Post-Game Talk: Cole's Plus/Minus: POWERPLAY GOALS, ZAR, EMPTY NETTERS

[ChaosAgent]

+to @Zirakzigil for all the Anne Hathaway gifs

Toxic masculinity alert:

I can't tell if I think she's hot. She's strikingly beautiful (+a great actress) but in the realm of celebs there are many less beautiful that are hotter. Dunno if that makes sense.

Edit: wasn't there a whole episode of "The Office" whose central premise was a debate on whether Hilary Swank was hot lol

 

[mpp9]

The Flames deal was originally Frolik and a 1st for Zucker I believe.

Id take Bennett and a lesser pick. Add players who fit needs on the roster and pile up picks for the long term. Do the same thing with Dumoulin. I think that’s ideal for the Burke/Hextall dynamic.

 

[Ugene Magic]

Jarry came up with a great play stopping the puck behind the net stop, give to Letang who ups it to ZAR for a lucky empty netter. The little safe plays that lead to positive things.

 

[ChaosAgent]

Id take Bennett and a lesser pick. Add players who fit needs on the roster and pile up picks for the long term. Do the same thing with Dumoulin. I think that’s ideal for the Burke/Hextall dynamic.

Concur on the Dumo thing. I feel confident with Petts, POJ, Matheson and Riikola we have enough at LD and Dumo is dramatically trending in the wrong direction here.

If you want to contend, picks are currency to get you players that you need at the deadline. If the team implodes, the need for picks is self-explanatory.

 

[The Great Mighty Poo]

Rusty going to Top Gun

WOOOOO! Jester's dead!

 

[BrookswasHere44]

I see ABSOLUTELY no reason why ANYONE would consider Letang untouchable. He does very little for this team.

That being said I'm not proposing anything, just a rebuttal to words of "untouchable core players"

**I am not a pretty evaluator**

 

[Dominance]

Ceci has been good for us. I thought that he has done a good job holding the line and getting shots on net offensively, and delivering checks and having an active stick while being good positionally defensively. He has the occasional rough moment on transition, but he’s a third-pairing defenseman and being paid like one. Unless someone takes a big step to steal his spot, I am rapidly moving to the point where I would be disappointed if he was not resigned - just keep the term low.

 

[66-30-33]

Missed the game due to work...so 3-0 vs Caps now?

 

[Empoleon8771]

Ceci has been good for us. I thought that he has done a good job holding the line and getting shots on net offensively, and delivering checks and having an active stick while being good positionally defensively. He has the occasional rough moment on transition, but he’s a third-pairing defenseman and being paid like one. Unless someone takes a big step to steal his spot, I am rapidly moving to the point where I would be disappointed if he was not resigned - just keep the term low.

Just be happy that JR isn't our GM anymore, because if he was, Ceci would be getting the JJ contract after the year

 

[Trade]

The Flames deal was originally Frolik and a 1st for Zucker I believe.

Very good point about the Frolik+1st for Zucker. McCann on the fourth line/fill-in duty for injury makes a hell of a lot more sense than doing the same with Zucker.

If L1 wasn’t playing so well right now the shuffle of the top-6 would be obvious.

Zucker-Sid-Kapanen
Guentzel-Geno-Rust
BART
DOC-McCann-Erod

Either way, Sully doesn’t split up Sid and Jake when Sid is healthy.... so leave Zucker put and hope with time, they start to mesh....OR trade him.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

Ceci was awful his first few games but after getting benched he's really calmed down. Matheson, knock on wood, seems to be stabilizing a bit as well. And if ZAR can play with confidence and be the guy we signed out of college before Wilson caved his jaw in, as opposed to the uber one-dimensional defensive specialist/offensive black hole, that'd be really nice as well.

 

[Zybalto]

Leafs fan here that always got flak for defending Ceci lol

He didnt start great which got me worried for defending you guys for signing him but...

Out of the 136 dmen that have played 80+ minutes 5v5 since Jan. 27th:

Ceci:

Points/60: 2.5 (3rd highest out of 136)

xGF%: 65.48 (1st out of 136)
xGF% REL: +19.10 (1st out of 136)
GF%: 84.16 (6th out of 136)
GF% REL: +37.48 (7th out of 136)

Just D:
Expected Goals Against/60: 1.43 (2nd lowest out of 136)
Expected Goals Against/60 REL: -.80 (7th lowest out of 136)
Actual Goals against/60: .59 (4th lowest out of 136)
Actual Goals against/60 REL: -2.64 (Lowest out of 136)

Ceci for Norris! lol j/k but he sure has come in handy with all the D problems you guys have had.

Good win today.

Cheers.

 

[Gurglesons]

Leafs fan here that always got flak for defending Ceci lol

He didnt start great which got me worried for defending you guys for signing him but...

Out of the 136 dmen that have played 80+ minutes 5v5 since Jan. 27th:

Ceci:

Points/60: 2.5 (3rd highest out of 136)

xGF%: 65.48 (1st out of 136)
xGF% REL: +19.10 (1st out of 136)
GF%: 84.16 (6th out of 136)
GF% REL: +37.48 (7th out of 136)

Just D:
Expected Goals Against/60: 1.43 (2nd lowest out of 136)
Expected Goals Against/60 REL: -.80 (7th lowest out of 136)
Actual Goals against/60: .59 (4th lowest out of 136)
Actual Goals against/60 REL: -2.64 (Lowest out of 136)

Ceci for Norris! lol j/k but he sure has come in handy with all the D problems you guys have had.

Good win today.

Cheers.

I hope to god they don’t extend him. I think a lot of his success is coming from just being able to play a small role on this team.

 

[Icarium]

I will be happy to eat crow over Matheson, if he continues playing like that his contract will be a steal rather than the anchor we thought it might become. But let's wait and see, Jankowski also had two good games and has been the invisible man ever since.
Obvious big pluses for first and third line, a big minus for Geno and a "did they play?" meh rating for Kapanen and Zucker,
The PP is utterly different when, gasp, everyone is moving, who would have thunk it. Still needs net front presence, IMO, but a huge step in the right direction.
Finally some semblance of defensive structure but now we are getting burned due to individual blunders and took some really dumb penalties and puck over glass, for what, a fourth straight game? At least this time we killed it off for a change.
This Caps team just isn't very good, I have no idea how they have won six in a row... then our division isn't very good either.

 

[vodeni]

They’re called fanboys. Theyd rather see Malkin have success than see the team have success.

well, ther is a little bit true to that but you are taking it to the next level....most of the rabid Geno's fans on our board (me included) would not under ANY circumstances put Malkin's success over the team's...I just don't see that....not in anyone's post, some would like to see Geno put in better position to succeed especially now when he needs a bit of the lift, which he is not getting it from his linemates...

 

[robopigeon]

Speaking of Leaf fans: I distinctly remember in the Kap trade that their fans said, consistently, that even if he struggled 5v5 that he was great on the PK. Is Sullivan overthinking it?

 

[Gurglesons]

I see ABSOLUTELY no reason why ANYONE would consider Letang untouchable. He does very little for this team.

That being said I'm not proposing anything, just a rebuttal to words of "untouchable core players"

**I am not a pretty evaluator**

I mean, I don’t see anyone else on this team’s defense making that play on the PP to Rust.

 

[Gurglesons]

Speaking of Leaf fans: I distinctly remember in the Kap trade that their fans said, consistently, that even if he struggled 5v5 that he was great on the PK. Is Sullivan overthinking it?

He was never a great PKer he was an aggressive PKer.

 

[66-30-33]

Just be happy that JR isn't our GM anymore, because if he was, Ceci would be getting the JJ contract after the year

I'd give him another 1 year deal.

 

[BrookswasHere44]

I mean, I don’t see anyone else on this team’s defense making that play on the PP to Rust.

I left myself some room for error by saying "very little"

 

[SomeDude]

Just be happy that JR isn't our GM anymore, because if he was, Ceci would be getting the JJ contract after the year

I wouldn't get too confident that it won't play out like that still.

 

[Pittsburgh1776]

I deal with facts, not hot takes.

Penguins forwards average time on ice leaders this year:
Guentzel, 20:40
Crosby, 20:37
Rust, 19:55
Malkin, 19:16
Zucker, 17:03

Last year:
Guentzel, 20:38
Crosby, 20:16
Rust, 19:46
Malkin, 19:31
Zucker, 17:40

2018-19:
Crosby, 21:00
Guentzel, 19:21
Malkin, 18:48
Kessel, 17:59
Rust, 15:54

2017-18:
Crosby, 20:41
Malkin, 18:59
Kessel, 18:41
Hornqvist, 17:19
Guentzel, 16:29

2016-17:
Crosby, 19:53
Malkin, 18:37
Kessel, 17:56
Bonino, 16:39
Hornqvist, 15:57

Sullivan hasn't had a "plugger" in the top five in ice time since Bonino. By the way, the numbers are the same with just even-strength. The Pens' top five on 5-on-5 this year are Guentzel, Crosby, Rust, Malkin and Zucker.

What does season average ice time have to do with Sullivan ignoring L2's issues and preferencing the makeup of the third line over assisting Malkin? What are you talking about?

 

[radapex]

Interesting how many people ragging on Jarry, and I look at Twitter and Jesse said he played well.

Also... I know L1 is killing things dead, but flipping the wing pairings between centres is so horrendously obvious as a way forwards I don't know what to say. I near guarantee Sid will continue to kill things.

I'd guarantee it won't work. Kapanen doesn't have anywhere near the hockey IQ to work with Sid, and that's always been the biggest factor in how successful his wingers are. I'm also not sure it'll actually do anything for Malkin because, according to advanced stats, Malkin's performance always tends to be in a bubble. If he's on, every line combination he plays with is good; if he's off, every line combination he plays with is bad.

On the bright side, maybe Sully will try it for 5 or 10 games and we can go on a long enough losing streak to get him canned...

 

[Gurglesons]

I'd guarantee it won't work. Kapanen doesn't have anywhere near the hockey IQ to work with Sid, and that's always been the biggest factor in how successful his wingers are. I'm also not sure it'll actually do anything for Malkin because, according to advanced stats, Malkin's performance always tends to be in a bubble. If he's on, every line combination he plays with is good; if he's off, every line combination he plays with is bad.

On the bright side, maybe Sully will try it for 5 or 10 games and we can go on a long enough losing streak to get him canned...

People said the same thing about Rust.

 

[LRS87]

Jake-Sid-Zucker
Rust-Geno-Kap
BART
McCann-Jank-Sceviour