Game 5 vs. Ottawa - Thoughts from the morning after

[Penspal]

Pens win 2-1 (shootout)

- FUGLY win, brutally sloppy hockey, what happened to the team we saw in games 1 & 2?
- Loosing Niskanen could prove to be extremely costly as he's been good. Paging Robert Bortuzzo
- Can we stop dissing Martin now? He's played 4 SOLID games
- Where in the world is the "real" Geno Malkin? Geno's always chirping the refs, defensively questionable, offensively almost there
- Powerplay was powerless, serious adjustments needed imho
- Pens are making "questionable" hits along the boards. Agree that not all should be penalties, but there have been others not called that were borderline.
- Shootout turned out to be which goalie can stop 1 shot. Sweet goals by the Pens, riDONKulous

[shmenguin]

Pens win 2-1 (shootout)

- FUGLY win, brutally sloppy hockey, what happened to the team we saw in games 1 & 2?
- Loosing Niskanen could prove to be extremely costly as he's been good. Paging Robert Bortuzzo
- Can we stop dissing Martin now? He's played 4 SOLID games
- Where in the world is the "real" Geno Malkin? Geno's always chirping the refs, defensively questionable, offensively almost there
- Powerplay was powerless, serious adjustments needed imho
- Pens are making "questionable" hits along the boards. Agree that not all should be penalties, but there have been others not called that were borderline.
- Shootout turned out to be which goalie can stop 1 shot

i thin letang's rust is killing the power play more than anything. i guess he should have went over to russia a little earlier. dust some of the cobwebs off.

[Bioshock]

-Sloppy play but effective play. And what do you expect? No training camp or preseason. Everyone is in the same boat out there.
-The team as a whole adjusted tremendously. Great defensive effort.
-The Forwards did a hell of a job changing their breakout and puck support of the defense.
-Paul Martin was excellent. If changing sides (Going back to his normal right side) creates a player such as this, i don't think he will be the one bought out this off season.
-MAF was very good.
-Geno wasn't great. Had his chances but also chirped too much.
-Sid played well. Got smoked in the faceoff circle though.

Overall, great road win against a tough Sens team.

[Pens4Life87]

what were Senators thinking on Penguins 1st goal leaving Neal alone to guard against Tangradi, even if Tangradi gets the puck he would probabbly shoot it into the mask of the goaltender

[rkarete]

5pm starts a godsend watching from UK, but what struck me was

- Pens right now have same "scoring balance" problem as last yr - no one seems to be able to bury pucks that isnt 87, 71 or 18... its like the rest are scared to keep up, except TK who just whips pucks on net. Cooke? Sutter? Glass? Can any of them score? its sad since Vitale creates energy on forechceck
- shots from the point are telegraphed, even when rushed and ineffective - Pens just dont have 1x big body on each line standing in front of the crease (thats what made me yelp most when Sens were firing it in)
- give some credit to HCDB for pounding Karlsson anytime he touched the puck - he doesn't realise he is a D-man as well as an assist machine.
Adams was great!

[penny lane]

Flower! Let him get the team on a roll.
all the remaining D men did well. heard Brooks had 9 blocked shots!
ms obvious here, but Pens need more folks to step up and score goals.

power play practice scheduled today!

[darkstar57]

Letang for all his offensive game is not a PP QB.

We need one, i know crosby likes to play down low, but he needs adjust his game on the PP to take advantage of the rest of the units strengths. He needs to be point of the umbrella, with geno and letang on either side kunitz in front and neal finding whole in the defense.

He also needs to be the sullivan type puck bringer up because he sees the ice better then everyone else. You don't need a big booming shot from the point, you just need to get in towards the net.

Good game by Fleury though, he is starting to get his confidence back after the philly series and thats huge.

[sil]

what were Senators thinking on Penguins 1st goal leaving Neal alone to guard against Tangradi, even if Tangradi gets the puck he would probabbly shoot it into the mask of the goaltender

Tangradi drove to the net. The Sens just can't ignore that, regardless of who does it. It created time for Malkin and space for Neal. If he does that in every game (and continues to get to the corners)...he has a spot in the NHL as a guy who can play the bottom-6 and spend some time here and there on a top line.

[shmenguin]

what were Senators thinking on Penguins 1st goal leaving Neal alone to guard against Tangradi, even if Tangradi gets the puck he would probabbly shoot it into the mask of the goaltender

Tangradi drove to the net. The Sens just can't ignore that, regardless of who does it.

i thought they kinda did ignore it. i didn't see anyone following him. it just so happened that they ignored neal as well

[tfrizz]

what were Senators thinking on Penguins 1st goal leaving Neal alone to guard against Tangradi, even if Tangradi gets the puck he would probabbly shoot it into the mask of the goaltender

Tangradi drove to the net. The Sens just can't ignore that, regardless of who does it. It created time for Malkin and space for Neal. If he does that in every game (and continues to get to the corners)...he has a spot in the NHL as a guy who can play the bottom-6 and spend some time here and there on a top line.

Noone took Tangradi to the net either, but that doesn't mean his drive wasn't effective. Someone pointed out in the GDT that, upon watching the replay, it looked like Karlsson froze in deciding whether to take Tangradi driving the net or Neal with the puck. This meant that Neal had a little extra time to pull the trigger, and Tangradi went to the net untouched. Since Tangradi went to the net untouched, he provided an obstacle for Anderson; he no longer had to simply contend with stopping Neal's shot but he had to worry about where he put the rebound and what Tangradi would do.

It sounds like they were excessive with the praise for Tangradi on the ROOT broadcast, but his simple drive to the net certainly affected the outcome of the play.

[k0la]

- Coaching was working. Karlsson was targeted all night long. They adjusted to the Sens well
- Martin was solid again defensively yes, but he was also doing good stuff offensively smoothly moving around with the puck in the offensive zone, keeping the puck in and such
- Powerplay was off, but that happens
- Fleury was good
- Glass on 2nd line? He did manage to just keep it simple and forecheck and such for them but not sure he can do much more than that for them
- Took some time before Bylsma let Lovejoy have much icetime, and probably would have been kept on the bench mostly if Niskanen had stayed healthy. Why do you even dress him if you don't want to use him?

[RisslingsMissingTeeth]

Good thoughts. My additions:
- Can someone tell Kunitz that the NHL came back from the strike? It would be nice if he could suit up and play.
- Depres is so traded it isn't funny. No reason for him not to dress yesterday. I think Bortuzzo is also trade bait which is why he isn't playing.
- Lovejoy should be a winger. He is better up front than as a D. But, I said that last year to deaf ears.
- I think I cursed poor Matty. Right before he disappeared, I said to my son that he had become probably the best D man on the Pens. Never saw him again after that.

[Kovy27]

Good thoughts. My additions:
- Depres is so traded it isn't funny. No reason for him not to dress yesterday. I think Bortuzzo is also trade bait which is why he isn't playing.

What?

It is either one or the other...not both. Bortuzzo has very little value compared to Despres.

[Jesse]

Paul Martin is playing like a boss. From a TOI standpoint, he leads the team. Also, no defenseman has been better than him from a super stats standpoint. If you average out the TOI for every defenseman over a 60 minute time frame, Pens goaltenders face the least amount of shots on goal when Martin is out there over every other defenseman, and it ain't even close.

[RisslingsMissingTeeth]

Good thoughts. My additions:
- Depres is so traded it isn't funny. No reason for him not to dress yesterday. I think Bortuzzo is also trade bait which is why he isn't playing.

What?

It is either one or the other...not both. Bortuzzo has very little value compared to Despres.

What I meant was that they both are on the block, not that I think both will be traded, whatever one doesn't get dealt stays. I think the Pens know that if Strait had value then Bortuzzo and Depres have even more.

[DelPen]

If Nisky is out at all then you have to throw Despres into the fire with Letang. I don't care if it's rough, he needs to play those minutes. Good team defense can shield him and it might also keep letnag focused if he needs to look out for Despres.

Woudl also rather see Bortuzzo in the lineup over Engellend and Lovejoy.

[Kovy27]

Paul Martin is playing like a boss. From a TOI standpoint, he leads the team. Also, no defenseman has been better than him from a super stats standpoint. If you average out the TOI for every defenseman over a 60 minute time frame, Pens goaltenders face the least amount of shots on goal when Martin is out there over every other defenseman, and it ain't even close.

I thought he was the worst d-man on the team?!!?

Seriously, he's been the best d-man on the team. He's getting his stick on the puck and creating opportunities. Hope he keeps it up. Him and Orpik have been lights out.

[midd]

Bob Errey said during the game that the Pens need to get the in puck deep and boy is he ever right. A little dump and chase every now and then doesn't hurt.

I think Geno might be letting his awards get to his head. A lot of dumb penalties and stupid plays. Just shoot the puck.

Def still some rust on this team. Loved seeing the forwards come back in their defensive zone.

[RisslingsMissingTeeth]

It sounds like they were excessive with the praise for Tangradi on the ROOT broadcast, but his simple drive to the net certainly affected the outcome of the play.

Is anyone taking bets on whether ROOT was warned about their vocal opinions on Tangradi? The praise was transparent and nauseating. He did nothing special. In one shift on the 4th line, I saw Vitale and Adams crush about 4 Sens while Tangradi was getting shoved around making only token gestures of hits. C'mon ROOT, we aren't blind!

[Hawkeynut]

- I call this game "managed slop". Pens were still sloppy but managed to keep it from totally ruining the game.
- I love Geno, but c'mon man. Look before you pass!
- Martin is earning his trust back with me, but I am still not convinced he is worth $5m.
- Flower was on his game, rebounds were well controlled.

I am not sure at what point the rust is supposed to be wore off but one has to think it should be soon. By game 10 if this team is not a well oiled machine, then something is wrong. And for the love of GOD GENO.. LOOK BEFORE YOU PASS!

[no name]

It sounds like they were excessive with the praise for Tangradi on the ROOT broadcast, but his simple drive to the net certainly affected the outcome of the play.

Is anyone taking bets on whether ROOT was warned about their vocal opinions on Tangradi? The praise was transparent and nauseating. He did nothing special. In one shift on the 4th line, I saw Vitale and Adams crush about 4 Sens while Tangradi was getting shoved around making only token gestures of hits. C'mon ROOT, we aren't blind!

His drive to the net did create room and was a big reason we scored on the play. But lets face it that one play is the only thing we have seen from Eric over the past 2 seasons.

[no name]

Good thoughts. My additions:
- Depres is so traded it isn't funny. No reason for him not to dress yesterday. I think Bortuzzo is also trade bait which is why he isn't playing.

What?

It is either one or the other...not both. Bortuzzo has very little value compared to Despres.

What I meant was that they both are on the block, not that I think both will be traded, whatever one doesn't get dealt stays. I think the Pens know that if Strait had value then Bortuzzo and Depres have even more.

Despres has no value, he has done nothing as a NHLer except get benched. No team will give you anything like what we got for Goligoski or Whitney, thoes guys had 2 or 3 proven seasons under their belts then were traded. Despres shows potential but has had no real success.

[sil]

It sounds like they were excessive with the praise for Tangradi on the ROOT broadcast, but his simple drive to the net certainly affected the outcome of the play.

I actually missed the game and caught the play on the highlights, but who's surprised that the Root crew overhyped it? In any case, good for Tangradi doing what he's supposed to on that play!

[tfrizz]

It sounds like they were excessive with the praise for Tangradi on the ROOT broadcast, but his simple drive to the net certainly affected the outcome of the play.

I actually missed the game and caught the play on the highlights, but who's surprised that the Root crew overhyped it? In any case, good for Tangradi doing what he's supposed to on that play!

I could only watch the Sens broadcast so I didn't get to experience it first-hand. I think most people would agree that Tangradi had a solid game yesterday - probably his best of the season. He made some nice, simple plays in the defensive zone and did a decent job of getting to the net in the offensive zone.

I'm still amazed at how a guy with his size is so easily pushed around and knocked down. If he could strengthen that, then he'd become a much more viable option as a net-front presence on the power play.

[DelPen]

I think Geno might be letting his awards get to his head. A lot of dumb penalties and stupid plays. Just shoot the puck.

This is absurd. Even without the awards that's how Malkin has played for the last 4 or 5 years when he tries to force plays and is frustrated