Game 5 vs. Ottawa - Thoughts from the morning after

[penny lane]

well paul steigy did say(jet game) & I heard him "ben lovejoy is the best 7th defenseman in the NHL."
If I hear anything negative, regarding a player, during a broadcast, it is from bob errey.

[Penspal]

I was forced to watch the Sens broadcast due to blackout restrictions. I'll share a few of their thoughts from the game

- Denis Potvin is a tool. I'd take Errery over him anyday (my thought, not theirs)
- They thought Fleury looked much better than some of the games he played against them last year
- They thought the Pens were dishing out Dirty hits
- They thought the Pens PP looked very disjointed
- They were "shocked" at how quickly Engellend recovered on that OT breakaway chance by Silverberg (not sure his name)

[Digitalgypsy66]

well paul steigy did say(jet game) & I heard him "ben lovejoy is the best 7th defenseman in the NHL."
If I hear anything negative, regarding a player, during a broadcast, it is from bob errey.

Yeah, I heard that too...ridiculous. Homertastic. Steiggy should know better.

[tfrizz]

- They thought Fleury looked much better than some of the games he played against them last year

Yup, because his 1-0-0 record against them was terrible. His stats might not've been flashy, but he started the team's only win against Ottawa last year. BJ started 2 of the losses and BT started the other - oh, and Fleury had to come in in 2 of those 3 games.

[joopen]

Who would have thought, at the beginning of last season, that we would be trying to figure out how to replace Niskanen's minutes now that he is hurt?

[Gaucho]

I thought Niskanen is day-to-day?

[joopen]

I thought Niskanen is day-to-day?

Is he? Last I heard was after the game's "lower body injury".

[slappybrown]

They aren't updating his condition officially until tomorrow per molinari, so expect a leak from "sources" later today. I feel like its bad sadly

[Gaucho]

Ugh, let's hope not.

[DelPen]

If I had to guess Nisky has a sprained or torn MCL with how he hit the outside of his knee on the boards.

If sprained I'd guess 2 weeks, partially torn 3-4 weeks, surgery for a full tear 6-8 weeks.

Since there was no twisting I hope it's not torn ligamanets, and seeing as how he got off the ice under his own power I'd rule out injuries to his femur. But I'm not a doctor so who knows.

Either case I hope Despres is ready for 18 minutes a game now even if Nisky is out just a few games.

[tfrizz]

http://templar.indosoft.com:7023/projects/jase/issues

That said; know a couple of things about Malkin and Neal:

* Both players have said that a secret to their success it neither guys holds back, verbally, on the ice. Also, it is something Neal has discussed with the roving players that have worked in on the left-wing slot – basically, Malkin is direct and to-the-point when it comes to on-ice chatter. LW Eric Tangradi confirmed during training camp that Neal warned him Malkin wouldn’t be shy about pointing out perceived problems. Being able to handle Malkin, who is as demanding of himself as any player I’ve covered, is part of the territory that comes with occupying space with him on the ice. Neal is not a shy player when it comes to speaking his mind either. Hence, he and Malkin can be engaged in a normal conversation, but one that may appear animated. It probably was less animated and more just two guys making sure they were on the same page. I’ve seen that before from Malkin and Neal. Many times.

No wonder he looks like he's terrified of doing something wrong on the ice.

[Gaucho]

Sounds like Duper would be the perfect fit.

[columbia]

Sounds like Duper would be the perfect fit.

"Thanks, Jaaaames"

[lemieuxReturns]

couple non-professional thoughts from my end:
- Kunitz needs to improve a bit. The passes are fumbled, the hits are border-line legal, and the points are not coming. I know how great a player he can be, but there is some serious improvement needed to get to that point.
- I still do not feel comfortable with MAF in net. That shot that got through and layed on the line was something we say all the time last season. I am not sure how, but shots just seem to find their way past this guy.
- duper is the best penguin on the ice so far.
- sid is still very rusty by his normal standards... so i can only imagine what his game is going to be like once he figures it all out again.
- geno seems to be getting frustrated with himself/teammates/refs ... everyone. I don't ever remember seeing him this way in the past.
- why did it take HCDB this long to figure out that Martin plays better on the right side?
- i don't get all the BIG DOG hate. He is playing up to the level we have seen from him since we aquired him in the kunitz deal. Did people expect him to all of a sudden be a scoring threat or hitting machine? This is exactly what he has been all along.

[blurryhaze312]

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

Agreed. However, it - bad passes, not the penalties - could be an adjustment problem coming back to the smaller ice though. Watching some of his highlights from KHL, he had a lot more room to just drop the puck off for a trailing player to come up and grab.

Who would have thought, at the beginning of last season, that we would be trying to figure out how to replace Niskanen's minutes now that he is hurt?

I thought he looked really solid most of last year as well. I think he just needed more time to adjust. Guy has been a steal as a "throw-in."

geno seems to be getting frustrated with himself/teammates/refs ... everyone. I don't ever remember seeing him this way in the past.

Boy is he barking at the refs a lot. A LOT.

[PghSkins]

- I still do not feel comfortable with MAF in net. That shot that got through and layed on the line was something we say all the time last season. I am not sure how, but shots just seem to find their way past this guy.

That one shot was indefensible obviously, but I don't think there's been another OMG MAF moment this year. Everything else he's allowed has been legit and/or attributable to turnovers/bad defense.

Someone on da fan on Saturday said "The goaltending needs to be better." Stats wise the goalies are middle of the pack with Fleury's slightly better but I have a hard time pinning either loss on them, and the SO goal didn't matter in the end.

[BigMcK]

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.

Isn't the old saying that you can't teach size? The knock on his skating ability is made more apparent in the fact that he does get knocked down and pushed around so easily. He also needs to find a mean streak and some snarl for his size so that players on the other team know he is on the ice. During the Flyers game his head was pushed down the ice and held there. He never responded.

[BigMcK]

Make a trade for Gonchar. Make Geno a happy man again. He goes from playing alongside friends and being happy to playing alongside teammates and not so happy. Make Geno happy.

New campaign: Make Geno Happy.

[Gaucho]

I'd rather keep him unhappy if it means winning the Art Ross and Hart trophies.

[Eismann]

Letang and Kunitz have been dreadful. Can't take a pass or keep pucks on sticks.

[RisslingsMissingTeeth]

I mentioned this in the in-game thread yesterday, but for a bit, TK was out on Crosby's line and it almost produced a goal. With Kunitz' drop in play, I would like to see TK given a shot with Sid, Kuny dropped to the 3rd line, and Glass given the role they want from Tangradi on Geno's line, one that he did get a chance to play some in yesterday's game. It is clear that Sutter is lost out there and Kuny might be a calming influence for him. Everyone wins.

[DelPen]

I mentioned this in the in-game thread yesterday, but for a bit, TK was out on Crosby's line and it almost produced a goal. With Kunitz' drop in play, I would like to see TK given a shot with Sid, Kuny dropped to the 3rd line, and Glass given the role they want from Tangradi on Geno's line, one that he did get a chance to play some in yesterday's game. It is clear that Sutter is lost out there and Kuny might be a calming influence for him. Everyone wins.

Sutter was fine when he wasn't playing with two left wings. Still shaking my head that Bylsma messed up three lines to cram Tangradi into the lineup.

He's still learning Bylsma and his linemates, it will come in time.

The crap between Neal and Malkin miscommunicating should not be happening though.

[Gaucho]

I'm ok with switching the Koon to Geno's line, but dropping him all the way to the 3rd line to make room for Tanner Glass, who has never at any point in his otherwise commendable career displayed anything resembling a good set of hands seems a bit desperate. I believe our best setup looks something like this:

14/Mystery Winger - 87 - 9
14/Mystery Winger - 71 - 18
24 - 16 - 48
10 - 46 - 27

The mystery winger's initials may or may not be BB.



I'm ok with Brad Boyes.

[The Snapshot]

I'm ok with switching the Koon to Geno's line, but dropping him all the way to the 3rd line to make room for Tanner Glass, who has never at any point in his otherwise commendable career displayed anything resembling a good set of hands seems a bit desperate. I believe our best setup looks something like this:

14/Mystery Winger - 87 - 9
14/Mystery Winger - 71 - 18
24 - 16 - 48
10 - 46 - 27

The mystery winger's initials may or may not be BB.



I'm ok with Brad Boyes.

Right now Kunitz is a bigger disappointment than Tangradi, because I feel like I know what each is capable of and Kunitz is so far below his own bar that it's not funny.

He was so obviously struggling yesterday that you could see it in his body language and face. He made tons of mistakes with the puck yesterday, in fact almost every time he touched it.

I'm wondering if he would benefit from the move to Malkin's line. It could either put two players struggling with the puck on the same line, are it may jumpstart both of them. Say what you want, but I think part of Geno's troubles with doing too much right now stem from having only one other linemate to pass to out there.

Maybe Sid's back is strong enough to carry Tangradi?

[RisslingsMissingTeeth]

Maybe Sid's back is strong enough to carry Tangradi?

To work on Sid's line you either need brains (Guerin) or speed (Dupuis). Tangradi has neither. Sid is a set-up guy while Geno and Neal are snipers which is why, in theory, the traffic caused by Big Dog would work.