Post-Game Talk: Pens/Caps Post Game Talk

[EightyOne]

Neat game. Fun way to lose.

There's a bunch of apologists who want to say dominating but losing was good. That there was a response from the team. That they fought hard after Malkin got kicked.

One.

f***ing.

Goal.

 

[WayneSid9987]

The biggest thing on Sully is the players feed back. If they(the key cogs which include one Phil Kessel) still believe/wanna play for him, i'm all good with keeping him. If they've totally tuned him out, there wouldn't be a better time than now to make a switch with AV and JQ out there atm.

 

[BmxHockey]

Your mind is scrambled after realizing they didn’t score 4 goals in the first frame...

 

[Angrrus]

How can Malkin do such rookie acts? He is what 32 already? And been in the league for almost 15 years? And he still does things like that in a moment like that?! When is the time for him to grow up and mature?

That’s why I say that he is an idiot and a detriment to the team no matter how many points he scored in easy games against the soft teams. He is a giant baby that can do some good things purely on raw talent and instinct, but has air instead of brain in his head. What an idiot.

 

[Angrrus]

Damn, Oshie had himself a night. Skated into Malkin with his head down, causing Malkin to brace for contact and get a 5 minute major for head contact, and then scores the GWG after he's magically okay after the head contact. Damn, what a game from him.

I can't wait for Malkin to get suspended too, will definitely make a lot of sense.

Malkin looked at him a moment before the collision happened, and made a motion towards his head with his shoulder. 1000% intentional. Penalty fully warranted, and a suspension possibly too.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Malkin looked at him a moment before the collision happened, and made a motion towards his head with his shoulder. 1000% intentional. Penalty fully warranted, and a suspension possibly too.

Nah. Malkin had the lane and Oshie kept coming. A fine at best.

 

[3074326]

I feel pretty sad about how the Penguins have done so far. On a positive note, of the 5 periods I've been able to watch this season, 3 of those periods were a 9-1 victory.

I guess I picked the right time to have a bad schedule.

 

[ncm7772]

5 in a row. Changes is comin'.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

5 in a row. Changes is comin'.

It's never the right changes.

 

[WayneSid9987]

It's never the right changes.

Well, i think Sid, G, Tanger, Dumo and PROBABLY Phil are safe so i'm open to change atm...

 

[Turin]

The problem right now is that this has become the team that JR inherited. He doesny really have the pieces he'd willingly move to do anything more profound than what he did in 2015-2016, he's got a coach who's doubled down on abstinence and an unwillingness to adapt, and he's got an old top heavy roster desperate for some youth and energy.

Tough spot. Maybe tougher than 3 years ago because the cupboard in WBS is a lot barer and I'm not sure a coaching change will be seen as an in season option.

They also have a way better starting point than when Perron, Scuderi, dead Kunitz, Plotnikov, dead Bennett were on a team coached by the worst NHL coach I’ve seen in my lifetime, besides maybe Eddie O.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

Neat game. Fun way to lose.

There's a bunch of apologists who want to say dominating but losing was good. That there was a response from the team. That they fought hard after Malkin got kicked.

One.

****ing.

Goal.

Narrow view man. The point is that there's long-term positives to take out of this game that outweigh this result.

1. DeSmith is starting to steal the crease and he's repairing our goaltending issues. We have a safety net for the playoffs at the most important position. That's a big relief considering Murray's injury history and how he's played for over a year now.

2. Kessel was played with Crosby. f***ing hallelujah.

3. The Malkin line was working. Just like last year.

4. We replaced a defensive liability in Sprong with a motivated ZAR who looks like ready to contribute and play a good 200 foot game. Wilson was an upgrade on Grant too.

5. We can handle Washington in a series. You can see it from these 2 games. High danger chances are like 3:1 Pens at least. We deal well with these slower teams. There's no way they'd eliminate us like this. They'd be lucky to reach game 6. This is the best we've looked against Washington in many years IMO. They're declining after this coaching change.

I wouldn't get too caught up in bad puck luck/finishing and a hot goalie. It happens. We'll get a win streak going eventually, even if it doesn't feel like that right now.

 

[Son Goku]

How can Malkin do such rookie acts? He is what 32 already? And been in the league for almost 15 years? And he still does things like that in a moment like that?! When is the time for him to grow up and mature?

That’s why I say that he is an idiot and a detriment to the team no matter how many points he scored in easy games against the soft teams. He is a giant baby that can do some good things purely on raw talent and instinct, but has air instead of brain in his head. What an idiot.

Enjoy your stay here I'm sure it will last

 

[EightyOne]

Enjoy your stay here I'm sure it will last

He's been sticking it out for about two years now.

It's fine.

It is all supposed to be about entertainment. On ice and on here.

 

[Icarium]

So frustrating. In the first five minutes of period two the Pens had more great chances than the Caps in the entire game. And of course the most punchable face in hockey had to score the winner. Freaking St. Louis, giving that bastard up for Troy Brouwer. In moments like this I can say to myself "It could be worse, I could be a Blues fan".

And now we will have to listen to Caps fans saying Geno is as dirty as Wilson for the rest of our lives. On the other hand, that's good comedy.

Hagelin not only missed an open net but his goalie interference penalty was so unnecessary. Sure, Holtby embellished, what on earth was Hagelin thinking?

If only we played as hard as that at home too...

 

[Burn]

Well one positive for me is Jack Johnson made an east west play instead of making the mindless dump on net for the Crosby goal.

 

[Empoleon8771]

I'll never understand why he didn't just retire after the last Cup. Go out on top.

Better watch out Degen, the 3 people who think Cullen should still be playing on the Penguins will get mad at this comment.

ok, I'll play the game. Let's get rid of Sullivan. He sucks. He's **** terrible.

Who's his replacement?

(and please, please don't waste everybody's time by saying Q.)

Not that I want Sullivan fired, but why it is "wasting everybody's time" by suggesting Quenneville?

 

[Peat]

I agree. I'm still a big Sully fan, but just recognizing that maybe Sully won't work out in the long run. It's easier to fire a coach than blow up the core. I definitely think it's premature to consider a coaching change.

The thing about Sully for me right now is the core is still listening. Kessel is engaged and blocking shots. Letang and Dumo are doing great. Geno's offence has dried out a little and he's getting frustrated but he was playing well before hand, Sid's playing great... the only core guy who's not bringing it is Murray. Its the depth that's not executing for whatever reason, not he core.

I think its a lot easier to find new depth players then it is to find a new coach who'll consistently get the core going. If he'd lost the core, game over. But I'm not seeing that.

By being the leading scorer on WBS with NHL experience. Recalls should be based on merit and based on merit, Wilson deserved the call.

Mostly agreed, but playing devil's advocate a little here - the difference is a lot less pronounced when you take out PP time. Blueger's scored more goals than him in that scenario.

I'm fine with them playing Wilson to meet a need when the result is the most important thing - and am a bit mystified by the vociferousness of the "Not him!" calls - but it's not quite as cut and dried as it looks.

Which brings me to...

The problem right now is that this has become the team that JR inherited. He doesny really have the pieces he'd willingly move to do anything more profound than what he did in 2015-2016, he's got a coach who's doubled down on abstinence and an unwillingness to adapt, and he's got an old top heavy roster desperate for some youth and energy.

Tough spot. Maybe tougher than 3 years ago because the cupboard in WBS is a lot barer and I'm not sure a coaching change will be seen as an in season option.

Give it a year - or maybe less than. Early days, but Lafferty/Angello/Miletic have really brought it so far this season and look perfect for the heavier style they've been talking about. I'm okay with them not throwing in kids after a month of pro experience but I am curious as to at what point they will be trusted. Haven't given up hope on Blueger/Johnson either. There's a lot of options to remodel the bottom 6 and maybe even find Rust mk 2. Hopefully the ZAR/Wilson call up shows they've got the ruthlessness to do that if needed.

I'm also curious as to at what point Prow would get a point and whether he'd bring more than Ruh (who's not been bad). Don't want to rely too much on +/-, but for a offence heavy dman, +11 after 11 games (leading team by 4) is hard to do if defesnviely crap.

 

[Burn]

I really like Adam Johnson. I think he has the high IQ like Simon but gets up and down the ice a little better.

What kinkind of defensemen do you guys think Prow developes into?

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

Can’t wait until he gets trade a burns out. It’ll be even better because he’ll probably have a good stretch when he’s initially traded than just suck for 30 games.

He does nothing for our team and he’s being outplayed by Simon. Which is a joke because our coach seems to hate Simon equally. He just actually produces.

Sullivan likes Simon

The problem right now is that this has become the team that JR inherited. He doesny really have the pieces he'd willingly move to do anything more profound than what he did in 2015-2016, he's got a coach who's doubled down on abstinence and an unwillingness to adapt, and he's got an old top heavy roster desperate for some youth and energy.

Tough spot. Maybe tougher than 3 years ago because the cupboard in WBS is a lot barer and I'm not sure a coaching change will be seen as an in season option.

I’m not sure the cupboard in WBS is anymore bare than it was in 2015-16. Sheary was just a spastic little UDFA I didn’t have much hope for, Rust I thought was a good third liner in the making.

Murray was the only real guy down there I thought could be a star and he was proving it by re-writing records in the A. However, I never thought he would be unseating MAF, so it was more like, maybe after a couple years as the Pens backup...

There are certainly several guys down there I think could help, but they aren’t the ones that were called up, sadly.

 

[Empoleon8771]

I originally was going to say that WBS now is just as well stocked as WBS in 2015 was, but I'm honestly not sure I'd say that after looking back at the 2015 WBS team. Just looking at the guys who Sullivan had while he was the coach of WBS, the 2015 team had 12 young players who would end up NHL regulars in some capacity. Those guys were Rust, Kuhnhackl, Sheary, Simon, Murray, Wilson, Pouliot, Archibald, Rowney, Jarry, Dea and Sundqvist. Not all of those guys had significant NHL impacts with the Penguins, but they're all NHLers right now on some team. Including ZAR, WBS today only has ZAR, Blueger, Angello, Lafferty, Miletic, Johnson, Olund, Jarry and maybe DiPauli as young guys who may end up as NHLers. I wouldn't even count Prow in this one just because he's turning 26 in a week.

I think it's less of a problem about not having young guys in WBS, and more of a problem with the team being married to players they shouldn't have been married to.

I’m not sure the cupboard in WBS is anymore bare than it was in 2015-16.

I don't know if the quality is any worse or better, but I think you could argue that the 2015 team had more quantity than the team now.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

I really like Adam Johnson. I think he has the high IQ like Simon but gets up and down the ice a little better.

What kinkind of defensemen do you guys think Prow developes into?

Johnson just needs to be stronger. He’s looks kind of like Kadri when he came into the league... always got muscled off the puck. Have to see him at the NHL level to see if he’s able to handle NHL strength yet.

I really like Prow and think he would be really good for what Sullivan likes to do, but it doesn’t seem like the org ever talks about him, so I have no idea.

I felt like that about Simon when they never discussed him either, and suddenly he’s with Crosby, so who knows.

 

[Peat]

If only we played as hard as that at home too...

The difference between at home and away this season is weird (and it kinda existed at the end of last season too). Part of me thinks the roster is placing so much pressure on themselves that they prefer playing in front of a hostile audience

I really like Adam Johnson. I think he has the high IQ like Simon but gets up and down the ice a little better.

What kinkind of defensemen do you guys think Prow developes into?

I haven't watched enough to be sure but 3rd pairing PP specialist sounds most likely from what I hear... or maybe Ruh (small quick dman who understands their limits) with better puck movement.

The biggest thing on Sully is the players feed back. If they(the key cogs which include one Phil Kessel) still believe/wanna play for him, i'm all good with keeping him. If they've totally tuned him out, there wouldn't be a better time than now to make a switch with AV and JQ out there atm.

This. I think they wanna do it based on performance, but the words will speak louder than actions here.

They also have a way better starting point than when Perron, Scuderi, dead Kunitz, Plotnikov, dead Bennett were on a team coached by the worst NHL coach I’ve seen in my lifetime, besides maybe Eddie O.

We also have Brassard and Guentzel, which are pretty big pluses. Not to mention the possibility some of the depth guys will come out of their funk.

Looks like the balance of this roster is wrong, but its still stronger than we had - which hopefully makes it easier to fix.

Also, being a broken record, I hope we fix things by packaging players for high quality players in bad spots and create space for hungry AHL guys rather than seek a bunch of like quality 1 for 1s.

I originally was going to say that WBS now is just as well stocked as WBS in 2015 was, but I'm honestly not sure I'd say that after looking back at the 2015 WBS team. Just looking at the guys who Sullivan had while he was the coach of WBS, the 2015 team had 12 young players who would end up NHL regulars in some capacity. Those guys were Rust, Kuhnhackl, Sheary, Simon, Murray, Wilson, Pouliot, Archibald, Rowney, Jarry, Dea and Sundqvist. Not all of those guys had significant NHL impacts with the Penguins, but they're all NHLers right now on some team. Including ZAR, WBS today only has ZAR, Blueger, Angello, Lafferty, Miletic, Johnson, Olund, Jarry and maybe DiPauli as young guys who may end up as NHLers. I wouldn't even count Prow in this one just because he's turning 26 in a week.

Fair point (although I think Wilson and Haggerty are just as likely to carve out NHL careers now as Rowney was then) but we only need 4 guys, not 12.

2015-16's AHLer contribution (other than Murray) was Rust, Kuhnhackl, Sheary and Wilson - which in the play offs equalled two middle six wingers (in terms of contribution) and a good 4th liner. And an injured guy. I don't think the cupboard's so bare we couldn't get that again.

 

[Empoleon8771]

I haven't watched enough to be sure but 3rd pairing PP specialist sounds most likely from what I hear... or maybe Ruh (small quick dman who understands their limits) with better puck movement.

I like this comparison for Prow and I think Prow will likely be the guy replacing Ruhwedel on the depth chart for next year. I don't think Prow is an OFD or a PP specialist, but Ruhwedel is a good comparable to him from what I understand.

 

[Angrrus]

Just want to remind everyone how badly Rust ****ed up that play on the boards and how much he sucks.

Other than that, they actually played extremely well. Problem is, so did Holtby.

I had a feeling when I was watching that every time they had a chance to score, of all possible options they always chose to shoot straight into Holtby.

You can talk all you want bout positioning and making himself big and taking away the shooting angle, there wasn't much skill shown on the part of shooters. Even the highly paid ones, which are supposed to be insanely skilled.