Grading Game 44

[Mad City Mike]

OFFENSE: B. But only thanks to a great third period. After two frames, it would have been a big fat F. They came out like gangbusters in the first five minutes, totally bottling the Islanders up and netting a goal. They apparently decided that their night’s work was done, because they spent the rest of the first and all of the second watching the Islanders play. Apparently, Yeo had some choice words between periods, and they responded, playing a great third period. Great transition game in the third. They finally decided to start shooting more, witness Sid’s two goals off rebounds. Amazing that the puck can actually go in when you shoot it, isn’t it? The first two periods were a disgusting display of overpassing on odd-man breaks. It took Mark Recchi, of all people, to finally shoot on a 2-on-1 and Sid pops in the rebound. That’s how it’s done, folks.

DEFENSE: A-. Tremendous effort in the defensive zone. The Isles had some shots, but not a huge amount of quality scoring chances. They never really bottled the Pens up too much, and never seemed like a huge threat to score. There was that one glaring misplay by Orpik and Whitney on the second goal, which is mostly on Whitney. Orpik went for the hit, fine. Maybe or maybe not a good play. But Whitney, seeing this, cannot leave the front of the net. So what does he do? Chases the puck into the corner. Bam! Goal. Idiotic play by him. And I’m not done with him, either.

POWER PLAY: C. And I’m probably being generous. Okay, make it a D. No team that gives up a goal while up two men can be graded as average. That was just a hideously bad play by Sid and Gonchar. IMO, the PP the first two periods could only be called soul-sucking. It robbed them of their own momentum. And I’m not talking about the aforementioned play. I refer to the first PP they got. At this point, they were totally dominating the game. The Isles couldn’t get out of their own end. Then they get a PP. And they futz around for two minutes, never even coming close to a shot on goal. It was as if they quit working as soon as they went up a man. Sure enough, the Isles took the momentum and kept it through the end of the second period. Oh, and the two five-on-threes were just embarrassing for the overpassing and lack of scoring chances. It took them just throwing stuff on net to get their two goals. You think they will learn a lesson? Ha!

PENALTY KILL: A. Superb effort last night. Man, is Jordan Staal great at this, and he seems to get more confident every game, too. But all the PK guys get huge credit here. The Isles had 8 PPs, and I can’t think of a single instance where Fleury had to make a highlight reel save. They were awesome all night. For the most part, when they had a chance to get the puck out, they did. They kept pressure all the way up the ice, never giving the Isles time. You simply cannot ask any more of a PK unit.

GOALTENDING: A-. Not an A only because Fleury was a little off his angle on the Park goal, not that it was his fault, was it Sid? Other than that, another great game by a guy who seems to be gaining more and more confidence with each outing. He was not spectacular last night, but that’s because he was always in position. One key play I recall him making was on a PK when Talbot had lost his stick. The Isles shot from the point and he just absorbed it, not allowing any rebound. He is just totally under control right now. With his athleticism, if he plays like that, he will become the goalie most thought he would be. Heck, he might be already.

OVERALL: B. They pull out another third period win against the Isles. These games are so important, and to grab it in the third was very impressive. But they do get downgraded for a poor 30 minutes of hockey that started midway through the first. Malkin and Sid both led the way last night, and that was impressive to watch. I do think Malkin is gaining confidence leading his own line, and he and Sid should remain apart. And they got two goals from the third line, too. How great is that? At some point, I would like to see Crusher Christian and Malone swap spots.

Others…

RYAN MALONE: C. In general his play sucked. He just isn’t doing anything at all offensively. He drags Sid down. That aspect gets an F. But he gets an A for defending Sid. It’s about time somebody went after Witt. Next time, they need to go for a knee. He just runs around like an idiot out there, and I was glad to see Malone take it to him. But that leads to the next grade, and many ain’t gonna like it.

RYAN WHITNEY: F. Of course, he had the horrendous play on the Isle goal, but that is to be expected with him. That didn’t earn him the F. He gets that for his failure to defend Sid after Gollum speared him. What he did (or, better, didn’t do) is an embarrassment to all hockey players. Sid gets speared, and gets up and goes after Gollum. Whitney the wuss just kind of saunters over to Gollum and says hello, then goes away. Any real hockey player would have had Gollum eating elbow or wood, and that’s exactly what should have happened. For the Pens to basically leave Sid on his own against that *** clown is just pathetic. It tells me that Whitney is worthless as a teammate and needs to be traded ASAP. How the hell can he have any respect among his teammates when he does that? Cripes, the game was over, so who cares if he takes a dozen penalties to even the score? There is simply no excuse for him not defending Sid at that moment. For those who have compared him to Tom Poti, well last night proves that is an apt comparison. I want him gone. Now. And to think, until now, I have actually been a Whitney defender. But I will not have gutless hockey players on my team.

GOLLUM: F. Once a cheap piece of crap, always a cheap piece of crap. I hope he gets suspended and misses the all star game.

TED NOLAN: F. Goon coach, plain and simple. Maybe THIS is why nobody would hire him. Maybe NHL GMs have more sense than to want a coach who does this kind of crap. I hope a Penguin shoots the puck at him the next time they play. He is the epitome of a jack-ass.

OFFICIALS: F. How can The Refs That Don’t Know the Rules (henceforth TRTDKR) get anything but an F? They seemed to alternate between calling everything and calling nothing. I defy anyone to watch to replay of Sid’s penalty at the end of the second and find the infraction. Then they totally miss the spear by Gollum that should have led to a riot had the Pens had any cojones.

SIDNEY CROSBY: A. A 2-goal game with those lead weights as linemates is miraculous. He did have the one horrible play on the SHG, but man, did he work the boards and draw penalties! And I loved how he didn’t just tap in the one rebound. He slammed it in, to make sure.

SERGEI GONCHAR: Incomplete. Did he even play? Somewhere, there is a milk carton with his picture on it. He went missing a couple weeks ago and hasn’t been seen since.

[DelPen]

Gonchar was very good on the penalty kill. That was the best defensive game I've seen him play in a long time. He was always calm banking backhanders off the glass and out of the zone.

[Henry Hank]

Where's Michael Ouellet: F?

It took Mark Recchi, of all people, to finally shoot on a 2-on-1 and Sid pops in the rebound.

What does that even mean, Recchi, of all people? What, like he doesn't know how to play hockey? Yeah, it's not like he's going to be at worst a borderline Hall of Fame candidate when he retires.

But only thanks to a great third period. After two frames, it would have been a big fat F.

No. This is why your grading scale is worthless. 2 goals in 2 periods if not F. Do you understand what an F is? Ok, if they score no goals, that's an F. If you score 2 goals in 2 periods and look good at least a fair amount of that time, how could that possibly be an F?

RYAN WHITNEY: F.

I can't believe how whiny people are being about this. People are talking as if Whitney watched Blake spear Crosby and did nothing about it. How about none of the players saw it because it was away from the puck? How is Whitney supposed to know to beat up Blake when he didn't know what happened? Yeah, he's gutless, even though he immediately came to Sid's aid on the hit that people actually noticed. And that one was a legal hit. Completely illogical.

[SMTM]

I am usually a Whitney basher, but you are being too harsh. I totally agree with the brush by of Gollum (ha, ha!), but Ryan Whitney totally answered the call to Witt earlier in the game. Whitney came right in and mashed Witt right in the face. There could have even been a fight, if it was not for Malone jumping in quicker. You have got to credit as well as critisize. I bet no one really saw what had happened with Sid at the end of the game, so it's hard to expect a reaction from the players to something they did not see.

[Mad City Mike]

What does that even mean, Recchi, of all people? What, like he doesn't know how to play hockey? Yeah, it's not like he's going to be at worst a borderline Hall of Fame candidate when he retires.

More Mark Recchi shots nowadays go wide than on goal, so it is a shock to see him take a good enough shot to produce a rebound.

No. This is why your grading scale is worthless. 2 goals in 2 periods if not F. Do you understand what an F is? Ok, if they score no goals, that's an F. If you score 2 goals in 2 periods and look good at least a fair amount of that time, how could that possibly be an F?

One was on the PP, so that didn't count in this category. One goal and 10 shots in two periods will not get it done.

I can't believe how whiny people are being about this. People are talking as if Whitney watched Blake spear Crosby and did nothing about it. How about none of the players saw it because it was away from the puck? How is Whitney supposed to know to beat up Blake when he didn't know what happened? Yeah, he's gutless, even though he immediately came to Sid's aid on the hit that people actually noticed. And that one was a legal hit. Completely illogical.

Okay, let's just say, that it was Brendan Shanahan who skated by Gollum. Do you actually think he would be thinking, "oh, I didn't see what happened so I can't do anything?" No, he would know his meal ticket had been harmed and he would drop them and ask questions later.

[penny lane]

Gonchar was very good on the penalty kill. That was the best defensive game I've seen him play in a long time. He was always calm banking backhanders off the glass and out of the zone.

Yes but 1 shot from Gonchar & Whitney each with the
amount of PP time is garbage.

[saleen66]

I agree on that Phontom call on Crosby in the 2nd. They called him for hooking and showed the replay and I didn't see Sid's stick come close to any player on the Isles. I was baffled? Anybody see anything I missed?

[The Snapshot]

I am usually a Whitney basher, but you are being too harsh. I totally agree with the brush by of Gollum (ha, ha!), but Ryan Whitney totally answered the call to Witt earlier in the game. Whitney came right in and mashed Witt right in the face. There could have even been a fight, if it was not for Malone jumping in quicker. You have got to credit as well as critisize. I bet no one really saw what had happened with Sid at the end of the game, so it's hard to expect a reaction from the players to something they did not see.

The Pens had Blake on the ice for retribution the rest of the game after his spear. They had 50 seconds or so to attack him if they wanted to. The late game fighting suspensions come in to play and deter that sort of thing.

What the league needs to look at is how that rule gives a little sh*t like Blake relative impunity in that situation.

Blake will get his. He's gonna be in a locker room with Sid at the All Star game.

To blame Whitney is just silly. There were 3 other guys on the ice and then 4 guys killing to penalty after, and none of them attacked Blake.

[rb44]

I give MCM an F for his grades. After always bashing Oullett no mention of him after a solid game in all ends and a goal and assist. Typical Whitney bashing for not seeing a spear at the end of the game yet no mention of him coming to Sids defense earlier in the game with Malone. What about EC's stand out performance.

[Pitts]

The Pens had Blake on the ice for retribution the rest of the game after his spear. They had 50 seconds or so to attack him if they wanted to. The late game fighting suspensions come in to play and deter that sort of thing.

What the league needs to look at is how that rule gives a little sh*t like Blake relative impunity in that situation.

Blake will get his. He's gonna be in a locker room with Sid at the All Star game.

To blame Whitney is just silly. There were 3 other guys on the ice and then 4 guys killing to penalty after, and none of them attacked Blake.

Thanks Snapper - first sane response I've seen yet.

[Profiler]

All you do in these grades is throw bouquets at Sid and Malkin and bash Gonch Whits and Omelette......same crap after every game. No mention of EC other than flopping him and Malone? (boy, isnt that original) Come on! He was, after all the #1 star.....or did you miss that when you were breaking down the game tapes this morning?

[bh]

One was on the PP, so that didn't count in this category. One goal and 10 shots in two periods will not get it done.

I thought the offense looked great through two periods. I haven't seen a game where the pens got that many odd man rushes in a long time. They just wern't finishing or shooting. Malkin looked spectacular. How many times did he deke around 3 guys and get a great chance? All 4 lines got good scoring chances. When was the last time that happened? There was sustained pressure in the Islanders zone all three periods. It was only on the power play where we didn't look good. On the bh grading scale this is an A-, B+ at the worst due to lack of finishing.

Okay, let's just say, that it was Brendan Shanahan who skated by Gollum. Do you actually think he would be thinking, "oh, I didn't see what happened so I can't do anything?" No, he would know his meal ticket had been harmed and he would drop them and ask questions later.

That's a silly statement. How can you know for certainty what Shanahan WOULD have done? He might have acted just like Whitney did and there is no way to prove one way or another.

As far as the spear, yeah it was dirty, really dirty, but he didn't do it that hard and I know I'll probably get flammed for this but it looked like Sid just went down to draw a penalty and that it didn't hurt that much. I don't really think Blake was actually trying to hurt Sid there but just the action of spearing someone needs to be cracked down upon because we can't let these types of things creep into the game. I would give him a one game just to show the rest of league that these types of things won't be tolerated. I also don't blame the other players i.e. Whitney for doing anything right then because they didn't know what happened. For all they knew Sid was starting somehting with Blake and not visa versa.

[pfim]

As far as the spear, yeah it was dirty, really dirty, but he didn't do it that hard and I know I'll probably get flammed for this but it looked like Sid just went down to draw a penalty and that it didn't hurt that much.

Why would he be trying to draw a penalty with 50 seconds left and a 3 goal lead? I would file that thought under "I don't really think so."

[Admin]

As far as the spear, yeah it was dirty, really dirty, but he didn't do it that hard and I know I'll probably get flammed for this but it looked like Sid just went down to draw a penalty and that it didn't hurt that much.

Why would he be trying to draw a penalty with 50 seconds left and a 3 goal lead? I would file that thought under "I don't really think so."

Plus, I'm not sure he'd be quite as incensed skating out of the box if it didn't hurt.

[MWB]

Okay, let's just say, that it was Brendan Shanahan who skated by Gollum. Do you actually think he would be thinking, "oh, I didn't see what happened so I can't do anything?" No, he would know his meal ticket had been harmed and he would drop them and ask questions later.

Ok, so he does that. Then he gets an instigator penalty, gets suspended a game, gets fined and so does MT.

[Defence21]

Okay, let's just say, that it was Brendan Shanahan who skated by Gollum. Do you actually think he would be thinking, "oh, I didn't see what happened so I can't do anything?" No, he would know his meal ticket had been harmed and he would drop them and ask questions later.

Yes, and that is what separates your physical, in-your-face players from your not-so-physical players. Not everyone is the same. Not every player should be expected to drop the gloves, take a fine, take a suspension, simply to say "don't touch Sidney." There were three other guys on the ice. Why don't any of them get an F for not going after him? There were other players on the ice with Blake for the last 50 seconds of the game, why do none of them get F's for not fighting him? The fact is that a fight would have done nothing. And, better yet, a fight involving Whitney likely would have sent a message to the Islanders that, if you mess with Sid, another one of the Pens' "pretty boys" will TRY to fight you. Do you honestly think Whitney could ahve handled Blake? What happens if Whitney fights Blake and loses? Do you then call him a wuss for losing a fight? Seems to me that Whitney was damned if he did and damned if he didn't.

SIDNEY CROSBY: A. A 2-goal game with those lead weights as linemates is miraculous. He did have the one horrible play on the SHG, but man, did he work the boards and draw penalties! And I loved how he didn’t just tap in the one rebound. He slammed it in, to make sure.

Yeah, I can't believe Crosby scored two with those lead weights either. Oh wait, one of Crosby's goals was a direct result of one of those "lead weights" taking a low shot that sent a rebound directly to him. Yeah, Recchi and his 37 points in 44 games sure is killing this team.

[pfim]

Okay, let's just say, that it was Brendan Shanahan who skated by Gollum. Do you actually think he would be thinking, "oh, I didn't see what happened so I can't do anything?" No, he would know his meal ticket had been harmed and he would drop them and ask questions later.

Ok, so he does that. Then he gets an instigator penalty, gets suspended a game, gets fined and so does MT.

And then we get a 15 minute infomercial the next game of why Wade Brookbank is in the AHL while Whitney is sitting in the press box.

[Antonio]

Let me just say that having never heard Blake referred to as Gollum...I just about peed my pants reading that.

[Jerez]

WTF is it with all the hate on MCM today? He just posted his "grades" on the game last night. Never, ever does he think they're the final word on the game. They're his OPINIONS He watches the game, he critiques it in his own mind, he has fun writing it down, he has fun reading people's comments.

Just so you know, he couldn't care less what any of you "idiots" think of him. But I'm just shocked at the amount of vitriol today, and I felt a need to stick up for him.

Don't get me angry -- just ask some others around here . . . and some who are no longer here!

[Pitts]

SIDNEY CROSBY: A. A 2-goal game with those lead weights as linemates is miraculous. He did have the one horrible play on the SHG, but man, did he work the boards and draw penalties! And I loved how he didn’t just tap in the one rebound. He slammed it in, to make sure.

Yeah, I can't believe Crosby scored two with those lead weights either. Oh wait, one of Crosby's goals was a direct result of one of those "lead weights" taking a low shot that sent a rebound directly to him. Yeah, Recchi and his 37 points in 44 games sure is killing this team.

I guess giving Richard Park a 5 on 3 shortie nets you an "A" too!

EDIT: Yeah, I see MCM note: just giving some ribbing.

[Pitts]

... I'm just shocked at the amount of vitriol today, and I felt a need to stick up for him.

That's what a GOOD woman does for her man!

[tluke53]

DEFENSE: A-. Tremendous effort in the defensive zone. The Isles had some shots, but not a huge amount of quality scoring chances. They never really bottled the Pens up too much, and never seemed like a huge threat to score. There was that one glaring misplay by Orpik and Whitney on the second goal, which is mostly on Whitney. Orpik went for the hit, fine. Maybe or maybe not a good play. But Whitney, seeing this, cannot leave the front of the net. So what does he do? Chases the puck into the corner. Bam! Goal. Idiotic play by him. And I’m not done with him, either.

Regarding the Orpik/Whitney meltdown....

Did anyone else notice a Pens forward, I forget who, peal off of the Islander as they were going towards the net. Whitney saw the forward so he decided to go to the puck. However, the Pens forward moved towards the blueline.

I thought it was a miscommunication more than a single players fault. Sorry, about the lack of names I can't remeber the player involved, but I remeber the play.

[pfim]

Did anyone else notice a Pens forward, I forget who, peal off of the Islander as they were going towards the net. Whitney saw the forward so he decided to go to the puck. However, the Pens forward moved towards the blueline.

It was Thorburn. He saw the puck in the corner so he took his spot on the RW boards. Moore was slow to get back and Orpik was completely out of position. Thorburn should have read the play better, but Orpik and Moore were out of position.

Whitney could have stayed in the front of the net, but it still would have been a 2 on 1 down low.

[Ron`]

Did anyone else notice a Pens forward, I forget who, peal off of the Islander as they were going towards the net. Whitney saw the forward so he decided to go to the puck. However, the Pens forward moved towards the blueline.

It was Thorburn. He saw the puck in the corner so he took his spot on the RW boards. Moore was slow to get back and Orpik was completely out of position. Thorburn should have read the play better, but Orpik and Moore were out of position.

Whitney could have stayed in the front of the net, but it still would have been a 2 on 1 down low.

Can you say "keystone cops"? I got to see this on TIVO and it was actually comical knowing what was going to occur. Hey they won, and let's hope they break down that play for experience.

[rb44]

I think the hate in todays posts is some regular readers and posts are getting tired of the same old bashing MCM gives of players and yet never gives them credit for doing anything good.

If Oullett doesnt score on the goal he scores there is a paragraph bashing him for missing on that shot and giving him an F. Since he did score, he did assist on another goal and he did play solid defense. Of course there is no Kudos to Oullett for a nice game.