If this is the Caps' idea of a joke...we're not amused.
If this is there way of making sure we don't get overexcited too quickly...I think I can speak for everyone when I say they needn't bother.
If this is just a tired team playing a team that has recently gotten hot, which I sincerely hope it is, then they get a brief reprieve before I climb back out on my ledge.
Nothing was going right for the Caps tonight. (The good news is it was nationally televised, so a lot of people got to see the Caps absolutely collapse...) There were far too many turnovers and for a while it seemed like every turnover resulted in a goal. Sloppy plays, missed passes, bouncing pucks at the blue line - all of them resulted in a rush the other way, odd man or otherwise. Olie made a few spectacular saves just to keep this game close, but the Caps were never really in it and seemed disinterested at best.
The return of Semin and Eminger was less than exhilerating, as Eminger finished -2 on the night (although he did pick up an assist) and Semin had two turnovers that seemed like five or six and was also -2. Ovechkin was flying but was also guilty of a few blatant turnovers, as was Nylander, Kozlov, Erskine, etc., etc., etc... In all honesty the only player who looked like he was putting in a consistent effort was Backstrom, whose 19:25 of ice time was second only to Ovechkin among forwards.
Basically the game looked very similar to the pre-Boudreau era Caps. They seemed unable to get any sort of consistent forecheck going. The power play looked shaky. They were trying to be too fancy. They would come out flying but mistakes at one end would end up in the back of the net at the other. And none of the shots they actually took went in - credit Ryan Miller for continuing to backstop a team that frankly, despite their four game winning streak, was not all that impressive. It wasn't what the Sabres did tonight...it was what the Caps didn't do.
A quick aside - I was embarrassed to be a Caps fan tonight. The building was maybe half full, and many of those seat-fillers for the evening were clad in the Slug. It's simply amazing how this city continues to be unable to provide a decent fan base for our team, losing record or not. As we were leaving my sister turned to me and said "I'm tired of being the away team."
Me too.
Monday, November 26, 2007
And We're Back to This...
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6 comments:
I won't be surprised if we hear tomorrow that Semin is off again. It looked like he was lacking a bit, and at one point near the end of the game I noticed he was skating rather awkwardly. He may well have tweaked the ankle again.
What will be an indicator of a real change will be how well they deal with this. If they continue as they did tonight, it won't bode well for BB or the players. If they come back on Wednesday and have a full tilt performance, then maybe the changes were the right ones.
Oh, geez. I kind of want them to just put Semin on the IR for another month and let him heal beyond a doubt because this is getting ridiculous. He can't get any flow to his game and the team can't find any chemistry with the lines if he keeps flitting in and out of the lineup.
I totally agree, though - I'm not willing to write off all the changes and the new coach based on one loss in one game. We can't expect overnight success. It's going to take a little while for everything to sink in with this team, and if it doesn't we go to the next step...either removing GMGM, making some big trades or both.
I agree with C&S - no matter how solid a team is, they're going to have bad days. We'll see how the Caps bounce back.
From what you guys are saying and the impressions of others I gather that Semin and Eminger didn't look like they were NHL ready, which would make sense given their injuries (I didnt have a chance to watch the game). If that's the case hopefully this loss is a short term loss for a long term gain situation.
I agree: Semin was not 100% last night. I'm worried from his ankle--In all honesty, I'd rather see him sit out for the season to make sure his ankle is fully healed, rather than see him risk trashing it completely. You can hit a tree with an axe once...twice...but keep hitting it w/o giving it a chance to heal over and that sucker is coming down.
I think you captured the thoughts of a lot of fans really well. I hate feeling like the away team, and this team needs to wake up and smell grass on the golf course that is waiting for them on April 10.
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