Pre-Game Talk: Almost there.... Pens vs. Bruins Game 1

[madinsomniac]

So period 1 is going to be sloppy because we wont remember how to play, then by period 2 the ice will be slush and boston will have the advantage

WE ARE DOOMED!

Lol or at least they hope....

 

[wgknestrick]

Based on the practice lines the past couple of days, you won't have much to worry about.

Now if we could just replace Adams with Vitale who is better at every single aspect of the game pretty much... Wishful thinking.

I think everyone knows I hate me some Adams, but he has been playing very well (for Adams). Hasn't been on the ice for a single 5v5 goal against, and was on the ice for 2 goals for. I'm willing to stop betting while I'm ahead with him though.

I don't know why you'd want Vitale in there for him instead of BB. Vitale is probably our worst forward after Glass. BB is actually a player that can win you a game. I don't think Vitale or Adams fall into that category. All I know is the Pens have to win the 4th line battle this series. I don't see Adams being a difference maker there.

 

[Waffle Fries]

Pittsburgh Penguins ✔ @penguins
"Every game I feel so much better and (I have) so much confidence and right now I’m so excited to play tomorrow. I feel awesome." @malkin71_

Dejan Kovacevic @Dejan_Kovacevic
Ye olde #Crankshaft: "I'm so sick of practice. I want to play a game. When you're playing like we were, you don't want to stop." #TribHKY

 

[Waffle Fries]

I think everyone knows I hate me some Adams, but he has been playing very well (for Adams). Hasn't been on the ice for a single 5v5 goal against, and was on the ice for 2 goals for. I'm willing to stop betting while I'm ahead with him though.

I don't know why you'd want Vitale in there for him instead of BB. Vitale is probably our worst forward after Glass. BB is actually a player that can win you a game. I don't think Vitale or Adams fall into that category. All I know is the Pens have to win the 4th line battle this series. I don't see Adams being a difference maker there.

What? Vitale can't make a difference?




Every shift he has he brings energy, speed, and an ability to forecheck. He's a much better player than Adams, and it would be nice to have an extra faceoff guy in a series where that is one of our weaknesses.

Vitale is a better replacement for Adams than Beau because he can adequately replace his penalty killing while being an upgrade everywhere else.

I love Beau, and I would really like to see him in the lineup, but Beau would be a better replacement for Kennedy than Adams.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

Pittsburgh Penguins ✔ @penguins
"Every game I feel so much better and (I have) so much confidence and right now I’m so excited to play tomorrow. I feel awesome." @malkin71_

If this is more than just talk... the Bruins are almost certainly ****ed.

 

[IcedCapp]

I had a dream about this series last night. Feeling so much more confident that the Penguins win 1 game. Loving it. Will be good to enjoy that win.

 

[Waffle Fries]

If this is more than just talk... the Bruins are almost certainly ****ed.

Absolutely

Yesterday on NHL Live they showed some mic'd up clips from the second round. My personal favorite was from Game 4 against Ottawa. As I'm sure everyone remembers, Cooke and Dupuis connected for a fantastic short handed goal giving us our 5th of the game. About 30 seconds later, Sid scored that immensely beautiful backhander.

They showed Sid skating back to the bench after that goal and Cooke said to him, "trying to one up us, Sid?"

I'm sure he was kidding... but I think there is some truth to that statement. Think of game five against the Islanders, Tavares made Martin look like an absolute fool, but didn't score. Sid's next shift he has his "Mario Statue Goal"

I guess this is just a long way of saying that I don't think Sid likes being shown up, and if Sid and Geno get into a "anything you can do, I can do better" type of thing, well, this series might be over sooner than I thought.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

As ultra-competitive as both players are... it's foolish to think that there isn't some form of one-upmanship going on nearly every game. And that is nothing but a good thing for the Penguins.

Malkin, in particular, is extremely affected by confidence. If he's got it going and is able to get into the flow of the game. It almost always spells doom for the opposing team.

It's probably reaching a lot, because of how brief that blurb is (along with Malkin's tendency to, uh... not express himself perfectly in English, at times) but reading between the lines a bit... I think maybe Malkin is physically feeling better, too. Which is great. He was obviously looking stronger and stronger as the Sens series went on.

 

[wgknestrick]

What? Vitale can't make a difference?
.

7 goals in 110 NHL games can make a difference? He's probably more versatile than Adams, but certainly not better than BB. I wouldn't mind BB on the #2 PK, but Bylsma's head may explode after that. BB is much better defensively than the entire 4th line.

Of course my "roles" are always outscore the other team on every 5v5 shift. I don't have roles of "Try not to pummeled too bad at 5v5 so we can have 1 decent shift from you on the PK", on my team.

 

[Antaris]

I don't know guys. It's a real damn shame we're going to lose. The bruins are just a better team, Chara being a solid rock, Crosby slumping, Malkin looking timid, Ignila looking like an old worm. The team is just really unimpressive right now.

I don't really think we stand a chance.

 

[rocky7]

https://twitter.com/Dejan_Kovacevic/status/340482882294394880

Shero: "Without having Tomas Vokoun to go to in Game 5 (vs. Isles), I'm not sure what happens."

I don't think this statement is good for MAF future, sounds like Shero doesn't have much confidence in MAF.

wasn't all that long ago that shero wasn't a particular fan favorite and people were calling for his head. here he's patting himself on the back imo. i hope fleury is traded because once a player is scapegoated and gets a bad rep. it never goes away, ever, when management publically says something like this about their OWN player . he could play excellent and the first weak goal - "the real fleury is back". nothing new here really, these things happen on teams all the time. it's extremely rare for management to take responsibility for any particular situation and players like maf are easy targets. as much as i think the other core players won't like it (and are likely upset with shero for this) they will understand the situation. it would be best for maf if he is moved in the summer to a different team to enjoy the rest of his nhl career. let vokoun and some scrub backstop the pens. they don't need a "good" goalie. just an "average" one....right. time will tell.

 

[ColePens]

To that extent of the comments on MAF - What if he rebounds like Martin has? I mean... wow would that be great, eh?

 

[wgknestrick]

To that extent of the comments on MAF - What if he rebounds like Martin has? I mean... wow would that be great, eh?

Great if the Pens trade him after his value rebounds.

Bad if it fools the Pens into retaining him, thinking he is OK now.


I am not convinced he is anything but a below average goaltender.

 

[IcedCapp]

Here's thing about MAF:

During the regular season I was convinced that he had righted the ship, fixed his issues, and had committed himself to playing a more-simple game.

Then he goes into the playoffs and has a meltdown.

Will the fans and, more important, the team be willing to take a chance on wasting a year of "in the prime" for Sid and Geno on Fleury bombing when it matters most?

 

[Waffle Fries]

7 goals in 110 NHL games can make a difference? He's probably more versatile than Adams, but certainly not better than BB. I wouldn't mind BB on the #2 PK, but Bylsma's head may explode after that. BB is much better defensively than the entire 4th line.

Of course my "roles" are always outscore the other team on every 5v5 shift. I don't have roles of "Try not to pummeled too bad at 5v5 so we can have 1 decent shift from you on the PK", on my team.

You can make a difference without scoring goals. Bennett is only a rookie and he has shown great skill and ability both offensively and defensively, but I sure don't want his first experience with penalty killing to happen in the middle of the ECF.

Vitale is your quintessential fourth liner who's great on faceoffs and brings speed (both of which will be helpful in this series as it helps strengthen one of our weaknesses while exploiting one of Boston's). And Bennett is a damn good hockey player but whether you want to accept it or not, 'roles' matter. Were there possibly better defensemen available at the deadline than Murray, well probably. But we needed someone to fill the role of a physical guy who would clear the crease.

 

[Tasty Biscuits]

Here's thing about MAF:

During the regular season I was convinced that he had righted the ship, fixed his issues, and had committed himself to playing a more-simple game.

Then he goes into the playoffs and has a meltdown.

Will the fans and, more important, the team be willing to take a chance on wasting a year of "in the prime" for Sid and Geno on Fleury bombing when it matters most?

Indeed. Plus, whatever pressure MAF felt in getting out of the first round will likely be felt doubly so next year.

 

[cassius]

Wait - there's still hockey?

 

[rocky7]

Here's thing about MAF:

During the regular season I was convinced that he had righted the ship, fixed his issues, and had committed himself to playing a more-simple game.

Then he goes into the playoffs and has a meltdown.

Will the fans and, more important, the team be willing to take a chance on wasting a year of "in the prime" for Sid and Geno on Fleury bombing when it matters most?

i didn't think so before at all (always saw maf as a penguin - a vital part of the core); didn't think it would go this far and perhaps it's premature to think as much at this point however, i do think that fleury needs to move on. we all have no clue regarding the realities behind the scenes and are at the mercy of media leeches. we make up our minds based on very little fact. the fans have very little say but sid has a lot of power. maf needs to move on imo (should ask to be traded asap) and as a pro athlete of a team sport probably recognizes this. i think he should. he has no power at all over the situation and no way to fix it anymore. too bad really.

 

[Waffle Fries]

Well just to add on to the MAF comments by Shero after listening to the full presser. He talked a lot about how he brought in Vokoun to make Fleury a better goaltender, help him out, and take pressure off of him. Shero said he thinks that he did that. You can certainly tell that Shero thinks very highly of Vokoun going back to his Nashville days. The full "I'm not sure what happens" comment was something along these lines...

"I'm not sure what happens, I'm not sure we don't win, but I'm not sure we do. But again, that takes the pressure off of Marc Andre. Marc has got his game back in order, right now I believe, through practices and so forth. But Tomas has done a very good job for us right now."

 

[Sivek]

Honestly, what even constitutes as a rebound for MAF? Being a slightly above-average regular-season goalie? Is it really worth spending 5 mil of next's year cap on a guy that's not even one of the better starters in the league in addition to being probably the worst active playoff goalie? The team could easily find a guy that could do what a good MAF provides for a lot less than what he makes.

Paul Martin at least had a couple of seasons of clearly above-average play as a Devil to point back to. It's not like MAF was ever a top-5 goalie and he just lost form for a series or two. He's always be a bit better than average come regular season and a postseason nightmare more times than not.

I mean it could seriously come down to keeping Dupuis or MAF and that decision is a no-brainer. If MAF wasn't the 1(1) pick, there wouldn't even be much support for keeping him. I think people just get too wrapped up in draft/prospect status, especially on a board such as HF. The baseline for a MAF roughly league-average bounce-back isn't worth losing Dupuis for. There's no evidence that MAF is going to take a substantial step forward. Next season will mark over 10 years since he's been drafted, and he's been a full-time starter for about 8 seasons. I doubt that he's suddenly going to get it when you consider he still suffers from a lot of the same problems he's had since he broke into the league.

 

[Shrimper]

The conversation between Shero and Fleury in the offseason will have a similar Martin/Shero vibe to it. I'm sure of that.

Will it have the same effect though?

 

[plaidchuck]

Yeah I think MAF will have success elsewhere just not in Pittsburgh anymore. To act like he is washed up is a bit silly, Luongo has had similar meltdowns and is still considered top 5 in the league.

 

[IcedCapp]

Yeah I think MAF will have success elsewhere just not in Pittsburgh anymore. To act like he is washed up is a bit silly, Luongo has had similar meltdowns and is still considered top 5 in the league.

Yea, he's more than good enough to get a team into the playoffs, which is good for most teams. But the bar is higher in Pittsburgh. I want him to overcome his issues and be the goalie who leads them to multiple championships. But I also don't want to sit around and watch him be the one who prevents him from winning them.

 

[switch23]

Pittsburgh Penguins ✔ @penguins
"Every game I feel so much better and (I have) so much confidence and right now I’m so excited to play tomorrow. I feel awesome." @malkin71_

Dejan Kovacevic @Dejan_Kovacevic
Ye olde #Crankshaft: "I'm so sick of practice. I want to play a game. When you're playing like we were, you don't want to stop." #TribHKY

Any words on Kunitz pseudo-injury(?)..

 

[plaidchuck]

Yea, he's more than good enough to get a team into the playoffs, which is good for most teams. But the bar is higher in Pittsburgh. I want him to overcome his issues and be the goalie who leads them to multiple championships. But I also don't want to sit around and watch him be the one who prevents him from winning them.

Yeah and that's why in the cap-era you say thank you, god bless and good luck, and move on.