The Confluence
Capitals Win Winter Classic over Penguins, 3-1
by Tony on 01/02/11 at 09:59 AM ET
Comments (7)
Well, it’s over. (And I’m sure many say, Thank Goodness)
Kudos to the Capitals for the win. To me, it became apparent as the game went on that the Caps did a much better job of adjusting to the ice and weather conditions than the Penguins. Specifically, give the Caps’ coaching staff credit, they soon realized that conditions made it near impossible that anyone was going to dangle threw the entire defense, and they simply set up a pseudo-trap that the Penguins never really countered.
Looked like a great atmosphere at Heinz Field for fans of both teams.
Some other observations:
- NBC’s broadcast was mostly horrible. The camera angles were terrible, especially that overhead cam, it simply cannot keep up with the puck. The blimp cam was OK for a quick shot, but not for anything else. And Franco and The Bus? What a colossal fail.
- GREAT to see Jordan Staal not only on the ice, but excelling. He was arguably the best Penguin on the ice, and that’s with Staal admittedly being rusty with his timing. I think his addition is going to help Evgeni Malkin a lot.
- Loved HCDB’s hat.
- The decision to scratch speedy Chris Conner and play Arron Asham (4:37 of ice time) or Mike Rupp (5:29) backfired in my view. May not have made a bit of difference in the end, but with the players already looking like they were skating in sand, having Conner’s speed out there wouldn’t have hurt. With Staal back now, it’s going to be interesting who gets scratched.
- Again, not saying it would have made a difference in the end, but after watching CBC’s coverage, it sure looked like Mike Green should have been called for a hand pass on the Caps’ first goal.
- Marc-Andre Fleury had a night to remember, but not in a positive light. Not only did he flub stopping the puck behind the net that led to the Caps’ second goal, he’s damn lucky that if not for Brooks Orpik, Jason Chimera had a wide-open wraparound when Fleury was out of his net again.
- Another gooseegg for the Penguins’ powerplay, going 0-for-4, now 21st in the league with a 16.5%.
Time for the HBO cameras to go home now, while the Caps and Pens get back in their normal routine getting ready for the 2nd half. Penguins are back in action Wednesday against Tampa Bay.
Filed in: | The Confluence | Permalink
Tags: NHL-Hockey, Pittsburgh+Penguins, Washington+Capitals,
Comments
Tony,
Right on the money with most of your analysis. Strongly agree about the NBC broadcast. I’m a fan of the Staal boys in general and I’m happy to see him back, too.
Posted by MarkK from Maryland on 01/02/11 at 11:17 AM ET
Spot on.
Without Connor, the buzz line doesn’t buzz.
Worst Camera work I’ve seen in any game. Wonder what the CBC broadcast was like…
The Capitals adjusted to the bad conditions by keeping it simple. The Penguins did not.
Also, stick-tap to Alex Ovechkin for stopping short instead of killing Marc-Andre Fleury when Ovechkin went flying around the net. He clearly didn’t expect Fleury to be there.
Posted by StevieSteve on 01/02/11 at 11:45 AM ET
I thought the CBC broadcast was pretty great, though I think Hughson is getting more and more dumbed down each season since he got the big job, and Healy is unnecessarily extremely negative anytime he opens his mouth-he’s a detriment, but NBC’s coverage is as always like a local news station covering a local high school basketball tournament. It’s so amateurish and campy.
I do have to thank NBC for the pregame on-ice coverage though, as CBC didn’t go on air until puck drop because the Leafs were on, then Coaches Corner had to be shown, with Don Cherry praising the junior Marlies - important stuff.
I thought when they used the zip-line cam thing from the NFL, it gave a new dimension to the play, able to see the (depth?) of the puck moving up the ice. It gave a new perspective, and CBC used it at the right moments. I really liked it.
Posted by NathanBC on 01/02/11 at 02:13 PM ET
Pens Still Have the FATAL flaw No legit Top 2 Line Wingers ! Kunitz & Dupuis on Sid’s line is a JOKE & moving Geno to wing where he looks like a fish out of Water so they casn make Shero’s Boytoy Staal a 2nd Center is going to over like the Hindenburg.
Keep Sid & Geno under control & you beat The Pens !
Other than that Spot on Tony !!
By the way .. Other than being friends with Mario Why in Gods name is Meloche still employed
Posted by Evilpens on 01/02/11 at 02:26 PM ET
The Pens fatal flaw last night was the Caps put more importance in this game and wanted it more. I thought the Pens started out sluggish, came on a bit after that. In the 3rd, they were getting good pressure on the Caps until the teams switched ends. After that, it seemed the Pens lost traction, the Caps capitalized on a mistake and that was the game.
Posted by pens fan in baltimore on 01/02/11 at 04:33 PM ET
//beats dead horse
- Another gooseegg for the Penguins’ powerplay, going 0-for-4, now 21st in the league with a 16.5%.
To me this is the biggest problem, and it’s been going on now for the better half of 2 seasons. I don’t care about their rank, but with the talent they put out there they should be at 20%. This needs to be fixed and soon.
Posted by Lindas1st from New England on 01/02/11 at 06:51 PM ET
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- NBC’s broadcast was mostly horrible. The camera angles were terrible, especially that overhead cam, it simply cannot keep up with the puck. The blimp cam was OK for a quick shot, but not for anything else. And Franco and The Bus? What a colossal fail.
My thoughts exactly. I was praying somehow I could get a CBC feed but that was not answered.
Posted by hockeychic from Denver, CO on 01/02/11 at 11:03 AM ET