Post-Game Talk: Penguins 4, Bruins 2 - A Huge Win

[PensandCaps]

One produces actual points. One has been a ghost since he had an adrenaline shot of a healthy scratch.

TB is way more Kuhnhackl than whatever people are trying to sell around here. Then again in 15-16 people were arguing for Kuhn over Kunitz on Malkin’s LW.

you are ignoring context on purpose.

no shit ZAR has more points, he gets undeserved top 6 time with EVEGNI MALKIN


while Bleuger plays what 6 mins 5v5 with Cullen and Wilson.

Blueger plays a better game than ZAR but just gets screwed over in terms of opportunity

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

People are really ignoring how effective he has been in the o-zone.

Daley scored at a 31 point pace for us in the reg season, and their styles aren't remotely comparable.

Not really a comparison I feel like delving further into haha.

 

[PensandCaps]

I wholeheartedly disagree with the bold.

ALMOST like he's just talking to talk. none of his comparisons make any sense. None.

 

[Gurglesons]

you are ignoring context on purpose.

no **** ZAR has more points, he gets undeserved top 6 time with EVEGNI MALKIN


while Bleuger plays what 6 mins 5v5 with Cullen and Wilson.

Blueger plays a better game than ZAR but just gets screwed over in terms of opportunity

ZAR played plenty of minutes in the bottom six and produced consistently this year.

I don’t like him as a player, but he’s getting the same disrespect late career Kunitz Sid here.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

McCann's been a tremendous pick up for JR. Dude's got a shot at 20 goals this season, which is pretty crazy considering how many he had prior to the trade. Not only that, but he's added another PK option.

Hopefully this Murray is here to stay. Him playing the way he is will be *huge* in the playoffs.

 

[Ms Maggie]

So turns out old JR isn't stupid after all. Go figure.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

you are ignoring context on purpose.

no **** ZAR has more points, he gets undeserved top 6 time with EVEGNI MALKIN


while Bleuger plays what 6 mins 5v5 with Cullen and Wilson.

Blueger plays a better game than ZAR but just gets screwed over in terms of opportunity

Not only that.

Blueger's production is on point with ZAR's and Blueger has mostly been playing minimal minutes with Cullen AND WILSON as his common linemates. Meanwhile, ZAR has all of 17pts in 40+ games and most of it has been with Malkin and Kessel.

It's not even a matter of opinion that Blueger is better than ZAR, it's a mother f***ing fact.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

McCann's been a tremendous pick up for JR. Dude's got a shot at 20 goals this season, which is pretty crazy considering how many he had prior to the trade. Not only that, but he's added another PK option.

Hopefully this Murray is here to stay. Him playing the way he is will be *huge* in the playoffs.

The people who were pumped about McCann coming over based on his performance on the Panthers' 4th line were right. I don't remember who you were, but that was a good call. He's thrived on the 1st line with Sid and Jake, but he's been noticeable in a good way no matter what line he's played on, and that versatility makes him valuable. I didn't think he'd be a Rust-calibre player, but he might be...maybe better at some point.

I didn't think we'd be adding a 22 year old player who could do what McCann's doing for the Pens this year. Deal looks like another winner for JR no matter what happens with Bjugstad, but he seems to be finding his groove lately too.

 

[Tom Hanks]

The people who were pumped about McCann coming over based on his performance on the Panthers' 4th line were right. I don't remember who you were, but that was a good call. He's thrived on the 1st line with Sid and Jake, but he's been noticeable in a good way no matter what line he's played on, and that versatility makes him valuable. I didn't think he'd be a Rust-calibre player, but he might be...maybe better at some point.

I didn't think we'd be adding a 22 year old player who could do what McCann's doing for the Pens this year. Deal looks like another winner for JR no matter what happens with Bjugstad, but he seems to be finding his groove lately too.

I did mention that it was a good move, I know you were concerned a little about the whole trade. I didn’t think he’d be as good so quickly here. I thought maybe another year or so before we saw some real benefits but I was happier getting him more than Bjugstad. They have both been pretty good though.

Great trade. JR dug his heels in to get him added to the trade.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

I did mention that it was a good move, I know you were concerned a little about the whole trade. I didn’t think he’d be as good so quickly here. I thought maybe another year or so before we saw some real benefits but I was happier getting him more than Bjugstad. They have both been pretty good though.

Great trade. JR dug his heels in to get him added to the trade.

Yeah, I could have seen Bjugstad play something like he has here lately in a best-case scenario, but McCann's been kind of a revelation.

Hat tip to you, JR, and all the other McCannamaniacs out there runnin wild on my disappointment in the Florida deal.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

The people who were pumped about McCann coming over based on his performance on the Panthers' 4th line were right. I don't remember who you were, but that was a good call. He's thrived on the 1st line with Sid and Jake, but he's been noticeable in a good way no matter what line he's played on, and that versatility makes him valuable. I didn't think he'd be a Rust-calibre player, but he might be...maybe better at some point.

I didn't think we'd be adding a 22 year old player who could do what McCann's doing for the Pens this year. Deal looks like another winner for JR no matter what happens with Bjugstad, but he seems to be finding his groove lately too.

I don't know ultimately what McCann's upside will be -- can he be a top line player, or will he max out as a middle six guy -- but I do know that I've been encouraged by what I've seen so far. Like you said, maybe a Rust-like player who is versatile enough to play center or wing, and can be plugged in the top six or the bottom six and still contribute.

If Bjugstad starts clicking, that trade is going to be such a laughable steal.

 

[Kasperi kapanen]

I think the line combos are easy when we are fully healthy:

McCann-Crosby-Guentzel
Rust-Geno-Horny
Bleuger-Bjug-Kessel
ZAR-Cullen-Simon

Dumo-Letang
Johnson-Schultz
Petts-Guds

Keep Maatta scratched until someone f***s up.

 

[Tom Hanks]

Yeah, I could have seen Bjugstad play something like he has here lately in a best-case scenario, but McCann's been kind of a revelation.

Hat tip to you, JR, and all the other McCannamaniacs out there runnin wild on my disappointment in the Florida deal.

Yah I didn’t expect much from McCann as a winger but I thought he’d be a really good long term 3C for us and hopefully could do well enough to make some impact this season with us.

Bjugstad has taken on that role really well and McCann is killing it on the wing.

McCann got traded from the Canucks because they had two young guys who liked to party too much and they felt like they could only deal with one so they kept Virtanen. Maybe that was a wake up call for him.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Yah I didn’t expect much from McCann as a winger but I thought he’d be a really good long term 3C for us and hopefully could do well enough to make some impact this season with us.

Bjugstad has taken on that role really well and McCann is killing it on the wing.

McCann got traded from the Canucks because they had two young guys who liked to party too much and they felt like they could only deal with one so they kept Virtanen. Maybe that was a wake up call for him.

McCann also started to really round out his game on the bottom 6 in Florida, people have to remember he's still just 22yrs old and the Canucks are a nightmare for development and couldn't handle him not lighting the world on fire right away, Virtanen had more "intangibles" that they could work with and turn into a powerforward (he was starting to come around this season...).

I saw the opposite. I wanted him as the top 9 winger and Bjugstad as the C, when they came in, Bjug was the winger and McCann was the C and they flipped that when Geno was out. Glad they kept it that way after.

 

[DesertedPenguin]

Losing so many defensemen to injury at once forced the forwards to provide more help. It's paid off with multiple complete games by the team.

Hopefully it continues once everyone is healthy.

You can also get the sense Sullivan is getting close to settling on line combos. Once everyone is healthy, I think we'll see --

McCann - Crosby - Guentzel
Rust - Malkin - Kessel
Simon - Bjugstad - Hornqvist
Aston Reese - Cullen - Wilson

I could easily see Blueger playing over Wilson in the playoffs, though, if he continues to do well and the Pens don't need Wilson's heavy play. Against the Caps, Wilson will play. Against a speedier team, Blueger probably gets in.

 

[Turin]

An important development is that Hornqvist looks like he’s back too.

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

Please don't ever move Johnson back to RD.

 

[EightyOne]

Boom boom kaboom.



f*** yo couch point Boston! f*** it!!

 

[Peat]

Murray was a stud. I don’t know what the advanced stats will say, but I saw a lot of quality chances in this one. He was reall dialed in. His play of late gives me faith this team can contend if some things fall their way.

8 High Danger, 11 Medium Danger. That's a decent workload.

The thing that really stands out to me though is the team only gave up 1 High Danger chance at 5v5.

Money... they have a strict internal budget and want to make a splash in free agency next season... they needed guys off the books badly...

McCann was making nothing though.

McCann was the price Rutherford insisted on for taking Bjugstad. I think that might turn out to be the trade that marks Rutherford's return to sanity.

I love and miss Hagelin, but I would rather allocate that money to McCann, I would lock him up to a 3x3 type of deal RIGHT NOW.

If JR would stop fumbling with the paper wrapper to his chopsticks for his daily chinese take-out binge, we'd get this **** sorted by now.

Man, what a schmuck Rutherford is for not extending a guy with more than a year on his contract. If only he wasn't senile he'd totally be able to sign the guy before he legally can

I mean, sure. The issue is Teddy has a muffin shot and is playing with no offensive instinct.

I’d rather have someone like Simon who is willing to cheat with Malkin versus ZAR or Teddy who is playing a safe boring game.

I really haven't been seeing that.

People are really ignoring how effective he has been in the o-zone.

Until Gudbranson is a routine transition machine with his skating, the Daley comparison will have people going WTF all day every day.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

This team goes as far as Murray takes them. Sid and Geno drive the bus, and Letang (rest his soul, sweet baby boy) is also an integral part of our ability to go deep into the playoffs. Of course, any team that goes far has a quality supporting cast and guys like Horny, McCann, Rust, and Bjugstad are just that--with the addition of Kessel if he rights the ship.

All of that being said; none of it matters if Murray isn't playing at the top of his game. Luckily for us, for the first time in a couple years, Murray seems to be hitting his stride and getting hot right before the playoffs again.

 

[ColePens]

An important development is that Hornqvist looks like he’s back too.

Was there ever really a question that he'd will his way back?

 

[HandshakeLine]

Daley scored at a 31 point pace for us in the reg season, and their styles aren't remotely comparable.

Not really a comparison I feel like delving further into haha.

Daley works only as a point of comparison- e.g. for a trade that most people on this board absolutely hated when it went down because they didn't realize how well Daley would fit in here. I don't think anyone is seriously saying that Daley and Gudbranson are the same, just that Gudbranson's showing more offensive and defensive instincts here, better mobility, than he did in Vancouver.

Plus, historical footnote, Daley had 6 points for the Hawks the year they traded him and was just flat out awful for the firs 1/3 of the season. He was objectively worse on that squad than Gudbranson was for Vancouver. He was the big trade that didn't pan out for them.

 

[ronduguayshair]

I think this is the first time we have won 3 games in a row at home. It’s been rough sledding as a season ticket holder.

 

[HandshakeLine]

This team goes as far as Murray takes them. Sid and Geno drive the bus, and Letang (rest his soul, sweet baby boy) is also an integral part of our ability to go deep into the playoffs. Of course, any team that goes far has a quality supporting cast and guys like Horny, McCann, Rust, and Bjugstad are just that--with the addition of Kessel if he rights the ship.

All of that being said; none of it matters if Murray isn't playing at the top of his game. Luckily for us, for the first time in a couple years, Murray seems to be hitting his stride and getting hot right before the playoffs again.

Isn't that a trueism of any year though? Nobody's winning 7-3 blowouts in the postseason anymore. If Murray and Sid are on, we have a fighting chance against anybody, no matter how the rest of the team plays.

I will say, I think this team isn't nearly in as bad of shape as people seem to think.

 

[BHD]

Daley works only as a point of comparison- e.g. for a trade that most people on this board absolutely hated when it went down because they didn't realize how well Daley would fit in here. I don't think anyone is seriously saying that Daley and Gudbranson are the same, just that Gudbranson's showing more offensive and defensive instincts here, better mobility, than he did in Vancouver.

Plus, historical footnote, Daley had 6 points for the Hawks the year they traded him and was just flat out awful for the firs 1/3 of the season. He was objectively worse on that squad than Gudbranson was for Vancouver. He was the big trade that didn't pan out for them.

Based on what I've seen, Guds knows when to pinch in the OZ to keep plays alive. He kind of reminds of Dumo in the sense that he will opt for the safe but effective play when partnered with an offensive guy (Schultz).