2/1 Boston at Washington -- revenge part 4
- Thread starter The Napkin
- Start date
Bergeron took a slapshot to the inside of his right knee. Had to be helped off. Couldn't put any weight on it.
I mean, he played with a punctured lung. I wouldn't be surprised if he played with a broken leg.
He hasn't been moving well laterally for a little while now - not surprised there's an underlying injury getting aggravated there.
Yeah, Hayes is useless.
Yeah, Hayes is useless.
He was right to be hard on him. Five goals in twenty-two shots tells a story. I think he's playing through an injury but regardless, it's not a good game from him. Thankfully Bergy dodged a bullet. The team appears headed for a third straight DNQ despite a championship core that management has been unable to support effectively for several years now.
Fluto Shinzawa @GlobeFluto 11m11 minutes ago
Tuukka Rask said he popped his groin.
Fluto Shinzawa @GlobeFluto 5m5 minutes ago
Patrice Bergeron walks out of the room. Heavy limp.
Tuukka Rask said he popped his groin.
Fluto Shinzawa @GlobeFluto 5m5 minutes ago
Patrice Bergeron walks out of the room. Heavy limp.
The only positive with regard to those injuries is that their schedule is about to thin out in a big way. That said, groin injuries for goalies are like oblique injuries for pitchers: full recoveries have no set timetable, and it could bother Rask the rest of the year.
Ovechkin's and Connolly's to start, and the rebound on Backstroms was brutal.
This was not a good night for Tuukka.
That rebound was
I thought Ovi's was a screen that went through an arm hole. It happens, but I can see expecting him to be positioned enough to get it.
Connolly's goal was 3 caps playing tic tac toe around pylons, moving the puck quickly across the 'royal road' forcing him to go back and forth laterally and he got smoked on a nice move by Connolly.
Backstrom's rebound was because Niskanen made an outstanding shot. A bullet low and to the far pad- there's nowhere foe Tuukka to go with that. If he sticks out the pad for the stop, it bounces out that way. Great play by Niskanen and shitty play by the defenders to let Backstrom come in untouched. I think this was the most defensible of the three goals.
You and I don't disagree much, but we will here.
I thought Ovi's was a screen that went through an arm hole. It happens, but I can see expecting him to be positioned enough to get it.
Connolly's goal was 3 caps playing tic tac toe around pylons, moving the puck quickly across the 'royal road' forcing him to go back and forth laterally and he got smoked on a nice move by Connolly.
Backstrom's rebound was because Niskanen made an outstanding shot. A bullet low and to the far pad- there's nowhere foe Tuukka to go with that. If he sticks out the pad for the stop, it bounces out that way. Great play by Niskanen and shitty play by the defenders to let Backstrom come in untouched. I think this was the most defensible of the three goals.
He didn't get smoked by Connolly - he got caught off balance and stupidly lunged unnecessarily and left Connolly with an open net. It's Brett Connolly - he shouldn't be juking Tuukka to an open net like that.
The Ovi goal he should have had - even his reaction confirms it. I think he flat out missed it with his glove and the screen looked minimal. This wasn't like McQuaid screening the goal Tuesday night, it was a less than full speed wrist shot from above the top of the circle.
I didn't think Niskanen's shot was a bullet. It was a "get me on net" shot that was indeed well placed. Kicking that rebound directly to the middle of the slot wasn't his best effort.
Don't get me wrong - plenty to blame on the defenders for the Backstrom and Connolly goals too - but Tuukka easily could have prevented all 3 of those. His save on Ovi at the end of the game was ridiculous though.
I mean, I'm not blaming the game on him - but he did not play well. He's bound to have bad games here and there, problem is that they've put themselves into a spot where they can't afford it.
The Ovi goal he should have had - even his reaction confirms it. I think he flat out missed it with his glove and the screen looked minimal. This wasn't like McQuaid screening the goal Tuesday night, it was a less than full speed wrist shot from above the top of the circle.
I didn't think Niskanen's shot was a bullet. It was a "get me on net" shot that was indeed well placed. Kicking that rebound directly to the middle of the slot wasn't his best effort.
Don't get me wrong - plenty to blame on the defenders for the Backstrom and Connolly goals too - but Tuukka easily could have prevented all 3 of those. His save on Ovi at the end of the game was ridiculous though.
I mean, I'm not blaming the game on him - but he did not play well. He's bound to have bad games here and there, problem is that they've put themselves into a spot where they can't afford it.
Okay- Have gone back and watched highlights.
On the Connolly goal, Kuznetsov is coming down the wing with Rask on the post watching him. As the pass goes across to Orlov in the middle, Rask is forced to slide back to the middle and Orlov makes a great quick pass back to the side to Connolly. Rask slides over to angle the shot and Connolly makes a nice play to cut back against the grain. You're correct that he stumbles at this point (loses the edge he was going to push back across with?) and has to lunge horribly at Connolly skating free across the crease. I think Rask played it about as well as he could have, barring the slip/stumble when Connolly cut back across.
https://www.nhl.com/video/connollys-slick-backhand-tally/t-277350912/c-48978003
On the Ovi goal, I think you're right. You can see him fighting through the screen earlier, and that is an Ovechkin shot, but he wanted that one back. Slipped under his glove, but you're right- his reaction tells you the story.
https://www.nhl.com/video/ovechkins-snipe-beats-rask/t-277350912/c-48977803
On the Backstrom goal, I think the shot was not quite as hard as I thought it was, but it was perfectly placed and it was pretty quick and that's where rebounds go on that shot. You know this- it's why we put a shot low on the far pads when coming in from a bad angle. I don't think there's much that Tuukka could have done differently. It's on the pads so it's almost impossible for him to corral it. Maybe the move is to let the rebound sit there, but I think most goalies try to kick that away. And his teammates were idiots on that play.
Reviewing, I'll amend my thoughts and suggest he should have had Ovi's goal. I guess maybe he should have been prepared for Connolly to cut back across (or not slipped?) and should have not kicked out the rebound (?), but I think the defense was far more to blame on those two goals than Rask.
Of course you're just a bender and I'm far worse than you. Maybe @realness could weigh in?
On the Connolly goal, Kuznetsov is coming down the wing with Rask on the post watching him. As the pass goes across to Orlov in the middle, Rask is forced to slide back to the middle and Orlov makes a great quick pass back to the side to Connolly. Rask slides over to angle the shot and Connolly makes a nice play to cut back against the grain. You're correct that he stumbles at this point (loses the edge he was going to push back across with?) and has to lunge horribly at Connolly skating free across the crease. I think Rask played it about as well as he could have, barring the slip/stumble when Connolly cut back across.
https://www.nhl.com/video/connollys-slick-backhand-tally/t-277350912/c-48978003
On the Ovi goal, I think you're right. You can see him fighting through the screen earlier, and that is an Ovechkin shot, but he wanted that one back. Slipped under his glove, but you're right- his reaction tells you the story.
https://www.nhl.com/video/ovechkins-snipe-beats-rask/t-277350912/c-48977803
On the Backstrom goal, I think the shot was not quite as hard as I thought it was, but it was perfectly placed and it was pretty quick and that's where rebounds go on that shot. You know this- it's why we put a shot low on the far pads when coming in from a bad angle. I don't think there's much that Tuukka could have done differently. It's on the pads so it's almost impossible for him to corral it. Maybe the move is to let the rebound sit there, but I think most goalies try to kick that away. And his teammates were idiots on that play.
Reviewing, I'll amend my thoughts and suggest he should have had Ovi's goal. I guess maybe he should have been prepared for Connolly to cut back across (or not slipped?) and should have not kicked out the rebound (?), but I think the defense was far more to blame on those two goals than Rask.
Of course you're just a bender and I'm far worse than you. Maybe @realness could weigh in?