Pre-Game Talk: Penguins @ Oilers

[billybudd]

The only thing I can invent is that they are unhappy with his effort so they are benching him to "send a message". He came back and played "okay" per Johnston and is now benched again. Why are they benching him over the vets? The only possible invention for that is because they expect more of Bennett given his skill level and ability.

All of that seems nonsensical to me, to the point that I don't believe what I invented, but yeah.

Helping____Hurting
___________X____Bennett
________________Sutter
__~________X____Kunitz
___________~____Arco

Scratching him instead of "one of the vets" is this uncomplicated to me. And no, outside of Arco, who's merely a placeholder until Comeau gets back, I don't think Bennett's upside, if he rights his game, is higher than theirs if they do the same (not that I'll hold my breath for it to happen in the case of any of them).

Playing him in place of Adams or Sill doesn't make sense, either. You'd be swapping a guy who can't do a decent job as a fourth liner for another, less-responsible guy who can't do a decent job as a fourth liner. Though Sill has been better lately, so that's probably unfair to him.

 

[Tasty Biscuits]

I'm guessing Arcobello is just a place holder until Comeau is healthy, and the 2nd line would be Comeau-Malkin-Hornqvist at that point.

Yes, sadly it looks like these are the lines the staff has in mind with a full squad:

Kunitz-Crosby-Perron
Comeau-Malkin-Hornqvist
Spaling-Sutter-Downie
Sill-Lapierre-Adams

Huzzah!!

Maybe they can trade Beau for some help on the back-end. I'm kidding, but I mean... I'm not. I almost expect it to happen at this point

 

[wej20]

Perron - Crosby - Hornqvist
Kunitz/Comeau - Malkin - Bennett
Comeau/Kunitz - Sutter - Downie
Spaling - Lapierre - Adams

Only one player out of position and Comeau seemed to be the least effected by playing his off-wing.

 

[DegenX]

Mario's interview with DK would be interesting to bring back up.

Ask and ye shall receive ...

http://blog.triblive.com/dejan-kovacevic/2014/05/16/exclusive-interview-mario-lemieux-ron-burkle/

 

[cygnus47]

Perron - Crosby - Hornqvist
Kunitz/Comeau - Malkin - Bennett
Comeau/Kunitz - Sutter - Downie
Spaling - Lapierre - Adams

Only one player out of position and Comeau seemed to be the least effected by playing his off-wing.

Perfectly logical and reasonable. Yet (even permitting for injuries) we haven't seen this roster yet.

 

[Sam Spade]

No panic about BB until after the game lineup is known tomorrow.

Will be surprised if he is scratched mainly because he and Malkin looked so comfortable together, why wouldn't you reunite that?

 

[Lomez]

Is all this panic about Bennett stemming from the line rushes from somebody tweeting from Edmonton? Did I miss something? Might it be better to actually wait until pregame to start hyperventilating?

 

[ColePens]

Is all this panic about Bennett stemming from the line rushes from somebody tweeting from Edmonton? Did I miss something? Might it be better to actually wait until pregame to start hyperventilating?

That... or 6 years of awful decision making while we should be watching a great hockey team with a fighting chance each year.

 

[Fogel]

If it was a maintenance day, would it have been mentioned today?

 

[Allie Kitsune]

Well, now we know why Mario and Voldemorehouse wanted MJ.

He was the same old same old Disco.

 

[wej20]

If it was a maintenance day, would it have been mentioned today?

He was on the ice according to the Pens site so doesn't look like a maintenance day.

 

[Kristopher Letang]

Omg MJ.

 

[Kristopher Letang]

I hope we lose 15-3 , hat trick for Perron.

 

[Borgir]

The Pens arrived in Edmonton yesterday around 5:30 local time at The Westin. Sutter had supper across the street at Woodwork. The players/media have been in and out of the hotel all day and have been good with giving autographs. Just a heads-up to all the Penguin fans in Edmonton...

 

[Crozbar]

Looking forward to this one

Pens, you've got this one.

The Pens arrived in Edmonton yesterday around 5:30 local time at The Westin. Sutter had supper across the street at Woodwork. The players/media have been in and out of the hotel all day and have been good with giving autographs. Just a heads-up to all the Penguin fans in Edmonton...

Pretty close to my work

 

[AjaxTelamon]

Helping____Hurting
___________X____Bennett
________________Sutter
__~________X____Kunitz
___________~____Arco

Scratching him instead of "one of the vets" is this uncomplicated to me. And no, outside of Arco, who's merely a placeholder until Comeau gets back, I don't think Bennett's upside, if he rights his game, is higher than theirs if they do the same (not that I'll hold my breath for it to happen in the case of any of them).

Playing him in place of Adams or Sill doesn't make sense, either. You'd be swapping a guy who can't do a decent job as a fourth liner for another, less-responsible guy who can't do a decent job as a fourth liner. Though Sill has been better lately, so that's probably unfair to him.

No one is interested in any of this logical mumbo jumbo. It's rabble time, and it easier to blame a coach than it is a roster that's still a few moves from making a whole lot of sense. I'm not sure if everyone thought we were one David Perron away from a cup, but we weren't. It's a hell of a good step, but management still has a lot of work to do, and then we need some of our young guys to develop further in the minors, and quick.

Next year is our first realistic chance if a whole lot goes right, IMO, and yes Shero left us in that poor a shape.

 

[Vujtek]

Playing him in place of Adams or Sill doesn't make sense, either. You'd be swapping a guy who can't do a decent job as a fourth liner for another, less-responsible guy who can't do a decent job as a fourth liner. Though Sill has been better lately, so that's probably unfair to him.

Oh yeah, how could a skilled hockey player ever survive playing on the 4th line?

Putting Bennett on the 4th would both send him a message to work harder to get more minutes AND teach him that responsibility the team wants from him on the ice. Who knows, maybe the 4th line could actually chip in offensively with Bennett in there over Adams or Sill. What a strange consept, isn't it? 4th line capable of providing secondary scoring. Who needs that?

The fact is Bennett needs to play for the sake his development. If he hasn't earned top-9 minutes right now, you put him on the 4th line over much lesser players. It's simple as that.

I still remember the good old times when demoting a player on the 4th line was used as a means to send him a message. Instead nowadays it seems to be a reward for guys like Adams and Sill.

 

[Shady Machine]

Helping____Hurting
___________X____Bennett
________________Sutter
__~________X____Kunitz
___________~____Arco

Scratching him instead of "one of the vets" is this uncomplicated to me. And no, outside of Arco, who's merely a placeholder until Comeau gets back, I don't think Bennett's upside, if he rights his game, is higher than theirs if they do the same (not that I'll hold my breath for it to happen in the case of any of them).

Playing him in place of Adams or Sill doesn't make sense, either. You'd be swapping a guy who can't do a decent job as a fourth liner for another, less-responsible guy who can't do a decent job as a fourth liner. Though Sill has been better lately, so that's probably unfair to him.

We disagree on Bennett's contributions and the ideal line combinations, so clearly we won't agree with MJ's decisions.

The top line should be Perron-Crosby-Hornqvist followed by Comeau-Geno-Bennett. Give that 5+ games and see how that works. That leaves Kunitz-Sutter-Downie as the 3rd line and Spaling-Lapierre-Sill/Adams. Or try the Sutter-Bennett combo that MJ was obsessed with in early on. What happened with that?

I agree that removing Adams or Sill from the lineup and inserting Bennett doesn't make sense.

The major point here is that while Bennett needs to pick his game up, he shouldn't be the only scapegoat for **** hockey.

 

[Giant Yankee Pens]

We disagree on Bennett's contributions and the ideal line combinations, so clearly we won't agree with MJ's decisions.

The top line should be Perron-Crosby-Hornqvist followed by Comeau-Geno-Bennett. Give that 5+ games and see how that works. That leaves Kunitz-Sutter-Downie as the 3rd line and Spaling-Lapierre-Sill/Adams. Or try the Sutter-Bennett combo that MJ was obsessed with in early on. What happened with that?

I agree that removing Adams or Sill from the lineup and inserting Bennett doesn't make sense.

The major point here is that while Bennett needs to pick his game up, he shouldn't be the only scapegoat for **** hockey.

That should be the lineup. Right now I think MJ just wants Arco in vs Edm and then Bennett will get back in the lineup. If he's scratched TWO games in a row, consider me upset.

 

[Shady Machine]

I do think Bennett is on the "outs" at the moment. It seems like MJ wants to roll with:

Kunitz-Crosby-Perron
Comeau-Geno-Hornqvist
Spaling-Sutter-Downie
Sill-Lapierre-Adams

With that top 9 arrangement, there really isn't room for Bennett. You could slide Downie or Spaling to the 4th line, but MJ doesn't seem to want to do that.

 

[Giant Yankee Pens]

I do think Bennett is on the "outs" at the moment. It seems like MJ wants to roll with:

Kunitz-Crosby-Perron
Comeau-Geno-Hornqvist
Spaling-Sutter-Downie
Sill-Lapierre-Adams

With that top 9 arrangement, there really isn't room for Bennett. You could slide Downie or Spaling to the 4th line, but MJ doesn't seem to want to do that.

Looks like it. But I have to see it first. If its multiple healthy scratches for Beau, then I'm sold. But not one game so Arco plays against his former team. If so, they need to send him to WBS to actually play hockey

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

I do think Bennett is on the "outs" at the moment. It seems like MJ wants to roll with:

Kunitz-Crosby-Perron
Comeau-Geno-Hornqvist
Spaling-Sutter-Downie
Sill-Lapierre-Adams

With that top 9 arrangement, there really isn't room for Bennett. You could slide Downie or Spaling to the 4th line, but MJ doesn't seem to want to do that.

Putting BB on the outs would be one of the dumbest decisions MJ has had to date. BB had two goals in 5 games with Malkin and his own linemate, Spaling, said how much he was creating out there. It's not us seeing what we want.

Why punish a guy for a few bad games when he's proven to have chemistry with your star pivot, and the top six badly needs more skill? It's not like BB is some problem child or has a bad attitude.

Not to mention this exact same scenario played out with Despres, and the big dogs didn't want to see it happen again. JR even said he wants to see if BB can take one of those top six roles before the deadline. How is scratching him accomplishing that?

There is not an ounce of common sense here.

 

[Shady Machine]

Putting BB on the outs would be one of the dumbest decisions MJ has had to date. BB had two goals in 5 games with Malkin and his own linemate, Spaling, said how much he was creating out there. It's not us seeing what we want.

Why punish a guy for a few bad games when he's proven to have chemistry with your star pivot, and the top six badly needs more skill? It's not like BB is some problem child or has a bad attitude.

Not to mention this exact same scenario played out with Despres, and the big dogs didn't want to see it happen again. JR even said he wants to see if BB can take one of those top six roles before the deadline. How is scratching him accomplishing that?

There is not an ounce of common sense here.

I totally agree. I'm just telling you what I see. Malkin coming back is the time to move Bennett up the lineup, not to the press box. MJ doesn't seem to agree, for whatever reason.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

I totally agree. I'm just telling you what I see. Malkin coming back is the time to move Bennett up the lineup, not to the press box. MJ doesn't seem to agree, for whatever reason.

This org has allowed a multitude of idiotic roster decisions to happen over the years, so I'm not disagreeing that you are right.

I'll wait until we hear word about the lineup before I get pissed though. However, I'm not going to be shocked...