Post-Game Talk: Pens 2, Devils 1 (OT) - The IC Just Wet Himself Edition

[Mr Jiggyfly]

- Devils were 5-2-1 coming into this game, so while they aren't a great team, they haven't been playing poorly.

- The Letang-Despres pairing showed what can be done on the breakout when you have two guys who read each other well and mirror in support.

- Chip and chase is how you beat the trap. It's never been a secret. It's just that most teams cant stay patient all game doing it. Let's give the Pens credit for sticking with their plan, even when they went down a goal.

- So Despres has a hereditary chest condition that flares up twice a year and he has trouble breathing. That explains what he was fighting through before the break.

- Perron and Crosby finally looked to be on the same page I was hoping to see. Lots of nice plays together. Before it was more individual plays of brilliance, but not much synergy.

- Kunitz was better tonight. I've watched him intensely for three weeks and I still can't tell if it is age or him dogging it. I know others want to rag on him, but I'm not rushing to judgement. I do know he has no business being on the first line, whatever it is that has creeped into his game.

- Harrington is doing well at both ends, making smart plays and transitioning the puck well. He is reading the rush well and redirecting nicely, playing his angles and only been danced by Hossa that I can recall. He just seems to be getting crap luck and missing assignments around the cage. All that can be corrected though and will be, because he's a really smart player.

 

[lastcupever75]

kunitz also with the screen on the OT winner

 

[deathtouchtrample]

+ Sid
+ Perron
++ Tanger
+++ Despres
== Kunitz

lol double =


Bruh he was so equal tonight.

 

[Speaking Moistly]

- So Despres has a hereditary chest condition that flares up twice a year and he has trouble breathing. That explains what he was fighting through before the break.

Wait, what? Expand on this, please.

- Kunitz was better tonight. I've watched him intensely for three weeks and I still can't tell if it is age or him dogging it. I know others want to rag on him, but I'm not rushing to judgement. I do know he has no business being on the first line, whatever it is that has creeped into his game.

It's both and that's why it's so awful to watch, imo.

 

[Gurglesons]

Tonight's game was a solid effort.

Kunitz looked pretty good tonight. I was happy with his performance, but he really doesn't fit in the roster. If we get Malkin a big bodied left winger to compliment him and Beau Comeau is moving to the third line.

Despres and Letang looked nice. They looked nice back when they were first tried with each other in 2012 or 2013, I forget. They obviously are shaky because both of them wants to push the play, but I think that's what makes me hope for the combination of them. It's also nice to see Letang play with someone just as risky as him, because it makes him step back and play defensively and cautiously.

The Spaling and Downie hate is ludicrous. Spaling is a solid 3rd liner that when we are healthy could possibly be on the fourth line. He plays the game the right way and is always sound positionally. He reminds me a lot of Dupuis which makes sense why people would think he is terrible. Downie seems like he has forced his way into this locker room which I like. He also like always has had the skill to back it up. I wish this guy would've been here when Tampa moved him.

Perron is Hossa-lite. Love this dude. Can't wait to see him when he finally gets comfortable playing with Malkin or Crosby.

The most frustrating part of this game was watching flashes of Sutter reverting back to playoff Sutter. I remember how many times he'd be our only center that would out work defenseman and get past them last year with his speed, but this year he just looks flat. I'm curious if he is injured. It sucks that he went from being at the peak of his play here and now is just like wallowing in confidence issues. Hopefully we moved him in the off season after he has a solid finish and playoffs.

 

[Will Hunting]

Maan, are Devils slow, boring and terrible. We were playing well, competing and outplaying´em the whole game so that´s nice, but I wouldn´t overreact just yet. Anyway, outshooting the Metro opposition 43-14 on the road is definitely a decent stuff and it´s not like the Prudential is an easy building for us.

Sutter & Kunitz weren´t terrible tonight, so that´s a progress too, but let´s wait some more. Crosby´s line was pinning the Devils in their zone all the time it felt like, but Schneider and the Devils were just packing it tonight, as they always do. It´s not easy to score against them, even with so much puck possession.

This was a good win, though. PP stepping up in a big moment is something I have to appreciate and wow.. that Despres shift in the OT was something special. I initially thought that it was Crosby jumping there, but wow. Congrats Simon, an OT winner can´t be more deserved than this. Playing him with Letang some more is definitely worth a try. Give him serious minutes, it´s not like we have the other option with our current D.

Letang is an animal, too.

 

[Will Hunting]

Also, it wasn´t mentioned here too much, but killing a 2 minutes of 3 vs 5 is great, so that´s another "+". Scuderi is a good penalty-killer, at least.

Bortuzzo, though.. I liked the guy, but he´s driving me crazy lately. He´s bad and clearly playing without the confidence now. Why not play Pouliot instead of him?? Hold Bortuzzo accountable for once, he serves very little purpose now, isn´t that physical while being a liability instead.

 

[End of Line]

Letang is a Norris finalists this year. 39 points in 43 games and playing fantastic defense.

 

[Will Hunting]

Letang is a Norris finalists this year. 39 points in 43 games and playing fantastic defense.

If he was playing like last year and/or being injured as much, we might as well be out of the playoffs at this point. There were definitely multiple games where he made a decisive difference. Even tonight, he was the force once again. Also hit the post with 5 minutes left, then added 2 assists. He was just controlling the play all night long.

Probably the brightest spot of this weird season. Despres and Fleury as well to some extent, but Letang is the brightest one for me. Fantastic stuff and pretty consistent, too.

 

[Will Hunting]

How in the world are we 1 point behind the Islanders for a division lead, though??

Our next 4 games are against the West too, which is not too bad. Nashville without Rinne, then Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver. Home vs Detroit and at Ottawa. All winnable, I mean not exactly the easiest stretch but we are usually doing pretty decent against the teams like these. Not mentioning that Malkin and Comeau should be returning at some point here.

Let´s build on tonight´s game, there were some positives and improvements.

 

[deczola]

Perron is arguably the hardest working forward on the team. I have very little issue with him except (that on occasion) he's a little risky with his passes. But Damn, he's a hungry, skilled and a tenacious player. Great deal by JR.

I mean......like seriously?

Are you saying that Hornie, Kunitz, Sutter do not work as hard? Now I'm not talking about overall talent, but work ethic.......you can be limited skill wise and work hard (Tanner Glass).

 

[Tumty]

I mean......like seriously?

Are you saying that Hornie, Kunitz, Sutter do not work as hard? Now I'm not talking about overall talent, but work ethic.......you can be limited skill wise and work hard (Tanner Glass).

Dont put kunitz and work ethic in same enthence.

 

[xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

I mean......like seriously?

Are you saying that Hornie, Kunitz, Sutter do not work as hard? Now I'm not talking about overall talent, but work ethic.......you can be limited skill wise and work hard (Tanner Glass).

If you think Kunitz works as hard as Perron or Hornqvist, you're delusional. The dude has been playing like hot garbage and coasting for a loooong time--like "more than a calendar year" long.

He's got the Shero/Bylsma stink all over him, and it's incurable. Kunitz was a hard skating, hard hitting winger who was capable of decent offensive numbers when he got here. Half a decade under the Shero/Bylsma regime and he's a no effort, coast around the ice winger who has lost all semblance of a physical game. People look at his stat line and say "Aww sweet, he's an elite winger! No problems here, dude!" Fact is, he's a leech and any non-plug winger getting top PP time and who has been glued to Sid or Geno's hip for the entirety of his time here would put up good to great numbers. There's more to hockey than a pretty stat sheet and Kunitz doesn't pass the eye test 90% of the time.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

Wait, what? Expand on this, please.

Defenseman Simon Despres has been dealing with a hereditary chest condition he said occurs usually twice a year and makes it difficult for him to breathe.
He missed the two games before the All-Star break but returned after. Heavy coughing has been frequent.
“Still there a little bit,” Despres said. “Getting better every day, though.”


Read more: http://triblive.com/sports/penguins/7676324-74/games-devils-game#ixzz3QPMzO528

Helps explain why he was missing practices and struggling in the last few games and had to sit out of a couple of games.

It's both and that's why it's so awful to watch, imo.

Could be. I still can't grasp why he would be mad and dogging it. I believe it's more age than anything, but the end result doesn't change.... He looks like a third liner, even though the production is there. It seems like most of his goals come on the PP, but that's just a guess because I can't recall any goals he created for himself this year.

Bortuzzo, though.. I liked the guy, but he´s driving me crazy lately. He´s bad and clearly playing without the confidence now. Why not play Pouliot instead of him?? Hold Bortuzzo accountable for once, he serves very little purpose now, isn´t that physical while being a liability instead.

Bort is a 6 and I've said that for awhile. Maybe a 5 if everything goes well.

I'd rather see DP get sheltered minutes with Scuderi. It just makes more sense. Bort and Scuds are not possession players and running this system with those two in the same lineup creates a problem.

 

[joeyjake5]

This wan't a game to be negative about. I was steaming all day about the Bennett scratch, but the fact is the Pens dominated this game. Granted it was against a pretty bad team, but you have to play who's on your schedule. This wasn't one of those games where they won by 3 even though the play was even and they simply out skilled them. They pushed the pace from start to finish and won the way they're supposed to.

Kunitz was actually pretty good today, or at least he was better than he has been. Still lost the puck in his feet a few times and starting falling all over the place as the game went on, but that whole line was good.

I have no idea how anyone could give Sid a minus or even. I thought he was flying and deserved at least a goal if not more.

My biggest thing tonight was putting Letang and Despres together. They pushed the offense and helped maintain possession in the offensive zone. Letang and Martin together is a pairing I can't stand because while Martin is pretty good from his own net until the opposing blue line, I find his play offensively is pretty feeble once past the blue line. His shot selection is horrible and he's not strong enough to win battles on the boards when trying to squeeze down to pinch off the boards. I found that pairing those two, and even Harrington and Bort together helped the cycle a ton.

As for Scuds? I appreciate what he can do positionally and how "professional" he is in his own zone, but again, all that doesn't make up for what he CAN'T do. The mistakes he makes are never blatant ones, and some would argue they aren't even mistakes. But man I wonder how much is lost by this team every time he just bangs it off the glass instead of passing to an outlet. I wonder how much offensive zone time is lost every time he shoots it wide "ON PURPOSE." I can't help but wonder what would happen when on the occasion he does shoot the puck, it's not some creampuff shot that's easily knocked down by a defender.

It won't happen, but I'd love to see what would happen to our possession game if Scuderi was sat for a few games for Pouliot. Pouliot's not quite NHL ready yet, but it would be a nice experiment, just to see.

This is exactly what scuds does, he shuts down the pens scoring chances. Putting him on the ice with Sid or geno's lines just reduces the lines scoring chances. If these lines score while he is on the ice with these two lines, it is in spite of him NOT BECAUSE of him. But MJ is not going to change this after 49 games. This has to change during the playoffs or again Sid and Geno's lines will have difficulty scoring again.
ce

 

[Night Shift]

Lappierre was interviewed after the game by Craig Button on NHL Network asked him about being traded by one good team to another- if there was a difference between being around the Blues and Pens. He said there was a difference and that with the Blues it's about strategy, structure, defense, and game plan. He said with the Pens there are a lot more a collection of skill guys and it's about offense. He caught himself and awkwardly proceeded to say how we played good defensively tonight.. This seems a little telling to me how Johnston is running this, not in a good way and not sure this is what we'd like to hear :/

Sounds like Goc will fit right in with Hitch.

 

[drpepper]

Finally got a chance to watch the game.

Puck movement looked good for the most part, and it was nice to see the Pens dominate shots and come out with a win.

However, it's hard to know if this is the team playing smarter with a good game plan or just a team who can play well against the oldest, one of the slowest, and not very good Devils team.

Sunday's game and then the next Caps game (2/17) will be interesting.

 

[penguins2946*]

Lappierre was interviewed after the game by Craig Button on NHL Network asked him about being traded by one good team to another- if there was a difference between being around the Blues and Pens. He said there was a difference and that with the Blues it's about strategy, structure, defense, and game plan. He said with the Pens there are a lot more a collection of skill guys and it's about offense. He caught himself and awkwardly proceeded to say how we played good defensively tonight.. This seems a little telling to me how Johnston is running this, not in a good way and not sure this is what we'd like to hear :/

Sounds like Goc will fit right in with Hitch.

What, that he's playing to his strengths? The Pens have the 2 best offensive players in the league, of course we should be playing an offensive game.

 

[Night Shift]

What, that he's playing to his strengths? The Pens have the 2 best offensive players in the league, of course we should be playing an offensive game.

The way he said it I guess is not how I took it. I could be reading too much into it but to me he made it seem the Blues are running it in better class. Whatever.

 

[Asuna]

Lappierre was interviewed after the game by Craig Button on NHL Network asked him about being traded by one good team to another- if there was a difference between being around the Blues and Pens. He said there was a difference and that with the Blues it's about strategy, structure, defense, and game plan. He said with the Pens there are a lot more a collection of skill guys and it's about offense. He caught himself and awkwardly proceeded to say how we played good defensively tonight.. This seems a little telling to me how Johnston is running this, not in a good way and not sure this is what we'd like to hear :/

Sounds like Goc will fit right in with Hitch.

Wouldn't really put too much stock into that. Hitchcock is known as a defensive coach, that's how all his teams play. Pens are an offensive team for sure and I think they're still learning how to play with structure and well defensively.

 

[joeyjake5]

What, that he's playing to his strengths? The Pens have the 2 best offensive players in the league, of course we should be playing an offensive game.

And that's exactly why Scuds should not be on the ice with Sid's or Geno's lines.

 

[Night Shift]

Wouldn't really put too much stock into that. Hitchcock is known as a defensive coach, that's how all his teams play. Pens are an offensive team for sure and I think they're still learning how to play with structure and well defensively.

That and also we don't have the right mix on D. Hradek was on the other day was saying the Pens should have looked for someone of Lappierre's caliber on defense because we have way too many of the same type of defenseman on our roster. We don't have anyone that can make life miserable for other teams that like to plant themselves in Fleurys paint freely.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

The way he said it I guess is not how I took it. I could be reading too much into it but to me he made it seem the Blues are running it in better class. Whatever.

Hitch is one of the best tacticians and disciplinarians in the league, so what he said isn't a big surprise.

All in all though, their playoff struggles are pretty epic as well.

Finally got a chance to watch the game.

Puck movement looked good for the most part, and it was nice to see the Pens dominate shots and come out with a win.

However, it's hard to know if this is the team playing smarter with a good game plan or just a team who can play well against the oldest, one of the slowest, and not very good Devils team.

Sunday's game and then the next Caps game (2/17) will be interesting.

Beating the trap isn't rocket surgery. It never has been. It's also a lot easier now that they don't have to do soft/corner dumps with MB retired.

Staying disciplined and staying in your 1-2, angling and attacking the puck carrier, dumping the puck, double chipping, getting in on the forechecking and working hard, all of that isn't exciting or much fun to play, but it works.

Every system can be exploited, but it's almost always the team that stays disciplined that comes out on top in these types of games.

 

[AquaticBirdman]

I'm throwing all my -s at the Devils for bringing the trap back. ****ing brutal game to watch.

How else you expect them to win? That team is mess.

 

[Shady Machine]

I mean......like seriously?

Are you saying that Hornie, Kunitz, Sutter do not work as hard? Now I'm not talking about overall talent, but work ethic.......you can be limited skill wise and work hard (Tanner Glass).

Yes seriously. Perron is likely the hardest working forward on the team right now