Post-Game Talk: | Pens vs Oilers | loss | Burn the tape

[HandshakeLine]

These downer games are indicative of nothing if they don't result in a playoff miss.
We proved that last year when we got utterly dominated by the Rangers in the regular season and then outplayed them in 6 of 7 games, scoring 29 goals.
Went cold into the playoffs too, but probably played at their highest level in a series since 2017.

Even if the worst case scenario happens and we only get like 2 points or something on this whole western swing, the Pens will recover later.
Anyone who is capable of being honest with themselves knows this deep down. I don't see a shred of evidence that we'll finish anywhere below 4th. The Metro's just not that special.

I wouldn’t say they’re meaningless per se. By any stretch of the imagination, they’re a good stress test against some stiff competition. So, while we shouldn’t get bent out of shape over one bad game, multiple bad games on the road trip should be showing us some areas for improvement.

I’m not sure how to take a game like this except that basically if we see this happen multiple times in the season, it’s a locker room/bench issue that we should address. As it stands for now, it’s just a disappointing loss; they’re not all going to be great games.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

I have said this for 15 years. I know Sid likes playing where he does on the powerplay, but it just doesn't work. It doesn't work for Geno either. It's why the PP always seems to be clicking with one of the big 3 out. When Sid is out, Geno can rove that entire wall which makes him way more dangerous. Schultz turned into a PP monster without Letang and Sid in the lineup in 2016. Sid experiences a similar bump in play when Geno isn't on that wall and he can work from blue line to goal line.

I actually like Sid on the left side a lot. Not sure what the stats are but I'd wager our percentage is pretty good when they employ this. This goes back to 2 years ago too.
It brings balance and makes the opposition guess more. For some reason Sid passes better too when there, both in terms of pass completion and pass danger.

It goes against conventional logic with him on his off-wing, but it works.

I would do this:

Sid - Jake - Geno
Letang - Rakell

If Smith was here I'd use him where Rakell is.
Would love to use Petry but he's just been so bad at it in his career that I have no trust.

 

[CheckingLineCenter]

Petry is good when he’s good but horrendous when he’s bad. His horrific pinch and subsequent penalty (regardless of how warranted it was) triggered the comeback. He needs to play within himself. Also he might be the first Penguin I’ve said this about but he needs to be a little less trigger happy with his shot.

Rakell had an awesome 1st period. I mostly liked Rutta and POJ. PP2 should be the top unit.

My takeaway was not that the Pens have personnel issues; it was that they just mailed it in and looked for other guys to make plays when it got rough. Which is weird after CBJ and (to a lesser extent) LA.

 

[Pens x]

My takeaway was not that the Pens have personnel issues; it was that they just mailed it in and looked for other guys to make plays when it got rough. Which is weird after CBJ and (to a lesser extent) LA.

2022 Brian Dumoulin on your top pair means you have personnel issues.

 

[SomeDude]

Geno also had his worst game of the season so far, IMO. Seemed pretty disinterested defensively. A lot of fly-by's and early pinches.

On the positive, Rakell has been so good as a Pen. A deadline acquisition that is actually working out.

 

[Pens x]

Isn’t it a bit worrisome that so many guys seemed so uninterested?

Is it Sully? Is it his system?

 

[AuroraBorealis]

I wouldn’t say they’re meaningless per se. By any stretch of the imagination, they’re a good stress test against some stiff competition. So, while we shouldn’t get bent out of shape over one bad game, multiple bad games on the road trip should be showing us some areas for improvement.

I’m not sure how to take a game like this except that basically if we see this happen multiple times in the season, it’s a locker room/bench issue that we should address. As it stands for now, it’s just a disappointing loss; they’re not all going to be great games.

Good stress test for an early season mindset perhaps, but that will evolve over time. So, near the end of the season we'll look back on this game and question if it had any meaning at all.

I'm just not sure what the takeaway is when we clearly show that we can outplay them like in the 1st, but then fall apart completely later. Does that mean it would happen again if we played them in a few days?
Like in a best of 7 I would favor us probably by a smidge. The puck management and effort level would be better. Edmonton's team defense sucks, and their goaltending is sketchy until Campbell improves by a lot..which may not happen this year.

Best guess as to what's happening right now is they're getting down on themselves when facing adversity, and it's taking too long to regroup mentally. An intermission has helped every time so far.
This will improve as the season goes on.

I think a massive factor right now too is that Letang is struggling the last few games. He's having uncharacteristic poor metrics and looks very tentative with the puck. Dumo's not playing well enough to save him either. I think Tanger's been in the 20's with corsi 3 times already.
So we're dealing with the top players of the opposition with possession in the 70's in those games.
Maybe he just needs a goal to get the swagger back.

 

[JTG]

2022 Brian Dumoulin on your top pair means you have personnel issues.

I wouldn't go that far. Dumo is still a good defenseman, though he isn't what he was 5 years ago. Only time he's going to stick out right now is when we play teams like Edmonton. You have to body teams like that and he doesn't do that.

Geno also had his worst game of the season so far, IMO. Seemed pretty disinterested defensively. A lot of fly-by's and early pinches.

On the positive, Rakell has been so good as a Pen. A deadline acquisition that is actually working out.

He was atrocious defensively.

 

[Icarium]

I'm just not sure what the takeaway is when we clearly show that we can outplay them like in the 1st, but then fall apart completely later. Does that mean it would happen again if we played them in a few days?

The Oilers often sleepwalk through the first 10-15 minutes and fall behind, especially at home. Gotta wonder if it was the Pens playing all that well in the first or the Oilers not showing up on time once again.

PP1 is maddening. First two games, does everything right scores a lot. Next games - back to not moving much and trying to pass the puck into the net or shooting from the blue line with no traffic. Meanwhile PP2 is showing them how it's done but PP1 is still not learning anything.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

The Oilers often sleepwalk through the first 10-15 minutes and fall behind, especially at home. Gotta wonder if it was the Pens playing all that well in the first or the Oilers not showing up on time once again.

So then what's the takeaway for the Oil when they put up 6 on Carolina and 0 against St Louis 2 days later? Then they put up 6 against us again.

PP1 is maddening. First two games, does everything right scores a lot. Next games - back to not moving much and trying to pass the puck into the net or shooting from the blue line with no traffic. Meanwhile PP2 is showing them how it's done but PP1 is still not learning anything.

Letang regressing the last few games all over the ice is a huge part of that. Geno sometimes just has lazy nights, so I'm used to that throughout his career. What frustrates me most is when Sid forces low percentage passes. Every time it gets picked off that's like 20+ seconds off the PP. So avoidable.
Rust has never been the greatest at creating time and space after our controlled zone entry either.

 

[wgknestrick]

I watched Draisaitl's goal again and Dumoulin's positioning is inexplicable. All 3 forwards are on / moving toward the left side of the ice and #8 takes a leisurely loop to the right side of the zone so he's in position to pick up no one.

But, but Dumo is good at defense (whispers he was on the ice for just 4 goals against).

First pairing was absolutely the reason PIT lost this game. I have been saying it for over a year now, dumo is dead weight and needs to be ejected. He is just costing the team so much on offense and his defense is maybe even worse right now.

 

[Pancakes]

Petry is good when he’s good but horrendous when he’s bad. His horrific pinch and subsequent penalty (regardless of how warranted it was) triggered the comeback. He needs to play within himself. Also he might be the first Penguin I’ve said this about but he needs to be a little less trigger happy with his shot.

Rakell had an awesome 1st period. I mostly liked Rutta and POJ. PP2 should be the top unit.

My takeaway was not that the Pens have personnel issues; it was that they just mailed it in and looked for other guys to make plays when it got rough. Which is weird after CBJ and (to a lesser extent) LA.

Yeah Petry is a good example of why the "shooooooooooooot" crowd is so silly. He gets on PP1 and starts firing bad angle shots from everywhere that just give up possession.

That's not to say that what the rest of pp1 is doing is any good because barf. But Petry's shot first mentality is not helping anything there. He took some really dumb shots on the pp yesterday.

So then what's the takeaway for the Oil when they put up 6 on Carolina and 0 against St Louis 2 days later? Then they put up 6 against us again.

Letang regressing the last few games all over the ice is a huge part of that. Geno sometimes just has lazy nights, so I'm used to that throughout his career. What frustrates me most is when Sid forces low percentage passes. Every time it gets picked off that's like 20+ seconds off the PP. So avoidable.
Rust has never been the greatest at creating time and space after our controlled zone entry either.

Geno did a bunch of those yesterday. He did one that really pissed me off where he tried to pass through two players on the PP, but the target of his pass wasn't even in a good spot to do anything with the puck.

Those are the passes that piss me off the most where it's like even if the pass succeeds, it's not leading to anything, and if it fails, it's a sh chance the other way.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

Geno did a bunch of those yesterday. He did one that really pissed me off where he tried to pass through two players on the PP, but the target of his pass wasn't even in a good spot to do anything with the puck.

Those are the passes that piss me off the most where it's like even if the pass succeeds, it's not leading to anything, and if it fails, it's a sh chance the other way.

I'd say Geno is prone to going tunnel vision when things are going poorly.
When the PP is flowing, with overlaps and quick movement..that's when he's at his best.

 

[Pens1566]

Dumo is cooked. Has been for like 2+ years now. He can't keep up and it's obvious.

I was pleasantly surprised with POJ last night in a few spots. Made some nifty plays on McJesus specifically.

 

[HandshakeLine]

Assuming the Pens will mentally wake up and play 60 minute hockey in the postseason does not have a lot of recent evidence for it, tbh. That’s why people are worried, IMO. It’s a problem with vets in particular, and one reason I’d like to see more youth in the lineup. We could really use a hungry young player or two in the lineup later in the year to help keep that high energy in the room.

 

[Andy99]

There was also a Pens jersey thrown on the ice. It went unnoticed because Draisaitl picked it up right away

Yes, on the SN feed while the Oilers were celebrating with Campbell at the end of the game, you could see a Pens fan walk to the glass and remove his jersey but the camera cuts away just before he throws the jersey to the ice lol

 

[Zirakzigil]

New GDT up. Shutting this down.

GDT: - | Game #VII | Pens vs Flames |1900hrs MST | Effort cant be worse than last night

vs Leading Scorers: Flames: Points - Nazem Kadri (6) Goals - Tyler Toffoli (3) Penguins: Points - Sidney Crosby (11) Goals - Crosby (4) Special Teams: Flames: PP - 30% (6th) / PK - 85.7% (T-8th) Penguins: PP - 25% (T-10th) / PK - 72.7% (27th) Advanced Stats: Flames: Shot...

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