GDT: PO Game 1: Columbus at Pittsburgh | 4/16 7:30PM EDT

[BluejacketNut]

No one gave us a chance in this one, so to be tied going into the 3rd, i'll take it. But the loss is on Bob, you cant have unscreened shots beat you. Deflections is different, but no way can he give up that goal to Sutter, not in the playoffs!

 

[MFRONE]

Schultz would go in for Nikitin.

Looking at the stats is pretty telling. For as good as we thought Dubi/Calvert were, they combined for 1 SOG. Add in Cam and you still get 1 SOG.

 

[Wendy Clear]

They played hard, physical and didn't quit.

I agree. Sums up our team really. We simply cannot afford the losses to Horton and Foligno. Not that I can think of any top 6 forward who was terrible and needs immediately replacing, but it slides guys down into more suitable roles, while guys like Boll and Tropp can sit. They were useless.

The good news is we got a lead, took it to them physically, showed we can play with them. The bad news is, at least IMO, the Pens played like **** and got basically nothing from the best 2 players in the world and still won. I'm not sure how game 2 goes. I know we'll get the effort and the hitting, but what about the smarts and execution?

 

[starsgazer]

Congratulations, guys. I predicted that you will kick the Pens out and there was a real chance for the first step last night. Your team is very fun to watch. All the best for this series.

 

[SnygGo]

That's better.

Anyways, who comes out for foligno and umberger? Boll and tropp?

If Cam keeps getting knocked of the puck way to easy like he was last night, I can honestly see him sitting.

 

[Heinze 57]

I was worried about a few things going into game 1: giving up a big lead early, coming out scared and intimidated like they did in 2009, not playing the way that got them to this point.

For the most part most of my concerns have been relieved. It sucks that we wasted a bad Fluery performance and blew a 3-1 lead in what felt like no time at all, but I’m still confident we can win a game or two.

Tyutin’s gotta be better and Bob has to be better. Can’t turn the puck over like that because Pittsburgh has a way of making you pay for your mistakes. Stay out of the box too. Even if you do take a penalty don’t make it so easy for them on the power play.

 

[WashedUp]

I was worried about a few things going into game 1: giving up a big lead early, coming out scared and intimidated like they did in 2009, not playing the way that got them to this point.

For the most part most of my concerns have been relieved. It sucks that we wasted a bad Fluery performance and blew a 3-1 lead in what felt like no time at all, but I’m still confident we can win a game or two.

I agree, giving up a two goal lead with two PP goals less than a minute apart was huge! To me that was the turning point of the game. Momentum swung the Pens way and we became tentative, not playing the way we did in the first. We kill those penalties(or stay outa the box) and hold onto that lead, we hold onto the momentum.

 

[EDM]

I would hate to think that our ability to win depends on Richards' lineup tinkering.

 

[Fro]

i thought Nikitin/Savard may have been our best pairing...oh well...agree to disagree....i guess Boll and Comeau come out...maybe skille...hard to tell with Richards, guess we'll know more tomorrow in the skate...

 

[neek21]

I'm tired of reading 'we showed we can play with them' and the other moral victory crap....bottom line is we have to WIN...nothing else counts in this league...if we get swept and every game is a one goal game, the end result is the same...we need to win, simple as that

 

[BF3]

I wouldn't worry on not cashing in on a bad MAF performance. There is another one coming in every playoff game of all time not played in 2009. The bad penalties and defensive lapses in the neutral zone leading to odd man rushes are a bigger problem. Bob didn't play well, but no reason to make it harder than it needs to be.

Pens are an average 5v5 close team. Stay out of the box, Bob plays above-average - the team will be successful.

 

[HockeyGuy1964]

Okay, but it was headed directly for his 5 hole off the shot and ended up between his 5 hole after the deflection.

He opens up way too easily and it allowed goals 3 and 4. He was exposed badly by it in the Olympics and now the book is out on him.

Did you even watch the Olympics? Varlamov started the game & gave up 3 softies in their elimination game to Finland. Bob came in & shut the door.

 

[HockeyGuy1964]

If Bob and Joey play a little bit better and Foligno plays Saturday, we can win Saturday.

^This.

 

[MFRONE]

Did you even watch the Olympics? Varlamov started the game & gave up 3 softies in their elimination game to Finland. Bob came in & shut the door.

Did you watch the US/Russia game where Oshie scored nearly every SO goal by going 5 hole?

 

[MFRONE]

Pens outscored the Jackets 2-1 during 5-on-5 play, to say we can handle them in that situation isn't completely correct.

 

[Heinze 57]

I'd take out Boll and Tropp for Foligno and Umberger. Ugh Foligno would've been really helpful last night.

I liked Skille last night and I thought Comeau was fine.

 

[blahblah]

I'll say it again. The danger to playing the Pens is that they are a great counter team and we're not the best decision makers with the puck. Their special teams are also a lot better.

All it takes is for the Pens to score is a bad decision entering their zone. Prime example is Jenner's pass ending up the direction. All the work for an entire period can go down the drain in 8 seconds.

Our team is quite good at horrible decisions with the puck. We got lucky that Crosby didn't finish. Their team can finish much better than ours.

We have to clean up our game. There isn't time to work on it. It has to happen.

Also if Richards insists on playing Savard, we're going to give up 3 or 4 prime chances a night unless Savard has something he didn't show last night. He was completely out-classed.

After the game got tied 3-3, I didn't think it was a close as we think it was. The Pens managed the game a lot better than we did.

 

[cbjfaninmo]

Our team is quite good at horrible decisions with the puck.

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

Should we list that under strengths or weaknesses?

 

[ca5150]

Schultz would go in for Nikitin.

Looking at the stats is pretty telling. For as good as we thought Dubi/Calvert were, they combined for 1 SOG. Add in Cam and you still get 1 SOG.

Dubi had an unreal assist on JJ's goal and shut down Crosby all game, his job this series is to check Crosby, and he did an outstanding job getting him all upset and crying to the ref, as usual. Calvert was flying all over the ice, disturbing, getting a breakaway chance. Cam looks over his head, but we are used to that. They were as good as you thought.

 

[HockeyGuy1964]

Did you watch the US/Russia game where Oshie scored nearly every SO goal by going 5 hole?

Using something that happened in a skills competition to a SO specialist in Oshie, & trying to translate that to a real game situation to say that he's been exposed & this is the "book" on him is insane.

 

[Electric Thunder]

Going into this series I hoped you would win the series.

After last night's game, I think you could win the series.

As a Detroit fan, you have my sword.

 

[FreeBoomer61]

Idk if this was talked about earlier in the thread, but I felt like Matt Calvert was pressing all night. Every time he touched the puck in either the offensive or neutral zone, he turned it over from making one too many moves. That can't happen in the playoffs because of how magnified every turnover can be. He really needs to come back down and play within his own abilities. He's not a dangling playmaker like Datsyuk, he's a gritty, fast heart and soul guy who throws the body around and creates scoring chances like that. Didn't see any of that last night.

 

[Samkow]

Pens outscored the Jackets 2-1 during 5-on-5 play, to say we can handle them in that situation isn't completely correct.

Jesus are you negative.

It was 2-1, not 20-1.

 

[Columbus Mike]

Going into this series I hoped you would win the series.

After last night's game, I think you could win the series.

As a Detroit fan, you have my sword.

If I could rep this I would, just for making me step off the ledge.

I'm tired of losing close games to good teams. It seems like once we get over that hurdle we are going to be really hard to beat, but I don't know if we are ever going to get there.