Speculation: The Evolution of Dan Bylsma-Too Little Too Late?

[Rico Fatastic]

OK, then disregard the information regarding Duper's ice time and just focus on Malkin's.

You can't look at total time on ice, because the Pens do not get the same number of power plays every game. Nor do all PP's go for the full time awarded.

When you looks at Geno's ES TOI, the amount of time he played on Wednesday is in line with his average for the season. So, there is every indication that he was not, in fact, being rested, but was in fact being given his usual amount of ES TOI.

But we don't know whether an increase or decrease in power play time for the team would have resulted in a corresponding change in his even strength ice time. You can rest a player at even strength the same as on special teams. And that's the point. There's no way to know, based on a single game, why Malkin got the ice time he did. So let's say we revisit this after a few games have passed so we'll maybe be able to answer the question with some reasonable amount of certainty.

 

[IcedCapp]

That's one explanation. But it doesn't address why Malkin was 4th in ice time (both overall and at even strength) on Wednesday but was 2nd in both categories during the regular season.

Because a 1-game sample is bound to have some anomalies?

 

[Rico Fatastic]

Because a 1-game sample is bound to have some anomalies?

So what you're telling me is...

There's no way to know, based on a single game, why Malkin got the ice time he did.

 

[IcedCapp]

So what you're telling me is...

which is all I meant when I said, "You can't look at this game and say he was being eased in due to injury"

 

[MrBurghundy]

I may have drunk too much tonight and my phones spell check is saving me embarrassment, but does anybody else think Geno would be better to use on the PK than pretty much every other forward? His ice time could stand to be increased as it is, and he thrives off of picking off passes and turning pucks over.

 

[Shockmaster]

I may have drunk too much tonight and my phones spell check is saving me embarrassment, but does anybody else think Geno would be better to use on the PK than pretty much every other forward? His ice time could stand to be increased as it is, and he thrives off of picking off passes and turning pucks over.

I've been saying this for a while, but that would mean less short-handed ice time for Craig Adams, so Bylsma won't do it.

 

[ObsessedCreative*]

Am a huge critic of DB since the Islanders series. However - last night I saw him do a number of things I have been highly criticle of him for not doing in the recent past:

1) Gibbons was not scratched in favor of an ineffective veteran, and was bumped up to the 1st line when it became obvious he was one of our best players last night.

2) DB actually benched Letang for his poor play last night, and then called him out in the media afterwards. It's really the 1st time I can recall him doing so to a core player on the team. He also took Letang off the 1st powerplay unit. Now that is finally some real accountability, as opposed to calling out Juice for one of his 8 minors on the season....

3) when Bennett got bumped down for making the turnover, and then not hustling back defensively on the 1st goal, he did not go directly to the 4th line, but bumped Glass down. This led directly to the game-winner Bennett to Sutter. I can better handle Gladams together on the 4th if it means Sutter gets to actually play with complimentery linemates in Bennett and Stepniak. That line could do some damage in the playoffs.

4) we had a nice effective gameplan tonight. Short dumpins with a player coming with speed to get in behind the defenseman. It was a good adjustment to our normal dumpins off stretch passes and nobody flying to the puck with speed.

Clearly there are still plenty of personnel and strategy issues to gripe about, but this was actually a couple steps forward by the coaching staff I thought. One wonders if DB can keep pushing forward: have a plan B and C ready for an opposing teams adjustments, get one of the Gladams out of the lineup in favor of Megna, insert Borts or Depres if another D has a couple bad nights, pull Fleury at the right moment if necessary.

Discuss....

No while not bumped, there were still about 4 or 5 of those ineffective vets STILL in the lineup...