Post-Game Talk: Pens/Canes plus/minus 10.28.2013

[Merc29]

+ Sutter having more points than J. Staal so far this year. What happened to Jordan? Seems like he's fallen off the face of the earth after that trade.

+ Megna. The kid has a lot of spunk with a dash of skill. I'm very interested to see how he develops. A Megna - Sutter - Bennett third line could be very exciting.

J.Staal is playing in a role that does not fit him. He's the leagues best third line center, but not a very good top 6 center let alone 1st line center. His role when he was here made him look like a beast, but he wanted more and wasn't going to get it here. he is not proving much.

 

[Til the End of Time]

brett sutter has more intensity in his left pinky than brandon sutter has ever had.

 

[Til the End of Time]

malkin's play has been troubling. he needs a wake-up call. it would be great if he could just snap out of it, but this is a situation where his coach should take it upon himself to give malkin some help, ie give him kunitz and/or dupuis. crosby can operate on his own for now, malkin needs some help.

i have a lot of respect for how therrien challenged malkin to be amongst the scoring leaders and put him in a position to succeed. i really want to see bylsma make malkin a priority.

 

[Cardboard Orpik]

J.Staal is playing in a role that does not fit him. He's the leagues best third line center, but not a very good top 6 center let alone 1st line center. His role when he was here made him look like a beast, but he wanted more and wasn't going to get it here. he is not proving much.

Maybe, but he played better here as our 1C and 2C when Crosby and Malkin were injured than he has in Carolina.

 

[SaturdayNightSlegr]

+Megna - best case, other than Bennett he has the best hands of any of our RH forwards. He's like a less spastic TK. Worst case, he's better than Kobe or Connor as a top 6 emergency option.

-Orpik - turned into a pylon by Semin, giveaways....

 

[Ragamuffin Gunner]

+ Sid basically won this game by himself. He didn't get a point on the 1st goal but he won the draw that set up the play.
+ Menga-Man great night. Loved his skill plays.
+ Olli/Bort
+ Martin/Orpik
+ MAF

- Kunitz is so so bad. Sid hitting his stick and the puck going in will justify KCD for another month.
- PP will continue to lose us games till it's fixed.
- Adams messing up that 2 on 1. You can say it didn't matter but those are the kind of plays that can bite you in the ass against a good team.
- letting the Canes hang around for 2 periods. Nothing wrong with ending it early guys
- JJ

-- Malkin. He needs to stop pouting about his linemates and play like he's one of the best players in the world.

 

[Speaking Moistly]

Also Brooks Orpik has the same amount of points as Claude Giroux. and has more goals.

Orpik: 1G 4A
Giroux: 0G 5A

Brooks Orpik, best player in the world. It has a certain ring to it, says Bylsma.

malkin's play has been troubling. he needs a wake-up call. it would be great if he could just snap out of it, but this is a situation where his coach should take it upon himself to give malkin some help, ie give him kunitz and/or dupuis. crosby can operate on his own for now, malkin needs some help.

i have a lot of respect for how therrien challenged malkin to be amongst the scoring leaders and put him in a position to succeed. i really want to see bylsma make malkin a priority.

There's a problem with this, though. Kunitz is crap right now and Dupuis has been proven to not work with Malkin. What can really be done? Malkin has to help Malkin or wait for some injured players to come back.

 

[Waffle Fries]

There's a problem with this, though. Kunitz is crap right now and Dupuis has been proven to not work with Malkin. What can really be done?

Maybe Kunitz and Malkin can help each other wake up. Maybe something has changed over the years and Dupuis won't be that bad next to Malkin now.

It's at least worth a try.

 

[Sureshot]

https://twitter.com/RealDanaHeinze/status/395013456123809793/photo/1

That first puck is possibly even better than the second.

'Hey, check it out - I made Tanner Glass score'.

 

[Speaking Moistly]

Maybe Kunitz and Malkin can help each other wake up. Maybe something has changed over the years and Dupuis won't be that bad next to Malkin now.

It's at least worth a try.

Sure, it's worth a try but it's not some guaranteed fix that some people are making it sound like. IIRC Dupuis played with Malkin a bit this season before Malkin fell off a cliff, it still didn't work. Dupuis might be better than Kobasew or D'Agostini, but that doesn't make it good.

 

[SEALBound]

1. LOL @ people who are surprised at J Staal's complete lack of offensive ability. Still pains me to this day to remember how many people here I had to fight here to try to get it through their heads that when it comes to offense...he. just. does. not. have. it. Then I had to have the same arguments with Tangradi. Oh well...

2. Megna was the man tonight! Nice to see a little jumpy youth instead of the slow and steady vets. Would totally be okay with:

KCD
Joks-Malkin-Megna

as the top 6 next game. Although in a perfect world I would go with:

Megna-Crosby-Dupuis
Kunitz-Malkin-Jokinen

 

[DegenX]

Sure, it's worth a try but it's not some guaranteed fix that some people are making it sound like. IIRC Dupuis played with Malkin a bit this season before Malkin fell off a cliff, it still didn't work. Dupuis might be better than Kobasew or D'Agostini, but that doesn't make it good.

Maybe ...
KCD
Jeffrey-Malkin-Megna
JJ-Sutter-D'ags
Glass-Vitale-Adams

And I know that's going to bring out the Jeffrey has done nothing to earn that spot crew, but since JJ hasn't had to compete to keep his spot on Geno's line his play has fallen off a cliff. Even if Jeffrey doesn't work out there, it might spark JJ to play a little better. That third line doesn't look good, though ...

 

[Waffle Fries]

Pittsburgh Penguins ‏@penguins
“[Crosby] shot it right off my shin pads. Not how I dreamed it up, but I’ll take them any way I can get ‘em.†–Jayson Megna on his 1st goal

https://twitter.com/penguins/status/395012679838220288

 

[Speaking Moistly]

Maybe ...
KCD
Jeffrey-Malkin-Megna
JJ-Sutter-D'ags
Glass-Vitale-Adams

And I know that's going to bring out the Jeffrey has done nothing to earn that spot crew, but since JJ hasn't had to compete to keep his spot on Geno's line his play has fallen off a cliff. Even if Jeffrey doesn't work out there, it might spark JJ to play a little better. That third line doesn't look good, though ...

The problem with assessing JJ is that Malkin has also fallen off a cliff, it's a mess. Most of the team has been struggling and the injuries keep piling up. Aside from earning the spot, Jeffrey should just be considered because there aren't many options right now.

Just to try and spread things out between the lines.

Jokinen - Crosby - Dupuis/Megna
Kunitz - Malkin - Megna/Jeffrey
Jeffrey/Glass/D'Agostini- Sutter - Dupuis/D'Agostini
Glass/D'Agostini - Vitale - Adams

Jokinen - Crosby - X
Kunitz - Malkin - X
X - Sutter - Dupuis
X - Vitale - Adams

Could ease the pressure.

 

[ColePens]

There was the assist on the Kunitz goal of course but there was also one play where there was an airborne puck that Crosby whacked to his left and then to his right and the puck then dropped onto his blade where he had perfect control of it. It was one of those hand-eye plays that only Sid could do. It was utterly absurd to watch.

There's so much that impresses about Crosby but his hand-eye might honestly be the best in NHL history, and maybe the best of any athlete alive today. His coordination is just sick. Lemieux had better hands in terms of dangling than Sid but even Mario didn't have the type of hand-eye that Sid has.

The batting the puck out of the air with one hand was amazing. My gf and I were watching it and couldn't believe the hand-eye needed. That is just plain ridiculous to do at full NHL speed.

 

[BumFortyOne]

The problem with assessing JJ is that Malkin has also fallen off a cliff, it's a mess. Most of the team has been struggling and the injuries keep piling up. Aside from earning the spot, Jeffrey should just be considered because there aren't many options right now.

Just to try and spread things out between the lines.

Jokinen - Crosby - Dupuis/Megna
Kunitz - Malkin - Megna/Jeffrey
Jeffrey/Glass/D'Agostini- Sutter - Dupuis/D'Agostini
Glass/D'Agostini - Vitale - Adams

Jokinen - Crosby - X
Kunitz - Malkin - X
X - Sutter - Dupuis
X - Vitale - Adams

Could ease the pressure.

Wouldn't mind seeing something like:

Jokinen-Crosby-Dupuis
Kunitz-Malkin-Megna
Jeffrey-Sutter-D'Agostini
Glass-Vitale-Adams

Maybe wake up Jokinen, Kunitz and Malkin all at once. It is hard to watch Malkin struggle so much right now and maybe getting a little more speed on his line would help some.

 

[DegenX]

The problem with assessing JJ is that Malkin has also fallen off a cliff, it's a mess. Most of the team has been struggling and the injuries keep piling up. Aside from earning the spot, Jeffrey should just be considered because there aren't many options right now.

Just to try and spread things out between the lines.

Jokinen - Crosby - Dupuis/Megna
Kunitz - Malkin - Megna/Jeffrey
Jeffrey/Glass/D'Agostini- Sutter - Dupuis/D'Agostini
Glass/D'Agostini - Vitale - Adams

Jokinen - Crosby - X
Kunitz - Malkin - X
X - Sutter - Dupuis
X - Vitale - Adams

Could ease the pressure.

Agreed. Although, I wouldn't be surprised if they call up someone from W-B/S or insert Engo on the fourth line again rather than play Jeffrey.

Wouldn't mind seeing something like:

Jokinen-Crosby-Dupuis
Kunitz-Malkin-Megna
Jeffrey-Sutter-D'Agostini
Glass-Vitale-Adams

Maybe wake up Jokinen, Kunitz and Malkin all at once. It is hard to watch Malkin struggle so much right now and maybe getting a little more speed on his line would help some.

That's probably the best line-up we could put together with the pieces we have.

We either need to start playing Jeffrey or put together some sort of trade so he can be playing somewhere. What's the point in having him on the roster if we're going to dress Engo or call someone else up rather than play him?

Why aren't we playing him? The Jeffrey-Sutter-Kobasew line seemed fine until Florida, and despite the injuries he's been riding the pine ever since. Granted, Jeffrey wasn't setting the world on fire but he wasn't any worse than several other players through an equally small sample size. And even then, surely at some point he should be given another chance, right? If the organization feels he's that worthless, then waive him. Either someone picks him up or he clears, but at least he can be playing somewhere. Whatever his issue is, it's not going to improve in the press box.

 

[MtlPenFan]

+ Megna. Hopping from the moment the puck dropped. Good for him doing as much as he did with limitied TOI

+ Joe V. is a prototypical 4th liner with just enough skill to make things happen occasionally. It would be tragic if he somehow got benched again once our lineup is full.

+ Sid. Because he's Sid.

+ Paul Martin, for extending his turnaround beyond last season, and carrying Brooks Orpik on his back.

+ Nisky was solid again. That's right, again. Suck it haters.

+ Olli and Bort


- Geno. You have one of the highest cap hits in the League. Your salary structure basically demands that you have to be dominant most nights regardless of who your linemates are. I await responses from Geno nation.

- Brooks Orpik. I don't care how many accidental assists you got, but you should thank God that your partner continues to cover up your mistakes.

- D'Agostini. I warned all of you.

- Adams. I know you had Sid with you on the 2 on 1, but you are incapable of the most basic of passes, so please don't try to feather any more passes through a d-man when you actually have a chance for a good shot on net, even though you can't shoot either.

- PP. Memo to the staff. How about trying a right handed shooter on the wall for a change? If D'Agostini can do one thing, it's shoot the puck, but I guess we can't do without Kunitz, who's purpose on the 1st unit hasn't been clear for a while now.

- Kunitz and Dupuis. Can't have those 2 guys on the same line. You just can't.

- PK. I suppose that when you're scored on by a set play by Gerbe (albeit on a 5 on 3), you may want to look out for the same play on subsequent kills, when the only reason it didn't work was because of Fleury. Just a suggestion.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

- people saying Megna is kinda like TK, would be like me saying Kate Upton is kinda like Maggie Gyllenhaal or Pop Tarts are kinda like Toaster Strudels. Wtf?

- the Sutter hate is getting comically bad. After seeing Staal Goof Troop his way around the ice tonight, we all had a great big reminder of why he frustrated us so often.

- tonight Dags looked like the guy I didn't like much in pre-season. I was hoping not to see that guy again.

- someone tell me why DB ever broke up Bort/Maatta?

- loved seeing that Vitale and Dupes got more ice time together

- every time Glass scores you know the hockey gods have a twisted sense of humor.

 

[Speaking Moistly]

- someone tell me why DB ever broke up Bort/Maatta?

- every time Glass scores you know the hockey gods have a twisted sense of humor.

DB is an idiot. It was working so he had to fix it.
I genuinely laugh when Glass scores, "Haha, you got scored on by Tanner Glass."

I would pay to know what was going through Adams' mind during the 2 on 1.

 

[Ugene Magic]

- people saying Megna is kinda like TK, would be like me saying Kate Upton is kinda like Maggie Gyllenhaal or Pop Tarts are kinda like Toaster Strudels. Wtf?

My Comparison is a young Max Talbot. Obviously minus the chica chee.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

I would pay to know what was going through Adams' mind during the 2 on 1.

I'm pretty sure it was something like, "****."

I accept Paypal.

 

[Speaking Moistly]

I'm pretty sure it was something like, "****."

I accept Paypal.

I'll just mail you a cheque.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

DB is an idiot. It was working so he had to fix it.
I genuinely laugh when Glass scores, "Haha, you got scored on by Tanner Glass."

I would pay to know what was going through Adams' mind during the 2 on 1.

I munch on wet cardboard when he scores until my eyes roll back into my skull... then I feel better.

The Fedex boxes are my fav. Light and tangy with just a little hint of exhaust fumes.

 

[orby]

I would pay to know what was going through Adams' mind during the 2 on 1.

Probably something like "Sid is more likely to score in these situations than me SO I HAVE TO GET RID OF THE PUCK AT ALL COSTS"