I almost missed Friday's Game Five between the Kings and Rangers. I'd convinced myself, for some reason, that the game was going to be tonight, and didn't even question that until eleven.
But I finally checked on it then (remembering they were playing in LA, so there was some chance of it still being on), and found that regulation time had just expired without a winner being chosen. For once, I was glad of overtime.
I noticed, before it started, that the Kings had a large edge in shots; in fact, they held the Rangers to less than seven shots in all three periods. So it was a bit amazing that the Rangers were tied. Even more amazing, looking back, Fenwick was staying very close until five or so minutes into the second, but both Rangers goals were scored after that, when possession was solidly favoring the Kings.
So how did things go when play started back up? Well, the Kings were solidly dominant when they weren't on the penalty kill, basically. They had a penalty to kill in each overtime, and did so, but the Rangers got a bunch of chances each time. In fact, it was amazing, both times, that the Rangers didn't score.
But the Kings kept up the continuous pressure, and they had a great many chances as well. And three-quarters of the way through the second overtime, that pressure finally paid off, when Martinez put in a rebound of a Toffoli shot from the opposite-side point. He threw his stick in the air, then his gloves, then went to find teammates; great to watch.
Williams (who also had the first goal in this game) got the Conn Smythe award for playoff MVP, which was an excellent choice, I must say. Gaborik would've also been very reasonable; not only did he score the other regulation goal in the game, but that brought him within a goal of Gretzky's team record for goals in one play-off season (though he did have two extra games).
So, my initial analysis of the Kings winning the Cup as soon as they beat Chicago wasn't hugely off. It took five games, but only because Lundqvist played out of his mind for game four. You could even make an argument that the only reason the Rangers made it to overtime three times was because of Lundqvist, even. They were just so massively outshot (on net is 194-146; I'm surprised to see that Corsi and Fenwick were a bit closer) that it's hard to see the Rangers winning four games without them playing ten or so. Certainly, it would have been one hell of an upset.
Anyway, hats off to the Kings for winning the Cup for the second time in three years. And to show the determination to battle their way through three consecutive seven-game series (I believe the first to do so). And one of the six teams to win a Stanley Cup Final with three or more overtime games (the Rangers, ironically, are one of the others, winning in 1940).
Congratulations to the Kings and their fans for one hell of a season. I certainly enjoyed watching them in the playoffs, as my tweet-stream would show.
And thank goodness the series didn't go longer; one night of overlap with the World Cup was enough. I'll have more to say about that, shortly.
Showing posts with label kings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kings. Show all posts
20140616
20140612
Goal delusions
I wasn't able to turn on last night's game until the first intermission, so I missed the goal that put the Rangers into the lead.
I did see Martin St Louis' goal-crashing score, as he was the first to capitalize on a rebound, six minutes and change into the period.
And I saw the Kings kill a penalty that came a few seconds later. On that PK, they got two offensive zone faceoffs, and started a breakaway that led to a Dustin Brown goal a couple seconds after the penalty expired. Very nice play all around.
That left the Kings still a goal behind. They got a number of chances over the rest of the period, but weren't able to get the puck behind Lundqvist again. In fact, they exerted a lot of pressure, but Hank did not break.
Over the rest of the game, shots were around 26-3 in favor of Los Angeles (and had been in LA's favor the whole game). Fenwick was heavily favoring the visitors as well, though not as dramatically as shots, of course (31-13, as near as I can tell).
In the game, the Kings managed to put the puck on the goal line at least twice (maybe three times), but neither goalie allowed another score.
So the series heads back to LA, where the Kings will attempt to finish off the Rangers on home ice. I imagine LA's fans aren't terribly upset about last night, for that reason. We'll see if the team can manage it.
I did see Martin St Louis' goal-crashing score, as he was the first to capitalize on a rebound, six minutes and change into the period.
And I saw the Kings kill a penalty that came a few seconds later. On that PK, they got two offensive zone faceoffs, and started a breakaway that led to a Dustin Brown goal a couple seconds after the penalty expired. Very nice play all around.
That left the Kings still a goal behind. They got a number of chances over the rest of the period, but weren't able to get the puck behind Lundqvist again. In fact, they exerted a lot of pressure, but Hank did not break.
Over the rest of the game, shots were around 26-3 in favor of Los Angeles (and had been in LA's favor the whole game). Fenwick was heavily favoring the visitors as well, though not as dramatically as shots, of course (31-13, as near as I can tell).
In the game, the Kings managed to put the puck on the goal line at least twice (maybe three times), but neither goalie allowed another score.
So the series heads back to LA, where the Kings will attempt to finish off the Rangers on home ice. I imagine LA's fans aren't terribly upset about last night, for that reason. We'll see if the team can manage it.
20140610
Stanley's Cup at the ready
I turned on last night's Kings/Rangers game during the first intermission, with the Kings leading (their first in-game lead of the series) 1-0. It seems I didn't miss a lot, though, as that one goal was scored with less than a second left in the period.
When play resumed, it took LA only about four minutes to double that lead on the power play. Muzzin's shot from the point was deflected by St Louis (with perhaps a distraction addition from Carter playing screen between St Louis and Lundqvist), and slipped through Hank.
The next several minutes (maybe five) saw LA continue its domination of possession, but it was massively favoring New York after that (Fenwick 33-9). Part of that was the Rangers power play getting a number of chances, but the Kings did not wilt under the heavy pressure. In fact, they got the only remaining goal of the game thirteen minutes later one a two-on-one.
Richards and Lewis broke in, Richards carrying. He attempted to pass across, but the defender blocked the pass. Right back to him. He showed good reflexes, and obviously knew what to do with it as he put it past the King.
The real story of the rest of the game, though, was Quick, who was absolutely unbelievable. Seriously, he made several saves that I don't think I'd believe if I didn't see them.
Coming into the game, I saw a tweet that he was on pace to post the worst postseason sv% of a Stanley Cup-winning goalie since at least 1990. I remarked to a friend that he was going to set that "record" unless he did something dramatic, and I mentioned either losing the series or not giving up another goal as possibilities. Apparently he chose the latter.
I'd like to say that the Rangers pulling Lundqvist with four minutes left also had something to do with the massive Fenwick imbalance, but it really didn't. In fact, the Kings might not have allowed a shot on goal during that entire stretch. It was an impressive performance. They even managed to have possession in the offensive zone twice, but both times were in the corner. They did put one shot off the post, but I don't think they have any shots on net during that stretch either.
All in all, a pretty impressive performance for the Kings. Lots of luck (there were several puck scrambles around the net that left me incredulous that they included no scores), but they also did a lot to make their own luck. In 5v5 close play, they dominated Fenwick 60-40, and made a lot of effort to get deflections and close-in shots on Lundqvist. And, as mentioned, Quick was incredible (ask Zuccarello, who had several chances within a couple of feet of the net).
The Rangers are obviously in deep doo-doo, and I think their only real hope, at this point, is to prevent victory at the Gardens. I don't know if they can (especially if LA doesn't let up on the gas), but that's what they'll be playing for tomorrow.
When play resumed, it took LA only about four minutes to double that lead on the power play. Muzzin's shot from the point was deflected by St Louis (with perhaps a distraction addition from Carter playing screen between St Louis and Lundqvist), and slipped through Hank.
The next several minutes (maybe five) saw LA continue its domination of possession, but it was massively favoring New York after that (Fenwick 33-9). Part of that was the Rangers power play getting a number of chances, but the Kings did not wilt under the heavy pressure. In fact, they got the only remaining goal of the game thirteen minutes later one a two-on-one.
Richards and Lewis broke in, Richards carrying. He attempted to pass across, but the defender blocked the pass. Right back to him. He showed good reflexes, and obviously knew what to do with it as he put it past the King.
The real story of the rest of the game, though, was Quick, who was absolutely unbelievable. Seriously, he made several saves that I don't think I'd believe if I didn't see them.
Coming into the game, I saw a tweet that he was on pace to post the worst postseason sv% of a Stanley Cup-winning goalie since at least 1990. I remarked to a friend that he was going to set that "record" unless he did something dramatic, and I mentioned either losing the series or not giving up another goal as possibilities. Apparently he chose the latter.
I'd like to say that the Rangers pulling Lundqvist with four minutes left also had something to do with the massive Fenwick imbalance, but it really didn't. In fact, the Kings might not have allowed a shot on goal during that entire stretch. It was an impressive performance. They even managed to have possession in the offensive zone twice, but both times were in the corner. They did put one shot off the post, but I don't think they have any shots on net during that stretch either.
All in all, a pretty impressive performance for the Kings. Lots of luck (there were several puck scrambles around the net that left me incredulous that they included no scores), but they also did a lot to make their own luck. In 5v5 close play, they dominated Fenwick 60-40, and made a lot of effort to get deflections and close-in shots on Lundqvist. And, as mentioned, Quick was incredible (ask Zuccarello, who had several chances within a couple of feet of the net).
The Rangers are obviously in deep doo-doo, and I think their only real hope, at this point, is to prevent victory at the Gardens. I don't know if they can (especially if LA doesn't let up on the gas), but that's what they'll be playing for tomorrow.
20140608
Regal come-back
I didn't get to see anywhere near all of last night's Kings/Rangers second game. I turned it on a couple minutes into the third, with the score 4-3 Rangers. That was quite a surprise, and the even bigger surprise was when I found out (soon after) that the period had started 4-2 Rangers.
I watched for a couple minutes, seeing that the Kings seemed to be dominating, again. But I needed to leave the room for a few minutes to put my oldest daughter to bed, and came back to seeing a tied game.
So the Kings scored twice in the period (and continued to dominate from appearances, although the Rangers did get a couple of good chances), and I didn't see either one. But I didn't see the Rangers score either, as they didn't (though they did get a good chance just as time expired.
So into overtime the game went (this is getting to be quite the theme).
It felt, watching, like the Kings were dominating again, although the Fenwick count had the Rangers ahead by one. Unfortunately, I don't have a Corsi count; it could easily be that the Kings were ahead on Corsi, but the Rangers blocked enough shots to be ahead by a hair on Fenwick.
But, more importantly, nobody found the back of the net; both goalies did their jobs.
So into double overtime it went, where the Kings had an even bigger edge. And the game ended in the eleventh minute, when Willie Mitchell wristed it towards the net from the left point. The shot was going wide, but Dustin Brown deflected it back on net, and under Lundqvist's arm to finally break the tie (that had lasted about forty-two minutes).
It was quite the finish to the game that had gone on so long.
I'm not sure who has looked better, overall. The Kings have certainly looked better in the parts of the two games that I've watched (and it hasn't been close), but the Rangers have definitely done better (in both scoring and chances) in other parts of the two games. Plus, the Kings only held serve at home by coming back from two-goal deficits in both games. So they certainly weren't dominating on the scoreboard.
I'll stick with my pre-series prediction of the Kings winning, but I no longer think a sweep is likely, even if it hasn't been yet ruled out. We'll see what happens at the Garden, I guess.
I watched for a couple minutes, seeing that the Kings seemed to be dominating, again. But I needed to leave the room for a few minutes to put my oldest daughter to bed, and came back to seeing a tied game.
So the Kings scored twice in the period (and continued to dominate from appearances, although the Rangers did get a couple of good chances), and I didn't see either one. But I didn't see the Rangers score either, as they didn't (though they did get a good chance just as time expired.
So into overtime the game went (this is getting to be quite the theme).
It felt, watching, like the Kings were dominating again, although the Fenwick count had the Rangers ahead by one. Unfortunately, I don't have a Corsi count; it could easily be that the Kings were ahead on Corsi, but the Rangers blocked enough shots to be ahead by a hair on Fenwick.
But, more importantly, nobody found the back of the net; both goalies did their jobs.
So into double overtime it went, where the Kings had an even bigger edge. And the game ended in the eleventh minute, when Willie Mitchell wristed it towards the net from the left point. The shot was going wide, but Dustin Brown deflected it back on net, and under Lundqvist's arm to finally break the tie (that had lasted about forty-two minutes).
It was quite the finish to the game that had gone on so long.
I'm not sure who has looked better, overall. The Kings have certainly looked better in the parts of the two games that I've watched (and it hasn't been close), but the Rangers have definitely done better (in both scoring and chances) in other parts of the two games. Plus, the Kings only held serve at home by coming back from two-goal deficits in both games. So they certainly weren't dominating on the scoreboard.
I'll stick with my pre-series prediction of the Kings winning, but I no longer think a sweep is likely, even if it hasn't been yet ruled out. We'll see what happens at the Garden, I guess.
20140604
Kings hold up their end of bargain. So far
I wasn't able to watch the first period of tonight's Kings/Rangers battle. So when I turned it on, it was 2-1 Rangers. That was certainly a surprise, and watching the rest of the game, it was hard to see why.
In the two+ periods that I watched, the Kings hugely outplayed the Rangers; in one stretch, they held New York without a shot on goal for over twelve minutes.
LA did tie the game up in the second on a gorgeous individual effort from Doughty (well, not counting the two guys tieing up the defense and providing four or five bodies as a screen).
The irony of the game was that the Rangers did better on the PK than at even strength. They held LA without a shot on goal, and scored a shortie (with a couple other chances).
Of course, as with any game this close, there were a couple of good chances for New York. In particular, St Louis had two beautiful chances where he wasn't able to put the puck on-net.
So despite being outplayed, the Rangers could have won it in regulation.
But nobody scored in the third, forcing the teams into overtime. Appropriate, I guess, for two teams that played, between them, 41 of a possible 42 games in the first two rounds.
The overtime lasted less than five minutes. The Rangers had one guy with the puck, near Lundqvist, and three (or all four; I couldn't tell from the camera angle) of the others went for a change. He fell to his knees with a King bearing down on him, tried to throw it out. It went right to Richards, who passed to Williams who was open in the slot. And JW put it past Hank for the win.
Bet Williams is wishing he was going to be UFA this offseason instead of next; he'd definitely be getting quite the payday.
Anyway, it looks (and this isn't a big surprise) like the Rangers are going to get smoked if Lundy isn't on top of his game; the difference in the skaters is pretty significant. But we'll see. We might have six games left.
In the two+ periods that I watched, the Kings hugely outplayed the Rangers; in one stretch, they held New York without a shot on goal for over twelve minutes.
LA did tie the game up in the second on a gorgeous individual effort from Doughty (well, not counting the two guys tieing up the defense and providing four or five bodies as a screen).
The irony of the game was that the Rangers did better on the PK than at even strength. They held LA without a shot on goal, and scored a shortie (with a couple other chances).
Of course, as with any game this close, there were a couple of good chances for New York. In particular, St Louis had two beautiful chances where he wasn't able to put the puck on-net.
So despite being outplayed, the Rangers could have won it in regulation.
But nobody scored in the third, forcing the teams into overtime. Appropriate, I guess, for two teams that played, between them, 41 of a possible 42 games in the first two rounds.
The overtime lasted less than five minutes. The Rangers had one guy with the puck, near Lundqvist, and three (or all four; I couldn't tell from the camera angle) of the others went for a change. He fell to his knees with a King bearing down on him, tried to throw it out. It went right to Richards, who passed to Williams who was open in the slot. And JW put it past Hank for the win.
Bet Williams is wishing he was going to be UFA this offseason instead of next; he'd definitely be getting quite the payday.
Anyway, it looks (and this isn't a big surprise) like the Rangers are going to get smoked if Lundy isn't on top of his game; the difference in the skaters is pretty significant. But we'll see. We might have six games left.
20140602
Kings win the Cup! Kings win the Cup!
Well, I saw most of last night's Kings/Hawks finale, and it was quite the barn-burner. I turned it on in the first, with the Hawks ahead 1-0, just seconds before the Kings took a tripping penalty that led to Hawks' second goal. And boy, did it get chaotic after that.
Well, it was quiet for almost eight more minutes, but then it went crazy with the Kings scoring twice and the Hawks once in a sixty-three second span. That saw the Kings tie it, then the Hawks retake the lead on a very freaky skip off the ice.
The second period was much quieter, with matching goals (Chicago's goal being on the power play again, where they spent much of the first two periods).
The third period had no power plays at all (and as a side note: Olczyk is an ass for advocating non-calls for infractions, as he did between the second and third periods. The rules are what define the game as hockey; if you throw those out, you've just got muggings on skates. Ignoring penalties is not "keeping the refs out of the game", it's favoring a particular style of play that isn't terribly fun to watch. Basically, it favors the bigger team that's willing to push the boundaries further, which greatly increases the odds of injuries), and saw the Kings solidly dominate possession and eventually get it past Crawford. But that only tied the game; being Game Seven wasn't dramatic enough. Apparently, overtime was needed.
Well, first Quick needed to make a couple of tough saves with only a few seconds left, but he managed to do that.
Although both teams got chances, the Kings definitely had the better of the play in overtime. With both teams just throwing the puck at the net at just about every opportunity, eventually the Kings got a break when a wrister from the point went off Leddy's arm and past Crawford to seal the win.
Despite my provocative headline, while the Kings have a large edge going into the series, beating the Rangers is not a fait accompli. The biggest reason for that, of course, is Lundqvist, but they're far from talentless in the skating department.
What'll be really amusing is if it goes to Game Seven. Will the universe explode when Williams (7-0 all-time in Game Sevens, 14pts in those games) faces Lundqvist (6-1, .940-ish SV%)? Let's hope we get to find out.
Oh, one other factor; LA will be a bit more tired, after having to play the maximum of 21 games already. Not sure if that'll factor in; getting a couple days rest before Game One certainly helps.
Well, it was quiet for almost eight more minutes, but then it went crazy with the Kings scoring twice and the Hawks once in a sixty-three second span. That saw the Kings tie it, then the Hawks retake the lead on a very freaky skip off the ice.
The second period was much quieter, with matching goals (Chicago's goal being on the power play again, where they spent much of the first two periods).
The third period had no power plays at all (and as a side note: Olczyk is an ass for advocating non-calls for infractions, as he did between the second and third periods. The rules are what define the game as hockey; if you throw those out, you've just got muggings on skates. Ignoring penalties is not "keeping the refs out of the game", it's favoring a particular style of play that isn't terribly fun to watch. Basically, it favors the bigger team that's willing to push the boundaries further, which greatly increases the odds of injuries), and saw the Kings solidly dominate possession and eventually get it past Crawford. But that only tied the game; being Game Seven wasn't dramatic enough. Apparently, overtime was needed.
Well, first Quick needed to make a couple of tough saves with only a few seconds left, but he managed to do that.
Although both teams got chances, the Kings definitely had the better of the play in overtime. With both teams just throwing the puck at the net at just about every opportunity, eventually the Kings got a break when a wrister from the point went off Leddy's arm and past Crawford to seal the win.
Despite my provocative headline, while the Kings have a large edge going into the series, beating the Rangers is not a fait accompli. The biggest reason for that, of course, is Lundqvist, but they're far from talentless in the skating department.
What'll be really amusing is if it goes to Game Seven. Will the universe explode when Williams (7-0 all-time in Game Sevens, 14pts in those games) faces Lundqvist (6-1, .940-ish SV%)? Let's hope we get to find out.
Oh, one other factor; LA will be a bit more tired, after having to play the maximum of 21 games already. Not sure if that'll factor in; getting a couple days rest before Game One certainly helps.
20140529
Hawks fight back
I wasn't able to watch all of last night's game; I turned it on about eight minutes in, when LA was already down by a pair (both from defensemen; go figure). But I watched them claw back, scoring one only a few minutes later, giving up another a minute and a half later, then getting a second of their own two minutes after that.
The second period was pretty much all kings, and they took the lead after scoring two more (Brown shoveled it home in a mad scramble in front of the net, then Pearson grabbed the puck in the neutral zone, skated over the line, and wristed it over Crawford's shoulder).
At that point, I was pretty tired, and went to sleep. Glad I did, too, because Chicago managed to tie it up early in the third, then win it in double overtime.
Now Chicago needs to do it again, on the road. I don't like their odds, but we'll need to wait until tomorrow night to see what happens.
The second period was pretty much all kings, and they took the lead after scoring two more (Brown shoveled it home in a mad scramble in front of the net, then Pearson grabbed the puck in the neutral zone, skated over the line, and wristed it over Crawford's shoulder).
At that point, I was pretty tired, and went to sleep. Glad I did, too, because Chicago managed to tie it up early in the third, then win it in double overtime.
Now Chicago needs to do it again, on the road. I don't like their odds, but we'll need to wait until tomorrow night to see what happens.
20140506
Hockey updates
I wasn't able to watch anywhere near all of either of the games last night, but did see chunks of both.
I must say, the Rangers did look like the better team, last night, but weren't able to get it past Fleury (though, admittedly, part of that was penalty differential). Who'd've thought that was going to be the case?
I watched most of the Ducks/Kings game, and that was a very good game. Both teams were definitely going all-out, in a way that the Caps never do (at least not visibly). I think part of that is coaching, though; Oates' system is just too passive. Both Western teams were very aggressively attacking the puck, wherever it was on the ice.
I think the only way to make a "collapse to the goal, play defense all game" work is to be very, very good on the breakout (and have an amazingly good/lucky goalie). Which is to say that I'm not at all sure it's feasible in hockey the way it is in soccer. There are just too many scoring opportunities in a hockey game. The defenders, no matter how good they are, just can't help out blocking shots as much as they can in soccer (just as a function of ball size, I think).
Anyway, getting back to the Ducks and Kings; I still stand by what I said about being comfortable that the Kings would be moving on. The Kings deserved the win they got (and they played Sarge, and he didn't look terribly out of place), though it should be pointed out that Quick also needed to be very good from time to time. The one goal he allowed was on a 4-on-3, where Doughty was one of the players in the box, and it still took a deflection off a defenseman to get past Quick.
At one point, Doughty took a slash to the back of the knee (from Beauchemin), and limped off. I was wondering if that was going to leave them at a point they hadn't reached all season, with three defencemen out, but Doughty came back a minute or two later.
Getting back to the Rangers loss, they were shut out in back-to-back games for the first time since Varly did it to them, and now need to win badly. I hope they can do it (though I'm getting more skeptical).
I must say, the Rangers did look like the better team, last night, but weren't able to get it past Fleury (though, admittedly, part of that was penalty differential). Who'd've thought that was going to be the case?
I watched most of the Ducks/Kings game, and that was a very good game. Both teams were definitely going all-out, in a way that the Caps never do (at least not visibly). I think part of that is coaching, though; Oates' system is just too passive. Both Western teams were very aggressively attacking the puck, wherever it was on the ice.
I think the only way to make a "collapse to the goal, play defense all game" work is to be very, very good on the breakout (and have an amazingly good/lucky goalie). Which is to say that I'm not at all sure it's feasible in hockey the way it is in soccer. There are just too many scoring opportunities in a hockey game. The defenders, no matter how good they are, just can't help out blocking shots as much as they can in soccer (just as a function of ball size, I think).
Anyway, getting back to the Ducks and Kings; I still stand by what I said about being comfortable that the Kings would be moving on. The Kings deserved the win they got (and they played Sarge, and he didn't look terribly out of place), though it should be pointed out that Quick also needed to be very good from time to time. The one goal he allowed was on a 4-on-3, where Doughty was one of the players in the box, and it still took a deflection off a defenseman to get past Quick.
At one point, Doughty took a slash to the back of the knee (from Beauchemin), and limped off. I was wondering if that was going to leave them at a point they hadn't reached all season, with three defencemen out, but Doughty came back a minute or two later.
Getting back to the Rangers loss, they were shut out in back-to-back games for the first time since Varly did it to them, and now need to win badly. I hope they can do it (though I'm getting more skeptical).
20140325
Choppy play leads to chopped result
I would have been happy with tonight's Caps result, if they hadn't started by jumping out to a two-goal lead. We had dinner, and I had to get the kids ready for, and into, bed almost immediately after that, and things went seriously downhill while I was away.
But let's start with those two goals. Both were within the first seven minutes, and both were on the power play. In fact, both were OV, despite neither being a typical OV goal. The first occurred when play had gotten scrambled, and OV was trying to hit Backstrom on a back-door cut. But Quick got enough in front of it to deflect it, but it went into the back of the defenseman in front of him, and into the back of the net. The second was also a broken play, as a so-so feed to Brouwer in the middle left him scrambling, but he managed to stretch out to pass it over to OV, who wristed it under Quick as Q was sliding across.
Gotta love a start like that. My daughter's reaction to the second score: Boo-yah.
And the Caps did a good job keeping the play mostly in the Kings end for the rest of the first period (basically except for the two minutes they were killing a penalty). Ward took an early tripping call in the second, however, and it eventually led to Richards bringing the Kings within a goal.
Although Washington was outplayed for most of the second (and there were some pretty terrible non-calls on LA in there. In one sequence, Brouwer had his stick grabbed away, then kicked away from him. He grabbed it as they went back to the other end, then had it grabbed again at the other end. Then, a second or so later, another Cap had their stick slashed away, then Nicky got hit hard after chipping the puck in. No calls on any of that; and that hit took Nick out for the rest of the game), they did manage to restore their margin when Penner pounced on a rebound in front with three minutes left.
But the Caps wouldn't be the Caps if a two-goal lead were safe. They were absolutely dominated through the third; the Kings doubled them up in Fenwick (and Corsi was probably even less even). And LA scored in the first, ninth, and thirteenth minutes (at least two of those were against Orlov and Wey; I didn't notice the third).
At that point, I largely gave up on the Caps. And when Carlson took a penalty to prevent an easy empty-net goal, I definitely did. But something bizarre happened when the Caps managed to take the ensuing faceoff down to the other end. Halak ran for the bench, and OV charged on, throwing the puck at the net while running through an attempted stick check by a forward (whose stick went flying almost from the blue line to behind the goal line).
Quick stopped the initial shot, but his leg pad (the top part that sticks up above his knee) stopped the puck going away from the net, and pushed it back under him. Kuzya skated in right then, and backhanded the puck into the net for the team's second last-minute, short-handed, game-tying goal of the season (Backstrom had the other).
You'd think that'd be enough drama, but the Caps still had forty-two seconds of penalty killing left in the period. It was a bit ugly, but they got the job done.
And, in fact, they got the job done in overtime as well, as they had to kill the last minute of that penalty. And from there, the rest of overtime was basically all Caps (there was one 2-on-1 that Green broke up nicely). They had several very good chances, including Dima ringing one off the right post, but didn't manage to get it across the line.
So they went to the shootout again. Kuz started off again, but had the puck hop over his stick before he could get the shot off. Then Kopitar scored. Then Fehr was stopped (it was close). And then Carter scored again to seal the game.
As I said earlier, I would have been very happy with the result if it didn't come out of the Caps giving up two two-goal advantages. Can't really be happy with that, no matter who the other team is.
Despite the four goals conceded, Halak actually had a very good game. Not only was he barraged, especially in the third period, but at least two of those goals came from undefended players less than ten feet from the net (that would be the two Wey/Orlov goals mentioned). He also faced several 2-on-1s and a lot of PK time. Nothing to complain about there.
The power play did pretty well. As mentioned, they scored twice early (and I think this marks the first time this season that the Caps lost with two PPGs, though I'm not positive about that). Overall numbers aren't that great, though, with only ten shots attempted (six on net) in just under six minutes (granted, two of those PPs were without Backstrom, and maybe that just shows how valuable he is on the power play).
The PK did not do terribly well. In just under six minutes, they allowed nineteen shot attempts (eight on net) and one goal. It could've easily been a lot worse, but that isn't great.
On a trivia note, Kuzya was the sixth Cap to get his first career goal this season, joining Latta, Brown, Carrick, Schmidt, and Wilson. Penner, Erat and Wellman also got their first goals as Caps this year.
Anyway, despite the leads blown, the Caps were incredibly lucky to escape with a point tonight. Fenwick at fives, close, was two:one in favor of LA, and that's a formula for getting crushed. Regularly. And they did get a little bit of help, finally, as Columbus and Detroit didn't go to overtime and Toronto continued their skid (have now lost seven of last eight). In fact, I hadn't realized it, but the Caps are now in a four-way tie with those teams for the two wild-card spots.
But the Caps, of course, lose the first tiebreaker against everyone, so they're still on the outside looking in.
And looking to keep them outside is Boston, coming to visit on Saturday. The Caps will need to play a lot better to win against them. I'm guessing that Holtby will get the start, but we'll see.
Go Caps!
But let's start with those two goals. Both were within the first seven minutes, and both were on the power play. In fact, both were OV, despite neither being a typical OV goal. The first occurred when play had gotten scrambled, and OV was trying to hit Backstrom on a back-door cut. But Quick got enough in front of it to deflect it, but it went into the back of the defenseman in front of him, and into the back of the net. The second was also a broken play, as a so-so feed to Brouwer in the middle left him scrambling, but he managed to stretch out to pass it over to OV, who wristed it under Quick as Q was sliding across.
Gotta love a start like that. My daughter's reaction to the second score: Boo-yah.
And the Caps did a good job keeping the play mostly in the Kings end for the rest of the first period (basically except for the two minutes they were killing a penalty). Ward took an early tripping call in the second, however, and it eventually led to Richards bringing the Kings within a goal.
Although Washington was outplayed for most of the second (and there were some pretty terrible non-calls on LA in there. In one sequence, Brouwer had his stick grabbed away, then kicked away from him. He grabbed it as they went back to the other end, then had it grabbed again at the other end. Then, a second or so later, another Cap had their stick slashed away, then Nicky got hit hard after chipping the puck in. No calls on any of that; and that hit took Nick out for the rest of the game), they did manage to restore their margin when Penner pounced on a rebound in front with three minutes left.
But the Caps wouldn't be the Caps if a two-goal lead were safe. They were absolutely dominated through the third; the Kings doubled them up in Fenwick (and Corsi was probably even less even). And LA scored in the first, ninth, and thirteenth minutes (at least two of those were against Orlov and Wey; I didn't notice the third).
At that point, I largely gave up on the Caps. And when Carlson took a penalty to prevent an easy empty-net goal, I definitely did. But something bizarre happened when the Caps managed to take the ensuing faceoff down to the other end. Halak ran for the bench, and OV charged on, throwing the puck at the net while running through an attempted stick check by a forward (whose stick went flying almost from the blue line to behind the goal line).
Quick stopped the initial shot, but his leg pad (the top part that sticks up above his knee) stopped the puck going away from the net, and pushed it back under him. Kuzya skated in right then, and backhanded the puck into the net for the team's second last-minute, short-handed, game-tying goal of the season (Backstrom had the other).
You'd think that'd be enough drama, but the Caps still had forty-two seconds of penalty killing left in the period. It was a bit ugly, but they got the job done.
And, in fact, they got the job done in overtime as well, as they had to kill the last minute of that penalty. And from there, the rest of overtime was basically all Caps (there was one 2-on-1 that Green broke up nicely). They had several very good chances, including Dima ringing one off the right post, but didn't manage to get it across the line.
So they went to the shootout again. Kuz started off again, but had the puck hop over his stick before he could get the shot off. Then Kopitar scored. Then Fehr was stopped (it was close). And then Carter scored again to seal the game.
As I said earlier, I would have been very happy with the result if it didn't come out of the Caps giving up two two-goal advantages. Can't really be happy with that, no matter who the other team is.
Despite the four goals conceded, Halak actually had a very good game. Not only was he barraged, especially in the third period, but at least two of those goals came from undefended players less than ten feet from the net (that would be the two Wey/Orlov goals mentioned). He also faced several 2-on-1s and a lot of PK time. Nothing to complain about there.
The power play did pretty well. As mentioned, they scored twice early (and I think this marks the first time this season that the Caps lost with two PPGs, though I'm not positive about that). Overall numbers aren't that great, though, with only ten shots attempted (six on net) in just under six minutes (granted, two of those PPs were without Backstrom, and maybe that just shows how valuable he is on the power play).
The PK did not do terribly well. In just under six minutes, they allowed nineteen shot attempts (eight on net) and one goal. It could've easily been a lot worse, but that isn't great.
On a trivia note, Kuzya was the sixth Cap to get his first career goal this season, joining Latta, Brown, Carrick, Schmidt, and Wilson. Penner, Erat and Wellman also got their first goals as Caps this year.
Anyway, despite the leads blown, the Caps were incredibly lucky to escape with a point tonight. Fenwick at fives, close, was two:one in favor of LA, and that's a formula for getting crushed. Regularly. And they did get a little bit of help, finally, as Columbus and Detroit didn't go to overtime and Toronto continued their skid (have now lost seven of last eight). In fact, I hadn't realized it, but the Caps are now in a four-way tie with those teams for the two wild-card spots.
But the Caps, of course, lose the first tiebreaker against everyone, so they're still on the outside looking in.
And looking to keep them outside is Boston, coming to visit on Saturday. The Caps will need to play a lot better to win against them. I'm guessing that Holtby will get the start, but we'll see.
Go Caps!
20140322
Deceptive Game
I watched last night's Caps game in LA live, for once (the one advantage of the game being so late), and ended up a bit deceived about it.
It felt, while I was watching it, that the Caps had much the worse of the play during the first (Kopitar's very nice goal fed by Gaborik didn't help that impression) period. In fact, they just felt (to me) like they were completely outclassed. Fenwick, however, says that they were actually ahead in possession for much of the period, only falling behind in the last couple minutes.
The second period felt like the Caps were ahead for most of it (though I should admit that I wasn't paying as close attention to this period, for various reasons), but Fenwick says they were badly outplayed starting with Backstrom's penalty, three minutes in.
Most importantly, though, they managed to keep the Kings from scoring for the entirety of the period. Unfortunately, Quick was up to stopping all of Washington's best chances (and they had some excellent ones) as well.
That pushed the game into the third period, when Washington finally managed to get their second power play. Unfortunately, they weren't able to do anything with it, as Quick managed to anticipate OV's shots as well as handle the shots from the other side and up top. Backstrom took his second penalty of the game seven minutes later, but despite a strong flurry, Washington stayed only a goal back.
But a few minutes after that, they did manage to even the score, as Backstrom hit Kuzya in the slot, and he skated around towards the back of the net. Just before going behind, though, he threw it out front to Ward, who stopped it with his skate and, when it got bounced back to him (off the defender's skate), slammed it past the down Quick. Another pure determination goal for Wardo, and his fourth consecutive game with a goal.
Unfortunately, the Caps weren't able to get anything else past Quick; including in the overtime, when they completely dominated. So the game ended up going to the shootout.
Interestingly, Quick's record is only one percentage point better than Halak's, but his win record is far, far better.
The shootout started out well, as Kuzya went first, and put it over Quick's shoulder. Halak then watched Kopitar lose control as he went first for LA. But it was all LA from there, as OV and Backstrom were stopped and Carter and Gaborik both scored.
A disappointing ending, to be sure, but for a team that spent much of the game looking like they didn't deserve to be on the same rink as the Kings, it was hard to be really upset.
Still, they had a chance to win their first game of the season without scoring at least three goals. So again, it's hard to be really happy.
Halak, as noted, did very well, stopping all but one of the twenty-eight shots he faced. Possessionally, the Caps did reasonably well at 46% 5v5 close. Even strength, close is probably even a little better, as they solidly dominated the overtime.
On the power play, the Caps did ok, with eleven shot attempts in four minutes (six on net). Nothing went in, but Quick was forced to make several excellent saves, so hard to be upset there.
On the flip side, the PK wasn't terribly good. They kept the Kings off the scoreboard, but allowed sixteen attempted shots (six on net) in six minutes. The six shots on net isn't bad, but they have very little control over whether shots are on-target or miss the net (six missed, which is a very high percentage). So it's hard to truly be happy with it, either.
One thing that struck me, finally, watching this game. I think the Caps do a pretty good job on the PK, once the puck is in the zone. But they don't do at all a good job keeping the puck out of the zone, and that's why they allow so many shots. So I'm still skeptical about the Caps chances, long-term, on the PK.
Anyway, next chance is today (this article has been in the editor for over a day) against the Sharks, at the Shark Tank. The Caps haven't won there since I was in undergrad, so I can't say as I'm terribly optimistic about their chances. But we'll see. Go Caps!
It felt, while I was watching it, that the Caps had much the worse of the play during the first (Kopitar's very nice goal fed by Gaborik didn't help that impression) period. In fact, they just felt (to me) like they were completely outclassed. Fenwick, however, says that they were actually ahead in possession for much of the period, only falling behind in the last couple minutes.
The second period felt like the Caps were ahead for most of it (though I should admit that I wasn't paying as close attention to this period, for various reasons), but Fenwick says they were badly outplayed starting with Backstrom's penalty, three minutes in.
Most importantly, though, they managed to keep the Kings from scoring for the entirety of the period. Unfortunately, Quick was up to stopping all of Washington's best chances (and they had some excellent ones) as well.
That pushed the game into the third period, when Washington finally managed to get their second power play. Unfortunately, they weren't able to do anything with it, as Quick managed to anticipate OV's shots as well as handle the shots from the other side and up top. Backstrom took his second penalty of the game seven minutes later, but despite a strong flurry, Washington stayed only a goal back.
But a few minutes after that, they did manage to even the score, as Backstrom hit Kuzya in the slot, and he skated around towards the back of the net. Just before going behind, though, he threw it out front to Ward, who stopped it with his skate and, when it got bounced back to him (off the defender's skate), slammed it past the down Quick. Another pure determination goal for Wardo, and his fourth consecutive game with a goal.
Unfortunately, the Caps weren't able to get anything else past Quick; including in the overtime, when they completely dominated. So the game ended up going to the shootout.
Interestingly, Quick's record is only one percentage point better than Halak's, but his win record is far, far better.
The shootout started out well, as Kuzya went first, and put it over Quick's shoulder. Halak then watched Kopitar lose control as he went first for LA. But it was all LA from there, as OV and Backstrom were stopped and Carter and Gaborik both scored.
A disappointing ending, to be sure, but for a team that spent much of the game looking like they didn't deserve to be on the same rink as the Kings, it was hard to be really upset.
Still, they had a chance to win their first game of the season without scoring at least three goals. So again, it's hard to be really happy.
Halak, as noted, did very well, stopping all but one of the twenty-eight shots he faced. Possessionally, the Caps did reasonably well at 46% 5v5 close. Even strength, close is probably even a little better, as they solidly dominated the overtime.
On the power play, the Caps did ok, with eleven shot attempts in four minutes (six on net). Nothing went in, but Quick was forced to make several excellent saves, so hard to be upset there.
On the flip side, the PK wasn't terribly good. They kept the Kings off the scoreboard, but allowed sixteen attempted shots (six on net) in six minutes. The six shots on net isn't bad, but they have very little control over whether shots are on-target or miss the net (six missed, which is a very high percentage). So it's hard to truly be happy with it, either.
One thing that struck me, finally, watching this game. I think the Caps do a pretty good job on the PK, once the puck is in the zone. But they don't do at all a good job keeping the puck out of the zone, and that's why they allow so many shots. So I'm still skeptical about the Caps chances, long-term, on the PK.
Anyway, next chance is today (this article has been in the editor for over a day) against the Sharks, at the Shark Tank. The Caps haven't won there since I was in undergrad, so I can't say as I'm terribly optimistic about their chances. But we'll see. Go Caps!
20120111
King-uins
I didn't get a chance to watch the Caps game the other night against the Kings until this evening. I watched it until the Kings got their fourth straight goal, breaking my normal rule of waiting until there's a four-goal margin. But the Caps just didn't look good.
When I turned that off, I tried to turn on tonight's tilt against the Penguins, only to find it was on a different network. So I missed much of the first period, but was able to record the rest, so as to watch it after putting the kids to bed.
But, most importantly, I was able to see Chimmer's goal live. Ward made a nice defensive play at the blue line, poking the puck away from Malkin (who got away with two penalties in the game. One was a trip on Laich where he didn't attempt to play the puck, but just took out Laich's skate; and he was able to grab Carlson's stick out of his hands and throw it a ways away). That sent Halpern ahead with the puck, who pulled the defender then hit Chimmer coming up the center of the ice all alone.
From there, the game ended up being a lot of play between the blue lines (but with a lot more in Washington's end than the Penguins').
TVo was awesome, though, and kept the puck out of the net all the way, despite seeing thirty shots (four or five of which he had no business stopping).
The Caps were unable to mount any sustained pressure, with the exception of two shifts by the fourth line in the third period. OV and Semin did have some nice chances in that same period, mostly on the rush (the best chance wasn't on the rush, but the puck was still only in the zone for ten or fifteen seconds).
The two games, combined, have me thinking much more that this just isn't a very good team, though. Even in their wins, I was beginning to wonder if that was the case, and these games are starting to solidify the feeling. They can't really sustain any offensive pressure, they have a lot more trouble exiting their zone than the opposition does. Most of the offense is generated off the rush. I thought they were getting away from that when Hunter arrived, but I think it might be an even bigger percentage now than under Boudreau.
And I think this philosophy of playing defense just by pushing play to the outside isn't really helping. Not that they should allow chances in the middle (those are obviously more dangerous), but that they need to change what they're focusing on. I'm not sure what that should be; maybe focus more on takeaways? Maybe more on winning one-on-one battles in the corners?
Maybe I'm just getting too down after one bad, and a couple of so-so, games, but they aren't going to win a lot of games getting out-shot as badly as they regularly are. And as I mentioned, talking about the Flames game, the large number of blocked shots by skaters is making that look better than it is.
In tonight's game, the team took 27 shots, versus 51 for the Penguins (almost identical to the differential against the Kings). And that Penguins team is one that has just been rocked by injuries. The team regularly getting out-shot by teams playing so many AHL'ers is just disturbing to me.
And, speaking of AHL'ers, Schultz was scratched in favor of Tomas Kundratek. Kundratek, in his NHL debut, was played in relatively safe situations, and did fine in his eleven minutes. But I don't really understand why Schultz was scratched for him. Schultz might not be a great defenseman, but he isn't a bad one, either.
Anyway, the clean win moved the Caps into a points tie with Pittsburgh for the eighth spot in the conference (with the Caps holding several tie-breakers). They'll have another chance to move up (and a chance to reach positive goal differential) on Friday against Tampa.
And, hopefully, Backstrom and/or Green will return for that one (not sure what the odds are).
When I turned that off, I tried to turn on tonight's tilt against the Penguins, only to find it was on a different network. So I missed much of the first period, but was able to record the rest, so as to watch it after putting the kids to bed.
But, most importantly, I was able to see Chimmer's goal live. Ward made a nice defensive play at the blue line, poking the puck away from Malkin (who got away with two penalties in the game. One was a trip on Laich where he didn't attempt to play the puck, but just took out Laich's skate; and he was able to grab Carlson's stick out of his hands and throw it a ways away). That sent Halpern ahead with the puck, who pulled the defender then hit Chimmer coming up the center of the ice all alone.
From there, the game ended up being a lot of play between the blue lines (but with a lot more in Washington's end than the Penguins').
TVo was awesome, though, and kept the puck out of the net all the way, despite seeing thirty shots (four or five of which he had no business stopping).
The Caps were unable to mount any sustained pressure, with the exception of two shifts by the fourth line in the third period. OV and Semin did have some nice chances in that same period, mostly on the rush (the best chance wasn't on the rush, but the puck was still only in the zone for ten or fifteen seconds).
The two games, combined, have me thinking much more that this just isn't a very good team, though. Even in their wins, I was beginning to wonder if that was the case, and these games are starting to solidify the feeling. They can't really sustain any offensive pressure, they have a lot more trouble exiting their zone than the opposition does. Most of the offense is generated off the rush. I thought they were getting away from that when Hunter arrived, but I think it might be an even bigger percentage now than under Boudreau.
And I think this philosophy of playing defense just by pushing play to the outside isn't really helping. Not that they should allow chances in the middle (those are obviously more dangerous), but that they need to change what they're focusing on. I'm not sure what that should be; maybe focus more on takeaways? Maybe more on winning one-on-one battles in the corners?
Maybe I'm just getting too down after one bad, and a couple of so-so, games, but they aren't going to win a lot of games getting out-shot as badly as they regularly are. And as I mentioned, talking about the Flames game, the large number of blocked shots by skaters is making that look better than it is.
In tonight's game, the team took 27 shots, versus 51 for the Penguins (almost identical to the differential against the Kings). And that Penguins team is one that has just been rocked by injuries. The team regularly getting out-shot by teams playing so many AHL'ers is just disturbing to me.
And, speaking of AHL'ers, Schultz was scratched in favor of Tomas Kundratek. Kundratek, in his NHL debut, was played in relatively safe situations, and did fine in his eleven minutes. But I don't really understand why Schultz was scratched for him. Schultz might not be a great defenseman, but he isn't a bad one, either.
Anyway, the clean win moved the Caps into a points tie with Pittsburgh for the eighth spot in the conference (with the Caps holding several tie-breakers). They'll have another chance to move up (and a chance to reach positive goal differential) on Friday against Tampa.
And, hopefully, Backstrom and/or Green will return for that one (not sure what the odds are).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)