Post-Game Talk: “Okay campers, rise, and shine, and don't forget your booties 'cause it's cold out there…“

[Coastal Kev]

They weren't stacked when we played them. That team was missing Kadri, Landeskog, and Girard - 3 key pieces.

Those were winnable games that Sullivan decided to play with his 2nd best player neutered.

How about setting up a youngster for failure with Angello dressing against that lineup? It's all so stupid, sully looks like he does things out of spite. For the first time in a long time the media actually challenged him on his lineup in Colorado. I think he said to himself FU........I'll do what I want.

this is the danger of throwing tying your organization's future to a coach. he's just a coach and easily replaceable.

But what do i know, I'm sure it will all work out fine.

 

[Buddy Bizarre]

I mean my posting is no different than people always trashing Sullivan, complaining about Erod or making excuses for #71. It’s just the opposite side of opinion and therefore it’s “trolling”.

That’s a pretty wide and lazy brush to paint someone with.

Naw, it's your condescending tone that people accurately paint you as "trolling"

And when asked to back up your opinion with facts, you pull out the Season Ticket Holder card.
It's loathesome

But feel free to keep playing your greatest (and only) favorite hits.

 

[Buddy Bizarre]

I usually like your takes. But this is absolute bullshit.

We’ve seen it happen time and time again where a squad making minor changes ends up with different success under a different voice.

Especially under this franchise...

 

[ronduguayshair]

Naw, it's your condescending tone that people accurately paint you as "trolling"

And when asked to back up your opinion with facts, you pull out the Season Ticket Holder card.
It's loathesome

But feel free to keep playing your greatest (and only) favorite hits.

They don't have physical season ticket cards anymore (used to be like a credit card). Everything now is touchless and phone based.

Other than that my tone is probably due to the unbridled hypocrisy the over spoken mob here regurgitates.

 

[Buddy Bizarre]

St Louis Blues 2019.
Dallas Stars 2020.
Montreal Canadiens 2021.

2016 & 2017 Penguins
2009 Penguins
2008 Penguins (SC Finalist)
92 Penguins
91 Penguins

I mean there's a ton of history and evidence here.

 

[Gurglesons]

The Penguins were 5-3-4 this season without both of them in the lineup. Other players were missing during this time as well.

The Penguins won both of their games during the 2019-20 season without both of them in the lineup.

So since the start of the 2019-20 season, the Penguins are 7-3-4 without both Crosby and Malkin in the lineup.

So he had a losing record this year and is .500 without them.

 

[OtherThingsILike]

So he had a losing record this year and is .500 without them.

14 points in 12 games this season is a .583 points percentage.

 

[Gurglesons]

14 points in 12 games this season is a .583 points percentage.

5-7

 

[OtherThingsILike]

5-7

Nope. 5-3-4. If the Penguins had a .583 points percentage this season, we'd be 16th in the League and 8th in the East.

 

[Gurglesons]

Nope. 5-3-4. If the Penguins had a .583 points percentage this season, we'd be 16th in the League and 8th in the East.

3 regulation losses 4 overtime losses = 5-7

 

[OtherThingsILike]

3 regulation losses 4 overtime losses = 5-7

 

[Gurglesons]

Do overtime losses matter in the playoffs? Because we certainly have a lot of those since 2018.

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

I love this post game title

 

[SEALBound]

The top contending teams spent assets to create their depth, and the Pens are trying to be frugal. You can't keep adding fringe top players and think it's enough.

Teams are just not going to be scared of Carter, Rakell and that type of player. Though, these two have been a great add, it's just falling short of what'll allow Sid and Geno's lines to just dominate. At which point, I'm gonna bypass Geno and create a 3rd line the makings of a 2nd line and use Geno as the buffer with like , Heinen and Zucker and post up a 3rd line of Rakell, Carter and Rust.

What I'm saying is, this team needs to have something more for teams to have to account for. That doesn't mean they can't use guys with Geno for a shift here or there and really mess with other teams. It comes down to who's feeling it on a game by game basis. That's an in-game adjustment. The Pens need to get to the slot/crease and cause havoc. Stop with all this perimeter play and get your noses dirty. I think you have that in Jake, Rust and Rakell and Carter, but you need Carter a center at 3c. So pick your poison. Stack 2 lines or make 3 teams will have to account for.

I'd ideally, would bring up Puustinen with his speed and try Nylander over Zohorna/Angello.

I disagree. When you look at Colorado, Tampa, and Florida in comparison to use, all three teams made similar moves to bolster depth. Some have worked out, some haven't. That's hockey. Those moves worked out well for us in 2016 and 2017, not so well as of late. Again, that's hockey. It's tough to win the cup.

If you look at Colorado, they spent assets getting Burakovsky and Kadri and then went dumpster diving with Nuchushkin. Then they blew their wad at the TDL and got what, three or four guys? Pretty sure everyone here was against us going ALL in at the TDL. Tampa paid through the nose for Coleman and Goodrow. I would argue those moves are no different than Zucker and Kapanen. I'm not going to buy the notion that you have some crystal ball and could tell the whole world at the time of each of the trades which ones would work out and which ones wouldn't. Flordia has been slowly accruing guys that have paid off big and they paid through the nose for some of them. They paid big for Reinhart and Bennett. They got lucky with Verhaeghe, Duclair, and Marchmant. Nearly all of them were castaways before finding their groove.

Emp was right on point when he said the major difference is Colorado, Florida, and Tampa having their core of superstars in their prime. That's 100% accurate. Their guys are late 20s, ours are in their mid-30s. There comes a time when we have to accept to a point that father times come for us all. It came for me. It sucks. But to argue that we aren't competing with the best team in the league because Hextall didn't spend enough assets over the years collecting depth is absolute hogwash. That's a crappy argument because it requires nothing but your luxury of hindsight.

 

[seabs926]

Do overtime losses matter in the playoffs? Because we certainly have a lot of those since 2018.

You don't play 3 on 3 or the shootout in the playoffs. So you might be best to completely ignore OT games altogether.

 

[Gurglesons]

You don't play 3 on 3 or the shootout in the playoffs. So you might be best to completely ignore OT games altogether.

How many of our wins were in OT though?

 

[seabs926]

How many of our wins were in OT though?

Agreed. I didn't want to do the research so that's why I left it open ended.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

I'd say the introduction of Jordan Binnington had a lot to do with St. Louis in 2019, wouldn't you? He'd played all of three NHL games in his career prior to January 2019. Then he takes off like a rocket.

Some key cogs were also new to the franchise that year: Ryan O"Reilly, David Perron, Tyler Bozak, and Patrick Maroon all joined the team in the offseason. Yeo was fired a quarter of the way into the season, so it's not like that group had a long time to gel.

That plus Binnington is a big change.

Dallas doesn't count. They were actually playing well when Jim Montgomery got canned on December 10. Montgomery wasn't dismissed for performance, but because of his drinking problem. And Rick Bowness was a longtime assistant on that team.

I'm not buying Montreal. Not with the way the league was structured. They came out of a ridiculous weak division and then rode a hot goalie. Plus, Julien was 9-5-4 when he was fired and Ducharme finished 15-16-7. That's a fluke, not a fix.

You could apply literally every one of these excuses to Sullivan, right down to a "rookie goalie" backstopping the team to a Cup with an incredible run as a rookie call-up.

 

[Pancakes]

Emp was right on point when he said the major difference is Colorado, Florida, and Tampa having their core of superstars in their prime. That's 100% accurate. Their guys are late 20s, ours are in their mid-30s. There comes a time when we have to accept to a point that father times come for us all. It came for me. It sucks.

This is the most important point here imo. Team depth looks a helluva lot better when you have a bunch of young stars in their prime rather than aging stars who need help. If we had 22 year old Crosby and Malkin the depth we have now would look incredible because we could spread our depth thinner and those guys could still dominate. Malkin destroyed the league with Talbot and Ruslan Fedotenko on his wings.

But they ain't that any more. They're both still very good players (Sid moreso than Geno at this point) but they need help now, and they can't get by with broken line combinations any more.

 

[Gurglesons]

This is the most important point here imo. Team depth looks a helluva lot better when you have a bunch of young stars in their prime rather than aging stars who need help. If we had 22 year old Crosby and Malkin the depth we have now would look incredible because we could spread our depth thinner and those guys could still dominate. Malkin destroyed the league with Talbot and Ruslan Fedotenko on his wings.

But they ain't that any more. They're both still very good players (Sid moreso than Geno at this point) but they need help now, and they can't get by with broken line combinations any more.

Did MacKinnon look any better than Sid in the last two games?