A Little Composure, Please

[Bowser]

It was easy after watching the Penguins first round exit to the Flyers and blame goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury for giving up 26 goals in six games. It was also quite simple to point towards a penalty-killing unit that averaged two goals against per game and 47% kill rate, when the team finished the regular season ranked third in the NHL with 87.8% success rate.

For all the problems that existed and still potentially linger as we head into a lockout shortened season, an untrained eye could simply say, the Penguins lost it. The it wasn't the ultra confidence of their skills, but rather the composure to play their game, no matter the situation. The Penguins didn't conduct themselves in the best manner getting themselves baited into constant post-whistle scrums.

The two men who had a chance to change the course of their emotion were head coach Dan Bylsma and captain Sidney Crosby. Both failed miserably.

Bylsma can't stand behind the bench and think that's "Gino being Gino" with regards to some of the bad penalties taken by Evgeni Malkin. There has to be a clear expectation set early by Bylsma that selfish penalties are a thing of the past and will be dealt with accordingly. You can't set expectations come playoff time.

While your coach demands and sets expectations, it is crucial your team's captain is leading the way, playing by example. It wasn't exactly Crosby's shining moment last Spring coming back from a concussion and getting himself into a fight and number of scrums. It was as if Crosby was fighting against the expectation that he must remain on the outside of the heated moments of the game and tried to insert himself aggressively to lead in away that he just doesn't need to do for this team to be successful.

If the Penguins are to have any shot at lifting Lord Stanley's Cup again, it will take the leadership of Bylsma and Crosby to display the required composure to overcome obstacles, like a Flyers goon squad.

[netwolf]

Maybe that will be a plus of opening in Philly. We'll see what they remember from last spring's mess and if they learned anything from it. They shouldn't need a reminder, but if they do, better to get it right out of the gate.

[Eismann]

Composure needs to be seen in es. Their es play collapsed like a smoker's lung. Forwards basically stopped helping the d which resulted in turnovers galore. Flyers sent in two forecheckers with no resistance and blew up the dzone. This system collapse started about two weeks before the playoffs started. Yes, MAF muffed. Yes, pk punked. But don't ignore the other 40 minutes or so when they weren't playing winning hockey like they had been.

[shmenguin]

Game 1. End of 2nd period. Adams starts instigating crap after the whistle when the flyers seem defeated. They come out in the 3rd period as world beaters and take over the game. The flyers lived inside our heads. That needs to stop.

[penny lane]

I want Coach Dan to be a coach. Change, adjust to what is going on the in the games. What he says to Evgeni isn't as important as trying to see what strategic moves are to be made. I want coach dan to quit being the player's coach.
ps~ Gino got his bad penalty moment out in the KHL.

Sid; there is not one player who answered physically or verbally against the nyr (torts) and the flyers last year when they started their campaign against the Sid and pens. In the past ryan malone was always there for this kind of crap. I am not saying to bring ryan back, but that mentality and make up is what the pens lack.

Flower; be the turtle~ steady and sure pace to your game. His redemption doesn't start till April. With wearing barrasso mask; how can he lose.

[Big Easy Pens Fan]

Game 1. End of 2nd period. Adams starts instigating crap after the whistle when the flyers seem defeated. They come out in the 3rd period as world beaters and take over the game. The flyers lived inside our heads. That needs to stop.

Absolutely, and it needs to stop when the puck is dropped in game 1.

BEPF

[DelPen]

I think enough time has passed that everyone has forgot what happened on the ice in a good way.

[Ben Klingston]

While your coach demands and sets expectations, it is crucial your team's captain is leading the way, playing by example.

Not only that, but after communicating the expectations, there must be consequences for exhibiting the desired behavior, or for not exhibiting the desired behavior. More to it, those consequences should be positive or negative, and immediate. That is what best drives behavior, and has worked for many in a leadership role (like a coach).

I can't believe I just used one of the things I've been taught on the job in a post on LGP

[pcm]

That challenge falls on the captain's shoulders. I think his time away from the fierce competition made him lose a step in his ability to focus his intensity. And so it went all over the place, and the rest of the team followed by example. It will be pretty darn interesting to see what Sidney Crosby looks like this year. I wonder what he worked on in the offseason?

[RxBandit66]

The team got "goal happy" down the stretch after Sid came back, and at the same time, the NHL moved more toward the trap that was prevalent from 1996-2004. The meltdown reflected a lack of discipline, and that reflects on the coaching staff as much as the players. These are veteran guys, so Bylsma and his cast of player-friendly coaches cannot be entirely to blame. But Bylsma can come off as smug and arrogant if not stubborn, and needs to correct some things because many teams had broken down and exploited his system last season. The team made no changes to the coaching staff and brought many of the same players back, so Shero has put his faith in Bylsma once again. He needs to deliver, at the very least the team needs to go deep in the playoffs this season for his job to be safe. And he knows it.

[largegarlic]

... The meltdown reflected a lack of discipline, and that reflects on the coaching staff as much as the players. These are veteran guys, so Bylsma and his cast of player-friendly coaches cannot be entirely to blame. But Bylsma can come off as smug and arrogant if not stubborn, and needs to correct some things because many teams had broken down and exploited his system last season. The team made no changes to the coaching staff and brought many of the same players back, so Shero has put his faith in Bylsma once again. He needs to deliver, at the very least the team needs to go deep in the playoffs this season for his job to be safe. And he knows it.

Not really apropos of anything, but I was just thinking how this bit is basically a central part of the autopsy report on the Steelers' season as well...just replace Bylsma with Tomlin and Shero with Colbert/Rooney.

Anyhow, I agree with the general theme of this thread, especially after watching some games from the 2009 season on Root during the lockout.
It's not necessarily a problem with talent. This team probably has more talent than that 2009 team, but at least down the stretch in 2012, the Pens were missing that mental focus, attention to detail, and willingness to fight to win all the little individual battles that add up to winning playoffs games. They need that mentality back more than, for example, another top-6 winger (although, of course, bringing in another couple players who embody this attitude might help re-kindle it).

[DontToewsMeBro]

I think the season before they won the Cup embodied that spirit as much if not more than the Cup team. Another couple 'hungry' guys, not necessarily old veterans (could be some young blood i.e Bennett/Bortuzzo) would go a long way to instill that hunger again.

[pcm]

They need that mentality back more than, for example, another top-6 winger (although, of course, bringing in another couple players who embody this attitude might help re-kindle it).

Yes, I think this is spot on. The biggest difference between this team and 2009 is the lack of leadership from vets like Guerin, Gonchar, Feds. That mantle has now passed to the young core, and I don't know if they're ready to bear that responsibility entirely yet.

I wonder if Shero shouldn't go out and make a splash for a rental like Morrow, who can provide a bit of perspective and stabilization to 71,58, & 87's hot-headed intensity. Or hell, go for it and see what it takes to get Iginla for a year.

[Lt. Dish]

Game 1. End of 2nd period. Adams starts instigating crap after the whistle when the flyers seem defeated. They come out in the 3rd period as world beaters and take over the game. The flyers lived inside our heads. That needs to stop.

Absolutely, and it needs to stop when the puck is dropped in game 1.

BEPF

The Pens were in the Flyers' heads for a few years previous and they were able to reverse it, so we can, too.

[shmenguin]

Game 1. End of 2nd period. Adams starts instigating crap after the whistle when the flyers seem defeated. They come out in the 3rd period as world beaters and take over the game. The flyers lived inside our heads. That needs to stop.

Absolutely, and it needs to stop when the puck is dropped in game 1.

BEPF

The Pens were in the Flyers' heads for a few years previous and they were able to reverse it, so we can, too.

to do this, they changed coaches and got rid of their captain

[MRandall25]

Game 1. End of 2nd period. Adams starts instigating crap after the whistle when the flyers seem defeated. They come out in the 3rd period as world beaters and take over the game. The flyers lived inside our heads. That needs to stop.

Absolutely, and it needs to stop when the puck is dropped in game 1.

BEPF

The Pens were in the Flyers' heads for a few years previous and they were able to reverse it, so we can, too.

to do this, they changed coaches and got rid of their captain

Mike Richards is not Sidney Crosby.

[penmyst]

The OP is right.

ALL of those things are the reason the Pens stunk their way into a 1st round exit.

But I'm not going to blame Crosby. Not his job to coach the team, and discipline as needed.

That's all on HCDB.

That Pens team was headed down that road late last year, and it was apparent to all onlookers. Yet HCDB was unable or unwilling to change the course.

I'm not going to discuss how, why, or when to do those things. I'm not a highly paid NHL coach, so it's really not worth my time to analyze and break it down.

Suffice it to say, HCDB ought to be on a very short leash this year. If things continue the way they started last year, the discipline needs to come from GMRS.

[Fire0nice228]

The team stopped playing solid defense when they went on the big winning streak and they never got it back consistently. Some of those games were 'barn burners' that they just happend to win. Then the playoffs started and it doesnt come on with a turn of the switch.

[Steve]

The Flyers exploited the Pens with stretch passes - something that Ottawa exposed in a Sat night HNIC game a few weeks prior. The Ottawa score was something like 7-3 (sound familiar?). At least, this is what I read in a decent article during the Pens/Flyers series, which seemed to make sense. The Islanders also used this in the 2 late regular season games against us.

Ironically, I think that's what we used to crush the Flyers in game 4.

Back to the composure - who are the best players on the Pens? Crosby, Malkin, Letang, Neal? These were also the players getting involved in the clown and retaliatory stuff. That's not a recipe for success....

Also - the Flyers had players doing the same - but as a team they did a good job of not crossing the line for the most part. That line of getting away with stuff in the playoffs. The Pens completely ignored that line, and I definately agree with those who say they were in our heads.

[Lt. Dish]

Game 1. End of 2nd period. Adams starts instigating crap after the whistle when the flyers seem defeated. They come out in the 3rd period as world beaters and take over the game. The flyers lived inside our heads. That needs to stop.

Absolutely, and it needs to stop when the puck is dropped in game 1.

BEPF

The Pens were in the Flyers' heads for a few years previous and they were able to reverse it, so we can, too.

to do this, they changed coaches and got rid of their captain

Yes, and duly noted. We all were afraid it might work, and, well...

But that's on our guys and coaches. Our guys have to be mentally stronger than that, and I think they will be this year. As high as Bylsma was after 2009, he's now fallen back to Earth. Even Cookie has dissected film over and over. They're as disgusted with themselves over it as we all have been with them, and 9 months is a long time to ruminate over what transpired.

A Flyers fan recently said to me, "Maybe you'll actually beat us this year. We own you. Just look at last playoffs!" I smiled and told him his memory was short and that rivalries are an endless rollercoaster.

Man, for as long as we've waited to find out whether our guys' disgust will translate to positive results on the ice, this last week seems like an eternity!