Brian Sickles: Game 5: WSH 3, FLA 5 - Washington Lets Another Lead Slip Away

"The Comeback Cats is a catchy name but lets call a spade a spade, it means they a constantly down in games and having to claw back."

When the refs keep rewarding Caps with ticky-tack and sometimes phantom calls, it's pretty easy to see why Florida gets down in these games - they've been playing 2 opponents all series.

Also, Verhaeghe's heroics aside, Florida outplayed Washington in game 2, game 4 and large stretches of last night. The idea "Caps are on to the next round quite easily" is just silly.

Yes and remove verhaeghe from that paragraph and insert oshie for the caps and its the same deal since he has the majority of points for the caps.

"The Comeback Cats is a catchy name but lets call a spade a spade, it means they a constantly down in games and having to claw back."

When the refs keep rewarding Caps with ticky-tack and sometimes phantom calls, it's pretty easy to see why Florida gets down in these games - they've been playing 2 opponents all series.

Also, Verhaeghe's heroics aside, Florida outplayed Washington in game 2, game 4 and large stretches of last night. The idea "Caps are on to the next round quite easily" is just silly.
- jacke1ope

I guess he thinks a team that blows a late 2-1 lead and 3-0 lead is a Stanley Cup final caliber

How many more 2nd overall picks do the Devils need until they finally get good? Maybe you should concern yourself with that?

I think not many Caps fans actually believe what you say (Stanley Cup caliber) but every playoff entry each year has a measure of hope. The Caps are a veteran team which is an advantage against a team who has not done it yet. The thing I am seeing is the PANTHERS coaching staff and players have done a great job tweaking their game plan, in game. They are playing to the Caps style and beating them at it! I think the Panthers talent level is higher and it is showing now. If Barkov ever wakes up, the Caps are done, and could be done as soon as Friday night. The age of the Caps seems to be a factor too. Backstrom looks done with his hip problems and might be his last season either this year or next. Tom Wilson was an important loss also. The Panthers are the P Trophy winners and in their prime now. This is not a surprise that they will move on most likely. I was pleased that the Caps have hung in there and have made it a good long series contrary to popular opinion.

Verhage is lighting it up because the Caps are too focused on his linemates. Oshie lived this in college with Jonathan Toews on the same line. When they were doubled team their line mate Ryan Duncan would score. He eventually won the Hobey and no one heard from him again. If Cats would just play for the rebound on PP it might be a different story.

Yes and remove verhaeghe from that paragraph and insert oshie for the caps and its the same deal since he has the majority of points for the caps.
- Shynes57

I believe there is some truth to what you are saying. However when I look at Verhaeghe and Oshie's production relative to their entire team, Verhaeghe embodies a greater % of point production. Here is a little breakdown from this playoffs:

Capitals:
Total Points Production from All Players - 44 points
Players Recording at Least a Point - 18
Players Recording at Least a Goal - 12
TJ Oshie Series Points - 6
Percentage of Team Points TJ Oshie has accounted for - 6/44 = 13.6%

Panthers:
Total Points Production from All Players - 40 points
Players Recording at Least a Point - 14
Players Recording at Least a Goal - 10
Carter Verhaeghe Series Points - 10
Percentage of Team Points Carter Verhaeghe has accounted for - 10/40 = 25.0%

The Caps have more points, more skaters who have recorded a point, and more skaters who have recorded a goal. All-in-all, that is a much more balanced point production compared to the Panthers.

My final point with data to back it up...Verhaeghe is carrying the Panthers more than Oshie is carrying the Caps.

"The Comeback Cats is a catchy name but lets call a spade a spade, it means they a constantly down in games and having to claw back."

When the refs keep rewarding Caps with ticky-tack and sometimes phantom calls, it's pretty easy to see why Florida gets down in these games - they've been playing 2 opponents all series.

Also, Verhaeghe's heroics aside, Florida outplayed Washington in game 2, game 4 and large stretches of last night. The idea "Caps are on to the next round quite easily" is just silly.
- jacke1ope

So youre saying the reason the Panthers had to comeback from 2 and 3 goal deficits all regular season was because of ticky-tack and sometimes phantom calls? I know you are obviously referring to this series but my initial point was in reference to the regular season and how its presented itself this series.

I will give you game two 100%. I looked back at the stats and Florida did have the advantages for corsi for percentage, high danger chances, xGF. Those metrics generally translate to wins and wins that teams deserve.

In reference to game 4 and game 5. In the exact scenario of the game, the Caps win game four 9 out of 10 times. They shot themselves in the foot there. Up 2-1, they had multiple breakaways in the third period and a missed empty net. In my eyes that is a missed opportunity and a game the Caps should have won if they dont choke. Assuming the Caps actually finish that game off like they should have...its 3-1 in the series. Game 5 was a total collapse. Very rarely do teams lose a playoff game when they have a 3-0 lead. Up until that first Panthers goal, the Caps were dominating. So in a majority of instances of that exact scenario, the Caps would have won game five. Series is over 4-1.

But I am living in a fantasy world where the Caps actually do what championship teams do and that is properly finish off opponents when they have a high percentage chance to. As much as I sit here and complain about coulda shoulda woulda, I do have to give the Panthers a ton of credit. They are likely facing and immense amount of pressure as the presidents trophy winners. Even with their top guys not producing, their PP not producing, and their PK not producing, they are still finding ways to win. That is what great elite teams do. They could have rolled over in game five when they were down three goals. On the positive side of coming back in a lot of games is that they have the experience and confidence to know they have done it multiple times, why not again. I do not want to take anything away from Florida. It is impressive how they have seized momentum in this series when pretty much everything but Verhaeghe has just been okay.

Thanks for the comment, jacke1ope! It has been a fun series and I appreciate your engagement, even if we dont see eye to eye at times lol.

I guess he thinks a team that blows a late 2-1 lead and 3-0 lead is a Stanley Cup final caliber
- devils2929

I never said the Caps were Stanley Cup caliber. Maybe I used poor wording there. I am just not buying this Florida team at their value

I have been very vocal about my cautious optimism with this team. Stanley Cup is the dream but this Caps team has many many flaws. It would take a miracle for a deep run like that. Do I or really any Caps fans truly think we can do it? Sure, we can dream. And hey, maybe a miracle run is in the cards, but I think most of us deep inside acknowledge who and what this team is.

I think whoever wins this series can play a competitive series against TB. If Toronto wins game 7, they would likely win in a matchup against whoever wins this series