Post-Game Talk: Red Wings 5, Penguins 2 - REMAIN CALM, ALL IS WELL

[Son Goku]

The only problem I see with that, right now, is the ED. Unless he is being swapped 1 for 1 it means bodies to protect. By all means have a look after Vegas has its squad.

Agreed. I didn't necessarily mean this season or even next. But within 3 years, we can see where we're at. Letang is a huge name and teams would be willing to throw some big hauls our way. It could be beneficial to us in the long run, especially with Crosby and Malkin eventually slowing down.

 

[Son Goku]

Trading Letang could solve several long term problems. He is mediocre way too much for a "#1D". Sure, he was "finally" great last cup run, but I know we could get a big haul for him.

Is it bad that I still regret this team let Nisky walk and kept Letang?

Niskanen is nowhere close to the player Letang is.

 

[MtlPenFan]

Quit being hysterical.

Yup. Injuries up the butt, first regulation lose since the ASG, 3rd.game in 3.25 days, but let's everyone lose their ****.

 

[Crosbyfan]

Tongue in cheek, but...

Good time of year to bring up the coaching staff from WBS. Maybe they can coach based on seeing what is happening in front of their eyes rather than veteran reputation and what may have worked in the past.

Sully has been getting out coached. Unless he has some masterplan of handicapping the Team for some reason to avoid the complacency of winning too early...

 

[Wood Stick]

I was just curious of what you guys thought of Anthony Mantha.

As for Kris Letang, he's never really played well against Detroit to me. It's odd. I've watched him play a ton, looks amazing and then against Detroit he struggles or gets injured. I didn't think the game was too bad. Pittsburgh seemed to generate just as many chances. Petr Mrazek was on his game luckily. Very easily could have been 4-4.

 

[WayneSid9987]

I was just curious of what you guys thought of Anthony Mantha.

As for Kris Letang, he's never really played well against Detroit to me. It's odd. I've watched him play a ton, looks amazing and then against Detroit he struggles or gets injured. I didn't think the game was too bad. Pittsburgh seemed to generate just as many chances. Petr Mrazek was on his game luckily. Very easily could have been 4-4.

I like Mantha. He just needs to get a little stronger/meaner/play in the dirty areas more and he'll be a helluva NHL'er. You can see him getting engaged more now/this season. Kid is only 22 so theres room for his game to mature.

 

[UnderratedBrooks44]

Was it just me being there live and not seeing replays or was it monumentally stupid of Hags to draw a penalty late in the game and then take a stupid one of his own like ten seconds later?

As afar at trading Letang, yeah it'd solve some problems......and create twice as many.

 

[Ogrezilla]

Was it just me being there live and not seeing replays or was it monumentally stupid of Hags to draw a penalty late in the game and then take a stupid one like ten seconds later?

yeah that was dumb. He's far from the top of my list of guys I blame this game on certainly, but it was dumb.

 

[BrookswasHere44]

It would be amazing if an out of left field Letang trade happened.

I'm not jumping on him from this game either especially since I was able to watch zero seconds of this one

 

[Ogrezilla]

It would be amazing if an out of left field Letang trade happened.

I'm not jumping on him from this game either especially since I was able to watch zero seconds of this one

no it would be idiotic

 

[Mr. T]

no it would be idiotic

Amen.

 

[MtlPenFan]

Was it just me being there live and not seeing replays or was it monumentally stupid of Hags to draw a penalty late in the game and then take a stupid one of his own like ten seconds later?

As afar at trading Letang, yeah it'd solve some problems......and create twice as many.

Game was over. I'd have done the same thing in a meaningless game in February.

Zetterberg is a very subtle, sneaky little troll,and the replay showed him hooking and riding Hags for a good ten seconds.

One of my favorite non Pens moment of recent years was Zetterberg being a troll on a draw, and Jamie Benn punching him right in the mouth.

 

[billybudd]

Good time of year to bring up the coaching staff from WBS. Maybe they can coach based on seeing what is happening in front of their eyes rather than veteran reputation and what may have worked in the past.

Sully has been getting out coached. Unless he has some masterplan of handicapping the Team for some reason to avoid the complacency of winning too early...

Oh ffs, can we please retire this. Tangradi's not playing because of veteran favoritism, Scott Harrington's not on our first D pairing because of veteran favoritism, Jeffrey's on the fourth line because of veteran favoritism, Bennett can't score because of veteran favoritism (etc, etc, etc).

As if events hadn't borne out that the "veteran reputation" thing was a canard all these years and that the "young players" weren't playing simply because they were all bad, as each has subsequently demonstrated elsewhere. The reality is we have injected an astounding number of rookies into the roster in the past two seasons, many of which had no pedigree whatsoever. Turns out the Penguins were playing all those vets because they were waiting for younger players who could, you know, actually play better than them.

And once younger players who could actually play emerged, what was the result?

-There were 3 rookie regulars in the lineup tonight, including a 1st line forward and the starting (now franchise) goaltender. Do you know how rare it is for a competitive NHL club to tell a rookie netminder "you're the guy now?" Putting a 3rd round draft pick 1st year pro out there with a Hart trophy center isn't common, either. Kuhnhackl and Dumoulin are 2nd year players and another 2 2nd year players would have been in the lineup (with Fehr, a veteran, scratched...Fehr has also been scratched for an absolute nobody 27 year old rook as recently as a week ago) in prominent roles if they weren't hurt. That's 7 1st and 2nd year roster players making contributions on a regular basis for the Pittsburgh Penguins, or more than a third of the roster.

This is the exact opposite of making decisions based on "veteran reputation."

 

[Son Goku]

Letang being traded now would be idiotic.

 

[Crosbyfan]

no it would be idiotic

Agree. But we do need a coach with both the sense and balls to not use him as the PP1QB. He is an instinct player, not a tactical one.

 

[Ogrezilla]

Agree. But we do need a coach with both the sense and balls to not use him as the PP1QB. He is an instinct player, not a tactical one.

In theory, it should be something we'd be happy about. He plays so many minutes anyway, it'd be nice to get him a bit less ice time by moving him to PP2.

 

[ColePens]

Yes.. we can ***** about Letang being awful. But he's not being moved to the very few who put that up for discussion. Not happening. Come on now.

 

[ColePens]

This is the true test of a good coach. It's now up to Sully to take what's not working, and flip it. He was everything we needed last year. DB was everything we needed in 2009. But sustaining a high level in the NHL is a lot more. I want to see how he switches up the x's and o's, the lines, and brings us into the playoffs.

This is a challenge right in front of Sully. Now it's time to see how he takes it on.

 

[Crosbyfan]

Oh ffs, can we please retire this. Tangradi's not playing because of veteran favoritism, Scott Harrington's not on our first D pairing because of veteran favoritism, Jeffrey's on the fourth line because of veteran favoritism, Bennett can't score because of veteran favoritism (etc, etc, etc).

As if events hadn't borne out that the "veteran reputation" thing was a canard all these years and that the "young players" weren't playing simply because they were all bad, as each has subsequently demonstrated elsewhere. The reality is we have injected an astounding number of rookies into the roster in the past two seasons, many of which had no pedigree whatsoever. Turns out the Penguins were playing all those vets because they were waiting for younger players who could, you know, actually play better than them.

And once younger players who could actually play emerged, what was the result?

-There were 3 rookie regulars in the lineup tonight, including a 1st line forward and the starting (now franchise) goaltender. Do you know how rare it is for a competitive NHL club to tell a rookie netminder "you're the guy now?" Putting a 3rd round draft pick 1st year pro out there with a Hart trophy center isn't common, either. Kuhnhackl and Dumoulin are 2nd year players and another 2 2nd year players would have been in the lineup (with Fehr, a veteran, scratched...Fehr has also been scratched for an absolute nobody 27 year old rook as recently as a week ago) in prominent roles if they weren't hurt. That's 7 1st and 2nd year roster players making contributions on a regular basis for the Pittsburgh Penguins, or more than a third of the roster.

This is the exact opposite of making decisions based on "veteran reputation."

Maybe you aren't familiar with the phrase "tongue in cheek". There are elements of truth to what I overstated, the overplaying of Kunitz, and using Letang in the PP1QB role being the most obvious examples.

 

[The Old Master]

Said it before, but I wonder how much of the trade talk swirling around Fleury is affecting Letang's game. If it's clear that his BFF is going to be traded, Letang seems like the type who will be affected by it. To a lesser extent, it might be affecting Crosby's game, too.

This is exactly why JR needed to deal Fleury last off-season. Apart from the other things associated with dealing him, it would have given the entire roster the entire summer to "get over it" and focus coming into the season. Instead, they get to stare at sad Marc-Andre huddled in the corner on the brink of tears every single game.

I think there is good chance you could be right.......as bad as tang is, we seem to play better with him than without him.......but if maf trade talks are the cause....we might need to move him too.

 

[Speaking Moistly]

This is the true test of a good coach. It's now up to Sully to take what's not working, and flip it. He was everything we needed last year. DB was everything we needed in 2009. But sustaining a high level in the NHL is a lot more. I want to see how he switches up the x's and o's, the lines, and brings us into the playoffs.

This is a challenge right in front of Sully. Now it's time to see how he takes it on.

It's a challenge for JR and Sully.

Fleury needs to go
Kunitz should have been gone in the off season. Sullivan can't be trusted with him and JR needs to take the toy away or Sullivan needs to get over it
Bonino is awful, either get his ass in gear or upgrade him. Counting on him to flip a switch is a massive gamble. He hasn't handled this himself and the TDL is almost here, it's **** or get off the pot time.
Stop ****ing around with the lines
Letang needs to be kept the **** off PP1 and he needs to improve elsewhere.
The defense has had widespread issues all season and I doubt the coaches are innocent in it
The suspect defensive depth has been exposed and letang's issues are highlighting it
Their attention to detail looks like ****
Their effort has been inconsistent all season and we're at the point where they're running out of road to start ramping it up
The PP needs actual coaching or someone new to coach it
The PK has also been a problem

Those aren't all Sullivan problems.

 

[Fordy]

fehr =/= kunitz or letang and when kunitz reappears regularly on sid's line and letang cannot be usurped on the pp it isn't anything other than favoritism towards them. that post is purely talking around the obvious issues, for reasons i can't understand

 

[Crosbyfan]

In theory, it should be something we'd be happy about. He plays so many minutes anyway, it'd be nice to get him a bit less ice time by moving him to PP2.

I'd like to see them try him LW on PP2

 

[Empoleon8771]

I feel like the Penguins need to move MAF at this point to just make the team wake the hell up. I don't know how much it has impacted other players, but I can't imagine a former core guy and one of the old faces of the franchise just hanging in limbo is helping anymore mentally.

 

[cygnus47]

It's a challenge for JR and Sully.

Fleury needs to go
Kunitz should have been gone in the off season. Sullivan can't be trusted with him and JR needs to take the toy away or Sullivan needs to get over it
Bonino is awful, either get his ass in gear or upgrade him. Counting on him to flip a switch is a massive gamble. He hasn't handled this himself and the TDL is almost here, it's **** or get off the pot time.
Stop ****ing around with the lines
Letang needs to be kept the **** off PP1 and he needs to improve elsewhere.
The defense has had widespread issues all season and I doubt the coaches are innocent in it
The suspect defensive depth has been exposed and letang's issues are highlighting it
Their attention to detail looks like ****
Their effort has been inconsistent all season and we're at the point where they're running out of road to start ramping it up
The PP needs actual coaching or someone new to coach it
The PK has also been a problem

Those aren't all Sullivan problems.

I rambled in the other thread, but these are the big issues from the stats. Our shooting% is hiding some major issues at even strength. Our D aren't good possession-wise at even strength, a lot of that is our 2nd and 3rd pairings. This is exactly where Bonino started to turn it on, he and Hagelin scored ~20 points each in the remainder of the season, so yeah, the clock starts ticking on that now. Sheary-Sid-Horny caved in the opposition at even strength from now, we need someone-Sid-Horny going.

I think #1 issue is our D-depth. We need a functional second pairing that can move the puck. If we can get the puck going forward consistently (whether that's through acquisition or tearing of new holes in old *****) and Bonino can get his head out of his ass we can still do well from here.

Our forward corps is better than last year, but unless our D get their **** together, they won't have the puck often enough to do anything with it.

(Our PP was actually worse last year from this point on, our PK was 85%.)