Post-Game Talk: Devils 6, Penguins 3 - Penguins Hate On @ScandaleduJour on His Birthday

[CrosbyMalkin]

Crosby Guentzel Hornqvist Schultz Letang 1st PP unit

Malkin Kessel Brassard Riikola Maatta 2nd PP unit

Nope, who is the net front presence on that 2nd PP and also they will have Letang on one and Schultz on the other when he comes back.

Crosby, Guentzel, Kessel, Letang, Pettersson

Malkin, Hornqvist, Brassard, Schultz, Riikola

Maatta might be in the running for a spot but I would use those 4 defenseman. Hornqvist and Guentzel will play the net spots for each. Crosby and Malkin can play same spot for each. Schultz and Letang play same spot. The only thing that wouldn’t be even is not having the Kessel right hand shot with Brassard. Really like that right handed shot over on the other side. Besides that they would be fairly equal PP’s

 

[CrosbyMalkin]

This team is more than a 3c trade away from anything. I'm more afraid of what JR will forfeit for another earlier than expected exit.

Whatever you say. I would love to go back and read your posts when the team was doing terrible during those 3 Cups seasons but I would bet it was the same doom and gloom crap you are saying now. Go cheer for another team. We don’t need band wagon fans. The sky is falling, the sky is falling! Help

 

[Common Sense]

Because our coaching staff full on panics and creates these issues on their own. There's a cohesion problem with this team and it has been one for a long time, there's very few "tandems" that have stuck together for almost a full season, outside of Letang-Dumoulin there's really only Guentzel-Crosby and even that had its moments of being broken up for stretches.

Now you're stuck with 95% of the forwards having **** all for chemistry on basically every line because the coaching staff thinks everyone should play with anyone perfectly fine - THAT has never ever ever worked at any point for any ****ing team. It has never worked for us in either of our god damn cups. But it's what this staff loves to do, go ****ing bonkers with swapping the wrong players to spots they shouldn't be in instead of guys that should be in spots that did work.

Guentzel-Crosby-Simon worked, worked ****ing well. But then it was the braintrust's idea that Rust worked better there, no no...Hornqvist, no wait, Kessel, no wait, Rust again, no wait, Simon again, no no...

Then poor Malkin, dude gets ****ing jobbed for wingers and is now a mess as a player, his **** year is most players' breakthrough years, but for Geno, this isn't good.

The top 6 RW situation is mind boggling. You'd think with $15.6M tied up in three right wingers at least one of them would stick somewhere in our top 6.

 

[KIRK]

Quite the conundrum now for Sully.

Demote Phil on the PP, and Phil takes it personally.

Demote Geno, and Geno may or may not take it personally, depending if Sully handles it the right way, but even if he does it's a big can of worms waiting to be opened the second Silly doesn't universally apply that standard.

Do nothing and you're an empty suit.

Demote both, and double the risks.

Personally, I think in terms of risk to Sully, demoting both, demoting Phil only, doing nothing, and demoting Geno only is the order of least to most.

I'm guessing 1 in 5 this devolves into a Phil or the coach situation, and I can't say that there isn't a worse scenario involving Geno that conceivably could come from this box into which Sully put himself tonight.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Whatever you say. I would love to go back and read your posts when the team was doing terrible during those 3 Cups seasons but I would bet it was the same doom and gloom crap you are saying now. Go cheer for another team. We don’t need band wagon fans. The sky is falling, the sky is falling! Help

Being from Pittsburgh and being a fan longer than you'll ever be a fan of anything in your life, people like you crack me up.

"How dare you criticize a team!"

 

[Pancakes]

There's this arrogance (not picking on you just an fyi) that this team isn't playing up to what its capable of, but people are also not willing to accept that the crap we are seeing for most of this season, is what we're capable of right now.

That has to change. So far, the only "cultural" kick in the nuts are - Hagelin for Pearson, Pettersson for Sprong, and Oleksiak back to Dallas.

Look at Tampa, they made big changes and they're better for it, not worse. They moved for big big pieces and gave up talent for big key pieces. Meanwhile, we give up talent for **** and then the odd time, give up potential talent for solid young talent and don't **** it up.

I agree that the team needs changes, but there are some guys playing below what they should. Notably, Brassard and Malkin. That's 2/3rds of our top 9 centers. Hard to win consistently when those two consistently stink. Kessel is frankly pretty lame at even strength too. And with our PP bleeding goals like it has these guys are hardly making it up for it on the PP either.

For even strength we have Sids line and that's...it. So most nights to win we need either our PP to come through or if not then we're relying on Sids line to do something at even strength, or for our goaltending to win it for us.

Basically we don't have enough ways to win. We have to figure out this Malkin thing and fast or we might actually miss the playoffs.

 

[Turin]

The top 6 RW situation is mind boggling. You'd think with $15.6M tied up in three right wingers at least one of them would stick somewhere in our top 6.

If Malkin was playing even okay, his RW situation would look better

 

[KIRK]

I agree that the team needs changes, but there are some guys playing below what they should. Notably, Brassard and Malkin. That's 2/3rds of our top 9 centers. Hard to win consistently when those two consistently stink. Kessel is frankly pretty lame at even strength too. And with our PP bleeding goals like it has these guys are hardly making it up for it on the PP either.

For even strength we have Sids line and that's...it. So most nights to win we need either our PP to come through or if not then we're relying on Sids line to do something at even strength, or for our goaltending to win it for us.

Basically we don't have enough ways to win. We have to figure out this Malkin thing and fast or we might actually miss the playoffs.

We needed to figure out the Malkin thing and fast 2 months ago.

Now? Let's just say I hope, unlike 2 months ago, @ColePens is right about the Geno situation and I am wrong.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

I agree that the team needs changes, but there are some guys playing below what they should. Notably, Brassard and Malkin. That's 2/3rds of our top 9 centers. Hard to win consistently when those two consistently stink. Kessel is frankly pretty lame at even strength too. And with our PP bleeding goals like it has these guys are hardly making it up for it on the PP either.

For even strength we have Sids line and that's...it. So most nights to win we need either our PP to come through or if not then we're relying on Sids line to do something at even strength, or for our goaltending to win it for us.

Basically we don't have enough ways to win. We have to figure out this Malkin thing and fast or we might actually miss the playoffs.

There are things JR can do, it might not be popular at first, but if he's calculated with it, he can move big pieces for other big pieces and shake the roster up in a good way. He's done it before, but since then, he's consistently f***ed it up with a few moments of brilliance. He's also talking about this or that prospect that he wants to boast about but they are words that are followed up by zero action, so they mean jack shit.

We're half way in, same old same old on the ice from the start of this season...the team can go and win their next 2 and people will say "see, people panicked for nothing" until they hit the playoffs and the ugly team rears its head again, then it's excuses time for injuries and players that didn't pull their weight, again...same old same old.

Maybe Kessel is becoming less of a good fit and maybe exploring the market on him wouldn't be a terrible thing, not saying I am a fan of it or a proponent of it, but right now I would be exploring a f*** ton of options.

We need to make McDonagh, Miller, etc type of deals. We need to make another Kessel type of deal that alters the course of this team's entire attack.

 

[Pancakes]

We needed to figure out the Malkin thing and fast 2 months ago.

Now? Let's just say I hope, unlike 2 months ago, @ColePens is right about the Geno situation and I am wrong.

Forgive me Kirk but I don't actually remember what your opinion is on this. Are you one of those "Geno is old" or "Geno hates the coach" types? Not being sarcastic - I genuinely don't remember.

As for me I think it's a confidence thing with him, and it's being exacerbated by equally bad play by his linemates.

 

[KIRK]

If Malkin was playing even okay, his RW situation would look better

Yes, but the it would be enough to help disguise this team's other issues.

It's strange, but I can't even say I care. Part of me is hoping Sully demotes one of Phil or Geno on the PP, but not both, so at least we can have a little drama to spice up the vanilla.

 

[KIRK]

Forgive me Kirk but I don't actually remember what your opinion is on this. Are you one of those "Geno is old" or "Geno hates the coach" types? Not being sarcastic - I genuinely don't remember.

As for me I think it's a confidence thing with him, and it's being exacerbated by equally bad play by his linemates.

I'm the one who was in a ******* panic about Geno's game 2 months ago while people were saying not to worry.

And frankly I don't know what the hell it is anymore, which is part of the worry.

I've got a bad feeling it ends badly.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

We needed to figure out the Malkin thing and fast 2 months ago.

Now? Let's just say I hope, unlike 2 months ago, @ColePens is right about the Geno situation and I am wrong.

They let that drag on so long, the entire time G has been beating himself up about it as well. He just hasn't worked with Kessel the same way as before and there's a "key element" missing on his wing. Pearson is a solid player, but he's not a good fit with Geno either or if he is, then Kessel isn't and it's just a merry-go-round of who the f*** fits.

I am big on Dzingel or Ferland because they bring elements that Hagelin had - either speed or the ability to create space. Both are far more gritty than Hagelin ever was, they're the kind of gritty we need more of because it's backed up with solid skill as well. But that's just 1 step. There's this hope that Schultz will be back and all will be well on the back end, when that fails what panic move will JR make? That literally scares me as a fan.

 

[Pancakes]

There are things JR can do, it might not be popular at first, but if he's calculated with it, he can move big pieces for other big pieces and shake the roster up in a good way. He's done it before, but since then, he's consistently ****ed it up with a few moments of brilliance. He's also talking about this or that prospect that he wants to boast about but they are words that are followed up by zero action, so they mean jack ****.

We're half way in, same old same old on the ice from the start of this season...the team can go and win their next 2 and people will say "see, people panicked for nothing" until they hit the playoffs and the ugly team rears its head again, then it's excuses time for injuries and players that didn't pull their weight, again...same old same old.

Maybe Kessel is becoming less of a good fit and maybe exploring the market on him wouldn't be a terrible thing, not saying I am a fan of it or a proponent of it, but right now I would be exploring a **** ton of options.

We need to make McDonagh, Miller, etc type of deals. We need to make another Kessel type of deal that alters the course of this team's entire attack.

I worry about trading Kessel simply because he does put up quite a few points. It would be hard to replace that production and come out ahead in a trade. I'd also never move Malkin, even with how bad he looks right now. He's number one earned the right to finish his career as a Penguin if he wants to, and number two he could easily bounce back even if not this year and be dominant again. Yes he's getting older but he should have 3-5 years still (or more) of good to elite production.

Letang can't go either since our d without him would be abominable. So for me the only big piece you could move is Kessel. And I'd worry about doing it.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

I'm the one who was in a ******* panic about Geno's game 2 months ago while people were saying not to worry.

And frankly I don't know what the hell it is anymore, which is part of the worry.

I've got a bad feeling it ends badly.

Yeah the longer this drags on, the feeling I get is familiar and I don't want to spell it out and put it out there.

 

[KIRK]

They let that drag on so long, the entire time G has been beating himself up about it as well. He just hasn't worked with Kessel the same way as before and there's a "key element" missing on his wing. Pearson is a solid player, but he's not a good fit with Geno either or if he is, then Kessel isn't and it's just a merry-go-round of who the **** fits.

I am big on Dzingel or Ferland because they bring elements that Hagelin had - either speed or the ability to create space. Both are far more gritty than Hagelin ever was, they're the kind of gritty we need more of because it's backed up with solid skill as well. But that's just 1 step. There's this hope that Schultz will be back and all will be well on the back end, when that fails what panic move will JR make? That literally scares me as a fan.

You also need Rust-- not Phil or Horny but Rust-- on the RW. Thing is, they let it drag so long, as you noted . . . I'm not sure he's not mentally shot.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

I worry about trading Kessel simply because he does put up quite a few points. It would be hard to replace that production and come out ahead in a trade. I'd also never move Malkin, even with how bad he looks right now. He's number one earned the right to finish his career as a Penguin if he wants to, and number two he could easily bounce back even if not this year and be dominant again. Yes he's getting older but he should have 3-5 years still (or more) of good to elite production.

Letang can't go either since our d without him would be abominable. So for me the only big piece you could move is Kessel. And I'd worry about doing it.

Moving Kessel would be tough.

On one hand, he's been fantastic for this team and has done a ton to help us win cups, but on the other hand...

He no longer works well with Malkin, they don't want him with Crosby, and he's an abomination with Brassard. What if he's the guy that nets this team 2-3 pieces that makes us better now and keeps us competitive longer? That's the part that is in the back of my head that is starting to get harder to ignore.

 

[Pancakes]

I'm the one who was in a ******* panic about Geno's game 2 months ago while people were saying not to worry.

And frankly I don't know what the hell it is anymore, which is part of the worry.

I've got a bad feeling it ends badly.

I'll need to see two years in a row of this before I panic. But I do agree with you that it's right to be more than a little concerned.

 

[Pancakes]

Moving Kessel would be tough.

On one hand, he's been fantastic for this team and has done a ton to help us win cups, but on the other hand...

He no longer works well with Malkin, they don't want him with Crosby, and he's an abomination with Brassard. What if he's the guy that nets this team 2-3 pieces that makes us better now and keeps us competitive longer? That's the part that is in the back of my head that is starting to get harder to ignore.

I think it's not a move you make in season. Maybe after the season if we miss the playoffs or if we bounce early again.

Also, Brassard isn't long for Pittsburgh, so still a chance we find a 3c that clicks with Kessel. Hell Sheahan didn't look bad with him last year.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

@Pancakes I would never entertain the idea of moving Letang. I may have said it a few times just so he can get off of this team and the hate he was getting, but I love 'Tanger and he's insanely important to this team.

 

[KIRK]

I worry about trading Kessel simply because he does put up quite a few points. It would be hard to replace that production and come out ahead in a trade. I'd also never move Malkin, even with how bad he looks right now. He's number one earned the right to finish his career as a Penguin if he wants to, and number two he could easily bounce back even if not this year and be dominant again. Yes he's getting older but he should have 3-5 years still (or more) of good to elite production.

Letang can't go either since our d without him would be abominable. So for me the only big piece you could move is Kessel. And I'd worry about doing it.

It will never be the Penguins choice to move Malkin, because with the full NTC, the only question is how badly they lose the deal.

 

[Pancakes]

@Pancakes I would never entertain the idea of moving Letang. I may have said it a few times just so he can get off of this team and the hate he was getting, but I love 'Tanger and he's insanely important to this team.

To be honest I would have entertained it after last year. But not after seeing him bounce back like he has this year. And not after seeing what the rest of our d is either.

Plus in a sentimental (I know it's dangerous) way I consider him a Penguin lifer as with Sid/Geno as well. Guy loves it here, wants to be here. Plays really hard. Let's keep him, and let him continue to be a leader.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

I think it's not a move you make in season. Maybe after the season if we miss the playoffs or if we bounce early again.

Also, Brassard isn't long for Pittsburgh, so still a chance we find a 3c that clicks with Kessel. Hell Sheahan didn't look bad with him last year.

It completely depends on what is put on the table.

If its a bunch of futures and a solid top prospect? Sure, I table that until the off season and let Kessel hopefully have a decent playoffs (however long that lasts) and keep his value up, but if a team comes to us with solid pieces that are ready to help us now?

I mean this isn't just about Kessel, it can be anyone that isn't deemed "core pieces that they shouldn't move."

 

[Pancakes]

It will never be the Penguins choice to move Malkin, because with the full NTC, the only question is how badly they lose the deal.

There's also the fact that JR has been firm about never wanting to do it, and Mario loves Geno as well. So does Sid.

So unless Geno himself wants out, it ain't happening. If he ages and starts to be less effective I think they'll just deal with it and hope for the best.

 

[KIRK]

@Pancakes I would never entertain the idea of moving Letang. I may have said it a few times just so he can get off of this team and the hate he was getting, but I love 'Tanger and he's insanely important to this team.

I may have said it a few hundred times to aggravate @pixiesfanyo and especially Mr 'Leave My Krissy Alone' himself, @Scandale du Jour.