Post-Game Talk: Cole's Plus/Minus: Pens/Yotes - Back in the win column!

[WayneSid9987]

So who are we willing to trade?

I only ask because 'our crap for their good stuff', while a good idea in theory, tends to be impractical otherwise.

Rust should not be traded under any circumstences. he is our best PK and best 3rd/4th RW option. He will start getting points, but we don't want to lose that speed, not at all

Everyones on my table to be dealt depending on the return, of course, outside of 87, 71, 81, 58 and 8.

I think Letang works with JJ. Because it allows JJ to simplify his game a bit.

He doesnt have to do too much because Letang has the keys go the whip on any pairing he is with.

It also helps having Dumo on the 2nd pairing because he's capable of holding up a pairing as the head guy as well.

It's weird cuz i don't believe an Olli, Rig or a maybe in rookie-Riiko would look AS good beside Tanger atm.
JJ is very used to playing against tough competition. Think Tanger can play off of what JJ does well easier than the other guys.
I'm holding my hands together and pointing to the sky cuz if that pairing does work out, you may have a potential Dumo-Schultz 2nd pairing to work with later and all of a sudden things don't look absolutely putrid.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Minor nitpick because I like being selfish, but it would be nice if one of these games Sid "could have had 4 points tonight", he actually got 4 points that night. For whatever reason the past handful of seasons, Sid doesn't seem to get the puck luck to get those extra couple of points even when he's dominant that he would when he was routinely scoring 100+ points.

Good to see DeSmith continue his strong play. One, it provides solid goaltending for the short term and two, it might be the thing Murray needs to push to be more consistent.

 

[Freedom]

I told it for 2 years now. Sid and Phil could be great together if they get a chance from Sully

 

[Honour Over Glory]

I was thinking Ben Stiller

I'm not convinced that isn't Sully.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

I told it for 2 years now. Sid and Phil could be great together if they get a chance from Sully

I bet even with that sample size it will never be a regular thing.

It's absolutely odd that Hagelin, Crosby, Kessel has not been a thing.

 

[EliteGoaltending]

Yep, Crosby and DeSmith won that game for the Pens.

Rust's been noticeable in positive way for the first time in a long time.

So far JJ looked at his best here on the 1st pairing with Letang. Not sure if it's sustainable.

 

[EliteGoaltending]

Geno is in a funk. And one thing for sure, Sullivan will not try to help him out, he only does that with Sid. So Geno will need to figure it out himself.

But you see, with Hags and Horny all what they do in OZ is board battle, board battle, pass in the slot to many sticks, turnover, rise and repeat. Benefits of having two very offensively limited wingers on a top 6 line.

I think Cullen and Hornqvist looked at their best together (they were with Sheahan, but he wasn't a factor really) with their straight line game and puck to the net approach.

 

[EliteGoaltending]

Meh Sully is typical NHL coaching right now... we will win or lose if the players play above themselves... our strategic advantage is gone and we aren’t optimized in any way shape or form, but we are still really talented so we still can have nights like tonight...

Its just not worth complaining about yet though

Yes, it's also the Coyetes. So it will be harder to win on just talent vs stronger opponents.

 

[Peat]

Probably.

On the other hand, I'm not sure how much value he's got at this point . . . especially if a team interested in dealing for him actually scouts him first.

Trading Maatta would be a misfit for misfit deal or part of a big package with other cool bits. I think most people here know that... and also that this would be the case for pretty much anyone we're willing to trade at this moment save a fit Brassard (if we're actually willing to trade him) and even this contract status limits options.

Whoever we trade, we're looking for Rutherford to pull off some mid-season magic.

It's weird cuz i don't believe an Olli, Rig or a maybe in rookie-Riiko would look AS good beside Tanger atm.
JJ is very used to playing against tough competition. Think Tanger can play off of what JJ does well easier than the other guys.
I'm holding my hands together and pointing to the sky cuz if that pairing does work out, you may have a potential Dumo-Schultz 2nd pairing to work with later and all of a sudden things don't look absolutely putrid.

True. I think Cough Drop would complicate his game too much and that Maatta is overthinking things too much... and that Oleksiak would somehow do both.

I'm still trying to figure out how this one is working beyond Letang being amazing. I think to a certain extent Letang is breaking up the game enough that Johnson is seeing little sustained zone time against and instead gets to do a lot of clean up and one on one in the corners.

I told it for 2 years now. Sid and Phil could be great together if they get a chance from Sully

Sully is not the right S to ask about why we don't see more Sid and Phil.

 

[TheGuiminator]

Minor nitpick because I like being selfish, but it would be nice if one of these games Sid "could have had 4 points tonight", he actually got 4 points that night. For whatever reason the past handful of seasons, Sid doesn't seem to get the puck luck to get those extra couple of points even when he's dominant that he would when he was routinely scoring 100+ points.

Good to see DeSmith continue his strong play. One, it provides solid goaltending for the short term and two, it might be the thing Murray needs to push to be more consistent.

True, Crosby has the WORST puck luck I’ve ever seen compare to other elite players. It’s almost like there’s a barrier that doesn’t allow him to have more than 3 points a game

 

[Shady Machine]

Matt Murray 2017 stats:

Save % (among G's with at least 25 GP) = 41st in league
GAA = 35th

Matt Murray 2018 stats:

Save % (amon G's with at least 5 GP) = 43rd out of 50
GAA = 46th out of 50

This is what happens when you anoint a player waaaaay to early.

And btw, let's see what a career fail comp looks like on Murray in another 10 years. At the rate he's been going the past calendar year, he'll be right up there with MAF.

I shat on MAF plenty over the years. Plenty of times he deserved it. I keep bringing up Murray's horrific play because very few seem to be doing it here. The legends of hypocrisy are abound on this forum. I've never seen a player get a bigger pass than Murray has over the past 10 months.

Why is Casey DeSmith playing elite hockey and Murray playing like an AHL goalie? Same team in front of him.....where have I heard that before?

Lol guess you haven’t been around for fleurys career then.

 

[Shady Machine]

Oh you mean the Flyers where he had 3 turrrrrible games outta 6?

Lucky we played a team where the other team had the one goalie(s) who were worse.

As I said, for the bulk of the past year he's been utter garbage. Ain't nothing wrong with pointing out reality.

Except that it’s all you do. For example, this is the post game thread for Pens vs Coyotes and DeSmith was the starter. Your posts on Murray and Fleury are irrelevant to this game.

 

[Yuri35]

It certainly is weird. I dunno. I like Hags - Malkin - Hornqvist fine. And also wouldn’t mind seeing Malkin with Simon and Rust either.

Ideally with me I’m seeing this going into the playoffs.

Jake - Crosby - Kessel
LW deadline deal - Malkin - Rust
Hagelin - Brassard - Hornqvist
Sheahan - Cullen - Simon / ZAR / whatever.

I wonder if Dzingel is the ideal candidate for Malkin. Question would you offer a Hartman like deal for Dzingel. Basically a 1st and something useless.

I really dunno geno is fine playing with a guy with who he never had any kind of chemistry....and I even more dunno he was fine playing without the winger with who he has had overall the best chemistry since he is with us.

 

[Peat]

I really dunno geno is fine playing with a guy with who he never had any kind of chemistry....and I even more dunno he was fine playing without the winger with who he has had overall the best chemistry since he is with us.

But he was playing with Hagelin.

 

[vodeni]

Yep, Crosby and DeSmith won that game for the Pens.

Rust's been noticeable in positive way for the first time in a long time.

So far JJ looked at his best here on the 1st pairing with Letang. Not sure if it's sustainable.

as I elaborate yesterday, this is his only spot in the roster...to play left side along with Letang. This is the only way that they can make that investment not look like total failure. If he is paired with eithr Ruh or Riikola, he would be disaster. so you will see a lot of this gooing on.

 

[EliteGoaltending]

as I elaborate yesterday, this is his only spot in the roster...to play left side along with Letang. This is the only way that they can make that investment not look like total failure. If he is paired with eithr Ruh or Riikola, he would be disaster. so you will see a lot of this gooing on.

Maybe one day it's gonna wear out him or Letang? You can put Dumo back on the 1st pair of course, but JJ back in the wilderness gonna be , as you said.

 

[wej20]

Can we scratch Wilson and try not to tank Sprong's value any further?

 

[EliteGoaltending]

Team got a momentum from scoring first goal last night and started rolling.

In '16 it was Sid and deflections, this year it's Sid and backhands. He's rightfully sticking for what's working for him. Plus both type of shots are hard to read and react for goalies.

 

[Ogrezilla]

as I elaborate yesterday, this is his only spot in the roster...to play left side along with Letang. This is the only way that they can make that investment not look like total failure. If he is paired with eithr Ruh or Riikola, he would be disaster. so you will see a lot of this gooing on.

If it works it works. Here's hoping it somehow continues to work, because polishing a turd is always great and freeing up Dumo for the 2nd pair is huge.

 

[Ogrezilla]

Team got a momentum from scoring first goal last night and started rolling.

In '16 it was Sid and deflections, this year it's Sid and backhands. He's rightfully sticking for what's working for him. Plus both type of shots are hard to read and react for goalies.

and last year it was shots from behind the net I love that guy.

 

[Ogrezilla]

Can we scratch Wilson and try not to tank Sprong's value any further?

I hope Sully was unhappy with the 4th line and brings in Bleuger. That's the big internal move I still want to see. With Brassard out, now is the easiest time to try it.

 

[Gurglesons]

Minor nitpick because I like being selfish, but it would be nice if one of these games Sid "could have had 4 points tonight", he actually got 4 points that night. For whatever reason the past handful of seasons, Sid doesn't seem to get the puck luck to get those extra couple of points even when he's dominant that he would when he was routinely scoring 100+ points.

Good to see DeSmith continue his strong play. One, it provides solid goaltending for the short term and two, it might be the thing Murray needs to push to be more consistent.

He was on the ice for all four goals. I could care less about his point totals.

 

[Empoleon8771]

It should also be noted that Johnson has been playing well even before getting paired with Letang, he's now at a 6 game streak of playing good hockey. It seems like it took a little bit of an adjustment for him to get comfortable with the team, and he's more comfortable now and playing with a D partner that can ease up his responsibility. Johnson last night looked really good, especially on the powerplay.

It seemed like Johnson was really hit or miss for about the first 8 or 9 games of the season, but he has settled in recently with playing solid hockey. Johnson hasn't been so hot and cold, like he was to start the season.

 

[Andy99]

Can we scratch Wilson and try not to tank Sprong's value any further?

Would love to see Sprong get a whirl with G...worked for a shift in Vancouver and maybe they help each other get out their respective funks....ZAR -Cullen-Rust/Horny would be a great L4...

 

[Andy99]

I hope Sully was unhappy with the 4th line and brings in Bleuger. That's the big internal move I still want to see. With Brassard out, now is the easiest time to try it.

Don’t count on it...Mackey was praising the fourth line this morning....lol...since he’s often an organizational mouthpiece, they’re probably still infatuated with that crappy line...

Analysis: Five more reasons the Penguins found their game