Post-Game Talk: Pens 4, Avs 1 - Murray, Hornqvist, Kunitz Lead Pens to a Hard Fought Win

[ruunto71*]

rolf

Kunitz had the puck skating down the right wing on a two on one with Hornqvist, with the goaltender pulled, and the Penguins comfortably ahead by two goals. It seemed like a reasonable time to make a pass. Instead, Kunitz took the shot.

He had a pretty good explanation. And he was extremely upset with himself.

“It was the end of a shift,†Kunitz told me. “My brain wasn’t functioning. I definitely should have looked, especially when the guy wasn’t challenging the pass. I’ve got to be a better teammate than that.â€

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Apparently Kunitz plays every shift like it's the end of a shift then.

 

[mpp9]

If you can't turn your head to the left, ya should have changed awhile ago.

I really wonder if that guy's a ****** in real life. I know Neal is. MAF's a man child. Letang's a bit full of himself.

 

[ColePens]

So much for Sid pulling away from McDavid with his games in hand. In the two games Sid has played this week, against bad defenses/goaltending as well, he's got a whopping 1 point. This was the week Sid should have put space between him and the rest of the pack. Instead, it's still tooth and nail.

I can't figure out what happened to Sid in the early part of 2017. 2016 was insanely dominant for Sid. He just took over in every way. The way he is playing right now is very similar to when he looked disinterested under MJ. I could possibly see the guy dealing with a small injury or maybe he just flat out is only focusing on Cups and is preserving his body for when it really matters. Maybe he's taking a page out of Kessel's book?

If it's about preserving his body, then I'll take 2 months of meh Sid for the dominant version we get when it matters. The only thing I want to see go away is this thing where he chooses **** poor linemates. Kunitz went from having a role on that 4th line at 8-10 mins a night to absolutely looking like a ****ing mess, yet Sid wants to play with that? Why does he keep getting pissed at Hornqvist when #72 is the one guy you know who will lay his body out there every single night and do whatever he can to win. That **** needs to be knocked off immediately. (Ahem... Sully).

 

[ncm7772]

Well, not a game to write home about but I'll take a win given the injury situation. Would've been very nice for Murray to get the SO. Couldn't watch the game, was the D really as bad as it seemed?

 

[ColePens]

rolf

I tried staying away from this discussion, but for those of us who played the game realize this isn't just some small **** up. That comes down to the idea of "brotherhood" and the trust that goes into a locker room. It was extremely selfish by Kunitz. I'm actually happy he said he needs to be a better teammate.

People will claim it's not a big deal, but when a guy has a chance to grab a hat trick on an NHL stage during a father's trip... it's a ****ing big deal. If I was Hornqvist, I'd be pissed off. And when it comes to this situation, you look at the idiotic play in Game 6 of the SCF where Kunitz passed the puck to Geno and then you look at this situation where he didn't pass it to a guy looking for a hatty in a 2 goal game. I mean.. come on now. Players do notice that ****.

I bet you any amount of money people on the bench deep down inside said "Yikes..that was ****ed up Kuni" when he shot instead of passed.

 

[Mattpilf]

Half a year ago, everyone bashed Kunitz for passing the puck instead of shooting on a wide open net in the game 6 SCF, and passed to Geno instead.

Now Kunitz is the most selfish man to ever play hockey and should be sent to the sun.

Somehow think his teammates will forgive him before this board does. Kunitz gets tunnel vision sometimes.


Also when will Letang stop taking hits when they have the lead? Don't put yourself in danger when it's 3-0.

 

[mpp9]

Sid wants KCD forever. He likes speed and predictability. And his linemates getting him the puck 24/7. PH doesn't do that.

Not that I agree with it. He'll adjust when the time comes like he did last year.

 

[ColePens]

Well, not a game to write home about but I'll take a win given the injury situation. Would've been very nice for Murray to get the SO. Couldn't watch the game, was the D really as bad as it seemed?

Yes. The defense was loose. Bad gap, horrible turnovers, lazy plays, not covering guys, etc. It was one of the worst defensive games in a long time for the Pens. The forwards were turning the puck over in the neutral tonight, too, leading to the Pens either having bad gap or being out of position.

Not exaggerating, the Avs could have been up 2 or 3 in the first period. Murray came up big and the Avs got a little unlucky with posts on dangerous scoring chances.

 

[ColePens]

Half a year ago, everyone bashed Kunitz for passing the puck instead of shooting on a wide open net in the game 6 SCF, and passed to Geno instead.

Now Kunitz is the most selfish man to ever play hockey and should be sent to the sun.

Somehow think his teammates will forgive him before this board does.


Also when will Letang stop taking hits when they have the lead? Don't put yourself in danger when it's 3-0.

I tried staying away from this discussion, but for those of us who played the game realize this isn't just some small **** up. That comes down to the idea of "brotherhood" and the trust that goes into a locker room. It was extremely selfish by Kunitz. I'm actually happy he said he needs to be a better teammate.

People will claim it's not a big deal, but when a guy has a chance to grab a hat trick on an NHL stage during a father's trip... it's a ****ing big deal. If I was Hornqvist, I'd be pissed off. And when it comes to this situation, you look at the idiotic play in Game 6 of the SCF where Kunitz passed the puck to Geno and then you look at this situation where he didn't pass it to a guy looking for a hatty in a 2 goal game. I mean.. come on now. Players do notice that ****.

I bet you any amount of money people on the bench deep down inside said "Yikes..that was ****ed up Kuni" when he shot instead of passed.

I quoted my post again because I touched exactly on that. Situational hockey. And you are pretty intelligent on your analysis typically, but you are dead wrong on this one. 2 goal leads in the regular season, dad trip, and a guy with 2 goals on the ice... you look to dish and you look to force. Game 6 of the SCF, possible clinch game, 1 goal game, you ****ing put your head down and bury instead of getting cute.

You need to understand situational hockey And once again I will say.. I guarantee every single player on the bench thought to themselves in the moment.. "Yikes.. ****ed up." But that room is great and they'll completely ignore it. But that does make some of the guys think twice in the locker room.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

I can't figure out what happened to Sid in the early part of 2017. 2016 was insanely dominant for Sid. He just took over in every way. The way he is playing right now is very similar to when he looked disinterested under MJ. I could possibly see the guy dealing with a small injury or maybe he just flat out is only focusing on Cups and is preserving his body for when it really matters. Maybe he's taking a page out of Kessel's book?

If the bolded is the case, then I can live with it. But I'm not sure it is, given how balls-to-the-wall he was playing for the first 30-odd games of the season. He still shows glimpses of it, like the St. Louis game this past weekend.

Part of the problem is Sullivan's insistence on Rust and now Kunitz on his wing. I love Rust, but as long as he's anywhere other than on Sid's wing. If he's on Sid's wing, Rust becomes a non-factor. And I don't even have to touch on Kunitz. So I'm not surprised the offense, and the actual play, isn't there for Sid with his current linemates.

The only thing I want to see go away is this thing where he chooses **** poor linemates. Kunitz went from having a role on that 4th line at 8-10 mins a night to absolutely looking like a ****ing mess, yet Sid wants to play with that? Why does he keep getting pissed at Hornqvist when #72 is the one guy you know who will lay his body out there every single night and do whatever he can to win. That **** needs to be knocked off immediately. (Ahem... Sully).

I have a tough time buying that Sid is the one pulling for these linemates. For starters, if Sid was pulling the strings on who to play with, why was Kunitz ever taken off his line to begin with? Why was Hornqvist kept on his line for practically 2 and a half seasons?

Sid barks at Hornqvist, but he also looks visibly frustrated with Kunitz and Rust as well. That's just Sid, so I'm not sure it's a sign he simply does not want to play with Horny when he barks at him like a nagging spouse.

At the end of the day, it's ultimately on Sullivan anyway because he's the one with the final call. Sid may have preferences, but he's a professional that has shown he can flat out dominate beside #72. So if Sullivan simply said, "you're playing with Hornqvist", I just don't see Sid making any sort of deal out of it.

 

[ColePens]

Sheary/Hornqvist w/ Sid
Hags/Rust w/ Geno
Guentzel/Kessel w/ Bonino (or please God someone else if he can't figure it out)
Kunitz/Wilson w/ Cullen

Fehr/Kuhn/Rowney as extras? I really wish we could use Kuhn more. I loved his game tonight. Do you think these are the lines we are looking at come postseason?

 

[Gurglesons]

I quoted my post again because I touched exactly on that. Situational hockey. And you are pretty intelligent on your analysis typically, but you are dead wrong on this one. 2 goal leads in the regular season, dad trip, and a guy with 2 goals on the ice... you look to dish and you look to force. Game 6 of the SCF, possible clinch game, 1 goal game, you ****ing put your head down and bury instead of getting cute.

You need to understand situational hockey And once again I will say.. I guarantee every single player on the bench thought to themselves in the moment.. "Yikes.. ****ed up." But that room is great and they'll completely ignore it. But that does make some of the guys think twice in the locker room.

I don't think anyone on the bench gives a flying ****.

Nobody is thinking twice about Kunitz. He's obviously well liked throughout the locker room, a leader, and has three rings to prove he knows exactly when to "not get cute".

This is one of the dumbest posts I've ever read on here and reeks so much of the "you didn't play the game" BS. Hornqvist probably forgot about this before he even hit the showers. This assessment of Kuni that he is selfish and trying to be a "star" player is the dumbest whipping boy story we've had on here since I've joined. Dude has put his body on the line every year he has been a Penguin, just because he is 37 and washed up doesn't mean he isn't trying to play the same game he did when we won in 2009, he just simply can't do it anymore. That is the only reason he should be moved off this team. The fact he is playing as bad as he is this year and is our fourth highest scoring winger says a lot.

 

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

Half a year ago, everyone bashed Kunitz for passing the puck instead of shooting on a wide open net in the game 6 SCF, and passed to Geno instead.

Now Kunitz is the most selfish man to ever play hockey and should be sent to the sun.

I mean...I don't actually have to explain the difference between an insurance goal in the second period of the SCF and an ENer with 30 seconds left against the worst team in hockey, right? You're just stirring things up?

 

[Pancakes]

I can't figure out what happened to Sid in the early part of 2017. 2016 was insanely dominant for Sid. He just took over in every way. The way he is playing right now is very similar to when he looked disinterested under MJ. I could possibly see the guy dealing with a small injury or maybe he just flat out is only focusing on Cups and is preserving his body for when it really matters. Maybe he's taking a page out of Kessel's book?

If it's about preserving his body, then I'll take 2 months of meh Sid for the dominant version we get when it matters. The only thing I want to see go away is this thing where he chooses **** poor linemates. Kunitz went from having a role on that 4th line at 8-10 mins a night to absolutely looking like a ****ing mess, yet Sid wants to play with that? Why does he keep getting pissed at Hornqvist when #72 is the one guy you know who will lay his body out there every single night and do whatever he can to win. That **** needs to be knocked off immediately. (Ahem... Sully).

I don't know. Sid looks bad not just in terms of not moving his feet but he's also having trouble catching passes and handling the puck. He looks very much mired int he same type of slump he encountered under MJ.

Maybe it's fatigue, or frustration, or both. Who knows. I imagine he'll pull out of it soon.

Also everyone keeps criticizing Sid for playing with Kunitz and I don't know that that's fair. We don't know if he's requesting linemates.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

I mean...I don't actually have to explain the difference between an insurance goal in the second period of the SCF and an ENer with 30 seconds left against the worst team in hockey, right? You're just stirring things up?

Yeah, I'm a little surprised that it even needs to be explained why those two scenarios are completely different.

 

[EliteGoaltending]

In the 2015 playoffs against NYR Crosby had 2 goals and Malkin tried passing to him and the puck rolled or got deflected and the Rangers ended up scoring.

I remember last season or a season prior to that, Geno wanted Sid to score a HT and passed to him on EN, then Sid passed back to Geno, then Geno passed back to Sid and neither of them ended up scoring on that back and forth passing lol.

Sometimes it's better just to shoot, but tonight it was a two goal lead against a weak team, so Kunitz def should have tried to pass it to Hornqvist, even if it wouldn't work out, they weren't desperate for that ENG anyway. Maybe he really was too tired to look up, like he said, or he just wanted to pad his goals stats.

 

[NewAgeOutlaw]

I don't think anyone on the bench gives a flying ****.

Nobody is thinking twice about Kunitz. He's obviously well liked throughout the locker room, a leader, and has three rings to prove he knows exactly when to "not get cute".

This is one of the dumbest posts I've ever read on here and reeks so much of the "you didn't play the game" BS. Hornqvist probably forgot about this before he even hit the showers. This assessment of Kuni that he is selfish and trying to be a "star" player is the dumbest whipping boy story we've had on here since I've joined. Dude has put his body on the line every year he has been a Penguin, just because he is 37 and washed up doesn't mean he isn't trying to play the same game he did when we won in 2009, he just simply can't do it anymore. That is the only reason he should be moved off this team. The fact he is playing as bad as he is this year and is our fourth highest scoring winger says a lot.

There is a post on this very page where Kunitz himself says he should have fed Horny the puck. I guess Kunitz uses Kunitz as a whipping boy too, eh?

 

[Mattpilf]

I quoted my post again because I touched exactly on that. Situational hockey. And you are pretty intelligent on your analysis typically, but you are dead wrong on this one. 2 goal leads in the regular season, dad trip, and a guy with 2 goals on the ice... you look to dish and you look to force. Game 6 of the SCF, possible clinch game, 1 goal game, you ****ing put your head down and bury instead of getting cute.

You need to understand situational hockey And once again I will say.. I guarantee every single player on the bench thought to themselves in the moment.. "Yikes.. ****ed up." But that room is great and they'll completely ignore it. But that does make some of the guys think twice in the locker room.

I understand the situational hockey. In fact I immediately added the part that Kunitz had tunnel vision, but I guess the quoting was a split second before that was quoted. He's not a selfish player, but he should have been more aware. Those are two different things.

I kept looking at the clip. He gets past the line and squares up to the net, right before he sets up the shot Hornqvist did have a defender almost right in front of him. He could have made it work though and draw the defender away, but your right he had poor awareness there since he could have made it work.

 

[Peat]

Sheary/Hornqvist w/ Sid
Hags/Rust w/ Geno
Guentzel/Kessel w/ Bonino (or please God someone else if he can't figure it out)
Kunitz/Wilson w/ Cullen

Fehr/Kuhn/Rowney as extras? I really wish we could use Kuhn more. I loved his game tonight. Do you think these are the lines we are looking at come postseason?

I'd take that. Maybe swap one of the skill guys on the third line with the buzzsaws on the second.

Also I can't see having that much centre depth and so little d depth, but that's kinda besides the point of a game thread. Not that I've got a huge amount to say about the game that no one else has said... it happened, I had nothing better to do than watch it, it was alright.

I feel like the team's got a lot of mental fatigue right now and its no surprise that the guys who look the sharpest are rookies, guys just back from injury/being scratches, and Wolverine. Player rotation doesn't seem to be a thing in hockey and I'm not sure why.

 

[Mattpilf]

I mean...I don't actually have to explain the difference between an insurance goal in the second period of the SCF and an ENer with 30 seconds left against the worst team in hockey, right? You're just stirring things up?

I didn't say they're the same situation, but it's the same player. A super selfish player doesn't run into the problem of passing on that wide open net.

A player who wasn't keeping his what's up reading the situation might though. People are complaining that he's a POS, the most selfish goal they've ever seen, and the like. You can criticize him for making the wrong choice and not being aware enough, but to insult his character because of that is just wrong.

 

[Gurglesons]

There is a post on this very page where Kunitz himself says he should have fed Horny the puck. I guess Kunitz uses Kunitz as a whipping boy too, eh?

Whatever. The bizarre hate of Kunitz on here has just gotten to an unbelievable level. He was played like a top six winger on both of our cup runs, played LW on both Crosby and Malkin's line when they put up Art Ross numbers, has always played the game the right way and for some reason is criticized because coaching staffs overuse him. Dude is on pace for 42 points playing 14 minutes on average a night and was mainly playing only even strength minutes this year at the age of 37.

If Chris Kunitz is the worst player on the roster playing that way, we have very, very little to complain about.

Sorry, he didn't pass the puck to Hornqvist. If that is what "puts the nail" into Kunitz's career for you just please stop watching hockey. Nobody on the Penguins gave a **** and being the player he is Kunitz was the first one to call himself out. Kunitz has never been a Brooks Orpik who sits around and blames other players in his history of the Penguins.

 

[EightyOne]

Sid realized bad linemates is like playing NHL17 on All-Star difficulty with custom sliders. No big deal, he was just bored with getting ridiculous tip-ins and blueline backhand snipes.

 

[NewAgeOutlaw]

Whatever. The bizarre hate of Kunitz on here has just gotten to an unbelievable level. He was played like a top six winger on both of our cup runs, played LW on both Crosby and Malkin's line when they put up Art Ross numbers, has always played the game the right way and for some reason is criticized because coaching staffs overuse him. Dude is on pace for 42 points playing 14 minutes on average a night and was mainly playing only even strength minutes this year at the age of 37.

If Chris Kunitz is the worst player on the roster playing that way, we have very, very little to complain about.

Sorry, he didn't pass the puck to Hornqvist. If that is what "puts the nail" into Kunitz's career for you just please stop watching hockey. Nobody on the Penguins gave a **** and being the player he is Kunitz was the first one to call himself out. Kunitz has never been a Brooks Orpik who sits around and blames other players in his history of the Penguins.

Mainly even strength time except for the fact that he's spent the whole year on the 2nd pp unit and has gotten a bit of time on the first pp unit. On pace for 42 points while spending fair portions of the season in a top 6 role with 2 of the most productive centers to ever play the sport.

And the endless cycle too. Gets demoted for being trash, starts trying, gets promoted again, plays lazy again, gets demoted for being trash...

I can't believe anybody defends him at this point.

 

[Shrimper]

Sid has been so poor in 2017. I think partly it is to do with the loss of Sheary but he has also played poorly. I don't see him getting 50 goals anymore which is a huge shame. He needs to turn up v Coytes.