If you watched Game 4’s broadcast last night likely you saw Comcast illustrate the dramatic discrepancy in playoff experience between the Caps and Flyers: last night 14 Capitals were making their NHL playoff series debuts, just 6 for Philadelphia. The way the game was contested you’d never have known.
Small solace this morning.
But I think I am going to enjoy watching Eric Fehr compete in playoffs hence. Through nearly 90 minutes of game clock I kept seeing Fehr impose his physical will down low and along the boards and carry off the simple and smart decision under pressure and in traffic. Next season I suspect we’ll begin seeing him score more regularly and then take that scorer’s touch and add it to his already impressive physical drive.
And I think Alexander Ovechkin has, four games into his NHL postseason career, found a prescription for making his mark at this time of year: first hit everything that moves, helping to dictate a game’s tempo and feel, instead of waiting for the play to come to you — and the scoring will follow. The Capitals last night followed Ovechkin’s physical lead: four games in, and likely three games too late, they finally got physical, winning the hits ledger 38 to 29.
And I’ll take six or eight more springs like this from Dave Stecklel, too, and, if I can, at least a dozen more of this caliber from Alexander Semin.
Semin, for me, is the storyline of success in what is fast beginning to look like an abbreviated first trip to the postseason by the rebuilt Caps. I’ve enjoyed watching him in all four games, but last night was perhaps the most impressive hockey game he’s played in his young NHL career. The playoffs have a way of maturing, of rounding out and of broadening the skill set of previously one-dimensional hockey players. I’m not suggesting that Semin was altogether one dimensional prior to April 11, 2008, but watching him make quality Flyer defenders look foolish along the boards, watching him dish out as good and at times better than he got, watching him be the first Cap in at a scrum to aid a victimized teammate, watching him get bloodied and battered and thereby only more resolved to win, well, how can you not be excited about what future seasons — and especially springs — likely hold for him?
Viewers last night also saw a rebound performance from Milan Jurcina. He got real physical after playing comparatively passive in previous games. He also didn’t much attempt passes up the middle of the ice from behind his own net. He, like many of his young teammates, is learning.
There’s no other way to get to where the Caps ultimately want to get except through trial and costly error in the cauldron of the NHL postseason. That cauldron includes grotesque gaffes — at times wild in their imbalance — by game officials.
I read Mike Vogel’s commendably restrained litany of lousy officiating, but I’m glad that as grievously bad as it’s been at times — and referee Mike Hasenfratz should be chemically castrated for what he did with 3 minutes left last night (was that as commendably restrained?) — that it’s occurring in this series, so early in the postseason careers of so many Caps. It needs to be filed away among the very hard lessons learned.
One of the toughest lessons a young hockey team has to learn about the postseason is that victory isn’t always awarded to the deserving. There’s about a baker’s dozen of those in Capitals’ playoff history. Add Thursday night to the tally. When Bruce Boudreau was asked about changes his club would need to make for Saturday’s game 5, he replied, “None. I thought we outplayed them. I thought we deserved to win.” Me, too. But that and a $5 bill will get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks.
Hockey clubs that come up short get tinkered with and tweaked in offseasons, and as exciting and rewarding and even inspiring as the 2007-08 Capitals have been, there are missing parts among them, and I’m going to enjoying monitoring how General Manager McPhee works his home improvements this summer. Debates about names and signings are fit for another day. But help is on the near horizon.
More youth will be served. And it will need to be led just as this spring’s has been by the likes of Sergei Fedorov, Matt Cooke, and Cristobal Huet. Here’s hoping the 2008 Young Guns are taking good notes.
Stumble it!
30 Comments
We gotta win the next game. Simple as that. All that matters is Saturay’s game. We’ll worry about Game 6 or 7 when Game 6 or 7 actually has to be played. No reason to look back to Game 4 thinking what if. All that matters is Game 5 and even if we won last night all that would still matter is Game 5. Time to win Game 5. Series is not over. We are still alive. Win Game 5.
If tomorrow isn’t “backs against the wall” enough for this team, I don’t know what could be.
Daniel Briere’s scored 3 goals from the same spot. Someone needs to drill him to the ice if he tries that again. He cannot be allowed to score like that tomorrow.
The Capitals remind me of the Penguins of last year.
More than half your team is being ‘baptized by fire’ in the post-season against a playoff seasoned opponent.
This experience, even if short, will prove valuable next year, when the uncertainty of the post-season will be gone.
Well, the Flyers dominated game one and didn’t win, so I guess that is even after last night.
I see it the same way you do, Jesse. Thanks for offering this insightful synopsis.
Alex Semin was a man possessed last night. He may not have the high profile AO has, but if Caps fans don’t embrace Semin after last night then they’re just not paying attention.
The refs were awful . . . and did my eyes deceive me or were they betraying their bias by wearing orange-and-black just like the Flyers do?
Except for the bogus interference call late in the third, I thought the officiating was pretty evenly crappy.
Caps will feed off the fans on Saturday! This series is going to 7 games!!!
Horrible officiating, I’ll agree, but its the mental mistakes that cost the Caps this game. Considering how young this team is, it’s not surprising. It still frustrates me though, when I’m watching.
I agree with the Emu here. I think the bad calls started early and then the refs decided to balance it out by making a bad call the other way. Fairness through unfairness.
I’ve got to tip my hat to the Caps. Yes, they out-played the Flyguys tonight. A lesser team might have buckled when Briere scored the equalizer with 10 minutes to go in regulation, knowing that the game should in no be tied. The Caps brought 110% from buzzer to buzzer (to buzzer, to buzzer).
I also think the rumblings in Red-nation to give Olie Kolzig the nod for game 4 should be quieted. Huet played his very heart out last night and deserves to be lauded for a heroic performance.
Good luck in Game 5.
I thought the Caps played an outstanding game last night. The team that showed up on the ice last night had the will, fire, and passion to win the game. They looked like the team we were seeing in the last 12 games of the season. It’s unfortunate that they didn’t leave Philly with the split. My Prediction: The Caps will grind out a W tomorrow night at the Phone Booth.
A friend (flyers fan) mentioned to me after last nights game that the flyers may win this series, flyers are out next round. He also said that the caps are going to be the team to watch next year if they sign Huet, he can see them winning the cup.
@radbytrade: “I agree with the Emu here. I think the bad calls started early and then the refs decided to balance it out by making a bad call the other way. Fairness through unfairness.”
Which is why I hope over the summer that the NHL takes a long, hard look at the officiating. Really, balancing out bad calls by making more bad calls the other way in what is supposed to be a professional sport? Rather oxymoronish, imho.
Pains me to say this but the Flyers are the better team this year, dramatically so on the blueline. And for as many times as I’ve posted this on various sites, nobody is willing or able to address how this team gets two bench minors for too many men. It’s been happening all series too, they just haven’t been busted. What the hell is going on?
Mostly, I agree with your analysis, pucksandbooks, and may I say that it should be heartening to the Caps that so many of their fans appear able to accept, with relative equanimity, what appears to be an upcoming early round exit from the playoffs by focussing on the youth of the team and the lessons learned in the crucible this time around. That speaks well for the hockey fans in D.C.
I don’t agree, though, that Jurcina is “learning.” I thought he was consistently awful last night. Although I don’t think any of his turnovers led directly to goals, there were some mad scrambles that followed and Huet had to make at least one Gandalf-like wizard save to hold the fort after at least one of those. All the energy expended to put out the fires he started in the Caps’ zone has a cost, and in a double overtime game, conservation of energy is a premium priority.
In my opinion, the only person who should be more embarrassed about his playoff performance than Mr. Jurcina is Steven Walkom, the NHL Director of Officiating. Across the board, in all series, the officiating has been uneven both from game to game and within each game. Goals have been scored when the play was clearly offside; goals have been called off in highly suspicious circumstances - just ask Barry Trotz. In this series, the number of dives that have gone unpunished (on both sides), combined with outrageous blown calls like Kozlov’s goalie interference penalty, worsened by the failure to call any infraction at all in overtime when Huet was steamrollered by a Philly player, all serve to inculcate nothing but frustration in the fans, coaches and players of both teams. It matters not whether the NHL has determined to “crack down” on interference and obstruction penalties in the regular season if the refs wholly abandon a uniform, measured approach to calling penalties and replace it with the ridiculous situational ethics responsible for on-ice “justice” now on display throughout the post-season tournament. For shame!
Props to Semin - that guy took more lickin’s than a Tootsie Pop last night and he was still playing very determined hockey when all was said and done.
At the end of the day, abominable officiating aside, the Caps have to look themselves in the mirror and take responsibility for the loss; the only reason the tying goal was scored was an inexcusable second “too many men” penalty. They failed to bang home a goal to extend their lead and finish off their opponents when they had the opportunity. In the end, if you put yourself in a position to be beaten by a single shot, bounce, or bad call - you deserve to lose. This is the toughest lesson of playoff hockey; hopefully the young Caps players are good students.
It sure was an enjoyable lesson to watch for the rest of us - an exciting game, the only imperfection of which was the atrocious officiating.
As always, The Peerless has some interesting facts:
http://peerlessprognosticator.blogspot.com/2008/04/this-isnt-first-time.html
Semin looked awesome last night! I guess SovSport was right he’s going to have a breakout although I would argue that his performance last night was a breakout. He didn’t score a lot or get the game winner but he’s been getting progressively scrappier as time has gone on. I’ve always liked Semin and been a supporter (most of the time…) but now I’m really impressed!
I think the team knows they screwed up a bit yesterday. They’ve taken full responsibility for their mistakes. I’m hoping that they go past this round but even if they don’t I’m thrilled with the year they’ve had. This team is awesome and they are going to be awesome for years to come.
“Momma said there be days like these”….But not to the hated Fly boys….I don’t know about you, But I hate loosing to any Filthy team…I am a Die hard Caps/Redskins Fan and it just pains me deeply to loose to them…On a better note!!!
WE ARE NOT DEAD YET>>>>>>>
GO BIG RED/WHITE/AND BLUE!!! (never orange or green or whatever crap color they have)
Totally agree on Semin. He’s become my favorite current Capital for his supernatural scoring touch and now even more so for his grit and aggressiveness. He’s risen to the challenge more than any other playoff-rookie Cap IMO.
Sometimes it’s called “interference,” sometimes it goes by other labels, but I do think the refs among them have a penalty that if they’re honest should be called “Being a Cap.” Maybe a little of that was okay back when we had (my hero) Dale Hunter, but absolutely no reason for this deck-stacked-against-the-Caps attitude these days. Especially not when the opponents are the Broad Street you-know-whos.
oh man, yesterday was so intense! I can’t believe we lost in DOUBLE OVERTIME
that was a crap goal that the flyers had. huet wanted a whistle for interference or just a stoppage, and the refs didnt notice! it shouldn’t have counted. I mean, there was no way the refs could take away adouble overtime goal in the playoffs IN flyers territory, but still! the refs need to get all that goalie interfernce crap sorted out. the flyers do it all the time and never get called, while we got pushed into biron once and got a penalty!! I hate the flyers and the refs SO much!!!!
one of my favorite parts of the game though was when little beardless bäckström totally tried to duke it out with brière.. I love him! it was so amazing!!
Very well written analysis; I enjoyed reading it. I have to say, that although the Flyers have dominated the series, the Caps played very formidably last night. It really sucks to play so well and lost in overtime (especially when there’s no consolation point), but that’s what makes playoff hockey so much fun to watch….overtime.
On the officiating, horrendous. However, watching the playoffs over the years, I have noticed that the officiating becomes terrible in the post season. This could be attributed to the refs allowing the players to just play the game, but when they feel pressured to call a penalty, it usually ends up poorly.
It could also be the being fair by being unfair. In game 3, Umberger was called for a trip on Ovechkin (understandable) but Ovechkin took a dive and was not called (should have been 4 on 4 but was a cap pp). Maybe 5 min later, Mike Richards is awarded a Penalty shot on a very very close call. I still don’t think he was ahead of the defensemen enough to warrant a PS, and I’m a flyers fan.
But in agreeing with many on this board, the Caps are like the Penguins of last year. While they’re not out yet, it has taken them a while to find their stride in this series. With 14 players making their debut against a Flyers team that has 6 players debuting, it is reasonable to understand that this team needed the playoff experience.
I’ll be willing to bet the caps win the east next year, or are among the leaders in points. Next year, they will be a very formidable opponent, and if they happen to lose one of the next 3 games, take solace in knowing that it happens to every young team. The playoffs are a different animal than the reg. season, and it takes a trip there to figure that out.
with that said, it has been a hell of a series, the only time I officially counted the caps out of a game was at the end of game 3 after the penalty shot. This team scares the s*** out of me when ever they touch the puck, and I’m just glad the Flyers have figured out a way to limit them. Can’t wait for 1:00 tomorrow, it’s gonna be a hell of a game.
Woo other Flyers fans!
Still on the officiating tip, I think anyone who feels the refs are calling the game biased against the Capitals are viewing things through glasses tinted a shade too red. If there’s one thing the NHL wants it’s that any team with Crosby or Ovechkin on it progresses as far as absolutely possible. I’ll echo my and others’ earlier sentiments that the calls have been equally bad for each side. I think one reason why it might look like things are slanted more one way than another (aside from any homer-bias) is that the Flyers are the team that, more often, have capitalized (no pun intended)on these calls.
Again, best of luck in Game 5…but Go Flyers.
Not trying to stir anything up, but I have a question for Caps fans. Is there any concern that they may regress next year? They had a hell of a run over the last 3/4 or so of the season. Did they have any major injuries to overcome this year? Carolina surely will be healthier next year, making the division a little tougher. They don’t seem to have much depth, especially at the blue line. Any future stars ready to come up and help them out, or are they going to have to sign a FA? I don’t mean to bring additional negativity on their situation, but I’m not sure they’re as close to being a contender as many others do.
Just to be clear: I agree the officiating has been horrible all around - I’m not suggesting an anti-Caps bias.
NastyEmu:
Yes, we had two big injuries this year. The biggest is Chris Clark who is our captain and has been out for something like 50 or 60 games. We also lost a vet in Michael Nylander who needed surgery for a torn rotator cuff. Getting those two bodies back will be big for this team next year.
You’re 100% about the depth at the blue line. As you can see by reading just this thread, many fans bemoan the lack of talent on D. Many of us see the key to doing great next year is an active off season to bring in one or two additional consistent bodies to play back there along with bringing up some of our younger guys from Hersey. If the Caps can get a solid blue line, I really think winning the Southeast - and perhaps going 1 or 2 in the East - is a very reachable goal.
Carolina will certainly take major steps to fill in a few holes and if they can stay healthy, the Caps certainly won’t run away with anything next year. I hope that the Southeast can put at least those two teams in the post season, if not a third.
But we’re still not done with this year….
Thanks for the reply, Phil.
“But we’re still not done with this year…”
Oh, I know. Every Flyers fan knows. The Caps were certainly the better team for most of game four, and I’m sure the return home for game five will give them an even bigger boost. If the Caps can win game five, the pressure will really be on the Flyers to win game six. Not sure my stomach can take it. I have tickets to game six, but I really hope this series ends on Saturday.
I have to agree about the uneven officiating not in just this series but in other playoff games and started noticing it roughly a month before the end of the season. I seriously had flash backs to the 90’s where this was typical but now we are seeing inconsistent interference calls. What kills me are the picks and have nothing to do with the puck carrier.
Semin’s playoff play has been great especially because there were many that thought he would wilt this series.
Eminger’s solid play towards the end of the season and the couple of playoff games makes me wonder if he turned the corner or is it another small stretch of good play that he exhibits before regressing again. IMO GMGM will qualify him but tinkering with the D side of this team will probably be the most crucial part of the off season.
Green’s ability in the D-zone is not there yet but that comes with experience. What can’t be taught is the game breaking ability he has on the offensive side.
Fehr with a healthy off season and training regimen will have a great opportunity next training camp to really show what he’s got. Still amazing all the time he missed dev. wise. To be honest I would have pulled Flash out of the lineup for game two in favor of Fehr just based on how the flyers were matching up physically against Flash (/insert keyboard coaching moves).
And on the subject of Flash he must *commit/dedicate* himself to some serious off season training. IMO he needs another 10-15 pounds and more work on his quickness/first step.
As with any profession sports team in the playoffs it is typically the team that makes the most mistakes that ends up on the losing in and the Caps have WAY more mistakes (obvious lack of experience) than Philly so I give full credit to how they’ve played very solidly this series.
Yeah, I guess we haven’t had many injuries. Here’s a quick list for you:
Pothier - 38 games, 5 goals, 9 assists
Clark - 18 games, 5 goals, 4 assists
Nylander- 40 games, 11 goals, 26 assists
Semin - 63 games, 26 goals, 16 assists
IMHO, Semin has just in the last month started to hit his stride.
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