The current state of the Pens.

[Scott]

Hello all. I've been on a big hiatus not just with this board but with life as well.

None the less I'm seeing something going on here with the Pens early on and its alarming.
Its alarming because I'm seeing a continuation of the type of play that got them early tee time last spring.

The type of play I'm referring to isn't a system problem or a personnel problem. It isn't even a special teams problems although they are contributing.

The biggest problem I'm seeing could be a mentality of self entitlement. It seems like they want to win because they should win. The other team should lie down because we are the Penguins with Malkin and Crosby. The series last year with the Flyers is a glaring example of this. How many leads did the Pens have in that series? I recall one particular sequence from that playoff was this....Crosby wins the draw in his own zone, and the Flyers get possession of the puck and score. They didn't fight to get possession but rather they were allowed to have the puck because all of the Pens were standing around.
Another reason I point to this idea is because the Pens start the game like angry dogs...get a lead...and then just kill the effort. Look at how many 2nd period goals they have allowed and how many they have for. That tells everything.
The Islanders game last night showed two things. Forget the score because every team has one of those games to forget.
It showed #1 the huge lack of interest the Pens seem to have right now. It showed about 4..maybe 5 guys that want to play. The rest were slow. They actually looked like and old team. Crazy I know because they are far from old. Some aren't even in the prime yet.
The other glaring thing the game with the ISLE showed was how the PENS used to play the game. They used to play the game the way the Islanders played last night. Diving for pucks. Suffocating. Relentless in your face pressure. That was how the Pens used to play every night. They didn't win every game but they won most of them. They were a nightmare to play against. I was joking with a friend last night and said how much do you miss George Laraque's line right about now. Remember them? They didn't score much but they owned the puck in the offensive zone about 45 seconds on every shift.
This is the Pens right now in three possessions. Skate down, make a terrible pass, turnover. Skate down, make a terrible pass, odd man rush back against. Skate down, take a terrible angle shot, and it gets deflected out of play.
Malkin has become a turnover king. I don't know if the KHL messed up his timing or the extra weight he has put on has messed up his coordination but the passes he is making are ridiculously....bad.

Lets see if Bylsma is really a good coach or was he just riding the zone the Pens were in at the time. He came in and took a team over that was stale from Michel Therrien. He energized a team with a pin your ears back style of play. It also took the other opponents by surprise a bit. Well that "new" style is long gone. He has been doing his thing now for three plus year. It's no secret how the Pens are going to play. Teams have adjusted in this copy cat league. Will Bylsma tweak his style. Will Bylsma get in the ear of some of those stars and get under their skin a little? There are ways to tell Crosby and Malkin they are playing lazy, stupid and uninspired without actually saying those words.

Let's see if he can figure something out. I certainly hope so.

Btw, the best players on the ice last game were...Adams, Kennedy, Despress, Letang. Letang only gets on this list because his skating ability is just amazing and had it not been for that skating the Isle migiht have put 10 goals in.

Maybe the Pens are in coast mode. They don't seem very interested in the regular season but if they aren't careful they won't even make it to the post season.

[BigMcK]

He has been doing his thing now for three plus year. It's no secret how the Pens are going to play. Teams have adjusted in this copy cat league. Will Bylsma tweak his style.

Judging by the success rate of his system, tweak isn't a word in his vocabulary.

Will Bylsma get in the ear of some of those stars and get under their skin a little? There are ways to tell Crosby and Malkin they are playing lazy, stupid and uninspired without actually saying those words.

Maybe mix it up a bit? Uninspired, lazy and stupid. They are highly-paid professionals and adult men. Tell it to them straight.

[penny lane]

Evgeni has also been a king at takeaways...

[IMFC]

Evgeni has also been a king at takeaways...

Which is nice, but his giveaways wind up in the back of our net more often than his takeaways wind up in theirs...

[penmyst]

Another reason I point to this idea is because the Pens start the game like angry dogs...get a lead...and then just kill the effort. Look at how many 2nd period goals they have allowed and how many they have for. That tells everything.

Serious question: do you think the Pens players intentionally coast after getting 1 or 2 goals in the first period?

I might say that isn't true at all. They are professionals, but more so they are humans and they want to win.

So, what else could it be? What happens after the first period? When coaches go into the intermission, and make adjustments to what's going on out there on the ice, right? What if the OTHER team is making adjustments, and then things change?

What is the Pens response? Do you think this might be the cause for the uneven performances, MORE than calling the Pens lazy?

The Islanders game last night showed two things. Forget the score because every team has one of those games to forget.
It showed #1 the huge lack of interest the Pens seem to have right now. It showed about 4..maybe 5 guys that want to play. The rest were slow. They actually looked like and old team. Crazy I know because they are far from old. Some aren't even in the prime yet.

Again, instead of calling the Penguins lazy and questioning their work ethic.... what else could it be that makes guys look older than they are?

What if they are getting routed in certain tactical aspects of the game, and can't seem to get ANYTHING working in their favor? That sort of stuff can sap the "want to" right out of any player in sports. It's why losing teams often find it hard to turn the corner, when NOTHING they are doing is working.... What could be causing that? Assuming we aren't going to fall back on the shallow "they are lazy and aren't trying" mindset. Seriously, what could be causing a team to look unstable, shaky, almost resigned to losing, playing with doubts because everything they are trying to do out there is being countered.

Are you noticing a pattern yet?

The other glaring thing the game with the ISLE showed was how the PENS used to play the game. They used to play the game the way the Islanders played last night. Diving for pucks. Suffocating. Relentless in your face pressure. That was how the Pens used to play every night. They didn't win every game but they won most of them. They were a nightmare to play against.

What if you never get to the positions on the ice to "get in faces"? What if your strategies are being easily countered, aimlessly dumped in pucks are easily cleared by your opponents, your own D facing multiple hurdles to simply getting the puck to their own blue line? You can have all the tenacity in the world, if the "system" and "strategies" are not putting your players into positions to USE that tenacity, what does it matter?

I was joking with a friend last night and said how much do you miss George Laraque's line right about now. Remember them? They didn't score much but they owned the puck in the offensive zone about 45 seconds on every shift.

Wow, distance makes the heart grow fonder (and blinder apparently). They weren't that good.

This is the Pens right now in three possessions. Skate down, make a terrible pass, turnover. Skate down, make a terrible pass, odd man rush back against. Skate down, take a terrible angle shot, and it gets deflected out of play.

That will happen when you are skating down the ice in 1 or 2 limited fashions, with 1 or 2 limited "strategies". Why? Well, the other team has a coach. And he studies tape. And then he formulates strategies to counter yours. If all you got in your bag is "NORTH! GO NORTH!" and "GET TO OUR GAME!" (wtf does that even mean?), well it's not that hard to counter.

Think of it like this: you can't defend everything. If you choose to press and take the player- you can't defend a pass. If you choose to play the passing lane, you can't take the player. If you choose to stand guys up at your blue line, you can't defend the dump. If you choose to defend the dump, you can't stop players from penetrating your zone with possession. Games are like water, ever changing and shifting. So coaches and players have to be reacting to these tendencies/strategies. The Pens don't. Other teams do.

Malkin has become a turnover king. I don't know if the KHL messed up his timing or the extra weight he has put on has messed up his coordination but the passes he is making are ridiculously....bad.

Actually, he was outstanding in the KHL. Makes you think it is more to do with the Penguins than Malkin. Food for thought.

Lets see if Bylsma is really a good coach or was he just riding the zone the Pens were in at the time. He came in and took a team over that was stale from Michel Therrien. He energized a team with a pin your ears back style of play. It also took the other opponents by surprise a bit. Well that "new" style is long gone. He has been doing his thing now for three plus year. It's no secret how the Pens are going to play. Teams have adjusted in this copy cat league. Will Bylsma tweak his style. Will Bylsma get in the ear of some of those stars and get under their skin a little? There are ways to tell Crosby and Malkin they are playing lazy, stupid and uninspired without actually saying those words.

You seem to recognize where the real problem lays. Then you still take a shot at Crosby and Malkin. /smh

Maybe the Pens are in coast mode. They don't seem very interested in the regular season but if they aren't careful they won't even make it to the post season.

You think that what you are watching is "coast mode"?

[Scott]

Penmyst,

Does my post sting you because it is speaking the truth about your heroes? Seriously.

I didn't think it needed spelled out but I covered basically everyone with the Pens minus Shero and Lemieux.

Bylsma should not be free from blame. But the blame needs to be everyone in that locker room. The Pens just got hammered by a team that beat them like the Pens used to play.

Think about that. Why is that? Why are the Pens not playing the better part of 60 mins with the same intensity you, me, and every other fan has come accustomed to seeing.

I think its a gigantic mess. I think the players are in fact playing uninspired. That is the coaches baby out there so why is he not fixing that. Normally I have no problem blaming the coach for something that is his product.....but this debacle of hockey should have everyone getting some blame. A simple D to D pass right now feels like an accomplishment.

[Steve]

The biggest problem I'm seeing could be a mentality of self entitlement. It seems like they want to win because they should win. The other team should lie down because we are the Penguins with Malkin and Crosby.

I'd say this applies to some of our fans, alot more than our players.

[Pavel Bure]

I don't agree with the entitlement thing for the players. Now for us fans I think it exists in full. We see the talent, we see how could they have been, and how could they could. Thus we expect them to win and we expect them to play full tilt lights out all the time. We have the entitlement not the guys on the ice. The core of the team has been through playoff runs that create hardened veterans. They know the work that needs to be put in and not a single one that's been through that should or would have a sense of entitlement. What the Pens have is a motivation and by way of that a coaching problem. Listless play isn't the product of entitlement it's the product of poor coaching.

Edit: Damn it Steve

[Kovy27]

So, at first it is Crosby & Malkin's fault....then its DB fault.

I've never been so confused on a post and I wish I could have my time back.

Much like the Pirates collapse in August, I blame the coaches for this "gigantic mess". Which really isn't a gigantic mess. Lets remember that there was a no training camp, outside a select few that went overseas...these players did not see real game time since they lost to Philly in the 1st round. However, lets panic. It is easier.

[Scott]

Kovy, its not panic, just telling fact.

The Pens play a team they know or think will be tough and the Pens play inspired. The Pens play someone they should beat and it is a half hearted effort.

[Kovy27]

Kovy, its not panic, just telling fact.

The Pens play a team they know or think will be tough and the Pens play inspired. The Pens play someone they should beat and it is a half hearted effort.

Telling fact of what? 6 games?

[She'sTheFastest]

How did you take a hiatus from life? Coma?

[Kovy27]

How did you take a hiatus from life? Coma?

Locked himself in the basement.

[Mr. Colby]

Pennsylvania, amirite?

[Bioshock]

[Kharlamov]

How did you take a hiatus from life? Coma?

Locked himself in the basement.

He was living here:

[Kovy27]

/panicmodeoff

[Rylan]

/panicmodeoff

The switch is flipped!

[BigMcK]

I think Bylsma called Crosby uninspired. It worked.

Coach to player.

[DontToewsMeBro]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=IEmbP5Pa5uc

really missing this guy this year.

[Sam's Drunk Dog]

Pennsylvania amicite?

It's Coal in the P.

[Kaizer]

its alarming.

no

[71Aj66ax87]

What is Pennsylvania?