Too early to panic. Same thing happened in Hershey with Oates behind the bench.

Meh, I don't know. At least when theyve lost games in bunches I've felt like they've had a lot left in the tank to give. Like it was a matter of time until they snapped out of it and started killing teams. I don't see that here. They just do not have anything. Not enough skill, not enough grit, not enough goaltending. A team with no identity, really. If we didn't have Kuzya, Forsberg, and Wilson on the cusp of breaking through in the NHL I'd suggest blowing the team up.

- gtfo with this grit stuff.
- wilson isn't on the cusp.
- holtby might be in a funk, probably because he saw poor competition in ahl first half of the year. neuvy had a good period.

oates seems to run an equivalent of the full-court press. he is right that they are all too ****ing tired by the second period. a bit of a surprise, but this is what bruce tried to institute until he said **** it and implemented the trap. going to be hard on first-liners who are skate almost as much as defensemen.

My point about the "grit stuff" is the guys don't enough of ****ing anything, not that they need to go out and sign a bunch of Zac Rinaldos. And would you look at that, 2 PP goals against, because we have a ghastly PK. There's not enough wind in the world for the sigh I want to let loose due to this team

This is what happens when you put your faith in heartless Russians, amirite Sylar?

I only saw one russian on the ice, broski.

Hey, Neuvy had a good game, but penalties really decided the game. The refs (and the NJ bench) gifted us a point in the third, but maybe the team can build on it.

Has Neuvy earned the starting gig?

I'm glad OV isn't leading by padding his stats.

That missed empty net was comical...

murs, if you want to get on your fb soapbox, you should start talking about how stan galiev should be playing back in hershey, as he's already made the echl his personal bitch.

What a choke tonight against Ottawa. 2 goal lead is bunk. BS late penalty.

I guess the team just stopped playing? I went to sleep after the 2nd. Just give up on the season and tank for some picks

enjoyed reading japers today, and also one of their linked old articles.

Great shares sylar.

Awesome video of all AO's goals in 2012-13

I also liked this article comparing AO to Hull

Alex looked very strong last night v. Philly. No points, but he had a fire. The solution? Shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot...oh yeah, and you GOTTA pot those empty netters!

Barkov here we come!

i'm ok with tanking

Me too. Totally fine with it.

mike ribeiro needs to find his inner kaepernick.

Tanking to what end? To get the first pick in the draft? Ask the Wizards how the draft lottery has helped them over the years.

It doesn't matter. If they tank and just continue to tweak this lineup and don't change the personnel management of this team, they're never going anywhere. Ted needs to fire McFail for this but he probably won't because of the whole lockout excuse. This team was horribly put together.

Ovechkin and Backstrom are a disgrace to the game right now. I'm embarrassed to wear a #8 jersey to the games. Like they said at the intermission, the guy has never evolved his game.

come to think of it, caps have guys they can dump for a nice prospect/pick package at the deadline right now. ribiero could certainly be traded to a contender if his NTC isn't waived/doesn't apply, as could alzner. for lesser returns, maybe even hamrlik, mp85 and mj90. i don't know what i'd offer for mike green that the caps might want, but he probably isn't worth that much. otoh, he just might become the andrei markov of concussions.

but the point is, caps really shouldn't be targeting anyone right now, just play out the season, hope for orlov/forsberg/kuznetsov to have sick chemistry.

i can't believe i am saying it, but i can't wait for the time tom wilson replaces hendricks on the roster.

ovechkin does look lost.

to continue to talk about that last japers article about ovechkin entering the zone wide with teammates, whenever people say ovie is predictable, i can't remember if he had a second guy come in the zone with him. it's always him alone, trying to beat two defencemen. doesn't really look like ovechkin is dealing with declining skill, just he gets little puck support.

one possession yesterday, when both the caps D and ribiero were losing board battles for a solid minute in their own zone. penguins just knock the puck around the boards, looking for that chance. finally pens do a D-to-D pass that ovechkin knocks out and almost manages to get speed through the neutral zone, but it's the end of a long d-zone shift and he can only get it past the red line before losing the puck, during which 2-3 of his linemates still managed to change. commentator goes, "that's a bad play, ovechkin really needs to get the puck deep and let his teammates change."

wtf?

Because it's the only option. Dump all the guys we grabbed to get us "over the top"- Ribeiro, Ward, Brouwer, Hamrlik are the obvious guys to go who could maybe get something in return. Holtby shoulda been dumped last year when everyone was all over his nuts. We have an ok core of guys, but it's time to tank in a shortened year, grab another stud, and hope like hell that Kuzya/Forsberg/Orlov/Wilson/Galiev/Whoever we get this year put something together. That's the point we're at-hoping.

holtby will be ok. lol goalies. caps probably still have to get rid of one of them, with grubauer coming up, and kostenko behind him. still can't believe the caps got kostenko instead of makarov.

i'm not too hopeful for galiev, unless he somehow stops sucking at his second go in hershey.

My respect for Oates took a hit yesterday.

First, Holtby is not playing to No1 caliber, so Neuvy should've got the nod.

Second, he should've been yanked, no question after the fourth goal. That was a crucial moment, before the game was done. Any half decent coach has gotta know that.

We suck so much ass it's not even funny. Easy lottery pick, hopefully it's top 5