[Suburban Rhythm]

Originally Posted by HiFiRevival

That gif found it's way to many a Caps blog/message board last year.

One of the folks at Japers Rink, easily the top Caps blog, did a shift by shift study last year of Ovi-Backstrom-???. The guys who got significant time on that top line were Laich, Chimera, Fehr and Father Time. The combo with Knuble had the worst +/- and the worst point per shift total out of the various options. Chimera actually worked best with the other two as he's faster than both and was willing to chase the puck down in the corners and let Ovi/Backstrom set up on offense instead of always trying to do a 2-on-3 breakaway.

Originally Posted by Suburban Rhythm

Chimera must be Washington's answer to Pascal Dupuis. Speed to spare, no hands. I shouldn't say no hands, he's always around 15-20. People hate him playing next to Crosby because he's not a 30+ goal scorer.

Just like you hate Knuble, there is probably a group out there that hates Chimera on the top line because of what he's not.

Every team has holes now because of the cap.

Originally Posted by HiFiRevival

Chimera is adored in DC because he's all hustle, he scores more than his hands/skill would suggest, he'll fight anyone, and he's relatively cheap (his extension is 2/3.5 for a decrease in annual salary). He actually took a pay cut to stay for 2 more years. He's not a 1st line winger, but he was/is a better 1st line option than Knuble at this point. Ovi-Johannson-Brouwer looked really good the last couple of games in preseason. There's no reason to go back to something that everyone knows doesn't work.

The only people in DC that seem to not understand how bad Knuble was last year are GMGM and Fat Boy Fat who have shown they have no idea how to put together a playoff team.

Originally Posted by Suburban Rhythm

You have more faith in fans than I do.

In a perfect world, Dupuis is a great 3rd line winger. And would be loved if he remained there. As soon as he's on Crosby's line, people go nuts.
I just think while Chimera's game would be fine in short spurts, after he botches some tap-ins, people will rail against him the same way.

Originally Posted by TurnerONU22

Fixed it for you. I loved having Chimmer on the CBJ, but saying that he had hands of stone would be an understatement. A few years back, Ken Hitchcock wanted the line of Chimera-Malhotra-Dan Fritsche to go practice shooting pucks into the ocean from the beach, because that was the only target large enough for them to hit.

Quick story about him that makes him one of my favorites is that he named his daugher Ryann, after Ryan Salmons, a teen who had terminal cancer and became almost a part of the team during their only playoff run in 2008.

Originally Posted by HiFiRevival

The thing is, Chimera really doesn't botch the tap in type of plays. He can't seem to pick up the puck on his own very well, and can simply whiff on easy passes right on the tape, but if it's sitting near the net, he'll knock it in one way or another. Knuble, on the other hand, made missing open nets an art form last year.

The ultimate issue here is that Knuble is 39, he's moving in slow motion these days, and every other player who got the RW spot on the 1st line last year increased the performance of the line over him. Ovi/Backstrom had more points on shifts with Semin than Knuble last year despite Knuble being on their line more than 3x as much as Semin.

Brouwer looked very good with Ovi/Johannson this preseason. He's the guy who will go win the puck in the corner and let Ovi, and whatever Center he has, set up and not have to wear themselves out playing 2-on-3. Instead, it looks like the Knuble failure will continue.

Of course, this is the coach who is putting Ovi back on the PP point again despite the PP being under 10% when Ovi is on the point and over 20% when he's either on the half board or in front of the net.

Originally Posted by Suburban Rhythm

Chimera = Dupuis
Knuble = Guerin
Brouwer = Kunitz

Penguins and Caps are more alike than fans want to believe...can't we all just get along?

Chimera > Cooke > Ovechkin