That's okay, boys. No need to worry. It's fine to take a night off now and again. It's not like you're in the middle of a race for a playoff spot, or that the Islanders are one of the teams you're likely to be competing with for the 8th seed. No need to show any urgency.
Wait, you mean we are, and they are? Then why on earth did it look like a peewee preseason game out there last night? No hitting, no intensity, no hard skating, and most importantly, NO WIN.
This team has had a terrible habit of playing down to the level of their opposition. They can't beat a lousy Florida team (and haven't been able to do so for years). They give away points against teams they should blow out of the building, like last night's Islander team that was missing pretty much everyone of note to injury. The Caps should have beaten that team 6-0 last night. Instead, they lost 3-2 in a shootout.
And it wasn't as if Rick DiPietro stole a win for his team. He was solid, but unspectacular. The Caps simply didn't pressure him.Young team or not, this can't be allowed.
If Coach Boudreau was as insulted by the effort last night as I was, I wouldn't want to be a Cap at practice today.
No need for pucks out there today, boys. Just skate until you're exhausted, then skate some more. Blue line, then back, then red line, then back, then far blue line and back, then goal line and back. Don't have enough jump in your step to skate past an old, slow, and depleted corps of Islander blueliners? Then I guess we need to work on those legs. Keep skating. No, I don't care if you're tired, or if your leg hurts, or if you need a breather. Keep skating. Feel like you're going to vomit? Believe me, you're not the only one that feels that way after last night's "performance." Just keep skating.
After all, the Caps next game isn't until Saturday. Plenty of time for the players to recover from a good hard skate before then.
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*Update: Of course, Coach B has decided to cancel today's practice to give the guys some rest.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
It's all fine.
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4 comments:
I dunno, DiPietro only let in 2 on 30 shots, which is pretty solid.
True, but how many were quality scoring chances? Having watched the game, I would say 4, and one of those hit the post. 4 chances against a team whose defense is riddles with holes? Not acceptable.
Ovechkin hit the pipes three times and DiPietro have a save % of 0.9333 and you state "It's not like DiPietro stole the game". Ovie's unlucky breaks, DiPietro's saves and Kolzigs mistakes were the game... LETS GO CAPS!!!
Save percentage can be misleading. The Caps put 30 shots on DiPietro in 65 minutes. That's right about the NHL average for shots per game in a 60 minute game. Also, the number of QUALITY shots is more important than the number of pucks thrown at the net.
And if you think Olie was to blame for the loss, you need to have your head examined. You expect him to stop that first goal how? By stopping the initial breakaway (which he did) then staying in position for the rebound (which he also did) AND backchecking for the defenseman who left Satan naked by the far post for the easy tip in? That, my friend, is a physical impossibility.
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