It was sweet to get two points against a big division rival last night and I was proud to see our team be resilient and driven and come back for a win late in the game. We do display heart as a unit and the team does play for each other. We have a better record than usual after 12 games in but I don’t enjoy seeing us play under our capabilities.
We struggle on the power play and with all of our talent, we must be more effective. We pass too much. We don’t shoot the puck and generate enough traffic.
We are not aggressive enough on our forecheck.
We are not making crisp enough outlet passes, D to forwards in transition.
We are not taking the body enough.
We have too many players that are not being productive and making too many turnovers.
We can’t stay healthy.
And at the game, we must fix the sound system and the one camera that continues to freeze up.
And the ice, while much better than past years, must still be improved.
We are on it. We are committed to getting it all right.
I liked that we got two points. I didn’t like how we got them.
One more comment… remember this isn’t college football, there are no style points. You win, get the 2 points, you lose in regulation, you get nothing. Doesn’t matter if the winner goes in with 11 seconds left to make it 3-2, or if it’s the second goal in a 9-1 rout.
I’ll take the points no matter how they come.
The Caps are going to be fine if they just keep working as they have been in the last few games.
Teddy
You are committed to getting it perfect because your heart & soul is part of the game! A Great OWNER!!!! Washington D.C. is lucky!!!!!!!!!!!! LETS CO CAPS!!
I think what’s missing is real leadership. I like Chris Clark a lot, and I really hope he returns close to the form he displayed when he was healthy, but even if he’s still rusty, just show us how badly you want to right the ship. Drive the net, give that second effort, hustle back and make a play…inspire your teammates.
Same goes with OV and Green. It’s not enough right now for OV to gain the blue line, use the d as a screen and take the shot. If he misses, keep driving the net, get by the defense, or make them take a penalty trying to stop you.
Green – skate hard both ways. Make it a priority to play defense first and show how skilled you are at defending our zone. When the right time comes, show us your talents offensively and run the power play.
Nick Backstrom – shake out the cobwebs, and start playing like a man, and not a boy. You know the NHL game now, watch your play-off games against Philly and get back to that type of smart play and extra effort.
Boudreau is doing everything he can as a coach to work them hard, and get a spark, but as well all know, it has to come from the players. They should be demanding accountability from each other, and those who aren’t playing up to those expectations can take a seat.
ted-as i live in southern california, i have not seen the ice in person, but here is my suggestion—call the ice experts at the arenas in canada for help.
also european players are apparently born with the innate desire to pass first and only shoot if no one is open, i am sure bruce will work with team to change this.
Ted,
With all due respect to the solid product you’ve put together, let Bruce coach and let George be the GM. While you have every right to challenge the team, I don;t agree with the negativity. Do we really need to see our team’s owner post a somewhat emotional rant. It’s always a fine line when calling out the team publicly. Bruce rarely calls out players individually, Buffalo game is the only one so far this year. He knows how to motivate and challenge players, sure you’re entitled to be ‘involved’ but leave the heavy lifting to the one your organization so artfully hired as coach. This is a long season, Carolina is a very good team, we are still learning how to play at the next level, and except for the Sabre game have given an honest effort every night. You’ve done a great job building the organization top to bottom. Please let them do the job you hired them to do. Yes – hold them accountable, but recognize Bruce is the one best able to effect the improvements we all expect in the coming months. Again, you’ve done a great job and you’ve exhibited a great deal of patience. Now is not the time to become a nervous Nellie. This team will emerge from the pack, it just may take another month or 2.
Let’s Go Caps!
the ice is pathetic.
Sadly, the rebuild ain’t over…
“And at the game, we must fix the sound system and the one camera that continues to freeze up.”
I need to chime in here. I regularly hear a very recognizable sound coming out of the sound system at VZ center. It’s the sound of a Blackberry doing a data transfer near a sound cable. I counted like 10 times last year and have already heard it twice this year. Get those blackberries away from the sound cables!
you’re the best Ted
Yea, like the Ice in Ottawa was great right? If anything even higher bounces, but then I believe both teams were playing on the same surface.
So its not just me that keeps screaming FORECHECK at every game?
Its the centerpiece to the entire system and when they don’t forceheck or pressure the puck or control the neutral zone we get nuked.
I know its tuff to do all those things every game but when you do none of those things everygame its a wonder we have the record we do.
In my opinion we have only played one good game this season one game where we showed how couches system can work and that was against Vancouver.
The good news?
They are getting alot of scoring chances its just not bouncing their way atm, and they are coming from behind alot for W’s alot.
Lets go caps!
I saw people in strange positions last night. There were forwards playing back and D men playing up front on the offense at times. I think this is contributing to some of the odd man rushes.
We need more of our forwards to commit to creating traffic around the net and to stop standing on the perimeter where the defensemen are supposed to be.
I have not been a huge fan of Erskine, but the man played like a beast last night. He was hitting people, creating steals and clearing the crease. The Caps are in desperate need for a defensemen that is big and will use his body … a Stevens, Tinordi type.
Here! Here! I agree wholeheartedly! The end of the game was really exciting! Way to go Semin!
I couldn’t agree more. Well, I could…but why?
Well said! Love the no sugar coating. I am optimistic still but there are lot’s of things that need fixing!
So many mixed feelings about last night, and the season in general.
Semin overperforming vs OV/Backstrom underperforming (at least point-wise).
Johnson impressing vs Theodore off to a slow start.
Flash showing what everyone hoped he would show one day vs Laich and Clark struggling to show what we know they can.
Seriously, I’ve never seen the puck bounce so much – not just last night, all season. Home and away. Is it just because it’s still semi-warm outside and the building is therefore warmer? Though I don’t remember it being this bad in years past. It’s so frustrating to watch.
The never give up, come from behind win reminded me of last year. Although, as you said, getting there wasn’t pretty.
Ted:
Agree with the all the great points you made about the game last night, the team and things it is struggling with and some of the frustrations at Verizon Center. One item I would like to point out is the extreme frustration we and probably many other fans encounter at the game with the instant replay system.
We sit down low near the corners and are dependent upon the (fabulous) HD screen to watch the action when it is at the other end of the rink. During live play the TV system will show a replay and we lose all ability to see the live action. It would make more sense to show these replays after a stoppage in play and not during live action. This happens frequently and is very aggravating.
Thanks!
I’m one of those STHs who came to Washington from somewhere else. So yes, I’m a Caps fan and a Caps STH… but I’m really a hockey-for-hockey’s-sake fan.
Watching games on the kind of ice surface that VC provided last night is excruciating. It was about three blades of grass away from being field hockey. I know the 8s and 52s of the world sell tickets to the casual fan. But if the Caps are going to sell season tix to people like me, people who love the sport and who move here and want to see the game, the ice has to improve. I love the speed and the passing… and the VC ice takes away a lot of that. With as much skill as this Caps team has, games should be fun to watch. But when that skill is buried under slushiness… yawn.
Mr.Ted,
I am very fortunate today to be able to stay home from work and play Mr. Mom to my children while my wife enjoys a weekend away. I was watching Fox 5 news and the lady (did’nt catch her name) who does the traffic report started off her seagment with a shout out to the Caps.I went into complete shock.She reached off screen and grabed a scroll of the old Caps Black colors that read GO Caps. What an awesome way to start off the morning.My 4 year old went crazy saying daddy daddy look Capitals then went into shouting C-A-P-S Caps Caps Caps. It is GREAT to see how much our city has come to love and embrass the Capitals. Thank you Sir for everything you and the team have done to finally bring some respect to the Washington Capitals to the Metro Area.
Regards,
Joe
It is always good to get 2 in regulation against the other top team in the division, and yes, it is good that we got them, and the way we got them will have repercussions down the line for Carolina, and hopefully will also have some positive repercussions here in Washington.
As to the points you make (good points).
At times last night I was screaming from section 421 for some of the guys to shoot the puck. Shoot it hard, get it on goal. We had 30-something shots on goal, but we could have had 45 or 50. Pretty passes are nice if they work, but if there’s a shot there, take it.
The forecheck was not bad last night, and it will get better once there’s more confidence in the goaltending. Last night as Johnny made some big saves early in the 3rd, the forechecking got bolder and more willing to be aggressive.
The outlet passes will improve as well once the new pairings get used to each other, and once we can replace Jurcina and Erskine with Alzner and Lepisto…
The health issue may be related to the ice. A groin strain can come from a rut in the ice or from something not doing well there. Improving the ice will cut down on the groin problems. I bet better ice would help make AO and Semin even more dangerous (now *that* is a scary thought for the rest of the league…)
Always good to get 2 points in the division. And although there are many things to work on, I do love our PK units…we’ve killed off over 3 minutes of 5 on 3 in the past 2 games…granted, we shouldn’t put ourselves in such a hole, but its great to see our unit killing over 88%.