2018-19 NHL thread

So does everybody just pull up the list of who was fired in the past year and just hire the best one?

 

Ovechkin just murdered Svechnikov. Knocked him the fuck out. Not the smartest fight to pick, kid.

 

Embarrassing fucking effort. Carolina bent the Caps over and they just took it. Repeatedly. Thankfully one game is only worth one game. Get your shit together Thursday.

 

And speaking of the Sharks:

 

He's lucky he's not getting more. Fucking Vegas is crowing pretty hard. Sharks got to pull their heads out of their asses. I don't want to see Roenick slurping Vegas any more than I have to.

 

I have not seen the ESA lit up like that in years. Years.

Could have more to do with what the Whalercanes did than what the Caps didn't.

I like that Svech didn't back down to Ovi. But there's a difference between not backing down and daring someone to go. He found out what happens when someone wants to go and finishes the job.

 

Don't get me wrong, the Hurricanes played great. Probably as well as they played all season. But two shots in the final two periods? The Caps have had some bad periods in the back half of the season, but that was the worst I've seen them play since the game 7 loss to the Rangers in '13. Carolina dictated possession, but the Caps' forecheck was just MIA. Also, time for Rierden to cool it with the Carlson on the left side so Jensen is comfortable experiment. Neutralizing your best D man is not the best way to go about things. Carlson is average at best playing on his off side. Put Jensen -- who was a fucking turnover machine in his own zone last night -- back with Orpik and slot Djoos with Carlson.

 

I know they’re still up in the series, but here’s what would concern me. Including playoffs, Ovechkin has scored in only six of his last 23 games. Is he hurt?

 

I was thinking the same thing - it's been a long, long time since the Caps looked that bad in the playoffs.

 

I don't think so. One thing that was addressed on one of the pre-playoff podcasts is that Ovechkin wasn't comfortable with the passes he was getting from Carlson on the power play. Even last night, he was wide open in his spot, and he couldn't get passes to settle down in time to fire off a look. I do wonder if he did anything to his hand in that fight last night.

I'm not going to overreact over one game. But the possession trend is troubling, even if that's kind of the way Carolina plays. The Caps were fortunate to win the two at home, and I'm not even sure their best effort would have been good enough to win last night, considering how inspired Carolina played. Curious to see if Svechnikov or Ferland are ready for Thursday.

 

Am I the only one who thinks "Whalercanes" is completely played out? They left Hartford 22 years ago.

 

I think it was only the second time it's ever happened (Elliotte?), but giving up goals in the first minute of each period like that was one of the most ridiculous things I've ever seen in all my years of watching hockey.