Post-mortem on the season

[UnderratedBrooks44]

Grabner can't pack Hagelin's bag to the rink. He might have better hands (which isn't saying much considering how much **** he gets for his 'hands'), but he's lacking in so many different area's that I'd take Hagelin over Grabner even if Hags cost twice as much.

I should've said "offensively" I guess. I do agree with you that Hagelin is much better in more areas.

I wasn't looking at stats at all actually. I don't even think he scored in that Devils game, and I meant when I said "for what it's worth". Also we have a few guys that don't do everything well. I still think they help the team. Grabner is a flawed player. He also would be someone that would benefit from the guys we have that would get him the puck any time he has a chance to break free and maybe score. If people don't want any part of that for lacking in other areas, all righty then.

 

[bambamcam4ever]

I only saw him on the Devils when they played the Penguins and he looked phenomenal. Take it for what it's worth, and the fact that he is basically Hagelin but can score if you get him the puck. Again, I liked the Brassard deal and that's the move I would've made, but I can't think of another type of player that would mesh better with what we do than Grabner barring an established star. A cheap player no less.

Grabner is only like Hagelin in that he is fast. He offers not much else.

 

[Deport Ogie]

Hagelin gets there fast and then forechecks the bloody hell out of the defense and retrieves the puck. Grabner gets there fast, then watches, then gets out of there fast.

 

[RizzleMcRib]

I hate the injury excuse.

Caps were missing 3 top 6 forwards last night.

Flyers best player had a torn MCL.

Every team has players that are playing injured.

But name one team that has even played close to 61 games in the last 3 playoffs.

 

[Nadal On Clay]

Letang wasn't even close to the "main cause". Pittsburgh's inability to score was a massive issue in this series. Brassard and Kessel with 0 goal apiece was a much bigger issue then Letang. The fact that only 4 forwards had ANY goals against Washington is why we lost this series. Letang is a convenient scapgoat, but only for those who are content burying their head in the sand as to the real facts.

Facts are that a lot of the players didn’t played at a level we expected. However, Letang was the one who sucked the most.

 

[BladeRunner66]

I hope Murray comes back stronger, it certainly wasn't an easy season for him by any means.


Heal, deal, feel the touch of the real again.



I'm just sad i didn't get to see Holtby destroying his stick in frustration again.

 

[Riptide]

Facts are that a lot of the players didn’t played at a level we expected. However, Letang was the one who sucked the most.

And even if that's true (I'm not going to bother debating it), it still doesn't change the fact that his play had absolutely nothing to do with us now being out of the POs.

Crosby: 3G
Guentzel: 4G
Hornqvist: 3G
Malkin: 1G

Every other forward: 0G. <- THAT IS WHY WE ARE NOW OUT OF THE POs.

When you have players like Brassard, Kessel, Sheary, Rust, etc playing in depth roles, that can't happen. Brett f***ing Connolly had more goals then everyone other than Crosby, Guentzel and Hornqvist. So did Vrana and Oshie. Washington had 9 different forwards score a goal. Pittsburgh had 4. That's why we lost.

 

[Nadal On Clay]

And even if that's true (I'm not going to bother debating it), it still doesn't change the fact that his play had absolutely nothing to do with us now being out of the POs.

Crosby: 3G
Guentzel: 4G
Hornqvist: 3G
Malkin: 1G

Every other forward: 0G. <- THAT IS WHY WE ARE NOW OUT OF THE POs.

When you have players like Brassard, Kessel, Sheary, Rust, etc playing in depth roles, that can't happen. Brett ****ing Connolly had more goals then everyone other than Crosby, Guentzel and Hornqvist. So did Vrana and Oshie. Washington had 9 different forwards score a goal. Pittsburgh had 4. That's why we lost.

Letang still remains the individual who disappointed the most.

 

[Riptide]

Letang still remains the individual who disappointed the most.

And even if that's true, it still doesn't change the fact that he wasn't the "main cause" for us now being out of the POs - which is what you said.

[mod edit] if you think Letang wasn’t the main cause the Pens lost this series.

 

[cheesedanish87]

But name one team that has even played close to 61 games in the last 3 playoffs.

Maybe fatigue hurt some players, i don't know, its hard to say.

But if their was a player you would of thought that had an excuse to be tired it would be Sid.

I thought Sid had his best playoffs this year, he was fantastic.

 

[RizzleMcRib]

Maybe fatigue hurt some players, i don't know, its hard to say.

But if their was a player you would of thought that had an excuse to be tired it would be Sid.

I thought Sid had his best playoffs this year, he was fantastic.

Sid is just a freak of nature.

 

[ziggyjoe212]

I thought the Brassard acquisition is overkill. Sheahan was on pace for 44 points as our 3c, and is perfectly adequate defensively, IMO.

Hunwick stinks and needs to be traded or released. I'm guessing the feeling is mutual.

Rust Sheahan, Simon, Kuhn, Oleksiak, Sprong are RFAs. Jooris and Rowney are UFA's. All the RFA's are worth keeping. All will demand a pay rise, only Rust's will be significant.

 

[Turin]

Ugh the hot takes. I’m going to have to take a break.

Ian Cole doesn’t make Letang miss his man, doesn’t make Murray make easy saves, doesn’t heal Phil Kessel, Evgeni Malkin and Carl Hagelin, Bryan Rust and possibly Derrick Brassard.

 

[bigkam]

Letang was not the only reason we lost that series, but he was an enormous part of it. Your supposed best defenseman cannot make the kinds of mental errors at key moments that he made all series long. Anyone who doesn't have an enormous, blinding man-crush on him can admit that much.

 

[RizzleMcRib]

Letang was not the only reason we lost that series, but he was an enormous part of it. Your supposed best defenseman cannot make the kinds of mental errors at key moments that he made all series long. Anyone who doesn't have an enormous, blinding man-crush on him can admit that much.

Nobody is saying he didn't make mistakes. Even he said he was the reason they lost game 5. But he was hardly the only one making mistakes.

 

[BladeRunner66]

Maybe fatigue hurt some players, i don't know, its hard to say.

But if their was a player you would of thought that had an excuse to be tired it would be Sid.

Key players injuries and Murray not being himself since losing his father certainly didn't help.

 

[Nadal On Clay]

And even if that's true, it still doesn't change the fact that he wasn't the "main cause" for us now being out of the POs - which is what you said.

Yes, he was

 

[RizzleMcRib]

Yes, he was

No, he wasn't

 

[DegenX]

Yes, he was

No, he wasn't

If this is what the conversation has devolved to, it's time to agree to disagree and move on.

 

[RizzleMcRib]

If this is what the conversation has devolved to, it's time to agree to disagree and move on.

No it's not.



Kidding.

 

[BigEezyE22]

Letang or no Letang, the Pens lose this series. And if not, Tampa makes short work of them.

I'd rather they not put another Pens player in Tom Wilson's crosshairs for a deciding game 7. I'd rather they get an extra 2 weeks to rest physically and mentally. I'd rather Sully get an extra 2 weeks to scheme tweaks to the system and for JR and the scouts to focus on contracts and roster building for next year.

The Pens winning this year would've been a miracle rivaling the Resurrection considering how much of the team played throughout the season. That said, with the center depth locked down as it is, there is a hell of an opportunity for next year just by rounding out some depth positions. Nothing but gratitude for the past 3 years and optimism for the next 3 from me.

 

[BladeRunner66]

Letang or no Letang, the Pens lose this series. And if not, Tampa makes short work of them.

I'd rather they not put another Pens player in Tom Wilson's crosshairs for a deciding game 7. I'd rather they get an extra 2 weeks to rest physically and mentally. I'd rather Sully get an extra 2 weeks to scheme tweaks to the system and for JR and the scouts to focus on contracts and roster building for next year.

The Pens winning this year would've been a miracle rivaling the Resurrection considering how much of the team played throughout the season. That said, with the center depth locked down as it is, there is a hell of an opportunity for next year just by rounding out some depth positions. Nothing but gratitude for the past 3 years and optimism for the next 3 from me.

I had a bad feeling against the Caps right from the start and i totally agree with your Bolts premise, hell, the Bruins had our number this season so there was no easy way out of this.

Good post.

 

[3074326]

The core played an insane amount of hockey the last few years, and we had a lot of turnover. We lost some leaders in the locker room. And who knows what would have happened if we still had the MAF/Murray tandem.

And our defense looked ****ing terrible after the deadline. But I wouldn't dare say Ian Cole had anything to do with that because them's fightin' words 'round these parts.

It was a great run and I'm glad I was able to fully enjoy both Cup runs. Even got to see a finals win in-person against San Jose. I'm proud of you Penguins!

 

[Joejosh999]

Every issue we saw in playoffs, we also saw all year in regular season, mostly summed up as : inconsistency. D breakdowns. Letang awful at times. Murray (outside of a strong streak in Jan up to concussion) inconsistent and a clear level below last 2 years.
They basically played in the POs the same way they'd played in the RS - with one exception: the ability to hold a 3rd period lead.
24-0-2 in RS, vs 1-2 when it actually counted. That is the only deviation from otherwise expected performances. They hold those leads and it's 4-1 and on to TB.

 

[UnderratedBrooks44]

Every issue we saw in playoffs, we also saw all year in regular season, mostly summed up as : inconsistency. D breakdowns. Letang awful at times. Murray (outside of a strong streak in Jan up to concussion) inconsistent and a clear level below last 2 years.
They basically played in the POs the same way they'd played in the RS - with one exception: the ability to hold a 3rd period lead.
24-0-2 in RS, vs 1-2 when it actually counted. That is the only deviation from otherwise expected performances. They hold those leads and it's 4-1 and on to TB.

Given the course of the entire season, it was kinda fitting that the dagger was another "oops, another odd man rush/breakaway".