately. We've shut down some potent offenses at times, and except for a few brain farts we do have a formidable defensive structure with great communications.
And finally, this is not unlike last year where we had scary lull in January, pulled it back together and peaked at the right time. Then in the post season we played like a team possessed. I've been watching and comparing every single game as I create the GDT's. Our record this year has been following last year almost exactly at every point in the season. After game 71 here are the stats for the last three seasons.
2019 91-42-22-7 2018 89-41-23-7 2017 83-36-25-11
Last year I was VERY confident after the All-Star break and that confidence grew to the end. Last year we were just a bit tighter on defense at this point, but I see no reason we can't tighten up a bit more and repeat since that part of game is seeing vast improvement of late.
We've all seen this team rise to the challenge (and lower to the challenge :snicker: at times). Holts is still a beast and we are still a monster of a team on paper.
"Back to Back"? Quite possibly. The next three games (two against the Bolts) will tell us a whole lot about our chances of getting to the Championship series. If we get through Tampa then I say we are the champs again.
AJ
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Wilson has more goals, and is (the laughable) +/- of 16 compared to Kuzy who as a “number one center” is just +5
And Connolly scored is 19th and is +2 for a one way player (bang up job)
Oh and LARS, aka Helen, aka Keller netted his 11th whole goal! and is a -8!
Oh Wilson missed 20games do to politics/marketing.
(Note the sarcasm of the shitty +/- stat, all the while pointing out all but Wilson are one-way or attempted 2way players)
5-2 wins against teams 5 pts out of a Wild Card in March are fine and good, but in no way indicates success in a best of 7 series, or validates subpar performance so far this season.
If “back to back” is gonna be uttered, the entire team needs to step up WAY above the level they’ve been playing at.
DC,
I know you lean toward the negative side sometimes, (must be out of Hopslam) but....
The Caps are in 1st place in their division with what? 11 games to go. How is that sub-par performance so far? Definitely had a bad stretch, and they certainly could be more consistent on D, but they have shown improvement, especially over the last month. They are at least trending in the right direction. Better that than the other way round
Over the last 15 games they have allowed....
0, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 5, 2, 1, 2, 3, 0, 1, 5, 2 goals against. That's a 2.00 GAA per game average. I'll take that heading towards the playoffs (or anytime). Only three times have they allowed three goals or more. THat's 12 our of 15 games allowing 2 goals or less. Throw out 3 bad games and it's pretty primo. Not trying to pick and choose and manipulate the numbers, but I'd say 3 bad games out of the last 15 for team D is pretty good.
Some of that is Holtby standing on his head, but some of it is better team D overall (and both are what it takes to win in the playoffs)
I do agree Wilson is awesome, and believe he truly is the biggest factor to this team's direction (other than Holtby strictly due to the nature of the position)
Kuzy is soft and is definitely drifting this year, but not a Semin 2.0 (like someone else posted). His game definitely needs improvement
Also, you shouldn't continually argue that the +/- stat is the most worthless stat in hockey and then use that stat to argue that Wilson is great and Kuzy, Conno, Eller sucks. Of course Willy's +/- is better, he plays on the "top scoring line" and the other three play on a line that faces more teams' top lines.
If you want to use the +/- argument then Carlson is a "Great" d-man :lol: cause he is +19
(okay, ignore that last bit...just saw your +/- sarcasm comment) and I really hate that the font size changes
I have no problem with Conno - 20 goals/year (assuming he gets 1 more) plus 20 assists for a third line guy making 1.5 mil is awesome production. Call him one way if you want, but multiply his goals/salary on OVI and Ovi should be making 3.75 mil/year. Ovi's cost per point is roughly 2.5x what Conno's is. Not really comparing the two players, but based on salary and output, Conno is a freaking steal and not just compared to Ovi's contract.
If you were to ask ANY GM in hockey if they want a third line guy who will score 20 goals and 20 assists (without any PP time) for $1.5m/year, I'd bet the farm they'd jump at the chance.
Lars - not sure why you hate him so much except he is a soft Euro guy. I would not call him a one-way player either. His line is often the line that plays against others' top lines, so they are going to allow more goals. He certainly isn't the best 3c ever, but he is serviceable and fits with this team. On a side note - I think Haggs helps that line's D tremendously (well anything is better the a Burka, so....nevermind that) Lars is NOT having a great year, but I have no problem with his play as a 3rd line center (He DID have an awful stretch of dumbass penalties earlier, but..)
"5-2 wins in March are fine"...okay, get the point, but that beats the hell out of 5-3 losses to teams in or out of the hunt... AND, Caps have only allowed big goals(5) twice in more than a month and allow 3 goals once...totaling three times in a month they have allowed more than 2 goals. I'd argue that's good, not bad.
I, for one, am NOT muttering back to back and cringe when I hear that. I think Tampa beats us this year, but the Caps have as good a chance as any team to beat them.
Go Caps
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I think last night pretty much dashes any hopes Philthy makes the playoffs. They have a brutal schedule ahead - worse than the Caps.
Ovi better wake the hell up and score some goals soon if he wants 50. I predicted couple months ago he gets 48 or so? I will have to go back and see where I asked for everyone's predictions on that. I'd like to see him get 50 and the Rocket, Caps have 3 of remaining games against Tampa. They do NOT allow alot of goals...although I believe Ovi has pretty good numbers vs Tampa, no?
Now that I berated DC for being negative....my turn. Caps will lose Saturday in Tampa, Isles will win and move into 1st place (with a game in hand). Hens will also win Saturday (vs Blues) and be within 2 pts of Caps with 10 games to go.
Caps have a pretty tough schedule for remaining games. Only Philthy's is worse. Actually, all the teams left in the hunt are going to have to work for most of their points. Fucking Hens have the lightest schedule of any team remaining (shocker)
Caps are going to have to play well to stay in it. Maybe that's good.
Go Caps
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Conno has more goals than Kuzy and Backy :lol: :huh: :raised-eyebrow: :'(
Orlov is now even +/- and Nisky is -1 (that's not good, but its hell better than when they were like -10
Chandler is -12 (ouch), but he hasn't been playing much lately when the caps team +/- has greatly improved.
(Don't lecture me on how worthless the +/- is. Just saying it is improving as a whole, so that is good.)
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DC,
I know you lean toward the negative side sometimes, (must be out of Hopslam) but....
The Caps are in 1st place in their division with what? 11 games to go. How is that sub-par performance so far? Definitely had a bad stretch, and they certainly could be more consistent on D, but they have shown improvement, especially over the last month. They are at least trending in the right direction. Better that than the other way round
Over the last 15 games they have allowed....
0, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 5, 2, 1, 2, 3, 0, 1, 5, 2 goals against. That's a 2.00 GAA per game average. I'll take that heading towards the playoffs (or anytime). Only three times have they allowed three goals or more. THat's 12 our of 15 games allowing 2 goals or less. Throw out 3 bad games and it's pretty primo. Not trying to pick and choose and manipulate the numbers, but I'd say 3 bad games out of the last 15 for team D is pretty good.
Some of that is Holtby standing on his head, but some of it is better team D overall (and both are what it takes to win in the playoffs)
I do agree Wilson is awesome, and believe he truly is the biggest factor to this team's direction (other than Holtby strictly due to the nature of the position)
Kuzy is soft and is definitely drifting this year, but not a Semin 2.0 (like someone else posted). His game definitely needs improvement
Also, you shouldn't continually argue that the +/- stat is the most worthless stat in hockey and then use that stat to argue that Wilson is great and Kuzy, Conno, Eller sucks. Of course Willy's +/- is better, he plays on the "top scoring line" and the other three play on a line that faces more teams' top lines.
If you want to use the +/- argument then Carlson is a "Great" d-man :lol: cause he is +19
(okay, ignore that last bit...just saw your +/- sarcasm comment) and I really hate that the font size changes
I have no problem with Conno - 20 goals/year (assuming he gets 1 more) plus 20 assists for a third line guy making 1.5 mil is awesome production. Call him one way if you want, but multiply his goals/salary on OVI and Ovi should be making 3.75 mil/year. Ovi's cost per point is roughly 2.5x what Conno's is. Not really comparing the two players, but based on salary and output, Conno is a freaking steal and not just compared to Ovi's contract.
If you were to ask ANY GM in hockey if they want a third line guy who will score 20 goals and 20 assists (without any PP time) for $1.5m/year, I'd bet the farm they'd jump at the chance.
Lars - not sure why you hate him so much except he is a soft Euro guy. I would not call him a one-way player either. His line is often the line that plays against others' top lines, so they are going to allow more goals. He certainly isn't the best 3c ever, but he is serviceable and fits with this team. On a side note - I think Haggs helps that line's D tremendously (well anything is better the a Burka, so....nevermind that) Lars is NOT having a great year, but I have no problem with his play as a 3rd line center (He DID have an awful stretch of dumbass penalties earlier, but..)
"5-2 wins in March are fine"...okay, get the point, but that beats the hell out of 5-3 losses to teams in or out of the hunt... AND, Caps have only allowed big goals(5) twice in more than a month and allow 3 goals once...totaling three times in a month they have allowed more than 2 goals. I'd argue that's good, not bad.
I, for one, am NOT muttering back to back and cringe when I hear that. I think Tampa beats us this year, but the Caps have as good a chance as any team to beat them.
Go Caps
By (albeit harsh) sub-par I’m referring mainly to being under 80% in PK and dead last faceoffs. This, despite great seasons by Nick and strong performances by Dowd and Boyd, is an indictment on all the centers.
Kuzy gets top minutes with Ovie (which helps his assists), yet still is under 40 percent on face offs, a defensive liability, and at this stage in career can still not contribute on the PK. Given that, how can he only be putting up under 20 goals while playing primarily in offensive situations? (IOW, he ain’t doin a hell of a lot else, his assist totals are elevated for playing with Ovie, has missed only a few (if any games), shouldnt he at least be expected to be in 30 goal range?)
Eller as a “3rd Center”, while playing in almost all situations, is still under 50% on faceoffs, and is a regular on a PK that is at bottom of league and under 80%, Yet has only put up 11 goals.
Connolly has also shown to be a 100 ft player who’s strength is scoring and after that, not much. He was given a chance to play on Ovies line and failed, and does not appear to be making,nor succeeding in trying to take Oshies spot, nor assisting with the faceoff issue, or improving the PK.
In contrast, after Wilson, Nick and Oshie have been the back bone of this team all year, and are not , and cannot be acknowledged enough for that. Their stats may look like this was an off year, but they have both played excellent 200ft games, played all special teams, and all situations, They NEED to this because Kuzy, Eller, Connolly, (and others), cannot and/or will not improve their game to do what Nick and Oshie do.
So if they cannot/will not do that, shouldn’t we expect higher stats as they aren’t doing much else than playing offense?
Yes, Hotby being hot, and adding Jensen (who may be our best all around D), have lead to less GAA recently, but that’s a lot, and too much, to bet on going into the playoffs when your the number one target of the 7 other teams.
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They should really just forfeit the rest of the season and buy new golf clubs.. :rofl:
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They should really just forfeit the rest of the season and buy new golf clubs.. :rofl:
Well, this here sumbitch (https://www.tgw.com/golf-clubs/golf-drivers/cobra-mens-king-f9-driver) is gettin me wanting to take up golf again. So I couldn’t blame them all that much!
Hell, goin down to FLA, gettin that sumbitch, hittin up a Top Golf, blasting some Skynard & Hatchet, and seeing how many beers I can sweat out before gettin drunk, sounds damn good right now!
But in all seriousness, while this team is good at many things, there are still weakness and deficiencies that can be exploited and/or their strengths cannot fully compensate for.
While it seems cynical, it is also pragmatic to point out 10% success rate in 10 tries does not guarantee future success. They will need to keep improving and evolving and not just proverbially say "we did it last year, we can just do it again".
Success does not mean “mission accomplished”, “I can die happy”,”keep doin the same thing because it worked once”. Success means NOTHING else but success is, or will be good enough for the forseable future. So everything needs to constantly evolve, develop, and improve to maintain success. Because every enemy has developed strategies to neutralize your strengths,exploit your weaknesses, and will be coming after you to levels they haven’t before.
(Heh, I really should of been a coach)
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That cheesy shotgun PP entry has me wanting to take up golf myself.. :snicker: Damn thing worked for a couple months, now it just looks like :clown: ..
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That cheesy shotgun PP entry has me wanting to take up golf myself.. :snicker: Damn thing worked for a couple months, now it just looks like :clown: ..
Yep! But stick to Top Golf as playing bumper cars and/or Duke’s of Hazzard, and/or Tokyo Drift with the golf carts with a case and or minikeg (hell if I’m payin >$10 a beer on the course) has become frowned upon for some dumbass reason.
Heh iffin anyone ever got DUI in a golf cart, ‘deed I’d imagine Old Possum himself would be proud 🤠
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Was just talking to my buddy yesterday.. He rides his "cart" round the neighborhood, up to the burgerking.. Has the kid drive in his lap, while he sips a cold one.. :lol: So far, so good! :rofl:
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Was just talking to my buddy yesterday.. He rides his "cart" round the neighborhood, up to the burgerking.. Has the kid drive in his lap, while he sips a cold one.. :lol: So far, so good! :rofl:
Heh my buddy in Venice has one to ride around his “gated community”, hehe when I’m down there I ride it to the hot tub and around the place with a few “roadies”, a cigar, and tunes blastin. Though not an FLA band, Black Oaks Jim Dandy is a good tune to play while doing that. . . ‘DC to the res-que, DC to rescue, DC to the res-que, go DC, go!’ . . . (Yep, the image of that you have is probably right on)
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its not quite a DUI, but I was impressed, a friend got a drunk in public while riding a bicycle in college, she hit a parked car in front of a cop