President Trophies, individual awards, and threesomes in hot tubs will be how the 2009-2010 NHL season will be remembered for the Caps. I, just like the entire hockey world, am in shock as to what happened at Verizon Center.
To quote the coach from Happy Gilmore "Better luck next year"
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Varly set to start
According to the good people at the Washington Post Varlamov came off the ice first this morning. Which, as always has served as the indicator as to who will be starting. Maybe Bruce is pulling a fast one, but I doubt it.
Game 7 Preview
It is not over yet, but it will be for one team tomorrow night (potentially Thursday morning if they go to multiple overtime sessions.) If you are a Caps fan then you are hoping that the better team wins. Habs fans, on the other hand are praying to the "hockey gods", and can you blame them the majority of those "gods" donned the bleu blanc et rouge at one point in time?
Five days ago the Caps had a 3-1 advantage in the series and were about to play the fifth, and hopefully final game of the series at home. Things did not materialize that way on Friday night, and Monday's game 6 match up did not yield the results the Caps wanted either. So now we wait anxiously for the last of the NHL quarterfinal series to end. It is important to note that at no point in the history of the NHL playoffs has an 8 seed rallied from a 3-1 deficit to beat a 1 seed, hopefully that trend continues tonight.
There are many questions surrounding the Caps roster for tonight's match up with Montreal. Perhaps no bigger question than who will start in goal. Varlamov has been plagued by inconsistent play ever since being injured against Tampa Bay in early December. His performance in the playoffs has been decent, posting a 2.48 gaa and a save % of .912. There is little doubt that Bruce favors Varly and would much rather play him over Theo, but I think Theodore needs to be the Caps guy tonight. Theo has been as consistent and as a strong a goalie as there is in the NHL this year. He has not lost a game in regulation since the first week of January, granted an OT loss at this point of the year does the Caps no good. However, a close game does mean that the Caps explosive offense was given ample opportunity to win the game. Varly is capable of turning in an outstanding performance that requires very little offense to secure a victory, but he is also capable performing at a minor league level like he did like he did in game 7 of last years series with the Penguins. Theo's consistent play almost guarantees that it will be at the very least a close game, and if offense is your bread and butter why not put the outcome of the game in their hands?
Keys to the game for Washington.
It is simple, do not make Halak look like Patrick Roy. Much credit should be thrown in Halak's direction for his game 6 performance. However, a lot of his good fortune is a result of Washington's play in the offensive zone. Yes, he made some spectacular saves, but he was rarely screened, and the Caps struggled to crash the net. The most important players for Washington are Brooks Laich and Mike Knuble. Ovechkin, Semin, and Backstrom do not need to show up so long as these two guys do their job. We saw in last game that even the average Joe (Corvo) can fire ten shots on goal. The shots will come, but if Laich and Knuble can screen Halak and or, crash the net and put home a rebound or two, then the Caps will win. If not, then Jaro Halak may very well find himself facing off against the highest remaining seed in the East, The Pittsburgh Penguins.
Keys for Montreal
Good goaltending for one. Aside from that keep playing well in transition, the odd man rushes have proved costly for the Caps all series. The Caps can counter the odd man rushes one of two ways. The first option is that they can play fire wagon hockey and just outscore Montreal, similar to what the did in games 2 and 4. The second option is to stop carrying the puck deep into the offensive and getting caught in transition with 3 forwards below the face dots, and instead play dump and chase. Aside from their fourth line this team never plays dump and chase, so why would they ever start now?
Five days ago the Caps had a 3-1 advantage in the series and were about to play the fifth, and hopefully final game of the series at home. Things did not materialize that way on Friday night, and Monday's game 6 match up did not yield the results the Caps wanted either. So now we wait anxiously for the last of the NHL quarterfinal series to end. It is important to note that at no point in the history of the NHL playoffs has an 8 seed rallied from a 3-1 deficit to beat a 1 seed, hopefully that trend continues tonight.
There are many questions surrounding the Caps roster for tonight's match up with Montreal. Perhaps no bigger question than who will start in goal. Varlamov has been plagued by inconsistent play ever since being injured against Tampa Bay in early December. His performance in the playoffs has been decent, posting a 2.48 gaa and a save % of .912. There is little doubt that Bruce favors Varly and would much rather play him over Theo, but I think Theodore needs to be the Caps guy tonight. Theo has been as consistent and as a strong a goalie as there is in the NHL this year. He has not lost a game in regulation since the first week of January, granted an OT loss at this point of the year does the Caps no good. However, a close game does mean that the Caps explosive offense was given ample opportunity to win the game. Varly is capable of turning in an outstanding performance that requires very little offense to secure a victory, but he is also capable performing at a minor league level like he did like he did in game 7 of last years series with the Penguins. Theo's consistent play almost guarantees that it will be at the very least a close game, and if offense is your bread and butter why not put the outcome of the game in their hands?
Keys to the game for Washington.
It is simple, do not make Halak look like Patrick Roy. Much credit should be thrown in Halak's direction for his game 6 performance. However, a lot of his good fortune is a result of Washington's play in the offensive zone. Yes, he made some spectacular saves, but he was rarely screened, and the Caps struggled to crash the net. The most important players for Washington are Brooks Laich and Mike Knuble. Ovechkin, Semin, and Backstrom do not need to show up so long as these two guys do their job. We saw in last game that even the average Joe (Corvo) can fire ten shots on goal. The shots will come, but if Laich and Knuble can screen Halak and or, crash the net and put home a rebound or two, then the Caps will win. If not, then Jaro Halak may very well find himself facing off against the highest remaining seed in the East, The Pittsburgh Penguins.
Keys for Montreal
Good goaltending for one. Aside from that keep playing well in transition, the odd man rushes have proved costly for the Caps all series. The Caps can counter the odd man rushes one of two ways. The first option is that they can play fire wagon hockey and just outscore Montreal, similar to what the did in games 2 and 4. The second option is to stop carrying the puck deep into the offensive and getting caught in transition with 3 forwards below the face dots, and instead play dump and chase. Aside from their fourth line this team never plays dump and chase, so why would they ever start now?
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Tougher than Tough
The above is a link of Eric Belanger losing 8 teeth during last nights game against Montreal. Reports out of KCI this morning are that Belanger lost 7 or 8 teeth, and had a dental procedure similar to that of a root canal in between periods. Remarkably, Eric came back and finished the game logging 10:16 of total ice time for the evening. Belanger's return to the game last night demonstrated how tough hockey players are, and yes even French Canadians.
Belanger's toothless return to the ice rivals the comeback performances of Patrick Thoreson and Ryan Malone. Thoreson gained serious notoriety around Verizon Center when he blocked a Mike Green slap shot with his nuts and then preceded to play two nights later. Ryan Malone, as one hockey commentator put it, "his face exploded" after being hit with a slap shot in the Cup Finals. As you would expect from an American kid, Ryan Malone returned to the ice that night.
Clips of both of those incidents are embedded below.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Why Tomorrow Night is a Must Win.
Simply put, The Caps have played 3 playoff series during the Bruce Boudreau era, and they have all gone 7 games. This is taxing both physically and mentally on a team and if the Caps want to have any chance of making a deep run into the post season, then this series with Montreal needs to end as soon as possible.
I use the term "must win" very loosely, obviously if they do not win they are still in the driver seat. However, A number 1 seed should dispose of the pest that is an 8 seed in 6 or less games, that is the advantage of being a number one seed. You are playing an inferior team and you have home ice advantage. As it stands right now, barring a large comeback from the Devils, or Habs all signs point to a Caps-Flyers second round match up.
This is not the worst 2nd round draw imaginable, but the shorter this current series is the better it will serve for the Caps in the next round. The flyers are capable of scoring in bunches, that is of course assuming Gagne and Carter are able to play. They are physical, and they have one of the most intimidating d man in the entire league. Chris Pronger is an absolute specimen, he is capable of playing 25+ minutes a night and is good enough to shut down any, and I mean any scorer in the entire league.
I use the term "must win" very loosely, obviously if they do not win they are still in the driver seat. However, A number 1 seed should dispose of the pest that is an 8 seed in 6 or less games, that is the advantage of being a number one seed. You are playing an inferior team and you have home ice advantage. As it stands right now, barring a large comeback from the Devils, or Habs all signs point to a Caps-Flyers second round match up.
This is not the worst 2nd round draw imaginable, but the shorter this current series is the better it will serve for the Caps in the next round. The flyers are capable of scoring in bunches, that is of course assuming Gagne and Carter are able to play. They are physical, and they have one of the most intimidating d man in the entire league. Chris Pronger is an absolute specimen, he is capable of playing 25+ minutes a night and is good enough to shut down any, and I mean any scorer in the entire league.
Boyd "Horse Skin Skates???" Gordon
Everyone loves Dave Steckel. He is a good 4th line center, he wins key faceoffs, is one of the teams better penalty killers, and will be forever immortalized by Caps fans for scoring a goal in game 6 that delayed the inevitability of a caps series loss. If Steckel is so good at these aspects of the game then, why has he watched the past three games from the press box? That would be because Boyd Gordon is doing all of those things and more.
In the past two games Gordon has had two, two on ones, both of which were shorthanded, and both of which led to two goals. In game 3 Boyd came streaking down the right side of the ice, riding the heel of his blades. He had a 30 goal scorer in Mike Knuble coming down the ice opposite to him, instead of passing it to him he fired a shot on net. After Halak stopped the initial shot Gordon continued to whack at the loose puck until it crossed the goal line. The goal broke a scoreless tie and jump started the Caps 4 goal 2nd period.
In Game 4, Montreal had a 2-1 lead late in the 2nd, a powerplay, and all the momentum in the world. With about ten seconds left in the period, Gordon and Knuble came flying down the ice on a 2-1. This time with Knuble on the right and Gordon on the left. The sliding defenseman took away Gordon's most obvious passing lane along the ice to Knuble. This did not deter the gritty 4th line center from getting the puck to Knuble, Gordon quickly whipped up some sauce that was so brilliant that it would have made the town of Musselman, WV blush. The pass found Knuble's blade and he snapped home a quick wrister that evened the score at 2. Similar to his game 3 heroics, Gordon's shorthanded play completely turned the tide of the game and the Caps would go onto win.
I am not insinuating that had Gordon not made these plays, then the Caps would have lost either game. What I am saying is that in both instances the team needed someone to step up and make a play that would change the complexion of the game. In back to back games Gordon was the guy who delivered when it was most needed.
Also if anyone can explain to me why Gordon's nickname is horse skin skates on his wikipedia page, I would really appreciate it.
In the past two games Gordon has had two, two on ones, both of which were shorthanded, and both of which led to two goals. In game 3 Boyd came streaking down the right side of the ice, riding the heel of his blades. He had a 30 goal scorer in Mike Knuble coming down the ice opposite to him, instead of passing it to him he fired a shot on net. After Halak stopped the initial shot Gordon continued to whack at the loose puck until it crossed the goal line. The goal broke a scoreless tie and jump started the Caps 4 goal 2nd period.
In Game 4, Montreal had a 2-1 lead late in the 2nd, a powerplay, and all the momentum in the world. With about ten seconds left in the period, Gordon and Knuble came flying down the ice on a 2-1. This time with Knuble on the right and Gordon on the left. The sliding defenseman took away Gordon's most obvious passing lane along the ice to Knuble. This did not deter the gritty 4th line center from getting the puck to Knuble, Gordon quickly whipped up some sauce that was so brilliant that it would have made the town of Musselman, WV blush. The pass found Knuble's blade and he snapped home a quick wrister that evened the score at 2. Similar to his game 3 heroics, Gordon's shorthanded play completely turned the tide of the game and the Caps would go onto win.
I am not insinuating that had Gordon not made these plays, then the Caps would have lost either game. What I am saying is that in both instances the team needed someone to step up and make a play that would change the complexion of the game. In back to back games Gordon was the guy who delivered when it was most needed.
Also if anyone can explain to me why Gordon's nickname is horse skin skates on his wikipedia page, I would really appreciate it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
