+ Craig Adams not in the lineup. I can’t….I don’t….I’m not even sure if I’m feeling.
+ Geno – all has been said. It is known.
+ 4th line owning possession, cycling, and drawing a penalty, all while being better than the other team’s 4th line. I can’t….I don’t….
+ PP setup and PP goals. Kunitz gone and Pouliot in. Yes please.
+ MAF’s huge save on Johansen 2 on 1. That save was gigantic. Reminded me a lot of the Ovechkin game 7 breakaway save in 09; not because the plays themselves were similar, but because it was a very high percentage scoring chance in a close game that really had an effect on how the game went afterwards.
+ Hornqvist – Relentless.
+ Kunitz – going to the front of the net. Thinking he was James Neal lite was an awful thing for his game. On Geno’s line he’s creating space and causing jam-ups in front of the net (which is odd in that you would think Hornqvist’s game would reap the same benefits on that line). If the old forecheck can return….
+ Winnik – whoever had the post about his size, wingspan, and strength keeping him away from being pinned to the boards and giving a couple extra seconds to make a play was really good.
- Sutter – the play where JJ literally nudged him not only off the puck but out of the play entirely, before taking the puck coast to coast was just the quintessential Sutter play for me.
- Taking the high road – Johansen hit Sid high, Clarkson took a faceoff just to slash Malkin, and Despres was seriously boarded. I’d like some response there. I’m not in the “enforcer” crowd but I do like quality hockey players that aren’t afraid to punch faces.
I also like the idea of sending out my top PP regardless of the score to embarrass the team responsible for goonery. Putting Scuderi on the PP or as a poster called it the “prevent defense PP” was pathetic. Rack the points, get Geno the hat-trick, and let him one-leg celebrate in front of that Columbus bench.
= Just a thought it might be time to try Perron with Malkin. I hope it’s just a case of “took Sid a while to adapt to Hossa” but sometimes where Perron’s linemates go is a mystery. So often I see Perron carry the LW boards, make a seemingly easy but really actually difficult and nifty move to keep the puck away from a defender closing in on his space, with Sid streaking straight-line to the goal and looping back to the RW boards and back to the point, while Hornqvist B-lines to the net. Perron is left with a defender still right on him, no lane to get the puck through to Hornqvist, a rushed drop pass, or dumping the puck around the boards with Hornqvist’s defender likely to step behind the net to play the puck easily. Sid kind of refuses to change it up. Maybe he could pull back and not cut full speed to the net, or if he does, to peel back to the LW boards to be support for Perron to chip it in deep. I know it seems like picking on Sid but it sometimes seems like him peeling back up the RW boards is out of frustration he didn’t get the puck forced to him on a low-percentage full-speed pass. I dunno.
+Letang (you knew it was coming) – I know I’m the board’s designated Letang homer and sometimes I might come off as personally offended when he’s “criticized” but I just knew after the bad pass on the PP, the poor PP shot that rang high and wide out of the zone, and the SH giveaway this place would overreact. 3 bad plays, one the led to a goal against in a game already decided, but I lost count of how many times he single-handedly destroyed a normally effective Columbus forecheck.
The constant GDT posts of “he’s stupid” and “he has such a low IQ” posts are puzzling to say the least. You see someone use speed to get ahead of a forward, keep an eye on where that forward intends to go, throw fakes and jukes to get that forward to bite, and reverse the play out of a high-traffic area prone for defensive turnovers, and the puck is back in the Penguins possession heading up ice as the defending team falls back on its heels. That’s not a play just born to natural gifts or athleticism; that’s hockey IQ! I don’t get how you see that play happen multiple times a period, say nothing, and then end up repeatedly posting about how stupid a guy is for forcing a pass or being careless with the puck on the PP (something 100% of the PP is guilty of). A little more urgency on short-handed chances, better puck-support on zone entry, and Sid coming off the right boards with a purpose fixes most of that anyway.