Post-Game Talk: A kick or not a kick | Pens 4, Flyers 1

[Sidney the Kidney]

The two referees of today's game should be fired on the spot after that debacle with Letang's empty net goal. The way they handled that was so unprofessional, it's the kind of thing you'd expect from a 17 year old kid reffing a midget or bantam game, not NHL referees.

They should be so embarrassed by that. But then again, this is the epitome of the quality of officiating in the NHL these days.

 

[Jaded-Fan]

The two referees of today's game should be fired on the spot after that debacle with Letang's empty net goal. The way they handled that was so unprofessional, it's the kind of thing you'd expect from a 17 year old kid reffing a midget or bantam game, not NHL referees.

They should be so embarrassed by that. But then again, this is the epitome of the quality of officiating in the NHL these days.

Were they responsible or were the guys in Tornoto? Or maybe even it was an equipment malfunction?

I gripe about officiating as much as anyone, but the on ice officials were pretty much at the mercy of Toronto as far as I could see, and am not sure what they could have done different in this particular case.

 

[66-30-33]

I am reminded of the Montreal team that dispatched the Boston team that completely dominated the Pens a few playoffs ago.

This team is not in that small handful of teams that are the cup favorites. But they are very firmly in that tier right below.

Speed kills in the playoffs, and the Pens have shown that they can roll four lines that will give other team's fits.

I almost never not quote other team's boards for obvious reasons, but in the after game thread on the Flyers' board one said early in the thread that the Flyers were just slow tonight. The truth is that the Pens make a lot of teams look slow now. Their team wasn't slow as much as our team is fast, very fast.

Say what you want about JR, and yes the Despres trade makes every single move that he has made since irrelevant as it is the unforgivable sin. But that said, JR actually has built a team that we can point to and say 'this is Penguins' hockey'. It is a game built on speed and skill. Four lines of it. It is why we can lose a Malkin and still give teams problems. How many times could we point to a Pens' team in prior years and say what the hell Pens' hockey was?

We also outwork the other team majority of the time because we are hungrier then they are thanks to using the young blood. We want to beat you and earn it. They wont always be hungry, that's why you go get more young guys who are hungry.

 

[AvroArrow]

Leafs fan supporting your push for the playoffs in peace. Glad to see some Kessel love and a pens win, huge 4 point swing

 

[SHOOTANDSCORE]

Leafs fan supporting your push for the playoffs in peace. Glad to see some Kessel love and a pens win, huge 4 point swing

Thanks, welcome aboard.

I like the user name.

 

[AvroArrow]

Thanks, welcome aboard.

I like the user name.

Thank you sir, a tribute to our air force and my hometown that i'm honored to share with Paul Coffey

 

[Honour Over Glory]

I think in a best of 7, we'll see Sullivan's genius with adapting, because the best thing about the kids and having options now is that the team knows where each player fits and works best. So much youth that can really pitch in.

 

[Ogrezilla]

I think in a best of 7, we'll see Sullivan's genius with adapting, because the best thing about the kids and having options now is that the team knows where each player fits and works best. So much youth that can really pitch in.

I don't think I remember what properly adapting in a 7 game series looks like anymore. Its been so long.

 

[Human]

lol @ the ref on the last call. "no distinct kicking motion" while exemplifing a kick with his leg. so awkward...

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

I was a little worried today. Early on Sully was moving Hornqvist around and Hornqvist is far from being the problem on Sid's line. Horny was absolutely tremendous today. All over the ice and stirring the pot. I just hope Sully recognizes how important Hornqvist is to Sid instead of Kunitz.

That's how it's been every time Sully changes up Sid's line though - CK's the constant, PH is the variable. He's been explicit in words and in action about how much he likes the Crosby/Kunitz combo (for whatever reason), so don't expect anything different on that front until he's traded.

It's a lot less frustrating if you just accept that now, haha.

 

[Jaded-Fan]

That's how it's been every time Sully changes up Sid's line though - CK's the constant, PH is the variable. He's been explicit in words and in action about how much he likes the Crosby/Kunitz combo (for whatever reason), so don't expect anything different on that front until he's traded.

It's a lot less frustrating if you just accept that now, haha.

Given how Kunitz glued to Crosby's hip has survived multiple coaches now one can only concluded that it is Crosby, not the coaches, who wants Kunitz there. And that Crosby will drag Kunitz's corpse around with him for the remainder of Crosby's career.

Nothing in Sullivan's time here shows an aversion to demoting underperforming players, or shaking lines up. Except for this.

It is Crosby, not him.

 

[Asuna]

One thing I really like about Sullivan is his willingness to double shift Crosby. Outside of rare times, when did we see Bylsma or Johnston do that? You want your best player out there as often as possible, so i'm thrilled to see Crosby double-shifted throughout the game.

 

[Waffle Fries]

Given how Kunitz glued to Crosby's hip has survived multiple coaches now one can only concluded that it is Crosby, not the coaches, who wants Kunitz there. And that Crosby will drag Kunitz's corpse around with him for the remainder of Crosby's career.

Nothing in Sullivan's time here shows an aversion to demoting underperforming players, or shaking lines up. Except for this.

It is Crosby, not him.

Are we really back to this ******** again?

Crosby was just fine with Hagelin on his wing until it was changed because Malkin was struggling.

And can you provide some examples of Sullivan shaking up lines or demoting underperforming players? Kevin Porter seemed to get a free pass pretty damn often and the only time I can think of him really shaking up lines was when he repeatedly swapped Kunitz and Hagelin.

When Bylsma was on the team, Kunitz was still a good player. Last season, Kunitz was demoted multiple times, but then Johnston decided Perron wasn't a left wing.

Players do not control the lines. This needs to stop.

 

[Offhisgame*]

Regardless kunitz does the least damage with sid since sid can deflect pucks off his ass and get him multiple easy chances a game. I dont want kunitz ruining the kid lines or kessels mojo as they get going.

Keep it as is until this stops working

 

[Coastal Kev]

Thank you sir, a tribute to our air force and my hometown that i'm honored to share with Paul Coffey

I went to a Pens game a few weeks after the Pens traded for Coffey. Next to Mario, no one ever made me get out of my seat more than Coffey. He would pick the puck up behind the net and a few seconds later, be screaming towards the top of oppositions circle where he would fire off a nasty top shelf snap shot. I have never in my life seen a guy skate so fast and do it so effortlessly.

My oh my, what a glorious time to be a fan of hockey and the Pens. I would actually say a prayer in hopes that time would slow down.

 

[AjaxTelamon]

One important factor, especially for the playoffs, is how PH and Kuhn are effectively distracting the thugs, and Crosby is benefiting. Yesterday, aside from getting a little extra here and there, he was getting space and flying under the radar. Gudas was fixated on Kuhnhackl all night, and we drew a PP from that.

Those two guys are really going to piss teams off over 7 game series, not to mention the problems they cause for tenders. I am sure PH will teach Kuhn how to accidentally bump the tender all night long too.

 

[hooverdam]

One important factor, especially for the playoffs, is how PH and Kuhn are effectively distracting the thugs, and Crosby is benefiting. Yesterday, aside from getting a little extra here and there, he was getting space and flying under the radar. Gudas was fixated on Kuhnhackl all night, and we drew a PP from that.

Those two guys are really going to piss teams off over 7 game series, not to mention the problems they cause for tenders. I am sure PH will teach Kuhn how to accidentally bump the tender all night long too.

Yeah that was noticeable. They were also angry at Rust all day and Giroux's fixation with Letang had him really off his game.

Another thing was the match-ups. Crosby was Couturier's assignment instead of Giroux's, which I think is the norm in Flyers-Pens games. Crosby handled Couturier with ease:

 

[vodeni]

Yeah that was noticeable. They were also angry at Rust all day and Giroux's fixation with Letang had him really off his game.

Another thing was the match-ups. Crosby was Couturier's assignment instead of Giroux's, which I think is the norm in Flyers-Pens games. Crosby handled Couturier with ease:

having Hornquist possessed like maniac helps Sid on possession charts. However we will one day realize that as far as the overall game goes this may be one of the Sid's best streches ever, and it does not seem that he will cool off. I don't want to even begin to imagine if he had a legit LW that would be a good forechecker, fast and had decent hands...I think he would end up with 95 points by the end of the season. This is the first time in a long, long, long time that these guys are behind Sid: 58&3; 6&8, that is awesome support

 

[hooverdam]

having Hornquist possessed like maniac helps Sid on possession charts. However we will one day realize that as far as the overall game goes this may be one of the Sid's best streches ever, and it does not seem that he will cool off. I don't want to even begin to imagine if he had a legit LW that would be a good forechecker, fast and had decent hands...I think he would end up with 95 points by the end of the season. This is the first time in a long, long, long time that these guys are behind Sid: 58&3; 6&8, that is awesome support

Yeah, basically every Penguin had good Corsi showings but the defense really dominated, and I agree that that's so important for Sid and the other forwards. Especially 3. Probably his best game in a Penguins uniform in a long, long while.

Here's a good chart with everyone. Look at Maatta (and Daley, who was also terrific)



And this is also just a fun thing to think about:



Basically, the team looks good and the underlying stats are supporting it. Possession stats are predictive, not entirely indicative, but at some point the trends they predict start lining up with play and good stuff happens. That's what's happening on this stretch.

Hope they keep it up.

 

[AjaxTelamon]

having Hornquist possessed like maniac helps Sid on possession charts. However we will one day realize that as far as the overall game goes this may be one of the Sid's best streches ever, and it does not seem that he will cool off. I don't want to even begin to imagine if he had a legit LW that would be a good forechecker, fast and had decent hands...I think he would end up with 95 points by the end of the season. This is the first time in a long, long, long time that these guys are behind Sid: 58&3; 6&8, that is awesome support

Bigtime, PH drives possession so well, and it's nice to see Sid benefiting from his linemates like that. Dupuis was a heck of a player, but PH has just good enough hands to get the puck to Sid (that chip to Sid prior to the Kunitz goal) and make the odd nice pass (little touch pass for that Letang goal a week ago) to make it work. Kunitz is a nightmare in the D zone, but you still need to account for him in the O zone because he can bury it.

And I just couldn't be happier with our bottom 6 these days. It wasn't long ago we had a bunch of possession black holes who really struggled against tough matchups. At the start of the year, Kunitz was actually our best defensive winger after Dupuis.

So in addition to greatly improving our offense, MS and JR have quietly built a really excellent bottom 6 in terms of defense (and balanced Phil out with Hags on the other side). Man, what a turnaround, and the only cost was an expiring Perron, a flaccid Scuds, and 1m in cap space. It's just icing that they locked up 3 of our bottom 6 wings for dirt cheap.

A lot of reasons for optimism these days.

 

[Malkinstheman]

Hopefully Wilson, Rust and maybe sheary are able to break out offensively next year as well.

 

[Call me betty*]

Leafs fan supporting your push for the playoffs in peace. Glad to see some Kessel love and a pens win, huge 4 point swing

ok please, you want that 1st round pick. Don't lie to us.

 

[NewAgeOutlaw]

Given how Kunitz glued to Crosby's hip has survived multiple coaches now one can only concluded that it is Crosby, not the coaches, who wants Kunitz there. And that Crosby will drag Kunitz's corpse around with him for the remainder of Crosby's career.

Nothing in Sullivan's time here shows an aversion to demoting underperforming players, or shaking lines up. Except for this.

It is Crosby, not him.

Coach who is all about accountability plays laziest player on the team with the best player because apparently the best player is a prima-donna and demands that he play with that particular player.

 

[Asuna]

Oh yeah. Something mildly amusing....Phil Kessel has his most physical game as a Penguin against the Flyers

 

[Speaking Moistly]

Oh yeah. Something mildly amusing....Phil Kessel has his most physical game as a Penguin against the Flyers

Phil knows what's up.


The best part was the hilariously blatant positive reinforcement the rest of the team was trying to give him after (maybe a bit of a **** you to people, who knows). Someone posted the quotes. He was great though.