Game 21 vs Canes - Thoughts from the morning after

[penny lane]

I don't know why so many are crying for it -- Bylsma WILL NOT get fired mid-season., ESPECIALLY when the team is 2nd in the Conference, 6th overall in the league. Vent your frustrations elsewhere please!

exactly, they are playing to start play offs on the road.

I don't expect them to win every game, but too many, 3-4games , don't show up ready to compete for 3 periods.

[Gaucho]

I don't know why so many are crying for it -- Bylsma WILL NOT get fired mid-season., ESPECIALLY when the team is 2nd in the Conference, 6th overall in the league. Vent your frustrations elsewhere please!

It's really incredible how the Penguins are transforming into the Capitals, from players to fans

I don't know whether to give this or

It clearly is a vicious personal attack. Shad is a bitter old man and needs to be banned for life.

[shafnutz05]

[shmenguin]

EDIT: and if you mean the fact that they could be in 7th place tomorrow, well, a week later they could be back in first. So, that doesn't make sense.

the point is that 2nd place isn't much to brag about. you're saying it yourself right here.

[thepittman]

The Bruce Boudreau effect is in full gear here in Pittsburgh

[Bioshock]

Still not seeing the TK hate, he worked hard and moved the puck the entire game. There should be a long list a players on the bashing list above him. His line had a lot of puck possession and could keep it in the O zone.

Kennedy played well last night. Not bashing his last night performance. Bashing the body of work. Dude has made very poor choices for more than long enough to warrant the criticism.

He is usually one of the hardest working players on the ice every night. The rest of the team is like a clown show.

Not questioning his work ethic. Questioning his decision making abilities. You can be a very hard worker and still be awful.

If the rest of the team is a clown show, he's definitely the ring master to that circus.

[thepittman]

Still not seeing the TK hate, he worked hard and moved the puck the entire game. There should be a long list a players on the bashing list above him. His line had a lot of puck possession and could keep it in the O zone.

Kennedy played well last night. Not bashing his last night performance. Bashing the body of work. Dude has made very poor choices for more than long enough to warrant the criticism.

He is usually one of the hardest working players on the ice every night. The rest of the team is like a clown show.

Not questioning his work ethic. Questioning his decision making abilities. You can be a very hard worker and still be awful.

If the rest of the team is a clown show, he's definitely the ring master to that circus.

[Fire0nice228]

The defense sucks but we definitely need a scoring winger for sid.

[dollartaco]

The team just isn't very fun to watch. They're sloppy with the puck and soft on defense. Their goals seem to be percentage plays rather than creative. Even during most of their wins I'm thinking, "This just looks like a mess."

[Bioshock]

Still not seeing the TK hate, he worked hard and moved the puck the entire game. There should be a long list a players on the bashing list above him. His line had a lot of puck possession and could keep it in the O zone.

Kennedy played well last night. Not bashing his last night performance. Bashing the body of work. Dude has made very poor choices for more than long enough to warrant the criticism.

He is usually one of the hardest working players on the ice every night. The rest of the team is like a clown show.

Not questioning his work ethic. Questioning his decision making abilities. You can be a very hard worker and still be awful.

If the rest of the team is a clown show, he's definitely the ring master to that circus.

Facepalm all you want, Kennedy has been bad. Really bad in the breakout especially and in the neutral zone. And now he isn't scoring. The Pens need the third and 4th lines to create a tempo. Kennedy along with others hasn't been doing this.

Also, i'm not even remotely saying this should all be heaped on one guy. It's two games of bad play by an overall bad team effort. I have total faith they can play better. They did after the Islanders game and they will here as well.

[Fire0nice228]

The defense sucks but we definitely need a scoring winger for Sid

[slappybrown]

Its fine that we are (at least for the moment) 2nd in the conference. But its obvious that the team has similar issues compared to last year. Its hard to feel confident about a deep playoff run as currently constructed. I wouldn't particularly like our chances against, say BOS (the best team in the East for my money right now), PHI (I want to play them because its so much fun, but based on last year and the last time we played, could be ugly), or MTL (would be a flashback to 2010 with Therrien behind the bench instead of Martin, clogging shooting lanes and scoring timely goals that drive me insane). NJ also hasn't looked like someone we'd mop up by any stretch after that home and home, though they've been struggling themselves lately.

You can try to remedy that by (1) changing the players or (2) changing the coach or (3) both.


Can this team as constituted (w/a healthy Malkin) win the Cup? I doubt it. If Shero thinks we can, then I'd be surprised. But this deadline is huge for him, particularly if he sticks with Bylsma.

[shmenguin]

how bout that...kennedy makes an appearance in this thread for some reason. whoda thunk it.

[Bioshock]

Why are we considering firing the coach? I know Bylsma has his flaws but he's a pretty darn good coach IMO.

[slappybrown]

Why are we considering firing the coach? I know Bylsma has his flaws but he's a pretty darn good coach IMO.

Because many think that this team is unlikely to win the Cup. That's it. There is no other goal for this team with 87/71 in their mid-20s. Not, "we can make a run", not" we're in the mix" -- we have to win and win now. If there is any doubt over the coaching staff's ability to make that happen, then you make a change. There's been enough in the last playoff series and so far this season that indicates it should be under discussion.

[thepittman]

how bout that...kennedy makes an appearance in this thread for some reason. whoda thunk it.

Some people just don't like him, no matter how well he plays

[slappybrown]

Tyler Kennedy is far down the list of worrisome issues for this team.

[Bioshock]

Why are we considering firing the coach? I know Bylsma has his flaws but he's a pretty darn good coach IMO.

Because many think that this team is unlikely to win the Cup. That's it. There is no other goal for this team with 87/71 in their mid-20s. Not, "we can make a run", not" we're in the mix" -- we have to win and win now. If there is any doubt over the coaching staff's ability to make that happen, then you make a change. There's been enough in the last playoff series and so far this season that indicates it should be under discussion.

So who do you replace him with that would be better for the task at hand?

[slappybrown]

Also, and this is probably slightly irrational and not based on anything too concrete, but Tanner Glass sucks and I don't want him here.

[Wyopen]

I think the issue is that all you hear from Crosby and the other players is talk. They always seem to say the right things and acknowledge what the problem is, but they never do the things they need to do to fix it. In this case, I'd rather see Crosby setting the example rather than just repeating the same thing about how they're getting outworked.

Exactly...excuses don't satisfy the masses, actions do.

[DudeMan2766]

YOu arent sure why? Its because you, among others have been throwing out this 2ND IN THE CONFERENCE!!! like its set in stone for the rest of the year. Do you not expect any teams below us to improve in the second half of the season? And do you expect the Pens given the way they are playing to keep their apparent stranglehold on 2nd in the conference for another 2 months? I just dont get why their standing 6 weeks into the season is any indication of how they are playing right now.

[slappybrown]

Why are we considering firing the coach? I know Bylsma has his flaws but he's a pretty darn good coach IMO.

Because many think that this team is unlikely to win the Cup. That's it. There is no other goal for this team with 87/71 in their mid-20s. Not, "we can make a run", not" we're in the mix" -- we have to win and win now. If there is any doubt over the coaching staff's ability to make that happen, then you make a change. There's been enough in the last playoff series and so far this season that indicates it should be under discussion.

So who do you replace him with that would be better for the task at hand?

A lot of people like Lindy Ruff. I don't know how that work here frankly. I don't know enough about potential candidates compared to other people to be honest. But just because I can't identify a suitable replacement and lack the knowledge to do so, doesn't mean it shouldn't be considered.

[DudeMan2766]

I don't know why so many are crying for it -- Bylsma WILL NOT get fired mid-season., ESPECIALLY when the team is 2nd in the Conference, 6th overall in the league. Vent your frustrations elsewhere please!

It's really incredible how the Penguins are transforming into the Capitals, from players to fans

If that is directed at me, not sure why. I'm stating an opinion that I can pretty much assure is fact.

EDIT: and if you mean the fact that they could be in 7th place tomorrow, well, a week later they could be back in first. So, that doesn't make sense. We all know what the team "issues" are. My belief is they will be addressed via trade, not coach firing. If that makes me a Capitals fan, then, I don't know what to say.

My post above was directed at this. Neglected to quote it.

[shmenguin]

in 2009, everyone generally agrees that MT needs to go. the internet asks, "well who are you going to replace him with, smart guy?". everyone says, "i dunno, but it still needs to happen". MT is then replaced by a seemingly arbitrary interim coach that no one knows squat about. crazy i know, but bear with me...and then they won the cup.

advocating a firing can exist independently from having a replacement plan, as long as you're not the GM.

[Bioshock]

Why are we considering firing the coach? I know Bylsma has his flaws but he's a pretty darn good coach IMO.

Because many think that this team is unlikely to win the Cup. That's it. There is no other goal for this team with 87/71 in their mid-20s. Not, "we can make a run", not" we're in the mix" -- we have to win and win now. If there is any doubt over the coaching staff's ability to make that happen, then you make a change. There's been enough in the last playoff series and so far this season that indicates it should be under discussion.

So who do you replace him with that would be better for the task at hand?

A lot of people like Lindy Ruff. I don't know how that work here frankly. I don't know enough about potential candidates compared to other people to be honest. But just because I can't identify a suitable replacement and lack the knowledge to do so, doesn't mean it shouldn't be considered.

Alright. I can get behind that as long as it's not a kneejerk reaction. If you have a plan, follow through with it.