Post-Game Talk: Capitals 4, Penguins 1 - All is Well

[Honour Over Glory]

The biggest problem on the powerplay is the hot potato game that Sid-Geno-Phil play amongst themselves. Letang is only a small part of that nightmare.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

I get what you're saying, but Crosby shouldn't get a free pass because of an amazing resume. He's been guilty of some lazy plays himself and just not looking interested in the game, whereas you see guys like Malkin and Kessel still trying to salvage a game that Sid had long given up on.

I get the Hornqvist thing too, he's no longer as great of a fit for Sid as we all say it is and say he should suck it up. This is where Sullivan/JR are at fault, they have better options, but they refuse to address that by calling up Sprong or adjusting the roster to sort that out. Just too much hand holding and babying so no one's feelings are hurt is going on with the team, of course, we just see that from our end.

But man...Crosby is making it tough to defend him right now.

Letang is another story.

We don't have to give him a free pass, but people saying he is quitting are out to lunch. This dude lives and breathes hockey, maybe a little too much. He cares and I guarantee you he is frustrated.

I've seen guys quit, ala Schultz, and it looks much different than how we are seeing Crosby play. Crosby looks frustrated and when you are frustrated you do dumb shit.. like take too many penalties and overthink with the puck.

Maybe Hornqvist really isn't the panacea for Crosby's woes like many on here are so insistent about. I'm sure as hell seeing Hornqvist do things that would frustrate the f*** out of me if I was Crosby, and again I love the guy.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

The biggest problem on the powerplay is the hot potato game that Sid-Geno-Phil play amongst themselves. Letang is only a small part of that nightmare.

That's the one thing that Sprong would absolutely help with. The kid's nothing if not an aggressive shooter.

 

[Ogrezilla]

I think adding Guentzel helped around that half way mark though, Sheary was gone for a bit and when he was back, it was noticeable that the team got faster, same with Hagelin. But this year, all 3 have been healthy and the team still looks slower than last year.


Meanwhile, Archibald is reaching insane scores on Words with Friends in the press box.

I think Guentzel had a part in that, but I also think there's a lot of the team simply taking it a bit easier early in the year.

 

[Gurglesons]

That's the one thing that Sprong would absolutely help with. The kid's nothing if not an aggressive shooter.

But, this leads to discussion of who do you pull off?

Our PP runs through Kessel right now, so Malkin or Crosby is the guy you lose, because Hornqvist is the apex predator in front of the net.

Get it, Predator?

 

[Gurglesons]

I think Guentzel had a part in that, but I also think there's a lot of the team simply taking it a bit easier early in the year.

I think a huge part of last year was losing Letang and players saying we can still do this.

Last year was as gutsy as the Kings in 2014, but look how long it took that team to recover after making some ill advised moves regarding their roster.

 

[NMK11]

I feel like we said that for the first 1/2 or so of last season too, didn't we?

We did, but I don't think we really ever corrected it. We went from a fast, puck controlling team two years ago to a slightly less fast, counter attacking team last playoffs. Kudos to the team for being flexible, but it seems like a half conscious choice to change from the play style that rolled the entire NHL.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

But, this leads to discussion of who do you pull off?

Our PP runs through Kessel right now, so Malkin or Crosby is the guy you lose, because Hornqvist is the apex predator in front of the net.

Get it, Predator?

I'd split up Geno and Crosby. With Sprong up we'd have more than enough weapons to ice 2 very good PPs.

 

[Ogrezilla]

That's the one thing that Sprong would absolutely help with. The kid's nothing if not an aggressive shooter.

absolutely. The problem is, who do you sit? Honestly, it's a tough sell to say we even need to be changing our PP at all, as it sits 3rd in the league. Which is also where it finished last year.

 

[Ogrezilla]

I'd split up Geno and Crosby. With Sprong up we'd have more than enough weapons to ice 2 very good PPs.

that's an easy thing to say on here. But you're always going to have a #1 PP in terms of ice time. That's not an easy move for a coach to make.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

absolutely. The problem is, who do you sit? Honestly, it's a tough sell to say we even need to be changing our PP at all, as it sits 3rd in the league. Which is also where it finished last year.

You can't much argue with those numbers, but I don't see any reason why we shouldn't be 1st.

 

[Gurglesons]

I'd split up Geno and Crosby. With Sprong up we'd have more than enough weapons to ice 2 very good PPs.

Good luck with either pulling our captain or on more nights than not our best player on the ice off the power play and not seeing it effect their mental game.

 

[Ogrezilla]

You can't much argue with those numbers, but I don't see any reason why we shouldn't be 1st.

fair, but again, who do you sit?

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

that's an easy thing to say on here. But you're always going to have a #1 PP in terms of ice time. That's not an easy move for a coach to make.

I dunno. I've always liked the idea of splitting Sid and Geno on the PP, and now we have the embarrassment of riches at forward to actually make it happen. Sprong and Kessel are options for the left circle, Letang and Schultz can QB, and Guentzel and Horny can be slot men.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Good luck with either pulling our captain or on more nights than not our best player on the ice off the power play and not seeing it effect their mental game.

Why do we even have to designate a #1 unit? Just alternate between them.

fair, but again, who do you sit?

Off the roster? Kuhn or Reaves, depending on the opponent.

 

[Peat]

Is giving Geno a couple of nights at 1C ice time and Sid a few at 2C time a feasible or useful idea?

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Is giving Geno a couple of nights at 1C ice time and Sid a few at 2C time a feasible or useful idea?

I'd be all in favor of that. I think the problem is Geno is just absolute dogshit on faceoffs, so Sullivan simply doesn't trust him as much as Sid in certain situations.

If Geno could actually give a damn about winning more than 40% of his draws, he'd probably be getting the exact same amount of minutes as Sid.

 

[Treent1]

I'd be all in favor of that. I think the problem is Geno is just absolute dog**** on faceoffs, so Sullivan simply doesn't trust him as much as Sid in certain situations.

If Geno could actually give a damn about winning more than 40% of his draws, he'd probably be getting the exact same amount of minutes as Sid.

Malkin took most 5vs5 D-zone FO's last night for Pens and Crosby most O-zone FO's. At least Sullivan is trying to give Crosby more favorable zone starts, but you are right Malkin can't win D-zone FO is problem.

Faceoff Summary


Having said that I don't care how bad Malkin is in FO dot, he and Phil should get more ice time.

 

[Peat]

I'd be all in favor of that. I think the problem is Geno is just absolute dog**** on faceoffs, so Sullivan simply doesn't trust him as much as Sid in certain situations.

If Geno could actually give a damn about winning more than 40% of his draws, he'd probably be getting the exact same amount of minutes as Sid.

Okay... this question might be a little nuts...

But maybe try putting Sheahan with Geno on occasion to take the draw? He can either help jam it out of the zone for them to transition and skate off, or just go to the front of the net and hope to benefit from Geno-Phil magic. Maybe.

Maybe I need to share whatever I've been drinking.

 

[Gurglesons]

It wouldn't be nuts. Sheahan has played wing.

Guentzel - Malkin - Sheahan

 

[Peat]

It wouldn't be nuts. Sheahan has played wing.

Guentzel - Malkin - Sheahan

The bit about him playing wing isn't nuts.

The bit about him on our main scoring line in his current form may be nuts.

 

[Andy99]

We did, but I don't think we really ever corrected it. We went from a fast, puck controlling team two years ago to a slightly less fast, counter attacking team last playoffs. Kudos to the team for being flexible, but it seems like a half conscious choice to change from the play style that rolled the entire NHL.

I don't know if it was by design but I can say that the only reason the counter attack worked last year was that our PDO was really high. This year our shooting percentage is dog**** and we are just damn unlucky. I think that's why Sully has been trying to get them back to playing a high shot possession game. Hasn't really worked out yet and it's hard to play consistently at a high level for 82 games.

IMO I like the idea of trying Sheahan on Geno's LW. His points have gone up in the past at wing and he's more in the mode of a power forward there than Kuhn, although neither are particularly physical. Good idea when Rowney returns and could spread out Sid's defensive minutes since there'd be someone with Geno who could take face offs

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Okay... this question might be a little nuts...

But maybe try putting Sheahan with Geno on occasion to take the draw? He can either help jam it out of the zone for them to transition and skate off, or just go to the front of the net and hope to benefit from Geno-Phil magic. Maybe.

Maybe I need to share whatever I've been drinking.

It might not even be the worst thing in the world to try Sheahan on Malkin's LW. The problem is it once again leaves a big gap in the bottom six center spot. Who takes Sheahan's spot at 3C? McKegg? Then who takes 4C?

JR would have to go out and acquire another center before your idea could be tried. At the very least, they'd have to wait until Rowney returns.

 

[ColePens]

I'd split up Geno and Crosby. With Sprong up we'd have more than enough weapons to ice 2 very good PPs.

Agreed. Go 2 full strong minutes of powerplay. No matter what. And if you don't want to, let Letang/Sprong/Guentzel/Rust/Sheary run PP2. That is a legit PP2 and call PP1 off after 50 seconds regardless.

Good luck with either pulling our captain or on more nights than not our best player on the ice off the power play and not seeing it effect their mental game.

Why is this some thing people believe? The greatest players of all time need coaching. There isn't some world where these best players are immune from coaching. If it bothers Sid's mental game, which should be a great player's strength, then that's on #87. But I know for a fact it wouldn't. It would fuel his fire even more.

This concept where stars cannot be benched or limited is downright silly. But there IS a difference from doing it right and doing it wrong. I think MT and Torts have shown the incorrect way of doing it. If Sully wants to make #87 accountable, I'm fine with it. And Sid would show why he's the best in the the world.

It wouldn't be nuts. Sheahan has played wing.

Guentzel - Malkin - Sheahan

At this point, I'm not against being weird with the lines. Hell - maybe give Jake center for a couple of games just to give him a different look. Out of his 32 faceoffs, he's 54% on draws. I'm advocating just switching it up to give some guys a fresh look. Something to give 'em a different perspective. Sheahan works the boards well. Maybe it will help G.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Agreed. Go 2 full strong minutes of powerplay. No matter what. And if you don't want to, let Letang/Sprong/Guentzel/Rust/Sheary run PP2. That is a legit PP2 and call PP1 off after 50 seconds regardless.



Why is this some thing people believe? The greatest players of all time need coaching. There isn't some world where these best players are immune from coaching. If it bothers Sid's mental game, which should be a great player's strength, then that's on #87. But I know for a fact it wouldn't. It would fuel his fire even more.

This concept where stars cannot be benched or limited is downright silly. But there IS a difference from doing it right and doing it wrong. I think MT and Torts have shown the incorrect way of doing it. If Sully wants to make #87 accountable, I'm fine with it. And Sid would show why he's the best in the the world.



At this point, I'm not against being weird with the lines. Hell - maybe give Jake center for a couple of games just to give him a different look. Out of his 32 faceoffs, he's 54% on draws. I'm advocating just switching it up to give some guys a fresh look. Something to give 'em a different perspective. Sheahan works the boards well. Maybe it will help G.

Sheahan - Malkin - Kessel
Sheary - Guentzel - Hornqvist
Hagelin - McKegg - Rust
Kuhnhackl - Crosby - Reaves

Profit?