On November 4th, I posted an article regarding Crosby fighting Matt Niskanen. In the article, I stated that star players fighting is great for the team.
I was right.
19-4-1 in the following 25 games, which included a 12 game winning streak, during which Crosby scored at least one point. Two hat tricks, 4 other two goal games. 16 multi-point games. 26 goals, 24 assists.
Ovechkin followed up not too long afterward, and the team responded nicely as well, to the tune of 6-1-3 in the following ten games. Which represented 75% of the possible 20 points earned during that span - if the team had maintained that pace all season, they would have finished with 138 points, or 6 ahead of the 77-78 Canadiens for most all time.
Just sayin'...
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Another year, another choke
Disclaimer: I waited at least 48 hours to write this, to, well, let the emotions settle. I figure a clear head is less biased than a rage filled one. Although, mostly my rage was directed at the chain of command for the Capitals than against Tampa Bay, I was still full of rage nonetheless.
Welcome to "America's hockey capital". Washington DC. A town full of yuppies Rockin' the Red who can't tell Bondra from Kolzig.
But they fill the seats. That's all that matters. And they're going to next year, and the year after. Because hockey's "cool" in DC.
Not that the fanbase isn't good, it's just not great. How many sports bars in DC were packed with rabid fans watching the Flyers get embarrassed? I bet there were quite a few in Chicago, or New York, or Minneapolis - I could be wrong though; they may have watched the Wings game. But the point remains. The guys in DC who fill the Verizon Center and complain when your favorite blogger stands and cheers for a big hit or a great penalty kill ("because we haven't scored yet!!!!") just don't know hockey. So they don't see the problems with the team in the same light that us diehards do. Not to say that these fairweather fans don't have their place - they do and it's great that the sport we love is finally getting the attention it deserves, even if it's a watered down version [an upcoming blog post] - but they just haven't seen the sport enough to really say what's wrong with the team. Just as I couldn't tell you how to fix the Wizards, a DC native who had never heard of Jeff Halpern couldn't tell you how to fix the Capitals.
Not that I necessarily know how to fix the Capitals; I just think I'm more qualified to opine than most.
The problem comes from the top. No, not Leonsis, he's done a fine job of cultivating the team in accordance with his business model. Not necessarily McPhee either; he has drafted better in recent years and has made adequate adjustments to the roster when necessary. Boudreau is the head of the problem. While a GM constructs the roster, it is the responsibility of the coach to make it work. The head coach has more direct responsibility in the results on the ice than the GM does. And when the results are not up to par, which they clearly are not, then a change is in order.
Boudreau somewhat successfully instilled a new plan - a defensive strategy - which effectively took the second best player in the world and made him average. But this plan was met with one major obstacle. The playoffs. Pressure. When things broke down, the new plan was the first thing to go.
Why?
I'm not saying the players don't respect the coach, which I'm sure they do, but maybe they don't trust him. Or maybe they just didn't really buy in. Whatever the reason, the result is the same. The head coach was unable to motivate his players to take their game to the next level. Boudreau had the right idea of what the next level was, but he was unable to guide the team to that level.
As Leonsis said previously, coaches get fired because they lost their team. Well, was the team not lost by Boudreau when it mattered most? Did they stick to their plan against Tampa? Did the guys really ever buy in to begin with?
They started winning games again, after the embarrassing losing streak, but is that a sign of superior coaching? Or is it merely due to the fact that they were supposed to win to begin with? The roster, considering their previous successes in the regular season should have won 48 games. Hell, they should have won 54 games. They're certainly good enough, and their division is certainly poor enough to dominate. This is after all, the only division to have never sent three teams to the playoffs in the same year. Each of the other five divisions have done so prior to and after the lockout.
I just don't buy that they really bought in. Regular season success in the worst division in hockey isn't really success. It's to be expected.
Further, Boudreau seems to just not 'get it'. He watched idly as Mike Green got clobbered by a rookie shortly after returning from a concussion. After watching him get run from behind by David Koci. And after watching him get crosschecked in the mouth by Colton Orr.
But we shouldn't retaliate. We need the power plays! Without a power play quarterback, that is.
When your rookie goaltender is harassed all series long by veterans in New York, and your "best" defenseman is bullied for years, and guys can take runs at your megastar and walk away grinning, and so on, maybe it's time to change the culture of the team. Maybe the guy in charge has created a team that can really punish on the power play, but is otherwise easy to play against.
Yes, these Capitals can dazzle you with their speed and their triple axels, but they can also be knocked over by the showerhead and be given wedgies while bullies take their lunch money.
These Caps scare no one, and as a result, their players will continue to suffer preventable injuries, shortening their careers. How many hits does Mike Green have left in him before he has to sign his retirement papers with a crayon?
They play with no heart, no edge, no size. And it's the culture of the team. With Boudreau at the reins, the end is not in sight.
But I will give credit where credit is due.
Boudreau came up with a good idea. Playing defense. What an innovator! Waiting for the puck to clear the defensize zone before the mass exodus to try to create an odd-man rush. What a revolutionary!
I could go on, but you should get the point. His ideas are not new. He will still overlook the glaring problems, and be unable to fix it because he just isn't that guy. And there's nothing wrong with that. He's a good coach, but not a great one. And we need a great coach to take us to the next level.
We need Dale Hunter.
Or if he wants to stay in juniors, then we need Mike Keenan. Or Pat Quinn. Or John Tortorella, since I'm sure his days are numbered. Or someone, anyone else. A guy to come in and bring a physical game. Someone who can come in and make these big bodies actually utilize their size. Someone who understands that hockey isn't won from the point. Someone who understands that hockey is won on the boards, and in front of the net.
As a wise man once said, we need pugnacity, testosterone, truculence, and belligerence.
Pretty just ain't cutting it.
Welcome to "America's hockey capital". Washington DC. A town full of yuppies Rockin' the Red who can't tell Bondra from Kolzig.
But they fill the seats. That's all that matters. And they're going to next year, and the year after. Because hockey's "cool" in DC.
Not that the fanbase isn't good, it's just not great. How many sports bars in DC were packed with rabid fans watching the Flyers get embarrassed? I bet there were quite a few in Chicago, or New York, or Minneapolis - I could be wrong though; they may have watched the Wings game. But the point remains. The guys in DC who fill the Verizon Center and complain when your favorite blogger stands and cheers for a big hit or a great penalty kill ("because we haven't scored yet!!!!") just don't know hockey. So they don't see the problems with the team in the same light that us diehards do. Not to say that these fairweather fans don't have their place - they do and it's great that the sport we love is finally getting the attention it deserves, even if it's a watered down version [an upcoming blog post] - but they just haven't seen the sport enough to really say what's wrong with the team. Just as I couldn't tell you how to fix the Wizards, a DC native who had never heard of Jeff Halpern couldn't tell you how to fix the Capitals.
Not that I necessarily know how to fix the Capitals; I just think I'm more qualified to opine than most.
The problem comes from the top. No, not Leonsis, he's done a fine job of cultivating the team in accordance with his business model. Not necessarily McPhee either; he has drafted better in recent years and has made adequate adjustments to the roster when necessary. Boudreau is the head of the problem. While a GM constructs the roster, it is the responsibility of the coach to make it work. The head coach has more direct responsibility in the results on the ice than the GM does. And when the results are not up to par, which they clearly are not, then a change is in order.
Boudreau somewhat successfully instilled a new plan - a defensive strategy - which effectively took the second best player in the world and made him average. But this plan was met with one major obstacle. The playoffs. Pressure. When things broke down, the new plan was the first thing to go.
Why?
I'm not saying the players don't respect the coach, which I'm sure they do, but maybe they don't trust him. Or maybe they just didn't really buy in. Whatever the reason, the result is the same. The head coach was unable to motivate his players to take their game to the next level. Boudreau had the right idea of what the next level was, but he was unable to guide the team to that level.
As Leonsis said previously, coaches get fired because they lost their team. Well, was the team not lost by Boudreau when it mattered most? Did they stick to their plan against Tampa? Did the guys really ever buy in to begin with?
They started winning games again, after the embarrassing losing streak, but is that a sign of superior coaching? Or is it merely due to the fact that they were supposed to win to begin with? The roster, considering their previous successes in the regular season should have won 48 games. Hell, they should have won 54 games. They're certainly good enough, and their division is certainly poor enough to dominate. This is after all, the only division to have never sent three teams to the playoffs in the same year. Each of the other five divisions have done so prior to and after the lockout.
I just don't buy that they really bought in. Regular season success in the worst division in hockey isn't really success. It's to be expected.
Further, Boudreau seems to just not 'get it'. He watched idly as Mike Green got clobbered by a rookie shortly after returning from a concussion. After watching him get run from behind by David Koci. And after watching him get crosschecked in the mouth by Colton Orr.
But we shouldn't retaliate. We need the power plays! Without a power play quarterback, that is.
When your rookie goaltender is harassed all series long by veterans in New York, and your "best" defenseman is bullied for years, and guys can take runs at your megastar and walk away grinning, and so on, maybe it's time to change the culture of the team. Maybe the guy in charge has created a team that can really punish on the power play, but is otherwise easy to play against.
Yes, these Capitals can dazzle you with their speed and their triple axels, but they can also be knocked over by the showerhead and be given wedgies while bullies take their lunch money.
These Caps scare no one, and as a result, their players will continue to suffer preventable injuries, shortening their careers. How many hits does Mike Green have left in him before he has to sign his retirement papers with a crayon?
They play with no heart, no edge, no size. And it's the culture of the team. With Boudreau at the reins, the end is not in sight.
But I will give credit where credit is due.
Boudreau came up with a good idea. Playing defense. What an innovator! Waiting for the puck to clear the defensize zone before the mass exodus to try to create an odd-man rush. What a revolutionary!
I could go on, but you should get the point. His ideas are not new. He will still overlook the glaring problems, and be unable to fix it because he just isn't that guy. And there's nothing wrong with that. He's a good coach, but not a great one. And we need a great coach to take us to the next level.
We need Dale Hunter.
Or if he wants to stay in juniors, then we need Mike Keenan. Or Pat Quinn. Or John Tortorella, since I'm sure his days are numbered. Or someone, anyone else. A guy to come in and bring a physical game. Someone who can come in and make these big bodies actually utilize their size. Someone who understands that hockey isn't won from the point. Someone who understands that hockey is won on the boards, and in front of the net.
As a wise man once said, we need pugnacity, testosterone, truculence, and belligerence.
Pretty just ain't cutting it.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
NHL/ESPN Commercials
For what it's worth, I love good commercials. I'll let the videos do the talking:
This is SportsCenter - Alexander Ovechkin The Spy (HD Link)
This is SportsCenter - Climate Change
This Is SportsCenter - New Jersey Devil Elevator
Let us know which you think is the funniest, or post links to your favorites in the comments section.
This is SportsCenter - Alexander Ovechkin The Spy (HD Link)
This is SportsCenter - Climate Change
This Is SportsCenter - New Jersey Devil Elevator
Let us know which you think is the funniest, or post links to your favorites in the comments section.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
NHL All-Star Game, Sort Of
So that is who's responsible for this shit.Seriously, what the fucking hell just happened? The NHL just released their personally-selected all-star roster today. Yes, I realize I linked to ESPN in a hockey article, fashion faux pas. At any rate, you would think the team leading the conference by two points, with two games in hand, would have a bunch of players chosen, especially with fans out of the equation right (remember the Montreal-hosted game)? WRONG. The Napoleonic troll that runs the NHL has managed to screw up yet another thing, with THIRTY SIX CHOICES. The only Philadelphia Flyer to make the game was Claude Giroux (his first).
Other egregious errors:
- Two Atlanta Thrashers made the roster (Team 7th East), though big buff is doing a hell of a job with 41 pts and +7 in 45gp.
- Two Chicago Blackhawks (Team 8th West), specifically Patrick Kane. 35gp, 13g, 18a, -7 and 49th in points overall.
- Marc Staal and 43gp 6g 11a +9 49th in points for defenceman, NOT overall players.
- Mike Green as a defenseman. Trying to imagine him as an all-star caliber defenseman is laughable at the very least, but here are the stats anyway: 35gp 8g 12a +8
The silver lining here is the rest the team will receive. As much of a sham as I find the all-star game, it is a nice line for the players' resume. Several Flyers are getting fucked by the NHL.
On a final note, the guardian project is stupid, and hockey stars aren't heroes (the promo for the all-star game commercial, didn't find a link). Period.
Friday, December 17, 2010
A Facebook conversation about hockey fights
KLM:
I have come to a few conclusions watching Penguins Capitals 24/7: 1. NHL encourages fighting (not that I mind, just saying) 2. Crosby looks like a child molester/rapist with a mustache 3. The Penguins have a better coach 4. I hate watching replays of the Caps losing especially when they are highlighting the Penguins 12 game win streak.
Me:
NHL doesn't encourage fighting dude. Look at a game from even 10 years ago and then watch this figure skating we have now.
DM:
The Caps, with that criminal Ovechikin, cannot lose enough games to suit me. If I want to watch a fight, there's the UFC. A hockey game grinds to a halt when there is a fight. It's usually 2 idiots that don't have any business playing the game in the first place, let alone getting paid for it. Rangers 7 - Caps 0. Perfect!
Me:
How long have you watched hockey? When your rangers won the cup you had kocur, kypreos, beukeboom, graves, tikkanen, messier, and jay wells, and mike Keenan was your head coach.
Since I'm sure you don't know who any of them are, they're all tough guys who played mens hockey, not this fairy nonsense you see today. They all fought and played hockey the way it was meant to be played.
DM:
Tough, not dirty.
Me:
Fighting isn't dirty, it's part of the game and has been for over a hundred years. Bobby Orr, Gordie Howe, Rocket Richard, all those superstars who transcended the sport also took care of business with their fists. Richard was suspended for punching a linesman in the face during a game!
Since you probably aren't aware of who Joey Kocur was, he was one of the top 10 fighters of all time on anyone's lists. One half of the Bruise Brothers, with Probert being the other. etc.
DM:
Still stupid. Fighting absolute stops the flow of the game. Don't care who it is or when it's done. Go to a game and see how everything grinds to a halt.
Me:
I've been going to games for a very long time, and been watching them since I was a kid. It is a part of the game, as I said, and it actually has been proven to increase the intensity of the game in the following minutes. Some Harvard grad students collected research that stated that in the following five minutes after a fight, there are more goals scored, more shots taken, more bodychecks, fewer stoppages in play, and subjectively more intensity and speed.
DM:
I went to 2 games last weekend. One had fight that was just a waste of time. The other was the Rangers v Blue Jackets. No fights. Just 60 minutes of intense hockey. A fantastic game!
And why would I care what somebody @ Harvard thinks?
DM:
Oh yeah. Todd Bertuzzi. That fight ended Steve Moore's career. That criminal should have gone to prison. Fighting should have ended right there.
Me:
Which game had the useless fight?
You can take those non-conference non-rivalry games all day. I don't want 'em. They're boring, and the teams have no business playing each other to begin with. By the way, if the Blue Jackets played exc...iting hockey, they wouldn't be 27th in the league in attendance, filling only 70.5% of their home arena on average, per game.
DM:
Huh? It was a great game! Exciting from start to finish! Only lousy teams and players need a fight to stimulate their game.
DM:
I notice how you didn't comment on Bertuzzi. Goons. Punks. Criminals. Never are they called good hockey players.
KLM:
Last time I make a hockey comment.
Me:
What does Moore/Bertuzzi have to do with fighting? It wasn't a fight! It was a cheap shot from behind, and both players had their gloves on! Get your facts right. If Moore HAD fought Bertuzzi, he would still be playing today. Well, he wouldn't cause he sucked as a player, but he wouldn't have gotten cheap shotted.
Me:
And Bertuzzi was never called a good hockey player? Are you joking?! You obviously started watching hockey very recently. That year, Bertuzzi finished 34th in the league in points, despite being suspended on March 8th. Had he continued ...at his point/game pace without suspension, he would have been 19th in points. The year before, he scored the 5th most points in the league! The year before that, 3rd!
You obviously don't know what you're talking about, so I'll leave you alone.
Me:
Moore was a 4th line grinder, another faceless number in a league that, at the time, had a hundred players just like him.
DM:
Guess you never watched Colorado. Bertuzzi was/is a criminal. You should stick with the UFC.
Me:
What did he do that was criminal? Hit a guy that he was grabbing at the time, while playing a sport that allows physical contact?
I have come to a few conclusions watching Penguins Capitals 24/7: 1. NHL encourages fighting (not that I mind, just saying) 2. Crosby looks like a child molester/rapist with a mustache 3. The Penguins have a better coach 4. I hate watching replays of the Caps losing especially when they are highlighting the Penguins 12 game win streak.
Me:
NHL doesn't encourage fighting dude. Look at a game from even 10 years ago and then watch this figure skating we have now.
DM:
The Caps, with that criminal Ovechikin, cannot lose enough games to suit me. If I want to watch a fight, there's the UFC. A hockey game grinds to a halt when there is a fight. It's usually 2 idiots that don't have any business playing the game in the first place, let alone getting paid for it. Rangers 7 - Caps 0. Perfect!
Me:
How long have you watched hockey? When your rangers won the cup you had kocur, kypreos, beukeboom, graves, tikkanen, messier, and jay wells, and mike Keenan was your head coach.
Since I'm sure you don't know who any of them are, they're all tough guys who played mens hockey, not this fairy nonsense you see today. They all fought and played hockey the way it was meant to be played.
DM:
Tough, not dirty.
Me:
Fighting isn't dirty, it's part of the game and has been for over a hundred years. Bobby Orr, Gordie Howe, Rocket Richard, all those superstars who transcended the sport also took care of business with their fists. Richard was suspended for punching a linesman in the face during a game!
Since you probably aren't aware of who Joey Kocur was, he was one of the top 10 fighters of all time on anyone's lists. One half of the Bruise Brothers, with Probert being the other. etc.
DM:
Still stupid. Fighting absolute stops the flow of the game. Don't care who it is or when it's done. Go to a game and see how everything grinds to a halt.
Me:
I've been going to games for a very long time, and been watching them since I was a kid. It is a part of the game, as I said, and it actually has been proven to increase the intensity of the game in the following minutes. Some Harvard grad students collected research that stated that in the following five minutes after a fight, there are more goals scored, more shots taken, more bodychecks, fewer stoppages in play, and subjectively more intensity and speed.
DM:
I went to 2 games last weekend. One had fight that was just a waste of time. The other was the Rangers v Blue Jackets. No fights. Just 60 minutes of intense hockey. A fantastic game!
And why would I care what somebody @ Harvard thinks?
DM:
Oh yeah. Todd Bertuzzi. That fight ended Steve Moore's career. That criminal should have gone to prison. Fighting should have ended right there.
Me:
Which game had the useless fight?
You can take those non-conference non-rivalry games all day. I don't want 'em. They're boring, and the teams have no business playing each other to begin with. By the way, if the Blue Jackets played exc...iting hockey, they wouldn't be 27th in the league in attendance, filling only 70.5% of their home arena on average, per game.
DM:
Huh? It was a great game! Exciting from start to finish! Only lousy teams and players need a fight to stimulate their game.
DM:
I notice how you didn't comment on Bertuzzi. Goons. Punks. Criminals. Never are they called good hockey players.
KLM:
Last time I make a hockey comment.
Me:
What does Moore/Bertuzzi have to do with fighting? It wasn't a fight! It was a cheap shot from behind, and both players had their gloves on! Get your facts right. If Moore HAD fought Bertuzzi, he would still be playing today. Well, he wouldn't cause he sucked as a player, but he wouldn't have gotten cheap shotted.
Me:
And Bertuzzi was never called a good hockey player? Are you joking?! You obviously started watching hockey very recently. That year, Bertuzzi finished 34th in the league in points, despite being suspended on March 8th. Had he continued ...at his point/game pace without suspension, he would have been 19th in points. The year before, he scored the 5th most points in the league! The year before that, 3rd!
You obviously don't know what you're talking about, so I'll leave you alone.
Me:
Moore was a 4th line grinder, another faceless number in a league that, at the time, had a hundred players just like him.
DM:
Guess you never watched Colorado. Bertuzzi was/is a criminal. You should stick with the UFC.
Me:
What did he do that was criminal? Hit a guy that he was grabbing at the time, while playing a sport that allows physical contact?
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