If the Devils were playing the Wild it would be boring, like a sleeper hold in wrestling.
Ron Wilson is a very good coach.
He plays a trap, a system we would play when he coached our team when we were short-handed due to injury.
The trap is designed to frustrate a team and make for 1-0 or 2-1 games. It relies on patience and discipline and the hope you will score with a man advantage on a power play.
The Leafs executed the game plan well in front of a sleepy, quiet and non-energetic fan base.
The game had a truly weird ending. You saw the same game I did. I thought we played OK. We get a point and anything can happen in the shootout. And it did.
We finish a 5 game road trip and come home now for 4 games in a row.
In the last ten games, we are 5-3-2 and in the same 10 game span, Boston is 4-5-1 and NJ is 6-4-0.
We are all jogging into the playoffs. We now need to run and sprint. Seven games left for us. We have 97 points and it would be nice to garner some playoff momentum.
Problem is these are the kinds of games you play in the playoffs. Our run and gun team will struggle winning games 2-1 especially since Laich is the only forward willing to get in front of the net.
Caps don’t play emotional hockey for the last 10-15 games. I hope they didn’t get overfed with wins and success and saving the emotions for the playoffs. But like Boudrau said, you cannot turn it on or off as you wish. We need to get a momentum before the playoffs start because in the 1st round we will meet a team that is figting for the playoff position right now and they will be on top of their game. Watch out!!!
I also hope that “Cherry on Ovechkin” topic doesn’t become a distraction for the team.
Go Caps!!!