Grading Game 42

[Mad City Mike]

Thibault with an F of course -- after facing 39 shots and keeping us in the game until midway through the 3rd period with a number of big saves, and yet you continue to give him no credit at all. At least give him a friggin D for the love of God! And you blame a PP goal scored on him on a 100+ mph slapshot from the top of the circle through a screen which he had no chance of stopping??? 2 goals came on amazing deflections at the last second, and the other was on a pitiful giveaway by Nasraddine directly in front of our own net, but I guess that was all Thibault's fault right? The success of a goaltender on any given night is usually strongly connected to how well his D and the whole team is playing in front of him that night, so if you think our D and the whole team played so terrible overall, why don't you seem to understand that this has something to do with how many saves a goalie can make that night???

What part of this statement differs from what you said:

He actually kept them in the game with some great saves, but the two long-range shots he let in drag the grade down.

The slap shots were not screened at all. I watched them several times on the TiVO, and they were neither screened nor deflected. They are saves a decent goalie makes every time. When a goalie lets in two bad goals like that, it's hard to give him anythuing other than an F, even if he did make some other great saves when the Pens were being dominated. Goals like thatd eflate a team.

Why not give Crosby an F since he failed to score on a wide open breakaway at a crucial part of the game - think that may have "deflated" the team a little bit.

Sid certainly deserved something lower than his usual A, and that was indeed a pathetic shot right into Auld's glove.

you blame a PP goal scored on him on a 100+ mph slapshot from the top of the circle through a screen which he had no chance of stopping??? 2 goals came on amazing deflections at the last second, and the other was on a pitiful giveaway by Nasraddine directly in front of our own net, but I guess that was all Thibault's fault right? The success of a goaltender on any given night is usually strongly connected to how well his D and the whole team is playing in front of him that night, so if you think our D and the whole team played so terrible overall, why don't you seem to understand that this has something to do with how many saves a goalie can make that night???[/quote]

What part of this statement differs from what you said:

He actually kept them in the game with some great saves, but the two long-range shots he let in drag the grade down.

The slap shots were not screened at all. I watched them several times on the TiVO, and theyw ere neither screened nor deflected. They are saves a decent goalie makes every time. When a goalie lets in two bad goals like that, it's hard to give him anythuing other than an F, even if he did make some other great saves when the Pens were being dominated. Goals like that deflate a team.

Our offense with an F -- even though they scored 2 goals -- brilliant deduction once again!

One was a goal in garbage time.

Officiating with an F -- of course of course its all the refs fault. No game recap of a Pens loss would be complete without whining and crying about the officiating. But I'm confused, if you give the team an F and the refs an F, who's really at fault for the loss???

Again, find anywhere in my post where I blamed the refs for the loss. All I said is they were horrible, which they were. But in no way do I blame them for the loss. Their ineptitude cut both ways equally.

If this team was giving so little effort throughout the whole game why was it such a close game until midway through the 3rd period?

Because Florida stinks? Even the players said they didn't work hard enough, but if I say it, I'm crucified .

[penscup]

The slap shots were not screened at all. I watched them several times on the TiVO, and they were neither screened nor deflected. They are saves a decent goalie makes every time. When a goalie lets in two bad goals like that, it's hard to give him anythuing other than an F, even if he did make some other great saves when the Pens were being dominated. Goals like thatd eflate a team.

Sorry, but we must be watching different replays because both were at least partially screened in the ones I've seen. Both were from very close range also making it that much more difficult, the first coming from the top of the circle was a rocket, and the second from well INSIDE THE CIRCLE on a very fast give and go. It was like target practice out there, and he can't stop them all. Goal #1 was an excellent deflection, #4 was the terrible giveaway, and #5 was a guy wide open on the doorstep. Of all these goals you could MAYBE expect an all-star goalie to stop 1 out of the 5, thats it man. Anything else and you're just being completely unrealistic. Thibault has given this team a chance to win in almost every game he's played this year, its time people recognize this and give him small amount of credit at least.

Because Florida stinks? Even the players said they didn't work hard enough, but if I say it, I'm crucified .

If they stink so bad explain how they have already beaten the likes of Buffalo, Montreal (twice!), Carolina, and the NYR (twice), and lost in OT shootouts to Carolina, Montreal, & the Rangers this year and its barely half over? They're playing better than most people think even though they're record doesn't exactly show it. Much like the Pens they have been inconsistent from night to night.

One was a goal in garbage time.

You call 9 minutes left in the game & trailing by 2 goals garbage time? You must be one of the fleeing fans racing to the parking lot who soil themselves once they realize they've missed yet another amazing comeback by the Pens this year, eh.