Joined: Aug. 2020
Posts: 1,702
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Was at the game last night. A few observations:
1. I think every Caps fan would say this - Mantha was very noticeable (in a fantastic way). He was strong offensively, and even threw his body around a touch. One thing I noticed (that drove me nuts) - his defensive zone breakouts are horrible. He tries to chip it against the wall everytime he gets the puck in the d zone, and it rarely works. Other than that, I thought he played very well - build on that big man!
2. Milano was outstanding - absoluately flying around. I think he is our most effective player in this young season.
3. Jack Hughes is very good at hockey.
4. Fun to see Shepard, but I don't see him as an NHL goalie. Would like to see more of him and be proven wrong.
5. TVR skated around the ice almost every TV timeout - maybe he is trying to work out a nagging injury...? Something to monitor I guess
6. Jensen seems off so far this year - not as reliable. Might just be taking some time to get used to the new system (it took him almost 1.5 years to get used to the Caps system when he came from Detroit, so I am giving him some time before really critiquing his play).
7. I thought the Caps started to play "safe" too early last night (looked to be almost 10 min left in the 3rd). I really think, because the Caps are not the best defensively, they need to keep up the pressure on offense late in the game when holding a one goal lead. Don't just make teams play the full length of the ice for 10+ min (i.e., just chipping it into the zone and falling back) won't work for an older team.
Anyways, good win. Build on this