Post-Game Talk: Cole's Plus/Minus: Congratulations Sidney Crosby!! (1000th Game)

[Ryder71]

It's not 'unfortunate'. Geno is a 3 Cup champ and 34 year old vet who always gets his game in order. If you think a coach should treat him the same as everybody else that's not going to happen and shouldn't. It's a balancing act. Kapanen just got here and Sullivan is letting him know that wasn't good enough. It wasn't a bad play or a turnover, he just wasn't engaged and Sullivan felt it was the right move. People are getting bent out of shape over one benching.

I largely agree. All I'm saying is that players won't be treated equally. And when I say unfortunately, we all know coaches gravitate towards certain players, whether it's warranted or not.

 

[xlm34]

Lafferty was playing with emotion and throwing his body around last two games. There's no reason to dump on him. The coach thought he was playing harder than Kapanen was and he made a decision. Maybe instead of making excuses for Kapanen, he can just play better next game and earn his spot on the top two lines. Playing with Crosby and Malkin isn't some casual right. Play harder.

The thing the bothers me is that Sullivan picks and chooses who has to earn their spot. I always pick on Rodrigues, but what exactly did he do to cement his place next to Crosby early in the season and be one of the leaders in ice time at even strength? But Kapanen has a tough couple of periods and he gets benched. There’s no denying that Sully plays favorites.

 

[Andy99]

Johnsson is also coming off a year + of repeated low body injuries on the same leg and is 26.

the point is merely that we overspent to get the type of player Kapanen actually is, not what we hope him to be

 

[Pittsburgh1776]

The thing the bothers me is that Sullivan picks and chooses who has to earn their spot. I always pick on Rodrigues, but what exactly did he do to cement his place next to Crosby early in the season and be one of the leaders in ice time at even strength? But Kapanen has a tough couple of periods and he gets benched. There’s no denying that Sully plays favorites.

Rodrigues was buzzing around and is the type of player Crosby likes to play with. They were seeing if it would work. It's not the same as Kapanen not doing the things he needs to compete and help us win. I've had problems with Sullivan too, and he is biased towards certain player types. I just think this is being blown out of proportion.

 

[Ryder71]

the point is merely that we overspent to get the type of player Kapanen actually is, not what we hope him to be

I agree we overspent. We did a bit on Zucker as well. And I do like both players Zucker in particular, but not at the price we paid for them.

 

[Gurglesons]

the point is merely that we overspent to get the type of player Kapanen actually is, not what we hope him to be

Looking at Corsi and raw point production is a silly thing to do to judge the difference between Johnsson and Kapanen.

That being said, if we are going to use Kapanen less than Sam Lafferty and Brandon Tanev. Yes we overpaid.

 

[Pittsburgh1776]

Looking at Corsi and raw point production is a silly thing to do to judge the difference between Johnsson and Kapanen.

That being said, if we are going to use Kapanen less than Sam Lafferty and Brandon Tanev. Yes we overpaid.

Holy shit relax haha. It was ONE message to play better and he'll be fine. Or he won't and we'll have to reassess.

 

[Gurglesons]

Holy shit relax haha. It was ONE message to play better and he'll be fine. Or he won't and we'll have to reassess.

It’s not one message. Since day one Sullivan has been pulling stupid shit with Kapanen on L4 and Rodrigues on L1.

It’s pretty obvious the coach doesn’t like him and at this point I’m sick and tired of Sullivan’s bullshit playing favorites on guys who have no talent but play safe and hit.

 

[HandshakeLine]

Responsibility for thee, not for me.

 

[CheckingLineCenter]

They won. That justifies Sullivan’s benching of Kap whether we like it or not.

 

[DesertedPenguin]

Good coaches treat players fairly, not equally.

Malkin, Crosby, Letang, etc. will have longer leashes. Rodrigues wasn't producing on L1, but he largely wasn't making a litany of mistakes or looking disengaged. He was just above his talent level.

Kapanen can occasionally look disengaged. He's a player who needs to play with energy. He did that early on. He's been a bit out of sorts the last two or three games. A simple message for a player still relatively new to the team is fine.

Bet he's right back on L1 next game and given a chance to show the message sunk in.

 

[Shady Machine]

the point is merely that we overspent to get the type of player Kapanen actually is, not what we hope him to be

Correct. Just another layer of JRs shit sandwich of overpaying to keep this team relevant.

 

[Gurglesons]

Good coaches treat players fairly, not equally.

Malkin, Crosby, Letang, etc. will have longer leashes. Rodrigues wasn't producing on L1, but he largely wasn't making a litany of mistakes or looking disengaged. He was just above his talent level.

Kapanen can occasionally look disengaged. He's a player who needs to play with energy. He did that early on. He's been a bit out of sorts the last two or three games. A simple message for a player still relatively new to the team is fine.

Bet he's right back on L1 next game and given a chance to show the message sunk in.

I’m absolutely fine with Kapanen being dropped to L3. Benching him for Lafferty is some Torts level bullshit.

 

[Pittsburgh1776]

It’s not one message. Since day one Sullivan has been pulling stupid shit with Kapanen on L4 and Rodrigues on L1.

It’s pretty obvious the coach doesn’t like him and at this point I’m sick and tired of Sullivan’s bullshit playing favorites on guys who have no talent but play safe and hit.

I mean, he wasn't in game shape and the coach made clear his intent was to move him up in the lineup. It wasn't a punishment. I think you're really reaching to fit a narrative about Sullivan. I don't like his biases either, but benching Kapanen wasn't wrong.

 

[Gurglesons]

Correct. Just another layer of JRs shit sandwich of overpaying to keep this team relevant.

Incorrect. Kapanen is a 40 pt player, young, and on a very team friendly deal. 1st and marginal prospect costs that all day, all week, all month.

 

[Gurglesons]

I mean, he wasn't in game shape and the coach made clear his intent was to move him up in the lineup. It wasn't a punishment. I think you're really reaching to fit a narrative about Sullivan. I don't like his biases either, but benching Kapanen wasn't wrong.

Weird how he never played on L1 until like 2 games ago and was immediately off it after like half a game of meh play then.

There is no reaching. Sullivan benched Kasperi Kapanen for Sam Lafferty. Just absolute bush league coaching.

Kapanen is a valuable asset on the PK. He has played less time on the PK than Malkin.

 

[Pittsburgh1776]

Weird how he never played on L1 until like 2 games ago and was immediately off it after like half a game of meh play then.

There is no reaching. Sullivan benched Kasperi Kapanen for Sam Lafferty. Just absolute bush league coaching.

That's because he was developing chemistry with Malkin. You're exaggerating. Tanev played there too, not just Lafferty.

 

[Gurglesons]

That's because he was developing chemistry with Malkin. You're exaggerating. Tanev played there too, not just Lafferty.

Kapanen got removed from the top nine for Sam Lafferty.

Weird how he was “developing chemistry with Malkin” and the first instinct is to rip him away from Malkin then and not Zucker eh?

 

[Pittsburgh1776]

Plus, as Jiggy said this isn't the first time this has happened with Kapanen. We can't afford an enigma on the wing right now, definitely not with Malkin and Crosby just won't tolerate it. Sullivan is pretty aware of player history and has pushed the right buttons many times. My criticisms of him haven't blinded me to it.

 

[Pittsburgh1776]

Kapanen got removed from the top nine for Sam Lafferty.

Weird how he was “developing chemistry with Malkin” and the first instinct is to rip him away from Malkin then and not Zucker eh?

Key word 'was'. The organization made clear their intent was for him to play on Crosby's wing. Chemistry with Malkin was always going to be temporary unless they were lights out. They fizzled out and Sullivan made a move.

 

[Gurglesons]

Plus, as Jiggy said this isn't the first time this has happened with Kapanen. We can't afford an enigma on the wing right now, definitely not with Malkin and Crosby just won't tolerate it. Sullivan is pretty aware of player history and has pushed the right buttons many times. My criticisms of him haven't blinded me to it.

I think there is a big difference between making a hard nosed 3rd line with Kapanen on it because Marner and Nylander are your RWs and putting Tanev on L1 and Lafferty on L3 over Kapanen on L4.

 

[Gurglesons]

Key word 'was'. The organization made clear their intent was for him to play on Crosby's wing. Chemistry with Malkin was always going to be temporary unless they were lights out. They fizzled out and Sullivan made a move.

Nice. Glad Sullivan is willing to give Zucker 20+ games to suck ass with Malkin but Kapanen gets 1 game of not producing and gets demoted to L4.

 

[DesertedPenguin]

I’m absolutely fine with Kapanen being dropped to L3. Benching him for Lafferty is some Torts level bullshit.

Lafferty helped generate and got an assist on the game-tying goal scored by Matheson, threw four hits, blocked a shot, and played with energy.

Kapanen had two shots on goal. That's it. He was largely invisible. The Penguins needed energy last night and Kapanen didn't bring it. That doesn't mean he's out of the team's long-term plans. It was a teaching moment for a guy who is still relatively young.

Benching Kapanen and playing Lafferty isn't a suggestion that Sullivan thinks more of Lafferty long-term. It was just what Sullivan thought the Penguins needed specifically for last night in the third period, and it's hard to argue with the end result.

 

[Pittsburgh1776]

I think there is a big difference between making a hard nosed 3rd line with Kapanen on it because Marner and Nylander are your RWs and putting Tanev on L1 and Lafferty on L3 over Kapanen on L4.

Eh, I think you're just in a bad mood and determined to be angry about this. This isn't a permanent thing. Sullivan sent a message for one period and if Kapanen is half the player we need here he'll respond.

 

[Gurglesons]

Lafferty helped generate and got an assist on the game-tying goal scored by Matheson, threw four hits, blocked a shot, and played with energy.

Kapanen had two shots on goal. That's it. He was largely invisible. The Penguins needed energy last night and Kapanen didn't bring it. That doesn't mean he's out of the team's long-term plans. It was a teaching moment for a guy who is still relatively young.

Benching Kapanen and playing Lafferty isn't a suggestion that Sullivan thinks more of Lafferty long-term. It was just what Sullivan thought the Penguins needed specifically for last night in the third period, and it's hard to argue with the end result.

Eh, I think you're just in a bad mood and determined to be angry about this. This isn't a permanent thing. Sullivan sent a message for one period and if Kapanen is half the player we need here he'll respond.

Guarantee Kappy is the first player out of the top six for the remainder of the season.

I’ve seen this song and dance enough with Sullivan.