Love a good car chase,
Characters make it better,
Funny little ride
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Saturday, February 09, 2013
Ovie, We're Not In Kansas (Or the Playoffs) Anymore.
After struggling for days to organize my thoughts regarding the Washington Capitals dismal start, I realized that I didn't need to struggle; L. Frank Baum has done the work for me. Like Baum's iconic Oz characters, the Capitals organization is lost and lacks brains, heart and courage. For years the Caps have succeeded despite their flaws. This season, for whatever reason, the team's shortcomings have resulted in losses piling up at a clip unseen since Alex Ovechkin's rookie season. General Manager George McPhee may dismiss fans' opinions because we are not "in the game", but I do have eyeballs and it is plain to see that this team is in trouble. But enough about GMGM. I'll get back to him later; there is plenty of blame to go around.
In athletic circles, heart is a synonym for desire, for passion, for "want to". In hockey, playing with heart means beating your guy to the puck, holding your defensive position, winning the loose pucks, etc. because you want those things more than your opponent. The Caps are consistently out-hustled, seemingly playing at half-speed. Until they are down a goal with five minutes to play, these guys play with little urgency. What is so hard about playing your ass off for 45 seconds, sitting for two minutes and jumping over the boards to bust your ass again? Seriously, why do these guys look like they are skating in quicksand while their opponents dance around them?
Maybe they are indecisive, partially paralyzed by trying to play their fourth system since late 2010. Instinct has been replaced by, "Oh shit, where am I supposed to be now?" Hockey blog Japer's Rink makes a compelling case for why the team should have never moved away from its run and gun style. Whether a change should have been made or not is debatable. Whether the change was forced upon coach Bruce Boudreau by General Manager George McPhee (there's that guy again) is debatable. What is not debatable is that this team hasn't been right since then.
The second possibility is that these players simply don't care enough to play hard every shift. I'd like to think as a paying fan that this was impossible. I'm not quite so sure anymore. Former Flyer badass Bobby Clark once said of his Broad Street Bullies, "We took the shortest route to the puck and arrived in ill humor." Show me one Cap who plays that way every game. Certainly not the Alex "The 'C' on my sweater is for Circles" Ovechkin. Ovie seems bored and uninterested for long stretches of his shifts. He circles the zone or stands around waiting for a turnover or breakout and hoping somebody puts the puck on his stick as he darts out of the defensive zone. Does he not understand that by hustling, by forechecking aggresively, by squeezing every ounce from his once immense talent he would cause more turnovers thereby creating more chances? And, even though I think every player should be able to motivate themselves, should we be surprised that the rest of the team follows the lead of the underachieving captain? I'm no mind reader, but I think Adam Oates, who as a player was as prepared and professional as they come, is shocked that he has motivate these players on a nightly basis. In his media session yesterday he basically questioned his players' professionalism. If he finds the heart he might find success.
Riding shotgun with heart for an athlete is courage. (I think courage is an improperly used word when talking about sports, but I use it here for sake of the Wizard of Oz reference. True courage is exhibited by folks like firemen and soldiers, people battling devastating diseases and those who stand strong in the face of injustice, not a linebacker who comes back from injury earlier than expected.) Hockey courage is a toughness, a willingness to go to the nasty areas of the rink. Crashing the net, digging a puck out of the corner to start the cycle, tying up your man in front of the net-these are all hard things that require sacrifice. These are all hard things that are basic functions of successful hockey teams. These are all hard things that the Caps don't do often enough. The Caps don't score dirty goals because they don't get dirty.
Hockey courage is also about continuing to battle in the face of adversity. This season the Caps have folded whenever something bad happens. Once Pittsburgh scored their second goal on Thursday, I had zero faith the Caps could suck it up and get back in the game. Nevermind that they had dominated the Pens in the first period. Instead of fighting to tie the game at two, these clowns rolled over and were down 5-2 by the end of the period. Playing sixty minutes of great hockey seems beyond their reach. Good teams use crushing losses in games and playoff series to build resilience and fortitude to rely on in future battles. Bad teams panic at the first sign of trouble. Resilient these Caps are not.
Playing hard can cover many flaws, but heart and courage are of little use to an organization if it is populated by dopes. Right now, I think there is a serious lack of organizational "brains" inAmerica's Hockey Capital Washington. From a star player who appears unable or unwilling to evolve his game beyond moves that are now routinely defended to an owner who raises ticket prices after a lockout, the Caps are well-stocked with Scarecrows.
The biggest offender is the man charged with assembling this mess, the architect, General Manager George McPhee. GMGM's patented patience has left this team a shell of the team that dominated the Eastern Conference just two+ years ago. He, for too long, overrated the talent in the farm system, refusing to part with prospects that could have been dealt for missing pieces of a true contender. When he finally parted with a prospect, trading Cody Eakin for Mike Ribero, he acquired the second-line center the team desperately needed. Unfortunately, Alex Semin, the player who could have benefited most from playing alongside a playmaking center is no longer here. Had McPhee landed a Ribero three years ago I might be bitching about when the Caps will win their next Cup. Instead, I am left to play what-if. What if GMGM had brought in a quality option at 2C instead of trying to force a parade of ill-fitting wannabes? Brooks Laich? Good player, important cog, better suited on the wing or at 3C. Matt Perrault? Please. MoJo? Could possibly get there in time if allowed to develop at a more natural pace. Instead, he was rushed into the lineup expected to be the next Nick Backstrom. (Shoot, I'd love it if Nick Backstrom would be the next Nick Backstrom.) The point is, GMGM waited too long to make necessary tweaks that could have put this team over the top.
Centerman is not the only positon GMGM has buggered up. This man actually said in his presser yesterday that he likes his defense. Whaaaat? I think the Caps have three legitimate NHL defensemen on their roster. Unfortunately, most teams skate six d-men per night. Roman Hmrlik, Tom Poti and the rest of Should Be Watching From The Press Box Brigade are no match for a swarming, attacking offensive squad. For GMGM to say he likes the D is astounding. Either he is a worse evaluator of talent than I thought or he is a liar. I'm not sure which is worse. For eighteen minutes of pure comedy gold click on that previous link and watch McPhee's entire media session. This is the first time I have ever seen McPhee, usually a cool customer, with a confused, lost look on his face. It may be settling in that the arrogant way he and Teddy L. were going to do it "their way" (never hiring an experienced coach, no enforcer, Euro-heavy roster, two goalies under age 22) is not working. Their five year plan is already past due and over budget. This team may need another rebuild, but I don't want this guy over-seeing it.
With all that being said, I am a fan and I will keep watching. I've come back after every lockout. I suffered through the Jason Doig era. I have bought in to the raised (by the organization itself, by the way) expectations. I will watch and I will cheer, but I hope changes come if progress is not made. Patience is no longer the play. So, since the Caps encourage their fans to don the home color, tonight I will Rock the (ruby) Red (slippers). Hopefully three clicks of my heels will wake the Caps to their winning ways and turn this nightmare season around.
In athletic circles, heart is a synonym for desire, for passion, for "want to". In hockey, playing with heart means beating your guy to the puck, holding your defensive position, winning the loose pucks, etc. because you want those things more than your opponent. The Caps are consistently out-hustled, seemingly playing at half-speed. Until they are down a goal with five minutes to play, these guys play with little urgency. What is so hard about playing your ass off for 45 seconds, sitting for two minutes and jumping over the boards to bust your ass again? Seriously, why do these guys look like they are skating in quicksand while their opponents dance around them?
Maybe they are indecisive, partially paralyzed by trying to play their fourth system since late 2010. Instinct has been replaced by, "Oh shit, where am I supposed to be now?" Hockey blog Japer's Rink makes a compelling case for why the team should have never moved away from its run and gun style. Whether a change should have been made or not is debatable. Whether the change was forced upon coach Bruce Boudreau by General Manager George McPhee (there's that guy again) is debatable. What is not debatable is that this team hasn't been right since then.
The second possibility is that these players simply don't care enough to play hard every shift. I'd like to think as a paying fan that this was impossible. I'm not quite so sure anymore. Former Flyer badass Bobby Clark once said of his Broad Street Bullies, "We took the shortest route to the puck and arrived in ill humor." Show me one Cap who plays that way every game. Certainly not the Alex "The 'C' on my sweater is for Circles" Ovechkin. Ovie seems bored and uninterested for long stretches of his shifts. He circles the zone or stands around waiting for a turnover or breakout and hoping somebody puts the puck on his stick as he darts out of the defensive zone. Does he not understand that by hustling, by forechecking aggresively, by squeezing every ounce from his once immense talent he would cause more turnovers thereby creating more chances? And, even though I think every player should be able to motivate themselves, should we be surprised that the rest of the team follows the lead of the underachieving captain? I'm no mind reader, but I think Adam Oates, who as a player was as prepared and professional as they come, is shocked that he has motivate these players on a nightly basis. In his media session yesterday he basically questioned his players' professionalism. If he finds the heart he might find success.
Riding shotgun with heart for an athlete is courage. (I think courage is an improperly used word when talking about sports, but I use it here for sake of the Wizard of Oz reference. True courage is exhibited by folks like firemen and soldiers, people battling devastating diseases and those who stand strong in the face of injustice, not a linebacker who comes back from injury earlier than expected.) Hockey courage is a toughness, a willingness to go to the nasty areas of the rink. Crashing the net, digging a puck out of the corner to start the cycle, tying up your man in front of the net-these are all hard things that require sacrifice. These are all hard things that are basic functions of successful hockey teams. These are all hard things that the Caps don't do often enough. The Caps don't score dirty goals because they don't get dirty.
Hockey courage is also about continuing to battle in the face of adversity. This season the Caps have folded whenever something bad happens. Once Pittsburgh scored their second goal on Thursday, I had zero faith the Caps could suck it up and get back in the game. Nevermind that they had dominated the Pens in the first period. Instead of fighting to tie the game at two, these clowns rolled over and were down 5-2 by the end of the period. Playing sixty minutes of great hockey seems beyond their reach. Good teams use crushing losses in games and playoff series to build resilience and fortitude to rely on in future battles. Bad teams panic at the first sign of trouble. Resilient these Caps are not.
Playing hard can cover many flaws, but heart and courage are of little use to an organization if it is populated by dopes. Right now, I think there is a serious lack of organizational "brains" in
The biggest offender is the man charged with assembling this mess, the architect, General Manager George McPhee. GMGM's patented patience has left this team a shell of the team that dominated the Eastern Conference just two+ years ago. He, for too long, overrated the talent in the farm system, refusing to part with prospects that could have been dealt for missing pieces of a true contender. When he finally parted with a prospect, trading Cody Eakin for Mike Ribero, he acquired the second-line center the team desperately needed. Unfortunately, Alex Semin, the player who could have benefited most from playing alongside a playmaking center is no longer here. Had McPhee landed a Ribero three years ago I might be bitching about when the Caps will win their next Cup. Instead, I am left to play what-if. What if GMGM had brought in a quality option at 2C instead of trying to force a parade of ill-fitting wannabes? Brooks Laich? Good player, important cog, better suited on the wing or at 3C. Matt Perrault? Please. MoJo? Could possibly get there in time if allowed to develop at a more natural pace. Instead, he was rushed into the lineup expected to be the next Nick Backstrom. (Shoot, I'd love it if Nick Backstrom would be the next Nick Backstrom.) The point is, GMGM waited too long to make necessary tweaks that could have put this team over the top.
Centerman is not the only positon GMGM has buggered up. This man actually said in his presser yesterday that he likes his defense. Whaaaat? I think the Caps have three legitimate NHL defensemen on their roster. Unfortunately, most teams skate six d-men per night. Roman Hmrlik, Tom Poti and the rest of Should Be Watching From The Press Box Brigade are no match for a swarming, attacking offensive squad. For GMGM to say he likes the D is astounding. Either he is a worse evaluator of talent than I thought or he is a liar. I'm not sure which is worse. For eighteen minutes of pure comedy gold click on that previous link and watch McPhee's entire media session. This is the first time I have ever seen McPhee, usually a cool customer, with a confused, lost look on his face. It may be settling in that the arrogant way he and Teddy L. were going to do it "their way" (never hiring an experienced coach, no enforcer, Euro-heavy roster, two goalies under age 22) is not working. Their five year plan is already past due and over budget. This team may need another rebuild, but I don't want this guy over-seeing it.
With all that being said, I am a fan and I will keep watching. I've come back after every lockout. I suffered through the Jason Doig era. I have bought in to the raised (by the organization itself, by the way) expectations. I will watch and I will cheer, but I hope changes come if progress is not made. Patience is no longer the play. So, since the Caps encourage their fans to don the home color, tonight I will Rock the (ruby) Red (slippers). Hopefully three clicks of my heels will wake the Caps to their winning ways and turn this nightmare season around.
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