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

[Get To Our Game]

Bortuzzo can't believe his eyes!

 

[ColePens]

I'm sure it was a great moment for Megna... but, .

It makes how long it took Glass to score a goal as a Pen even funnier...

A lot of negativity this season - but this picture is something beautiful. I am happy for both.

 

[Tasty Biscuits]

Megna, like Kunitz, is an undrafted player. That's not to say he isn't skilled, but that might be part of the appeal.

Pascal Dupuis was undrafted too. Crosby can only play with the undrafteds!!!!! Mwuahahaha.

It's strange, I've always known both Kunitz and Dupuis were undrafted, but it never really occurred to me that they were, like, still undrafted (and maintained their statuses simultaneously) when they were both playing with Sid -- I know that makes absolutely no sense, but I guess that's how my brain compensated for that fact. Now I'm going to be thinking about that more often.

The best player of his generation, and he's been flanked by, and will continue to be flanked by, two undrafted players while in his prime. Not that draft position really has any bearings on a player's quality, mind you. It's just, aesthetically, not all that pleasing to see on paper.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

I really hope Kevin Weekes' nickname for Jayson Megna sticks: Megna P.I.! Love it.

 

[stardog]

It was a follow-through which means that no penalty was the right call.

I understand that. But I see it called all the damn time

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

Megna, like Kunitz, is an undrafted player. That's not to say he isn't skilled, but that might be part of the appeal.

Apparently it was DB decision to keep up Despres last season. BB was kept up as well. He screwed them in the playoffs, but it is what it is.

He also has kept Maatta up which is pretty big in and of itself. He had every excuse to send him back, so we need to keep that in mind when we say he hates young kids.

He gave Megna a shot on the third line as well. I did have to laugh when I read a quote from DB after the game where he said Megna was making things happen almost every shift, and he got rewarded with more ice time for it. Then I read he had like 10 mins TOI.

That cracked me up.

Anyway, I'm just tying to find little bits of progress with DB in regards to young guys and if you aren't part of the DB bash train, I think we are seeing some progress.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

Apparently it was DB decision to keep up Despres last season. BB was kept up as well. He screwed them in the playoffs, but it is what it is.

He also has kept Maatta up which is pretty big in and of itself. He had every excuse to send him back, so we need to keep that in mind when we say he hates young kids.

He gave Megna a shot on the third line as well. I did have to laugh when I read a quote from DB after the game where he said Megna was making things happen almost every shift, and he got rewarded with more ice time for it. Then I read he had like 10 mins TOI.

That cracked me up.

Anyway, I'm just tying to find little bits of progress with DB in regards to young guys and if you aren't part of the DB bash train, I think we are seeing some progress.

Progress by necessity. Has he made one tough decision yet this season, where a seasoned veteran sat in favor of a rookie or younger, less established player?

The younger guys are getting more play because of injuries. Let's see what happens when the injured vets return...better still, let's see what happens when the GM goes on his veterans shopping binge.

 

[billybudd]

Apparently it was DB decision to keep up Despres last season. BB was kept up as well. He screwed them in the playoffs, but it is what it is.

He also has kept Maatta up which is pretty big in and of itself. He had every excuse to send him back, so we need to keep that in mind when we say he hates young kids.

He gave Megna a shot on the third line as well. I did have to laugh when I read a quote from DB after the game where he said Megna was making things happen almost every shift, and he got rewarded with more ice time for it. Then I read he had like 10 mins TOI.

That cracked me up.

Anyway, I'm just tying to find little bits of progress with DB in regards to young guys and if you aren't part of the DB bash train, I think we are seeing some progress.

Six of that must have been in the third.

 

[WayneSid9987]

Hopefully, just hopefully, the brass realize the NHL isn't about keeping old trusted hands just cuz you think they can get the job done.

Or signing hang'er ons who have NHL experience on thier resume.

Would this team have been better served not signing D'agostini in the off-season and picking up Kobasew on a try-out and letting the prospects battle it out for those spots on the roster?

I'll give them(brass) some credit though.
They kept Maata.
They sent Conner and Z down and brought up Megna.
They're making Engelland useful atleast by trying him out on the wing.

 

[Ragamuffin Gunner]

Hopefully, just hopefully, the brass realize the NHL isn't about keeping old trusted hands just cuz you think they can get the job done.

Or signing hang'er ons who have NHL experience on thier resume.

Would this team have been better served not signing D'agostini in the off-season and picking up Kobasew on a try-out and letting the prospects battle it out for those spots on the roster?

I'll give them(brass) some credit though.
They kept Maata.
They sent Conner and Z down and brought up Megna.
They're making Engelland useful atleast by trying him out on the wing.

IDK, the fact that they would call up Connor and try Engo on wing before calling up Meg doesn't seem like they're changing their ways.

 

[orby]

The best player of his generation, and he's been flanked by, and will continue to be flanked by, two undrafted players while in his prime. Not that draft position really has any bearings on a player's quality, mind you. It's just, aesthetically, not all that pleasing to see on paper.

And he still manages to outproduce other elite players, who have better linemates, by a fairly wide margin. It's a testament to just how good he really is.

 

[lettuceAA]

And he still manages to outproduce other elite players, who have better linemates, by a fairly wide margin. It's a testament to just how good he really is.

Just amazing! It's like how on earth does stamkos do so well with that omg undrafted plugs St. Louis and Purcell on his wings

 

[Ragamuffin Gunner]

Just amazing! It's like how on earth does stamkos do so well with that omg undrafted plugs St. Louis and Purcell on his wings

Are you really comparing MSL to Kunitz and Dupuis?

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

Progress by necessity. Has he made one tough decision yet this season, where a seasoned veteran sat in favor of a rookie or younger, less established player?

The younger guys are getting more play because of injuries. Let's see what happens when the injured vets return...better still, let's see what happens when the GM goes on his veterans shopping binge.

Once Letang was healthy he could of rolled out:

Letang Scuds
Orpik Martin
Nisky Engo
Bort

But he wanted Maatta here, even though there was a surplus of blueliners. So I'm personally giving him credit for letting a young guy stay.

Now that Megna had a good game, let's see if he feeds him more ice time and let's him build on yesterday. I have my doubts all around TBTH.

DB doesn't deal well with kids who make mistakes, and Megna can be a bonehead in various ways. He's vastly improved from this time last year, however.

He will definitely turn the puck over when he is trying to dance and we all know DB prefers straight ahead hockey.

Lots of people seem to be excited about Megna now, but I've seen enough of him to know he will do **** that drives DB nuts.

Anyway his speed was really backing guys off. It was fun to see and what I was hoping would happen when he came up. But you just never know.

 

[IcedCapp]

I understand that. But I see it called all the damn time

it got called against the Penguins last year, too. I can't remember which game, but I remember it happening.

 

[stardog]

That's because I still have to watch him play every game, knowing he's like a roach that will never be out of the lineup.

Wait... So you really expect me to believe it isn't cuz you like the taste? The more I learn about you, the more surprised I become

 

[Pancakes]

Progress by necessity. Has he made one tough decision yet this season, where a seasoned veteran sat in favor of a rookie or younger, less established player?

Maatta playing over Bort is arguably that.

But it is going to be hard for Megna to hold down a spot in the lineup. He's going to have to play really well to do it because eventually we have three more forwards coming back. No way Boner and Lazy are sitting. I could maaayyybe see Kobasew being a healthy scratch in favor of Megna if Megna plays tremendous hockey between now and Kobasew coming back.

 

[stardog]

God I hate those. Whoever that kid is, he can't act and has no comedic timing.

I had been relegated to using the mute button during every commercial break now because of that. And of course, every single time that I forget to use mute, that idiotic commercial comes on at full blast like a rusty knife driven into my eye.

Yes...not sure how many more I can take.

Have those "Austin Mahone" McDonald's commercials basically been sapping the life force of anyone else? I already have the volume very low because of Steigy but now I just have it on straight-up mute. Just ****ing demoralizing.

I put "Austin Mahone" in quotes because I'm not convinced that he is a thing that exists.

Those are pretty bad commercials but see my rant about Tostitos commercials a page or a back. Those commercials annoy me more than a fork across a chalkboard! I won't ever buy Tostitos again which I know is an extreme measure but that's how extremely ridiculous those spots are. I would rather eat Mr. Jiggyfly's wet cardboard than trust chips made by someone who gave the yes vote to those ads.

 

[stardog]

Forslund is top notch. Tracy, like a lot of color guys and can get pretty silly but is better than most.

Agree with this. I didn't listen to them last night but seeing all the love they got for last night was making me ask, "Huh"?
Cuz I listened to them the last time we played the Canes Tracy actually stood out to me as ludicrous! I actually commented on it in the +\- if I recall correctly. Not as bad as Errey, but he is in his own special class of special.

 

[MeticulouslyDishevel]

Thankfully, the Carolina feed didn't have those. It's mostly steak commercials and dudes beating the tar out of each other. I much prefer both to Mr "I can biscuit."

Yet another way that the Carolina feed was vastly superior to Root Sports.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

The main thing in Root's favor is the occasional lovely shot of downtown Pittsburgh, which tugs on my heartstrings more than a little bit.

 

[DegenX]

Apparently it was DB decision to keep up Despres last season. BB was kept up as well. He screwed them in the playoffs, but it is what it is.

He also has kept Maatta up which is pretty big in and of itself. He had every excuse to send him back, so we need to keep that in mind when we say he hates young kids.

He gave Megna a shot on the third line as well. I did have to laugh when I read a quote from DB after the game where he said Megna was making things happen almost every shift, and he got rewarded with more ice time for it. Then I read he had like 10 mins TOI.

That cracked me up.

Anyway, I'm just tying to find little bits of progress with DB in regards to young guys and if you aren't part of the DB bash train, I think we are seeing some progress.

Perhaps. Or it could be the coaching equivalent of a dry drunk.

That he kept BB and Després up after the deadline doesn't necessarily mean a change in outlook, considering the roster limit no longer applies at that point. And it's not like they saw a lot of ice time, either.

Megna worked his ass off, and deserved the minutes he got. But would he have gotten them if Kobasew hadn't left the game because of injury?

And then there is the mystery of Dustin Jeffrey. Why are we calling people up instead of playing him? If he was injured, you'd think that they'd put him on IR to squeeze out those extra pennies of cap relief. And a potential trade wouldn't keep him out of the line up for this long.

Määttä, yes. That was surprising. And even more surprising that they're bearing with the odd mistakes and keeping him in the lineup with more or less consistent minutes. So, I'll give you that one.

It would make things a lot easier if Bylsma shows he can learn from his mistakes. That he can adapt and grow and become a better coach. There have been random flashes here and there of change, but those seem to be quickly followed by regression ... one step forward and two steps back. I've been disappointed too many times to get my hopes up a this point.

What would it take to convince me? Seeing guys actually earn their spot. If one of the kids outplays one of the vets, then the rookie should have it. So, I guess at this point, as far as this topic goes, there is room for some very cautious optimism.

 

[Til the End of Time]

the pens shouldnt be waiting around for bylsma to develop in to a good coach. they cant afford to be wasting crosby/malkins prime while their head coach learns on the job.

it shouldnt matter if bylsma "could" become a great coach down the road-- coaches have a short shelf life, and rarely last more than a few seasons. bylsma should be evaluated on what he currently brings to the table, which is not suited to this teams present needs.

he could get fired, go to another team, and become scotty bowman--it would still make firing him the right move.

but shero and ownership seem quite unable to separate performance from touchy-feely friendship crap, which is why bylsma and fleury are still inexplicably with the organization.

 

[MrBurghundy]

the pens shouldnt be waiting around for bylsma to develop in to a good coach. they cant afford to be wasting crosby/malkins prime while their head coach learns on the job.

it shouldnt matter if bylsma "could" become a great coach down the road-- coaches have a short shelf life, and rarely last more than a few seasons. bylsma should be evaluated on what he currently brings to the table, which is not suited to this teams present needs.

he could get fired, go to another team, and become scotty bowman--it would still make firing him the right move.

but shero and ownership seem quite unable to separate performance from touchy-feely friendship crap, which is why bylsma and fleury are still inexplicably with the organization.

Seriously. We are in win now mode with everything but coaching.

 

[UnderratedBrooks44]

Hate Bylsma but also this roster is far from perfect from a Cup perspective, at least this year. Even when healthy I would say we're just barely good enough to be considered a legit contender, then you look at the Bruins, Hawks, and even the Kings and you see that we seriously lack some of the things they have. Depth and all-around play rule in this day and age IMO, and we don't have it.