Pre-Game Talk: Friend of the Pens, John Tortorella Comes to Town: Canucks @ Penguins

[Darth Vitale]

Haha, then the Dark Lord needs to be more inventive. Ballons my man, balloons.

Birthday Balloons with stuff written on them attached to a sign. Their magic wands don't detected anything but metal.

Dark Lord gets a F for failure to be inventive.

Good thing I'm not doing this, though, but the mere thought of gasing the person near me complaining would have some comical value.

I thought those little canisters were N2O. Maybe it was the comments plus the smiley face on the bag that made me think such a kit would exist. I still say they wouldn't let you in with that balloon gun thing if they found it. Plastic or not. Kind of bulky / nowhere to conceal it anyway. Sleeve of a jacket you're carrying maybe.

 

[MrBurghundy]

Engelland played better as a 4th liner than Jeffrey did as a 3rd liner.

Is anyone going to argue that our bottom six didn't look better than it has in the last 2 years?

Or not.

 

[NeedleInTheHay]

Why is Malkin only playing 19 mins a game?

 

[MrBurghundy]

Why is Malkin only playing 19 mins a game?

Why is Bylsma the coach? That's the correct question to be asking.

 

[66-30-33]

Why is Bylsma the coach? That's the correct question to be asking.

Pretty soon Glass and Adams will be 2nd line wingers on this team.

 

[Tasty Biscuits]

Why is Malkin only playing 19 mins a game?

*Cue smug Bylsma pic.

 

[Zirakzigil]

*Cue smug Bylsma pic.

This one?

 

[MrBurghundy]

*Cue smug Bylsma pic.

Smug Bylsma:

Sad Bylsma:

 

[ByeBye]

Engelland played better as a 4th liner than Jeffrey did as a 3rd liner.

Well I guess I'll have to watch the game again to see if he was there at all. Aside from fanning multiple times on a shot in close that one time.
I must have missed the voting where Jeffrey was declared the board's new pariah.

 

[BB6]

Latest is that Letang may be held out until after the Olympic break. =/

I'm an idiot, I have him in my pool, a pool with no trading.

this makes me sad

 

[MrBurghundy]

Well I guess I'll have to watch the game again to see if he was there at all. Aside from fanning multiple times on a shot in close that one time.
I must have missed the voting where Jeffrey was declared the board's new pariah.

If you don't play awesome every game and score points that means you suck. Even if you play well defensively, kill penalties, can play every forward position, play the point on the PP, and set up the occasional nice play (which is all you expect out of a 3rd liner)

But yeah, he's garbage (especially if he can't play a physical style of game) and Engelland played better on the 4th line than Jeffrey played on the 3rd. Makes sense.

I guess people are trying to get out in front of this situation early though because they see the writing on the wall that Jeffrey won't be here for much longer, and they want to be able to tell everybody else "I told you he sucked. That's why they traded him."

 

[cheesedanish87]

Shelly Anderson asked DB if he would split up the Sedin twins if he coached them, gotta be one of the dumbest questions i'v ever heard somebody ask.

 

[MrBurghundy]

Shelly Anderson asked DB if he would split up the Sedin twins if he coached them, gotta be one of the dumbest questions i'v ever heard somebody ask.

I bet he answered "yes."

 

[Big McLargehuge]

There is this massive gap between 'this guy is the future' and 'this guy is utterly worthless', and Dustin Jeffrey fits in that gap.

He's a good tool to have around, but he gets overrated around here (by some). Jeffrey being a healthy scratch is something that is going to happen because he's just not some great, invaluable hockey entity...saying that doesn't instantly mean he's the worst player in the damn league. He's been jerked around so much because of the depth in front of him that he hasn't really had a chance to develop one thing that he's really good at, so he's just a Swiss Army Knife of a player who does an admirable job doing just about everything, but a great job at nothing.

There's no reason for Engelland to play on the 4th line against the goddamned Canucks, but he certainly didn't hurt us in that role last night. Admitting as much isn't quite the same as buying Jeffrey the first plane ticket out of town.


As it stands Jeffrey doesn't have the offensive upside to be a regular on a third line (he could be a 15+15 player in the future, but he sure as hell doesn't look like that right now), nor does he fit the cast of a fourth liner. He's a tough one to really nail down. Him being such a great spare cog kinda screwed him development-wise and he lacks an identity. It gave him a job, and it's kept him collecting an NHL paycheck, but there's little upward mobility when you're learning how to do every different job possible instead of focusing on one role.

 

[66-30-33]

smug bylsma:

sad bylsma:

LOL! damnit, i need lowercases to make the lol huge. -.-

 

[66-30-33]

There is this massive gap between 'this guy is the future' and 'this guy is utterly worthless', and Dustin Jeffrey fits in that gap.

He's a good tool to have around, but he gets overrated around here. Jeffrey being a healthy scratch is something that is going to happen because he's just not some great, invaluable hockey entity...saying that doesn't instantly mean he's the worst player in the damn league. He's been jerked around so much because of the depth in front of him that he hasn't really had a chance to develop one thing that he's really good at, so he's just a Swiss Army Knife of a player who does an admirable job doing just about everything, but a great job at nothing.

There's no reason for Engelland to play on the 4th line against the goddamned Canucks, but he certainly didn't hurt us in that role last night. Admitting as much isn't quite the same as buying Jeffrey the first plane ticket out of town.

Send Jeffrey to Calgary, he will get good time with them.

 

[MrBurghundy]

There is this massive gap between 'this guy is the future' and 'this guy is utterly worthless', and Dustin Jeffrey fits in that gap.

He's a good tool to have around, but he gets overrated around here. Jeffrey being a healthy scratch is something that is going to happen because he's just not some great, invaluable hockey entity...saying that doesn't instantly mean he's the worst player in the damn league. He's been jerked around so much because of the depth in front of him that he hasn't really had a chance to develop one thing that he's really good at, so he's just a Swiss Army Knife of a player who does an admirable job doing just about everything, but a great job at nothing.

There's no reason for Engelland to play on the 4th line against the goddamned Canucks, but he certainly didn't hurt us in that role last night. Admitting as much isn't quite the same as buying Jeffrey the first plane ticket out of town.

Yet some people are. I agree that Engelland played well last night. The problem is that people have some inflated expectation of the guy. The reality is that he's good enough to be considered one of their 12 best forwards yet he's not getting treated like that by this coaching staff. His versatility is something you should never take for granted and let go of.

 

[billybudd]

Where would you have him play exactly?

Probably New Jersey or something. It would be the best thing for his career.

 

[billybudd]

If you don't play awesome every game and score points that means you suck. Even if you play well defensively, kill penalties, can play every forward position, play the point on the PP, and set up the occasional nice play (which is all you expect out of a 3rd liner)

But yeah, he's garbage (especially if he can't play a physical style of game) and Engelland played better on the 4th line than Jeffrey played on the 3rd. Makes sense.

I guess people are trying to get out in front of this situation early though because they see the writing on the wall that Jeffrey won't be here for much longer, and they want to be able to tell everybody else "I told you he sucked. That's why they traded him."

I happen to like Jeffrey. I was livid last year when they claimed a bum like Boychuk instead of giving Jeffrey any appreciable time on Malkin's wing (feel free to check the Boychuk thread).

That said, that job's not really open any more and Jeffrey not only isn't ideally suited to being a 4th line center or bottom 6 wing--he seems to have zilch in the chemistry department with the other guys we've got there.

 

[MrBurghundy]

I happen to like Jeffrey. I was livid last year when they claimed a bum like Boychuk instead of giving Jeffrey any appreciable time on Malkin's wing (feel free to check the Boychuk thread).

That said, that job's not really open any more and Jeffrey not only isn't ideally suited to being a 4th line center or bottom 6 wing--he seems to have zilch in the chemistry department with the other guys we've got there.

I won't be broken up if they move him. I just think people are going overboard with their critiques of him. He's played well so far this season IMO given the circumstances, and he has made nice plays to set up his linemates on occasion. So I don't agree that he doesn't have a place in the bottom 6. He'll just end up being the victim of this team wanting its bottom lines to play a certain way no matter what. There is more than one way to have an effective bottom 6 as evidenced by Chicago. Hell he's looked better than Sutter at times.

One other thing that irks me is that once its clear a guy is no longer in this teams plans moving forward, or are traded/waived, everybody comes out and says the guy always sucked, etc. Just a way to justify the moves in their minds I guess.

 

[MrBurghundy]

I'd rather our lines look like

Kunitz - Crosby - Bennett
Jokinen - Malkin - Neal
Jeffrey - Sutter - Dupuis
Scrabblename - Vitale - Kobasew

Than...

Kunitz - Crosby - Dupuis
Jokinen - Malkin - Neal
Bennett - Sutter - Kobasew
Glass - Vitale - Adams

But that's just me. Our forwards will never be that healthy for one and Bylsma will never do it for another.

The only player that wouldn't be good to move up to fill in for an injury in that first lineup would be Z.

 

[Speaking Moistly]

Maybe Malkin is slightly injured? It wouldn't even surprise me, just like Bylsma being an idiot wouldn't.

Torts and Rossi being left alone in a room together would be a thing of beauty.

I think Jeffrey is just a player that doesn't really have a place or a role, and that makes him difficult to use. It sucks for him because he doesn't get a chance to develop a place/role because he isn't easily slotted in. You can say a lot about what Jeffrey isn't.

In a couple of years, with Dupuis in his rightful place on the third line (it's a compliment, he'll be awesome there) and Kunitz declining to the point that he shouldn't be a permanent top 6 player,

Kunitz - Jeffrey - Dupuis

could work, defensively responsible, Jeffrey's cheapness would offset K/D's salaries and it would have offensive skill. Those two would help with his shortcomings and the line wouldn't be expected to be physical; K/D already have chemistry. That being said, Bylsma and it would be keeping a guy for awhile without him having a real place.

 

[Ragamuffin Gunner]

https://twitter.com/pgshelly/status/391226987832147968

Engo a forward is ****ing stupid. I can get the added enforcer against the Flyers but not vs the Nucks.

Especially when Kobe is ******** all over the 2nd line and DJ is being scratched.

 

[Jaded-Fan]

Smug Bylsma:

Sad Bylsma:

Disco being named as the new coach of the Nationals. His first move once settled in Washington was to tell Bryce Harper that he is being demoted to the bench to make room for a veteran grinder.

 

[Ragamuffin Gunner]

Engelland played better as a 4th liner than Jeffrey did as a 3rd liner.

Is anyone going to argue that our bottom six didn't look better than it has in the last 2 years?

No he didn't.

I get that you don't line DJ but to say that Engo is the better forward is just making stuff up.