April 26, 2024 • 20 mins
Monumental Sports Network analyst Alan May previews the hockey weekend ahead, as the Caps-Rangers Stanley Cup Playoffs series shifts home to Capital One Arena.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hey, good morning. How youdoing, man, dude, I am
doing pretty well. I am doingpretty well. It has been a little
bit. How are you. I'mdoing great. It's a long day now
waiting for the big game tonight.Can I tell you this, though,
Alan, Can I tell you this? And yes, tonight is a very
big game. But for there's beentimes in the past where you find yourself
in a hole and I get reallynervous, that I get really I get
(00:23):
really freaked out and listen, amI hyped up? Absolutely? But I'm
not like I don't go into thenight feeling scared about the Rangers, though.
Well, they haven't really put theboots to the Capitals and the two
wins and their goalie hasn't stolen thegames. They haven't dominated from start to
finish, So you know, there'sa puncher's chance to come back in this
(00:44):
series. And you know they've gota lot of talented players over there.
They've got a lot of hype onthat team as well. Except I think
their system is well known to theCapitals because I had to play it for
three years and we saw late inthe game they ran out of time.
They figured it out a little toolate. Exactly how they needed to get
into the Ranger zone and they ranout of time to tie it up.
But they've got to make sure thatthey played discipline. They cost themselves last
(01:07):
game with a lot of penalties deservedor undeserved. It was just way too
many. And the Caps have shownthis year that they can't give up more
than one power play goal in agame, and the key to them winning
is usually allowing the other team totwo goals or less. And that's all
very possible if you have everyone onthe same page and basically playing mistake free
hockey. Hey, so, Alan, let's back up for one second.
(01:29):
You talked about the system that lavioletlikes to run and that the Rangers are
doing and that the Capitals know itand have seen it, and Laviolett likes
to run a one to three toone. Can you like in easy terms
where like, not every as muchas I hate to admit it, not
everybody is a hockey nerd in real, easy, easy terms to understand.
(01:51):
Can you explain what that is ifsomebody's watching that? Okay, so the
best way, if you're looking atthe hockey rink left to right at the
center rice line, they will standthree players, a defenceman, a center,
and a winger, and a straightline across and they'll be spread out
appropriately. And then you have oneguy that's kind of the tip of the
spear that's above at the blue lineof say the Capital zone. Meanwhile their
(02:15):
defenseman is standing back between the blueline. And as the Capital start to
move at that five man one tothree to one system, basically it's like
a plus sign as that plus signstarts to go backwards. Basically, everyone's
flat footed, right, and thekey to that is you pass through it.
You don't try to scape through itall the time. You try to
(02:36):
do a not a long stretch passthat's one hundred feet long. You want
to go with about a fifty tosixty foot pass, but you want your
forwards moving so they can go afterthat one defenseman that's all by himself,
or you're trying to beat them onthe dump in when you throw it below
the goal line, because that defensemanis flat footed. And it's just like
anyone. If you're flat footed andsomeone is running at you and you're expected
(02:58):
to beat them to a raise twentyfeet away, you're never going to win
that race. So the Capitals haveto create that situation all throughout the game.
I hope that was simple enough,but no, it was my had
It's really yeah, yeah, myhead is really easy. But you know,
I visualize hockey, you know,not a whole lot of other things.
Yeah, no, no, no, And I get that. But
then, but Alan, let meask you this, like, and it's
(03:20):
no, it's no shock that he'sgoing to run a one three one.
Why why did it take till theend, towards the end of game two
to change the way that Carbury?Especially knowing that and then we'll get to
the second part of what I wantedto ask you, But knowing that they're
gonna dictate that and listen, theydon't scare me. But that's not to
(03:42):
say they're not a good team.That is a loaded roster. Why did
it take so long to try toadjust to that. I thought the Capitals
played the first game way too defensiveand and I don't know, maybe playing
not to win necessarily or not tolose, not to lose well, and
I just thought it was way toocautious. And the Rangers got three bounces
(04:03):
when you think of the three goalsthat were scored on them on the Capitals
in two minutes and six seconds atthat barrage in that arena from playing there
when I was younger, It's loudand they start cheering when the announcer comes
out or the actual anthem singer,and you can't even yell in the ear
of the guy. Next year,they cannot hear you. The coaches have
to push and shove you until youget acclimated to all the noise and it
(04:27):
tones down a little bit. Butthat few minutes, but then the Capitals,
you know, they had a goodpush the rest of that game.
But I thought last game they decided, you know, let's make these guys
work. Let's force Shasterkin to winthis game. Right, And Shasterkin is
fifteen and fourteen in playoffs coming intothe series, he was thirteen and fourteen,
so it's not like he's been stealingplayoff series for them last year.
(04:48):
And basically the same group of playersthat they have are the same guys that
blew their first round matchup to theNew Jersey Devil. So the Caps have
that belief system right now that ifwe together, we were able to beat
really good teams all throughout the season. They also lasted lost to some really
bad teams throughout the season. Butwhen they're dialed in, and I think
(05:09):
when they're playing physically aggressively intelligently onthe ice, they can hang with anyone.
Are they as talented as other teamsknow they're not? Are they as
fast? No, not right now. But I think when they are in
perpetual motion and there are five guysthat are in range of each other rather
than spread out all the time,they're a better team. And when they
keep the puck going up the iceversus east and west. They saw the
(05:31):
other night they got a shorthanded goalagainst and it was a bad series of
players where the puck went, youknow, right to left. It was
a bad passover to Obie. Hegot caught flat footed, but he shouldn't
have been put in that position.So the pucks, the safe play is
always north and south. Right now, they get out of the zone,
Jesus Christ. Get out of thezone. Yeah, absolutely, So the
(05:53):
best defense is to pass it orskate out of your zone. Unfortunately,
two of our better players at doingthat are out of the lineup right now,
and Rasmus Sandin and Nick Jensen,So I you know the other guys
that they're playing a simpler game.But I think the quicker the puck sokers
stick, the faster you skate toget it out of the zone and keep
it less complicated, I think thatthat's that will be better for the Capitals.
(06:15):
They thought in the first game theyhad too many times where inside the
zone when they had to puck onthe wall and the defensive zone when a
winger threw it back below the goalline to a defenseman, it's usually stuck
to the boards. That flat footsyour defenseman and allows a for check.
That guy now takes that garbage passand he gives it to his partner behind
the net on the boards, whohas to turn his back oncoming four checkers.
(06:38):
So that created a lot of zonetime for the Rangers, and once
they quit doing that, they wereable to get out of the zone a
lot more effectively. Hey, Alan, let me ask you this, and
the media likes to some people inthe media will go home ice doesn't matter.
Home ice doesn't matter unless it's Colorado. Some will do you won home
ice? You won home ice assomebody who played the game at the highest
level, does home ice matter?And I'm not even talking about from fans
(07:00):
yelling and screaming. But there isthere a big advantage to having that last
change and being able to pick yourown matchups. It absolutely is, especially
if your coach isn't overthinking it.Because I played a long time ago and
my coaches were getting schooled by theother team because they went into line matchups
way too much. And I rememberplaying back in the early nineties and Scotti
(07:24):
Bowman. You know, he neverreally taught his players a whole lot.
He was just the master of linematchups. And you'd have guys going very
well, and all of a sudden, they'd be sitting on the bench and
you'd realize he was changing your players, and he was keeping your effective guys
off, your energy guys. Somenights, your fourth line might be the
best line, he'd find a wayto keep them off the ice. Other
nights your first line was going.So he'd put out a matchup and then
(07:46):
they'd send up We'd send out ourdefensive guy. So the matchups are important,
But the biggest thing is the players, their routines, their rituals,
everything, their body. It feelsbetter when when you're at home and you're
in your own rhythm and routine,So all of it plays a part,
and you know, and we everyone'sgot a winning record pretty much. In
(08:07):
the National Hockey League, most playoffrounds are won by the team who had
a homeice advantage. But if youcan find a way to steal a game
in a series, then all ofa sudden, your belief system says,
we got this now. So theCaps are still in this two oh uh,
they've overcome in the past. Everyone'sovercome it, the Rangers, as
a matter of fact, I thinklast year we're up two oh on the
(08:28):
Devils and lost in seven. Soyou've got to take every piece of motivation.
And you know there's information that goesthe other way too, but you're
only going to feed the positive informationinto your brain and hopefully the coaches don't
bring in the other information. I'vehad coaches that have done that and say
when the other team scores first,we're done, because they normally win eighty
percent of the time. And thenthen you got your guys. Then you
(08:50):
have your guys who really don't havethat like mindset of battled through anything and
climb any mountain type of attitude.You know, they're kind of in a
shell after that, So you needto have your guys who believe you can
overcome anything, that can do anythingagainst all odds. Because it is a
mental game and as physical as is, you have to have a belief that
(09:11):
you can win. You have tohave a belief that you can outwork the
other team, and you just continue. And that's why guys make the big
leagues. They're able to lie tothemselves so long that they're good enough to
play in the big leagues that eventuallythey become good enough to play in the
big leagues through all their hard work, effort and determination. Hey, Alan,
let me ask you this. They'llalways say your best players have to
be at their best in the playoffs. And Carvery came out the other day
(09:31):
and said, Ovechkin is struggling.He's just not getting shots through. That's
okay, guys are going to blockshots, does he? I also feel
like tonight is one of those nightswhere and maybe maybe having the last change
helps a little bit, but it'sone of those nights where he just throws
everything on his shoulders and says,hold on, we're going for a ride.
(09:52):
Well, he will have that attitudetonight. But the big thing is
there's no Nick Baxtrom feeding in thepuck when he should be getting the puck,
So you know, it's a lodifferent Connor McMichael is still learning how
to play with Ovi, and hewasn't brought here as a playmaker. He
was a guy that scored gritty goalsand junior around the net. His fifty
goals were typically close to the goaltenderand deflections and rebounds and things like that.
(10:15):
So you know, you also haveto have the right component and mix
of players. So for in orderfor Ovie to get shot attempts, he's
got to have the puck because weknow he doesn't carry the puck anymore like
he was when he was younger,when he was the fastest player in the
NHL, the most explosive, dynamicguy we'd seen in forever. So he's
a different player now. He's morestealth Brett Brett Hull at the end of
(10:35):
his career mode where he's got tofind spots to get to and find the
shot closer to the net, andthe one timer pass needs to be perfect
and he needs more of them.And also this team isn't loaded with gifted
goal scorers right now, so it'sa lot easier to focus on one player,
And for the Rangers, their wholegame plan, their entire game plan
(10:56):
isn't about shutting down Beck Mahlenstein.It's about shutting down Alexandrovetchka. Let's take
his pass away, don't allow himto get to the puck, because if
he doesn't get it, he can'tshoot it. He can't get his twelve
thirteen, fourteen shot attempts. Maybeat home tonight, with offensive zone starts
and planning who they're playing against,you know, even and setting up the
centers to win faceoffs to get hima faceoff goal, he can get a
(11:18):
shot attempts, but I really thinkfor him to be effective, he has
to be eight shot attempts minimum.You love it when he gets twelve,
you're chilling the other team. Whenhe's getting sixteen, he's definitely getting on
the board. So if he canget the juice going early, it'll really
help the Capitals in an effort towin tonight. Any chance we see san
Dene or Jensen back tonight or dowe not know? I would say not
(11:41):
because you know, when they werewearing non contact jerseys yesterday, and you've
got to go through all the differentprotocols when you're injured. So you know,
even the general manager, you know, in the last few days and
the coaching staff has said, youknow, they they have failed some of
the not failed anything, but they'vehad setbacks, right, and so when
you hear that, so you know, I don't think the defense has really
(12:05):
been a problem in this, butthose guys have certainly helped. Nick Jensen
is so strong, He's like amutant strong, and he blocks shots.
He's fearless. He can skate thepuck out of his zone. He doesn't
have a great offensive mind, buthe gets the puck out of his zone
with speed and strength, and youknow, he can pass it out of
the zone. So he's very effectivethat way. Sandin if he can rag
(12:26):
the puck, he can get itdown the ice, and he would sure
help on the second unit power playbecause Trevor van Reebensdyke, I think he's
been on there. You know,you take Carly off at about a minute
ten and Riems didn't have a goalall year. His shot barely gets the
net. It's it's nothing against him. That's just not his foretee. And
he only had you know, andhe and he only had fourteen assists all
year. But when you look atthe other guy's ferravari, he's not known
(12:48):
to be a playmaker. He's notknown to be a shooter. Aluxia is
just a young guy that's dipping histoes in the water. Maclarraths, you
know he's a big strengths player.You know he's not going to be ever
man power play at any level,and so you just have to go with
what you go with. But Ireally think the forwards have to be better
in this series. They've got tobe smarter with the puck, more pace,
(13:09):
more physical contact, and that waythe defensemen don't have to do so
much work in their own zone.Are we playing nasty enough? You know
what? What I would love tosee tonight. I would love to see
the Capitals have everything go their way, have a three or four goal spread
late in this game, like sayeight minutes left or so, and then
(13:30):
play some bully hockey. And youknow, the Rangers were making a big
deal in their fan base and thereporters in their rag newspapers, we're talking
about how Matthew Rempy the other dominatedthat game. Well, he scored a
goal, he took a penalty,and they made it sound like he was
the greatest player to play the game. He backed down from a fight with
(13:50):
Dylan McElrath, who had taken careof him in the minor leagues. Right
he didn't address Tom Wilson was runningaround complete mayhem the other night, and
I thought, Wilson has been thebest player through two games. We need
to stay him out of the box. We need him to control his anger
and temper and channel it into hisgame and get some finish, get some
finish hits, and really lead thisteam, because right now, when you
(14:11):
look at it, he seems tobe the on ice leader. But him
going out there, the other teamgets very scared. And I thought when
he when they knew how upset hewas in that game, he was going
after a coolie at a face offat center ice and pushing and shoving and
wasn't giving an inch. The Rangersslowed their game down, and all of
a sudden they were worried about TomWilson owning the Rangers again. So if
(14:33):
he manage that, but late inthe game, I want them to be
get get the spread and then goout there and do what you have to
intimidate the hell out of them.For Game four, it looks like Miro
gets inserted into the lineup tonight.Do you like that? Yeah, I'm
an obay q Bell fan. Whenhe is skating as hard as he can
(14:54):
and hitting and shooting the puck ashard as he can, and you know,
so if he's not in the lineup, I think Miro has to make
sure that he's not dipsy doodle ina the puck. As soon as he
gets on a stick, he's gotto shoot it. You know, as
with all young players that are onthe offensive side, you just worry about
his defensive zone positioning. He's aheck, He's going to be a heck
of a player. He's still gota long ways to go, and I'm
(15:18):
not worried about him, but hejust got to make sure. They're going
to have to manage his minutes verywell. And inside the offensive zone,
he just got to make sure he'sshooting the puck. And on defense,
keep it simple. When you're inyour zone, just make sure you have
your check. And that's the biggestthing you worry about with the young goal
scorers and the young draft picks,because they've always thought just about offense.
They haven't dreamt about blocking shots andthey haven't dreamt about being good on the
(15:43):
back check. They haven't visualized thosethings visualized in saucer passes and top shelf
snipe, top shelf goals. Soyou know, you just hope he's got
some, you know, the youthfullegs. Tonight. I thought he start
was starting to go downhill a littlebit at the end of the season,
but younger players are prone to dothat. We saw a lot Pierre a
year ago. We saw it withLapierre the first time he was up.
(16:03):
This year the last time. Thiskid has been flying and there's an intensity
to everything that he does on theice. So that's when the light bulb
was kicking. We saw, youknow, McMichael become a complete player this
year, when last year I don'tthink he valued all the things that he's
doing now. So Miro still gotto get there, but it would be
loved. I'd love to see himscore a goal and really excite this team
and the fan base tonight. Hey, Alan, I want to ask you
(16:25):
one other thing, and it's aquestion I hate to ask. What I'm
going to If things don't go ourway tonight, then you're down to then
you're down to Game four on Sundaynight, which God, I hope it's
not the case. If it is, do you do you switch anything up?
Because there's some coaches that will godrastic and switch up a ton of
stuff. Do you go that way? Do players want it to go that
(16:48):
way or not? I guess theeasy question is do they switch to Kemper
if they if they lose tonight,Well, it all depends where the situation
is on the ice, like whatwould the loss be, and you know
where would they be would it bea tight game, because we saw last
night with the New York Islanders theychanged their goaltender and I thought it was
unnecessary, right, and maybe onesuspect goal by Varlamoff in the first two
(17:11):
games, but they've also been overwhelmedand their team completely quit playing, and
he kept the score from being tenor twelve against. And then last night
they had to pull the other goalwho led in four goals. Halfway through
the game. They go back toVarley and he was stellar the rest of
the way. So you know,you only dictate that on how well they
play tonight, how well Charlie playstonight. And we've seen what they're trying
(17:33):
to do to Charlie it's the weaknessof every goaltender in the National Hockey League.
So you've got to take away theslot pass where you're going from east
to west, west to east andshooting off the pass because the goaltender has
to outstretch. It makes his bodysmaller as he's going side to side because
he's got to lay his pads down, and it opens up the top of
the net. So defensively, they'vegot to get back to what they're doing
on the backcheck as they came downthe stretch against Tampa, against Boston,
(17:56):
against Philly where they weren't allowing anything from the inside. They weren't allowing
those slot passes. And they needto protect their goaltender tonight, who's been
so well for them all year long. Last thing. And then I'll let
you jump through the first let's callit seventy percent of the first round.
What team looks the best to youright now? Lost the Vegas Golden Knights
(18:19):
and the Florida Panthers, and andthen I've got to throw Carolina in there
as well. But you know,those three teams have looked incredible, and
I think the Vegas Golden Knights,they do all that salary cap manipulation,
which is legal. They've had theirfunny their captain who played for the general
manager and junior who also owned thatteam and was their highest paid home highest
(18:41):
paid player three years in a row. He's got on LTR and made a
miraculous miracle comeback out of the wheelchairto play Game one. So why in
his absence they were able to getthe best player out of San Jose,
Tomash Hurtle, and I think Stonescored in the very first shift of his
(19:02):
first game back in Game one.Yep, Hurdle gets on the board.
They had a defenseman go out andall of a sudden wasn't there, so
they could go get Noah Hannafin,who was the top free agent defenseman you
know if he hit free agency thissummer, so the top trade target.
So they end up getting him.They get Anthony mant who would still be
the third leading goal scorer in theWashington Capitals. They get them. All
(19:22):
of a sudden, they've got allthese guys who were really healthy that weren't
able to play. They had fiveguys that weren't able to play down the
stretch and open up all that salarycap relief. So all of a sudden,
they look like one hundred and twentymillion dollar team out there in an
eighty two million dollar cap. Sothe Vegas Golden Knight. However, they
do it, they do it,and you know what it is. The
league is run by lawyers. They'vegot their lawyers and their accountants figuring out
(19:45):
how to take care of the system. If they want to go by the
letter of the law, we'll goby the letter of the law and we'll
expose the loopholes. Very good,Alan, I will see you well,
I'll see you at the ring tonightobviously on Monumental Sports Net ahead of time.
You and Alexa are killing it,by the way. Yeah, she's
awesome to work with. She's apretty Uh. They need to get her
to go in the dressing room tonightand bring all the positive vibes because again
(20:06):
she's like bouncing off She's bouncing offthe walls at all times, and it's
uh, it's been a pleasure towork with her. She's a true professional
and uh, she probably hasn't sleptgetting ready for tonight. Good Dale,
Alan, I will see you atthe ring tonight. Thank you, my
friend. Yeah, take care.Elliott
Hey, good morning. How youdoing, man, dude, I am
doing pretty well. I am doingpretty well. It has been a little
bit. How are you. I'mdoing great. It's a long day now
waiting for the big game tonight.Can I tell you this, though,
Alan, Can I tell you this? And yes, tonight is a very
big game. But for there's beentimes in the past where you find yourself
in a hole and I get reallynervous, that I get really I get
(00:23):
really freaked out and listen, amI hyped up? Absolutely? But I'm
not like I don't go into thenight feeling scared about the Rangers, though.
Well, they haven't really put theboots to the Capitals and the two
wins and their goalie hasn't stolen thegames. They haven't dominated from start to
finish, So you know, there'sa puncher's chance to come back in this
(00:44):
series. And you know they've gota lot of talented players over there.
They've got a lot of hype onthat team as well. Except I think
their system is well known to theCapitals because I had to play it for
three years and we saw late inthe game they ran out of time.
They figured it out a little toolate. Exactly how they needed to get
into the Ranger zone and they ranout of time to tie it up.
But they've got to make sure thatthey played discipline. They cost themselves last
(01:07):
game with a lot of penalties deservedor undeserved. It was just way too
many. And the Caps have shownthis year that they can't give up more
than one power play goal in agame, and the key to them winning
is usually allowing the other team totwo goals or less. And that's all
very possible if you have everyone onthe same page and basically playing mistake free
hockey. Hey, so, Alan, let's back up for one second.
(01:29):
You talked about the system that lavioletlikes to run and that the Rangers are
doing and that the Capitals know itand have seen it, and Laviolett likes
to run a one to three toone. Can you like in easy terms
where like, not every as muchas I hate to admit it, not
everybody is a hockey nerd in real, easy, easy terms to understand.
(01:51):
Can you explain what that is ifsomebody's watching that? Okay, so the
best way, if you're looking atthe hockey rink left to right at the
center rice line, they will standthree players, a defenceman, a center,
and a winger, and a straightline across and they'll be spread out
appropriately. And then you have oneguy that's kind of the tip of the
spear that's above at the blue lineof say the Capital zone. Meanwhile their
(02:15):
defenseman is standing back between the blueline. And as the Capital start to
move at that five man one tothree to one system, basically it's like
a plus sign as that plus signstarts to go backwards. Basically, everyone's
flat footed, right, and thekey to that is you pass through it.
You don't try to scape through itall the time. You try to
(02:36):
do a not a long stretch passthat's one hundred feet long. You want
to go with about a fifty tosixty foot pass, but you want your
forwards moving so they can go afterthat one defenseman that's all by himself,
or you're trying to beat them onthe dump in when you throw it below
the goal line, because that defensemanis flat footed. And it's just like
anyone. If you're flat footed andsomeone is running at you and you're expected
(02:58):
to beat them to a raise twentyfeet away, you're never going to win
that race. So the Capitals haveto create that situation all throughout the game.
I hope that was simple enough,but no, it was my had
It's really yeah, yeah, myhead is really easy. But you know,
I visualize hockey, you know,not a whole lot of other things.
Yeah, no, no, no, And I get that. But
then, but Alan, let meask you this, like, and it's
(03:20):
no, it's no shock that he'sgoing to run a one three one.
Why why did it take till theend, towards the end of game two
to change the way that Carbury?Especially knowing that and then we'll get to
the second part of what I wantedto ask you, But knowing that they're
gonna dictate that and listen, theydon't scare me. But that's not to
(03:42):
say they're not a good team.That is a loaded roster. Why did
it take so long to try toadjust to that. I thought the Capitals
played the first game way too defensiveand and I don't know, maybe playing
not to win necessarily or not tolose, not to lose well, and
I just thought it was way toocautious. And the Rangers got three bounces
(04:03):
when you think of the three goalsthat were scored on them on the Capitals
in two minutes and six seconds atthat barrage in that arena from playing there
when I was younger, It's loudand they start cheering when the announcer comes
out or the actual anthem singer,and you can't even yell in the ear
of the guy. Next year,they cannot hear you. The coaches have
to push and shove you until youget acclimated to all the noise and it
(04:27):
tones down a little bit. Butthat few minutes, but then the Capitals,
you know, they had a goodpush the rest of that game.
But I thought last game they decided, you know, let's make these guys
work. Let's force Shasterkin to winthis game. Right, And Shasterkin is
fifteen and fourteen in playoffs coming intothe series, he was thirteen and fourteen,
so it's not like he's been stealingplayoff series for them last year.
(04:48):
And basically the same group of playersthat they have are the same guys that
blew their first round matchup to theNew Jersey Devil. So the Caps have
that belief system right now that ifwe together, we were able to beat
really good teams all throughout the season. They also lasted lost to some really
bad teams throughout the season. Butwhen they're dialed in, and I think
(05:09):
when they're playing physically aggressively intelligently onthe ice, they can hang with anyone.
Are they as talented as other teamsknow they're not? Are they as
fast? No, not right now. But I think when they are in
perpetual motion and there are five guysthat are in range of each other rather
than spread out all the time,they're a better team. And when they
keep the puck going up the iceversus east and west. They saw the
(05:31):
other night they got a shorthanded goalagainst and it was a bad series of
players where the puck went, youknow, right to left. It was
a bad passover to Obie. Hegot caught flat footed, but he shouldn't
have been put in that position.So the pucks, the safe play is
always north and south. Right now, they get out of the zone,
Jesus Christ. Get out of thezone. Yeah, absolutely, So the
(05:53):
best defense is to pass it orskate out of your zone. Unfortunately,
two of our better players at doingthat are out of the lineup right now,
and Rasmus Sandin and Nick Jensen,So I you know the other guys
that they're playing a simpler game.But I think the quicker the puck sokers
stick, the faster you skate toget it out of the zone and keep
it less complicated, I think thatthat's that will be better for the Capitals.
(06:15):
They thought in the first game theyhad too many times where inside the
zone when they had to puck onthe wall and the defensive zone when a
winger threw it back below the goalline to a defenseman, it's usually stuck
to the boards. That flat footsyour defenseman and allows a for check.
That guy now takes that garbage passand he gives it to his partner behind
the net on the boards, whohas to turn his back oncoming four checkers.
(06:38):
So that created a lot of zonetime for the Rangers, and once
they quit doing that, they wereable to get out of the zone a
lot more effectively. Hey, Alan, let me ask you this, and
the media likes to some people inthe media will go home ice doesn't matter.
Home ice doesn't matter unless it's Colorado. Some will do you won home
ice? You won home ice assomebody who played the game at the highest
level, does home ice matter?And I'm not even talking about from fans
(07:00):
yelling and screaming. But there isthere a big advantage to having that last
change and being able to pick yourown matchups. It absolutely is, especially
if your coach isn't overthinking it.Because I played a long time ago and
my coaches were getting schooled by theother team because they went into line matchups
way too much. And I rememberplaying back in the early nineties and Scotti
(07:24):
Bowman. You know, he neverreally taught his players a whole lot.
He was just the master of linematchups. And you'd have guys going very
well, and all of a sudden, they'd be sitting on the bench and
you'd realize he was changing your players, and he was keeping your effective guys
off, your energy guys. Somenights, your fourth line might be the
best line, he'd find a wayto keep them off the ice. Other
nights your first line was going.So he'd put out a matchup and then
(07:46):
they'd send up We'd send out ourdefensive guy. So the matchups are important,
But the biggest thing is the players, their routines, their rituals,
everything, their body. It feelsbetter when when you're at home and you're
in your own rhythm and routine,So all of it plays a part,
and you know, and we everyone'sgot a winning record pretty much. In
(08:07):
the National Hockey League, most playoffrounds are won by the team who had
a homeice advantage. But if youcan find a way to steal a game
in a series, then all ofa sudden, your belief system says,
we got this now. So theCaps are still in this two oh uh,
they've overcome in the past. Everyone'sovercome it, the Rangers, as
a matter of fact, I thinklast year we're up two oh on the
(08:28):
Devils and lost in seven. Soyou've got to take every piece of motivation.
And you know there's information that goesthe other way too, but you're
only going to feed the positive informationinto your brain and hopefully the coaches don't
bring in the other information. I'vehad coaches that have done that and say
when the other team scores first,we're done, because they normally win eighty
percent of the time. And thenthen you got your guys. Then you
(08:50):
have your guys who really don't havethat like mindset of battled through anything and
climb any mountain type of attitude.You know, they're kind of in a
shell after that, So you needto have your guys who believe you can
overcome anything, that can do anythingagainst all odds. Because it is a
mental game and as physical as is, you have to have a belief that
(09:11):
you can win. You have tohave a belief that you can outwork the
other team, and you just continue. And that's why guys make the big
leagues. They're able to lie tothemselves so long that they're good enough to
play in the big leagues that eventuallythey become good enough to play in the
big leagues through all their hard work, effort and determination. Hey, Alan,
let me ask you this. They'llalways say your best players have to
be at their best in the playoffs. And Carvery came out the other day
(09:31):
and said, Ovechkin is struggling.He's just not getting shots through. That's
okay, guys are going to blockshots, does he? I also feel
like tonight is one of those nightswhere and maybe maybe having the last change
helps a little bit, but it'sone of those nights where he just throws
everything on his shoulders and says,hold on, we're going for a ride.
(09:52):
Well, he will have that attitudetonight. But the big thing is
there's no Nick Baxtrom feeding in thepuck when he should be getting the puck,
So you know, it's a lodifferent Connor McMichael is still learning how
to play with Ovi, and hewasn't brought here as a playmaker. He
was a guy that scored gritty goalsand junior around the net. His fifty
goals were typically close to the goaltenderand deflections and rebounds and things like that.
(10:15):
So you know, you also haveto have the right component and mix
of players. So for in orderfor Ovie to get shot attempts, he's
got to have the puck because weknow he doesn't carry the puck anymore like
he was when he was younger,when he was the fastest player in the
NHL, the most explosive, dynamicguy we'd seen in forever. So he's
a different player now. He's morestealth Brett Brett Hull at the end of
(10:35):
his career mode where he's got tofind spots to get to and find the
shot closer to the net, andthe one timer pass needs to be perfect
and he needs more of them.And also this team isn't loaded with gifted
goal scorers right now, so it'sa lot easier to focus on one player,
And for the Rangers, their wholegame plan, their entire game plan
(10:56):
isn't about shutting down Beck Mahlenstein.It's about shutting down Alexandrovetchka. Let's take
his pass away, don't allow himto get to the puck, because if
he doesn't get it, he can'tshoot it. He can't get his twelve
thirteen, fourteen shot attempts. Maybeat home tonight, with offensive zone starts
and planning who they're playing against,you know, even and setting up the
centers to win faceoffs to get hima faceoff goal, he can get a
(11:18):
shot attempts, but I really thinkfor him to be effective, he has
to be eight shot attempts minimum.You love it when he gets twelve,
you're chilling the other team. Whenhe's getting sixteen, he's definitely getting on
the board. So if he canget the juice going early, it'll really
help the Capitals in an effort towin tonight. Any chance we see san
Dene or Jensen back tonight or dowe not know? I would say not
(11:41):
because you know, when they werewearing non contact jerseys yesterday, and you've
got to go through all the differentprotocols when you're injured. So you know,
even the general manager, you know, in the last few days and
the coaching staff has said, youknow, they they have failed some of
the not failed anything, but they'vehad setbacks, right, and so when
you hear that, so you know, I don't think the defense has really
(12:05):
been a problem in this, butthose guys have certainly helped. Nick Jensen
is so strong, He's like amutant strong, and he blocks shots.
He's fearless. He can skate thepuck out of his zone. He doesn't
have a great offensive mind, buthe gets the puck out of his zone
with speed and strength, and youknow, he can pass it out of
the zone. So he's very effectivethat way. Sandin if he can rag
(12:26):
the puck, he can get itdown the ice, and he would sure
help on the second unit power playbecause Trevor van Reebensdyke, I think he's
been on there. You know,you take Carly off at about a minute
ten and Riems didn't have a goalall year. His shot barely gets the
net. It's it's nothing against him. That's just not his foretee. And
he only had you know, andhe and he only had fourteen assists all
year. But when you look atthe other guy's ferravari, he's not known
(12:48):
to be a playmaker. He's notknown to be a shooter. Aluxia is
just a young guy that's dipping histoes in the water. Maclarraths, you
know he's a big strengths player.You know he's not going to be ever
man power play at any level,and so you just have to go with
what you go with. But Ireally think the forwards have to be better
in this series. They've got tobe smarter with the puck, more pace,
(13:09):
more physical contact, and that waythe defensemen don't have to do so
much work in their own zone.Are we playing nasty enough? You know
what? What I would love tosee tonight. I would love to see
the Capitals have everything go their way, have a three or four goal spread
late in this game, like sayeight minutes left or so, and then
(13:30):
play some bully hockey. And youknow, the Rangers were making a big
deal in their fan base and thereporters in their rag newspapers, we're talking
about how Matthew Rempy the other dominatedthat game. Well, he scored a
goal, he took a penalty,and they made it sound like he was
the greatest player to play the game. He backed down from a fight with
(13:50):
Dylan McElrath, who had taken careof him in the minor leagues. Right
he didn't address Tom Wilson was runningaround complete mayhem the other night, and
I thought, Wilson has been thebest player through two games. We need
to stay him out of the box. We need him to control his anger
and temper and channel it into hisgame and get some finish, get some
finish hits, and really lead thisteam, because right now, when you
(14:11):
look at it, he seems tobe the on ice leader. But him
going out there, the other teamgets very scared. And I thought when
he when they knew how upset hewas in that game, he was going
after a coolie at a face offat center ice and pushing and shoving and
wasn't giving an inch. The Rangersslowed their game down, and all of
a sudden they were worried about TomWilson owning the Rangers again. So if
(14:33):
he manage that, but late inthe game, I want them to be
get get the spread and then goout there and do what you have to
intimidate the hell out of them.For Game four, it looks like Miro
gets inserted into the lineup tonight.Do you like that? Yeah, I'm
an obay q Bell fan. Whenhe is skating as hard as he can
(14:54):
and hitting and shooting the puck ashard as he can, and you know,
so if he's not in the lineup, I think Miro has to make
sure that he's not dipsy doodle ina the puck. As soon as he
gets on a stick, he's gotto shoot it. You know, as
with all young players that are onthe offensive side, you just worry about
his defensive zone positioning. He's aheck, He's going to be a heck
of a player. He's still gota long ways to go, and I'm
(15:18):
not worried about him, but hejust got to make sure. They're going
to have to manage his minutes verywell. And inside the offensive zone,
he just got to make sure he'sshooting the puck. And on defense,
keep it simple. When you're inyour zone, just make sure you have
your check. And that's the biggestthing you worry about with the young goal
scorers and the young draft picks,because they've always thought just about offense.
They haven't dreamt about blocking shots andthey haven't dreamt about being good on the
(15:43):
back check. They haven't visualized thosethings visualized in saucer passes and top shelf
snipe, top shelf goals. Soyou know, you just hope he's got
some, you know, the youthfullegs. Tonight. I thought he start
was starting to go downhill a littlebit at the end of the season,
but younger players are prone to dothat. We saw a lot Pierre a
year ago. We saw it withLapierre the first time he was up.
(16:03):
This year the last time. Thiskid has been flying and there's an intensity
to everything that he does on theice. So that's when the light bulb
was kicking. We saw, youknow, McMichael become a complete player this
year, when last year I don'tthink he valued all the things that he's
doing now. So Miro still gotto get there, but it would be
loved. I'd love to see himscore a goal and really excite this team
and the fan base tonight. Hey, Alan, I want to ask you
(16:25):
one other thing, and it's aquestion I hate to ask. What I'm
going to If things don't go ourway tonight, then you're down to then
you're down to Game four on Sundaynight, which God, I hope it's
not the case. If it is, do you do you switch anything up?
Because there's some coaches that will godrastic and switch up a ton of
stuff. Do you go that way? Do players want it to go that
(16:48):
way or not? I guess theeasy question is do they switch to Kemper
if they if they lose tonight,Well, it all depends where the situation
is on the ice, like whatwould the loss be, and you know
where would they be would it bea tight game, because we saw last
night with the New York Islanders theychanged their goaltender and I thought it was
unnecessary, right, and maybe onesuspect goal by Varlamoff in the first two
(17:11):
games, but they've also been overwhelmedand their team completely quit playing, and
he kept the score from being tenor twelve against. And then last night
they had to pull the other goalwho led in four goals. Halfway through
the game. They go back toVarley and he was stellar the rest of
the way. So you know,you only dictate that on how well they
play tonight, how well Charlie playstonight. And we've seen what they're trying
(17:33):
to do to Charlie it's the weaknessof every goaltender in the National Hockey League.
So you've got to take away theslot pass where you're going from east
to west, west to east andshooting off the pass because the goaltender has
to outstretch. It makes his bodysmaller as he's going side to side because
he's got to lay his pads down, and it opens up the top of
the net. So defensively, they'vegot to get back to what they're doing
on the backcheck as they came downthe stretch against Tampa, against Boston,
(17:56):
against Philly where they weren't allowing anything from the inside. They weren't allowing
those slot passes. And they needto protect their goaltender tonight, who's been
so well for them all year long. Last thing. And then I'll let
you jump through the first let's callit seventy percent of the first round.
What team looks the best to youright now? Lost the Vegas Golden Knights
(18:19):
and the Florida Panthers, and andthen I've got to throw Carolina in there
as well. But you know,those three teams have looked incredible, and
I think the Vegas Golden Knights,they do all that salary cap manipulation,
which is legal. They've had theirfunny their captain who played for the general
manager and junior who also owned thatteam and was their highest paid home highest
(18:41):
paid player three years in a row. He's got on LTR and made a
miraculous miracle comeback out of the wheelchairto play Game one. So why in
his absence they were able to getthe best player out of San Jose,
Tomash Hurtle, and I think Stonescored in the very first shift of his
(19:02):
first game back in Game one.Yep, Hurdle gets on the board.
They had a defenseman go out andall of a sudden wasn't there, so
they could go get Noah Hannafin,who was the top free agent defenseman you
know if he hit free agency thissummer, so the top trade target.
So they end up getting him.They get Anthony mant who would still be
the third leading goal scorer in theWashington Capitals. They get them. All
(19:22):
of a sudden, they've got allthese guys who were really healthy that weren't
able to play. They had fiveguys that weren't able to play down the
stretch and open up all that salarycap relief. So all of a sudden,
they look like one hundred and twentymillion dollar team out there in an
eighty two million dollar cap. Sothe Vegas Golden Knight. However, they
do it, they do it,and you know what it is. The
league is run by lawyers. They'vegot their lawyers and their accountants figuring out
(19:45):
how to take care of the system. If they want to go by the
letter of the law, we'll goby the letter of the law and we'll
expose the loopholes. Very good,Alan, I will see you well,
I'll see you at the ring tonightobviously on Monumental Sports Net ahead of time.
You and Alexa are killing it,by the way. Yeah, she's
awesome to work with. She's apretty Uh. They need to get her
to go in the dressing room tonightand bring all the positive vibes because again
(20:06):
she's like bouncing off She's bouncing offthe walls at all times, and it's
uh, it's been a pleasure towork with her. She's a true professional
and uh, she probably hasn't sleptgetting ready for tonight. Good Dale,
Alan, I will see you atthe ring tonight. Thank you, my
friend. Yeah, take care.Elliott
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.