Michal Neuvirth was supposedly scheduled to start Sunday when the Capitals traveled to Philadelphia, but he was held out as a precaution after taking an Ovechkin shot to the mask in practice the day before.
It was unfortunate timing for Neuvirth, but oddly enough it was the third time this season Neuvirth was scheduled to start and could not. For someone who’s starts have been few and far between, this seems a bit too curious.
Something does not smell right about this.
Since starting five of the team’s first seven games, Neuvirth has only started four of the last 29. He came in one other game in relief of Braden Holtby, but was pulled quickly during one of his own starts.
So Adam Oates has decided Holtby is his number one goalie, there’s nothing wrong with that. That’s simply part of the business.
The problem, however, is that Oates seems to be going out of his way not to play Neuvirth.
Conventional wisdom in the NHL is to switch your starters when your team plays on consecutive nights. Holtby, however, has played on consecutive nights three times this season. Perhaps Oates is not worried about tiring out his starter in a shortened season, but don’t forget, Holtby was playing in Hershey during the lockout.
The NHL may be playing a shortened season, but Holtby is not.
This brings me back to my original point. Three times this season Neuvirth has been expected to play and at the last second plans changed.
In two of those instances, Neuvirth was reportedly sick. This past weekend the team was evidently worried about a possible concussion.
I would have no questions about the team’s caution after Neuvirth took a puck to the mask, but as this is the third time something has happened just as he was supposed to play, it makes me question whether something else is going on.
I won’t argue that Neuvirth is a better goalie than Holtby. He’s not. Holtby deserves to be the top goalie. Neuvirth is, however, an above average goalie who has proven his abilities with this team. Had he not gotten injured late in the season last year, he would have been the team’s starting goalie in the playoffs. At the very least, he is good enough to relieve Holtby on consecutive nights.
I cannot tell you for sure what is going on; whether Neuvirth has fallen out of favor with Oates, if there is some sort of lingering injury, or whether Neuvirth himself has checked out mentally. What I can tell you is that Neuvirth started seven of the first 11 games. In that eleventh game in Pittsburgh, Neuvirth was pulled in the second period after allowing only two goals on 11 shots. It was too quick in my opinion and he has only started twice in the 25 games since.
Holtby is the better goalie, but Neuvirth’s play was not poor enough to justify such a complete shutdown.
If something happened, it is likely that it happened around that game in Pittsburgh. Was there an injury we are not aware of? Did Neuvirth resent the early hook? Did Oates completely lose faith in his backup goalie? Is Oates so desperate to make the playoffs he refuses to rest his starter?
I can’t answer these questions. What I can say is that teams have backup goalies for a reason. The Caps are fortunate to have a starting caliber goalie as their backup; it makes no sense not to use him.
If there is a situation between Neuvirth and the Oates, then Neuvirth needs to be traded before the deadline later today. You cannot have a situation where a goalie and coach do not trust one another. Should Holtby get injured down the stretch, whom does Oates turn to?
If you trust him, play him. If you don’t, then move him while you have the chance.
It’s possible I’ve read too much into this situation, but look at the facts. Neuvirth starts seven out of 11 games, he is pulled quickly in one game, and starts only twice in the next 25. Three times Holtby has played in consecutive games and three times Neuvirth has had to bow out of the precious few starts he’s been projected to play.
Something is definitely going on here.
For the latest sports news, follow me on Twitter @TheDC_Sportsguy
Showing posts with label Michal Neuvirth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michal Neuvirth. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Caps facing tough decisions at trade deadline
For
the Caps, this week was do or die. A back-to-back matchup with the
division-leading Jets was the Caps’ last chance to turn things around this
season. Two losses would have all but doomed their chances for a late run to
the postseason.
The Caps let everyone know that they were not ready to call it quits.
Oates and crew came out swinging and Troy Brouwer scored 3:06 into the game. Turns out, that would be all the Caps needed on the night.
They would tally another three for good measure and Holtby would chip in with a shutout. It was mission accomplished in game one as the Caps coasted to a 4-0 win.
Game two on Friday saw the Jets start more aggressively, but the Caps still were able to exert themselves early on. Brooks Laich got his first of the season at 12:10 into the first and Brouwer added a second four minutes later. The Caps never looked back going on to win 6-1.
Just a short week ago it was thought the Caps should be sellers at the approaching trade deadline. Now, they sit only five points behind Winnipeg for the top of the division and three points behind Carolina for the eighth and final playoff spot.
Selling at the deadline suddenly seems a bit premature.
The Caps were never going to have a fire sale anyway. The Caps just do not have enough assets they would be willing to part with. There is speculation surrounding Mike Ribeiro who is on the last year of his contract. I also think they could look to move Michal Neuvirth who has seemingly fallen out of favor with Adam Oates. Other than that, there is very little to sell.
The schedule itself also makes selling before the deadline premature. Including tonight’s game against the Rangers, the Caps have five games before the deadline. Only one of those games is against a team currently in playoff position, Carolina, who are dealing with injuries and have lost five straight.
The schedule allows for the Caps to make a strong run leading up to the trade deadline.
Of course, the Caps are not likely to be buyers either.
The inconsistencies they have shown thus far do not justify selling assets and draft picks for what ultimately remains a long shot postseason run. Should the Caps fail to make the playoffs, they will likely have a high draft pick. It makes no sense then to give those up.
Since it does not make sense to buy or sell then, I expect a quiet deadline for the Caps. Any possible run they make will depend on the roster they currently have. It will start tonight against the Rangers.
The Caps let everyone know that they were not ready to call it quits.
Oates and crew came out swinging and Troy Brouwer scored 3:06 into the game. Turns out, that would be all the Caps needed on the night.
They would tally another three for good measure and Holtby would chip in with a shutout. It was mission accomplished in game one as the Caps coasted to a 4-0 win.
Game two on Friday saw the Jets start more aggressively, but the Caps still were able to exert themselves early on. Brooks Laich got his first of the season at 12:10 into the first and Brouwer added a second four minutes later. The Caps never looked back going on to win 6-1.
Just a short week ago it was thought the Caps should be sellers at the approaching trade deadline. Now, they sit only five points behind Winnipeg for the top of the division and three points behind Carolina for the eighth and final playoff spot.
Selling at the deadline suddenly seems a bit premature.
The Caps were never going to have a fire sale anyway. The Caps just do not have enough assets they would be willing to part with. There is speculation surrounding Mike Ribeiro who is on the last year of his contract. I also think they could look to move Michal Neuvirth who has seemingly fallen out of favor with Adam Oates. Other than that, there is very little to sell.
The schedule itself also makes selling before the deadline premature. Including tonight’s game against the Rangers, the Caps have five games before the deadline. Only one of those games is against a team currently in playoff position, Carolina, who are dealing with injuries and have lost five straight.
The schedule allows for the Caps to make a strong run leading up to the trade deadline.
Of course, the Caps are not likely to be buyers either.
The inconsistencies they have shown thus far do not justify selling assets and draft picks for what ultimately remains a long shot postseason run. Should the Caps fail to make the playoffs, they will likely have a high draft pick. It makes no sense then to give those up.
Since it does not make sense to buy or sell then, I expect a quiet deadline for the Caps. Any possible run they make will depend on the roster they currently have. It will start tonight against the Rangers.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Caps Struggling to Start the Season
Through the lockout, all the
Washington Capitals wanted to do was to play hockey. All they want now is to go
back to the lockout.
The young season has not been kind to the Caps who, after Sunday’s loss to Pittsburgh, have stumbled to a 2-6-1 record. With a very short camp and a new coach, the Caps were likely to struggle to start the season, but the transition has been harder than many expected and have left the team searching for answers.
So what’s gone wrong so far? A little bit of everything.
The Caps thought they were set in goal with both Braden Holtby and Michal Neuvirth, but at its best the goaltending has been inconsistent. Holtby, last season’s clutch performer has so far looked anything but. In four games, he has a whopping 4.52 GAA. He has shown none of the poise and focus of last season and his play has reflected that. Neuvirth has been the stronger of the two by far, but his mostly-solid performance has been marred by soft goals.
It is hard to put too much blame on the goalies, however, because neither is getting a lot of help. Defensively, the Caps have been a mess. Bad turnovers, bad penalties, and miscommunications have been prevalent especially from John Carlson. Carlson has been on the ice for the vast majority of goals the team has allowed. He has looked sluggish and out of sync with the rest of the team. While the Caps have several bodies on defense, they have few top four defensemen. So while Carlson has been terrible, he keeps getting top minutes; 22:52 per game, second highest on the team behind only Mike Green.
Offensively, the Caps just are not scoring. They rank 25th in goals per game. They are creating good chances and great pressure, but that just has not translated into more scoring. Alexander Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, and Mike Green have five goals combined. Alexander Semin may have become a punchline at the end of his tenure in DC, but he did provide the Caps with another weapon other teams had to account for. He was a skilled winger capable of producing pionts and taking pressure off the other stars. The Caps are missing his presence more than they expected. They are getting secondary scoring from players like Joel Ward and Mike Ribeiro, but they need their stars to start producing.
More than anything else, it has been the mental mistakes that have hurt this team. The Caps are ranked 21stin penalty minutes and 26th in penalty kills. They have gotten off to poor starts and have collapsed at the end of games. When a team transitions to a new coach, these mental mistakes can happen because the players are thinking too hard. Rather than instinctively knowing what to do, players have to stop and think and that split second can mean everything.
When the Capitals have managed to put together a solid effort, you can see the makings of a good team. When they finally figure things out, this team will be much better. It is not time yet to panic in DC.
While things may not be as dire as the record may suggest that’s not to say Oates has done everything right; he’s made his share of mistakes.
Knowing what a burden the transition was going to be for the team with the abbreviated training camp, it was Oates’ responsibility to try and make that transition as seamless as possible. Moving Ovechkin from the left, where he has played his entire life, to the right while teaching him a new system in a 6-day training camp was overly-ambitious. I like the idea of trying him on the right, but that will be something to try next season after Ovechkin has a summer to get used to it.
The Caps thought they may have an advantage coming out of the lockout because Backstrom and Ovechkin had been playing with each other in Russia, but Ovechkin was playing left wing in Russia. By switching Ovechkin to the right, you have negated whatever chemistry and familiarity the pair had built with one another.
Now Backstrom and Ovechkin are not even on the same line and Oates has struggled to find a combination that produces. In his tinkering, Oates tried for a time to match Ovechkin with Jay Beagle and Joey Crabb. This was a disaster from the start.
The season has been condensed in order to get as many games as possible in between now and April, making conditioning a major factor. It is important therefore for the team to be able to roll four lines to prevent fatigue. Spreading the grinders and energy players with the stars can bring a new energy to some of the stars and keep each line fresh. Matching Ovechkin with Beagle and Crabb, however, puts far too much pressure on Ovechkin’s shoulders. For a player who has been struggling to produce and has been criticized for trying to do too much at times, why would you put him on a line with no other offensive playmakers? With all due respect to Beagle and Crabb, this line forces Ovechkin to try and do everything himself.
The biggest problem facing the Caps now is time. If and when they finally adapt to Oates’ system, will they have dug themselves a hole they cannot get out of? Of all the seasons to have new coach, this is about as unfortunate as you can get.
When Dale Hunter took over mid-season for the Caps last year, the team lost six of their first 11 games and that was after losing 10 of their previous 15. The difference was that the Caps still had half a season left to turn things around.
It may not be time to panic, but the clock is ticking. The Caps need points and they need them now.
For the latest DC sports news, follow me on Twitter @TheDC_Sportsguy
The young season has not been kind to the Caps who, after Sunday’s loss to Pittsburgh, have stumbled to a 2-6-1 record. With a very short camp and a new coach, the Caps were likely to struggle to start the season, but the transition has been harder than many expected and have left the team searching for answers.
So what’s gone wrong so far? A little bit of everything.
The Caps thought they were set in goal with both Braden Holtby and Michal Neuvirth, but at its best the goaltending has been inconsistent. Holtby, last season’s clutch performer has so far looked anything but. In four games, he has a whopping 4.52 GAA. He has shown none of the poise and focus of last season and his play has reflected that. Neuvirth has been the stronger of the two by far, but his mostly-solid performance has been marred by soft goals.
It is hard to put too much blame on the goalies, however, because neither is getting a lot of help. Defensively, the Caps have been a mess. Bad turnovers, bad penalties, and miscommunications have been prevalent especially from John Carlson. Carlson has been on the ice for the vast majority of goals the team has allowed. He has looked sluggish and out of sync with the rest of the team. While the Caps have several bodies on defense, they have few top four defensemen. So while Carlson has been terrible, he keeps getting top minutes; 22:52 per game, second highest on the team behind only Mike Green.
Offensively, the Caps just are not scoring. They rank 25th in goals per game. They are creating good chances and great pressure, but that just has not translated into more scoring. Alexander Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, and Mike Green have five goals combined. Alexander Semin may have become a punchline at the end of his tenure in DC, but he did provide the Caps with another weapon other teams had to account for. He was a skilled winger capable of producing pionts and taking pressure off the other stars. The Caps are missing his presence more than they expected. They are getting secondary scoring from players like Joel Ward and Mike Ribeiro, but they need their stars to start producing.
More than anything else, it has been the mental mistakes that have hurt this team. The Caps are ranked 21stin penalty minutes and 26th in penalty kills. They have gotten off to poor starts and have collapsed at the end of games. When a team transitions to a new coach, these mental mistakes can happen because the players are thinking too hard. Rather than instinctively knowing what to do, players have to stop and think and that split second can mean everything.
When the Capitals have managed to put together a solid effort, you can see the makings of a good team. When they finally figure things out, this team will be much better. It is not time yet to panic in DC.
While things may not be as dire as the record may suggest that’s not to say Oates has done everything right; he’s made his share of mistakes.
Knowing what a burden the transition was going to be for the team with the abbreviated training camp, it was Oates’ responsibility to try and make that transition as seamless as possible. Moving Ovechkin from the left, where he has played his entire life, to the right while teaching him a new system in a 6-day training camp was overly-ambitious. I like the idea of trying him on the right, but that will be something to try next season after Ovechkin has a summer to get used to it.
The Caps thought they may have an advantage coming out of the lockout because Backstrom and Ovechkin had been playing with each other in Russia, but Ovechkin was playing left wing in Russia. By switching Ovechkin to the right, you have negated whatever chemistry and familiarity the pair had built with one another.
Now Backstrom and Ovechkin are not even on the same line and Oates has struggled to find a combination that produces. In his tinkering, Oates tried for a time to match Ovechkin with Jay Beagle and Joey Crabb. This was a disaster from the start.
The season has been condensed in order to get as many games as possible in between now and April, making conditioning a major factor. It is important therefore for the team to be able to roll four lines to prevent fatigue. Spreading the grinders and energy players with the stars can bring a new energy to some of the stars and keep each line fresh. Matching Ovechkin with Beagle and Crabb, however, puts far too much pressure on Ovechkin’s shoulders. For a player who has been struggling to produce and has been criticized for trying to do too much at times, why would you put him on a line with no other offensive playmakers? With all due respect to Beagle and Crabb, this line forces Ovechkin to try and do everything himself.
The biggest problem facing the Caps now is time. If and when they finally adapt to Oates’ system, will they have dug themselves a hole they cannot get out of? Of all the seasons to have new coach, this is about as unfortunate as you can get.
When Dale Hunter took over mid-season for the Caps last year, the team lost six of their first 11 games and that was after losing 10 of their previous 15. The difference was that the Caps still had half a season left to turn things around.
It may not be time to panic, but the clock is ticking. The Caps need points and they need them now.
For the latest DC sports news, follow me on Twitter @TheDC_Sportsguy
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Capitals Preview: Shortened Season Provides New Challenges
The most baffling work stoppage perhaps in the history of sports finally came to an end Saturday with the NHL and NHLPA’s signing of the “memo of understanding” on Saturday night. Now the Washington Capitals must fit an entire offseason of preparation into one week as they prepare for the season opener on January 19th in Tampa Bay. Here are the big questions that face this team heading into training camp.
Can Adam Oates instill a successful system quickly?
Can Adam Oates instill a successful system quickly?
Adam Oates takes over for Dale Hunter as the third coach for the Caps in the last year. Oates served as an assistant coach in Tampa Bay for the 2009-2010 season and in New Jersey from 2010-2012. He has been universally praised for his offensive acumen, and the hope is that he will be able to revive Alex Ovechkin and the Caps’ potent attack. His system is seen as a hybrid of Bruce Boudreu’s and Hunter’s, and I think the Caps will thrive under it. Eventually.
Oates has no head coaching experience and only a week to instill his system on his new team. With a shortened season the Caps cannot afford any growing pains that can come with a new coach. A bad first month will be much harder to recover from. The Caps went 5-5 in their first ten games under Hunter, and 11-9-1 in their first 20. They did not qualify for the playoffs until the second to last game of the season. A similar stretch this season may prove too steep a hill to climb.
Can Braden Holtby transition into a full-time NHL goalie?
Who can forget the heroics of Braden Holtby in the playoffs last season? Called upon when both Tomas Vokoun and Michal Neuvirth went down with injury, Holtby showed he was more than ready for NHL action with an impressive postseason performance. The Caps hope he can continue playing at the same level this season as a full-time, albeit for a shorter season, NHLer.
Neuvirth returns as well so expect to see a dual goalie system again. Both played during the lockout, Neuvirth in Europe and Holtby in the AHL, so both should be in game shape. One of the Caps’ main weaknesses over the past several seasons now looks to be a real strength for this team with two solid, playoff tested goalies on the roster.
Do the Caps have enough offensive weapons to make up for the loss of Alexander Semin?
In Semin’s best season with the Caps, he scored 40 goals and tallied another 44 assists. As the team hopes for a bit of an offensive revival under Oates, Semin’s goal-scoring capabilities will be sorely missed. The Caps have speed and playmakers, but without him they lack real goal-scoring depth.
The hope is that Mathieu Perrault will develop into a top scorer and Wojtek Wolski will makeup for the rest. A resurgent Ovechkin would also be nice. The three of them together can easily makeup for the absence of the fickle winger.
That’s wishful thinking.
The loss of Semin will takeaway from Ovechkin’s potency. While Semin only scored 49 goals in the past two seasons, he was someone else teams needed to account for. In clutch situations when both players would play together, teams had to be aware of both wingers at all times. Without Semin, teams will continue to key on Ovechkin. He may have been playing well in Russia, but unless Oates can devise a way to get him free from opposing defenses, he will continue struggling to produce at the level Caps fans expect and haven’t seen since 2010.
Perrault has shown great potential, but he remains incredibly inconsistent in his offensive production. I like the addition of Wolski, but I would not be surprised if McPhee is looking for more offense before the trade deadline.
Are injuries already an issue?
The Caps had a scare when they learned Nicklas Backstrom had suffered a “neck injury” while in Russia that reportedly made him feel dizzy. After seeing a concussion expert upon returning, it appears he did not suffer another concussion and should be fine for the start of the season. Still after how long he was sidelined last season, the Caps are likely to be very protective of their star center.
Brooks Laich has not participated in training camp and a report by TSN’s Bob Mckenzie says Laich could miss the first one or two weeks of the season. Laich is a great player whose leadership will be missed while he is away, but his grinding style of play is more effective in the latter months of the season. The Caps of course would prefer to have him in the lineup, but two weeks to start the season is not the end of the world.
Young defenseman Dmitry Orlov also has yet to make his debut at camp due to an upper-body injury and, according to the Washington Examiner, he will not be ready for the start of the regular season. I’m not quite sure how serious this is. No one seems to talk about it, but he’s been out since early December. He played well as a number 6 or 7 last season and I was hoping to see further development this season. Hopefully this injury will not keep him out of the Caps lineup for an extended amount of time.
Predictions?
We will learn everything we need to know about this team in the first month. This season will lack the major ups and downs of a typical 82 game schedule which means a quick start will be crucial. That’s not good news for a team with a new coach and several new key players. The team will likely lean on Ovechkin for offense and Holtby in net as they continue to learn Oates’style. If they can quickly adapt to it they can make a lot of noise in the Eastern Conference.
Unfortunately, the shortened schedule and makeup of this season really hurts a team like the Caps. They have too much talent to underachieve as badly as last season, but not enough time to put it all together and will finish second in the division yet again. They will make the playoffs, but it will not be a deep run.
The Caps will thrive under Oates eventually, but not this season.
For the latest DC sports news, follow me on Twitter @TheDC_Sportsguy
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