I don't have the words to express the disappointment. Just embarrassing. We never really put up a fight. Sure, the Lightning may have gotten the bounces but they created those bounces by attacking. Yes, pucks went off our defenders legs or they went off their legs into our net but they were smart enough to crash our net and throw the puck at our net. Bottom line is that we didn't lose, we were beaten. They played smarter. They played harder. They had a better system to negate anything we threw at them.
Outside of a couple of guys, we didn't play with any passion or intensity. We were beaten to pucks. We lost one on one battles. Our defenders fumbled the puck many times. Passes weren't crisp or positioned to allow the recipient to do much with the puck. We didn't crash the net effectively.
Robs was right in that the plan should have been pretty simple. Take shots, Roloson allows plenty of rebounds and crash the net to put back in the rebounds. I can't count the number of times yesterday that they threw a puck right across the net and it went right through because either no one was there or if they were there, they didn't crash the net. That's all the Lightning did. They got bodies to the net and they created traffic.
Blame goes to the coaches as well as the players. I am also VERY disappointed with most of the players but particularly Backstrom and Semin. They did nothing in this round. Not sure if either or both were injured but the big time players need to step up. That is why they are paid the big bucks. Boudreau said that he doesn't know of a team that can win without its big players playing well.
It comes down to another disappointing year and really a waste of a season. I believe Laughlin said it last night in that we are no longer the young guns and guys need to figure this out. They are getting older and the window is already starting to close. We will still be good but I do believe our best shot was this year.
I can take losing if I feel like there is good effort but to be swept by a team I feel we are better then and to be outworked and outplayed by them, it's just unacceptable. It really leaves a bad taste in your mouth and we have to live with it for not just the offseason but the entire regular season because nothing really matters with this team until the playoffs next year.
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I have just now climbed out of my dark basement and have recovered enough to comment on the Caps' performance against the Lightning. In a word...poop.
Poop. That's what they played like. Poop is soft, sloppy, and when you see it you want to turn your eyes away because it's just unpleasant to look at. The Caps were poop. We were out-coached, out-hustled and out-finessed.
I went into this season with absolutely no care for what happened in the regular season. I don't know what I expect out of next season now. Like you said, this was our best shot and the window may be closing. If it closes, at least the smell of poop won't permeate and irritate us all so much since our expectations can be set lower.
Oh well...At least the Nats are a .500 team so far this year. Yay!
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