Live Game 5 Chat: Capitals vs. Penguins

if you go to caps radio, 106.7 you can hear some guy from NHL.com making phone calls for his travel plans or something. 2 funny. every time he makes a call, he overwrites the radio coverage.

Hello All!
My seats have been bequeathed to my brother and sis-in-law so I join you all here. They've been good luck!

Anyway,

Lets Go Cap - I - Tals!!!

so far, this is def not the same team that played last night :)

The Caps look MUCH better so far. They seem to be moving much faster and making quicker, better decisions.

Well some things never change. We continue to turn over the puck and Alex Semin leads that charge. They should fine him for every terrible turnover he makes since nothing else seems to sink in. So much for Boudreau's pep talk to his top 2 lines about getting it in deep and forechecking - only Kozlov is doing that so far. Semin and Backstrom are floating around.

Now, THAT'S more like it. GO CAPS!!!!!

Orpik and kunitz smashing Caps bodies on that shift, we get a PP coming up.

so far i'd have to give the edge to the Pens being that they're on the road tonite. We certainly haven't been able to dominate them at home the way they've schooled us.

now the challenge is to play like that for 2nd and 3rd

Much better first-period effort tonight. Wouldn't you love to know what Ovi and Orpik were chatting about? lol

1st intermission for the Bears too. WBS leading 2-0.

wocoliz:
I hope Ovi was telling Orpik to go f*** himself. :)

bears lookin to blow a 2-0 series lead too?

tess
Think it was in English or Russian?

cstanton: The Bears can't seem to stay out of the box. Both WBS goals were on PP.

alzner benched for the hershey game tonight

Yet again, Green does not clear and they get off a shot. Norris nomination was more of a hinderance then an accolade. He needs to remember he's a defensman. Seriously.

@cstanton1: any reason why he was benched in hershey? i thought for sure he was gonna step in game 3 for caps after how well he played earlier this season.

cstanton: The Bears can't seem to stay out of the box. Both WBS goals were on PP.

Posted by: tess2201 | May 9, 2009 7:49 PM | Report abuse

and grant mcneill gets benched for today's game after he scored the 1st goal for hershey in the last game? does that make sense?

Alzner is out and Collins is in. I missed the pregame show so I don't know if a reason was given.

no idea, in fact im speculating that he was benched since he's not in the lineup and no word of him being injured

Nice Ovie!

Nice of the Pens to give Ovi plenty of time to tee up that rocket! :)

Go time!

Wow, shaa-weeet. Nice Backie...

That was pretty!

Tess and Cstanton,
Just saw your posts. Alzner and GMac are both injury scratches.

Pretty good period but there are still alot of undisciplined passes which is driving me insane.

At least they're hitting and playing with passion.

Let's finish them in the third

gotta say, everything started with the Jay Beagle shift, before that no one had any jump. After the Beagle shift the whole team responded.

Still can't figure how come Boudreau thought it was better to play Nylander over Beagle in game 3. That was a wasted roster spot decision.

by my count, the caps have now outplayed the penguins in 3 of the 15 periods so far including the 2nd pd tonight.

Hershey down 3-1 after 2, they've given up 3 PP goals in the game. The Bears special teams are letting them down again, they had a problem all year on their PK unit. Can't blame the refs either, they've pretty much evened out the PP chances.

Bears update:
2nd intermission
WBS leading 3-1; Bears goal from Darren Reid. All WBS goals have been PP.

I'm a lot happier tonight than I was this time last night. Keep the energy up!

yeah moose there's too many silly passes and flubs out there. We look like the Rangers did against us. The Penguins passing is crisper and they attack the puck carrier with a vengeance. We looked better in the 2nd half of the 2nd pd but overall they have been the more aggressive and quicker team to the puck.

Tess and Cstanton,
Just saw your posts. Alzner and GMac are both injury scratches.

Posted by: ekays | May 9, 2009 8:31 PM | Report abuse

the Bears site just updated - shows Alzner now as an injury scratch and Bouchard and GMac as healthy scratches.

GMAC is a valuable playoff type grinder that they need in the lineup, and he scored a goal to boot. He should have been in there tonight.

In the pregame I'm sure Woods said GMac had a lower body injury. Hopefully he won't be out long.

How many wacks???

3 caps standing by net as cooke scores wtf?????????????

The collapse continues!

That means it's probably about time for SC87 to show up and start gloating.

Caps can go from 2-0 to 2-3 faster than any other team in the league.

Hold off on the gloom. There's still lots of time left in the game. Come on, Caps!

this series is over in 6, shoulda been over in 4. The Pens are clearly better, and this continues to prove why regular season standings are utterly meaningless as long as you can make the playoffs.

Caps can't even muster one quality scoring chance. at home.

Gloom? I'm enjoying this.

Ovi, I love you!!

Varly with the game saving save on Kunitz leads to a rush the other way and Ovy with a sick goal

ok caps, steal this one please, please!

That is why they are trolls, bottom feeders, basically loosers in real life. Only virtually, can they think they are making something of their point. Face to face, this kid would be well, not looking you in the face.

Come on D!!!

you get the feelin if the caps lose this one the series is over but if the pens lose this one it could still go 7 games easy?

Gettin' interesting.

OT!!! We need to end this quickly. Keep those Pens out of Varly's way give him a clear view of that puck

Bears game is over. WBS wins 4-1. Game 6 tomorrow at Giant Center and Bears must win to stay alive.

Hershey loses 4-1 to the Baby Pens, they've now lose 3 straight and are down 3-2 in their series. Story of the, the Bears were 0 for 8 on the PP, the Pens were 3 for 8

The SC Stingrays are doing great, they've now advanced to round 3 and just won game 1.

cstanton1,
Thanks for the updates. Crapola...
Hey, it ain't over till it's over. Have faith in Da Bears ya know?

Great goal by Ovie to tie the game.

Still, the caps have to work so hard to clear the zone while the pens look like they're running zone clearing drills. They make blue line to blue line passes and are coming into our zone with speed while the caps are just barely getting out of the zone and give it right back to the pens.

We need a break here in OT, an odd bounce to set up a 2 on 1, something to take this game.

Thanks so much for the Hershey-WBS updates. Next to that schedule, our back-to-back tonight is nothing. Get the win in game 6, Bears!!
Let's hope the scary parallel between that series and Caps-Pens ends here with a victory for the Caps!

Wow, just when it looks like it's over Ovie does it again. Most clutch player in the NHL! Pens win this and the series if over.

First period was a draw as far as play was concerned. Second tilted towards the Caps and the first half of the 3rd was a Pens onslaught, but then the Caps started to play better towards the end of the period. So, it's OT as it should be this game!

Let's go Caps!

So sick of watching Semin turn that puck over again and again

FFFFFFuuuuuuuu*******KKKKK

THE FREAKIN CURSE!!!!!!!!

well...at least we're makin em work a little bit harder to beat us :)

better team won again. They've just outchanced us by a great amount all series and now that Varly is looking human, the outcomes are going to favor the Pens.

JC89, couldn't agree more. Arrrrrggggghhh!

Caps played a little better and still lost. They are not the better team, and it's showing from game to game. They way they opened the third period and OT demonstrate why they can't play playoff hockey. They are undisciplined and mentally weak.

This series is over.

POETIC

Best 1-2 punch in the league

that last goal gives me a sudden craving for some Dairy Queen soft serve.

Its amazing how easy they can break into our zone with speed over and over again. And control the puck. When we break into their zone we have a hard time setting up any kind of play.

that play all started because malkin got around our dman. why are our dman SO FRICKIN SLOW???????????? how many times has a pen just skate right by our dman? its ridiculous.

we are cursed. thats it. we're just cursed. we lose two games in ot by goals by our goals. why do things just never go our way? i don't get it. everyone of our dman sucks, they can't do anything right.

Cdon...couldn't agree more. Mentally weak. Sometimes just mental.

*sigh*
They came back last series. They came back last series. They came back last series.
Didn't help. This still sucks!

Defense lets us down again. How many times have our dmen deflected the puck into our own net?

Caps played a little better and still lost. They are not the better team, and it's showing from game to game. They way they opened the third period and OT demonstrate why they can't play playoff hockey. They are undisciplined and mentally weak.

This series is over.

Posted by: CDon | May 9, 2009 9:54 PM | Report abuse

it is true, they're undisciplined in how they pass the puck and how they use and support each other on the ice. too much solo sh_t going on, and honestly most of its our Euros esp Semin.

Of course they can. It's because the forwards are always too far up ice so the D can't stand the Pens up at the blue line. Pens gain speed through neutral and do what they want. It's pathetic that through five games the Caps have seemingly made no adjustments. Although I guess it's hard to adjust when you NEVER HAVE TO PRACTICE!

Crosby flying and Malkin finished, these guys are better than Caps best 2 players

Defense lets us down again. How many times have our dmen deflected the puck into our own net?

Posted by: tess2201 | May 9, 2009 9:56 PM | Report abuse

better yet, how many times have the pens simply even just dumped the puck in, chased it, win the puck battle and then get a quality scoring chance out of it? The Pens have a very easy time in our own end, but a lot of it is we have no forward support.

Puck Fittsburgh ...We're done & I'm out !! See ya next Fall!

I still think our defensemen have probably scored more against the opponents' goalies than our own. But at least they're making it interesting.

What happened to all the crap I used to hear about how Ovechkin elevates everyone around him?

Crosby flying and Malkin finished, these guys are better than Caps best 2 players

Posted by: Cheef | May 9, 2009 9:56 PM | Report abuse

i would agree. Malkin and Crosby simply don't make the consistent boneheaded turnovers you see from our top players.

If anyone is surprised, they haven't been a Caps fan very long. This is the heartbreak we show up for every year.

It's not just the defense. It's that they don't play as a team. Notice when the Pens get sustained pressure how the two wingers on the top two lines hang out by the blueline and wait for a break out. Notice the Pens forwards offer support to their D. It's hard for the defenesmen and the goalie to stay sharp when the forwards don't help out defensively. If you don't play like a team, then you won't win the Cup. It has to come from everywhere and everyone. The Pens are good, but they're not Cup good. (Neither are the Caps.) The teams out West seem better than all the teams in the East, save for maybe Carolina at this point. But until the Caps play a five-man game, they're not going to to enjoy sustained playoff success.

if anyone can see a replay of malkin's goal in overtime, take a look at when he crosses the blue line....fedorov knocks the puck back behind the blue line while malkin crosses, and malkin uses his skate to tap it back ahead to himself even though he was already past the blue line. I think that should have been called an offside.

Series is not over but the Pens perform with the script Bylsma provided better than the Caps perform under BB

Where has Semin been? he was pretty vocal about Crosby early in the year. Called him average. If Crosby is average, what does that make Semin?

Ok...what was that dumping of the Caps player off the puck right before the rush??? Easily an interference call!!! WTF!

It was as obvious as the Malken tripping call.

The Caps defense just flat out sucks. I love the goal where they got three whacks at the puck. Three Caps , three Pens forwards. All three Caps were out of position. At the end of the play, there were three Pens out in front of our net no Caps close.

Steckel missed a wide open net to start the OT. Bouncing puck. Then they get the own goal.

The FIXXXXXX is in.

Look at the power play discrepancy. All Washington sports team lack home field/ice/court advantage.

Pittsburg received over 10 more power play chances in the series. Are the Caps really taking that many more penalties and the Pens not? Just before the penalty to the caps there was tripping. During the last minute of the OT penalty kill there was illegal contact.

The League is fixed..like basketball.

kman2,

Please stop the crying, Malkin controlled the puck, the guy is a high skilled freak.

Let the whining about the officiating begin!

What happened to all the crap I used to hear about how Ovechkin elevates everyone around him?

Posted by: dan_comet | May 9, 2009 9:58 PM | Report abuse

Pittsburgh plays like a team, the Caps top two lines play like individuals. therein lies the difference. Ovechkin can elevate his team to a certain extent, the Penguins are just a well-oiled machine though. It takes more than just a superstar like Ovy to beat those guys.

it's unfortunate. deflections and crazy things happen, that's the thing i hate most about hockey.

CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOKE

Funny how the Caps defense matters more tonight than ever before.

Just look at the idiot GM, there's the reason.

I'm laughin' because it is not over yet folks! We can play with this team or any other team in the league for that matter if we show up. Game 6 should be interesting...

Well Caps fans - you whined about Yanni, you whined about the refs, you whined about the city of Pittsburgh, now is the time to turn on your team. It seems as though Ovi cheating up ice or trying to run people costs you more goals than he scores. What was his + - this year anyway?

If the Caps tank in game 6, then consider this team in trouble for the future.

If the Caps play well depite the outcome, then it's a positive sign.

It was the refs! The refs don't like us. The refs like the Pens better than us! The refs would rather have Crosby advance than Ovechkin! The refs cheat! Someone is paying the refs! The refs! The refs! The refs! If it weren't for the refs, we would never lose because we're superior! We deserve it and they are cheating us! WWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!! WWWWWAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!

ok here's what we know. when the caps' backs are against the wall (Round 1), they show up on fire. We can expect the caps to throw everything they got at the Pens on Monday.
What to expect from the Pens? They were up 3-2 against Philly last round and fell behind 3-0 before coming back to win 5-3. We know that the Pens are fully capable of being caught flat footed with a series lead. They did what they wanted to, coming back from a 0-2 deficit. Let's see how they play with a lead now.

This game isn't all that upsetting. The Caps and Penguins both played well, and it went to OT. The upsetting games were 3 and 4. The Caps didn't bother showing up, and wasted a Varly stonewalling performance in game 3 that should have gotten them up 3-0.

I have been a Caps fan for 30 some years. Pens are vastly more talented than us. Varly in games 1 and 2 is the reason we even had a game 5. This will mercifully be over on Monday. Let GMGM and Ted start to make plans for a mini-purge. We gotta blow this team up a little bit. Need a couple of playoff tested veterans on D. Mike Green is the biggest disappointment of this series.

Ok...what was that dumping of the Caps player off the puck right before the rush??? Easily an interference call!!! WTF!

Your right, in overtime, if you give a penalty to the caps, you have to give a penalty to the penguins for that interference. There has to be an even up call, and there wasnt'.

By the way, Green sucks!

And why was Federov playing D on the penalty kill in OT? Big believer in BB, but I am starting to wonder.

Semin needs to move his feet and drive the net. Enough of the lazy wristers!!!

Caps were beat by a team with 4 better lines

SMURFETTE...If the Caps had killed the penalty, there probably would have been an even up call. Can you say "choke"?

On Federov playing D, Jurcina was in the box, and looks like Erskine was still shaken up. Obviously, Federov is not the ideal penalty killer, if there are alternatives.

Mr Smurf - The refs ate their whistles in the 1st period, for both teams. There were plenty of no calls for both.

Difference between the teams comes down to this: equal talent, maybe even an edge to the Caps...but Pens stars aren't afraid to get in the corners and Caps stars want to shoot it from the outside where they don't have to pay the price. Ovechkin is reckless in how he throws himself around, but Pens are tougher.

Difference between the teams comes down to this: equal talent, maybe even an edge to the Caps...but Pens stars aren't afraid to get in the corners and Caps stars want to shoot it from the outside where they don't have to pay the price. Ovechkin is reckless in how he throws himself around, but Pens are tougher.

Posted by: dan_comet | May 9, 2009 10:13 PM | Report abuse

no question,the pens ARE tougher. They're willing to display a 3rd line work ethic on their top 2 lines. Their forwards forecheck better and they backcheck better. Thats the tale of the series.

There is no player on the Penguins who coughs up the puck like Semin does, or even Ovechkin for that matter. We're the king of bad turnovers.

Political,

You obviously don't know much about hockey to say the Pens are "vastly" better than the Caps. That's absurd. They might be better, but it's by a very slim margin as the playoff series has proved. Hell, the Caps could have this series already as well. Morrison in first OT and now Poti this OT. Their best offense in OT is our defensemen!

And a "mini-purge"? Come on. The team needs a veteran clear the front of the net kind of defender, but so do most teams.

What happened to standing guys up at the blue line? Take Malken and Crosby out ala Langway!

it's unfortunate. deflections and crazy things happen, that's the thing i hate most about hockey.

Posted by: rachel216 | May 9, 2009 10:04 PM | Report abuse

even if that puck hadn't deflected in, the Pens were still the better team again in OT, and Crosby had a wide open net for that pass if it had squirted thru Poti's stick. Good teams make their own breaks. And Malkin again broke in with speed around our defense and Crosby was again uncovered. By the way, did anyone notice how Mike Green while on the PK got caught at the OTHER TEAM'S BLUELINE? W T F! go be a forward already you d__

Political,

You obviously don't know much about hockey to say the Pens are "vastly" better than the Caps. That's absurd. They might be better, but it's by a very slim margin as the playoff series has proved. Hell, the Caps could have this series already as well. Morrison in first OT and now Poti this OT. Their best offense in OT is our defensemen!

And a "mini-purge"? Come on. The team needs a veteran clear the front of the net kind of defender, but so do most teams.

What happened to standing guys up at the blue line? Take Malken and Crosby out ala Langway!

Posted by: rphilli721 | May 9, 2009 10:18 PM | Report abuse

the only reason this series wasn't over in 4 games was Varlamov acting superhuman and stealing games 1 and 2. The Pens have outplayed us in every game, some by a narrow margin, some by an astronomically wide margin. In my book, that tells me they're a significantly better team.

What the bleep has happened to Mike Green???? How lackadaisical can one guy play?

Is Semin going to show up at all?

The Smurf had it right. There was very clear interference on Bradley just before the final rush up the ice. It wasn't even close -- Bradley had not touched the puck and was knocked down. The whistle should have blown before that final rush.

The other screw up by the refs was that it wasn't Jurcina who did the trip, it was Federov. If they got that call right, the Caps wouldn't have been forced to use Federov on the PK.

Sorry job by the refs at a critical time in the game.

The reason I'm so certain about the missed call on the interference on Bradley is that I had TIVOd it and went back and watched it several times. No doubt a badly missed call.

I notice no one wants to mention the numerous calls that were not called on the craps. Only the ones that in their narrow minded view that the slu foot on Malkin did not happen the elbows to the head and etc...