tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14971098.post587502977692000239..comments2024-03-17T21:09:46.268-04:00Comments on The Peerless Prognosticator: Questions: Does He Have What It Takes?The Peerlesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10293195514553989436noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14971098.post-27537599879891131742011-05-10T13:29:19.350-04:002011-05-10T13:29:19.350-04:00"When the system isn't working and you go..."When the system isn't working and you got only four games to figure out how to win, sticking with a failing gameplan despite how it worked in the regular season doesn't speak well of the coaching."<br /><br />So how do you explain Montreal's decision to stick with their system last year despite being down 3-1? Was that foolhardy stubbornness?<br /><br />If not why isn't it foolhardy stubborness for Montreal, but when the Caps dominated most of games 1-3 against Tampa it is foolhardy and stubborn not to adjust?<br /><br />My point is that "adjustments" are mythologized and overrated, and simply trying harder and being more disciplined are underrated.Red Roverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15233795076874610127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14971098.post-27519126237841196622011-05-09T22:41:20.080-04:002011-05-09T22:41:20.080-04:00"The crime to me is the inability to force yo..."The crime to me is the inability to force your own gameplan down the other team's throats because of deficiencies in leadership and heart."<br /><br />I disagree with this utterly and completely. This is wishful thinking and mythologizing. Teams figure out how to beat you, and "imposing your will" becomes "foolhardy stubborness" if you are unwilling to adjust to those tactics. That is basic coaching, and champions learn how to be smart as well as talented. What I saw last year against Montreal was a team who had solved the Capitals' system (they did not play the same way during the regular season, and they used the same tactics against Pittsburgh--a similar offensive team--as well), and despite how the Capitals controlled and offensively dominated the last two games, they could not win. In game 7, Scott Walker talked about "sticking with our system"--that was the message from the coaching staff. There was an unwillingness to make adjustments--like the way Mark French made adjustments in the 2010 Calder Cup finals after the Bears lost the first two games. Yes, there was leadership on the ice to convey that message, but the fact remains that the message was different in DC. <br /><br />And that's a major problem. When the system isn't working and you got only four games to figure out how to win, sticking with a failing gameplan despite how it worked in the regular season doesn't speak well of the coaching.exwhalernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14971098.post-59421707138856476042011-05-09T15:24:49.694-04:002011-05-09T15:24:49.694-04:00During last night's Detroit/San Jose battle, E...During last night's Detroit/San Jose battle, Engblom quoted Mike Babcock as claiming the Wings' formula for sucess was "Work ethic, then will, then skill," and this was, presciently, immediately prior to Detroit hanging three on the Sharks by working harder for every puck, shattered ankles (Franzen) and mangled wrists (Datsyuk) be damned. And then it dawned on me: my/our beloved Capitals have the reverse formula-- Supreme Skill (see: Semin), then will ("Our goal is the Cup"), then, at the end, work ethic. Seems to me if Coach B wants to etch his name on this franchise (and a Cup)he might take a page from the Babcock files...Doug B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16782408742184452212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14971098.post-67292052727307450782011-05-09T13:12:09.596-04:002011-05-09T13:12:09.596-04:00I thought Bruce wasn't a coffee drinker...I thought Bruce wasn't a coffee drinker...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14971098.post-28929000923559985732011-05-09T11:06:40.644-04:002011-05-09T11:06:40.644-04:00There are two sides to this coin. One side:
"...There are two sides to this coin. One side:<br /><br />"In 2009 the Penguins used a withering forecheck to create turnovers and unleash a barrage of shots at rookie goaltender Semyon Varlamov. The Caps won Games 1 and 2, but allowed 36 shots on goal in each. The barrage never stopped – or more to the point, the Caps never had an answer for it."<br /><br />This would suggest that sticking to your gameplan when you know it works and relentlessly forcing it down the throats of the other team is the best strategy.<br /><br />The other side is this:<br /><br />"But the lack of success in a short series, even against opponents against which the Caps had regular season success, point to a lack of nimbleness, an inability to adjust tactics on the fly, to react when the other guys act."<br /><br />Here's the thing. The Caps lost to teams who stuck with the former strategy. The teams who shoved their style down the Caps' throats and ignored what the Caps were doing. They didn't adopt or change on the fly. They set out to do their own thing from the get-go, and were relentless and patient and believed in it. And it paid off. And that's what better teams do: they impose their will and make you adjust.<br /><br />I don't think it's wrong per se to have that mentality. When you set out in a series you want, as a coach, to show and tell your players that this is THEIR series and the other team will have to adjust to us. For the most part, I thought the Caps did that in games 1-3 against Tampa.<br /><br />So to me the crime isn't the inability to "adjust on the fly," Peerless. The crime to me is the inability to force your own gameplan down the other team's throats because of deficiencies in leadership and heart. When you suck every first period (this postseason), or when you get impatient and start holding the stick tight and taking terrible shots from terrible angles (Montreal last year), that shows a problem to me that tactical adjustments don't solve. That shows that the team is generally disorganized, loose around the edges, unmotivated, and unled.<br /><br />It's the other side of the coaching coin. And it's just as problematic. But it's also a rotting from within the core of the lineup. That's what is so hurtful to me. Four painful years later and the men that lace up their skates every day still don't get it.Red Roverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15233795076874610127noreply@blogger.com