Post-Game Talk: Caps 3, Pens 2 (OT) - Just Not Enough (MOD WARNING IN 276, 449)

[Honour Over Glory]

I wouldn't say they did nothing. Niskanen got a 5 and a game. That's pretty severe and should have cost the Capitals that game. Naturally we didn't score on that PP because of course we didn't.

I don't think Niskanen meant to hurt Sid. He meant to interfere with him there, and the result was worse than expected because Sid slipped into a vulnerable position.

It's just crappy luck for us, as usual. Whatever. The team needs to forget it and do their best to still win this series. We're in a good spot. A win tomorrow still has us ready to advance. Sid or no Sid Sully needs to keep these guys focused on winning and not revenge.

If they want revenge, dress Sestito next year in the regular season games vs the Caps. But now is not the time to lose focus. It freaking sucks, but that's the way it is.

The Pens have survived these situations in the past. Adam Graves chopped Lemieux and we still won that series. With luck we'll do the same here in the event Sid can't go.

They dressed 7 D thinking Alzner might not be able to play much, but ended up playing a ton and they still had 6 D the whole game. That game misconduct hurt them very little.

Pens will win that series, then the league will truly be baffled and the Capitals will be laughed out of the playoffs after losing the series with the Pens missing Crosby, Murray, and Letang, the kind of talent that if absent, sinks most teams.

I want that 4-1 series now, badly. So so badly. I want the Pens to ruin a scoring clinic on their ***** and make their GM literally sit in his office wondering if the Capitals are even worth being a GM of.

 

[Jaded-Fan]

And ****ing Orpik chose to go there.

For a ridiculous overpay. Most Cap fans are desperate to be rid of his contract.

 

[hizzoner]

Star players who get mauled every shift---Crosby and Ovechkin for example--also get away with a ton of bad stuff. I did not think Niskanen was doing anything other than protecting himself from Crosby who was coming at him full speed but out of control after Ovechkin's vicious chop. Ovie should have got 5 and Niskanen 2 for not being more careful with stick. But just like Crosby can go after players genitalia and rip off a finger tip with a slash, so too does Ovechkin get away with cheap late hits and slashes. League allows it to keep their name players in the game to draw fans to rink and tv sets.

 

[SidDidNothingWrong]

Star players who get mauled every shift---Crosby and Ovechkin for example--also get away with a ton of bad stuff. I did not think Niskanen was doing anything other than protecting himself from Crosby who was coming at him full speed but out of control after Ovechkin's vicious chop. Ovie should have got 5 and Niskanen 2 for not being more careful with stick. But just like Crosby can go after players genitalia and rip off a finger tip with a slash, so too does Ovechkin get away with cheap late hits and slashes. League allows it to keep their name players in the game to draw fans to rink and tv sets.

Lol. Ovechkin getting mauled. Nobody touches the guy. And every hit he gives is a charge.
Also those two things you mentioned are like the only egregious uncalled things on Crosby out of 82 games.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Holy crap, even their mod....THEIR MOD?!?

How is what Guentzel saying remotely close to Karlsson saying?




vs

"[Crosby] puts his stick in as [Methot] is trying to shoot the puck in and unfortunately it hits his finger," Karlsson said. "It turns out worse than most other times, plays like that happen all the time, but I don't think it was intentional or dirty."

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/marc-methot-finger-1.4038718

 

[Clare2904]

The Series thread is still locked so I'll ask again here.

Anyone know why we are only having one 2 day break in this series whilst OTT/NYR are having two?

 

[SidDidNothingWrong]

The Series thread is still locked so I'll ask again here.

Anyone know why we are only having one 2 day break in this series whilst OTT/NYR are having two?

Niskanen made the schedule that *******.

 

[Dying Alive]

Flyers fans act like troglodytes but at least they've won something in the history of their franchise. The Caps are just a perennial joke.

For a ridiculous overpay. Most Cap fans are desperate to be rid of his contract.

Orpik, Niskanen, Chorney...they just love picking up our D cast-offs.

 

[Pancakes]

They dressed 7 D thinking Alzner might not be able to play much, but ended up playing a ton and they still had 6 D the whole game. That game misconduct hurt them very little.

Pens will win that series, then the league will truly be baffled and the Capitals will be laughed out of the playoffs after losing the series with the Pens missing Crosby, Murray, and Letang, the kind of talent that if absent, sinks most teams.

I want that 4-1 series now, badly. So so badly. I want the Pens to ruin a scoring clinic on their ***** and make their GM literally sit in his office wondering if the Capitals are even worth being a GM of.

The 5 minute major should have hurt them though. We could have scored as many times as we wanted on that. If we get two goals there or even one goal we maybe win that game.

We blew it. We had a great chance to make them pay for taking Sid out and just like that time vs the Flyers a few years ago when Tanger got boarded we did nothing to make them pay.

It really stinks when that happens. A 3-0 lead would have hurt them more than any suspension or misconduct.

Oh well. Like you I just hope the team uses it as motivation in a good way to go out and win the next game. Whether Sid is healthy or not we NEED to maintain our focus. Sully managed to have them do that last night and I was pleased by that because as someone mentioned earlier something like that would have caused the team to unravel in the past.

 

[wgknestrick]

Kuni is not getting enough love for how well he played. He was a beast last night and 1 of the few bright spots.

Bones still blows though. Either he steps it up significantly or we won't last long with only 1 scoring C (Malkin). It might be time to move Jake back to C.

 

[ThatGuy]

 

[Honour Over Glory]

The 5 minute major should have hurt them though. We could have scored as many times as we wanted on that. If we get two goals there or even one goal we maybe win that game.

We blew it. We had a great chance to make them pay for taking Sid out and just like that time vs the Flyers a few years ago when Tanger got boarded we did nothing to make them pay.

It really stinks when that happens. A 3-0 lead would have hurt them more than any suspension or misconduct.

Oh well. Like you I just hope the team uses it as motivation in a good way to go out and win the next game. Whether Sid is healthy or not we NEED to maintain our focus. Sully managed to have them do that last night and I was pleased by that because as someone mentioned earlier something like that would have caused the team to unravel in the past.

The Pens blew it because they took a penalty right away after and basically negated that entire powerplay. Sullivan might have been dissed for it, but he should have taken a quick time out there and gotten his players' minds back on the game and not what just happened. Because Malkin reacted, he didn't think, he reacted on his emotions for the first two periods and then in the 3rd, the anger went from "Geno smash!" to "I AM SCORE!!"

Sully could have done that sooner, but this game is filled with shoulda, woulda, coulda...I keep seeing that Sid hit and I keep asking myself "What if Guentzel stops up and gives Niskanen the cold shoulder Geno style?...we could still have Sid in the game, maybe?"

 

[DeadPuckEra]

I don't care if Jesus Christ is sliding across the ice uncontrollably toward my crotch or lower extremities - I'm protecting my crotch and lower extremities.

If Niskanen doesn't try to deflect Crosby, Niskanen would have put himself in a position to get hurt. Ovechkin's lack of control with his stick is more concerning than what Niskanen did.

The Pens have this series. The only Caps player who's been a remote threat through 3 games is Kunetzov and he's manageable. The problem lies after this series - if Crosby is done - a much easier route to another cup just became a much harder and probably unlikely one. Shame, but that's the way it goes sometimes. We have a 2-3 year window to pull in another one before the big dogs start to exit their prime. I think that's likely to happen.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

The fact that there will be no supplemental discipline for Niskanen is an embarrassment. A "reactionary play" despite there being ample evidence of Niskanen taking cheap shots like hitting Crosby from behind away from the puck and ramming Crosby into the net from behind the previous game. I guess history doesn't factor into whether you give a guy the benefit of the doubt.

As long as you can massage what happened with euphemisms like "reactionary play", you can cross-check whoever you want in the face.

It's not only gut-wrenching as a Pens fan, it's gut-wrenching as hockey fan knowing that the same thing is going to happen to future superstars like McDavid and the league is going to keep doing nothing.

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

Laughably typical that Niskanen isn't suspended.

And the NHL wonders why people say it's a trash bag league...

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Kuni is not getting enough love for how well he played. He was a beast last night and 1 of the few bright spots.

Bones still blows though. Either he steps it up significantly or we won't last long with only 1 scoring C (Malkin). It might be time to move Jake back to C.

If the Pens want to move Jake back to C...I dress Rowney and Archie for the next game then and not Wilson.

Hagelin, Malkin, Kessel
Cullen, Guentzel, Rust/Hornqvist
Kunitz, Bonino, Hornqvist/Rust
Kuhnhackl, Rowney, Archibald

 

[SidDidNothingWrong]

Absolute garbage league

 

[BeatenLikeRentedMule]

It's a "garage league" - M. Lemieux.

 

[DeadPuckEra]

If the Pens want to move Jake back to C...I dress Rowney and Archie for the next game then and not Wilson.

Hagelin, Malkin, Kessel
Cullen, Guentzel, Rust/Hornqvist
Kunitz, Bonino, Hornqvist/Rust
Kuhnhackl, Rowney, Archibald

Love this idea.

 

[Pancakes]

The Pens blew it because they took a penalty right away after and basically negated that entire powerplay. Sullivan might have been dissed for it, but he should have taken a quick time out there and gotten his players' minds back on the game and not what just happened. Because Malkin reacted, he didn't think, he reacted on his emotions for the first two periods and then in the 3rd, the anger went from "Geno smash!" to "I AM SCORE!!"

Sully could have done that sooner, but this game is filled with shoulda, woulda, coulda...I keep seeing that Sid hit and I keep asking myself "What if Guentzel stops up and gives Niskanen the cold shoulder Geno style?...we could still have Sid in the game, maybe?"

Lotta what ifs. That's the playoffs for ya. The problem with Sully taking a time out there is you need it now for the challenge. maybe it would have been worth it anyways, though.

In the end we're still in a great position Sid or no Sid. No reason we shouldn't be able to win all of our home ice games and we still have at least two of those potentially.

 

[Steve Durbano]

That Kunitz hit on Oshie Trotz talked about...is that the hit where Oshie was charging at Kunitz and Kunitz laid him out? the guy was literally charging at him to lay a hit on him lol wtf. What is Kunitz supposed to do?

Always shocks me how much of a tank Kunitz is.

 

[td_ice]

Eddie O. Pierre M., the DOPS, Barry Trotz, OV, and Niskanen, can all F off.


Loved our response to tie that up, and coming so close to winning that.


Looking forward to beast mode Geno, continued terrific play from Flower, and a raucous crowd on Wednesday. We might be down emotionally with what transpired, but I still think we can do this.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

The boards were sealed by Rust and Maatta had poor positioning. He got himself caught too close to the boards and Daley had less than a second to realize that and switch his assignment. It's just brutal positioning from Maatta.

I honestly have no idea what he was trying to accomplish on that play. He has to read that and know Winnik can head man the puck to the middle where Johansson was headed... the boards, again were sealed, worse case was a dump.

He just can't recover from bad reads and his skating is such a liability. I honestly don't understand how some people see him as such a great defenseman.

I didn't think Maatta played the 2-0 Caps goal very well either. He didn't seem to take anyone, letting that final pass across while he sort of just stood still swinging his stick around.

Maatta looks so bad out there. I honestly have zero trust in him because he's so damn slow.

 

[Pancakes]

It really is amazing to me though how every time Sid gets hurt it's like this flip switches in Geno's mind and he says screw all of you I'm going into best player in the world mode. I have absolutely zero doubt we'll see it tomorrow if Sid is unable to go.

 

[wgknestrick]

If the Pens want to move Jake back to C...I dress Rowney and Archie for the next game then and not Wilson.

Hagelin, Malkin, Kessel
Cullen, Guentzel, Rust/Hornqvist
Kunitz, Bonino, Hornqvist/Rust
Kuhnhackl, Rowney, Archibald

PIT can't dress that many Fs who provide such little scoring. At some point, Kuhn needs to be scratched. He provides very little on all fronts, becoming a young Craig Adams.

I'm also guessing Sheary was injured? He didn't play many minutes, but I must have missed it during a FF of uneventful play.

This team needs a shakeup.
Hainsey/Dumo pairing is now the "hemmed" in own zone until 2 icings that we thought they would/should be. Redwehel needs to play in place of Hainsey to improve our transition game.

Bonino still has a 30% Shots for % this playoffs. How much worse can he get before he's benched? Then Sully puts him on the #2PP? why?