This team must live or die with Vokoun the rest of the way. If he truly wants a chance to play playoff hockey, he must rise to the occasion, be the guy he's supposed to be, and steal some games down the stretch.
Too lazy to read back, but if that was the quote, then ok. I can agree. But as I said, they haven't lost a must-win game this season - yet.
I didn't watch/hear Hunter's comments, but I'm not surprised. This organization, including Dale, sadly, is excuse central. It's a culture built on celebrating false victories like SE Division championships and rationalizing failure. There will be no winning until winning is insisted upon. DH and Laich and all the other apologists should just shut up.
The kids frustrating as hell, and coaching could work on him except we have an absentee coach tanking so he can go farm.
His biggest problem is he goes spastic with wide open nets in front of him. This whole team goes spastic in a lot of situations.
The guy I saw wearing #90 last night looked lost. He has been quietly regressing all season, IMO.
Regressing could also be used to accurately descibe the Caps as a whole. We can debate when the regression actually started (after the Montreal series/collapse, or 10 or so games prior to BB's getting the boot), but it seems this team has gotten worse at both ends of the ice in a painfully obvious way. Missing the playoffs will be rock bottom, I hope.
The guy I saw wearing #90 last night looked lost. He has been quietly regressing all season, IMO.
Regressing could also be used to accurately descibe the Caps as a whole. We can debate when the regression actually started (after the Montreal series/collapse, or 10 or so games prior to BB's getting the boot), but it seems this team has gotten worse at both ends of the ice in a painfully obvious way. Missing the playoffs will be rock bottom, I hope.
Of course 90 looks lost, hes not a franchise type player. Hes a young and tender player that needs to have a security blanket for the first few years. I thought the Caps had that with players like Backstrom and Laich in front of him. Backie goes down and now hes thrust into becoming a go-to guy. I was hoping like many he would seize this opportunity, and he hasn't, of course. Then again who has seized this season for the Caps? Aside from Ovie going on some 10 goal 10 game tear no one has carried this team, no one has played there role good enough to be where this team absolutely should be. Though injuries to key players are never good and I hate to bring this up but the Penguins did fantastic having the top 2 players in the game out of there line-up.
I was big on Hunter coming in for bruce because it was indeed time for bruce to go, now I'm wondering who can replace hunter for next season that has the drive and motivation to go into a room with a bunch of egos and make them winners and play for each other?
I honestly don't even know what to think. I'm just really disappointed
Regressing could also be used to accurately descibe the Caps as a whole.
I think it's become apparent that our best defense was a good offense. Teams played on their heels against us and were afraid to have their D-men pinch and their forwards forecheck low and aggressively for fear that they'd get smoked by our counter-attacking/always rushing forwards.
We just suck at being passive and patient - other teams sense it and they attack us, and we aren't tenacious enough defensively to deal with it. So we're the ones playing on our heels most of the time and we ain't good at it.
We decided we couldn't win playing like the 80s Oilers.
I think we now know that we can't change guys that seemed to thrive playing like the 80s Oilers into guys that play like the 1995 - 2005 NJ Devils.
So now what?
I think it's become apparent that our best defense was a good offense. Teams played on their heels against us and were afraid to have their D-men pinch and their forwards forecheck low and aggressively for fear that they'd get smoked by our counter-attacking/always rushing forwards.
We just suck at being passive and patient - other teams sense it and they attack us, and we aren't tenacious enough defensively to deal with it. So we're the ones playing on our heels most of the time and we ain't good at it.
We decided we couldn't win playing like the 80s Oilers.
I think we now know that we can't change guys that seemed to thrive playing like the 80s Oilers into guys that play like the 1995 - 2005 NJ Devils.
So now what?
Seems to me you choose neither extreme. Why not the late '90s Red Wings as a model? They played a powerful, euro-style offense but were solid on D. In fact, that sounds a lot like today's Wings.
Seems to me you choose neither extreme. Why not the late '90s Red Wings as a model? They played a powerful, euro-style offense but were solid on D. In fact, that sounds a lot like today's Wings.
Totally agree -- but we don't seem to have the guys that can strike that balance. The Wings can play a patient, defensive style of play and still control the tempo of a game -- our guys cannot do that.
It'll be interesting to see what the Pens do in the playoffs -- they are giving up a ton of chances, but just flat out-scoring the opposition based upon the cohesiveness of their forward group. Wonder if they'll change their style at all once the post-season starts. I don't think they need to -- they can outscore most anyone they face if the game is up-and-down, chance trading. And they have a goalie who can be ordinary on some nights (and it often doesn't matter because the Pens will score more goals) and on others he flat out steals games for them.
It would be crushingly ironic if the Pens win the Cup this year playing trade chances, run n gun hockey.
Pink Floyd is so depressing. :/ Great, great artists. Bleak and mistaken ideas.
I've been down on Ted and the org since the Habs fiasco. He just doesn't get it--it's a real bummer for us fans. He is just the other side of the same coin from Peter Angelos.
The quote absolutely included the words "regular season." Mrwarden isn't an idiot like some other people may or may not be. He remembers the playoff losses.
Feel free to whine in response to this as per usual, but I don't recall ever, even once, losing a must win regular season game under Bruce, let alone at home.
He remembers the playoff losses.
