Jim Turner

Turnersportsdesk.com

March, 25 2010

The Caps prevailed last night in another NHL Classic game. I should be happy but I think like a coach and I saw a lot of things that bothered me last night even in victory.

Why did the Caps win?

• Jose Theodore (39-42) made more clutch saves than Marc Andre Fleury (29-32)
• Pittsburgh failed to capitalize on five powerplay opportunities
• The Caps penalty killers stepped up big time and even popped in a shorthanded goal
• The Caps star players made it happen during the shootout

What do the Caps need to work on?

Not giving opponents odd man opportunities -Poti - Delay of game, Flash – Tripping (bad call), Semin – High Sticking, Shultz - Holding. In the playoffs a higher percentage of these mistakes become goals so while the Caps can score in bunches they don't want to set themselves up for failure.

Discipline – The Caps need to cut down on the penalties and the best way to do that is the play their game. Caps played better last night defensively but they have to tighten things up a lot more if they want to win the East. The object here is to get the defense to the point where Theodore does not have play out of his mind in order to win. If the Caps give the Pens 42 shots at Theodore per night in a seven game series the Caps are asking for trouble. The Caps need to find a happy medium that allows them to remain aggressive but also keeps the players within a defensive scheme that does not give up easy chances for opponents.

Post Goal Let-down Syndrome/Puck Focus – The scariest time for Caps fans is immediately after they score because from what I see the entire team develops a feeding frenzy mentality like a school of Piranhas. They get so focused on scoring the next one that they forget about defense, positioning, they take bad chances and make horrific turnovers. The Caps have a tendency to drift to where ever the puck is much to the detriment of the defensive scheme. While Crosby made a terrific pass to Guerin, had Corvo covered the back side and not drifted to Crosby Guerin does not have as easy a tip in. He drifted to the puck and Crosby took advantage. Lesson...don't drift to the puck.

Bottom Line: Good win but the Caps should have hammered the Pens minus Malkin and Gonchar. That said, I'm quite happy for the win but the mission is the cup.