[Official] Stanley Cup Playoffs and Predictions
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Yeah, the Gone in 60 Seconds was more of a "hey, cool goals and saves... at least what I could see of them" but the other ones were all about the playoffs.
Washington's biggest problem is that they are so offensively-oriented. Back on the blue line, and in net, it would be hard to look at them as a real playoff contender. Mike Green might win the Norris (I'd vote for Chara, personally) but it won't be because of his defense.
Shutting them down isn't easy, and you have to give props to the Rangers today for being able to do it, but exposing their defense and goaltending is quite a bit more doable.
Washington struggling against a team like New York isn't that surprising. I figured they'd hit a wall when they met Boston or Pittsburgh, but it seems possible that they could go in the first round.
Bottom line is, that Regular Season success != Post Season success. Some teams are built for both, and generally the more well rounded teams that have depth offensively and defensively do better than teams who focus entirely around offense and talent. Sometimes it's like Washington where they have their bag of tricks that work for the first couple games, but as players become accustomed to their style of play and know what to expect, they become easy to defend against and shut down.
Problem in Washington's case is that Ovechkin, Semin and Green don't have a whole lot of respect for the other side of the puck and are always positioning themselves to further an offensive play rather than dropping back into a defensive position if there's a turnover (that mentality is basically how New York went up 1-0 on todays game). They're young, and they do need to learn how to round themselves out correctly, but right now I don't see them going far until they learn how these things burn them in the post season.
Plays like this basically sum up what's wrong with the caps:
Bottom line is, that Regular Season success != Post Season success. Some teams are built for both, and generally the more well rounded teams that have depth offensively and defensively do better than teams who focus entirely around offense and talent. Sometimes it's like Washington where they have their bag of tricks that work for the first couple games, but as players become accustomed to their style of play and know what to expect, they become easy to defend against and shut down.
Problem in Washington's case is that Ovechkin, Semin and Green don't have a whole lot of respect for the other side of the puck and are always positioning themselves to further an offensive play rather than dropping back into a defensive position if there's a turnover (that mentality is basically how New York went up 1-0 on todays game). They're young, and they do need to learn how to round themselves out correctly, but right now I don't see them going far until they learn how these things burn them in the post season.
Plays like this basically sum up what's wrong with the caps:
caps are losing for 3 main reasons
1) Lundqvist
2) Numerous poor judgments with the puck; they shoot when they should pass, pass when they should shoot, fumble passes and giveaway the puck
3) Being vastly outcoached by Torts
Christ I hate TSN for showing the NBC feed for the Rags-Caps game and now showing FSN Ohio feed for the Wings-Jackets. I hope they don't show the CSN feed for the Flames-Hawks game.
For being a company that can spend millions on the hockey anthem, they sure don't want to spend money on weekend coverage of hockey games. CBC's game coverage is far better than that of TSN. Hell, Rogers Sportsnet is better than TSN.
For being a company that can spend millions on the hockey anthem, they sure don't want to spend money on weekend coverage of hockey games. CBC's game coverage is far better than that of TSN. Hell, Rogers Sportsnet is better than TSN.
if nbc has the rights to broadcast it... then what's the debate here... do we tell the national network "no go away" ?
Uh, what I am saying is that TSN isn't showing their own feed. They don't have their own play-by-play team and their own graphics on the screen. They're just rebroadcasting the NBC feed which every Canadian already has.
Markov should seriously be considered as a contender for the Norris way before Green.
i don't see how you can say this with a straight face
Luke Schenn for Norris
There are a number of players I think should seriously be considered as contenders for the Norris before Green.
Niedermayer's 1st half hurt his chances, but his 2nd half was unbelievable. He went from 14 points in 32 games to 45 points in 50 games, and he did it while carrying Anaheim on his back most nights. His +/- will kill his chances, which I find ridiculous since it's one of the most useless stats in the game, especially for a player who plays most of his 5-on-5 time against the opposing team's top line, and he did it with a shutdown line that was horrible for most of the season.
Pronger was started strong, tapered off in the middle, and then finished strong. I don't think he stood out in a big way, but he was steady.
Markov is a good pick. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to catch nearly as many Montreal games as I wanted, but he always stands out on the ice.
Boyle started out on fire, and was probably the #1 guy until halfway through when he slowed down. The biggest issue with him is that, while he is a terrific puck-mover, he's not nearly as good defensively.
Duncan Keith... why no one is talking about this guy baffles me. In my opinion, he should be a finalist. This guy brings such a complete game to Chicago. He can move the puck, put up points, and he's so smart defensively.
Campbell is crap. Too one-dimensional.
Blake didn't start as well as Boyle, but I think he was their best overall defenseman by the end of the season. He doesn't move the puck like Boyle, but he was a very stable influence in the San Jose games I saw.
I'd take a lot of these guys over Green. Green is unbelievable offensively (primarily on the PP, to be honest), but when I think Norris I'm thinking of a guy who puts up points and who can be leaned on heavily by his team defensively. Green can absorb a lot of minutes, but not nearly the same kind of defensive minutes as some other names.
My pick for the Norris would be Chara. Lidstrom will be a finalist just because he's Lidstrom, even if this season wasn't nearly as good as some of his past ones, but I expect Green to win it. Personally, my top 3 would be Chara, and then pick and choose Lidstrom, Niedermayer, Keith, and possibly Markov. The best defenseman this season has been Chara, though.
I agree with everything you said.
And Pagy, we can argue on a lot of things, but don't say Markov is not a contender for the Norris. The guy is THE most useful player to the Canadiens, both on an offensive and defensive point of view. We're talking about a player that, when not dressed up, sees his team play completely confused. 8 seasons, each of them except maybe the first and second, where he has been a key player to his team.
Green is a very solid defenseman, but not as complete as Markov. He has more points than Markov for sure, but shit, who wouldn't when playing with Ovechkin and such an offensive powerhouse as the Caps on powerplay? Put Markov out there and he'd rack as many points as Green if that's what you are talking about.
NBC has the American rights... TSN has the Canadian rights. What aren't you getting here? They can stop being cheap and have their own team and graphics when they're showing the game on their channel instead of just rebroadcasting the NBC signal which 99% of Canada already has.
Man, I'm a fucking habs fan and I can't stop laughing now... Are you fucking comparing Ovechkin and Kovalev?
Are you serious?!Take YOUR habs glasses off.