OpIv37
12-10-2009, 12:23 PM
-Gerbe got pushed around a little, but for the most part, he looked damn good. He got a goal and created a bunch of scoring chances. He's also lightning fast in open ice.
-Tallinder is back. Before 08-09, I thought he was the best defender on the team. Last year, he was brutal. This year, he's playing extremely well on D AND contributing to the offense as well. I don't know if it's the confidence of playing with Myers, or practice, or what, but he is a renewed player.
-the Caps announcers were constantly complimenting the Capitals' back-checking, but what I heard was "The Sabres are making one too many passes." There were at least 4-5 good rushes that stalled when the Sabres tried to pass instead of shooting. I don't want to complain too much about a shutout win, but 2 of the goals came from the defense and one came from Gerbe, who just got called up. Vanek, Roy, Pominville and Stafford need to be more productive.
-Going into the game, Clarke McArthur was tied for the team lead with 8 goals, but he was also a -9. Are you kidding me? How can Mac be outscoring Roy, Pominville, Vanek and Stafford? And how can the leading scorer on a team with such solid D and goaltending also be a -9?
-The officiating was terrible, although neither team really benefited from it. Each team had a good scramble in front of the net whistled dead when the puck was still loose. I saw two bad offsides calls go against the Sabres and one go against the Caps. And they blew at least one icing call that went against the Sabres. The diving call on Ovechkin was weak as well. Sometimes I wonder if the refs just call a random diving penalty every few games so the players know they're still going to call it in the event of a real dive.
-Tallinder is back. Before 08-09, I thought he was the best defender on the team. Last year, he was brutal. This year, he's playing extremely well on D AND contributing to the offense as well. I don't know if it's the confidence of playing with Myers, or practice, or what, but he is a renewed player.
-the Caps announcers were constantly complimenting the Capitals' back-checking, but what I heard was "The Sabres are making one too many passes." There were at least 4-5 good rushes that stalled when the Sabres tried to pass instead of shooting. I don't want to complain too much about a shutout win, but 2 of the goals came from the defense and one came from Gerbe, who just got called up. Vanek, Roy, Pominville and Stafford need to be more productive.
-Going into the game, Clarke McArthur was tied for the team lead with 8 goals, but he was also a -9. Are you kidding me? How can Mac be outscoring Roy, Pominville, Vanek and Stafford? And how can the leading scorer on a team with such solid D and goaltending also be a -9?
-The officiating was terrible, although neither team really benefited from it. Each team had a good scramble in front of the net whistled dead when the puck was still loose. I saw two bad offsides calls go against the Sabres and one go against the Caps. And they blew at least one icing call that went against the Sabres. The diving call on Ovechkin was weak as well. Sometimes I wonder if the refs just call a random diving penalty every few games so the players know they're still going to call it in the event of a real dive.