The Heart Attack Kids

[PensFreak]

Do you guys remember when this was essentially the Penguin's nickname? The Pens used to be a team that oozed passion. A team that worked their tails off, top to bottom. They made coming from behind to win a regular thing. When was the last time the Pens went into a third period down and you had faith that they were going to come back to win? Hell, when's the last time they went into a third up and you expected them to hold on?

Obviously, this team has some issues. There are a few holes here and there. Maybe we aren't getting the calls that we're accustomed to seeing and that's holding the team back. Maybe the team isn't able to capitalize on the calls we do get the way we expect.

Despite all this, I think the biggest issue that I'm seeing, and maybe this is just me... is that they're short on work ethic, passion, and lacking that never-say-die attitude. This may be an inappropriate comparison, but look back at the Cup winning 2009 team. Guys like Cooke, Talbot, Kennedy... guys that maybe weren't all that good at actually playing hockey, but they've been replaced for the most part but guys that in terms of ability are pretty close, but are lacking the character those guys brought to the team. Sutter, Bennett, Spaling, maybe they're better than the players I listed, but just don't have that heart the old players brought.

Even looking at guys like Kunitz... remember when he first got here? Watching Bobby Farnham this year reminded me of Kunitz when he first got here. Obviously Kunitz is far more skilled, but Farnham has that same work ethic and passion Kunitz first brought.

I know a lot of these guys are older, and with the turnover, maybe I shouldn't expect the same youthful passion and work ethic, the ability to come from behind. I guess I would feel a lot better about the situation if that had been a more even trade off with the mental maturity that should also come along with age, the ability to hold a lead late without looking like they're collapsing, without giving off that foreboding feeling that an implosion is imminent.

Maybe these are all just sour grapes, because I expect this team to be better than they are. Oh well. I just want to know if I'm alone in seeing this, or to see if you guys think that I'm off the mark with this assessment or not.

...yes, it is a slow day at work.

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[gopens66]

Cardiac Kids was what we called 'em

 

[gopens66]

There's a problem, but I do believe we, as fans, will never know what the real problem is/was.

My real concern is that it starts with Crosby. If he is dictating lines and what happens on the powerply, then that is a huge problem. It's not like they'll ever get rid of him if the problem does indeed start there.

 

[Boocock]

 

[PensFreak]

Don't make me reminisce! No! Nooooo *is sucked in*

 

[PaulieWalnuts]

I would honestly make the entire team watch that video in the meeting room. They had speed and they had passion.

 

[Nei1ey*]

There's a problem, but I do believe we, as fans, will never know what the real problem is/was.

My real concern is that it starts with Crosby. If he is dictating lines and what happens on the powerply, then that is a huge problem. It's not like they'll ever get rid of him if the problem does indeed start there.

Can we stop with the Crosby making decisions on lineup n etc. Its all pure speculation and garbage written by the incompetent sports writers of Pittsburgh.

 

[mikethelegacy]

In the last seconds of the video, how long has it been since you've seen Sid jump up and down with joy after winning like that?

I honestly feel like winning isn't as important to him anymore. Maybe he himself doesn't even know it, but it feels like it's less important to him.

 

[SHOOTANDSCORE]

Mango Salsa!

 

[johnniewalker]

Two things majorly jump out at me about this thread.

1. The reason why we were the Cardiac Kids, was that we routinely came out flat and disinterested in the first and second periods and would constantly be down, which is how we had so many opportunities to come back. You don't end up coming from behind a ton unless you got behind to begin with, and we did plenty of that.

2. When you watch that video, the immediate and striking thing about it to me is the time and space that Geno and Sid used to have to work with in creating plays. You can try to attribute this to their linemates, but I would point out that I see a lot of Oulette and Armstrong in those clips.

When you watch Crosby possessing the puck behind the net, you see the defenseman playing completely hands-off and standing out at a respectful distance trying to block a potential centering pass. Those days are gone. The other night against Washington, I watched Crosby in those same areas having to skate with a defenseman attached to him at the hip, hooking and holding him the entire way. He has to play with one hand on the stick and the other hand constantly stiffarming defenders to give himself some room to even get a pass off.

When you watch Crosby or Malkin coming into the zone, you will see players getting room to get open on their lines. Now I see their linemates get picked by defenders as they try to cross the blue line, causing them to get slowed down and end up behind the play.

It may only be 7 seasons, but the game has completely changed in that time.

 

[#1GuinFan]

I am starting to feel like the issue is leadership related, or lack thereof. Look at the roster we had then, and you'll see names that were known as being strong leaders. Too bad we couldn't have just cloned a few Gary Roberts.

 

[johnniewalker]

In the last seconds of the video, how long has it been since you've seen Sid jump up and down with joy after winning like that?

I honestly feel like winning isn't as important to him anymore. Maybe he himself doesn't even know it, but it feels like it's less important to him.

You'd probably lose some of the joy in your work too if you had Karl Alzner draped all over you like a snuggie.

 

[gopens66]

Can we stop with the Crosby making decisions on lineup n etc. Its all pure speculation and garbage written by the incompetent sports writers of Pittsburgh.

"If,then" statement. Sure it's speculation, but it's not something from left field. It's something that could be plausible. He's the one wearing the "C". If there's complacency in the room, it's his job to weed it out and address it. My hope is that it is not he who is complacent.

 

[Don'tcry4mejanhrdina]

Matt Cooke wasn't a very good hockey player? News to me....he was one of the best third liners in the league, rarely made a mistake. Except for his cheap shots. People let their hatred cloud their judgement and assume he's just some scrub but that guy was a very good two-way player who knew his role.

 

[PensFreak]

The biggest thing that video reminded me of is how Christensen had those occasional almost nonchalantly sick plays. He had an awesome wrist shot and smooth hands.

 

[PensFreak]

Matt Cooke wasn't a very good hockey player? News to me....he was one of the best third liners in the league, rarely made a mistake. Except for his cheap shots. People let their hatred cloud their judgement and assume he's just some scrub but that guy was a very good two-way player who knew his role.

Not at all what I meant. Cooke was a great third liner. But was just that... a third liner. Not someone that you could market as a 2nd-3rd line tweener. He was just a third liner, like a lot of the guys on those teams, but still meant so much due to his work ethic and passion that he brought. There's a big difference between what I meant to what you interpreted it as.

 

[NeedleInTheHay]

That video made me sad, Crosby used to have such explosive speed and the team had more creativity back then.

 

[zero8771]

Team is lacking confidence and feeling pressure.

People give a hard time to Toronto on how they treat the leafs, but people are really hard on the pens here. Look at the tone of the boards, if we had this season in 08 the tone is far different.

Expectations are hard. It's not easy or that fun to be a penguin. Yea they are professional athletes, but they are all "young" in general. On a 22 man roster, you know it has to get to at least 1-2... I'd imagine even more. That type of thing can get into a locker room quick.

But maybe Crosby is just mopey so pens look mopey.

Either way, team lacking confidence and feels a lot of pressure

 

[AjaxTelamon]

Two things majorly jump out at me about this thread.

1. The reason why we were the Cardiac Kids, was that we routinely came out flat and disinterested in the first and second periods and would constantly be down, which is how we had so many opportunities to come back. You don't end up coming from behind a ton unless you got behind to begin with, and we did plenty of that.

2. When you watch that video, the immediate and striking thing about it to me is the time and space that Geno and Sid used to have to work with in creating plays. You can try to attribute this to their linemates, but I would point out that I see a lot of Oulette and Armstrong in those clips.

When you watch Crosby possessing the puck behind the net, you see the defenseman playing completely hands-off and standing out at a respectful distance trying to block a potential centering pass. Those days are gone. The other night against Washington, I watched Crosby in those same areas having to skate with a defenseman attached to him at the hip, hooking and holding him the entire way. He has to play with one hand on the stick and the other hand constantly stiffarming defenders to give himself some room to even get a pass off.

When you watch Crosby or Malkin coming into the zone, you will see players getting room to get open on their lines. Now I see their linemates get picked by defenders as they try to cross the blue line, causing them to get slowed down and end up behind the play.

It may only be 7 seasons, but the game has completely changed in that time.

Yup, it's a very different game. The NHL is a real garage league with how it handles stars and scoring. In a time when every other league is doing their best to maximize the impact of the top players, the NHL is doing everything they can to hold them back. Seguin knocked out for 3-6 weeks by a cheap hit, the D man gets a 4 game suspension. Rinaldo tries to kill Letang, gets a grudging 8 games because it's his 3rd or 4th offense. Who would you rather watch, Seguin and Letang or Kulikov and Rinaldo?

Even baseball just reduced the size of the strike zone. You can't even touch an NFL QB because no one wants to watch Bruce Gradkowski and Brock Osweiler duel it out.

 

[canadianguy77]

...back when they were still having fun.

 

[Gurglesons]

Two things majorly jump out at me about this thread.

1. The reason why we were the Cardiac Kids, was that we routinely came out flat and disinterested in the first and second periods and would constantly be down, which is how we had so many opportunities to come back. You don't end up coming from behind a ton unless you got behind to begin with, and we did plenty of that.

2. When you watch that video, the immediate and striking thing about it to me is the time and space that Geno and Sid used to have to work with in creating plays. You can try to attribute this to their linemates, but I would point out that I see a lot of Oulette and Armstrong in those clips.

When you watch Crosby possessing the puck behind the net, you see the defenseman playing completely hands-off and standing out at a respectful distance trying to block a potential centering pass. Those days are gone. The other night against Washington, I watched Crosby in those same areas having to skate with a defenseman attached to him at the hip, hooking and holding him the entire way. He has to play with one hand on the stick and the other hand constantly stiffarming defenders to give himself some room to even get a pass off.

When you watch Crosby or Malkin coming into the zone, you will see players getting room to get open on their lines. Now I see their linemates get picked by defenders as they try to cross the blue line, causing them to get slowed down and end up behind the play.

It may only be 7 seasons, but the game has completely changed in that time.

Yeah, Crosby was way better when he didn't have two guys hooking him the entire play. Or when he didn't have a player like Chara or Staal getting away with punching him repeatedly in the head after every time he was near the crease.

But, that's how the game is played! I'd honestly gladly see the league treat players like Giroux, Kane, etc different if it meant more scoring and the game going back to when it was fun to watch. This all started when Boston beat Vancouver. If Vancouver could've somehow gutted out a win in Game 6 or 7, the idea that bigger teams that pushed around finesse players won cups would've been completely gone. Instead, now we have a league that immortalized that Bruins team.

Even the Kings had finesse when they won both of their cups. Their strengths come from skilled players like Williams, Carter, Kopitar, Doughty. They are strong players just like Letang and Malkin, but they also have skill. They aren't like Lucic who runs goalies, threatens players in the celebration line, etc.

 

[Randy Butternubs]

What a terrible video.

 

[spcastlemagic]

They were young and dumb and didn't know any better. I don't know how you recapture that without shipping out major pieces or going through some kind of rebuild.

 

[Fordy]

this nickname is now in poor taste it won't be long until a penguin has an actual heart attack caused by some genetic craziness

 

[M0NTY26]

Clearly Crosby and Malkin and dying alive inside...