Comments on: Can Star Players Turn It On In The Playoffs?

By: The Machinist: January 7, 2011

The Machinist: January 7, 2011 — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 16:17:54 +0000

[...] Can Star Players Turn It On In The Playoffs? The numbers are kind of a bummer here. Almost everyone is a disappointment in the post-season. [...]

By: Tim

Tim — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 05:07:53 +0000

What people are saying about the wrist has been noted and discussed for a while on some Caps sites. Shea Weber got a very hard slash on Ovie’s left wrist in that game, and Ovie has shown discomfort constantly since. Fairly often, he can be seen shaking or massaging his left wrist.

I would dispute that Ovie got off to a decent start. He did have a 3-game goal streak at the beginning of the season, but immediately went into a 5-game goalless streak. He has also had goalless streaks of 8 and 9 games since. For the entire season, his shot has been off – especially his wrister. The Caps should give him off for the next 2 games (both against Florida) and re-evaluate him before the Tampa game.

By: BobbyG

BobbyG — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 01:56:50 +0000

IMO Ovie should have rested soon after he was injured. He isn’t the same player w/o his devastating wrist shot. The Caps have shown they can win w/o him in the lineup for a while. I’d prefer he take care of himself now and not let this injury get any worse.

Now that the cat’s out of the bag about his injury, how long will it take for opposing teams to go after him, slashing if necessary and risking penalties, because the Caps power play isn’t working. The Caps have to get the PP going to discourage this type of play, and Ovie needs to take time to rest and heal so he’ll be more effective for the Caps playoff run.

By: Colin

Colin — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 01:15:28 +0000

@DarkStranger44 – Good memory. I’d say he’s probably got a sprained left wrist. It would account for his wrist shot not being what it usually is. I hope they can think about giving him a week or so of rest. The team is good without him and almost unbeatable if he is back to his old self.

By: DarkStranger44

DarkStranger44 — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 23:50:18 +0000

@Colin

For a long time there was the theory that Ovi was injured during the Nashville game back in October, as in a slash to the wrist. But nothing was ever announced. Now the belief is that his injury is, indeed to the hand/wrist area. And he’s obviously played with that injury since then and, no coincidence, he hasn’t done well since then.

Get well soon, Ovi.

By: DarkStranger44

DarkStranger44 — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 23:19:45 +0000

@Colin,

I’m not surprised to hear that something’s wrong with Ovi, given that he needed a cortisone shot. Guys don’t just suddenly lose productivity for no reason. He had gotten off to a decent start this year so the “dialing back” theory may not be applicable. But then he hasn’t done much since early November.

By: BobbyG

BobbyG — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 23:19:32 +0000

Oops, sorry for repeating and neglecting to acknowledge what Colin already said about Ovie’s injury and cortisone shot.

By: BobbyG

BobbyG — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 23:16:24 +0000

Short and sweet: no, I don’t think athletes, even star athletes, can just flip a switch and “turn it on” during the playoffs. They might find another gear, but preparation and pacing has to start in the regular season. So I’m not buying into the theory that Ovie is “saving himself” for the postseason.

Injury to his left hand/wrist now seems to be the most likely culprit for the dramatic drop-off in his scoring goals. Corey Masisak at NHL.com reported today that Ovie received a cortisone shot shortly after the Caps loss to the Bolts Tuesday night, and he wore a non-contact jersey at practice this morning. Check out http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=548607 plus Katie Carrera’s report in WaPo http://voices.washingtonpost.com/capitalsinsider/alex-ovechkin/alex-ovechkin-needed-cortisone.html. The Alex Ovetjkin blog also has more details about this story.

By: Colin

Colin — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 18:18:03 +0000

Maybe the Russian Machine just needs a 10 day “Tune Up”

By: Russian Machine Never Breaks

Russian Machine Never Breaks — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 18:16:06 +0000

@Colin

Russian machine NEVER breaks. It says so on the masthead.

-Neil