Post-Game Talk: Sabres at Pens 4/23 Post game Talk

[Ogrezilla]

Bylsma has been actively trying different guys on the PK. That still makes me think Glass will sit.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Bylsma has been actively trying different guys on the PK. That still makes me think Glass will sit.

Or he doesn't want Glass getting hurt blocking a shot in meaningless regular season games and is saving him for the playoffs.

 

[SEALBound]

There are 12 guys who deserve and have earned the right to play over Glass.

He should be up only if there are. 3+ injuries. I see

Dupuis-Crosby-Iginla
Kunitz-Malkin-Neal
Morrow-Sutter-Cooke
Bennett-Jokinen-Adams

Being a realistic lineup. That's means TK, Vitale, Jeffrey, and Glass are scratches...in that order. Once everyone is healthy, he should be anywhere near the line up. Ad quite frankly I wouldn't mind usin a buy out on him. He should be gone.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

I agree with all of that.

I mean, I still think Dupuis would be great on the 3rd line, he's great defensively and he'd make it a huge offensive threat, but if he's going to continue to play at this level, I don't care if he's on the 1st line, but Bylsma needs to be focused on creating two dominant lines, and that can't happen with Iggy and Neal on the same line.

I made a mistake when I said Iggy Malkin Neal would dominate, because I never knew Iggy had so much trouble playing LW. I argued Neal would excel with Malkin switching to his off wing because it is easier to one time the puck on your off wing. Neal hit 40 goals on his off wing, so it seemed natural to me Iggy, being a triggerman, would thrive equally well.

It is also easier to pull a toe drag on your off wing, pull up and dish the puck, dip your shoulder and drive the net etc. But Iggy just prefers the right side and you can't argue with his numbers.

I think if Iggy had an entire season to adjust to LW he would be sick on that side, but they need him comfortable now and firing on all cylinders, so it seems stupid to keep Neal and Iggy on the same line.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

There are 12 guys who deserve and have earned the right to play over Glass.

He should be up only if there are. 3+ injuries. I see

Dupuis-Crosby-Iginla
Kunitz-Malkin-Neal
Morrow-Sutter-Cooke
Bennett-Jokinen-Adams

Being a realistic lineup. That's means TK, Vitale, Jeffrey, and Glass are scratches...in that order. Once everyone is healthy, he should be anywhere near the line up. Ad quite frankly I wouldn't mind usin a buy out on him. He should be gone.

Bennett and Morrow have been showing some really nice chemistry the last few games they were together. I also think BB would mesh well with Sutter's game.

Switch him with Cooke and you have three dangerous scoring lines and a true checking line that can chip in a few dirty goals.

 

[IcedCapp]

I made a mistake when I said Iggy Malkin Neal would dominate, because I never knew Iggy had so much trouble playing LW. I argued Neal would excel with Malkin switching to his off wing because it is easier to one time the puck on your off wing. Neal hit 40 goals on his off wing, so it seemed natural to me Iggy, being a triggerman, would thrive equally well.

It is also easier to pull a toe drag on your off wing, pull up and dish the puck, dip your shoulder and drive the net etc. But Iggy just prefers the right side and you can't argue with his numbers.

I think if Iggy had an entire season to adjust to LW he would be sick on that side, but they need him comfortable now and firing on all cylinders, so it seems stupid to keep Neal and Iggy on the same line.

I don't necessarily disagree, but... what do you think happens next year? I think they'll try to re-sign Iggy, is it to be a 2nd-line LW or 1st-line RW?

 

[Valarukar]

Line-up I'd ice if I were the coach and fully healthy

Kunitz-Crosby-Iginla
Morrow-Malkin-Neal
Jokinen-Sutter-Dupuis
Cooke-Vitale-Bennett

Scratches in order of who would step in:
Adams, Jeffrey, Kennedy, Glass

Eaton-Letang
Brooks-Martin
Murray-Niskanen

Subs would depend on who goes down

Hardest choice for me was who out of Morrow and Jokinen played on the 2nd/3rd. Would be happy with them switched too though

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

I don't necessarily disagree, but... what do you think happens next year? I think they'll try to re-sign Iggy, is it to be a 2nd-line LW or 1st-line RW?

What I think and what DB does, are usually different things.

People can talk about his 200 wins all they like, but none of his detractors have ever questioned his ability to win in the regular season.

He has a very deep roster and Shero did his job to the T.

If DB ***** the bed again these playoffs, those of us who supported him since last Summer, will have nothing to defend.

I hope he rewards our faith and doesn't try to outsmart himself. I know he can do his and I hope he doesn't let stubbornness and odd decisions **** things up.

The playoffs are what I have been waiting for. The streaks this season mean little to me in terms of giving me any confidence going into the playoffs. All I care about are the decisions he makes starting next week. I believe DB can be an unreal coach, but his real test to show those of us who have believed in him doesn't even start until next week.

That's when we will begin the stressful process of discovering if those calling for his removal were wrong, or those of us supporting him were off base.

 

[shizno*]

Wait, when the hell has DB ever **** the bed in the playoffs? Oh yeah I forgot how horrible he was playing defense against Philly....how come he couldn't use magic timeouts and overturn bad offside calls? Crap coach, fire the bum already.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

Wait, when the hell has DB ever **** the bed in the playoffs? Oh yeah I forgot how horrible he was playing defense against Philly....how come he couldn't use magic timeouts and overturn bad offside calls? Crap coach, fire the bum already.

He has lost his last three playoff series.

- Agt Montreal his team was an overwhelming favorite.

- Agt TB they had a 3-1 series lead.

- The Philly series was a complete meltdown.

The last playoff series he won, was agt. a Sens team that came in pretty beat up already.

Just because I am supporting DB, doesn't mean I'm going to pretend he hasn't **** the bed the last few years. To pretend otherwise is being completely disingenuous.

 

[#66]

I made a mistake when I said Iggy Malkin Neal would dominate, because I never knew Iggy had so much trouble playing LW. I argued Neal would excel with Malkin switching to his off wing because it is easier to one time the puck on your off wing. Neal hit 40 goals on his off wing, so it seemed natural to me Iggy, being a triggerman, would thrive equally well.

It is also easier to pull a toe drag on your off wing, pull up and dish the puck, dip your shoulder and drive the net etc. But Iggy just prefers the right side and you can't argue with his numbers.

I think if Iggy had an entire season to adjust to LW he would be sick on that side, but they need him comfortable now and firing on all cylinders, so it seems stupid to keep Neal and Iggy on the same line.

I think its because the Pens are so north/ south that it almost hurts them. We would think that Iggy would be taking a lot of east/ west passes from Malkin, who usually streaks down the right side, but that pass is never there.

 

[ColePens]

He has lost his last three playoff series.

- Agt Montreal his team was an overwhelming favorite.

- Agt TB they had a 3-1 series lead.

- The Philly series was a complete meltdown.

The last playoff series he won, was agt. a Sens team that came in pretty beat up already.

Just because I am supporting DB, doesn't mean I'm going to pretend he hasn't **** the bed the last few years. To pretend otherwise is being completely disingenuous.

And as usual - I'm right there w/ Jiggy on this one. I will give DB some HUGE props for coming around. He's making adjustments to his game and his in-game strategies have shown to actually work. He's stubborn at times, but this is the true test. Shero has given him more power than we needed. He has to do a great job coaching.

 

[Fordy]

And as usual - I'm right there w/ Jiggy on this one. I will give DB some HUGE props for coming around. He's making adjustments to his game and his in-game strategies have shown to actually work. He's stubborn at times, but this is the true test. Shero has given him more power than we needed. He has to do a great job coaching.

He's fixed the glaring mistakes. He calls timeouts. His lineups are making sense. Not sure what it was last year, complacency maybe, but in the last couple weeks I've felt confident in him. I really hope he doesn't disappoint in a week.

 

[ColePens]

I've even noticed us coming up with more speed. That is a huge help.

 

[steveg]

I thought that was one of Malkin's best games of the season, bar none. I realize he was only tangibly rewarded with a secondary assist on Iginla's powerplay laser... but he was excellent all game (and great in the dot). Hopefully that bodes well for the post season.

I fully agree with this statement. He looked great, made good decisions with the puck all night, and was flying. Faceoffs were unusually good, too...

I don't understand the smattering of people who think he and Iggy don't look good playing together. They were finding each other all game -- powerplay and even strength. Don't worry, guys... Crosby will get to play with Iginla, too. It'll be alright.

I agree with you in that he did look for, and find, Iggy on many occasions...there was some chemistry there. That said, I STILL hate the idea of Iggy and Neal with Malkin. Iggy needs to be the "Neal" on Sid's line...

I fully expect Dupuis/Sid/Iggy and Kunitz/Malkin/Neal to start the playoffs. Get it right Dan.

I have no faith that this happens -- as much as it should.

 

[steveg]

agreed.

Q: what's better than a physical 4th line?

A: A second 3rd line.

Ding Ding Ding Ding...we have a winner!

 

[steveg]

I think the Pens have two third lines.

Cooke-Sutter-Adams . . . your checking third line.

Morrow-Jokinen-Bennett . . . your third line that can play against anyone and score.

KIRK -- I don't mean to keep saying how much I agree with you on your lines, but you keep posting them...and every time you do, they so clearly IMO are the best combination of bottom two lines, given our personnel, that I feel compelled to voice my strong agreement (even though it means absolutely nothing in terms of what DB will actually construct).

I think it is abundantly clear, that all things considered, THESE are our top 12 forwards, in terms of a playoff lineup:

Dupuis
Crosby
Iginla
Kunitz
Malkin
Neal
Morrow
Jokinen
Bennett
Cooke
Sutter
Adams

with Vitale, Glass, Jeffrey, and Kennedy as backups/healthy scratches...

There are various combinations...Jokinen could be on Geno's LW, Morrow could be on Geno's LW, Bennett could be on Geno's LW...Dupuis OR Kunitz could be on Sid's LW, Dupuis could play wing OR center on a third line...

But if these are DB's top 12, and if Iggy and Neal are BOTH at RW, then I agree with several others that beyond this you really cannot screw things up...

 

[hiptanaka]

Scratches in order of who would step in:
Adams, Jeffrey, Kennedy, Glass

Bylsma would scratch himself before he'd ever scratch Adams.