Pre-Game Talk: The All Purpose Off Day Thread - Panic Time!

[Shady Machine]

Sprong is so overhyped it's ridiculous. He had all the chance in the world during pre season to show that he was going to be a mainstay in the team. And he was poor and did nothing noteworthy.
THAT is not the way to impress.
But somehow it's everyone elses fault he isn't scoring for fun....

Lol what?

 

[The Old Master]

Hm. the fix should look like this.

Guentzel, Crosby, Hornqvist: We all know this works
Brassard, Malkin, Sprong: This gives Brassard his minutes and Sprong his chance
Hagelin, Sheahan, Kessel: Best 3rd line in hockey
Simon, Cullen, Rust: This sparks Cullen with infusion of Rust and a lot of high skill from the 3

I think that would work....not sure with sid and horny.....it does work though...and by the way happy birthday!

 

[Jesse]

4 months they will be without Schultz. I think it will prove they will need to sacrifice a forward for defense. Then when it comes time for Schultz to reenter the lineup the team will truly be stacked from top to bottom. Team defense will drain this team if they have to play a 200ft game 82 games due to defensive holes/weaknesses, mainly speed and lack of being able to skate out of high danger situations. relying on stretch passes more will cost them.

Maatta, Oleksiak, Johnson and Ruhwedel. We know what these 4 can/can't do. There's not a complete player to be found there and that is terrifying.

Healthy Letang, Dumoulin, Schultz and Riikola is one helluva start and a solid top 4, but how can you hide the other 4?

Team defense is being tested to the max.

I can't figure out what it is about Riikola that make people ignore the fact that the Penguins are downright hemorrhaging shots and chances against with him on the ice.

I don't know how, at this juncture, we can put Oleksiak behind Riikola. Riikola hasn't even played 5 NHL games and he's gotten shelled in every regular season performance.

Is it just because he's the newest, shiniest toy? Can someone help me grasp this?

 

[Peat]

I can't figure out what it is about Riikola that make people ignore the fact that the Penguins are downright hemorrhaging shots and chances against with him on the ice.

I don't know how, at this juncture, we can put Oleksiak behind Riikola. Riikola hasn't even played 5 NHL games and he's gotten shelled in every regular season performance.

Is it just because he's the newest, shiniest toy? Can someone help me grasp this?

Because he displays an all round level of skill that none of the dmen have. That and nobody's looked at his stats which, uh, yeah...

 

[Shady Machine]

He looks successful on the ice and possesses skills we need more of on defense. I haven't looked at the stats and I suspect many others haven't either.

 

[Jesse]

He looks successful on the ice and possesses skills we need more of on defense. I haven't looked at the stats and I suspect many others haven't either.

It was a genuine question. Not trolling in the slightest. I like what I've seen out of Riikola at times so far, especially given that this is his first foray into North American ice. But I see a lot of people inserting him into the top four and when the sample size of his game is so insignificant that I'm kind of baffled as to how we got to this point.

 

[Tasty Biscuits]

He definitely hasn't looked as great as he did in the preseason. But when compared to most other defenders, I can't recall as many glaring mistakes made by him thus far. Same goes for the shots given up when on the ice -- I still feel like he's been responsible for less high-danger chances than many other d-men, general shot volume notwithstanding.

 

[Shady Machine]

It was a genuine question. Not trolling in the slightest. I like what I've seen out of Riikola at times so far, especially given that this is his first foray into North American ice. But I see a lot of people inserting him into the top four and when the sample size of his game is so insignificant that I'm kind of baffled as to how we got to this point.

I know you weren't trolling. Collectively, this board tends to get excited about the young new guy that flashes skills. So there is definitely a level of that combined with a few other players looking, apart from stats, looking like tire fires at times.

 

[EightyOne]

I can't figure out what it is about Riikola that make people ignore the fact that the Penguins are downright hemorrhaging shots and chances against with him on the ice.

I don't know how, at this juncture, we can put Oleksiak behind Riikola. Riikola hasn't even played 5 NHL games and he's gotten shelled in every regular season performance.

Is it just because he's the newest, shiniest toy? Can someone help me grasp this?

Breh, he like hit a dude four times so far.

Also. You DO know who the alternate options are, right?

 

[Jaded-Fan]

I know you weren't trolling. Collectively, this board tends to get excited about the young new guy that flashes skills. So there is definitely a level of that combined with a few other players looking, apart from stats, looking like tire fires at times.

I will nickname him 'Backup Quarterback'.

 

[Gurglesons]

It was a genuine question. Not trolling in the slightest. I like what I've seen out of Riikola at times so far, especially given that this is his first foray into North American ice. But I see a lot of people inserting him into the top four and when the sample size of his game is so insignificant that I'm kind of baffled as to how we got to this point.

Same reason people are assuming Sprong will excel as soon as he’s put in a top six situation.

Shiny new toyism. That being said every RW outside of Kessel has been pretty terrible this year anyway, so it’s at least worth the try.

 

[Ugene Magic]

I can't figure out what it is about Riikola that make people ignore the fact that the Penguins are downright hemorrhaging shots and chances against with him on the ice.

I don't know how, at this juncture, we can put Oleksiak behind Riikola. Riikola hasn't even played 5 NHL games and he's gotten shelled in every regular season performance.

Is it just because he's the newest, shiniest toy? Can someone help me grasp this?

Well.... Partly because he is a nice new toy, but as Peat mentioned, he does show traits we like to see out of a defender. He also deserves time being the new toy. We can't help there are a lot of guys committing their fair share, including him. He's trying to earn a permanent spot, trying to impress. He is handling it well enough. He's not hurting them just yet. He's getting shelled because he is the new toy. Teams are going at him and him likewise.

He also has only been in 3 NHL regular season games.He's been good and bad, a breath of fresh air we hope will carve out a NHL career here.

Question is: With his toolbag, how can anyone put him behind Oleksiak?

Does Oleksiak have the potential to be a top 2 pairing D-man?

Maybe, with the right partner ala, Cole/Schultz.

I hope it clears the air a little, Jesse.

I'm not washing away the rest I saw because he's having a little trouble to start. There's plenty of that going around, and teams are taking advantage of it all. Teams are catching up, and the Pens could use more Riikola's if they end up being close to potential.

 

[Pancakes]

I can't figure out what it is about Riikola that make people ignore the fact that the Penguins are downright hemorrhaging shots and chances against with him on the ice.

I don't know how, at this juncture, we can put Oleksiak behind Riikola. Riikola hasn't even played 5 NHL games and he's gotten shelled in every regular season performance.

Is it just because he's the newest, shiniest toy? Can someone help me grasp this?

Not sure what his possession stats looked like in preseason but he looked genuinely good there and that is the source of most the hype around him.

He did play well in his first NHL game this year as well but has since gotten shelled in possession like you said.

Then there's also the fact that the Pens defense as a whole has gotten killed in possession this year (outside of Letang who is performing so well that he's easily our MVP so far). So people I think are probably more forgiving of that with Riikola since well it's not like he looks any worse than anyone else.

 

[Pancakes]

Same reason people are assuming Sprong will excel as soon as he’s put in a top six situation.

Shiny new toyism. That being said every RW outside of Kessel has been pretty terrible this year anyway, so it’s at least worth the try.

I think Sprong needs to be given a look with offensive minded players. He's a goalscorer. He's not going to look good playing with plugs. He's not going to be a forechecking presence or a two-way presence.

His best asset is his shot and he's not going to get chances to use it playing with Cullen.

 

[Ugene Magic]

Not sure what his possession stats looked like in preseason but he looked genuinely good there and that is the source of most the hype around him.

He did play well in his first NHL game this year as well but has since gotten shelled in possession like you said.

Then there's also the fact that the Pens defense as a whole has gotten killed in possession this year (outside of Letang who is performing so well that he's easily our MVP so far). So people I think are probably more forgiving of that with Riikola since well it's not like he looks any worse than anyone else.

This is only going to get exacerbated by Schultz being down and who partner's who. I mean, they paired two question marks together who both basically do the same thing, just that one can actually skate. It's risk taking on all fronts. Ideally, you want to shelter him on the bottom pairing but then you have an even more messy situation with a Maatta, Johnson pairing.

Where are the legs?

The Pens identity on defense has totally disappeared. It's just a bunch of guys thrown together without thought of their key element they implemented two/three years ago.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Riikola has really struggled in the last 2 games, but his struggles are just masked by others struggling more. I also don't think you can judge him based solely on his advanced stats, he (and the entire team) have been getting hammered with DZone starts. It's hard to have good possession stats when your team is trash for 75% of the time.

 

[vikingGoalie]

I dunno what the fancy stats say about Maatta so far, but my gawd watching him try to pivot and get up to speed to catch an attacker is painful to watch. The kid has zero explosiveness in those legs. I know it's harder to gain that as you age, but can't something be done to improve your skating at 24? Is there any other defenseman in the league that is 20-25 that skates this slow?

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

It was a genuine question. Not trolling in the slightest. I like what I've seen out of Riikola at times so far, especially given that this is his first foray into North American ice. But I see a lot of people inserting him into the top four and when the sample size of his game is so insignificant that I'm kind of baffled as to how we got to this point.

I think it's also more of an indictment of just how bad the other defensemen other than Dumo/Letang have been that we'd rather see a guy like Riikola who showed glimpses of being a very steady, puck moving top four defenseman.

 

[cygnus47]

I'd like to see

Guentzel - Crosby - Horny
Hagelin - Malkin - Kessel
Simon - Brassard - Sprong
Cullen - Sheahan - Rust

as the primary lines.

Mix Sheahan, Rust, Brassard, Sprong into the top 6 and spell out Hagelin during the game to get their minutes more even.

 

[Peat]

Revisiting the Riikola thing - I don't think any of our dmen got into more trouble with the puck at their sticks this game than Riikola and that's kinda borne out with 2 giveaways.

I honestly can't recall Riikola looking that obviously culpable for the shot clock in previous games. But I do think he's overestimating how much time he's got (and how bad the other players is) and that's putting him in trouble. I can see why that might be leading to a lot of shots against.

I'm still high on him. I like his tools. Maybe its time to rein back our expectations a little but he still looks like he belongs and will do good things.

 

[EightyOne]

Revisiting the Riikola thing - I don't think any of our dmen got into more trouble with the puck at their sticks this game than Riikola and that's kinda borne out with 2 giveaways.

I honestly can't recall Riikola looking that obviously culpable for the shot clock in previous games. But I do think he's overestimating how much time he's got (and how bad the other players is) and that's putting him in trouble. I can see why that might be leading to a lot of shots against.

I'm still high on him. I like his tools. Maybe its time to rein back our expectations a little but he still looks like he belongs and will do good things.

Likely just rookie stuff. He seemed to own the preseason and looked really good in game one. Maybe thought 'hey, this is easy!'

Confidence can sometimes become overconfidence and lead to sloppiness. All speculation of course, dunno what he thinks.

Still think he is a good addition to the backend.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Revisiting the Riikola thing - I don't think any of our dmen got into more trouble with the puck at their sticks this game than Riikola and that's kinda borne out with 2 giveaways.

I honestly can't recall Riikola looking that obviously culpable for the shot clock in previous games. But I do think he's overestimating how much time he's got (and how bad the other players is) and that's putting him in trouble. I can see why that might be leading to a lot of shots against.

I'm still high on him. I like his tools. Maybe its time to rein back our expectations a little but he still looks like he belongs and will do good things.

I think this is where the learning to adjust thing kicks in. He's obviously got the tools, but now he's got to learn to make those plays just a bit quicker. I have confidence that he'll sort out of the quicker speed of the NHL game by mid-season, as long as the coaching staff keep giving him opportunities.

 

[Captain Hook]

Yeah, I still have high hopes for Riikola but there's obviously an adjustment period that he's going through right now. There's clearly a bigger difference between pre-season and regular season games than a lot of people would think. We've seen a number of guys in the Crosby/Malkin era that were great in preseason and then did nothing when the real games started.

 

[USMC607]

I dont think anyone thought much at first.

But then I think we all heightened our expectations after a good preseason.

Now that the season has started and things are tightening up, hes came back down to earth.

But he still shows potential, his skating is phenomenal, he has a good shot, etc.
He definitely earned the right to stay in the lineup.

 

[Tender Rip]

.... and Jesse came down from the mountain asking loaded questions, and there was much checking of advanced stats, afterthought and re-calibration of opinions .

I must admit I was surprised when checking the numbers (corsica), but he basically has been passing the eye-test for me, more so against Vegas and in Montreal than against Vancouver and Toronto, but I generally have seen him as the better performing/more effective player on his pairing.

Worth tracking though, for sure. Btw. where do you guys check the stats for individual games these days?