Series Thread: Conference Finals: Washington Capitals v. Tampa Bay Lightning

[thedddd]

Officially change 'F' Dallas to 'F' home ice.

 

[thedddd]

Observation... Kunitz = Talentless Matt Cooke without Crosby.

 

[Duke of Douchington]

Vasy stole that game.

 

[Comeds]

I missed the first period (community theater) but from what I saw the Caps played well and the game was stolen by the goalie. Oh well.

 

[Kevin12773]

Vasy stole that game.

Yes he did

Caps keep playing like they did tonight I expect better results.

 

[Comeds]

I'd like to hear Mike Milbury's thoughts on the game.

Nah, just kidding

 

[dash]

I'd like to hear Mike Milbury's thoughts on the game.

Nah, just kidding

 

[Mangler]

Ovechkin looked a little peeved after the game...

 

[ktg8trgrl]

Bolts are gonna win this I'm telling ya!

 

[Darrell Green Fan]

This is why I'm not a hard core hockey guy. The team that plays the best all night often does not win.

 

[BGDave]

This is why I'm not a hard core hockey guy. The team that plays the best all night often does not win.

I am always puzzled by comments that "The best team did not win". Usually this is heard after a goalie has played remarkably well.

Last I checked, the goalie was part of "the team". OK, they can be a little odd (sorry @forty_three ) but why should anyone denigrate the play of the goalie by basically saying they are not part of the team. I agree, more so than in any other sport, the goalie position can influence who wins and loses and that makes them the most important part of the team. Arguably the hockey goalie is the single most important position on any sports team. Does that lessen hockey as a team sport?

Some nights the goalie will stop 50 shots and "steal" the win. Other nights the goalie is a sieve and his team wins 8-7. Why is one victory satisfactory and the other is not?

 

[Darrell Green Fan]

I'm not trying to denigrate the goalie. But when one team has twice as many shots with the majority of play in their offensive zone they clearly were the better overall team that night but did not win. I'm not just saying this as a Caps fan, I've always felt this way.

This was not the case last night but luck seems to play a much larger role in hockey, probably one of the reasons the playoffs are so unpredictable and 8 seeds can win a Cup. A team can be totally dominating but one bounce off a skate and suddenly they are losing 2-1 in the 3rd.

 

[dare2be]

Man, Lightning beat Operaloco, Comed's reverse curse, and a 20-shot deficit.

I think they only beat the 20 shot deficit. The other two canceled each other out.

 

[forty_three]

I'm not trying to denigrate the goalie. But when one team has twice as many shots with the majority of play in their offensive zone they clearly were the better overall team that night but did not win. I'm not just saying this as a Caps fan, I've always felt this way.

This was not the case last night but luck seems to play a much larger role in hockey, probably one of the reasons the playoffs are so unpredictable and 8 seeds can win a Cup. A team can be totally dominating but one bounce off a skate and suddenly they are losing 2-1 in the 3rd.

One of the cornerstones I instill in the teams I coach is that hockey is a very fast game of inches. The best you can do is go out and play in such a way that puts the pressure on the other team to make the play to beat you. You only "lose" when you make it easy on the other team.

The Caps didn't give anything away, the Bolts just made the plays when it counted. That includes Vasilevsky.

Shots on goal has pretty much nothing to do with indicating how a game went for a team. You can fire 100 shots from the blue line and get the same number of goals as you do shooting three from just outside the crease. Shots on goal means bupkus if they aren't quality shots. Not saying that all the Caps shots were low Quality last night, but just because the Caps got more shots doesn't mean they played the better game.

Tampa won loose puck battles, covered well on the backcheck and had better zone entries. They kept the attacking Caps to the outside and made them work to get to the danger areas. IMO, Tampa was the better team last night.




And one team can be better without the other being terrible.

 

[dare2be]

Observation... Kunitz = Talentless Matt Cooke without Crosby.

I'm trying to remember the saying...oh yeah...

Once a Duck, always a Duck.

 

[BGDave]

I'm not trying to denigrate the goalie. But when one team has twice as many shots with the majority of play in their offensive zone they clearly were the better overall team that night but did not win. I'm not just saying this as a Caps fan, I've always felt this way.

This was not the case last night but luck seems to play a much larger role in hockey, probably one of the reasons the playoffs are so unpredictable and 8 seeds can win a Cup. A team can be totally dominating but one bounce off a skate and suddenly they are losing 2-1 in the 3rd.

Fair enough. Just want to point out though, that a team might "win a game they should have lost" but for a #8 seed to with the Cup, they have to win 16 games against 4 different opponents. No team has ever been that lucky over that length of time. When the Kings were a #8 and won, they were a much better team then the regular season record indicated.

One interesting dynamic that is unique to hockey is the whole "team built for the playoffs". Which is a real phenomenon. I do believe the NHL has a problem with the wildly different way the game is officiated in the playoffs, and is much more of a contributing factor then "better team lost due to a hot goalie". The best team during the regular season has an abysmal record of playoff success.

The only thing worse then NHL playoff officiating is the 1-game playoff in baseball. Might as well flip a coin.

 

[elocomotive]

Bolts are gonna win this I'm telling ya!

Hard hitting analysis.

 

[forty_three]

The Nicklas Backstrom Broom Guys burned their broom

Do not taunt the hockey Gods.

 

[BGDave]

Hard hitting analysis.

I told her to add "Holtby is a sieve" but she wouldn't listen

 

[elocomotive]

Shots on goal has pretty much nothing to do with indicating how a game went for a team.

Advanced stats guys would totally disagree with you. I don't disagree in one game, but generally they are an outcome indicator of overall performance.

Don't agree about the "quality" of shots favoring the Bolts. Thought the Caps did a nice job of largely keeping the chances to the outside and carried the play and the scoring chances (a soft stat which can be a good indicator) on the night. But the Bolts won.

The Caps are still playing though and still in this series. Lots of hockey to go and if they continue to carry the play the results usually catch up to the process.