Comments on: When the Peasants of Puck Are Right

By: dmg

dmg — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 19:58:28 +0000

SpartyCuse,
The Caps don’t have any Selke type forwards, sorry. They have guys like Laich, Gordon, Pettinger and Clark who are pretty gritty and may play better in their own end but none of those guys is in contention for the Selke; Gordon is the only one who ever may be.
Plus if the Capitals traded for Carter that would give them Backstrom, Nylander and Carter as centers (unless they move Carter to wing I guess). What the Capitals need is a top six right wing.

By: Reg Dunlop Jr.

Reg Dunlop Jr. — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 06:05:46 +0000

Prior to last night’s game in Sunrise – er, Sunset – I was in the “It’s Too Early To Think About A Change” camp. A listless 2-1 defeat to the toothless Panthers, who, by the way, got next to nothing from their stars, changed my attitude. Great post. While I do not wish any ill towards Hanlon, he did preside over the functional equivalent of the Titanic, it is time to take this club to the J-Team for a change.

By: pepper

pepper — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 02:20:42 +0000

Right Reggie. Let ‘em know you’re there!
Though, in seriousness, seeing Bradley go last night at an important time led me to start to question Brashear’s everyday value in the lineup. And to further open a can o’ worms, I’d like to see a #16 on that lineup card instead more nights.

By: B.ORR4

B.ORR4 — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 01:40:35 +0000

Forget all the pretty boy, Flying Frenchmen crap and let’s get down and dirty tonight. Let Brashear be Brashear and rearrange a couple of faces. The old saying used to be
“If you can’t beat ‘em in the alley, you can’t beat ‘em on the ice.” That’s the way the Caps should play tonight. If we’re going to lose, then I say let Tampa Bay know they’ve earned their two points. A little mayhem may be the best antidote to this losing streak.

By: Jordan

Jordan — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 23:48:39 +0000

Agree that Nylander and Kozlov need to stop waiting for the perfect play at this point. Right now, at a time where nobody but Ovechkin seems to light the lamp, I think the Caps just need to get gritty and scrap down low, hoping to get a bounce to go their way.
Worked for OV last night.

By: HSHS

HSHS — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 23:35:58 +0000

Excellent piece! Good comments by many but esp Peerless.

By: Shaggy

Shaggy — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:58:41 +0000

I echo the “beautifully written” sentiment – P&B, that was poetic.
Our forwards futility with the puck is just so maddening that I could scream. Nylander and Kozzie need to quit f’ing around with the puck – at this point, I would take Zuby’s sweeping behind the goal with his ass to the play behind him, trying to set up shop for the ticky tack pass that never came. At least Zuby got dirty. These guys are freaking pansies, shrinking violets, milquetoasts, and any other cliche describing wretchedly inept around the cage, AND not seeming to care.
F’ing hell, it should be a bloodbath in the Pete tonight, but I’ll bet our Cappies pull it off- they have some pride, right?

By: maruk

maruk — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:20:00 +0000

God, I hope not. Think of all the tears that would flood the locker room after every agonizing defeat. Semin would probably slip and fall in the muck, turning his ankle again. His stick would fly out of his hand and land in Clark’s eye. Given the way the season has gone, it’s farcical and plausible at the same time.
As for replacements, go by the numbers. A guy with 1 Stanley Cup, 2 trips to the Finals, and 3 Jack Adams trophies seems like a good choice.

By: Jan

Jan — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:03:35 +0000

I am all for this Heads-Must-Roll stuff. It’s great for flushing all the impurities outta the system and enjoying that smug feeling of being a n organization of decisive action with firmness of decision. But way more important than who gets flushed out is (in my most humble opinion) exactly who gets flushed in to replace him. I hope this very real sticking point is the only thing that is holding GMGM’s hand right now. If so, I give him some credit. Not much, but some. Anyone think (gulp) Mark Messier might be available?

By: Meza

Meza — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 20:58:49 +0000

I think it is both Coaching and the players that are at fault for the teams demise. I watched practice a few weeks ago and the D worked on opening up shooting lanes and getting the puck through to the net. But, time and time again I watch the D shoot the puck at the opposition. I think we need to change D pairs and rotate all 8 through the lineup, sitting 2 at a time. GMGM and Hanlon talk about depth, but what good is that depth if the same players sit out and don’t get regular game action. Rust sets in and then they are liabilites.
In light of a coaching change I think we need to change the system we are playing. it is obvious that it is not working. We are running a 1-2-2 but get beat regularly through the neutral zone.
To me it is so bad that I regularly tune to other games when the Caps are pissing in the wind.
Just my two cents.