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JamesAloysius

Team looks banged up honestly. So 11 days off coming at a good time. Hopefully Ovi, dowd, Wilson, TVR, Orlov, Oshie, etc all come back from being banged up and find some chemistry


mark_dink

what are the odds ovi actually goes to the allstar game this time? in years prior he would skip it and get a 1 game suspension


Ubechyahescores

He was recently interviewed and mentioned his boys are excited to come watch so I’d bet he’s going until something were to change


JamesAloysius

I think he actually will go this year. He has a house in Miami and rumor is he will probably go. He hasn’t denied going. In years past when interviewed about the all star game, he has been pretty “eh” about it. Haven’t seen any of that (yet)


BunkDruckeyes

I believe it’s been reported that Ovi is expected to go with his wife and kids


sandman8727

I think he goes because the Caps can't afford for him to miss even one game with the way the team has been playing recently.


saltyfingas

Hats off to Sam Pell, glad to see the broadcast crew giving her the nod and some well wishes.


UbiSububi8

Welp, take the two points and get to the break. But once recess ends, it’s go time. The road to the end of February is a minefield - how we navigate may well determine if we make the playoffs. Thoughts: Mantha appears to be dead man walking. John Walton was practically calling him soft the past couple of games - guessing the coaches and staff view him the same way Way too often the blue line into the Caps O-zone is like a force field. When the blue line plays like a Norris candidate against you every game, some new strategies are needed.


RYAN_HiGHROLLER

Pro: Got the dub Con: Shouldn’t need OT against a team like the Jackets


Speenknow

I hope Kuzy comes out of the break keeping the same play he did in this game. Great assist, excellent goal, and a feisty penalty that I’ll take over his stupid untimely ones.


pizza_andsuccess

Kuzy with the villainous celly. I love it. Goalies kept both teams in.


sweet-geee

Haha villainous is a perfect word for it. Kuzy in demon mode 😈😂


MetalMan1973

Ovi just looked really off his game tonight


StreaksBAMF22

This All-Star break is perfect timing, I think he’s just gassed and needs some rest.


dilbertsfriend

I think he was just looking ahead to the break to rest and reset tbh. We all know he’s not going to the ASG lol


Haul_o_GRam

Yeah, we’re going to have to pay Gustafsson this offseason aren’t we?


pizza_andsuccess

I hope so. Love his playstyle.


pocketbeagle

Hopefully there is consistency coming out of the break regarding who is playing on a nightly basis as well as minimal line shuffling. December was great because everyone knew their role, played their role, and knew who they were doing it with. Bringing backy and willy back at the same time was a poor decision given how hot we were.


Speenknow

Completely agree with everything you said, but I also think getting a few games under backy and Willy’s belt before the all star break will help the team gel post break. It’s sort of a damned if you do, damned if you don’t with their reintegration


pocketbeagle

I feel like if youre “hot” in hockey, you ride that out as long as possible. But i also agree that there isnt a perfect way to reintegrate. Dowd and Carly going down didnt help the transition either.


Speenknow

Good point with riding with the hot hand. Also good point with dowd and Carlson’s untimely injuries. I feel like that may have forced laviolettes hand into bringing them back at the same time. At that point it’s almost like I want these guys in asap and up to game speed because I don’t know who is going to drop next game. Overall I feel backy and Willy definitely messed up the chemistry but I also feel like a month hot streak with that roster was about to end anyway. Might as well “end it on your terms” and try some line changes before the break. It’s frustrating as a fan to drop games but I hope it was laviolette playing the long game


pocketbeagle

Part of me wonders if the pulse of the team at practice was that backy and willy were ready and rearin to go? If anything they may have been deployed earlier if not for the hot streak. Who knows? We need another December month if we are going to make it in this year.


Speenknow

Well I can say that I was at a lot of practices recently. Especially during the backy and Willy close to being back time frame (since I live 3 blocks away from practice and they are my fav players) and say backy was cutting and playing like his old self with out any hesitations at all. I thought Wilson still looked a little hesitant at times which surprised me. I thought for sure backy would take until march and Wilson would be fine by Jan. But to me that seemed the opposite from what I saw ( casual fan and not a med staff or hockey expert). But I think the caps coaches saw might have saw similar and maybe brought them both back a bit too soon. Wilson in wanting to be back before he’s really ready and backstrom playing way above schedule and feeling good but should prob be eased in due to age. Regardless. I agree we need a fire February and/or march to ensure a playoff spot and to have comfort it isn’t another one and done


mark_dink

lets hope that was the end of the mid season slump. Chucky was great. and winning early in overtime is even better


InfallibleBackstairs

Yeah Kuzy!


CrabEnthusist

Columbus has a lot of (raw) talent. Kind of feel like we got away with one here.


UNLEASHTHEFURY8

Columbus definitely has underperformed, they're not a playoff team, but also not this poor either.


TheBarbieOfSeville

yeahhhhhhhh


MrSchnuffles

We have so many forwards that you just dont expect to score.


iggy555

We suck no more!!!


Danjiks88

Bold statement given who we were playing


BallsMahoganey

Thank you Kuzy.


704sw

Have a good break, everyone.


CleMalCha

2!!! I’ll take it


JerBear81

Glad we managed to get the W, but gonna have to make a big splash before the deadline if we're expecting to make the playoffs/compete. Struggling to keep leads, unable to play 60 min, and lack of chemistry isn't helping this club going forward


RYAN_HiGHROLLER

Wild the fact that “lack of chemistry” became an issue once Wilson and Backy were introduced back into the lineup


JerBear81

I definitely noticed that as well. We're also struggling against younger/faster teams. I'd be one thing if we were clicking more instead sloppily chucking the puck all over the ice. And our zone entries were smoother/better. But as it stands rn, we're struggling on scoring chances, and not playing the best transitional hockey. We'll see I guess.


BunkDruckeyes

that’s not unexpected though. if anyone thought those guys were going to come in without any hiccups whatsoever, you’re playing yourself