ColePens
RIP Fugu Buffaloed & parabola
Oh...I may be in the vast vast vast minority but I am very happy with Horny's minutes being held up. That man plays like a damn warrior. If we can preserve him even the slightest, i'm happy.
Pre-Game Talk: The All Purpose Off Day Thread - Panic Time!
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Oh...I may be in the vast vast vast minority but I am very happy with Horny's minutes being held up. That man plays like a damn warrior. If we can preserve him even the slightest, i'm happy.
Zirakzigil
Global Moderator
Geno and his faceoffs. Eventually he will come back down to Earth, which means hes going to have some horrible faceoff stats in the near future.What is the stat that stands out to you this year so far?
- Geno 58.23% faceoff
- Sid 0 goals
- Kessel/Letang both have 4g/4a for 8 pts. Letang has 25 shots to Kessel's 14.....
- Horny/Brassard have 1 point.
- Maatta 0g/0a -2 and 3 total shots. in 5 games. Yeesh
- Daniel Sprong, the shooter, 3 total shots
Gurglesons
Registered User
ColePens
RIP Fugu Buffaloed & parabola
Ahh i see. It's only 6 games but if Letang is my MVP, Rust is my biggest disappointment. He looked so good in preseason and is just a ghost out there. Not only a ghost, he turns the puck over. 1 assist and -3. Just brutal start to his new contract.
Mr Jiggyfly
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- Jan 29, 2004
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Well It’s been out of the bag for awhile Crosby doesn’t like playing with Hörnqvist or Kessel... and maybe like Cole said he may not want to play with Sprong.
So that’s why we are seeing some real goofy lines I guess.
Mackey was on the radio today and he said he’s totally confused why Sprong is being treated the way he is. Hinted at what I’ve already said... basically put it that Sprong may just always be in Sullivan’s doghouse no matter what he does.
EightyOne
My posts are jokes. And hockey is just a game.
- Nov 23, 2016
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What is the stat that stands out to you this year so far?
- Geno 58.23% faceoff
- Sid 0 goals
- Kessel/Letang both have 4g/4a for 8 pts. Letang has 25 shots to Kessel's 14.....
- Horny/Brassard have 1 point.
- Maatta 0g/0a -2 and 3 total shots. in 5 games. Yeesh
- Daniel Sprong, the shooter, 3 total shots
I find the correlation of wrestling .gifs to W/L the most surprising.
Game 1: 2 wrestling .gifs in first 5 pages=Win
Game 2: 0 wrestling .gifs in first 5 pages=Loss
Game 3: 0 wrestling .gifs in first 5 pages=Win (used power of Tom Hanks, though)
Game 4: 0 wrestling. gifs in first 5 pages=Loss
Game 5: 8 wrestling .gifs in first 5 pages=Loss
Game 6: 1 wrestling .gif in first 5 pages=Win
Basically, we need to keep the wrestling .gifs between 1 and 7 in the first 5 pages OR use the power of Tom Hanks to get wins.
Ugene Magic
EVIL LAUGH
What is the stat that stands out to you this year so far?
- Geno 58.23% faceoff
- Sid 0 goals
- Kessel/Letang both have 4g/4a for 8 pts. Letang has 25 shots to Kessel's 14.....
- Horny/Brassard have 1 point.
- Maatta 0g/0a -2 and 3 total shots. in 5 games. Yeesh
- Daniel Sprong, the shooter, 3 total shots
Geno at 58.23 faceoffs
The rest kind of is not unheard of.
Mr Jiggyfly
Registered User
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If you can wear skinny jeans I can make this an official stat.
So.... the stat that shows Sprong has as many points as four very good veteran players combined and it’s even more confounding when Sprong is only let out of Sullivan’s doghouse for a few shifts a period.
BlindWillyMcHurt
ti kallisti
- May 31, 2004
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The most surprising thing to me is that they've collected at least a point in all game but one while playing like they each drank an entire vat of sausage gravy directly before the puck dropped.
But of the choices given... Crosby, for sure.
But of the choices given... Crosby, for sure.
AuroraBorealis
Back-to-back hater
What is the stat that stands out to you this year so far?
- Geno 58.23% faceoff
- Sid 0 goals
- Kessel/Letang both have 4g/4a for 8 pts. Letang has 25 shots to Kessel's 14.....
- Horny/Brassard have 1 point.
- Maatta 0g/0a -2 and 3 total shots. in 5 games. Yeesh
- Daniel Sprong, the shooter, 3 total shots
Really expected more from Brassard. We gave up a lot to get him and...meh...
Sidney the Kidney
One last time
- Jun 29, 2009
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Yeah, Brassard's production has been disappointing so far. 1 point in 6 games, getting some shifts next to Sid and Jake as well, isn't close to enough.
Sid's goal totals are disappointing, but he's still got 5 assists in 6 games. I'm not that worried about him producing since he always seems to pick it up eventually.
And maybe my expectations for Maatta have just fallen so low, but I'm not even disappointed by his lack of production. He's just whatever to me at this point.
Dipsy Doodle
Rent A Barn
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Not to mention, he hadn't been particularly effective at ES before last game but actually looked good on the 4th line.
Dipsy Doodle
Rent A Barn
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At this point, I pretty much expect Rust to be used in every single role except the one he should be.
Dat versatility tho
What i dont understand is that i know Sprong has his issues, but there is so muh to gain from giving him a shot with Crosby. It allows the middle six flexibility of options that might actually work
Empoleon8771
Registered User
Sprong hasn't earned a spot with Crosby so I don't know why people just want to gift him a spot there. Sprong had a legitimately bad preseason, he's going to have to work his way back up to Crosby's line.
Sprong should be on the 3rd line for now, which it seems like that's where he's going to be. Either that or Brassard is now the 4C who gets more minutes as a winger with Crosby.
Mr Jiggyfly
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I dunno, even a couple beat writers are confused as well, and they aren’t really fans, so it’s not just us.
I am quite sure part of it is Sullivan not liking Sprong’s supposedly arrogant personality, but I feel like Sullivan would eventually rise above pettiness like that.
Sprong has definitely been getting shafted minutes, even when he does good things.
I don’t think anyone has earned a spot with Crosby, and like I already pointed out, Sprong has as many points as four good vets combined. So it’s not like he’s done zilch and these guys are killing it.
Why do we have another ridiculously long break between games?
Empoleon8771
Registered User
Sprong is definitely getting shafted in minutes, I think that's the bigger problem. I don't like that he would be getting benched while on the 4th line for Rust, as long as he's consistently playing, I'm fine with it. That hasn't been the case for most of this year, although I think his benching against Toronto was justified.
Sprong has an uphill battle to get to Crosby's line because he's unproven and Sullivan doesn't like him. It also doesn't help that Sprong wasn't good in his quick chance with Crosby at the start of this year.
Mr Jiggyfly
Registered User
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That whole one game? There is a joke in there but I’m too lazy...
I honestly don’t care where Sprong plays, as long as he plays. That’s it.
I suspect he will be scratched soon though. Just a gut feeling.
Tom Hanks
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Will Simon-Brassard-Sprong stay together for the next game? Edmonton’s L2 - L4 haven’t been great so it should be an easier time for them.
Gurglesons
Registered User
I’d run Sprong or Hornqvist on the LW and put Simon - Cullen - Sheahan and Sprong - Brassard - Hornqvist
EightyOne
My posts are jokes. And hockey is just a game.
- Nov 23, 2016
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I heard he's starting in net to give Murray a break next game.
He 100% has not earned it.
But where he is, is stupid.
Putting him up there balances the lines. If he really f***ing sucks for a good handful of games, trade him out of here.
He's not built to be defensive. So if we don't put him on offense, or if he can't hack it, we really don't need him. His trade value drops the more he f***s around on line four. And we can easily plug another useless fourth liner where he is that has not been touted their whole career as an offensive player.
That's why you put him up there. Even IF it hasn't been earned yet.
Empoleon8771
Registered User
That wouldn't surprise me either, and I also wouldn't be surprised to see him traded for a young and physical winger that has some upside. With ZAR looking questionable after his injury, I wouldn't be surprised for the Penguins to try and bring in a better ZAR with using Sprong as a trade chip. Something like Sprong for Virtanen, I don't think Virtanen looked bad when the Penguins played the Canucks last week.
The problem is that he hasn't played well enough to justify a top-6 spot, but doesn't fit well in the bottom-6 (especially on the 4th line). So you either have to trade him and bring in someone who's a better fit in the bottom-6 or play him in the top-6 over better players. I think which one the Penguins would be more likely to do is really obvious.
EightyOne
My posts are jokes. And hockey is just a game.
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Dipsy Doodle
Rent A Barn
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The problem is that there's virtually no way a player could play well enough to earn a top 6 spot with the opportunities Sprong has been given. Kessel wouldn't be able to earn a top 6 spot if he was regularly played 8 minutes a night on the 4th line starting in his own end 70% of the time.
That Sprong is 5th in scoring among our forwards is a feat in itself. At this point it's less about what Sprong's done to earn a spot in the top 9 than what the incumbents haven't done to keep their spots. Hopefully last game with Brass was a sign of things to come rather than a blip on the radar in terms of opportunity.
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