Game 6 vs. NY Islanders - Thoughts from the morning after

[Penspal]

Pens lose 4-1

- I believe that was the worst I have ever seen Sid play. He had 4 (FOUR) failed pass attempts in a row. The rest of the team followed suit
- Strait & Colin McDonald both played great for the Isles. Both recent WBS/AHL farm hands which looked better than most Penguin players.
- Kennedy, Adams, Vitale - not bright spots per se, but at least they had a pulse
- Pens were having a hard time even dumping the puck past the isles. Not supporting each other, not doing much of anything.
- Vokoun looked sharp holding the mop. MAF might have wanted 1-2 goals back, but it didn't matter as the Pens only got 1 late.
- Letang should not play with Despres. Despres needs an anchor and someone to learn from, Letang is like a wild mustang out there
- Pens official site tweeted pregame that Letang said something about "not looking past the Isles".... stupid tweet because it motivated the Isles, Pens look foolish. Poor hockey sense/PR.
- In a short season like this, you cannot take long to get going. AT this point - Glass has been empty, Lovejoy/Despres subpar and cap room to spare?

[ShipHockey7]

Strait>Lovejoy

[PensHckyFan79]

I'm glad I was busy doing an online test last night. It sounds like a horrible performance from the Pens all around. Wasn't it the Isles that showed us all what the true Pens team colors were last season. I hope that history will not repeat itself again this year. Hope Thursday the pens can get a better result. 0-2 on home ice so far not very good.

[Hawkeynut]

- Pens are tuned out. This is not rust.
- No heart and soul type players.
- Who would have thought Crosby, Malkin and Ovenchicken would be this "invisible" to start the season.
- Can we go back to the lock-out please?
- Last night was not Flowers fault.
- I would rather watch the Oilers right now, their youthful energy reminds me of the past.

[Hawkeynut]

I'm glad I was busy doing an online test last night. It sounds like a horrible performance from the Pens all around. Wasn't it the Isles that showed us all what the true Pens team colors were last season. I hope that history will not repeat itself again this year. Hope Thursday the pens can get a better result. 0-2 on home ice so far not very good.

It is not so much the 0-2 start at home that is concerning it is the manner in which they are loosing those games.

[iWonTheCup87]

the whole team = Vomit
effort = vomit

seriously one of the worst games ive seen in a few years. No energy at all and more sloppy play. They cant hold pressure in the offensive zone for more than 5 seconds, they get beat to most pucks and if they win it they just make stupid passes and give it right back. Turnovers everywhere all the time. PP is a joke, if they stand up at the blue line dump it in and get to the puck!

they better wake up fast because they dont have all kinds of time to play around. They are lucky the rangers and flyers have started slow but i think the Rangers are heating up.

[Gaucho]

You know it's really bad when people miss Strait and MacDonald.

[shafnutz05]

Can I take a morning after pill?

[Penspal]

Can I take a morning after pill?

Take two, and call me tomorrow morning

[penny lane]

Shades of February of 2009... send up billy guerin. coach dan; I don't if the players have tuned him out
I know my own impatience is carryover from last april. BUT, I dont see anyone in front of the net, I don't see Letang improving, positional defense and pucks to the net.

I don't need to see the high flying act at the consol, just winning and sound hockey.

[Penspal]

You know it's really bad when people miss Strait and MacDonald.

I'm not claiming to have missed them, but they were noticeable, they brought effort and an edge in their puck battles. I believe that AHL players who have been playing for months are proving more ready than some current NHL'ers.

[Gaucho]

You know it's really bad when people miss Strait and MacDonald.

I'm not claiming to have missed them, but they were noticeable, they brought effort and an edge in their puck battles. I believe that AHL players who have been playing for months are proving more ready than some current NHL'ers.

Bad wording on my part. My point is that we shouldn't be talking about them at all and the only reason we even bring their names up is the Pens being absolutely atrocious.

[columbia]

You know it's really bad when people miss Strait and MacDonald.

I'm not claiming to have missed them, but they were noticeable, they brought effort and an edge in their puck battles. I believe that AHL players who have been playing for months are proving more ready than some current NHL'ers.

I've noticed that with Bortuzzo.

[penny lane]

~ matt moulson... hindsight being perfect would look good with the pens.

[thehockeyguru]

I dont think I've ever seen Malkin this disinterested.

[penny lane]

I dont think I've ever seen Malkin this disinterested.

0r
Sidney

Both of them trying to do it all on their own

[skullman80]

I thought Malkin was one of the few that looked like he gave a crap last night. Still made plenty of bad decisions, but so did Sid and the rest of the team.

Despres and maybe Jeffrey were the only two players that looked even near ok last night.

[darkstar57]

Didn't watch the game because i am traveling for work and they blacked out the game on game center because it was on NBCsports and the hotel didn't have it.

Kind of glad at that fact now

[pugilist13]

Playing like a team that wants their coach fired. Rewind to the last month of last season to today. Same mediocre team with a poor effort on a nightly basis. Way too much talent for these results over that period of time.

[DelPen]

Wait, there was a game last night? Did the Pens know this?

[iWonTheCup87]

Playing like a team that wants their coach fired. Rewind to the last month of last season to today. Same mediocre team with a poor effort on a nightly basis. Way too much talent for these results over that period of time.

they could at least score. Right now they cant do much of anything right

[Azkar]

They spent 4.5 minutes of a 5min PP trying to gain the zone.

[sil]

They spent 4.5 minutes of a 5min PP trying to gain the zone.

I laughed when I first read this...and then I cried a little.

[shmenguin]

the line shuffling is probably a tiny bit overstated, but i will say this much - the coach should really understand the limitations of his players. he's been coaching kennedy for what...4 years now? he should have known that the guy wasn't going to be able to make the sudden transition to left wing - especially on a skill line. hell, mikey called it out in the pre-season. you can't mess with a "drone's" programming like that. error. error. and it doesn't take 4 years to know that tanner glass on his best day is a pretty good 4th liner. not a guy you plug up and down the lineup. but i'll give him a tentative pass on that since it was sort of an emergency scramble.

other stuff...

-kunitz and orpik must have had some epic pie eating contests during the lockout.
-martin's played well, but again, it's another game with a bad turnover. dude can't go a game without one.
-depres has never looked bad in a pens jersey. i don't know what his problem is in the AHL
-sutter...i think that the draft pick was the real gem in that trade. hopefully pouliot isn't also playing 20 minutes a night for NYI in a few years.
-jeffrey actually looked good. i'd keep him up in the top 6 - at least for the sake of 3rd line continuity. literally everyone has done significantly better than tangradi, though

[sil]

I've liked what I've seen from Sutter defensively. He's go-go-go in the defensive zone, but then he looks inept when he has the puck on the rush.