Speculation: This 20-21 Penguins team misses the playoffs... UPDATE - WRONG

HandshakeLine

A real jerk thing
Nov 9, 2005
47,759
31,603
Praha, CZ
Bob Cole is right, but that also doesn't mean that we have to tolerate a non-entertaining, badly run, dysfunctional team because that's numbers, baby.

If I wanted that kind of horseshit, I'd watch football.
 
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Gurglesons

Registered User
Dec 18, 2009
91,456
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San Diego, CA
last-train-tocool.blogspot.com
I'm starting to understand why many of the old farts who run these teams seem to be complacent or slow to react relative to fans' expectations (perhaps with the notable exception of JR).

After watching hockey for 30+ years, my takeaway is that there is no magic winning formula. Bob McCown wrote a book ~15 years ago that included a piece about how much luck factors into the outcome of hockey games. This is backed up by the statistics: on any given day, the 20th ranked team in the NHL can beat the best team. How often does that happen in football or basketball? How often does the "Cup favorite" actually win the Cup relative to basketball?

This point extends to team building. In the Crosby/Malkin era, I think an argument could be made that our teams were better on paper in '08 and '13 than they were in any other year. Who would have argued that by losing Hossa (+ Detroit adding him) that we'd beat the Wings in a rematch in '09? Who would have argued that our 2016 team would win a Cup? Who would have argued that our 2017 team (minus Letang and constantly being outshot) would repeat? Hockey's a fickle game. Good teams can become great teams for a few weeks and win a Cup. Great teams can be stymied by mediocre teams. Heck, how did our '93 team not threepeat?

I'm just enjoying the Crosby/Malkin era while it's still here. I didn't expect '16 and '17. Everything from here on out is gravy and I'm not going to lose sleep if this team misses the Playoffs or wins a Cup. I live in Vancouver, a hockey-mad city that has known nothing but heartbreak since the team's inception half a century ago. As Pens' fans, we're spoiled rotten.

PUT THIS MAN BACK ON TV.
 
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ColePens

RIP Fugu Buffaloed & parabola
Mar 27, 2008
107,022
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Pittsburgh
This thread turned into a little too much bickering. We have 5 strong teams in our division looking to make the playoffs. Only 4 will. Who will be the odd man out? Maybe it is us. Maybe it isnt. We shall see.
 
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ColePens

RIP Fugu Buffaloed & parabola
Mar 27, 2008
107,022
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Pittsburgh
That’s it... discuss.

The team is top heavy but reliant on older, injury prone stars to carry them. The bottom six is a mishmash of energy guys who can’t score and puck pushers who are fast.

The defense features a bottom pair that’s a possession void and another that has never been better than this first year and a top pairing that can be the best in the league when healthy.

The odds of them not making the playoffs are far greater than them making it. It’s really not hard to see it. A lot has to break right for them to be a top end contender. It’s definitely not a Cup challenging team.


Whooooooooops. Let's read and see who made bad calls!
 
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BlindWillyMcHurt

ti kallisti
May 31, 2004
34,091
27,915
As hot-takey as this thread is and as down as I must often seem on the team I'm a little surprised that I didn't drop some acerbic comments in here.

Well maybe not really. Too many good players still on this team. Too tough for me to realistically conceive. Plus my problem was never the regular season... Sullivan is a great regular season coach -- downright Bylsma-esque some would say! But that whole playoff thing the last two years and HOW they went out...
 

Khelandros

Registered User
Feb 12, 2019
3,928
4,410
Ceci playing on the third pairing was never going to be the problem. Ceci getting bumped up the lineup was going to be the problem.
 
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ColePens

RIP Fugu Buffaloed & parabola
Mar 27, 2008
107,022
67,647
Pittsburgh
You should just lock this thread and then reopen it in December 2021 when we go like .500 or a little bit under.

I just don't get why people are so hell bent on having definitive opinions on things they don't control. In my eyes - these threads should be titled "The Pens may or may not make the playoffs this year!" Because in reality it is up in the air for every team. Sports are so much fun because they really are unpredictable and luck plays a part.

I've been battling over 10 years with members who are hell bent on having definitive opinions. Yes.. father time will catch up to this team one day. It's okay. We take the good and the bad. And those posters will file in here like the back to back cups didn't happen and say "I TOLD YOU SO!" even though they are wrong 100 times and finally got the one they wanted.

What is the point of that? Are people actively rooting against? Until that little "E" is next to our name, in my head i'm over here saying "Okay.. we are still alive! I've seen crazy things before. Let's go!" And then there is nothing wrong with saying "Well we do look to have an issue ____, ____, and _____ but let's see how it plays out."

I will never understand it.
 

Gurglesons

Registered User
Dec 18, 2009
91,456
73,644
San Diego, CA
last-train-tocool.blogspot.com
I just don't get why people are so hell bent on having definitive opinions on things they don't control. In my eyes - these threads should be titled "The Pens may or may not make the playoffs this year!" Because in reality it is up in the air for every team. Sports are so much fun because they really are unpredictable and luck plays a part.

I've been battling over 10 years with members who are hell bent on having definitive opinions. Yes.. father time will catch up to this team one day. It's okay. We take the good and the bad. And those posters will file in here like the back to back cups didn't happen and say "I TOLD YOU SO!" even though they are wrong 100 times and finally got the one they wanted.

What is the point of that? Are people actively rooting against? Until that little "E" is next to our name, in my head i'm over here saying "Okay.. we are still alive! I've seen crazy things before. Let's go!" And then there is nothing wrong with saying "Well we do look to have an issue ____, ____, and _____ but let's see how it plays out."

I will never understand it.

I seriously think there is a complex in PIT to root for the team to underachieve.

Some other fan bases in hockey have it, but PIT fans especially go absolutely ludicrous and those takes sell in the market hard for every sport.

You know it is bad when Steve Dangle is mocking you.
 

Sidney the Kidney

One last time
Jun 29, 2009
55,517
46,232
I seriously think there is a complex in PIT to root for the team to underachieve.

Some other fan bases in hockey have it, but PIT fans especially go absolutely ludicrous and those takes sell in the market hard for every sport.

You know it is bad when Steve Dangle is mocking you.

I think it's the same segment of the fanbase (or at least some overlap) who also seem to want to see Sid or Geno fail just in order to say "see? spoiled chokers!".

I've never seen a fanbase where the vocal minority is so quick to turn on Sid or Geno during a slump or down period of play.
 

BlindWillyMcHurt

ti kallisti
May 31, 2004
34,091
27,915
I think it's the same segment of the fanbase (or at least some overlap) who also seem to want to see Sid or Geno fail just in order to say "see? spoiled chokers!".

I've never seen a fanbase where the vocal minority is so quick to turn on Sid or Geno during a slump or down period of play.

Malkin is one of the most disrespected franchise players I have ever known of.

And yes I know that's rather rich coming from me.
 
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Sidney the Kidney

One last time
Jun 29, 2009
55,517
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Malkin is one of the most disrespected franchise players I have ever known of.

And yes I know that's rather rich coming from me.

Sid's starting to get the same treatment, especially now that he can no longer score like he did in his prime. He was even getting backlash this season when we were *winning* because even though he was producing, it was at ES and on the PP and not at 5on5.

That's the kind of nitpicky stuff that bugs me. If the team is winning and he's producing, does it *really* matter if he scored 3 points all on the PP or one in 3on3 OT instead of scoring all 3 at 5on5?
 
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pokey10

Neat
Apr 26, 2016
2,221
936
Pittsburgh
FWIW, OP’s thread wasn’t far fetched... we’re in a tough division. And let’s be honest, we’ve seen this team fall asleep at the wheel near the end of seasons before. But let’s take the playoff birth with a smile and hope we can string 16 wins when it matters.
 
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Gurglesons

Registered User
Dec 18, 2009
91,456
73,644
San Diego, CA
last-train-tocool.blogspot.com
Sid's starting to get the same treatment, especially now that he can no longer score like he did in his prime. He was even getting backlash this season when we were *winning* because even though he was producing, it was at ES and on the PP and not at 5on5.

That's the kind of nitpicky stuff that bugs me. If the team is winning and he's producing, does it *really* matter if he scored 3 points all on the PP or one in 3on3 OT instead of scoring all 3 at 5on5?

I think the criticism was more towards GCR being unbreakable and Crosby needing Rust versus actually saying Sid was performing badly.
 

Sidney the Kidney

One last time
Jun 29, 2009
55,517
46,232
I think the criticism was more towards GCR being unbreakable and Crosby needing Rust versus actually saying Sid was performing badly.

I don't know. At one point he was ideally a 2C who was inferior to Kuznetsov. Another game he dominated possession and actually had 3 points, but since none of them were at 5on5 his game was questioned. Seemed a bit more than just a discussion of GCR.
 

TKalltheTime

KILLER PARTIES, ALMOST KILLED ME!
Jan 5, 2018
2,930
2,211
Los Angeles, CA
I really wish JR had stayed this whole year to really see how his roster played out haha. I’m not mad they aren’t making the playoffs and never wanted them to fail but the roster and FO before the start of this year was a joke. I still think we will get schooled in the PO again, but would love to be proven wrong :)
 

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