I might be late with this, but this is about the exact opposite of what I want the coach to be saying after that playoff effort :
Yeah Boudreau never shoulders the blame. I didn't expect him to say anything like: "I didn't adjust," "I had a dickfest for Fleischmann and Semin," or "We got out-coached."
I already knew that he wouldn't take the blame, but to say you don't want it to detract from the season the players had? Their season was a failure because of the playoffs and there is no way the regular season accomplishments are going to mean anything if you disappoint in the only season that matters.
I already knew that he wouldn't take the blame, but to say you don't want it to detract from the season the players had? Their season was a failure because of the playoffs and there is no way the regular season accomplishments are going to mean anything if you disappoint in the only season that matters.
The regular season is close to meaningless. They are far from deserving a pat on the back and a "Good Job". The season was a "FAIL". All it did in the end was bring to light what most of us new going into the season.
Bruce is afraid of owning his failures and constantly coddles his players the way he coddles himself. The lack of discipline demanded and collective pants-pissing at pressure situations manifests itself when the chips are down. Teams reflect their coaches. He's a petulant baby.
Mark my words: He's done in D.C.
You've got to be the most over-dramatic person on this board.
I'm not saying it hasn't happened but I can't recall any example of it off hand, when has a team lost a playoff series and the coach said he was simply out coached? Or for that matter said something to the effect of, 'I put my trust in player X, Y, and Z and they let me down?'
Again, not saying that hasn't happened, I just don't remember when if it did...
Decent article although the Crosby-Ovechkin debate is just starting to get stale.
My only issue is that most pundits seem to firmly believe that Crosby is a very good defensive player and one of the best "two-way" players in the game. I don't see it. He routinely makes poor plays in his own zone and fails to cover his man. He more than makes up for it on the other end but just because he is a center (which is a more "important" position than a wing) they think he is automatically good in his own zone.
Decent article although the Crosby-Ovechkin debate is just starting to get stale.
My only issue is that most pundits seem to firmly believe that Crosby is a very good defensive player and one of the best "two-way" players in the game. I don't see it. He routinely makes poor plays in his own zone and fails to cover his man. He more than makes up for it on the other end but just because he is a center (which is a more "important" position than a wing) they think he is automatically good in his own zone.
It's a combination of being a center and being Canadian that makes people assume he's a good two-way player. The guy averaged 19 seconds of PK time in the playoffs, almost all of it late in games in which the Pens were trailing and were sniping for shorties. I think that kind of says it all about whether his own team considers him to be a "very good" defensive forward.
And as I've said for years, if you just look at the frequency with which opponents score when Crosby is on the ice, he's a defensive liability. Over the last two years (regular season), Crosby has been on the ice for 30 more even-strength goals against than Ovechkin (20% more) in almost identical minutes (Crosby has played 3322 minutes to Ovie's 3309, a 0.4% difference). This year, normed for even ice time, the numbers aren't even close. And nobody is calling Ovechkin a masterful two-way force, nor can anyone rightly say that the Caps have some sort of magical defensive core or goaltender which would account for the difference.
Last edited by CapsWolverinesUSA: 05-13-2010 at 11:15 AM.
as much as I hate to defend Crosby, when Ovechkin is on the ice, he's out there with a guy who actually is one of the best 2-way forwards, Backstrom.
I'm not sure that's really defending Crosby. Backstrom is a good two-way player, but he's hardly a Selke contender (yet) and doesn't really kill penalties. And despite that, and despite our mediocre defensive corps and inconsistent goaltending, and Ovie's so-called personal defensive liabilities, Ovie's numbers are dramatically better than Sid's.
Or, if you want to make the more direct comparison, normed for ice time, Crosby was on the ice for 21 more even-strength goals against than Backstrom just this season.
I'm not sure that's really defending Crosby. Backstrom is a good two-way player, but he's hardly a Selke contender (yet) and doesn't really kill penalties. And despite that, and despite our mediocre defensive corps and inconsistent goaltending, and Ovie's so-called personal defensive liabilities, Ovie's numbers are dramatically better than Sid's.
Or, if you want to make the more direct comparison, normed for ice time, Crosby was on the ice for 21 more even-strength goals against than Backstrom just this season.
I'd say Backstrom might even be a bit better defensively than Sid. For all the slack Ovechkin takes on his defense I don't think its that big of a problem. Wasn't there a stretch of 13 games he wasn't on the ice for an opposition goal?
It's a combination of being a center and being Canadian that makes people assume he's a good two-way player. The guy averaged 19 seconds of PK time in the playoffs, almost all of it late in games in which the Pens were trailing and were sniping for shorties. I think that kind of says it all about whether his own team considers him to be a "very good" defensive forward.
And as I've said for years, if you just look at the frequency with which opponents score when Crosby is on the ice, he's a defensive liability. Over the last two years (regular season), Crosby has been on the ice for 30 more even-strength goals against than Ovechkin (20% more) in almost identical minutes (Crosby has played 3322 minutes to Ovie's 3309, a 0.4% difference). This year, normed for even ice time, the numbers aren't even close. And nobody is calling Ovechkin a masterful two-way force, nor can anyone rightly say that the Caps have some sort of magical defensive core or goaltender which would account for the difference.
Good points...and sorry for turning this into another Crosby-OV thing. I just wanted to say out loud how Crosby is not a good "two way" player as mentioned in the article. He's a dynamic offensive player who does play hard who is suspect in his own zone. Ovechkin can be described the same way. The great "two way" guys usually aren't phenomenal (points wise) in the offensive zone because it takes a tremendous amount of energy to be great in the defensive zone. That's why Datsyuk might never be a 100 point guy.
I'm not sure that's really defending Crosby. Backstrom is a good two-way player, but he's hardly a Selke contender (yet) and doesn't really kill penalties. And despite that, and despite our mediocre defensive corps and inconsistent goaltending, and Ovie's so-called personal defensive liabilities, Ovie's numbers are dramatically better than Sid's.
Or, if you want to make the more direct comparison, normed for ice time, Crosby was on the ice for 21 more even-strength goals against than Backstrom just this season.
But, at the same time, you can argue that the Pens goaltending and D were worse than ours, at least at times.
Not sure what point I'm trying to make, really, as I don't disagree that Crosby's D is overrated.
Has there been any more news on Poti? Is the eye injury thought to be career-threatening?
I believe they said he'll be fine for next season.
Quote:
"There was a mirror in the trainer's room," Poti said. "I looked in the mirror. Both my eyes were wide open, but I couldn't see out of the one on the right." An examination Wednesday revealed that his vision has returned to 20/20 and that he's regained full movement of the eye. Doctors expect that he'll be able to resume playing next season without any lingering issues.
And he's going to start wearing a visor.
Quote:
"Going through what I've gone through the past two weeks, putting my family through it, my wife through it, I've decided it's really not worth not wearing a visor to protect something that's so important," he said. "I'm definitely going to wear one."
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