Stanley Cup Playoffs thread

[PuRock]

22 hours ago, Tank 92 said:

I think we were fortunate to win on a night where everyone other than Oshie did not bring their A game. Huge mistakes in the defensive zone led directly to two of the pens goals. Can't afford that moving forward. 

To me the Caps seemed tight, not tired and I think we'll see a lot more jump out of them tomorrow night. 

I thought both teams looked a little off.  But that will happen in the 1st game as both teams shift from their previous opponents.  The Caps and Pens are totally different matchups then the Rangers and Flyers.  

But I agree we do need to shore it up defensively and in the neutral zone.  Penguins are at the best when countering off turnovers.  Eliminating the opportunities there would help our chances immensely.   

I could see us being a bit more conservative tonight, but if the Penguins want to be over aggressive again, we will make them pay.  I am expecting less goals tonight.  

[Tank 92]

Gotta say that I thought the Caps would lose tonight.  Hopefully this will be a wake up call and they play with urgency for 60 minutes, not just 15 or 20.

[PuRock]

22 hours ago, Tank 92 said:

Gotta say that I thought the Caps would lose tonight.  Hopefully this will be a wake up call and they play with urgency for 60 minutes, not just 15 or 20.

Yea, 20 minutes of good hockey isn't going to beat the Pens.  Caps could have easily lost game one, and we could have gotten blown out in game 2.  I put the slow starts on Barry.  He's got to get these guys firing out of the gate.  The Pens had the Caps on their heels all evening and were playing aggressive and we couldn't counter at all.  

While this could serve as a wake-up call, Caps are going into the lions den without Orpik, and will be forced to start an ineffective Orlov.  I fear this will be ugly in Pittsburgh.  Caps have to use their speed and counter more effectively.  

[Tank 92]

10 hours ago, PuRock said:

Yea, 20 minutes of good hockey isn't going to beat the Pens.  Caps could have easily lost game one, and we could have gotten blown out in game 2.  I put the slow starts on Barry.  He's got to get these guys firing out of the gate.  The Pens had the Caps on their heels all evening and were playing aggressive and we couldn't counter at all.  

While this could serve as a wake-up call, Caps are going into the lions den without Orpik, and will be forced to start an ineffective Orlov.  I fear this will be ugly in Pittsburgh.  Caps have to use their speed and counter more effectively.  

I think they can absorb the loss of Orpik. It obviously doesn't help, but they played much of the season without him.

The lack of "urgency" until late plagued the team at the end of regular season and now into the playoffs. For the life of me I can't understand it, I hope it changes quickly or they're done.

[Tank 92]

Good effort from the Caps, seemed like the better team lost last night. They keep playing like that and I think they will move past the pens. 

let's see if the NHL doles out the same 3 game suspension to Letang. 

[PuRock]

7 hours ago, Tank 92 said:

Good effort from the Caps, seemed like the better team lost last night. They keep playing like that and I think they will move past the pens. 

let's see if the NHL doles out the same 3 game suspension to Letang. 

We definitely played much better.  I wish I have as much confidence as you.  We played that way and still lost, that is concerning.  But at least we have life and can still right this ship.  We must win game 4 and get back home ice.  

NHL should definitely suspend Letang.  I doubt it will be 3 games.  At the very least it needs to be 1.  That will be a big loss for the Pens.  I like how Barry trolled the NHL about their favoritism for the Penguins, that can only be done by a veteran coach.  

[Tank 92]

32 minutes ago, PuRock said:

We definitely played much better.  I wish I have as much confidence as you.  We played that way and still lost, that is concerning.  But at least we have life and can still right this ship.  We must win game 4 and get back home ice.  

NHL should definitely suspend Letang.  I doubt it will be 3 games.  At the very least it needs to be 1.  That will be a big loss for the Pens.  I like how Barry trolled the NHL about their favoritism for the Penguins, that can only be done by a veteran coach.  

ha....1 game suspension for Letang.  I guess since Marcus returned it isn't deemed as bad of hit.  BS if you ask me, The intent was there and if Letang were as big as Orpik it would have been much worse. 

Edited May 3, 2016 by Tank 92

[PuRock]

38 minutes ago, Tank 92 said:

ha....1 game suspension for Letang.  I guess since Marcus returned it isn't deemed as bad of hit.  BS if you ask me, The intent was there and if Letang were as big as Orpik it would have been much worse. 

Yea, I figured it would be one game.  At least it is better than no suspension at all.  Hopefully it will be enough to win game 4 and get home ice back.  

[Tank 92]

UNLEASH THE FURY!

[Tank 92]

Terrible puck luck.  Again the team that played better lost.  Oh well, it happens like that sometimes.

[PuRock]

2 minutes ago, Tank 92 said:

Terrible puck luck.  Again the team that played better lost.  Oh well, it happens like that sometimes.

Seems to happen a lot this series.  

Turnovers killed the Caps.  The only way they lose in OT is a bad turnover and a counter.  Oh well.  I thought they had this going into OT.  That was short-lived.  Apparently these Caps are no different than every other year.  Who needs a Stanley when you have the President's?

Seems like every year the same story.  Hot goaltender and a ton of blocked shots brings us down.  So frustrating.

[Tank 92]

6 hours ago, PuRock said:

Seems to happen a lot this series.  

Turnovers killed the Caps.  The only way they lose in OT is a bad turnover and a counter.  Oh well.  I thought they had this going into OT.  That was short-lived.  Apparently these Caps are no different than every other year.  Who needs a Stanley when you have the President's?

Seems like every year the same story.  Hot goaltender and a ton of blocked shots brings us down.  So frustrating.

Very frustrating. That last giveaway was maddening. And while Holtby has played well most of the post season he just isn't up to the level he needs to be. Not blaming him, but the pens 21YO has outplayed him.

Still a glimmer of hope there, stranger things have happened. 

[darklight1216]

3 hours ago, Tank 92 said:

Very frustrating. That last giveaway was maddening. And while Holtby has played well most of the post season he just isn't up to the level he needs to be. Not blaming him, but the pens 21YO has outplayed him.

Still a glimmer of hope there, stranger things have happened. 

And to think Schmidt was benched so that Weber could come in and do that. I felt like throwing a Crosby-style tantrum.

If the Caps were up in this series and the Pens had their backs against the wall, I'd be with you in believing that anything is possible, but when it's Washington, I don't know...

[Tank 92]

A little homer propaganda to keep hope alive.

http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2016/05/06/five-reasons-why-the-caps-could-still-win-this-series/#more-106561

[Tank 92]

Caps live to play Game 6. No reason to think they can't win it.

 

 

[Steve0x]

Tank,,Umm i think its safe to say,,The Pens are going to win this. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are both an 1-2 punch. If the Caps defense can hold off on both of them then they got a good chance to advance to game 7. I give the Pens 2 goal favorites in next game.

[Tank 92]

Murray has buoyed the pens, but I like the Caps chances if Holtbeast continues the return to form.

http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2016/05/08/braden-holtbys-heroics-keep-the-capitals-season-alive/#more-106653 

[PuRock]

On 5/7/2016 at 6:16 AM, Tank 92 said:

A little homer propaganda to keep hope alive.

http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2016/05/06/five-reasons-why-the-caps-could-still-win-this-series/#more-106561

Just what I need more hope.  

I feel like I am being fattened up to be slaughtered AGAIN. But I'll bite. Yesterday was fun to watch since I already wrote this series off.  But now I'm am back to believing. 

[Tank 92]

On ‎5‎/‎9‎/‎2016 at 9:51 PM, PuRock said:

Just what I need more hope.  

I feel like I am being fattened up to be slaughtered AGAIN. But I'll bite. Yesterday was fun to watch since I already wrote this series off.  But now I'm am back to believing. 

LMAO!  I know how you feel.  Let's hope this year is different.

[Tank 92]

Well, another disappointing second round exit for the Caps. At least they went down fighting. They completely shut down Malkin and Crosby the entire series, but the luck went the pens way with some soft goals. Matt Murray showed incredible poise for a 21 YO keeper. Good on him.

[BmoreBird22]

The thing that frustrated me most in watching the Capitals is that they really could not consistently settle the puck, move it around, and create opportunities on offense. The only time in this game that the Capitals had a distinct advantage with shots on goal was in the third and to no one's surprise, the Capitals scored two times.

The Penguins just played far more aggressive on defense and really forced the Capitals to have to work for every single play. The Capitals defense really disappointed me because the Penguins were often able to really work their way to the puck and secure it in Caps territory before settling it down and moving it around. Not to mention the fact that they had an absurd amount of second chance shots. 

I can't really blame Holtby when he's making a great save and it gets put right back onto the stick of a Penguins player. At some point, the defense has to play aggressive and just stick to their man. That OT goal should not have happened. Never should a defender just allow an offensive player to just park right in the crease and be left essentially alone. A player should have been in his hip.

Non aggressive offense and lacksidaisical defense really did this game in for the Capitals. It doesn't matter if you have the best goalie in the game if he's facing 10-15 second chance shots and you as a team are only really putting up 30-35 shots on goal.

[Tank 92]

5 hours ago, BmoreBird22 said:

The thing that frustrated me most in watching the Capitals is that they really could not consistently settle the puck, move it around, and create opportunities on offense. The only time in this game that the Capitals had a distinct advantage with shots on goal was in the third and to no one's surprise, the Capitals scored two times.

The Penguins just played far more aggressive on defense and really forced the Capitals to have to work for every single play. The Capitals defense really disappointed me because the Penguins were often able to really work their way to the puck and secure it in Caps territory before settling it down and moving it around. Not to mention the fact that they had an absurd amount of second chance shots. 

I can't really blame Holtby when he's making a great save and it gets put right back onto the stick of a Penguins player. At some point, the defense has to play aggressive and just stick to their man. That OT goal should not have happened. Never should a defender just allow an offensive player to just park right in the crease and be left essentially alone. A player should have been in his hip.

Non aggressive offense and lacksidaisical defense really did this game in for the Capitals. It doesn't matter if you have the best goalie in the game if he's facing 10-15 second chance shots and you as a team are only really putting up 30-35 shots on goal.

Whole heartedly agree on your point on the last goal, no one even attempted to clear out the goal scorer, no one even near him. I think Alzner going down really taxed the entire group and may have contributed to the ineffectiveness of the defense in OT. 

Holtby made some amazing saves at times, but the first goal, as quite a few of the others the pens scored in the series, was a soft goal that he easily handles 99 out of 100 times. Not sure of the reason(s), but in the series as a whole, Murray was the better of the two and for me, made the difference.

[BmoreBird22]

3 hours ago, Tank 92 said:

Whole heartedly agree on your point on the last goal, no one even attempted to clear out the goal scorer, no one even near him. I think Alzner going down really taxed the entire group and may have contributed to the ineffectiveness of the defense in OT. 

Holtby made some amazing saves at times, but the first goal, as quite a few of the others the pens scored in the series, was a soft goal that he easily handles 99 out of 100 times. Not sure of the reason(s), but in the series as a whole, Murray was the better of the two and for me, made the difference.

I didn't see the first goal, and Murray played well, but the defense put Holtby in some terrible situations. Part of that is Orpik getting suspended and putting the defense in a tough spot and then getting dumb penalties that led to TWO goals. I blame the defense more than I do Holtby.

At this point, I wouldn't care to see Trotz go. The team has a good core with players like Ovi, Oshie, Holtby, and Backstrom, but they can't seem to get it done. 

The team just lacked creativity. On Carlson's OT goal, Ovi switched to RW and the Pens have no idea what to do. After that goal? Go back to a traditional PP formation and go stagnant. He never went back to it with THREE penalties in the third after that one goal. I mean, come on.

Trotz does great in the regular season, but what I saw was a team that lacked discipline, communication, fundamentals, and urgency/aggressiveness. They lost their heads when Orpik went out and seem to do this every single time they hit the second round. Eight years and they have yet to make a conference championship under Trotz. Unacceptable.

[Tank 92]

1 hour ago, BmoreBird22 said:

I didn't see the first goal, and Murray played well, but the defense put Holtby in some terrible situations. Part of that is Orpik getting suspended and putting the defense in a tough spot and then getting dumb penalties that led to TWO goals. I blame the defense more than I do Holtby.

At this point, I wouldn't care to see Trotz go. The team has a good core with players like Ovi, Oshie, Holtby, and Backstrom, but they can't seem to get it done. 

The team just lacked creativity. On Carlson's OT goal, Ovi switched to RW and the Pens have no idea what to do. After that goal? Go back to a traditional PP formation and go stagnant. He never went back to it with THREE penalties in the third after that one goal. I mean, come on.

Trotz does great in the regular season, but what I saw was a team that lacked discipline, communication, fundamentals, and urgency/aggressiveness. They lost their heads when Orpik went out and seem to do this every single time they hit the second round. Eight years and they have yet to make a conference championship under Trotz. Unacceptable.

Yeah, there were a lot of areas for improvement and had the pens lost the series I'm sure you would have heard much of the same. Dumb penalties, terrible +/- for their top two players, undisciplined defense, etc., etc.. 

Playoff hockey is played tight to the vest and can look crappy at times. Goal tending is always the key. Not sure if you watched the whole series, but Holtby had hiccups in all of the losses and Murray stood on his head and just frustrated the Caps. As bad as the Caps were at times, he was the key to the pens winning the series.

bye the bye.......This was Trotz's second year with the Caps. 

Edited May 11, 2016 by Tank 92

[BmoreBird22]

37 minutes ago, Tank 92 said:

Yeah, there were a lot of areas for improvement and had the pens lost the series I'm sure you would have heard much of the same. Dumb penalties, terrible +/- for their top two players, undisciplined defense, etc., etc.. 

Playoff hockey is played tight to the vest and can look crappy at times. Goal tending is always the key. Not sure if you watched the whole series, but Holtby had hiccups in all of the losses and Murray stood on his head and just frustrated the Caps. As bad as the Caps were at times, he was the key to the pens winning the series.

bye the bye.......This was Trotz's second year with the Caps. 

I didn't get to watch the entire series because of work, but I got to watch bits and pieces and most of what I saw last night was much of what I saw for the series. Sure, Holtby didn't look like the best goalie in the league that he was in the regular season, but I played defense in hockey and I just think there were too many lapses in communication and just boneheaded errors.

I didn't realize it was only Trotz second year. Someone else had mentioned something about eight years and I rolled with it, but he may have meant blow up the team because this has been the story for eight years. I'm not sure. I watch here and there during the regular season and really watch intently in the playoffs since there's over 80 games in a season.

The thing that still gets me the most is the complete lack of being aggressive and settling down on offense. The offensive possessions I saw were rushed and the passing just wasn't there. I played lacrosse as well and simply passing around in a circle with the occassional movement across the middle can do wonders for opening opportunities. Just get the pick up top or behind the net and see what you have. Spread it around. 

I didn't get to watch as much as I wanted to, but it was very frustrating to see a team that looked night and day from the regular season.

[Steve0x]

See! I told ya Caps wasn't going to advance. 

[PuRock]

On 5/11/2016 at 11:30 PM, Tank 92 said:

Well, another disappointing second round exit for the Caps. At least they went down fighting. They completely shut down Malkin and Crosby the entire series, but the luck went the pens way with some soft goals. Matt Murray showed incredible poise for a 21 YO keeper. Good on him.

 

On 5/11/2016 at 11:54 PM, BmoreBird22 said:

That OT goal should not have happened. Never should a defender just allow an offensive player to just park right in the crease and be left essentially alone. A player should have been in his hip.

A little late to the pity party, but I agree with everything you both said.  Matt Niskanen at the end did a pirouette of nothingness allowing that OT goal.  That's now two OT goals that shouldn't have happened.  The turnovers were also brutal in this series against a team known for their explosive counter attack.  

Tank, I also agree that the loss of Alzner killed us.  Especially going into OT.  Our D was tired chasing around the quick Pens, and it didn't help being down a guy (and one of our best D-men).  Plus our stars all had enormous amounts of ice time already.  I was hoping we could hold on to dear life in OT and get a fluky goal to salvage the game.  Nevertheless it was an amazing comeback and glad they at least went down swinging.

In the end, I put most of this on Barry.  He was out coached by a guy that's bounced around the league.  Mike Sullivan was winning the majority of matchups and didn't even need Crosby & Malkin to perform.  Barry turned into Coach Klein from The Waterboy before he met Bobby. allowing himself to get dominated by the other coach.  We certainly do not have a lack of talent, but for some reason we cannot properly harness that talent in the playoffs.  Whether it be Trotz, Bruce B,  Dale Hunter, or Oates.  I just don't get it.  It could be just as simple as running into an extremely hot team (and goalie) yet again.  It's apparently our yearly fate as Caps fans.       

[BmoreBird22]

On 5/12/2016 at 10:44 AM, PuRock said:

In the end, I put most of this on Barry.  He was out coached by a guy that's bounced around the league.  Mike Sullivan was winning the majority of matchups and didn't even need Crosby & Malkin to perform.  Barry turned into Coach Klein from The Waterboy before he met Bobby. allowing himself to get dominated by the other coach.  We certainly do not have a lack of talent, but for some reason we cannot properly harness that talent in the playoffs.  Whether it be Trotz, Bruce B,  Dale Hunter, or Oates.  I just don't get it.  It could be just as simple as running into an extremely hot team (and goalie) yet again.  It's apparently our yearly fate as Caps fans.       

I would very much agree that a very large part of the blame goes on Barry with the very passive game plan, lack of discipline, and a lack of aggressiveness. 

I'm gonna go back to this, but on Carlson's PP goal, Ovechkin moved over to RW from LW and the Pens lost their minds. On the next three PP's? Ovechkin remains at LW. Even if it's not moving him back to RW, do something a little more creative than a routine look that has been largely unsuccessful. 

It really just pained me to see the Penguins crash the net and really establish offense with so many second chance shots. That's not how you win a game, ever. This one stings.

[Tank 92]

On ‎5‎/‎12‎/‎2016 at 10:44 AM, PuRock said:

 

I just don't get it.  It could be just as simple as running into an extremely hot team (and goalie) yet again.  It's apparently our yearly fate as Caps fans.       

lol    We are the Cubs of the NHL.  But I'll be right there backing them again next year.

[PuRock]

6 hours ago, Tank 92 said:

lol    We are the Cubs of the NHL.  But I'll be right there backing them again next year.

Damn straight, so will I. Already made the down-payment on next year's season tickets for our company. 

Nice seeing the Pens go down tonight. After playing us they were ill prepared for Tampa, who actually used their quickness. 

I hope Tampa thrashes them.