Post-Game Talk: Pens 4, Preds 2 - SCH is #BESTFORBUSINESS

[hagelin1381]

nice to see Kunitz giving effort and making plays.. i like him on the fourth line

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Murray with 37 saves on 39 shots. Fleury would have found a way to make it interesting.

Horny with 2 goals and Sid does find a way to make it interesting.

Nevar forgat

 

[Speaking Moistly]

Then I guess I'll take Murray on his B game over anything I've seen from Fleury in this decade.

Pretty much the point of an elite player versus an average one.

 

[Shady Machine]

Solid game. Nitpicking a lot, but Sid made things interesting by losing 2 Dzone face offs cleanly near the end. I wish he'd change things up there because it's not working

 

[vodeni]

for all the hate for Maatta (deserved no question for his lame play in d-zone) I was focusing on him supporting the offensive play, his timing is great, he makes very good decisions on that blue line...he looked really good....and then he craps uot infront of our goal. Most od it comes from being really weak on the puck when pressured, he tris short exit passes that so often end on the forwards' stick

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Don't worry, five straight years of playoff meltdowns are burned into my memory. I couldn't forget if I wanted to.

For this lady and all the other little Fleuramaniacs out there, his smile burns brighter.

The randomly small E says it all.

You said it.

 

[NMK11]

for all the hate for Maatta (deserved no question for his lame play in d-zone) I was focusing on him supporting the offensive play, his timing is great, he makes very good decisions on that blue line...he looked really good....and then he craps uot infront of our goal. Most od it comes from being really weak on the puck when pressured, he tris short exit passes that so often end on the forwards' stick

I still think he's miscast as the more defensive half of a pairing. I know it puts people on off sides, but I wonder what would happen if we put him with dumoulin and go back to daley-letang

 

[ColePens]

Remember.. this is a PGT. Let's talk about the game.

 

[vodeni]

Murray has been giving up juicy rebounds left and right, completely 180 from the last year, at least he has body position, hope he will start eating them up

 

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

I still think he's miscast as the more defensive half of a pairing. I know it puts people on off sides, but I wonder what would happen if we put him with dumoulin and go back to daley-letang

With SCH back together, Maatta-Daley is the new SCR.

 

[Tender Rip]

Nick Bonino should go back to his family after every game and apologize that he is failing this years' task of setting them up juicily for life.

OK, he is making enough that no one should pity him, but after the cup win and as an upcoming UFA on this team, with Hags and Kessel his wingers? No mediocre 3rd C ever got better opportunity to cash in. He is a corpse out there. Never illustrated better than the extended shift in our own zone to start the third which he capped by taking the penalty that led to the 4-2 goal.

And Kessel.... well Kessel is without competition the most painfully lazy player on this team away from the puck. Bonino is not nearly as lazy, he is just that much slower. Kessel should be embarrassed by his efforts to help his line. He really should.

Nice to get the win. Nice that SCH did so well, hopefully well enough that it sticks (again), and Murray held it together for them.

But it was one butt-ugly win in my eyes.

 

[ColePens]

Nick Bonino should go back to his family after every game and apologize that he is failing this years' task of setting them up juicily for life.

OK, he is making enough that no one should pity him, but after the cup win and as an upcoming UFA on this team, with Hags and Kessel his wingers? No mediocre 3rd C ever got better opportunity to cash in. He is a corpse out there. Never illustrated better than the extended shift in our own zone to start the third which he capped by taking the penalty that led to the 4-2 goal.

And Kessel.... well Kessel is without competition the most painfully lazy player on this team away from the puck. Bonino is not nearly as lazy, he is just that much slower. Kessel should be embarrassed by his efforts to help his line. He really should.

Nice to get the win. Nice that SCH did so well, hopefully well enough that it sticks (again), and Murray held it together for them.

But it was one butt-ugly win in my eyes.

I don't think it was butt-ugly. I think Bonino and Maatta, once again, are really causing trouble for this team. I've been on record for saying we will look back at Maatta and say "Remember when he struggled... what a gem now." But he's seriously killing this team individually with a clear example in goal 1.

I am not liking transition defense and in-zone defense. Aggressive but it also looks like we are running around with no purpose. Need to clean that up big time.

 

[CertifiedLurker]

Dear jake Guentzel, Wellcome to the black hole. You are officially a new member of club 30% possession.

Still looked better than HBK.

 

[Ogrezilla]

2 for 2 on the year. go me.

 

[ncm7772]

Pretty solid game overall. Still loathe how many shots they're consistently giving up, though. Murray had some problems with rebounds but played a pretty solid game.

Nice to see Hornqvist back with Sid.

Huge minus to Bonino, per usual. And Kessel, while getting points here and there, isn't scoring and is looking like he did in Toronto away from the puck. LAZY.

 

[vodeni]

for me, the next game will be telltale...if we can play with a very good and extremely efficient Jackets team, we are on a good track, we cannot possibly beat them now not without Geno, and with Sid cooling off, this is the one opportunity for Rust, and Guentz to make their names...

I know it won't happen, but they should seat Bonino and try to resuscitate Kessel who for all his points has been pretty bad 5 on 5, that may be crucial for our run

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

This team will be even more potent when our players recognize that Guentzel is capable of making sneaky skill plays with regularity. There were a couple plays where Guentzel was leading Kessel with the puck and he simply wasn't expecting it, but at least he drew a penalty.

SCH never should have been broken up because it was working. And I hope that it won't again for as long as it's working. Added bonus was that Rust was better too...like pretty much everybody called.

Scott Wilson was great tonight. That play where he came barreling in on the forecheck and then hopped over a defenseman to maintain possession was typical.

Arvidsson was great for the Preds. RFA this year too!

 

[Peat]

Scott Wilson was great tonight. That play where he came barreling in on the forecheck and then hopped over a defenseman to maintain possession was typical.

That was the Wilson who I thought could be useful for us a top-sixer. I don't know whether the difference is he's now in his groove, or whether he's a guy who looks great in the bottom six and crap in the top, but he really made a difference tonight.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

That was the Wilson who I thought could be useful for us a top-sixer. I don't know whether the difference is he's now in his groove, or whether he's a guy who looks great in the bottom six and crap in the top, but he really made a difference tonight.

Still a very real possibility. It's still only his first full season, and he's been playing some great hockey lately. Hard on the forecheck and along the boards, heads to the net, good complementary skill, and he has a quality shot. He's just had some bad luck around the net.

Fortunately we have the depth to wait for him to force our hand (as far as the top 6 goes). But he's the motor for that 4th line IMO.

 

[66-30-33]

Top 9 when healthy should be...

Sheary-Crosby-Hornqvist
Hagelin-Malkin-Kessel
Guenztel-Cullen-Rust

I'd say we don't need to find more wingers but get better D.

 

[mpp9]

Still say we're nuts if we protect Maatta over some of these forwards. Wilson, Hagelin, Rust and Sundqvist are pretty important moving forward.

 

[Pengu]

I fully agree.

Also, Arvidsson has been on fire this season, so there is no chance of getting him....

 

[AjaxTelamon]

Still say we're nuts if we protect Maatta over some of these forwards. Wilson, Hagelin, Rust and Sundqvist are pretty important moving forward.

We absolutely are. Maatta could take years to figure out his medical or other issues, and those years could be the last of Sid and Geno's prime. Just keep our forward depth intact, and sign another LHD. There should be a lot of guys that can play 2nd pair LHD floating around after the expansion.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

We absolutely are. Maatta could take years to figure out his medical or other issues, and those years could be the last of Sid and Geno's prime. Just keep our forward depth intact, and sign another LHD. There should be a lot of guys that can play 2nd pair LHD floating around after the expansion.

Like most things to do with the expansion draft, there's a lot left to be determined.

But protecting Maatta isn't the given it once was, for sure. This was his worst game ever.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

This team will be even more potent when our players recognize that Guentzel is capable of making sneaky skill plays with regularity. There were a couple plays where Guentzel was leading Kessel with the puck and he simply wasn't expecting it, but at least he drew a penalty.

SCH never should have been broken up because it was working. And I hope that it won't again for as long as it's working. Added bonus was that Rust was better too...like pretty much everybody called.

Scott Wilson was great tonight. That play where he came barreling in on the forecheck and then hopped over a defenseman to maintain possession was typical.

Arvidsson was great for the Preds. RFA this year too!

The bolded is pretty much the main thing I want Sullivan to take away from tonight's game.