Biron's shot rebounded off Brodeur's pad. Ove was right there to scoop it into the net. Killed two penalties and were able to score on their PP. Let's hope they keep up the momentum.
Our PP is so much better since Biron is back in the lineup. Before the goal, Kolbe (who's back too) said that Biron has played about three times more time on the PP than at even strength, since his return.
This message has been edited by marc_mehdi on Dec 28, 2005 7:59 PM This message has been edited by marc_mehdi on Dec 28, 2005 7:58 PM
Pregame interview with Biron, he said he thinks he got in because Jay Leech noticed he was hitting two corners of the net with some steam behind it, and told "Glenny"....
Devils tie it, and Johnson takes 2:00 by throwing the puck into the stands.
This message has been edited by reallycrowesnest on Dec 28, 2005 8:02 PM
Brylin ties it up and Johnson gets the penalty for throwing the puck over the glass. Maybe it was an accident, maybe not. However, that guy has no discipline. He's taken several penalties already this season. If he were a decent goaltender, it wouldn't be a bad thing. However, when you use the swiss-cheese style of goaltending, you just end up screwing yourself and your team. The Devs take the lead on their PP. It's going to be a long night for the Caps with Johnsuck in there. I'll be back some time later in the game. After last night, I can't stand watching this. It just pisses me off.
Definitely not a good night for the Caps. Both Gionta goals pretty much summarized the game; at times they looked completely listless and were then left embarrased as a result.
Re: the Madden goal, it looked like Morrisonn and Majesky were hugging the boards on their respective sides at the blue line. Bad line change notwithstanding, when is that ever considered proper positioning?
Oh my, I'm glad I missed the end of that one. It will be a good reminder to the players: they must work hard in EVERY game, they have no other choice. Where is the team about wich Kasparaitis said on December 3, "I'm surprised they don't have a better record; they play hard and work hard"?
Just watched the highlights... You're right, Michael. Lazy defense by the Caps on Gionta's goals (Eminger, then Eminger again, but also Pettinger, who could have helped him instead of only pointing his stick at the hole on Olie's left side) and Pandolfo's goal (Muir). You're also right about Morrisonn's and Majesky's positioning when Rafalski made his limpid pass to Madden.
Definitely not Kolzig's fault.
Positive points: another goal by Ovechkin, another (beautiful) goal by Sutherby, another point for Biron on the PP, and Majesky's first point as a Cap.
This message has been edited by marc_mehdi on Dec 29, 2005 4:51 AM This message has been edited by marc_mehdi on Dec 29, 2005 4:44 AM
Yes, Roger. I forgot to check the jersey numbers for that goal. It looks like Hanlon started to use Biron as a defenseman around the end of the first period. Weird.
There's one thing that team France of soccer learnt in 1996: it's that you must not move a player from midfield to defense during a game unless you're forced to (by an injury, for example, or an ejection), because the player needs ten minutes or more to adjust (we gave up a late tying goal in an important game because of that). I don't know if it also applies to hockey, but it's something that should be avoided, in my opinion.
This message has been edited by marc_mehdi on Dec 30, 2005 6:09 AM
On Madden's goal: Morrisonn is well positioned, because he's there to prevent a Devil (Langenbrunner) from attacking along the boards (Rafalski had two options: Langenbrunner and Madden, and Morrisonn took the closest one). Meanwhile, Biron skates towards the offensive zone, then comes back near the bench, apparently for a line change; then he sees Madden alone and skates towards Olie's net, but it's too late, of course.
This message has been edited by marc_mehdi on Dec 30, 2005 7:52 AM This message has been edited by marc_mehdi on Dec 30, 2005 7:36 AM
It looks like Hanlon started to use Biron as a defenseman around the end of the first period. Weird.
Not weird at all- from this morning's Post:
Following his team's consecutive lackluster efforts, Washington Capitals Coach Glen Hanlon shook up his defensive pairings and made an adjustment to his top forward line yesterday.
When the Capitals return to action tomorrow against the Philadelphia Flyers, defenseman Steve Eminger will be paired with Bryan Muir, rather than Brendan Witt, his partner for most of the season. Witt will skate with Jamie Heward, and Ivan Majesky and Shaone Morrisonn will remain together.
"We wanted to change our look," Hanlon said. "You throw these things up in the air and hope it works.
"Heward and Witt did some good things [early in the season]. We want Eminger to be more involved in skating, and maybe playing with Bryan will help that. When he's skating, he's getting points."
Eminger was tied with a team-worst plus-minus rating of minus-2 in the Capitals' 4-3 overtime loss to the Boston Bruins on Tuesday and again in the 7-2 loss to the Devils in New Jersey on Wednesday. He also has not recorded a point in six games.
Swear to goodness, I was IMing with misto, during the game, and at one point told her "Is it just me, or is Hanlon mixing the defense up? (this was maybe mid-2nd)" So, I went and looked at the shift charts, but didn't see anything really out of the ordinary at that time, and told her "It must just have been my imagination."
That said, it now seems like the PP is working ok, but even strength suckk; the problem might be getting Biron into the mix at even strength. Lord knows, they've paired Morrisonn with everyone, and Eminger seems to be lacking in the stamina department for the moment. I personally think it's a transition problem, from specialty units to even strength, and back
That said, here's another article from the Post on the 27th, on Biron:
