NHL 2017 -Official Discussion Thread

[StCapps]

Well a 1-8 playoff series record against the Pens with Crosby can't be good for morale, especially when they are down 0-2 in the current series heading to Pittsburgh, that's for damn sure.

[Smitty-48]

The Caps are soft, they don't have the grit, the only thing that's in their head, is an unwillingness to pay the price, they want to float and do things the easy way, whereas Pittsburg, has become the grittiest team in the league, everybody willing to pay the price, from the top down.

[StCapps]

The Caps are soft, they don't have the grit, the only thing that's in their head, is an unwillingness to pay the price, they want to float and do things the easy way, whereas Pittsburg, has become the grittiest team in the league, everybody willing to pay the price, from the top down.

Well they have gritty players on the Caps, they just are not playing that way as a unit. Ovechkin is like the only player on the team consistently showing any grit right now. They can be gritty, they just REALLY prefer not to apparently, even when they are clearly getting out finessed, and it's their undoing against some of the better teams in the league. They definitely aren't as soft on paper, as they've been this playoffs, yet it's hard to imagine them being any softer if you tried.

[Smitty-48]

Ovechkin only likes to give, he doesn't like to take, he likes to run around and hit people, but he doesn't like to get hit, he likes to blast away with big shots, but he doesn't like to get in front of them, he's a floater, and so the whole team floats by his example.

[StCapps]

Ovechkin only likes to give, he doesn't like to take, he likes to run around and hit people, but he doesn't like to get hit, he likes to blast away with big shots, but he doesn't like to get in front of them, he's a floater, and so the whole team floats by his example.

OV hasn't been floating these playoffs, or this series. Blaming Ovechkin is retarded, just because he isn't carrying the whole team on his back Atlas style doesn't make it his fault. He can't play for everyone else on the team, just himself, and he's doing a damn fine job, the rest of the team is letting him down, not the other way around. They are floating on their own volition, so the rest of the team sucking has fuck all to do with Ovechkin not playing by example, at least this year.

[Smitty-48]

They follow his example, he is the leader of the team, but the thing about OV, is that he only likes to go on the attack, if he's not on the attack, he just floats around, whereas Crosby is out there, paying the price, throwing himself in front of pucks with abandon like a stay at home depth defenceman, on Washington, they pretty much rely on Karl Alzner to do all the shotblocking, the rest of them just float, whereas on Pitt, everybody throws themselves into the breach, if Sidney Corsby is willing to throw himself in front of it, then everybody is.

[StCapps]

They follow his example, he is the leader of the team, but the thing about OV, is that he only likes to go on the attack, if he's not on the attack, he just floats around, whereas Crosby is out there, paying the price, throwing himself in front of pucks with abandon like a stay at home depth defenceman, on Washington, they pretty much rely on Karl Alzner to do all the shotblocking, the rest of them just float, whereas on Pitt, everybody throws themselves into the breach, if Sidney Corsby is willing to throw himself in front of it, then everybody is.

Like I said, Ovechkin hasn't floated these playoffs, the team is not taking their ques from him this time around, just the opposite. Get another theory.

The only reason people are shitting on Ovechkin, is because Crosby is out playing him and they've come to dumbass conclusion that if you are the other teams best player and you don't as well as Crosby, then your team losing to Crosby and co. is somehow all your fault.

[Smitty-48]

Washington isn't blocking shots, they are letting the Pens blast away at Holtby, the Pens on the otherhand, are putting themselves between the shots and Fleury, not just one or two of them, all of them, if Pitt wins the Cup, it's not going to be by fancy play, it's going to be by the shotblock, the solution to missing Letang, is just hard helmets on; "everybody throw yourselves into the breach, you can nurse those wounds come the summer."

In classic Ovechkin style, Washington is looking for the fancy play, tic-tac-toe and pass it to OV, while Pittsburg has just been blocking the way to the net, same as they did to Columbus, Washington is just not willing to pay the price, Pittsburg is, that's the difference.

[StCapps]

Washington isn't blocking shots, they are letting the Pens blast away at Holtby, the Pens on the otherhand, are putting themselves between the shots and Fleury, not just one or two of them, all of them, if Pitt wins the Cup, it's not going to be by fancy play, it's going to be by the shotblock, the solution to missing Letang, is just hard helmets on, and everybody throw yourselves into the breach, you can nurse those wounds come the summer.

Right and Washington being unwilling to block shots, and letting other teams blast away against a cold Braden Holtby, is not Alexander Ovechkin's fault. Ovechkin is the player on the Capitals who is the least to blame for them playing poorly so far this series, blaming him is fucking asinine. The hockey media needs to shut their fucking mouths and actually watch a hockey game for once in their lives before they open their big mouths and blame Ovechkin for the Capitals sucking shit.

You want to blame someone, then blame Braden Holtby, blame their slow footed defense who are content to puck watch and blame dudes like Evgeny Kutznetsov who have done jack shit.
Blame Ovechkin? Are you on crack? Get real.

[Smitty-48]

Ovechkin is the leader of the team, he's the Captain, it all falls on him, saying that Ovechkin "is being let down by his team", is an indictment of Ovechkin's leadership, or rather lack there of, in of itself.