shmenguin wrote:They overachieved against Tampa. If you could determine the better team after 4 games, they wouldn't use a best of 7 format.
I don't think they overachieved against Tampa. That was the season I actually thought we were lucky to finally have a coach like Bylsma and now it's like WTF happened to that guy? Kinda like going home with a girl who appears really hot and then waking up the next day and you're thinking "wow! beer goggles!"
The 2010/2011 season was very impressive. They played a good chunk of time in the regular season with out Sid and Malkin while playing solid down the stretch. Bylsma actually bogged down on them to play responsible hockey which goes to show you that a great coach makes the best with what he has. The problem that eventually caught up to the Penguins which is kind of the problem for the NYR is scoring. You can have great defensive play and goaltending but if you can't score it will eventually catch up to you.
My issue is with what happened to that guy? Where did he go? Maybe he just doesn't know how to handle elite talent?
This goes back to what I was saying earlier: it's not a system that needs to be put in place that Bylsma is missing and it's not necessarily him being out-coached at crucial moments in the game. It's his inability to enforce accountability on his players. Malkin, Sid and Letang are probably the biggest issues with accountability and while that's only three players, it's our three players this team is built around.
All three commit at least two irresponsible plays a game be it a careless/blind pass they attempt, not getting back defensively or just missing assignments and they get away with it. I'm aware they're elite talent and they need to "do their thing" out there, but they still need to play responsible hockey. Let them roam free to do as they please as long as they stick to their assignments and don't try dumb stuff.
Does anyone remember what they put AO through in Washington? Look how that worked out. He's not only found his scoring prowess again, but he's a more complete player than ever before. I think all three could use a little of the AO treatment...more so Malkin and Letang, but Sid needs to be held responsible for those errand passes he makes that nobody ever seems to point out.
These are not player issues, they're coaching issues because the coach does not hold them accountable. If you start holding those players accountable, the rest of the team will follow suite once they realize nobody is immune.