Post-Game Talk: Sens 4, Pens 1 - It's Only January

[Shwag33]

+Sids reaction to the sulli situation. Most I've seen him just smile continuously.

 

[The Old Master]

Why bother to look good away when none of your fans are there and they don't need the points. They know who they can be and they put on a show for their home fans. They just want in the playoffs healthy.

They've seen too many runs end due to health. Hockeys a rough sport, why dig in when games get tough if they don't matter

when you slow up is when you get hurt in hockey

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Don't ask me about people, I don't understand them.

I can give you an answer specific to me, and that's that I don't always assume Crosby has been pushing for new linemates. I assume so this time only because it fits a pattern.

And what pattern is that? Sid's played with Hornqvist the majority of the time since Horny was acquired from Nashville. That's going on about 2 and a half years now (including the entire Stanley Cup run).

So either Sid is the most patient person alive and it took him almost three full seasons to finally push for a change, or there is no "pattern" and Sullivan simply chose to break the pairing up for whatever reason only he knows.

 

[Shrimper]

Sid has looked poor these last two games,hope he rebounds with some goals against the Wings

 

[Pancakes]

Sid has looked poor these last two games,hope he rebounds with some goals against the Wings

Yeah I haven't liked his game at all. He's not skating. When he plays poorly that's why.

 

[djt153]

Sid has looked poor these last two games,hope he rebounds with some goals against the Wings

he looked downright sluggish with that open net

 

[Le Magnifique 66]

Sid is frustrated, you can see that in his game.

Even that 2 on 1 shorthanded in the 3rd, he didn't even think twice what he was going to do and he simply just blasted the puck on net.

He will get over it I'm sure

 

[Jaded-Fan]

when you slow up is when you get hurt in hockey

There is a difference between slowing up and not diving to block every shot like they did in the playoffs and have done over the years.

That is the difference that I see. It does not explain the breakdowns and poor execution, but it may be why they have been a LOT more healthy this year than in years past.

 

[MrBrightside]

Anyone think you guys are overreacting to a couple of bad games? When you have a veteran team coming off a Cup that's absolutely going to make the playoffs, can you really expect them to play balls out for 82 games? If they're still playing like this in March, I think there's some reason for concern, but this is akin to panicking over the Cubs getting swept in a series in July with an 8-game lead.

 

[Fordy]

Anyone think you guys are overreacting to a couple of bad games? When you have a veteran team coming off a Cup that's absolutely going to make the playoffs, can you really expect them to play balls out for 82 games? If they're still playing like this in March, I think there's some reason for concern, but this is akin to panicking over the Cubs getting swept in a series in July with an 8-game lead.

i fail to see how this is overreacting, most of us say this stuff when they're winning. you don't get anywhere in the nhl by standing pat. at times it's more surprising to me that they play well and don't look frustrated with the way the roster is constructed and used

 

[MrBrightside]

i fail to see how this is overreacting, most of us say this stuff when they're winning. you don't get anywhere in the nhl by standing pat

Not suggesting they can't improve. But my God, reading these threads you'd think they were Colorado or the Islanders.

 

[NewAgeOutlaw]

Not suggesting they can't improve. But my God, reading these threads you'd think they were Colorado or the Islanders.

Understandably, it is only natural to hold a higher standard than Avalanche and Islanders fans.

This team has issues worth discussing, certain players and their record on the road are 2 things that instantly come to mind.

 

[MrBrightside]

Understandably, it is only natural to hold a higher standard than Avalanche and Islanders fans.

This team has issues worth discussing, certain players and their record on the road are 2 things that instantly come to mind.

Sure. But they are 4th overall in the NHL standings and frankly, for whatever reason, this team has never been a GREAT regular season team even back when they had 4 or 5 HOF in the Top 6 forward.

I don't know. Maybe it's just me, but I just have a hard time getting too worked up over whether they win a game in Ottawa in January or who is on a line with whom at this stage of the season. This isn't to say that I would be opposed to adding another defenseman or resolving the MAF situation or even making a splash deal for a Landeskog, but the amount of angst over who's playing on Malkin's wing on January 11 in Ottawa is kind of strange to me.

 

[Shady Machine]

Sure. But they are 4th overall in the NHL standings and frankly, for whatever reason, this team has never been a GREAT regular season team even back when they had 4 or 5 HOF in the Top 6 forward.

I don't know. Maybe it's just me, but I just have a hard time getting too worked up over whether they win a game in Ottawa in January or who is on a line with whom at this stage of the season. This isn't to say that I would be opposed to adding another defenseman or resolving the MAF situation or even making a splash deal for a Landeskog, but the amount of angst over who's playing on Malkin's wing on January 11 in Ottawa is kind of strange to me.

I think right now people are getting a tad too worked up on how a few bad games might translate to our playoff chances.

That said, you need to constantly improve to stay on top in this league. That doesn't always mean roster upgrades, but sometimes it does.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Sure. But they are 4th overall in the NHL standings and frankly, for whatever reason, this team has never been a GREAT regular season team even back when they had 4 or 5 HOF in the Top 6 forward.

I don't know. Maybe it's just me, but I just have a hard time getting too worked up over whether they win a game in Ottawa in January or who is on a line with whom at this stage of the season. This isn't to say that I would be opposed to adding another defenseman or resolving the MAF situation or even making a splash deal for a Landeskog, but the amount of angst over who's playing on Malkin's wing on January 11 in Ottawa is kind of strange to me.

You complain when the discussion in a post-game thread is about Kunitz, you complain when the discussion in a post-game thread is about how poorly the Pens played. So what, exactly, would you like to have discussed in these threads?

The entire point of these threads is to hash out what we thought about the game just played, and how it relates to how they've played recently. In this case, they followed a weak performance by an even weaker performance, so of course there's going to be a more negativity than if they'd just won 10-0 back to back.

 

[Fordy]

Sure. But they are 4th overall in the NHL standings and frankly, for whatever reason, this team has never been a GREAT regular season team even back when they had 4 or 5 HOF in the Top 6 forward.

I don't know. Maybe it's just me, but I just have a hard time getting too worked up over whether they win a game in Ottawa in January or who is on a line with whom at this stage of the season. This isn't to say that I would be opposed to adding another defenseman or resolving the MAF situation or even making a splash deal for a Landeskog, but the amount of angst over who's playing on Malkin's wing on January 11 in Ottawa is kind of strange to me.

again, this isn't complaining about one specific game. i don't know how this discussion keeps going in circles like this, but no one posting here is so short sighted to be specifically upset about one single game, or to think that one game really even matters. these are observations that are made than then manifest in the games and in the losses

 

[MrBrightside]

As I said, maybe it's just me.

 

[Shady Machine]

As I said, maybe it's just me.

I don't think it's just you. This place tends to be a little more reactionary than a GM or coach would be. That's because we are fans and many of us, life long fans. We wear our emotions on our sleeves.

I have my concerns about this team's chances, but all things considered, I like the roster and the future probably even more with Guentzel, Sundqvist, and Sprong in the pipeline.

In my view, the team certainly has time to turn this little slide around and round into form for the playoffs, but it may take a few roster tweaks.

 

[EliteGoaltending]

Sure. But they are 4th overall in the NHL standings and frankly, for whatever reason, this team has never been a GREAT regular season team even back when they had 4 or 5 HOF in the Top 6 forward.

I don't know. Maybe it's just me, but I just have a hard time getting too worked up over whether they win a game in Ottawa in January or who is on a line with whom at this stage of the season. This isn't to say that I would be opposed to adding another defenseman or resolving the MAF situation or even making a splash deal for a Landeskog, but the amount of angst over who's playing on Malkin's wing on January 11 in Ottawa is kind of strange to me.

As well as on Crosby's wing and on a line with Kessel. A lot of the players are not in position to succeed with these line combinations.

They scored three goals in two games, 2 were on the PP and 1 from an extended shift change. So none of this top 9 lines could score in two games on the road against a good opponent and a team that played very well, i.e. Ottawa. That's not home games against weak opponents, so problems with line combinations are more evident.
And there's simple solution that worked perfectly fine before, but Sullivan refusing go back to it so far.

 

[MrBrightside]

As well as on Crosby's wing and on a line with Kessel. A lot of the players are not in position to succeed with these line combinations.

They scored three goals in two games, 2 were on the PP and 1 from an extended shift change. So none of this top 9 lines could score in two games on the road against a good opponent and a team that played very well, i.e. Ottawa. That's not home games against weak opponents, so problems with line combinations are more evident.
And there's simple solution that worked perfectly fine before, but Sullivan refusing go back to it so far.

Right, but they still lead the NHL in scoring on a per game basis. Even the '85 Oilers had stretches where they scored 3 goals in 2 games.

This isn't to say the line combinations are ideal. I tend to think that Sullivan is experimenting a bit to see what works and to try different things. Maybe not, but my impression is that we are in the midst of an 82-game exhibition season to get the team into the best position to succeed in April, and winning individual games right now is secondary.

Or maybe I'm naive.

 

[Pancakes]

Right, but they still lead the NHL in scoring on a per game basis. Even the '85 Oilers had stretches where they scored 3 goals in 2 games.

This isn't to say the line combinations are ideal. I tend to think that Sullivan is experimenting a bit to see what works and to try different things. Maybe not, but my impression is that we are in the midst of an 82-game exhibition season to get the team into the best position to succeed in April, and winning individual games right now is secondary.

Or maybe I'm naive.

I don't think any coach in the NHL is ever doing anything less than trying to win every single game they coach (well, outside of when it's tank time). If Sully is trying a line combination it's because he thinks/hopes it can be immediately impactful.

 

[Saved]

Hey guys. I have game center and can usually go back and watch the game afterwards, but... I live in Ottawa and I'm blacked out from a game I was actually at!

In the first period, probably midway through the first, there was a huge hit in the Senators end, on the left wing / side where the penalty boxes are. Anyone happen to have a .gif of that? I gotta see it again.

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

So did Sully receive any supplemental discipline??

 

[Doogle]

I think the reason for the constant negativity on this board also has to do with the incredibly high expectations all of us have for this era of the Pens. I think that when we drafted Sid, and then Geno, and had a number one overall pick in net, and then a rising superstar two way d in Letang....we all started to get that Lebron to Miami mentality of 'not one or two or three' championships expectation. We got the one, it was great. Then we had a huge lull afterwards for several seasons, and most of us see those as wasted opportunities. Now Sully wins a Cup his first year, great. But now we're starting to see problems, and the problems are pretty glaringly obvious, but neither Sullivan nor Rutherford seem to be addressing them, for the sake of keeping the family together. Which was our constant complaint during the Bylsma/Shero era. And if that's going to be the case, then the 2016 might be the last time in a long while that the Pittsburgh Penguins win the Stanley Cup. We don't want that. We want to be Chicago.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

Back to back ****shows. The second one worse than the first.

The line combinations are a trainwreck. Malkin with two guys with zero hands/creativity. Kessel being wasted next to Nick Where'dMyHandsGo. Crosby looking like he barely has a pulse, much of the game. Switch things up, for heaven's sake. Stop looking backwards.

This team is still in a great spot but they haven't really looked very convincing all season, IMO. Their decision to completely sit on their hands this past offseason is starting to loom larger and larger.