NYIJM29 Posted December 21, 2011 Report Share Posted December 21, 2011 I don't agree with Lemieux calling out the Islanders like that. What transpired in that game should have NEVER happened in the first place. IMO let the league officials handle it. No way either organization needs to speak out and bash the other. I am so glad Zenon Konopka took down his Mario Lemieux poster after the game Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brilliant! Posted December 21, 2011 Report Share Posted December 21, 2011 Matt Cooke has changed his game. I have to give him that. But, at the time last year, he was still wearing the A while running wild on the ice so I still stand by what I said as it pertained to last year. I do agree about Chris Neil too. He's another one of those dangerous types. Cam Janssen is another. He just looks like he's 'roided up half the time and will end up killing somebody on the ice one of these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dasle Posted December 21, 2011 Report Share Posted December 21, 2011 I missed most of the thread, but I think it's a dumb rivalry, falsely created because both teams sucked a lot at the same time, drafted marketable superstars and are relatively close enough to pretend they hate each other. Let's be real though, there is no history, no relevance in terms of Pittsburgh vs. DC, and fan bases who are too new to realize this... Please note, this is not an affront at any long time Pens/Caps fans who stuck with their teams through some dark years, just a generalization of how most perceive the newer and larger portion of each fanbase. There is a history....just very different in how it's viewed. Caps see the Pens as a rival, but not the other way around, since the caps have lost to the Pens in all meaningful games. (No, the WC doesn't count...that's just a glorified regular season match.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sluggermatt15 Posted December 22, 2011 Report Share Posted December 22, 2011 There is a history....just very different in how it's viewed. Caps see the Pens as a rival, but not the other way around, since the caps have lost to the Pens in all meaningful games. (No, the WC doesn't count...that's just a glorified regular season match.) Very true statement. Had the Caps won any meaningful games against Pittsburgh (in the post-season) then I think it would be more of a rivalry. But today, IMO, the media hypes it up much greater than it actually is (not that it's anything new....) and as was said above, uses Crosby and Ovechkin as the centerfold. And because Washington has dominated Pittsburgh lately, I think it's drawing the ire of Penguins fans slightly more now, but not to the point of a heated rivalry. IMO the media instigates a lot of non-sense and hypes up rivalries that are not really as big as they say. I think the Penguins/Red Wings is in the same boat. Before the '08 Stanley Cup there was no Pittsburgh/Detroit rivalry. But because the teams played each other in back-to-back Cup Finals, things have become a little more "intense" according to the media. And now when the teams play, the media mentions, oh it's a rematch of the Finals... But honestly, WHO CARES!?!?!? It's just 2 teams playing one another. You'd think they would forget about the significance.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guam64 Posted December 22, 2011 Report Share Posted December 22, 2011 There are a shitton of Yinzers in DC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sluggermatt15 Posted December 23, 2011 Report Share Posted December 23, 2011 There are a shitton of Yinzers in DC. Including myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConcreteCharlie Posted December 24, 2011 Report Share Posted December 24, 2011 Emotionally I like the Caps in the lesser-of-two-evils kind of way that I root for the Redskins against the Giants or Cowboys. But logically, come on, the Capitals are a talented bunch of losers and the Pens are a hard-working bunch of winners. Bylsma is one of the best coaches in the league, hands down, he will have a wonderful career. He's already on par with guys like Trotz and Laviolette and whomever else you think are the best in the business. Boudreau was a great personality and he's cool to talk to but he is a middling players' coach. Pointless to even evaluate him now, he's in purgatory with this listless bunch of Ducks now. The Caps should just play their open style. They worked so hard to tighten up last year, I think the stat was that they gave up 30 some odd fewer goals, well look at how many fewer they SCORED. Goal differential got WAY worse, and they were still not a championship caliber team. This year they had a great offseason, McPhee gave them a lot to work with, and they are still hardly an odds-on favorite. In fact, with the additions of Ward, Brouwer, Vokoun and Hamrlik and the subtraction of few if any significant players, they are worse! The Penguins do as much withOUT their STARS as the Capitals do with their "stars." They make shrewd moves and they are starting to draft better, too, IMO. Yes, they lucked out by sucking badly at the right time but they also have pulled guys from other places than the very top of the first round (although Sid, Gino and Fleury all came from there). Semin I've always thought was a pseudo star, he has great skills but he is super soft. It's weird how when you don't engage yourself consistently in the parts of the game you're bad at (which are numerous for him), you also don't engage yourself consistently in the parts of the game you're GOOD at. That's why guys like he and Kovalchuk are such flakes, it isn't their birthplace, it's their mentality. Mike Green is a mostly one-dimensional player who's since added the injury prone tag. I have never seen a player go from underrated to overrated so quickly. Where a guy like Dan Boyle rounded out his game and became a true #1 DMan, Green to me is still like a 1B or 2 who QBs the PP. Not a stud. They have some young guys that are coming around, I think they will be fine back there down the line. Too bad Pittsburgh has a nice group that gels well RIGHT TODAY. Too bad they dont have Scuderi anymore, he was right to take the money but that guy is a quiet bad Arse, great competitor and very sound on D. Vokoun was always a goalie made for a bad team, could face of lot of rubber, get in a rhythm, make some tough stops and, often, look like the team's best player in a loss. I don't know if he's just old now or he was never really cut out for a winning team but he is nearing done. SO glad the Flyers didn't sign him. Pittsburgh has Fleury, a guy I think is better than his numbers. He is like a pitcher who stays ahead and gets a lot of wins. He can win a game 2-1 or 7-6 with the same kind of mentality, I love that. I have been pulling hard for Ovechkin from the jump, never really endeared myself to Sid but Sid turned the corner on him BIG TIME last season before the concussion. Ovechkin is probably not a captain type of leader, he is more of a by-example/energy guy. It's not like they had a strong, established captain before he got there or anything, but I think in time he will wear the A and someone a bit steadier will wear the C there. They should take some pressure off of him because he feels it big time now. Anyway I think those are my pertinent thoughts. Right now love the setup in Pittsburgh, I think Washington needs work in some very important areas. They decided to go all in on Russians, I am very curious to see how that works out since Kuznetsov and Orlov haven't arrived yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lethalpuffin Posted December 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 25, 2011 Thank you all for the responses. Its always good to hear from a third party. Here its all caps and pens. I personally think the pens are a better team but i think ovi is the better player. I don think he should be the captain i agree hes more of the lead by example type. I think green should go and semin just disappears too often to call him good. Ovi in the past 2-3 years has become more of a team player and defensive player and i like that but hes been analyzed too much hes not the star like he used to be. Im glad hunter is coach just to have some familiar faces to build onto the small history we have. I hope we get in the groove and can pull through. I also think neither are the best teams and dont deserve the recognition. Same withthe players. Maybe a few years ago but both players have settled into the league and dont stand out. At least the redskins suck consistently! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sluggermatt15 Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Thank you all for the responses. Its always good to hear from a third party. Here its all caps and pens. I personally think the pens are a better team but i think ovi is the better player. I don think he should be the captain i agree hes more of the lead by example type. I think green should go and semin just disappears too often to call him good. Ovi in the past 2-3 years has become more of a team player and defensive player and i like that but hes been analyzed too much hes not the star like he used to be. Im glad hunter is coach just to have some familiar faces to build onto the small history we have. I hope we get in the groove and can pull through. I also think neither are the best teams and dont deserve the recognition. Same withthe players. Maybe a few years ago but both players have settled into the league and dont stand out. At least the redskins suck consistently! Firstly, I just moved to the DC area, so I am a Penguins fan in Caps Country. I guess it could be worse! Both Sid and Ovi are so talented offensively. They score goals in unbelievable fashion. Sid always finds a way to put the puck in the net while Ovi has a wicked shot that he uses to blow the puck by the goalie. I think straight up, since their inception into the league, Ovechkin has the edge in the offensive aspect of the game. He's scored more goals and has more points and I think he's played on teams who have struggled. But I don't think you can say Ovechkin is the better OVERALL player. That would go to Sidney. I watch a handful of Caps games here and there since I now live in the DC area, and nothing against Ovechkin, but from my observations, I don't believe the guy has much of a defensive game. I tend to notice that when the puck is in the Caps defensive zone in the corner, he's standing at the top of the circle/blue line area waiting for the puck. When the puck comes out, he gets it and start jetting up ice. When you watch Crosby, he goes right into the corner to get the puck and help his defensemen out. This is just one example, but there's a stark contrast between these 2 guys when it comes to their defensive efforts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guam64 Posted January 17, 2012 Report Share Posted January 17, 2012 But I don't think you can say Ovechkin is the better OVERALL player. That would go to Sidney. I watch a handful of Caps games here and there since I now live in the DC area, and nothing against Ovechkin, but from my observations, I don't believe the guy has much of a defensive game. I tend to notice that when the puck is in the Caps defensive zone in the corner, he's standing at the top of the circle/blue line area waiting for the puck. When the puck comes out, he gets it and start jetting up ice. When you watch Crosby, he goes right into the corner to get the puck and help his defensemen out. This is just one example, but there's a stark contrast between these 2 guys when it comes to their defensive efforts. Wingers usually cover the point and centers normally drop down low to help the defensemen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYIJM29 Posted January 17, 2012 Report Share Posted January 17, 2012 Wingers usually cover the point and centers normally drop down low to help the defensemen. Someone should explain this to the Islanders Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guam64 Posted January 18, 2012 Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 Someone should explain this to the Islanders :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYIJM29 Posted January 18, 2012 Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 I cant believe the Isles just shut out the Caps And Pierre Alexandre Parenteau had 2 ginos I hate Dale Hunter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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