Post-Game Talk: Blue Jackets 5, Pens 3 - Playoffs?

[KIRK]

Nope, they have 4. Tonight was their 78th game.

They play Caps tomorrow, then Carolina, Montreal, Carolina.

Oh ****.

 

[radapex]

I'm still waiting for someone to tell me what exactly Nick Spaling does for this team. 0 goals in 22 games. This guy is a scrub if I've ever seen one. Not to mention:

Kunitz: 2 goals in 29 games.

Lapierre: 0 goals in 25 games.

Comeau: 1 goal in 19 games.

Bennett: 2 goals since Thanksgiving.

Winnik: 2 goals in 17 games.

Adams: 0 goals since Halloween.

Whoever claims this team is 'deep' should be institutionalized.

Spaling is what he's always been - a very good defensively forward who will chip in 25-35 points a season.

 

[ChrisKuuuunitz]

Pouliot had a horrible game, and the reason we lost this game is because of defense and turnover's.

 

[xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Pouliot was bad today, but if you don't see the bright future ahead for guys like Pouliot and Maatta, you might be more ******** than Shero. That's impressive.

 

[ChrisKuuuunitz]

Offensively gifted defenseman, but both very small and overrated. This team needs bigger, stronger d-men, maybe someone who can actually deliver a hit.

 

[ChrisKuuuunitz]

And Spaling, Lappy, and Winnik are all the same damn player.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

Offensively gifted defenseman, but both very small and overrated. This team needs bigger, stronger d-men, maybe someone who can actually deliver a hit.

You're not wrong. But that's why a roster is comprised of 7 defensemen, usually.

Keep Pouliot. Keep Maatta. Get rid of the redundancy (Martin, Ehrhoff) and keep Cole, who looks like he will help. Then start filling the rest with more size and toughness.

I'd also keep Harrington, as I think he'll be a Scuderi for us when we're actually contending again.

 

[Night Shift]

Pouliot and Comeau were both -3. Both were standing around the net not doing anything.

Pouliot is so overrated, just like Maata. Both are tiny and can't move anyone.

The kid is a 21 year old rookie and is not the problem of this team. People around here complain about player development but you are never going develop talent if you keep giving up on your prospects because of mistakes on the ice. Pouliot needed seasoning this year, he shouldn't have been brought up this year to begin with.

Also defensemen take longer to develop than forwards so mistakes were to be expected by Pouliot.

 

[Shockmaster]

Offensively gifted defenseman, but both very small and overrated. This team needs bigger, stronger d-men, maybe someone who can actually deliver a hit.

Maatta is 6'2".

 

[ChrisKuuuunitz]

I said bigger, not taller lmao.

I'm not trying to bash these guys, just saying people are always blaming our forwards, and our defensive play has been very poor for a while now.

 

[xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Offensively gifted defenseman, but both very small and overrated. This team needs bigger, stronger d-men, maybe someone who can actually deliver a hit.

You realize Maatta's 6'2", and Pouliot is 6' right? Not exactly giants, but it's not like they're tiny players.

I don't disagree the Pens need someone like... Oh, I dunno, Despres, but that doesn't mean Maatta and Pouliot are garbage. That just makes you look silly.

And Spaling, Lappy, and Winnik are all the same damn player.

Spaling is a quietly effective 4th line player. Lapierre is what he is, a gritty, speedy, energy 4th line center. Winnik? Nothing like either of them. He's a vastly superior player who gets the privilege of playing alongside Brandon "Thank God For My Last Name" Sutter.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

Our defensive play went into the tank when we lost Maatta.

The young defensemen will be fine, so long as we actually let them play through their mistakes and insulate them with the right vets.

So far, we have been using the young defensemen as the insulators, we have it backwards.

 

[Shockmaster]

I said bigger, not taller lmao.

I'm not trying to bash these guys, just saying people are always blaming our forwards, and our defensive play has been very poor for a while now.

So you want the Flyers' defense instead?

 

[Your Boy Troy]

This team is falling apart at the wrong time, and I am not surprised. You know that the Flyers are going to be hungry tomorrow. I wonder if Fleury starts tomorrow at such a small time frame between back-to-back games? Would seem like a panic move. Anything is possible with this organization.

Unless if Pittsburgh somehow manages to get to the Stanley Cup Finals (which is almost impossible), everyone involved in the organization needs get the **** out. Jim Rutherford should have called it a career last season. Then again, why the hell was he hired in the first place? Pierre McGuire would have been imcomparably better.

 

[Common Sense]

I said bigger, not taller lmao.

I'm not trying to bash these guys, just saying people are always blaming our forwards, and our defensive play has been very poor for a while now.

What? We bash our defense all the time.

You want to make a point about our defense sucking, so the first names you throw out are a guy who's been injured all year and a rookie who shouldn't be in the NHL anyway?

 

[xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Pouliot is so overrated, just like Maata. Both are tiny and can't move anyone.

I said bigger, not taller lmao.

I'm not trying to bash these guys, just saying people are always blaming our forwards, and our defensive play has been very poor for a while now.

Hmmm...

 

[Jackpot Jaret]

The thing that flat out AMAZES me, is HOW does the management not see the same things us fans see? They continue to support this cluster**** to a fault, how can they continue to blindly support this? I honestly cant figure this out. Are they that delusional that they blame this all on injuries?

 

[xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

The thing that flat out AMAZES me, is HOW does the management not see the same things us fans see? They continue to support this cluster**** to a fault, how can they continue to blindly support this? I honestly cant figure this out. Are they that delusional that they blame this all on injuries?

The only answer I have is that ownership doesn't give a **** as long as they continue to sell out games and sell a ******** of Pens gear.

The front office is full of the same buffoons that were under Shero, so it's no surprise that the results are largely the same.

 

[KIRK]

The only answer I have is that ownership doesn't give a **** as long as they continue to sell out games and sell a ******** of Pens gear.

The front office is full of the same buffoons that were under Shero, so it's no surprise that the results are largely the same.

That was the real beauty of these changes. They thought the issues were just two of the messengers, not the message in any way.

 

[xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

That was the real beauty of these changes. They thought the issues were just two of the messengers, not the message in any way.

Yep. Another reason I don't really hate/think Morehouse is the Devil incarnate.

He's a mouthpiece. He's the business man and the guy who takes the flak for all of Lemieux/Burkle's decisions. He is to this team what Bettman is to the NHL. Everyone hates him, but he's a puppet and a distraction from the real problem behind the curtain.

 

[KIRK]

Yep. Another reason I don't really hate/think Morehouse is the Devil incarnate.

He's a mouthpiece. He's the business man and the guy who takes the flak for all of Lemieux/Burkle's decisions. He is to this team what Bettman is to the NHL. Everyone hates him, but he's a puppet and a distraction from the real problem behind the curtain.

I think Morehouse is part of the problem. Not the biggest part as much as him, the AGM's, the owners . . . in their eyes, the message in terms of how the team should be built wasn't the problem, it was that Ray Shero wouldn't listen to them more when it came to individual decisions.

There was no change in terms of the approach to team building this year, no change in terms of approach to the players.

 

[Sideline]

Some people here need to ease up on slamming #51. I said a couple months ago his defensive game was not ready for prime time. The kid is being played over his head right now and the fault for that lies with management. Given time in the A to clean up his decision making he'll be great.

 

[ColePens]

Some people here need to ease up on slamming #51. I said a couple months ago his defensive game was not ready for prime time. The kid is being played over his head right now and the fault for that lies with management. Given time in the A to clean up his decision making he'll be great.

You never bash a rookie for having to play big minutes. I get that. His mistakes now won't be mistakes of the future. The problem is... the organization ****ed up sooooo badly NEEDING to use Pouliot when we had guys to fill the slot before.

Pouliot deserves all the **** he got for this game. That was a terrible turnover. Same as Perron. But Pouliot shows us what he has for the future. It's a great thing. The problem is he HAS to play big minutes right now. That's dumb. He needs to be owning the AHL and getting shots at the NHL as opposed to just sitting in the NHL making terrible decisions that cost the Pens games.

Double-edged sword.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

Well, perhaps we wouldn't HAVE to use Pouliot so much if instead of recalling Taylor Chorney we could recall Scott Harrington...which would have been possible if we hadn't screwed up the cap situation so badly.

OR, you know, if we hadn't made a certain trade with Anaheim...

 

[Murky]

Pouliot is so overrated, just like Maata. Both are tiny and can't move anyone.

Oh dear.