Post-Game Talk: Pens vs. Habs - Error 404. Invalid Effort.

[Angrrus]

Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard. Simple as that.

This is a totally new and fresh concept that these 30+ y.o. superstars must start trying to grasp.

 

[WayneSid9987]

Would y'all start DeSmith this Thursday? yay or nay?

 

[Ogrezilla]

Hopefully they get Riikola in now.

 

[WayneSid9987]

Hopefully they get Riikola in now.

They're idiots if they don't.
Best set up to attempt cleaning up your own end is not praying a handful of D don't suck on any given night.

 

[Ogrezilla]

This just exposes the infinite stupidity/hypocrisy of all the people who kept saying that last year they were "just gassed and spent and needed a full offseason and blah blah blah..."

or it means the team that regularly plays into June had some trouble getting up for a game in October. It happens. It's not ideal certainly, but it's going to happen again too.

 

[Ogrezilla]

This will piss off the players, starting with our touchy sulky prima donnas (87/58/71/81), they will tune Sully out completely and start sabotaging and tanking him. Just remember Johnston.

well Johnston was a terrible coach who wanted this team to turtle.

 

[Angrrus]

or it means the team that regularly plays into June had some trouble getting up for a game in October. It happens. It's not ideal certainly, but it's going to happen again too.

Allow me to remind you, they didn't play until June this year. And this was presented as the only reason for their lack of effort, commitment, focus and everything else last year. So now, with this hurdle out of the way, things are supposed to be totally different, no? Weird...

 

[ColePens]

One thing folks.. if you are too angered and cannot control yourself to have a rational discussion - you will be removed from the thread. I'm fine if people get fired up, but at some point a rational discussion has to come of it.

No more thread warnings.

 

[Nordiques1979]

Hopefully they get Riikola in now.

yup and hopefully sit Johnson forever. He's been bruta.

 

[Slaaapshuter]

This is all speculative about what I saw in preseason, but I think Maatta would be a good partner for Riikola. Maatta could hang back and let Riikola do the heavy lifting, and if he does make bad pinches, Riikola showed impressive recovery speed.

Letang Dumo
Riikola Maatta
JJ Schultz

That makes the most sense for me. Schultz isn’t what I consider to be a top puck mover, but I feel that would be one of the better third pairs in the league.

It also gives you your best puck movers playing in the top four, and two capable guys in transition on the third pair.

Very true, all speculative.

On the same time, nothing I saw in the pre-season gives me indication that Riikola would do worse than our current D-men.

Maybe I'm just damaged by being european, but the current state of Pens D-corps individually would never be accepted this side of the pond. They are simple to unskilled.

 

[xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

I don't think JJ has been as bad as Maatta, or Oleksiak. His play hasn't been flawless, but I don't think he's at the top of our issues on the blueline, surprisingly.

 

[EightyOne]

Would y'all start DeSmith this Thursday? yay or nay?

No. The gap is too long. You gotta go back to Murray. Kid has zero confidence and getting benched this early in the year would more likely destroy what he does have.

He's been a bit off. And if he doesn't get it together, he has no future here and the Pens have no bonafide starter...yuck

 

[Empoleon8771]

Does Brassard really want to stay on the team as a 3C though when he can be in the top 6 for any other team? I can't see him being content with that. I would love to be wrong though.

If what he said when he was acquired is true, where he only cares about winning at this point, I think it's definitely a possibility. The only thing they can't offer him that other teams can offer him is a top-6 center spot, they can match what other teams will offer him and can give him a legit shot at a cup for the next 4 or 5 years.

I don't think JJ has been as bad as Maatta, or Oleksiak. His play hasn't been flawless, but I don't think he's at the top of our issues on the blueline, surprisingly.

He's been their 2nd best defensemen, it makes no sense to criticize him so far this year.

 

[xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

I also don't know if I'd put Riikola with Maatta. Maatta should be sitting, imo. Putting Riikola with a guy who has looked out of sorts and abysmally slow (footspeed as well as decision making) does the kid no favors and immediately puts him behind the 8-ball. I like a Riikola-JJ pairing.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Another comment I think should be made, I'm starting to dislike the change that Schultz has made to his player type. It seems like he has become more conservative and shifted from an OFD to a 2-way D. The problem with that is he's a better OFD than a 2-way defenseman, so he's making himself worse by not playing like Johnson and Letang do. Can he do that? I'm not sure he has the skating, but I definitely think he's good enough with the puck to do that. The Penguins should be wanting him to be closer to that than what he is now.

As another comment, I wonder how long it will take before Schultz starts complaining about his ice time. He's being used like their #5 defenseman, I'm not sure he'll be happy about playing 17 minutes a night. I think they need to reevaluate how they're using their defenseman, because at ES so far, Maatta and Johnson have been their #1 pair and Johnson has been their #1D. I also don't see the point of not using Oleksiak on any special teams, you could definitely cut down on Letang's SH minutes by giving them to Oleksiak.

 

[mpp9]

Oleksiak can come out any game now and bump Maatta down with Schultz. Play Riikola with Johnson. Win.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

I also don't know if I'd put Riikola with Maatta. Maatta should be sitting, imo. Putting Riikola with a guy who has looked out of sorts and abysmally slow (footspeed as well as decision making) does the kid no favors and immediately puts him behind the 8-ball. I like a Riikola-JJ pairing.

Maatta isn’t going to be sitting. Almost would bet real money on that.

 

[Burn]

Any thoughts on Malkin/ Kessel?

To be or not to be... Thumbs down for me.

 

[xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Maatta isn’t going to be sitting. Almost would bet real money on that.

I don't disagree, but that doesn't mean he shouldn't be sitting.

 

[SEALBound]

So can we try Riikola next game? Maatta out, Riikola in, such an easy decision!

So was Clendening in over Scuderi but...it never really happened now did it?

They need to do something though. Defense as a whole is getting worked. Our breakout and transition is getting slaughtered too. I can't figure out what it is either. We just look so slow doing it. That firey speed from 2016 is all but gone. No one plays the speed game anymore. It's more "let's kick back and let our passing skills take over". When guys get on their horses and skate, it works. But really...it's only the young kids doing it. Our defense is too easily "out smarted" too. Other teams have the ability to make too easy of a pass to a guy that's too easily open. When they score and you freeze frame, there's at least 2, most times 3 guys out of position or in general have no clue the guy was there.

It's not that I don't like JJ, he's actually been a bit better than I thought he would be. I like all of our dmen individually...but I don't like any of our pairings. And I struggle making pairings that make sense that I like. Tang, Dumo, and JJ aren't going anywhere (for better or for worse). I don't think we can afford to give up Schultz without a major piece back that I doubt we get. That leaves Maatta and Oleksiak. I don't think Oleksiak is necessarily the issue and I don't think sending out Maatta alone fixes things. We are just at a "weird" impass with the roster right now. I don't know what the fix is...

Another comment I think should be made, I'm starting to dislike the change that Schultz has made to his player type. It seems like he has become more conservative and shifted from an OFD to a 2-way D. The problem with that is he's a better OFD than a 2-way defenseman, so he's making himself worse by not playing like Johnson and Letang do. Can he do that? I'm not sure he has the skating, but I definitely think he's good enough with the puck to do that. The Penguins should be wanting him to be closer to that than what he is now.

As another comment, I wonder how long it will take before Schultz starts complaining about his ice time. He's being used like their #5 defenseman, I'm not sure he'll be happy about playing 17 minutes a night. I think they need to reevaluate how they're using their defenseman, because at ES so far, Maatta and Johnson have been their #1 pair and Johnson has been their #1D. I also don't see the point of not using Oleksiak on any special teams, you could definitely cut down on Letang's SH minutes by giving them to Oleksiak.

He hasn't looked right since his injury last year. Its almost as if he got the Letang talk about not being a big risk taker. I want the Schultz of the 2017 season back.

 

[xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Schultz has been a problem too. Not in the "jeez, these guys suck" sense, like Maatta or Oleksiak, but Schultz has just been invisible. I forget about him more often than not, and that's not something you can have happen with a guy making his money, with his potential.

 

[Andy99]

Any thoughts on Malkin/ Kessel?

To be or not to be... Thumbs down for me.

Really best for the team to split those two up....I think Phil and Brass, now that he’s healthy, should be given another chance to work together...Geno, given his problems so far, needs another worker right now...either Rust or Horny

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

I don't disagree, but that doesn't mean he shouldn't be sitting.

Oleksiak looks lost, Maatta looks slow and is struggling with decisions.

I’d prefer to replace them both, but it’s not happening. So you sit the raw guy.

 

[mpp9]

Maatta shouldn't be the guy we throw out there against the best the opposition has. We had to do that in the past but moving forward it might not have to be the case with Johnson and Riikola here.

And if Maatta - Schultz are our bottom pairing. So be it. Next summer I'm moving on from at least one of them but for now, that's fine.

 

[Jacob]

Any thoughts on Malkin/ Kessel?

To be or not to be... Thumbs down for me.

Both too careless to be playing together. N-zone turnovers and at one point they both chased a Habs defender out from behind the net at the same time, which led to an odd man rush against and I think a scoring chance.

This stuff would stop pretty fast with a move as simple as bumping one of them off PP1 as soon as they make a dumb turnover or don’t backcheck hard enough like on the SH goal.

I love Malkin but he wouldn’t have to go into 3rd period beast mode if he was as responsible as a 32 year old veteran superstar should be in the first two periods.

I don’t know if Recchi is a problem but our forwards are so error-prone and defensively lost that maybe finding a different assistant would send a message. Maybe have Martin run forwards and Gonchar the D.