The road to the playoffs: Who will be our opponent?

[vodeni]

CBJ are sneaky good now cuz:

1) It was evident last season they needed more pure skill to go with the all the gritty/sorta skilled guys they had.
Enter Panarin, Dubois and they picked up Vanek.

2)Had the skill D covered. Needed some more grit. Picked up Cole.

They'll be a much tougher out this year unless they quit on Torts.

CBJ all falls on Boby, if he is not falling apart, they will come out of East, they have the best team except Pens, however, I really think pens mental/fatigue factor will prevail

CBJ has the best defensive core by far in East, they have guys peaking at the right time, Atkinson, Panarin, Vanek is hot, Dubois really stepped up...Tort is stupid, but not all that stupid, against Pens their forecheck will be relentless,

I am going against the grain here onthese boards and will say that I would love to have Devils in the first round, their speed is something, but only when Pens don't give a s...,
thats how they beat us first three game, young players, first time in POs, Neh....I'll take that match up over CBJ or Caps anytime of the day...

 

[deakka]

Im calling it now- it will be the caps.
CBJ will best us and we will beat ottawa to keep Flyers behind us. But CBJ will finish 2nd and Devils 3rd.

 

[Gurglesons]

Im calling it now- it will be the caps.
CBJ will best us and we will beat ottawa to keep Flyers behind us. But CBJ will finish 2nd and Devils 3rd.

Don’t we have the tie breaker against Columbus?

 

[AverageJoeFan]

Not worried so much who we play in the first round. I'm more concerned which Pens team shows up.

 

[deakka]

Don’t we have the tie breaker against Columbus?

We do. But they are 2p behind us but have a game in hand. If they win it we are tied and any win against us will have them pass us

 

[Andy99]

I’m thinking now that we lose to CBJ, beat OTT and have to play CBJ on the road as the three seed.....

It doesn’t really matter...unless things change substantially in our team-wide play, I don’t think we’re getting out of the Metro even. This is not being negative, but a realistic assessment of the team. Murray is worrisome in his consistency and has not shown yet the form that made him excellent in the POs the last two years. The team we have around him has not been as good so far....we are not as quick and pressure oriented as the 2015-16 team, not as dominant, and if we play the counterattack style of 2016-17, we just do not have the same shooting % or PDO as that team got. We just can’t get goals in the net at the same rate we were last year....

If we can’t play either style as effectively, I don’t see us doing much. I’ll still be upset losing to CBJ or the Caps, but after the last two years, it’s hard to get too worked up...

 

[cheesedanish87]

The one good thing about dropping to the 2nd wildcard is you see right away if the Pens are good enough to go on a run.

If their not good enough then the players at least get a long summer to recover.

 

[RizzleMcRib]

At this point I honestly don't care who we play. It's the playoffs. None of those 16 teams are just gonna roll over. Any team can upset any team in any round. It's a 7 game series, not 1 and done. If you think there is an "easier" road to the cup, you're mistaken.

 

[Jaded-Fan]

 

[KIRK]

Im calling it now- it will be the caps.
CBJ will best us and we will beat ottawa to keep Flyers behind us. But CBJ will finish 2nd and Devils 3rd.

So, let me see IF I have this right . . .

1. New Jersey will win out, including games against Toronto and Washington.

2. Columbus will earn 3 of 4 points against Detroit and Nashville.

3. Philly will FAIL to earn 5 of 6 points against the two NY teams and Carolina.

BTW, the Pens losing out to end up as WC2 would SO be the 2017-2018 Penguins thing to do . . .

 

[MattySnipes]

Hey Pens fans, I'm coming in peace don't worry.

As you can see I am fairly new to the boards but I wanted to ask the more senior members (since 2005) on your board about how Sidney Crosby is viewed on these boards. He is my favourite player since being drafted, with now Auston Matthews most likely taking over (for obvious homerism reasons) soon. But looking at the main boards and polls it is clear how much bias there is towards McDavid or anyone else when comparing to Sid.

Seeing the things he's done along with accomplish you would never think there would be so much hate towards one particular player. What is it about him that fans can't give credit? How is ONE player who has had 2 100-point seasons all of a sudden better than the face of the game & Canada since 2005?

I'd love to be filled in. Best of luck going forward and all the best in the playoffs! I doubt my Leafs get to the final this year obviously but i'm rootin for Sid to get back-to-back-to-back Stanley Cups. That oughta shut 'em up!

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

Hey Pens fans, I'm coming in peace don't worry.

As you can see I am fairly new to the boards but I wanted to ask the more senior members (since 2005) on your board about how Sidney Crosby is viewed on these boards. He is my favourite player since being drafted, with now Auston Matthews most likely taking over (for obvious homerism reasons) soon. But looking at the main boards and polls it is clear how much bias there is towards McDavid or anyone else when comparing to Sid.

Seeing the things he's done along with accomplish you would never think there would be so much hate towards one particular player. What is it about him that fans can't give credit? How is ONE player who has had 2 100-point seasons all of a sudden better than the face of the game & Canada since 2005?

I'd love to be filled in. Best of luck going forward and all the best in the playoffs! I doubt my Leafs get to the final this year obviously but i'm rootin for Sid to get back-to-back-to-back Stanley Cups. That oughta shut 'em up!

Winning and success breeds contempt, especially when it is at the expense of so many fans favorite teams... Flyers, Caps, Rags, CBJ, Senators, Wings, Sharks, and Preds fans are some of the most bitter towards Crosby that I’ve noticed.

Give it time and people will despise McDavid also. The Oilers blow right now, so he hasn’t really built up the resentment of other fans bases.

Once they start to do some serious winning, the real hate will start roll in.

 

[Doogle]

Hey Pens fans, I'm coming in peace don't worry.

As you can see I am fairly new to the boards but I wanted to ask the more senior members (since 2005) on your board about how Sidney Crosby is viewed on these boards. He is my favourite player since being drafted, with now Auston Matthews most likely taking over (for obvious homerism reasons) soon. But looking at the main boards and polls it is clear how much bias there is towards McDavid or anyone else when comparing to Sid.

Seeing the things he's done along with accomplish you would never think there would be so much hate towards one particular player. What is it about him that fans can't give credit? How is ONE player who has had 2 100-point seasons all of a sudden better than the face of the game & Canada since 2005?

I'd love to be filled in. Best of luck going forward and all the best in the playoffs! I doubt my Leafs get to the final this year obviously but i'm rootin for Sid to get back-to-back-to-back Stanley Cups. That oughta shut 'em up!

A lot of fans resent the fact that the Pens won the lottery that year he was drafted.

 

[td_ice]

Winning and success breeds contempt, especially when it is at the expense of so many fans favorite teams... Flyers, Caps, Rags, CBJ, Senators, Wings, Sharks, and Preds fans are some of the most bitter towards Crosby that I’ve noticed.

Give it time and people will despise McDavid also. The Oilers blow right now, so he hasn’t really built up the resentment of other fans bases.

Once they start to do some serious winning, the real hate will start roll in.

Yep. That's why I have said all along, throughout the years, that is why Ovie is fairly beloved with neutral fans. Because he hasn't won a damn thing. He has crushed no other teams dreams. He has become a "lovable loser" type. Even Pens fans last year on this board were saying, (incredulously to me) that they hoped that "one day Ovechkin wins his Stanley Cup". WTF? Really?? OK. Crazy to me.

 

[MattySnipes]

A lot of fans resent the fact that the Pens won the lottery that year he was drafted.

I know. I am well aware of some of the reasons why people don't like him - he's the best in the league obviously, destroying teams hopes, bit of a whiner in his teenager days (totally normal)

But that lottery, EVERY team had a chance to win him. Not fair to resent a team just because they got MAF & GENO in years prior.

 

[Dey so soff*]

Relentless forecheck and speed are the Achilles heel of the Pens. All of the playoff teams have one or the other and some have both.

This team will live and die with the offense. It is an absolute must that they dictate play and keep the puck in the offensive zone. In order to do that they need high quality breakouts and puck support.

If they get hemmed in their own end for long stretches, this D and a struggling Murray aren’t going to be able to overcome.

So we are going to find out real quick whether the stars can carry the team and keep the D out of trouble.

There isn’t one potential matchup that looks “good”.

 

[cheesedanish87]

Somebody can correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems unlikely the Pens would play CBJ in the first round.

If Pens beats CBJ it seems likely CBJ would be a wildcard.

If CBJ beats Pens it seems likely Pens would be a wildcard.

 

[HandshakeLine]

I hope McDavid gets papercuts for the rest of his career. Which is pretty much the same for any player not on the Pens as far as I care.

I don't root for players as a rule.

 

[KIRK]

Somebody can correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems unlikely the Pens would play CBJ in the first round.

If Pens beats CBJ it seems likely CBJ would be a wildcard.

If CBJ beats Pens it seems likely Pens would be a wildcard.

It depends upon

(a) Philly, who is at the Islanders before finishing at home against the Hurricanes and Rangers.

(b) What Columbus does at home against the Red Wings and to finish the season at the Predators.

(c) What the Pens do at home against the Senators.

Put it this way . . . if the Pens win, then it's likely a 2/3 with the Flyers, unless the Flyers really choke. If the Pens lose at the Blue Jackets, then they're going to need help AND to beat the Senators to avoid being a wildcard.

The picture will become a lot clearer tomorrow night depending upon what the Devils, Flyers, and Blue Jackets do in their winnable games . . .

 

[Jaded-Fan]

58 percent second place in the Metro

24 percent third place in the Metro

14 percent wildcard

 

[Jaded-Fan]

Columbus, Philly and NJ in action tomorrow. Things could become a bit clearer without the Pens even playing with everyone only having two games left. If Columbus and Philly lose the Pens simply would have to get one of the remaining 4 points to clinch second.

 

[Jaded-Fan]

Oh and Cole, in the thread at the end of last season when we clinched number 2, you responded to me liking what the new defenders, Hainsey but especially Streit, were doing leading up to the playoffs with the following.

It's hard to tell because our forwards are really awful at supporting the d-zone, but he looks iffy on the d-side of things. But I honestly cannot blame him. He and Hainsey had some really rough shifts and they were moved off one another.

I need a lot more time to review his game and we need to get healthy to see what the team does in full in terms of defense.

Sound familiar?

By the way, as a reference for fun here is McCurdy's model when the playoffs started last year:

 

[cheesedanish87]

I'm rooting for the Flyers Detroit and NYR tonight.

I don't have much confidence in Detroit or NYR tonight, but you never know.

NYR should at least be motivated because of the rivalry they have with NJ.

The flu is apparently going around the CBJ team, maybe that will slow down Blue Jackets.

 

[SUBdrewgANS]

As a Penguins fan living in Philadelphia.. I simultaneously hope and don't hope it's Philly

 

[Shady Machine]

The one good thing about dropping to the 2nd wildcard is you see right away if the Pens are good enough to go on a run.

If their not good enough then the players at least get a long summer to recover.

That's not good. Winning takes luck and while match ups are a tricky thing to wish for, you really don't want to play the best team in the East first if you don't have to.