Post-Game Talk: Pens/Stars: The stars came to play! As in the Sid/Geno, not Dallas.

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Ogrezilla

Nerf Herder
Jul 5, 2009
75,534
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Pittsburgh
You guys :biglaugh:

Before the game people are saying how Dallas is going to steamroll us. After we beat them 5-1 it's like "stop being happy, Dallas sucks, blow everything up, etc."
I'm here all like
giphy.gif
 

EliteGoaltending

Registered User
Jan 7, 2016
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Rust has been bad with Sheahan, terrible with Malkin. Meh with Brassard.

He’s looked his best with Cullen actually and has been serviceable on Sid’s line.

Overall not his best year.
Rust and Malkin never played together this season. What are you looking at, 3-5 minutes sample size of shifts here and there? They looked "terrible" together, yeah. :laugh: More context please, at least.

I actually liked Simon-Brassard-Rust line that was used at the start of the season, they were flying. But then Guentzel-Crosby-Hornqvist line had a bad period and Horny was immediately moved from it and Rust was put there. Sullivan tries to help out Sid/his line every time he/the line struggles, sometimes to the detriment of other lines. (Not even mentioning that putting Rust with Crosby does more bad than good).

That said, Rust struggles this season are on him. He had bad playoffs, too. He's never been a consistent scorer/producer, so he has to compensate it with a very strong game off the puck and ability to support the play.
 
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Tom Hanks

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Nov 10, 2017
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Rust and Malkin never played together this season. What are you looking at, 3-5 minutes sample size of shifts here and there? They looked "terrible" together, yeah. :laugh: More context please, at least.

I actually liked Simon-Brassard-Rust line that was used at the start of the season, they were flying. But then Guentzel-Crosby-Hornqvist line had a bad period and Horny was immediately moved from it and Rust was put there. Sullivan tries to help out Sid/his line every time he/the line struggles, sometimes to the detriment of other lines. (Not even mentioning that putting Rust with Crosby does more bad than good).

That said, Rust struggles this season are on him. He had bad playoffs, too. He's never been a consistent scorer/producer, so he has to compensate it with a very strong game off the puck and ability to support the play.

Rust had played 10 minutes with Malkin so yeah it was a short sample size but it was bad.

I don’t mind him being put there. I was just going who he’s played with and he he looked good. He had a good first game with Brass but had looked pretty average every time after that.
 

EliteGoaltending

Registered User
Jan 7, 2016
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Rust had played 10 minutes with Malkin so yeah it was a short sample size but it was bad.

I don’t mind him being put there. I was just going who he’s played with and he he looked good. He had a good first game with Brass but had looked pretty average every time after that.
That all were random shifts tho, because Rust never started on 71's line this season and Sullivan never moved him there for any periods of time.
 

SHOOTANDSCORE

Eeny Meeny Miny Moe
Sep 25, 2005
10,952
4,675
I get why people don't like ZAR, their concerns with his usage, team identity, etc. I'm not a fan either. But these are extraordinary circumstances and he's a safe player who PK's and plays LW. I'm not going to fault them for using him. If it's still happening in Feb and he still looks like a 4th liner, I'll be concerned but right now the only important thing is getting points and repairing the team's psyche. The same goes for Grant. Even with TB, you're always going to have at least 1 of Grant/Sheahan in the lineup.

Regarding callups, I'll take a stab at the reasoning. They don't believe Johnson is ready yet. They said he needs to get stronger and more consistent. DiPauli is finally getting some production over the last several games, I imagine they don't want to disrupt that in case it is more than just a hot streak. Just a guess though. Lafferty is only a month into his first pro season, it's very possible they think it's too early for him. Same for Angello. Haggerty was injured and is trying to get back on track. Wilson had his shot, LOL. He's still 2nd in WBS scoring despite missing 6 games. :laugh:

That leaves Blueger. I have no f***ing idea. They commented on him recently and basically said he's NHL ready. Good D, PKer, excellent faceoff guy, good IQ, and he's producing. I just have no idea why he hasn't at least gotten a cup of coffee. Maybe they were just pumping his tires.

I don't like some of the decisions being made but most of them seem to be rational.
 
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SHOOTANDSCORE

Eeny Meeny Miny Moe
Sep 25, 2005
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I was screwing around on the sportsbook and clicked on some random horse race. One of the horses is called Dallas Storm. I figured that Dallas sure did get hit with a storm tonight. Long story short, I just won a 50/1 race. I also bet on the Pens winning. Thanks for the monopoly money, Pens. :laugh:
 

JimmyTwoTimes

Registered User
Apr 13, 2010
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Can take this to the salary cap thread but since so much talk about Rust...

I know we won two cups with alot of these guys but have to still be careful about who you give longterm contracts too. Already giving them to most of our dmen. Now Rust. Then the Jack Johnson 5 year deal. In the meantime Guentzel needs a contract.

Already added another 3 year player in Pearson(which I love). This tells me we will look to trade a Dman or two ...maybe Rust if he doesnt turn it around. Still plenty of time for that. But we really need to look to move Maatta first. And this depends on how our team is doing but maybe they package Maatta and someone else together to get someone solid back. Lets say Brassard just isnt a fit...hes UFA and we can package those two for a good return while replacing him at Center(Dzingel and a dman for example). Someone who is a better fit. And again, this is assuming Brass doesnt gel within next month or two.

We obviously are looking to win each year but the next few years also have to be taken into consideration.

Also have to make room for young guys who are just about ready. Cant do that with everyone signed for years. Guessing Bellerive will stick at Center and replace one of Brass/Sheahan.

something needs to be done about the defense. Getting paid way too much for how little they are producing. Dont need an overhaul, I think replacing Maatta with someone else would do wonders.

Anyway, JR has his work cut out for him. Last year was rough. And the JJ signing. But Hagelin for Pearson is a step in the right direction. If he keeps this up we have 7 top players.

Crosby, Malkin, Kessel, Guentzel
Hornqvist, Pearson, Brassard

If you cant win with those players you have serious problems. We arent far away from being a top contender, we just have to be careful with these next few moves
 
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Ryder71

Registered User
Nov 24, 2017
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Sprong is not an NHLer at this point in time. So that’d be difficult.

Also Rust - Malkin - Kessel versus Pearson - Malkin - Kessel is a wash.
I disagree, Rust is appreciably better on the right side. No reason whatsoever to have him play on his off wing when he doesn't have to.
 

Ryder71

Registered User
Nov 24, 2017
22,829
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Eh. I think there is one big hole and it’s been there since the start of the season 3rd line LW.

Maybe, we pull a Brassard like move and are able to drop Pearson or Jake down, but ZAR, Cullen, Simon, etc don’t fit on the 3rd line and Brass is clearly impacted.
100% with you on this one. If we can shore up one forward position it'd be 3rd line LW.

But I'll also suggest that until that matter gets resolved Brassard should get ONE of Horny, Kessel or Guentzel. That would help balance the lines a little more and we know Simon has played well with Sid. I think it's imperative that we get Brassard going. I think with the line configuration we displayed tonight it'd be difficult for BRASS to produce to the degree we'll need if we want to go far.
 
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cygnus47

Registered User
Sep 14, 2013
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Was nice to get some production and an easy win.

One thing I think we need to work on badly is our touch with the puck in the D zone. Lots of too hard passes to space and jams up the board when we had time to just hold the puck or make a pass and retain the puck. Gotta care enough to get the details right and not just play Scuderi hockey.

The Stars don't have the horses or the style to really give us trouble but yeah, it's nice just to get a win at this point.
 

Paulie Gualtieri

R.I.P. Tony Sirico
May 18, 2016
12,312
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How i'd like the bottom six to look next game:

Simon - Brassard - Sprong
Aston-Reese - Bluegers - Rust

Sheahan scratched.

Grant sent down.

I'm not giving up on ZAR yet, just limit his minutes. If that doesn't work I guess Di Pauli is an option.
 

CanadianPensFan1

Registered User
Jun 13, 2014
7,051
2,049
Canada
I didnt get a chance to watch the game but it seems like it was a big win so good on the boys lol.

The real test is the next game. After winning 1 in the last 10 or whatever, getting past Dallas wont mean anything if they go and lose the next 4 again.

It's a possible start in the right direction so build on it.
 

Icarium

Registered User
Feb 16, 2010
3,875
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The discrepancy between the Pens' results against Eastern and Western Conference opponents is astounding. Conclusion - we need to move to the Western Conference ASAP. :)
 
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WayneSid9987

Registered User
Nov 24, 2009
30,053
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I get why people don't like ZAR, their concerns with his usage, team identity, etc. I'm not a fan either. But these are extraordinary circumstances and he's a safe player who PK's and plays LW. I'm not going to fault them for using him. If it's still happening in Feb and he still looks like a 4th liner, I'll be concerned but right now the only important thing is getting points and repairing the team's psyche. The same goes for Grant. Even with TB, you're always going to have at least 1 of Grant/Sheahan in the lineup.

Regarding callups, I'll take a stab at the reasoning. They don't believe Johnson is ready yet. They said he needs to get stronger and more consistent. DiPauli is finally getting some production over the last several games, I imagine they don't want to disrupt that in case it is more than just a hot streak. Just a guess though. Lafferty is only a month into his first pro season, it's very possible they think it's too early for him. Same for Angello. Haggerty was injured and is trying to get back on track. Wilson had his shot, LOL. He's still 2nd in WBS scoring despite missing 6 games. :laugh:

That leaves Blueger. I have no ****ing idea. They commented on him recently and basically said he's NHL ready. Good D, PKer, excellent faceoff guy, good IQ, and he's producing. I just have no idea why he hasn't at least gotten a cup of coffee. Maybe they were just pumping his tires.

I don't like some of the decisions being made but most of them seem to be rational.

Think the reality is for potential call ups in place of ZAR is that they have to be able to PK at this level.
For some reason, they don't trust Blueger can do it.
Johnson, they believe needs another year to get stronger.
DiPauli is just starting to produce.
And Angello's a rook.

I think if theres anyone that COULD get a look out of this group it's Angello who's leading Wilkes now in goals(7) and has a solid +8.
It's too bad they can't get Sprong going with the above swap/experiment cuz this would be fun to watch:

Jake-Sid-Horny
Pearson-G-Phil
Rust-Brass-Sprong
Simon-Cullen-Angello

Also, i'd simply take Haggerty or Angello and if Haggs doesn't PK, Sid, Jake, Pearson pick up that slack. If Sprong can't get in the lineup then fine i'll suffer with Grant or Sheahan
 
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Peat

Registered User
Jun 14, 2016
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Think the reality is for potential call ups in place of ZAR is that they have to be able to PK at this level.
For some reason, they don't trust Blueger can do it.
Johnson, they believe needs another year to get stronger.
DiPauli is just starting to produce.
And Angello's a rook.

I think if theres anyone that COULD get a look out of this group it's Angello who's leading Wilkes now in goals(7) and has a solid +8.
It's too bad they can't get Sprong going with the above swap/experiment cuz this would be fun to watch:

Jake-Sid-Horny
Pearson-G-Phil
Rust-Brass-Sprong
Simon-Cullen-Angello

Also, i'd simply take Haggerty or Angello and if Haggs doesn't PK, Sid, Jake, Pearson pick up that slack. If Sprong can't get in the lineup then fine i'll suffer with Grant or Sheahan

Only Ruhwedel had more PK time for us in pre-season, and that was by 3 seconds. Maybe you're right and they don't trust him, I can't rule that out, but that marries up really weirdly with his usage there. And his usage down in WBS.
 
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