Comments on: Frustration, Hope as Caps Offense M.I.A Once Again

By: Bigbillhaywood

Bigbillhaywood — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 04:39:00 +0000

Please, Crosby has not had decent linemates once in his entire career; in terms of performance thus far this year his current linemates may be the best of his career. He elevated his goal scoring despite this the past two seasons. What’s more, the Pens have not had a particularly spectacular defense until this year, and last year to a certain extent. I think Ovie shares more responsibility for his slump than his teammates. His performance is uninspired and his comments betray a lack of motivation. He is the Captain and is not behaving as one. His attitude reminds me of that of Jagr shortly before his exit, except 8 does alot less whining than 68, to his credit. Not implying Ovie will leave at all, I believe he wants to be here, they both just seem(ed) (He and Jagr in the late 90s) unmotivated and a little depressed, frankly.

By: Ottawa Senator Pregame: Bring on teh Gays!

Ottawa Senator Pregame: Bring on teh Gays! — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 03:20:01 +0000

[...] victory over the Caps, despite our well-shared worries. Sure, it wasn’t a blow-out. Yeah, Erskine earned himself a pelt off one of the birds, in just payment for Beags (IMHO.) And yes, even hobbled offensively as we are [...]

By: Bobby Gee

Bobby Gee — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 18:05:00 +0000

That’s what bothers me most of all. Ovie thinks luck will snap him and team out of their rut. How about hard work? Is Ovie doing everything he can on and off the ice to get better? He’s projecting a cavalier non-chalant attitude, not taking responsibility for his and the team’s slide. IMO he still hasn’t embraced the gritty hard work ethic of his new coach. Maybe that will take more time. Bad habits are hard to break.

The Caps play Ottawa next. Last December the Caps defeated the Sens to end their 8-game losing streak. Right now that’s my only cause for hope, that a win Saturday will turn the tide and get Ovie and the Caps going in the right direction.

By: ORazor

ORazor — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 14:22:00 +0000

I think that the effort and the intensity was certainly there last night. If a couple of breaks had gone differently (Party-in-the-Backstrom’s ringer, etc) the game would have been different. I thought that the cycle was pretty good – it just didn’t yield as many CLEAN shots as I would have liked.

Overall, I’m most pleased with the mentality change that was very evident with the Caps. They played hard, and were in the game the entire time. Let’s just hope we can start getting more clean opportunities.

By: obviuoustrollisobvious

obviuoustrollisobvious — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 14:12:00 +0000

17 shots. Against a team with 2 rookie defensemen, 1 of whom was playing his first NHL game, and 3 of our top 6 d-men to start the season out in Michalek, Letang, and Lovejoy.

Certainly reeks of great effort.

Im sure you guys will be fine….unless…..nah, you guys will be fine.

By: sonja n a

sonja n a — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 13:57:00 +0000

One main difference between Crosby and Ovechkin is that Crosby’s whole team surrounds him and clears the way so that he can score. They make it possible for him to be as good as he is. Ovechkin’s team wants him to clear the path for them. They want him to make them better. The Penguins are a team that plays together. The Capitals are a team that plays for themselves. I think that’s the major problem that Dale Hunter is going to have to overcome … once he does that, everything else will fall into place. I think they are working on it along with everything else. But it’s going to take time. There are a lot of really bad habits that need to work their way out.

By: Brian

Brian — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 13:28:00 +0000

I find it curious that in the last comments from Ovi he is thinking that luck will soon be on their side. Sure it helps to have a little luck that gets you some bounces here and there. Sometimes that does help win a game or two. That is not, however, something that you should be hoping to find. Especially when you wear the C on your chest. He’s not frustrated and hoping to get some luck to help win games. That seems like the opposite message that you should be hearing from your leader. I would expect to hear that losing is frustrating whether it’s one game or more particularly a streak like this. Hard work and consistant play will get you wins. Amvivalence and wishing to luck will not.

By: Jim

Jim — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 12:45:00 +0000

Hitting is not fruitless. We saw an example of this the other night when an Ovi hit helped lead to a goal. Those are the kind of things that don’t necessarily show on the stat sheet but are important regardless. To be honest, while I’d like to see him score more, in the context of how the team is playing as a whole I think he is doing fine.

By: Avtopilot

Avtopilot — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 09:05:00 +0000

let’s divide apples and oranges.
There are hopeless losses, that make me angry and the losses, that are close and competitive and are not that frustrating.
The same with Ovi. When he is lazy, unfit and out of energy it is absolutely obvious.
This time it’s not the case. he made a couple of passes, that could be assists, he hit a lot and he actually moves his feet more showing better fitness. I hope to see Dale Hunter finds the right words for the guys and kicks their asses in the process.

By: Bobby Gee

Bobby Gee — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 08:25:00 +0000

The game didn’t live up to all the hype but I didn’t expect it to so in that respect I wasn’t disappointed. What I was disappointed in was how the Caps offense continues to be MIA, and Ovie is the most glaring example of that. Sure, he ran around the ice hitting people, a fruitless feelble attempt to do something useful, to do SOMETHING. But at the end of the day, he had only one shot on goal the entire game. ONE SHOT ON GOAL. Disappointing, frustrating, exasperating.

Ovie and Crosby will be forever linked, but now the comparison is totally unfair, as painful as it is for me to admit. The stats tell it all: Ovie has just 18 points in 24 games (0.75 PPG), whereas Crosby has 11 points in only 6 games (1.83 PPG). Ovie is having an awful season not just by his standards but also by the standards of his fans. The fall from greatness has been shocking. It’s painful to watch him play now, it’s like standing by helpless while a loved one slowly slips away into death.

Chris, the observation you make about how Ovie is not at all frustrated about what’s going on with the Caps is especially troubling. IMO he just doesn’t seem to care much at all about his or the team’s performance. And so I wonder what happened to the passion and enthusiasm that once were trademarks of his game. It almost seems like playing hockey is just a job for him now, he’d much rather be doing other things. If this is his mindset, what a shame. What a waste of talent.