Post-Game Talk: Pens 5 - Sabres 0...well that was expected.

[flaneur]

as ridiculous as the pp% is right now... it could actually be even higher. in both this game and the new jersey game, mj has elected not to send out the top pp line in the final pp of the game. i agree with this move but it is kind of nutty/fun to think how the pp numbers are actually potentially deflated from what it could be.

 

[ByeByeBylsma*]

maybe. i wonder what the record for that is.

Teams have won by 15 - 0 margins before.

 

[Zirakzigil]

Nice to see Fleury playing well and special teams doing great. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come.

 

[WayneSid9987]

Can you embed the video? I don't see in on the Pens app on my phone...

Sure:

[NHL]660256[/NHL]

 

[Riiseli]

Im more worried about him getting his meds right after the surgery. The thyroid is the metabolic center of the body. It basically controls the chemicals in your body that give you energy. My mom had thyroid cancer and luckily they were able to remove the thyroid (although she needed radioactive iodine treatments in addition to the surgery) and she is cancer free. But I know that it tooks a few months before she felt like she had the energy to be herself. She slept on the couch like hours everyday.

My wife takes thyroid meds and I know how they can effect your energy levels. If the doctors feel good about getting the cancer, that's great to hear. But I think any of us familiar with thyroid meds are a little worried how it could wreck havoc with Maatta's energy levels.

Like I've mentioned in the other thread based on Maatta's father's comments in a Finnish paper I expect that they will be able to save 1/3rd of the thyroid gland.

As a pharmacist I want to assure you that there really is good reason to be positive about Maatta. The prognosis for that type of cancer is good. It is curable with early diagnosis and treatment. My sister had surgery for a cancerous thyroid tumor about five years ago. She's doing just fine with no complications or recurrence. She was able to go back to work less than a week after the surgery albeit not as a professional athlete

I'm very optimistic that this will be just a small speed bump in Olli Maatta's hockey highway. Can't wait to see him back in the lineup!

This. I haven't been worried after watching press conference and talking to my friend, a pathologist, who has diagnosed a thyroid cancer or two in her professional life. Of course she doesn't treat cancer patients, but is very knowledgeable about the subject and medicine in general (MD-PhD).

 

[steveg]

Like I've mentioned in the other thread based on Maatta's father comments in a Finnish paper I expect that they will be able to save 1/3rd of the thyroid gland.


This. I haven't been worried after watching press conference and talking to my friend, a pathologist, who has diagnosed a thyroid cancer or two in her professional life. Of course she doesn't treat cancer patients, but is very knowledgeable about the subject and medicine in general (MD-PhD).

Very encouraging. Thanks for this info!

 

[steveg]

Sure:

[NHL]660256[/NHL]

THANKS much!

 

[clefty]

Do you remember that "i paid $ to see this" caption?

I do remember that. I also remember one of the captions in that thread was like an entire paragraph, something to do with buying lamps that "costed me five cents, but it was worth it."

EDIT: Bah, late to the party. Stopped reading the thread once I saw this post.

Nah, Kayla posted a bunch of pictures of some actress claiming it was her, and a bunch of dudes fell all over themselves trying to win her heart. Then someone found a real picture of her and it was um, less appealing.

Remember that, too. Before catfishing was catfishing.

I remember Andrew Ference used to post as HogTracks. He would just get accosted by puckbunnies nonstop on the Players board.

Also that Gaylord Focker guy getting banned, like 10 times in one day. He kept re-registering as Gaylord M. Focker, Gregory Focker, etc. and posting a tome of complaint, and getting banned again.

When they switched servers, which I think was during the lockout. That's when the mods cracked down on really petty things are drove the better posters away.

It's probably for the best that that board got the big red button pushed on it. I was between the ages of 16-18 when I posted there, so I'm super glad the stuff I said at that age isn't out there anymore.

 

[HandshakeLine]

When exactly was the nadir of that board? Crosby lottery? From like '01 to '04 it was the place to be. Probably because it was only an attraction to the most self-deprecating among us.

Remember that one blond girl starting posting, and then another dude begged her for a date before succeeding? And snagswolf built that shed? And freakscene' was all libertarian before it was a thing?

Oh god. I remember.

Any one remember the Koltsov-as-a-horse weirdness?

 

[Ugene Magic]

Caught only a good portion of the 2nd period at Pizza Hut after the final night for a haunted house in Butler.

Looked sloppy despite the score. Watching the entire game now.

Edit#1: Crosby's drive to the net through the Sabers for the eventual Kunitz goal was great to see.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

The quality of his play-by-play has gone down harder than Hobey Baker.

And he died in a plane crash!

I don't care what anybody says, I laughed out loud at that.

 

[Shwag33]

Steiggy couldnt even get the players on his own team right. He called enroth erhoff.

 

[radapex]

Completely agree. The team was hungry til the final drop of the puck. They played with an attitude. That's something we haven't seen for a long damn time.

So far every stutter comes with a fix. We are way tooooo early in the season to say Johnston is a great coach, but after 10 games or so - he's fixing the issues. PK, breakout turnovers, backchecking, d-zone (well... we will see against better teams).

You've got to figure that Johnston's off-ice practice after blowing the Detroit game, which many said "you just don't see during the season", sent a clear message. As you said, every little blip on the radar thus far has been addressed.

 

[Joejosh999]

Thyroid Ca survivors here

Very encouraging. Thanks for this info!

Unless it is a very rare type called aplastic, thee is virtually no mortality risk from the cancer itself, even if it is fully metastatic ( the treatment is the same: removal and dose of radiation).

As others have commented , the biggest issue will be Olli's ability to have energy to play at an elite level whilst taking meds the rest of his life.

If they can conserve even part of the thyroid, that would be terrific - I beieve that may mean he doesn't get the Rad dose too, not sure.

But living on those pills can be difficult. That is the main issue IMO, and whether they can conserve any of the gland itself.

 

[cheesedanish87]

I don't think you can take anything out of that game because Buffalo is so bad, Buffalo is going to end up being one of the worst teams of all time.

 

[Trap Jesus]

Bruins fan here. Does anyone know why Crosby is taking so few faceoffs this year, relatively speaking? Ever since his sophomore year he's been at around ~40% of his team's total draws, but this year he's just a shade over 30%. Is it just a result of the Pens having a lot of games where they have bigger leads where they can afford to rest him?

 

[ProgOg]

@penguins
The #Pens have re-assigned forward Jayson Megna to the @WBSPenguins.

 

[penguins2946*]

Bruins fan here. Does anyone know why Crosby is taking so few faceoffs this year, relatively speaking? Ever since his sophomore year he's been at around ~40% of his team's total draws, but this year he's just a shade over 30%. Is it just a result of the Pens having a lot of games where they have bigger leads where they can afford to rest him?

The Pens have Sutter and Goc, who are both stronger at faceoffs than Crosby. Johnston doesn't want to be using Crosby like Bylsma did, he's using him a lot less on defensive zone draws and making him focus more on offense.

@penguins
The #Pens have re-assigned forward Jayson Megna to the @WBSPenguins.

Either Bennett is ready to come back on Tuesday (doubtful) or the Pens just have no idea what they're doing with callups

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

Bruins fan here. Does anyone know why Crosby is taking so few faceoffs this year, relatively speaking? Ever since his sophomore year he's been at around ~40% of his team's total draws, but this year he's just a shade over 30%. Is it just a result of the Pens having a lot of games where they have bigger leads where they can afford to rest him?

Johnston is really trying to manage the minutes of his top players. Which is refreshing. I also suspect he wants to spread things around a little bit more when it comes to taking draws. Crosby and his linemates were largely used not only as the top scoring line for Bylsma... but also the team's shutdown line. Johnston seems to trust guys like Sutter, Goc, Spaling and even Malkin (who is historically mediocre in the circle) to take more key (read: defensive) draws than they would have in the past. And those guys are all largely delivering. Which is also refreshing.

 

[ProgOg]

Bruins fan here. Does anyone know why Crosby is taking so few faceoffs this year, relatively speaking? Ever since his sophomore year he's been at around ~40% of his team's total draws, but this year he's just a shade over 30%. Is it just a result of the Pens having a lot of games where they have bigger leads where they can afford to rest him?

The Pens have Sutter and Goc, who are both stronger at faceoffs than Crosby. Johnston doesn't want to be using Crosby like Bylsma did, he's using him a lot less on defensive zone draws and making him focus more on offense.

Yep. Basically better/smarter usage - no real reason for him to take so many.

 

[ProgOg]

The Pens have Sutter and Goc, who are both stronger at faceoffs than Crosby. Johnston doesn't want to be using Crosby like Bylsma did, he's using him a lot less on defensive zone draws and making him focus more on offense.



Either Bennett is ready to come back on Tuesday (doubtful) or the Pens just have no idea what they're doing with callups

It's maybe cap related, no? Isn't there a daily element to calculating cap space? Maybe I'm mixing something up.

 

[radapex]

Bruins fan here. Does anyone know why Crosby is taking so few faceoffs this year, relatively speaking? Ever since his sophomore year he's been at around ~40% of his team's total draws, but this year he's just a shade over 30%. Is it just a result of the Pens having a lot of games where they have bigger leads where they can afford to rest him?

I think it's just a function of (a) having 5 "faceoff guys" in the lineup, and (b) Crosby struggling a bit with them this year.

Goc has won 55.3% of his 94 draws
Sutter has won 54.1% of his 194 draws
Spaling has won 54.0% of his 50 draws
Malkin has won 51.6% of his 64 draws
Crosby has won 49.5% of his 186 draws


He's been on the improve lately, but struggled against the Sabres last night.

Game 1 - 41.67%
Game 2 - 47.37%
Game 3 - 45.00%
Game 4 - 47.83%
Game 5 - 40.00%
Game 6 - 52.63%
Game 7 - 55.56 %
Game 8 - 75.00%
Game 9 - 60.00%
Game 10 - 37.50%

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Bruins fan here. Does anyone know why Crosby is taking so few faceoffs this year, relatively speaking? Ever since his sophomore year he's been at around ~40% of his team's total draws, but this year he's just a shade over 30%. Is it just a result of the Pens having a lot of games where they have bigger leads where they can afford to rest him?

Crosby missed training camp and admitted he wasn't able to practice faceoffs as much as he would've liked. Also, Goc, Spaling, and Sutter's success there means he doesn't have to take every important faceoff for our team any more.

 

[Trap Jesus]

Thanks for the responses.

 

[SaturdayNightSlegr]

+ Pens dominated, as they should. Not always easy to get up for a bad team.

Looking at the stats for this game shows why hits and blocked shots are very unreliable stats. Buffalo outdid the Penguins in both, Hits 31-17, Blocked shots 19-15. So basically a mediocre defenseman who gets a lot of minutes on a bad team will be near the league lead in those stats.

Also: Certain players (Bylsma-favored ) who have high hits and blocked shots stats do, in fact, suck. They only get these stats because they are always pinned in their own zone and do not play a style which facilitates puck possession.