Pens playoff Defense, who sits?

[Honour Over Glory]

Man we lack severe size/strength on defense though In the clutch/grab world, we are putting that defense out there. Yikes.

Letang - 5'11" 201lbs
Cole - 6'1" 219lbs
Pouliot - 6' 208lbs
Scuderi - 6'1" 212lbs
Ehrhoff - 6'2" 205lbs
Martin - 6'1" 200lbs
Lovejoy - 6'1" 206lbs

That is the size listing of the Pens D-Corps. Now what people are absolutely idiotic about is the whole toughness bull ****. Being effective overly out weighs being overly aggressive in the Pens own end. Each one of these guys sans Martin, is able to play with a bit of an edge.

Also, the pairings have started to look really good, namely the Pouliot-Lovejoy duo which is definitely the 2nd pairing after Martin-Letang.

I rather have a team that plays with grit and a bit of an edge and is good at not reacting when the other team is trying their hardest to do that to throw the Pens off. If the Pens can avoid that, they are a beast of a team, they just need to be emotional in the right way, not the reactive with stupid penalties way.

 

[deczola]

Absolutely Ian Cole sits. DP would need to play multiple bad D games in a row for them to even think about taking him out. Though Erhoff has a concussion and we really have no clue how he responds. We saw with Sid that a few weeks can lead into months than limbo. You have to be honest and think maybe Erhoff came back too quick and got a concussion with the 2 head shots he got in his last game back. This could be awhile before he returns or maybe next week, never know with that injury.

 

[roquay]

Probably Cole. My gut tells me it should be Pouliot, he could easily be overwhelmed in the playoffs. I'd be OK with him being scratched because, realistically, he could easily be overwhelmed in the playoffs. I know I used that phrase twice but I couldn't think of anything else

He's played in a lot of playoff and international games and performed really well. Last 3 seasons of junior playoffs he put up over a point per game.

The kid has pretty much killed it in every level so far and has showed a lot of poise at NHL.

I can't see him being overwhelmed he looks so relaxed on the ice. A little too much at times but he's adjusting very quickly.

 

[Michael8771*]

Cole, I'm not benching Pouliot unless there is a precipitous drop in his performance.

 

[WayneSid9987]

With the way Pooh is playing and especially the Pooh-Lovejoy pairing, you've gotta let them keep playing together. Also, Pooh may be huge for the PP in the playoffs for us.

Martin-Letang
Pooh-Lovejoy
Figure it out between Scuds-Cole-Erhoff

The second Pooh starts to wane, plug in Erhoff or Cole but keep Pooh in the lineup and limit his minutes. Need him for 4on4, PP's imo.

 

[tom_servo]

Letang - 5'11" 201lbs
Cole - 6'1" 219lbs
Pouliot - 6' 208lbs
Scuderi - 6'1" 212lbs
Ehrhoff - 6'2" 205lbs
Martin - 6'1" 200lbs
Lovejoy - 6'1" 206lbs

Yes, Ehrhoff is our tallest at 6'2", which makes it easier to see him getting helicoptered by any hard-checking forward.

 

[High Flying Birds]

Pouliot has been the essence of calm the last few games. Maybe the effect of Lovejoy as his partner? Regardless, I don't see him getting overwhelmed with playoff hockey.

 

[Giskard]

Should Ehrhoff really play ahead of the other six? Since Lovejoy and Cole came in, our defence has been really solid and calm. I have wait all year to see Ehrhoff became the Ehrhoff I was expecting, but he never played consistently at top level.
I wouldn't touch Letang-Martin and Pouliot-Lovejoy, and Scuderi hasn't been bad this year (overpayed maybe yes, bad no), so a Scuderi-Cole/Ehrhoff 3rd line could work either way.

 

[NatureBoy]

Should Ehrhoff really play ahead of the other six? Since Lovejoy and Cole came in, our defence has been really solid and calm. I have wait all year to see Ehrhoff became the Ehrhoff I was expecting, but he never played consistently at top level.
I wouldn't touch Letang-Martin and Pouliot-Lovejoy, and Scuderi hasn't been bad this year (overpayed maybe yes, bad no), so a Scuderi-Cole/Ehrhoff 3rd line could work either way.

Agreed, if there is no pressing need, why not sit Ehrhoff? I wasn´t that impressed....go with what works. If he comes back soon enough, he will get his chance, but you have to go with what works best. If thats without Ehrhoff, so be it.......

 

[Still Apps]

Harrington will be the healthy scratch. Sure as death and taxes one of our top 7 D will be injured for the playoffs.

 

[ColePens]

Letang - 5'11" 201lbs
Cole - 6'1" 219lbs
Pouliot - 6' 208lbs
Scuderi - 6'1" 212lbs
Ehrhoff - 6'2" 205lbs
Martin - 6'1" 200lbs
Lovejoy - 6'1" 206lbs

That is the size listing of the Pens D-Corps. Now what people are absolutely idiotic about is the whole toughness bull ****. Being effective overly out weighs being overly aggressive in the Pens own end. Each one of these guys sans Martin, is able to play with a bit of an edge.

I rather have a team that plays with grit and a bit of an edge and is good at not reacting when the other team is trying their hardest to do that to throw the Pens off. If the Pens can avoid that, they are a beast of a team, they just need to be emotional in the right way, not the reactive with stupid penalties way.

You say the word "grit" and "edge" and you are looking at Ehrhoff, Scuds, Martin, and Pouliot. Those 4 don't play that way. Letang is our toughest dman and Lovejoy is a tweener now. That's soooo much of the same. They could struggle big time in the postseason. Our team w/ Lovejoy, Despres, Letang, Pouliot, Martin, _______ would be killer. Too much softtttness now. I watch these games and Fleury deserves more credit then the defensive scheme. He's literally stopping shots point blank wide open in the slot. It's not just as if the defense is keeping shots on the perimeter.

And people need to stop posting height/weight .Good lord people. That's such a lame thing to do.

 

[IcedCapp]

even if you told Scuderi to "clutch and grab your way to a cup," I don't think he has enough muscle/mobility. Guy is always chasing his tail.

 

[CanadianPensFan1]

Who SHOULD sit? Scuderi!

With the way this team is run? It wouldnt even shock me anymore if they sat Letang.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

Excellent I out everybody. I don't know what I was thinking, I kind of forgot about Ian Cole for a second when I said that Lovejoy will possibly be the guy to sit.

With that being said, Id love to see Pouliot grabbing some big playoff minutes.

 

[Coastal Kev]

Letang - 5'11" 201lbs
Cole - 6'1" 219lbs- Edgy
Pouliot - 6' 208lbs- Skilled/Edgy
Scuderi - 6'1" 212lbs- Soff
Ehrhoff - 6'2" 205lbs- Soff
Martin - 6'1" 200lbs- Squishy Soff
Lovejoy - 6'1" 206lbs- Soff

.

Conclusion? Soff

 

[joeyjake5]

Pouliot and Lovejoy simply works. They can't **** with that.

Scuderi is overrated - in every sense of the word - in what he does, particularly on the PK. This team's killed penalties very well for years with and without him.

Even if he was an elite defender without the puck, it doesn't make up for how he completely butchers the team's transition game, as well as how laughably bad he is in the offensive zone. It's comical how the opposition refuses to even acknowledge he's on the ice when the Pens are cycling.

Why pens management doesn't see the above, is above all logic.

 

[cassius]

Man we lack severe size/strength on defense though In the clutch/grab world, we are putting that defense out there. Yikes.

Pens defense is going to get physically dominated in the post-season - just wait..

We probably have the most passive / least aggressive / weakest / smallest defense of all playoff teams.

Opposing forward will be excited about the prospect of going up against the likes of Ben Lovejoy, Paul Martin, Rob Scuderi.. those guys are Ryan Whitney soft.

 

[Your Boy Troy]

Softest/smallest group of defenders in the NHL by a far margin. It's not even close. Not one defender is over 6'2". The defense were constantly getting smashed around with Despres and Bortuzzo inserted in the line-up, management decides that replacing them Lovejoy and Cole seemed logical.

No one is capable of clearing crease. Scuderi and friends **** themselves whenever they face an aggressive forecheck. A recipe for forced turnovers. Ehrhoff got hurt when Tom Wilson physically destroyed him twice on the same shift. This team is not built to survive in the postseason, unless if Fleury bails them out.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

People crack me up sometimes...

Lovejoy is soft? Really? Somehow the entire board missed his fantastic work in last years postseason? Let's not throw that out the window and pretend it never happened because the trade was shortsighted as hell.

Martin may not put heads through the glass, but he was the Pens best player last postseason.

Letang plays with an edge. DP plays with an edge.

None of us know how Ehrhoff will play and if he doesn't, Cole seems capable of playing nasty.

That leaves Scuds as the only player I'm overly concerned about, but I've seen him dish out a few nice hip checks this season, so he isn't completely incapable of taking the body.

 

[cassius]

People crack me up sometimes...

Lovejoy is soft? Really? Somehow the entire board missed his fantastic work in last years postseason? Let's not throw that out the window and pretend it never happened because the trade was shortsighted as hell.

Martin may not put heads through the glass, but he was the Pens best player last postseason.

Letang plays with an edge. DP plays with an edge.

None of us know how Ehrhoff will play and if he doesn't, Cole seems capable of playing nasty.

That leaves Scuds as the only player I'm overly concerned about, but I've seen him dish out a few nice hip checks this season, so he isn't completely incapable of taking the body.

Really? lol..

I wish I could feel that way man, but the reality is.. this defensive core is extremely soft outside of Letang.

Forwards on other teams have to be excited at the prospect of going up against this squad on the post-season. This is an extremely passive and non-aggressive group.. aka the opposite of what you want going into the playoffs. Who is going to throw checks and initiate physical contact besides Letang? To make things worse, our defense is undersized in addition to being passive.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

Really? lol..

I wish I could feel that way man, but the reality is.. this defensive core is extremely soft outside of Letang.

Forwards on other teams have to be excited at the prospect of going up against this squad on the post-season. This is an extremely passive and non-aggressive group.. aka the opposite of what you want going into the playoffs. Who is going to throw checks and initiate physical contact besides Letang? To make things worse, our defense is undersized in addition to being passive.

People are so focused on the negative and size, they aren't looking at things clearly.

Both Martin and Lovejoy had outstanding postseasons last year. Letang and Martin are one of the best shutdown tandems in the league as well.

Other teams have to worry about not only Letang as a rover, but DP as well now. Those two, if they play smart hockey, can absolutely torture teams. As I said before, DP was holding back and playing conservative hockey. Now that he is getting comfortable, he can be a real X factor IF he can pick his spots. If he does, it will put a tremendous amount of pressure on other teams to defend both he and Letang.

I'm 99% sure the Pens D will be their strength and not their undoing in the playoffs. Things I'm more concerned with that will cost them a series:

- Crosby being shutdown
- MAF going into playoff form
- Their wretched PP
- Lack of secondary scoring
- The inability of the bottom six to cycle the puck
- Injuries
- Coaching
- The Mumps
- Malkin pursuing an ice dancing career mid playoffs
- Their defense

 

[Coastal Kev]

People crack me up sometimes...

Lovejoy is soft? Really? Somehow the entire board missed his fantastic work in last years postseason? Let's not throw that out the window and pretend it never happened because the trade was shortsighted as hell.

Martin may not put heads through the glass, but he was the Pens best player last postseason.

Letang plays with an edge. DP plays with an edge.

None of us know how Ehrhoff will play and if he doesn't, Cole seems capable of playing nasty.

That leaves Scuds as the only player I'm overly concerned about, but I've seen him dish out a few nice hip checks this season, so he isn't completely incapable of taking the body.

It's good that you get cracked up, we all need to laugh sometimes. But understand this while enjoying your laugh, your opinions are just that, your opinions and they could be 100% wrong.

 

[Penguinator]

It's good that you get cracked up, we all need to laugh sometimes. But understand this while enjoying your laugh, your opinions are just that, your opinions and they could be 100% wrong.

Not unlike yours, yes?

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

It's good that you get cracked up, we all need to laugh sometimes. But understand this while enjoying your laugh, your opinions are just that, your opinions and they could be 100% wrong.

It's good you worry about the one thing that is least likely to cost them a playoff series, but feel free to pull your hair out over it.

I'll stick to the fact that Letang, Martin and Lovejoy all had outstanding playoff runs last season, while also keeping in mind the Hawks "soft" defense had no trouble with the Bruins forecheck on their way to their second cup.

I'll take puck moving mobility over size all series long.

 

[Shady Machine]

Yeah, why wouldn't he?


I will say things change though, if Cole and DP struggle these next few games, and Ehrhoff comes back next week then i would change my opinion.

Because Scuderi is still a solid 3rd pairing dman, even with his deficiencies. Adams is a much worse player, relative to his role on this team.