How bout them Caps?

[Mike]

sad.

[Evan]

The disallowed goal was unbelievable. NHL refs show once again they dont know what the fuck they are doing.
Then when the Habs cross checked Varly into the back of the net......that disallowed call went to review.


Mike Green gets the award for worst penalty ever in playoff hockey. How the hell do you manage to get a (deserved) cross check penalty when you have the puck in the offensive zone?


all in all, I have to give it to the Habs, they played their asses off, and played some unbelievable defense the last 3 games.

[CaptainHenreh]

[Maengelito]

Am I disappointed? Definitely. Am I surprised? Not at all. This is what the Caps do. They choke in the playoffs. They have never been able to play against a trap defense very well and it showed. Halak played well, but he wasn't superhuman. All they did was take perimeter shots with a sprinkle of shots from the slot and in front of the net. When the first 41 shots dont go in because half of them are blocked and the other half are stopped because the goalie had a clear line of sight what did they do? Take 41 more shots expecting something different to happen. (look at the box score: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://stats.washingtonpost.com/nhl/boxscore.asp?gamecode=2010042823&home=23&vis=10&sid=ST2010042805929">http://stats.washingtonpost.com/nhl/boxscore.asp?gamecode=2010042823&home=23&vis=10&sid=ST2010042805929</a><!-- m --> - 41 saves, 41 blocks. Just in case you missed that, 41 BLOCKED SHOTS! In one single game, WTF?) The same thing with their powerplay. They were 1-33 or something like that. They had more short handed goals (2) in this series than powerplay goals (1). Thats not just the powerplay unit failing, thats poor coaching or inability to change your game plan. Switch up the personnel on your lines but go out there and play the exact same style? C'mon...

With Philly and Boston getting ready for their 2nd round series of boxing matches and Pittsburgh, I'm sure has watched the game tape and will adjust to playing the trap, I think what hurts me the most though is we have essentially just given the Penguins a free ride to the Stanley Cup finals. I just hope whichever team comes out of the West destroys them. Unless its Detroit. Then I'm hoping for that meteor to hit the arena which never happened the previous two years.

I'll end with some positive though. The Caps are still good. They'll win... eventually. They have the talent, they just need to learn how to close the deal. And they're really deep. They still have a TON of talent in their farm system. I'd bet that the Hershey Bears probably could've finished with a better record than Toronto or the Islanders this year.

and if you didn't read this story, check it out:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/2010/04/brooks_laich_changes_a_tire_af.html">http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/2010/04/brooks_laich_changes_a_tire_af.html</a><!-- m -->
all class, what a standup guy.

Good season guys. April 2011 isn't too far away, right?

[REED]

[Steve85]

George McPhee from Elliot In The Morning today.

http://www.eitmonline.com/audio/D90E41A4...043010.mp3

[Evan]

and the penguins score 6 on halak.

fuck

[kcook]

the pens make it look so easy... but they've had how many days of rest? Halak is def not a wall anymore... 6 goals... seriously?

[Apoc]

you're hating if you think schultz is horrible or Green is as you say. Green is the best offensive Dman the league has seen in the last few years, and if you think that a team that is built upon puck possession and BB's system doesn't need what he brings you clearly don't know what the hell you're talking about.

Is anyone willing to agree with me about Green yet?

[Evan]

the pens make it look so easy... but they've had how many days of rest? Halak is def not a wall anymore... 6 goals... seriously?

and they were perfect 4/4 on the power play....

[Evan]

you're hating if you think schultz is horrible or Green is as you say. Green is the best offensive Dman the league has seen in the last few years, and if you think that a team that is built upon puck possession and BB's system doesn't need what he brings you clearly don't know what the hell you're talking about.

Is anyone willing to agree with me about Green yet?

*ahem* from a few months ago

You know, I think I am committing Capitals heresy, but I think Green needs to go.

I wont be upset if he sticks on the team, he has some value especially in bringing the puck out of the d zone, but I wouldnt mind seeing him traded for someone like Tim Thomas either.

[damnit458]

you're hating if you think schultz is horrible or Green is as you say. Green is the best offensive Dman the league has seen in the last few years, and if you think that a team that is built upon puck possession and BB's system doesn't need what he brings you clearly don't know what the hell you're talking about.

Is anyone willing to agree with me about Green yet?

*ahem* from a few months ago

You know, I think I am committing Capitals heresy, but I think Green needs to go.

I wont be upset if he sticks on the team, he has some value especially in bringing the puck out of the d zone, but I wouldnt mind seeing him traded for someone like Tim Thomas either.

Trading him for TT would be a terrible idea.

Look, I'll stick by what I said earlier (that you quoted). Green is the best OFFENSIVE defenseman in the league. It just so happens that (thus far in his career) he's been terrible in three of his first four playoffs series. Still, what he brings offensively more than makes up for his deficiencies on defense. You forget to mention that his partner in the last series also played like shit. Besides, if someone told you that the Caps would be up 3-1 in a series, and only give up two goals in two of the last three games, would you realistically think they don't win that series?

You want to go out and trade a 24 year old, two-time norris finalist defenseman for an aging goalie on a terrible contract? The caps have Varlamov, Neuvirth, and Holtby in the system. If they go for a goalie over the offseason I think it's going to be someone like Brent Johnson (a vet backup).

Finally, please, for the love of god let our D pairings look like this going into next season:

Green-Volchenkov
(Poti/Schultz)-Corvo
Carlson-Alzner

[DavidM]

Finally, please, for the love of god let our D pairings look like this going into next season:

Green-Volchenkov
(Poti/Schultz)-Corvo
Carlson-Alzner

I agree wholeheartedly, although I wouldn't mind seeing Poti-Corvo as a line, or even keep the Green-Schultz line and have Volchenkov-Poti as a real shutdown pair.

[Evan]

offseason free agency / draft commentary?

Im nervous about goaltending, I dont think either varly or neuvirth are nearly good enough to be a cup winning goalie.
I was hoping for marty turco but he just signed with the blackhawks. maybe niemi since he is available? anyone know how much cap space we have?

looks like corvo and walker are gone. i thought walker sucked (and losing a 2nd rounder for him stings) but I thought corvo contributed pretty well.
Chimera is sticking around which I think is great, he was my favorite grinder by far he contributed a ton and I love watching him play.

trading for an injury plauged tough guy seemed kind of odd to me. so did keeping erskine and sloan but letting morrison go.

anyone else left worth picking up? top line D-man? 2nd line center?

[Maengelito]

I, too, think letting go of Corvo wasn't the greatest idea but they have Alzner and Carlson as good young defensemen. They've been pretty dominant at the AHL level and I know that the NHL is a whole different ballgame, but both of them have had significant stints playing with the Caps last season. Hopefully, they'll only get better. I also highly doubt they'll go after a goaltender. The future rides on Varly and Neuvy's shoulders. Going out and getting a mid level vet like Turco probably wouldn't have done much for the confidence in either goalie. If Varly gets injured again, then I can see them making a move but thats really the only situation I can imagine. As for the 2nd line center, it sounds like they're putting all their eggs in the Johansson basket. I'm pretty skeptical of that move but the rumor is that he's been really good in camp. I hope he learns playing at the NHL level quickly. My last random thought, I bet the Caps try to trade Semin sometime around the deadline.

[Evan]

stay classy, New Jersey

[Maengelito]

for those that missed the Erskine/Boulton bout in yesterday's game:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uM8chVfQNRQ">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uM8chVfQNRQ</a><!-- m -->

while the Caps have only lost 1 game in like the last 2 weeks (and in OT so they still got a point), they've still been playing pretty poorly but just squeaking by with wins. I hope they can get their heads out of their asses and play a full 60 minutes at a time soon.

[Evan]

I couldnt believe the caps gave up the 3-1 lead last night.

despite their record they really havent been playing as well as they did last year. Ovie also doesnt look very good

[Evan]

what the hell is Semin doing to Mike Green in the group shot at :56 ? :lol:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://video.capitals.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=810&id=85163">http://video.capitals.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=810&id=85163</a><!-- m -->

[Evan]

so.... Scott Hannan for Flash. Thoughts? mediocre (old) defenseman for mediocre (young) forward?
doesnt seem like a great trade to me but I guess not terrible. maybe freeing up some cap space?