Pre-Game Talk: Still Pre-Season ...

[KIRK]

Send Reaves after him.

Eyes on your own paper.

 

[Shady Machine]

My hope is that Reaves is the Matt Martin of the 4th line. Forecheck and create turnovers that the other 4 guys on the ice can exploit.

If you mean slower and worse at hockey than Martin, then sure, Reaves is Matt Martin.

 

[Shady Machine]

If you mean slower and worse at hockey than Martin, then sure, Reaves can be our Matt Martin.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

If you mean slower and worse at hockey than Martin, then sure, Reaves is Matt Martin.

Reaves isn't a slower skater than Martin. I question how much you've watched either if you think Reaves is slower.

And fun fact:
2016-17:
Reaves - 7 g, 6 a
Martin - 5 g, 4 a

 

[Jacob]

If you mean slower and worse at hockey than Martin, then sure, Reaves is Matt Martin.

I mean in terms of role on the team and on his line and relative production.

 

[The Old Master]

In a vacuum, sure, but Vegas has no incentive to trade Haula to us. They need good young players and Haula fits that mold. There are also plenty of teams looking for centers. I just don't see McPhee moving Haula for anything other than an overpayment.

so is willson who is a winger with upside and the pick...and I think it is an over pay.

 

[DegenX]

Half-ass GDT is up. I'm locking this one for now and will re-open post game.

 

[Pancakes]

I haven't paid a ton of attention but it seems like Crosby and Guentzel have looked pretty good together. Apart from that I haven't noticed anything standing out other than our bottom six being kinda shitty. I fear we may be back to the Shero years where our top six domiantes but our bottom six is mostly just out there to eat minutes and hopefully not get embarrassed. So much for depth.

 

[Empoleon877130]

It's not just the bottom-6 is ****y, it's every line minus Crosby and Guentzel. And no, I'm not even including Sheary there, it's just Crosby and Guentzel doing work. If the Penguins would set up their forward lines right, their depth would be fine. Your 3rd line wingers should be Sheary and Rust, your 2nd line wingers should be Hagelin and Kessel and your 1st line wingers should be Guentzel and Hornqvist (Wilson until Hornqvist gets back). And no, I'm not saying Wilson on the 1st line because he deserves it, I just want someone on that line that won't get in the way of Crosby and Guentzel.

 

[Shady Machine]

The bottom 6 blows so far.

 

[Al Smith]

Unless someone in WBS makes big strides, I wouldn't discount the possibility of Guentzel ending up at 3C by midseason, even though the team has downplayed the possibility. McKegg isn't going to cut it. Rowney is 4C material, and Sheahan and that ilk aren't much of an upgrade over McKegg/Rowney.

 

[Empoleon877130]

The bottom 6 blows so far.

That's what's going to happen when your bottom-6 has 2 should be extra forwards, 2 4th liners, Hagelin and Rust.

Unless someone in WBS makes big strides, I wouldn't discount the possibility of Guentzel ending up at 3C by midseason, even though the team has downplayed the possibility. McKegg isn't going to cut it. Rowney is 4C material, and Sheahan and that ilk aren't much of an upgrade over McKegg/Rowney.

Sheahan is a big upgrade over Rowney and McKegg, and that's not because Sheahan is particularly great. Put Sheahan with Sheary and Rust and I think your 3rd line is fine. McKegg with those two and you still need a 3C.

 

[WayneSid9987]

At the dot today(all situations):

Geno 50%
McKegg 40
McClement 50
Sid 55.56

 

[Ugene Magic]

Unless someone in WBS makes big strides, I wouldn't discount the possibility of Guentzel ending up at 3C by midseason, even though the team has downplayed the possibility. McKegg isn't going to cut it. Rowney is 4C material, and Sheahan and that ilk aren't much of an upgrade over McKegg/Rowney.

I still think Adam Johnson deserves the job. I'm guessing they are just getting extra looks at what they have while being roster compliant. He had the right mix of offense/defense to carry the job.

 

[Speaking Moistly]

The bottom 6 Cs weren't what killed them today. The bottom 6 didn't help but it wasn't the major and f***ing expensive problems.

No he wasn't he was taken off of the PK entirely hence the he can't kill penalties comment. Well I saw him try before today and wasn't impressed.

Yeah, and I know someone will eventually chime in that any player can learn to PK so Reaves just needs time. Then Sheary can learn to PK? I wouldn't hold my breath on that.

Horny will help win some pucks in the offensive zone, but I was talking more about how the Pens move the puck through the neutral zone on the PP. Phil, Sid, and Schultz/Letang leave A LOT to be desired. For all that talent, there are just so few clean zone entries.

No, I got that. It's that I think so many passers and skill players hurts them everywhere on the PP. The tendency to over pass, make overly ambitious passes, the attempts to skate through 3 opposing players and what I'll describe as "ehhhh, he can handle it". I also think the PP will never be as good as we think it could be and it's somewhat of a lost cause.

 

[Shady Machine]

That's what's going to happen when your bottom-6 has 2 should be extra forwards, 2 4th liners, Hagelin and Rust.

We are missing Hornqvist and that's it. Adding Horny will be an upgrade but removing Kuhn and keeping Reaves in will still result in a brutal 4th line if Rowney or Mcclement is the center.

 

[SHOOTANDSCORE]

Phil was complete ass. If he and Geno keep trying to force passes to each other, they aren't going to be together for long.

 

[Empoleon877130]

We are missing Hornqvist and that's it. Adding Horny will be an upgrade but removing Kuhn and keeping Reaves in will still result in a brutal 4th line if Rowney or Mcclement is the center.

McClement isn't even under contract, so I don't know why you're complaining about him. If your 3rd line wingers are Sheary and Rust, your 3rd line isn't an issue. If all the Penguins have is a bad 4th line, I'd consider that fine for now and something they can look into upgrading as the season goes along.

How well the Penguins can manage not having a 3C is dependent on how well the top-6 plays. Today, Malkin's line was a straight up abortion.

 

[FreeBobbyFarnham]

Maybe JR is waiting to see if any decent C ends up on waivers. Could be used as a stopgap until the trade deadline.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

The bottom 6 looked about as bad on the ice as it did on paper. Between that and Malkin, Kessel, and Letang - the guys we need to play to their standard until we sort out the 3c situation - managing the puck poorly all game long, it's clear we have some work to do.

 

[Andy99]

The bottom 6 looked about as bad on the ice as it did on paper. Between that and Malkin, Kessel, and Letang - the guys we need to play to their standard until we sort out the 3c situation - managing the puck poorly all game long, it's clear we have some work to do.

I mean this is why you need some offensive skill on the bottom two lines. On days that G and Phil are ass and there's a top D pair on Sid and Jake. It's going to happen and it'd be nice if we could get a 3C who's a playmaker or can score. Notice I'm eliminating Sheahan from contention

 

[HandshakeLine]

Man, I am so pissed we lost the pre-season title to Columbus again.

 

[Daeni10]

Unless someone in WBS makes big strides, I wouldn't discount the possibility of Guentzel ending up at 3C by midseason, even though the team has downplayed the possibility. McKegg isn't going to cut it. Rowney is 4C material, and Sheahan and that ilk aren't much of an upgrade over McKegg/Rowney.

But I dont wanna see them break up Sid and Guentzel. Those 2 are awesome together and as we all know its hard to find a good winger for Sid, so I definetly think we should keep him there

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Man, I am so pissed we lost the pre-season title to Columbus again.

Dude, it's already September 30th. Do you honestly believe Sullivan can whip this group into shape over the next six months? What you see is what you get.

 

[Jacob]

I'm not crazy about McKegg as a regular. I think Rowney is better, even if only slightly. I think if you simulated two separate seasons where they each played 82 games as the 4C and everything else was identical, Rowney would produce a lot more, like 50-75% more points.

But I'm okay with McKegg as like a 13th or 14th forward, maybe slot him in for Rowney if he's not playing well or if it makes more sense from a matchup standpoint. McKegg is definitely the superior skater of the two.

But I think the reason Rowney wasn't in the lineup today was because his spot is locked in, and McKegg and McClement were essentially competing for the remaining spot.