Series Talk: Round Two | Waiting on a (familiar) foe

[Ryder71]

If you are worried about the Caps...cant imagine how youll be if we are in the ECF against Boston/Tampa

SidsIpad already went missing. Dont want to lose you too .

I don't think we'll beat any of the teams out of the atlantic, no. I'd like to get through the next round though if possible to set a franchise best 10 round winning streak.

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

Teams with gamebreakers scare me more than teams with "depth" but not much in the way of multiple elite talents because I think our defensive breakdowns could hurt us more against players who only need one opportunity to bury the puck, as opposed to players who need a truckload of opportunities to do so.

They had us hemmed in our own zone plenty of times last year. We know how to defend them and keep their shots coming from the outside. They also miss on alot of great chances from the slot. Murray is also better when he faces more shots and more engaged

We know how to defend that team who is very one dimensional in style of play.

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

I don't think we'll beat any of the teams out of the atlantic, no. I'd like to get through the next round though if possible to set a franchise best 10 round winning streak.

Good Lord. Why bother then?

 

[Ryder71]

Good Lord. Why bother then?

So, I have to believe we can beat teams like Boston, Tampa or Tor to be a Pens fan? lol

I'm just looking at our frailties and our personnel on the blue line, as well as other teams strengths and weaknesses and I see us at a decided disadvantage. Hopefully that doesn't happen and we can make a series out of it. But before that our next round opponent won't be easy either.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

They had us hemmed in our own zone plenty of times last year. We know how to defend them and keep their shots coming from the outside. They also miss on alot of great chances from the slot. Murray is also better when he faces more shots and more engaged

We know how to defend that team who is very one dimensional in style of play.

I'm not saying the Caps *will* beat the Pens. I'm saying their personnel scares me more than Columbus' because they have more guys who *could* hurt the Pens.

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

So, I have to believe we can beat teams like Boston, Tampa or Tor to be Pens fan? lol

I'm just looking at our frailties and our personnel on the blue line, as well as other teams strengths and weaknesses and I see us at a decided disadvantage. Hopefully that doesn't happen and we can make a series out of it. But before that our next round opponent won't be easy either.

Not saying you have to think we have the cup locked up...but to say theres no chance in the ECF...you just want that 10th series win?

Nevermind.

 

[Ryder71]

Not saying you have to think we have the cup locked up...but to say theres no chance in the ECF...you just want that 10th series win?

Nevermind.

I don't think I said we had ''no chance''. But yes I would be fairly surprised if we could could beat them.

Nothing I saw from this series gives me much confidence that we will beat the best of the best when the time comes. And we don't conclusively know Geno's status.

 

[Jaded-Fan]

I don't care who, I only care when. Make it Saturday.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

I don't care who, I only care when. Make it Saturday.

Probably Friday/Sunday, just so NBC can put us on at 3pm on Sunday again.

 

[ColePens]

On paper I do not think there is a difference between our chances against Washington or CBJ. I think they are 2 very different teams with weapons. I think we enter the series at like a 59-60% favorite in each game. That is not a big enough margin to where I would expect us to win easily.

I think Columbus is more dangerous with a weaker goalie. I think Washington has a stronger goalie, even if we bested Holtby in the past. I really don't care which team it is. We are blessed to be here, but I could make a case for either team finding a way to beat us.

 

[Turin]

I'm not saying the Caps *will* beat the Pens. I'm saying their personnel scares me more than Columbus' because they have more guys who *could* hurt the Pens.

I agree. I’ll take Panarin and decent depth over multiple stars with weaker depth. Also, home ice.

 

[ColePens]

I'm not saying the Caps *will* beat the Pens. I'm saying their personnel scares me more than Columbus' because they have more guys who *could* hurt the Pens.

Columbus:
+ Panarin is a Penguin killer. I get nervous any time he's on the ice.
+ Werenski/Jones are legit threats.
+ Some players are stepping up like Calvert/Dubois
+ They are a deeper team than the Caps, IMO. Especially defensively.
+ They play a much tighter game than the Flyers/Caps play.
- Bob looks shaky to me. He gives up juicy rebounds and looks inconsistent.
- Their PP is complete ass right now.
- Their PK is also complete ass right now.

Washington:
+ Oshie, albeit injured, finally had a couple games where he looked like his old self.
+ That top line is producing.
+ That PP looks unstoppable.
+ Holtby looks legit.
- Their depth is nowhere near that of CBJs.
- Their lineup decisions have been benching youth for vets. That would favor Pens speed.
- Their defense is very beatable.
- 5 on 5 we should have the advantage. If it's all special teams, we have the disadvantage.


And for the Pens..
- What Murray are we going to get? We saw the tale of both Murs in that series.
- Injuries? Horny/Kessel ok? Geno/Hags ready for Game 1?

 

[Gurglesons]

I don't think I said we had ''no chance''. But yes I would be fairly surprised if we could could beat them.

Nothing I saw from this series gives me much confidence that we will beat the best of the best when the time comes. And we don't conclusively know Geno's status.

Straight up joke talk.

Maybe you should go back and “work for the team” , so you can learn a lesson in resilience . We are the best team in the league for ten years, this is gold.

All our team does is win, this is even better than team you “worked for”. We should have lost tonight. We f***ing destroyed the Flyers on the back of our third best winger.

Enjoy it. Address the player’s faults and move on.

 

[Ryder71]

Straight up joke talk.

Maybe you should go back and “work for the team” , so you can learn a lesson in resilience . We are the best team in the league for ten years, this is gold.

I don't need to go back and work for the team to understand our deficiencies in the face of other teams strengths. And what this team has accomplished over the last decade has been tremendous. But this is a new year with a new set of circumstances and challenges. We don't have the same depth on defense and that also holds true for our goaltending. If we play like we did this series against the Atlantic winner we very likely lose. We have to be stronger in net and with our bottom pair. Letang also has to stop making bonehead plays. I don't see that changing much moving forward.

 

[Gurglesons]

I don't need to go back and work for the team to understand our deficiencies in the face of other teams strengths. And what this team has accomplished over the last decade has been tremendous. But this is a new year with a new set of circumstances and challenges. We don't have the same depth on defense and that also holds true for our goaltending. If we play like we did this series against the Atlantic winner we very likely lose. We have to be stronger in net and with our bottom pair. Letang also has to stop making bonehead plays.

Have you watched the past two years?

They can play any style of hockey that you want and win. If they lose now it is purrrrrre gravy. Flyers lost, you lost. Penguins have done as best as every other team since the ‘90s in terms of demonstrating their brilliance.

If you were really around for ‘93 you’d understand seeing that again. And who cares?

 

[Penguinsyay]

I think we take it against either team if Murray brings his A-game and we get Malkin back. Murray seems to bounce back with very strong performances when he does have a weak one, so that isn't the hugest concern. But inconsistent goaltending behind a mostly bleh defense and a god-awful Kris Letang isn't going to get you a Cup, especially if key forwards are out for long.

I'd rather play the Blue Jackets but I highly doubt that will be the case. If we can't beat either team, we won't make it past Tampa OR Boston anyway.

 

[Ryder71]

Have you watched the past two years?

They can play any style of hockey and win that you want. If they lose now it is purrrrrre gravy. Flyers lost, you lost. Penguins have done as best as every other team since the ‘90s in terms of demonstrating their brilliance.

If you were really around for ‘93 you’d understand seeing that again. And who cares?

I've watched them since 1980 actually, or listened (as most games back then were on radio). And I watched them up close and personal from 2011-2016. And based on watching this team over nearly four decades I can honestly say that this team like most Pens teams has glaring holes. The '93 team was a far different animal than this team. But if you were a fan of the Pens back then you should know that.

 

[Gurglesons]

I've watched them since 1980 actually, or listened (as most games back then were on radio). And I watched them up close and personal from 2011-2016. And based on watching this team over nearly four decades I can honestly say that this team like most Pens teams has glaring holes. The '93 team was a far different animal than this team. But if you were a fan of the Pens back then you should know that.

The point isn’t the team’s quality.

The point is knowing how rare it is what we are seeing and we’ve seen it twice.

 

[Ryder71]

The point isn’t the team’s quality.

The point is knowing how rare it is what we are seeing and we’ve seen it twice.

I'm very aware of just how rare it is, which is why I was clamoring for JR to make a decisive move or two prior to the deadline to shore things up. The problem is he beefed up center at the cost of making our blueline very thin. But with what we currently have hopefully we can get through this next series.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Columbus:
+ Panarin is a Penguin killer. I get nervous any time he's on the ice.
+ Werenski/Jones are legit threats.
+ Some players are stepping up like Calvert/Dubois
+ They are a deeper team than the Caps, IMO. Especially defensively.
+ They play a much tighter game than the Flyers/Caps play.
- Bob looks shaky to me. He gives up juicy rebounds and looks inconsistent.
- Their PP is complete ass right now.
- Their PK is also complete ass right now.

Washington:
+ Oshie, albeit injured, finally had a couple games where he looked like his old self.
+ That top line is producing.
+ That PP looks unstoppable.
+ Holtby looks legit.
- Their depth is nowhere near that of CBJs.
- Their lineup decisions have been benching youth for vets. That would favor Pens speed.
- Their defense is very beatable.
- 5 on 5 we should have the advantage. If it's all special teams, we have the disadvantage.


And for the Pens..
- What Murray are we going to get? We saw the tale of both Murs in that series.
- Injuries? Horny/Kessel ok? Geno/Hags ready for Game 1?

Don't agree with the bolded. I think Columbus has been giving up way more Grade-A chances than the Caps have. Other than the last game, where they outshot the Caps badly in the third, I think the Caps have owned the series in terms of shots against.

I also don't think Columbus' depth is playing very well. They *should* have more depth than the Caps, but the Caps' bottom lines are outplaying the Blue Jackets' bottom lines.

 

[USMC607]

With Geno and Hags injured I'd like to see it go to 7 games. Then draw Columbus. But I doubt it. They look toast.

 

[Tom Hanks]

With Geno and Hags injured I'd like to see it go to 7 games. Then draw Columbus. But I doubt it. They look toast.

I said the same although the momentum doesn’t carry over. It’s one game again.

 

[Ryder71]

I said the same although the momentum doesn’t carry over. It’s one game again.

We just need to hope that 2/3s of our second line are able to be close to a 100% for the 2hd round. That and MM plays like he did the first two games in Philly.

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

We also need to remember that different matchups can provide different results. Philly was great at attacking our powerplay(even tho they were horrible all year) but who knows..our PP could go off on the Caps.

Certain players/lines will also do better/worse.

Alot of it is how we play..but matchups are a big factor as well. And we matchup well against the Caps. And Jackets.

Ill talk about the ECF if we get there

 

[PensPlz]

Hoping BJs win in 7 and we get to see our good friend Playoff Bob again.