Pens vs Caps 5-4-16 Game 4 comments.

[fractalsteel]

I want to call the Beagle goal fluky but it found the hole on the top shelf. The angle was bad and I thought maybe Murray was going to have that one game breakdown but he is so resilient and mentally tough.
And the Pens didn't let that early one get to them as well.

Don Cherry is some piece of work. He hates European players or at least he used to go on record with his disdain for anyone player that wasn't North American. Unlike the voices coming from NBC he at least has a fine grasp on the game even if he goes overboard with his opinion.

[swissvale72]

I want to call the Beagle goal fluky but it found the hole on the top shelf. The angle was bad and I thought maybe Murray was going to have that one game breakdown but he is so resilient and mentally tough.
And the Pens didn't let that early one get to them as well.

Don Cherry is some piece of work. He hates European players or at least he used to go on record with his disdain for anyone player that wasn't North American. Unlike the voices coming from NBC he at least has a fine grasp on the game even if he goes overboard with his opinion.

What about Lovejoy on that goal? Seems as though he could have been more dogged in his pursuit of Beagle and/or the puck.

[swissvale72]

From the other side....Washington Post articles:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dc- ... me-4-loss/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/cap ... ive-depth/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/c ... story.html

Comments are good.

[Legacy User]

Swiss - based on the analysis I saw after the game, you're right. Both of our D were in the center of the ice, floating to the other side when the puck was dumped into the opposite corner 'behind' them. If those guys stay more in their lanes the puck retrieval would have been challenged more easily.

[fractalsteel]

I want to call the Beagle goal fluky but it found the hole on the top shelf. The angle was bad and I thought maybe Murray was going to have that one game breakdown but he is so resilient and mentally tough.
And the Pens didn't let that early one get to them as well.

Don Cherry is some piece of work. He hates European players or at least he used to go on record with his disdain for anyone player that wasn't North American. Unlike the voices coming from NBC he at least has a fine grasp on the game even if he goes overboard with his opinion.

What about Lovejoy on that goal? Seems as though he could have been more dogged in his pursuit of Beagle and/or the puck.

Just went back and watched it again. Lovejoy was out of position and he did seem to give up on the play because of the angle Beagle found himself at.
Credit to Beagle for scoring from there but I thought the Pens didn't let that first goal get them down.

Just watched the OT winner and credit Dumo for keeping a difficult wandering puck on sides.

[Louis Lipps Service]

I'm still on an emotional high today. Can't stop reading about last night's game. Not that the game in itself was that amazing, just that I never imagined being up 3-1 right now, especially in the lead up to last night's game.

I just hope the players are staying more grounded than I am. Being up 3-1 is fantastic, but the Caps are perfectly capable of still making it a 7 game series. Need to go into Washington on Saturday and take it to them early. If we do, that crowd will absolutely turn on them. Then put them away for good.

[swissvale72]

I'm still on an emotional high today. Can't stop reading about last night's game. Not that the game in itself was that amazing, just that I never imagined being up 3-1 right now, especially in the lead up to last night's game.

I just hope the players are staying more grounded than I am. Being up 3-1 is fantastic, but the Caps are perfectly capable of still making it a 7 game series. Need to go into Washington on Saturday and take it to them early. If we do, that crowd will absolutely turn on them. Then put them away for good.

I think Sullivan's message to the team prior to game #5 against Rangers gets repeated and executed as far as playing with desperation. Other thing.....Pens seems to play better on the road than at home....been true in both playoff series thus far and was the case during the final stretch of regular season.

[Legacy User]

I got a buddy (fellow P-burgs fan) coming in for the weekend and we shall be taking in game 5 at Primante Bros here in SoFL. Would love to see the Pens close it out but winning 4 straight against that team is a very tall order.

Series isn't over yet though, boys. That is a team with the talent to turn it around if they start getting some offense from key guys and if thier PP starts breaking through. We still got one more to win. Pens must keep thier foot on the gas.

[COR-TEN]

Yep. Desperation. They need to play like they are down 3-1. That's what the last month and a half has been like. Frantic but controlled.

AND saturday's game is being broadcast in prime time on my local nbc affiliate.

[Legacy User]

need to win this game since it's the last game of Orpik's suspension

His absence is really helping us

Close 'em out while they're a man down

[Legacy User]

need to win this game since it's the last game of Orpik's suspension

I agree, but only a little, because after the fine, Wilson has been a non factor, Geno basically ran him over last night, shrugged him off and kept on going

So I think that the thing Orpik does best, which is line guys up for big hits, is being watched closely, Washington, just like the Rangers, have stopped going for big hits for the most part though, and the big reason is the Pens speed, if one dman goes for a hit and is out position, we're off to the races.

Don Cherry is ridiculous, yes he knows hockey, but I stopped listening to him during the Jagr/Mario years, he would rip on Jagr because he wore Jofa helmets, and loved that players would goon it up on 66 and 68, cant stand that guy

[Legacy User]

I love his old Jofa, I just can't pull off that look myself.

Anybody ask Glen Healy to regale us with more predictions?

[Nick79]

That's Don Cherry- "Mr. Hockey" in Canada (mistakenly called him "Mr. Hockey Night in Canada"- that's what he's known for, but he just co-hosts a Coaches Corner segment on that show).

He was really advocating to "let the stars play"?

Because that's not usually his stance.

He has in the past been a strong advocate for the "tough, mucking, Canadian style of play" that Nick despises so much!

You mean me? Yeah, I happen to think if a sport is on the level, the rules should be the same all the time. Playoffs, preseason=SAME. And that "Canadian Style" turns the game into PURE LUCK, vs. a skill game. If you let the talentless "muckers and grinders" from Ontario win games by just tackling the better star player, that's what you get, a PURE LUCK result, whichever team throws a puck at the net before getting tackled and get's a lucky bounce or two wins. Rather than a team winning because they have better talent, which is what you should want. And IMO, by swallowing the whistles, you are letting the referees decide the game rather than the players. They tell you it's the opposite but it's not. Swallowing a whistle when a 3rd liner tackles Crosby or Ovie, is THE REF DECIDING THE GAME, not the players, part of the players "deciding it", is if your talent is superior, you DECIDE IT by drawing a penalty-because they tackle you because they can't keep up with you, that's part of it too. Crosby blowing by a 3rd rate defender and drawing a foul is Crosby deciding the game, not the ref.

[Legacy User]

Caps considering a match-up change, per Chris Johnston (Canada's Sportsnet):

The #caps are thinking about using the last change in Game 5 to get Ovechkin-Backstrom-Oshie away from the Crosby line.

Desperation? Might backfire because Crosby's line has been pretty quiet...

[Louis Lipps Service]

Caps considering a match-up change, per Chris Johnston (Canada's Sportsnet):

The #caps are thinking about using the last change in Game 5 to get Ovechkin-Backstrom-Oshie away from the Crosby line.

Desperation? Might backfire because Crosby's line has been pretty quiet...

Both sides of that matchup have been sort of nullified, for the most part.

Penguins don't mind that because they have a lot more scoring depth.

On the flip side, going strength vs strength isn't working quite as well since they don't quite have that same scoring ability from all 4 lines. When your current plan isn't working, gotta try something else. I agree that I think (and hope) it'll backfire, but I can't blame them for trying.

Been a fun series for the X's and O's stuff. I wish I had a higher understanding of some of the more advanced strategies to better identify things. But even at my weekend-warrior level of knowledge, it's been fun watching the coaches play chess.

[Donnie Brasco]

Caps considering a match-up change, per Chris Johnston (Canada's Sportsnet):

The #caps are thinking about using the last change in Game 5 to get Ovechkin-Backstrom-Oshie away from the Crosby line.

Desperation? Might backfire because Crosby's line has been pretty quiet...

Yea I'm surprised it took him this long to make that adjustment, but I'd be more worried about who Pitt is throwing out there on D vs who our F's are. If I'm Trotz and I see Pitt's 3rd pairing I'm throwing Ovie's line out regardless of their forward compilation...double shift Ovie if you have to. It's amazing he kept going strength on strength or really didn't care at home. That's Bylsmaesque right there

[jeemie]

Yea I'm surprised it took him this long to make that adjustment, but I'd be more worried about who Pitt is throwing out there on D vs who our F's are. If I'm Trotz and I see Pitt's 3rd pairing I'm throwing Ovie's line out regardless of their forward compilation...double shift Ovie if you have to. It's amazing he kept going strength on strength or really didn't care at home. That's Bylsmaesque right there

He's been double-shifting Ovechkin a lot this series, especially the last couple of games.

[Legacy User]

Caps considering a match-up change, per Chris Johnston (Canada's Sportsnet):

The #caps are thinking about using the last change in Game 5 to get Ovechkin-Backstrom-Oshie away from the Crosby line.

Desperation? Might backfire because Crosby's line has been pretty quiet...

Yea I'm surprised it took him this long to make that adjustment, but I'd be more worried about who Pitt is throwing out there on D vs who our F's are. If I'm Trotz and I see Pitt's 3rd pairing I'm throwing Ovie's line out regardless of their forward compilation...double shift Ovie if you have to. It's amazing he kept going strength on strength or really didn't care at home. That's Bylsmaesque right there

Would love for this to turn into one of those situations where they're so preoccupied with the match-ups that it completely screws them up. Guys being thrown on and taken off without being able to get any kind of flow going, coaches paying more attention to our line changes than their own guys, etc. I wouldn't be surprised if Sully has a plan for that approach and he may be able to exploit it.

[Donnie Brasco]

Would love for this to turn into one of those situations where they're so preoccupied with the match-ups that it completely screws them up. Guys being thrown on and taken off without being able to get any kind of flow going, coaches paying more attention to our line changes than their own guys, etc. I wouldn't be surprised if Sully has a plan for that approach and he may be able to exploit it.

Check out Pitt's 1st goal last night. Weber and his partner were desperately trying to get off...they did, but because the Pens left their own zone with so much speed and through the neutral zone, the oncoming defenders had to concede their own blueline...Horny drop passes to Daley and it then deflects in for the equalizer.

I can't remember the exact stat but before last night the Caps:

1) never lost when Alzner scored a goal
2) never lost when they scored first in the playoffs

Furthermore the Pens had never won an OT game in Consol. To say this team is different is an understatement

[Legacy User]

Holtby gave a stick to a young Pens fan who's battling cancer last night. Very cool of him. Respect.

http://washington.cbslocal.com/2016/05/ ... guins-fan/

[Ice]

Holtby gave a stick to a young Pens fan who's battling cancer last night. Very cool of him. Respect.

http://washington.cbslocal.com/2016/05/ ... guins-fan/

Props indeed. My little cousin Dan (at only 21), the other big Pens fan in the family, and my mom just last year passed from that God damned disease. Sometimes life is bigger than the game. Kudos.

[Legacy User]

I'm very sorry to hear that. Cancer is the worst.

[Ice]

Thanks, Cap. Miss em every day.