GDT: SCF Game #4 - Sharks vs Penguins - 5:00pm PDT NBC / CBC / TVAS

[jakeytown]

I just have no hope left. This sucks. A little over a week ago I told myself it didn't matter, as this team shattered expectations. But that was just a lie to myself. It did matter. Losing this series will strip away that joy I had after game 6. It's awesome to have made it this far, but I don't think I'll ever be happy with the way it will inevitably end up. I'll smile when they raise the Western Conference banner, probably followed by crying because it wasn't good enough lol

 

[Levie]

Pete sounds totally defeated.

 

[Bleedred]

Great. And now I just saw on sportcentre that Hertl I'd expected to miss the remainder of the series. Not blaming him or anything but I'd really like to know what kind of injure he's dealing with that he can't play through it? I really do wanna know because we need him BAD anf this is killing us.

It's weird how one person is saying Pavelski shouldn't play if injured, and then others have said that Hertl should probably play unless he's really injured.

No one on both sides will be happy I guess with either.

 

[Episkey]

DeBoer saying Hertl day-to-day. Said that Czech reporter isn't in the room, doesn't see what they see.

Unfortunately that's hard for me to believe.

 

[do0glas]

A ton of goals against were completely the third pair's fault though. When your team can't score, it makes every goal against that much worse.
I'm blaming Dillon just as much as Polak.

I'm sorry but our forwards just weren't doing enough on either end of the ice. Lovejoy and Cole are on the other team.

Polak and Dillon haven't played well at all. But you don't lose because of a third pairing. You lose because you can't score more than the other team. Ward donskoi Marleau hertl karlsson Braun.

Those are your goal scorers in this series.

Look at karlssons goal. Literally shadowed by Crosby the entire time. Got one sniff and put it glove side.

Donskois goal. Double teamed goes bar down.

Hertl fights through two checks to get around and put it in.

Our top guys are going against these same players.

 

[Gene Parmesan]

Too bad our best goal scorers can't get pucks on their sticks, off the ice, on the net. At least 3 flubs by Pavs, so many Couture shots in close that go high and wide, Burns with so many blocked shots. Incredibly frustrating.

Pavs also had 5 on net. They just hold the puck too damn long. Burns and Jumbo dust the puck off before moving it. If no one is open put it on ****in net.

 

[SHAR KS]

"Lets hold off on the funeral. We played a solid 3rd period"

The funeral is already scheduled. Its on Thursday i think.

 

[Coily]

DeBoer saying Hertl day-to-day. Said that Czech reporter isn't in the room, doesn't see what they see.

Unfortunately that's hard for me to believe.

He really is under the influence of some substance.

 

[Negatively Positive]

I still can't process that this Penguins D is so much better against us than that super stacked Nashville D...

They say defense wins championships but their offense is their best defense. They just dominate and don't have to play much defense. This has gotta be the weakest d-corp on paper to win a cup in a while.

 

[Gene Parmesan]

I'm sorry but our forwards just weren't doing enough on either end of the ice. Lovejoy and Cole are on the other team.

Polak and Dillon haven't played well at all. But you don't lose because of a third pairing. You lose because you can't score more than the other team. Ward donskoi Marleau hertl karlsson Braun.

Those are your goal scorers in this series.

Look at karlssons goal. Literally shadowed by Crosby the entire time. Got one sniff and put it glove side.

Donskois goal. Double teamed goes bar down.

Hertl fights through two checks to get around and put it in.

Our top guys are going against these same players.

Ward and Braun, just shot the puck. Didn't look for a pass or curl up on the boards..just took a shot.

 

[Nighthock]

Chokers gonna choke

I could not be more disgusted with the effort tonight.

 

[Led Zappa]

Pete sounds totally defeated.

Smart man

 

[Timo Time]

I still can't process that this Penguins D is so much better against us than that super stacked Nashville D...

The Sharks haven't made their D work hard enough, if at all. It's a lot of one and done and their defense just tosses that puck to its forwards as quickly as they can.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

Guess we're moving Hertl then since it's almost financially impossible for this to happen.

False.

Marleau's not a top 6 scorer anymore. It's a damn shame that he's fallen that hard that quickly but it's just the way it is.

Like hell he isn't. He put in 25 goals in the season and of the big boys, the only one that has a goal in the Finals. None of Couture, Thornton, Burns, or Pavelski have even one goal but people still want to run with this narrative. Is he overpaid at this point? Yes, absolutely but he is still top six as a scorer. The coaching hasn't exactly helped him out either and he still has managed that.

For game five, it's pretty simple. If they don't split Dillon-Polak and have Vlasic-Braun or Martin-Burns babysit the two, they don't stand a chance. If they're not going to break up the Joes, put someone on their wing that has some real speed. It's either Nieto or it's Marleau and they're better off it being Marleau.

Marleau-Thornton-Pavelski
Ward-Couture-Donskoi
Spaling-Tierney-Karlsson
Nieto-Zubrus-Wingels

Martin-Burns
Vlasic-Polak
Dillon-Braun

The D pairings need to be that way to have a chance and then you shorten to two pairings if the score dictates as such. I don't expect them to win game five and it's been a hell of a run. I understand the disappointment at not getting to take advantage of the opportunity but maybe that teaches DW a lesson about not getting a real puck-mover for the bottom pairing if you're going to run all six.

 

[Levie]

I would like to point out that LZ's effort when the team needed it more was completely gutless. I hope Nem trades you next year.

 

[GodHatesTheSharks]

Chokers gonna choke

I could not be more disgusted with the effort tonight.

So choking means you lost to a better team?

 

[Negatively Positive]

Chokers gonna choke

I could not be more disgusted with the effort tonight.

How do you choke when you haven't had the lead for 1 second in this series?

 

[Coily]

False.

True. Get a calculator.

 

[hohosaregood]

How do you choke when you haven't had the lead for 1 second in this series?

Cuz we should probably have had a lead at some point in this series after going through some of the better teams on our way to the finals. It's not like we were the best of a severely underpowered conference.

 

[GodHatesTheSharks]

This hasn't been talked enough about, but Couture had 1 goal against the Blues (empty netter).

0 goals so far against Pittsburgh. He has lost his scoring touch since the Nashville series.

If the Sharks want to win the next 3, then SJ's best players have to be their best players.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

True. Get a calculator.

Yes, please get a calculator and show me how it's true. You're just blowing hot air.

 

[Bleedred]

I'm very proud of this team and will root for them to make it a series no matter what, but I think it's probably over in the next game. Maybe that's a good thing or a bad thing, maybe better there than seeing them raise the cup on the shark tank ice.

But I'll root for pride and to keep going and take that any day over mailing it in. So I'll cheer to the end.

 

[Squeeven]

Watching James Duthie, Bob McKenzie and Ray Ferraro right now. Bob McKenzie's words exactly on Hertl "my understanding and my sense of it is...don't expect Hertl back in the Stanley Cup Final. Never say never but I really don't think its a real good consideration for San Jose at this point." Make of that what you will but that sucked to hear that. I like Deboers optimism though but if he's done I'd like him to just say it already.

 

[Bleedred]

Marleau's not a top 6 scorer anymore. It's a damn shame that he's fallen that hard that quickly but it's just the way it is.

I think he's a top 6 scorer still, or at least as of now or this season.

That might change next season if he falls off a lot, but he's still a 45-ish point player and that's a good enough 2nd liner in my book.

I'm annoyed with him too, but Nieto, Karlsson and Wingels have all been producing like pretty good 4th liners all season and playoffs long. They're all supposed to be 3rd liners or at least were for most of the season. Hope they all bounce back. I have more confidence in Marleau scoring 45 points again next year than even two of them scoring 30-35 points next year.

 

[WTFetus]

I'm sorry but our forwards just weren't doing enough on either end of the ice. Lovejoy and Cole are on the other team.

Polak and Dillon haven't played well at all. But you don't lose because of a third pairing. You lose because you can't score more than the other team. Ward donskoi Marleau hertl karlsson Braun.

Those are your goal scorers in this series.

Look at karlssons goal. Literally shadowed by Crosby the entire time. Got one sniff and put it glove side.

Donskois goal. Double teamed goes bar down.

Hertl fights through two checks to get around and put it in.

Our top guys are going against these same players.

Don't get me wrong, I've been blaming players like Thornton and Pavelski all series. Just the fact that Dillon and Polak have been terrible defensively, and the fact that Deboer still played them in the final minutes of the third, is frustrating.