'13 Playoffs Game 6 vs NYI - Thoughts from the Morning After

[Penspal]

Pens win in OT 4-3 (win series 4-2)

- Pens turned on the switch in the 3rd period, scarry to think it wasn't on that much this series
- Orpik breaks longest current nhl playoff games streak without goal! When TSN announcer mentioned that stat late game, I had a feeling
- Vokoun played a strong game and kept them in until Pens could turn on the switch
- Hockey Gods decreed that Martin was going to score, how crappy a goal to give up
- I stand by my early points, Nabakov was worse that Vokoun/Fleury and that was key
- PK was strong, had the effect of nullifying Isles momentum
- Malkin continued his good/bad play by being a monster late game to get the tieing & winning goal. Mooaar consistency Evgeni.... please
- Was that TK with the series winning assist TK seems to have found a way into key highlights this post season
- Duper came to play again. Another big answer goal + nice play by Vitale with speed & one legged pass
- This game had some interesting events, but Grabner outracing Murray for a puck had me lol'ing on the speed difference

My 4-1 series prediction might seem to be close as series ended 4-2, but Pens were likely one OT goal from losing this series. An OT loss in game 6 could have been a huge momentum shift that does carry over. Isles played better than anyone expected, and the Pens were "overconfident" for lack of a better word.

[silentom]

Nabby sucked, and Pens won on talent alone. Maybe that on switch stays on now!

[penmyst]

1. I thought Orpik looked awful last night. One of his worst games as a Pen. Appeared confused, sluggish, and lost in his own end most of the time. His partner on D looked for help that never seemed to come in the right way or at the right moment from Orpik. Then he has that great (lucky?) breakup of the game-winning-pass-for-goal for the Islanders... AND gets the lucky bounce series-ender. That's life for ya.

2. Letang was terrible. Absolutely terrible. Norris trophy caliber on display? LOL His crowning achievement was the turnover to lead to the goal. In typical terrible decision-making Letang mode, he passes the puck up the ice when two, count em two, Pens are skating in front of him up the boards.

3. Vokoun looked solid and calming. He was a big part of why the Pens came back from three 1-goal deficits. Never let the game get away from them, and he could have. The poor play by the Pens deserved a 8-2 whipping, but Vokoun made steady consistent saves.

4. Kennedy is making his case for being in that lineup every game.

5. Sutter looked very bad. Bad passes, bad decision making, weak on the puck, caught chasing a lot. One point, in the 3rd I think, he is the FIRST guy in the zone to the RW corner, wins a puck, and then softly tosses it behind the net to the LW corner..... while his fellow F were 2 steps in the zone and nowhere near the corner. Ottawa defenseman had time to skate over, pick the puck up, drink a coffee, and skate it up ice for yet another Isles rush. About sums up Sutter's decision making and play last night.

6. How does Malkin lead the Pens in points? God, he has been garbage out there. I don't know how he's doing it. I barely remember any good plays from him all series, and can remember 10 or 15 turnovers, bad passes, and slack back-checking last night alone. /shakes head.

7. I'm liking the top lines set up as they are. Iginla looks like a better fit with Crosby. And watching Kunitz play, I can see why Malkin and Crosby fight over him. Kunitz just does ALL the little things to win pucks and bang bodies in the Offensive Zone to win pucks.... AND has enough hands/skill to put away chances (ignoring him shooting into Nabokov while avoiding the open net late in the game..)

8. Penguins Gods blessed Orpik. Divine intervention to save this series for the Pens. If this one went to 7, it was a virtual lock the Islanders were winning.

[Hawkeynut]

One thought...

First OT goal by the Pens where I did not cheer. That says alot. They did not deserve to win this game or the series for that matter. I do have to realize that this is playoff hockey and that alot of things happen over the marathon.

[pens2005]

Still can't believe people blame Bylsma's system for why Letang made a pass they teach you never to make in pee wee.

[pens2005]

One thought...

First OT goal by the Pens where I did not cheer. That says alot. They did not deserve to win this game or the series for that matter. I do have to realize that this is playoff hockey and that alot of things happen over the marathon.

Oh I cheered. Then immediately said "why was this series so f'ing close????"

[ExPatriatePen]

One thought...

First OT goal by the Pens where I did not cheer. That says alot. They did not deserve to win this game or the series for that matter. I do have to realize that this is playoff hockey and that alot of things happen over the marathon.

I have to agree that I wasn't so much thrilled that they won as surprised and relieved.

I'm happy for a fresh start to round two, but the Pens better show up for this series.

[PghSkins]

Know what? I kind of like Jack Capuano. He didn't whine and cry and be juvenile like Torts or Murray. He had his team ready to play every night (except Game 1). He's a Rhode Island guy, I have some ties there (even though he went north instead of going to PC like smart people do). Plus, he has great hair.

His postgame comments on the Pens were all class. Essentially said the Pens are what he aspires for his team to be (careful what you wish for!)

Yeah, he oversaw the brawl, not really sure what happened there.

[Gaucho]

They did not deserve to win this game or the series for that matter.

The Isles you mean? I agree. If you so thoroughly dominate a team 5 on 5 and stll lose in 6, you just aren't good enough, period.

[PghSkins]

Also, I swear some of you have been beaten into some kind of self loathing mindset by the Pens hating media and opposing teams. Didn't cheer the series winning OT goal? You kidding?

[skullman80]

Yeah.. not cheering the OT goal? .. That's just silly. I let out a huge sigh of relief, but I was going crazy too.

[shmenguin]

Know what? I kind of like Jack Capuano. He didn't whine and cry and be juvenile like Torts or Murray. He had his team ready to play every night (except Game 1). He's a Rhode Island guy, I have some ties there (even though he went north instead of going to PC like smart people do). Plus, he has great hair.

His postgame comments on the Pens were all class. Essentially said the Pens are what he aspires for his team to be (careful what you wish for!)

Yeah, he oversaw the brawl, not really sure what happened there.

He oversaw the brawl. That's all you need to know. He's a piece of ****, which means he works for the right team.

[iWonTheCup87]

One thought...

First OT goal by the Pens where I did not cheer. That says alot. They did not deserve to win this game or the series for that matter. I do have to realize that this is playoff hockey and that alot of things happen over the marathon.

i was pissed off pretty bad last night and wanted to turn it off after Letang made that pathetic turnover to start the 3rd but even when we scored i cheered and when Orpik scored i cheered loudly but it was mostly relief he scored. I get pissed at the Pens but I never get that bad even if I saw something really negative about them.

[topshelf]

Maybe this is a lame excuse, but Game 4 was the first time the "new" Pens played intact as a complete team. Maybe there are some adjustment issues to the new line mates?

[RisslingsMissingTeeth]

I cheered for the goal. Jumped up and down and ran around my living room. The better team won the series but most definitely not that game. I have seen 1000 games just like it. One team completely dominates while the other gets the odd break here and there and gets the W.

Couldn't agree more about Letang. He was absolutely atrocious. By far the worst player on the ice last night. Strange how many of our stars have become our liabilities. He has no positional sense anymore. Makes about 20% of his passes. Depres was the better of the pairing and shows us why Letang does not need to be re-signed.

I thought our whole defense was pretty terrible but we end up getting goals from them to win the series. So ironic.

I think we will destroy Ottawa but that may be just me. We just needed a series win to get us into our rhythm.

[Shakes]

Also, I swear some of you have been beaten into some kind of self loathing mindset by the Pens hating media and opposing teams. Didn't cheer the series winning OT goal? You kidding?

Yes, sir. If you can't enjoy these moments, at least briefly, why bother?

I had the same reactions to both OT goals: loud scream and a big fat grin on my face.

[shmenguin]

Maybe this is a lame excuse, but Game 4 was the first time the "new" Pens played intact as a complete team. Maybe there are some adjustment issues to the new line mates?

It doesn't explain everything and is a weak excuse, but I think there's some legitimacy there. This team hasn't had time to figure each other out yet.

[FreeCandy44]

Also, I swear some of you have been beaten into some kind of self loathing mindset by the Pens hating media and opposing teams. Didn't cheer the series winning OT goal? You kidding?

Happiest part of my evening. I jumped out of my chair and was dancing with my dog. A win is a win baby.

[Henry Hank]

I think there might be more to it if they didn't look so good in game five. Then they decided to sleep walk through a game six that they were supposedly treating like their game seven. It's not like they dumped a bunch of new players onto the team at once. They swapped Neal for Crosby between games one and two and then brought Neal back for game four. That shouldn't cause an entire team to get outworked.

[Inkio]

I was shooting a wedding last night(I'm a photographer) and luckily the game ended during the reception. I was checking my phone every minute to see the score change, and when the OT goal showed on my phone I yelled at the top of my lungs 'YES!' and threw my hands up in the air. No one noticed

[Penspal]

While there seems to be an early consensus on the Pens effort/switch/play, what about kudos to the Isles? The loss of MacDonald really hurt their "D". Isles did not have the depth or experience (or good goaltending). Okposo had a couple of monster games, and Tavares now gives Sid real competition for the mantle of best player.

[Geezer]

-Pens deserve credit for battling back 3 times in the game. That's about all the praise they deserve for this series.
-An ugly win is still a win. Better to be lucky than good also seems to apply.
-The Pens were outplayes in 4 of 6 games and dominated for the most part in those games. In game 6 when they should have playes with some urgency the Pens were outshot,outhit,outhustled and even lost the faceoff battle.
-Congrats to the Isles for the effort,heart,and desire they showed.They also outperformed a more talented team that had a great deal of playoff experience.
-Vokoun deserves to start at least until he loses a game.
-Bylsma should be fired if the Pens don't play for the cup. He's lucky he wasn't fired after last year's debacle.They beat the Islanders but this was the 4th consecutive poor playoff performance under Disco.
-I'm hopeful that the Pens can start playing disciplined playoff hockey. They haven't shown much inclination to do so. DK made some good points in today's article. http://triblive.com/sports/penguins/397 ... z2SzxKmCcB

[thepittman]

[the wicked child]

Ended up having to go to a bar for the game last night because I was staying at my Parents' this weekend and their cable and internet **** the bed yesterday afternoon.

I was a nervous wreck the entire game but you can bet your sweet ass that I was celebrating along side everyone else in that bar when we tied and subsequently won the game.

To not celebrate your team scoring in OT to win not only the game but the series is unfathomable to me. You might want to stop watching if you can't at least get up for that.

[shmenguin]

While there seems to be an early consensus on the Pens effort/switch/play, what about kudos to the Isles? The loss of MacDonald really hurt their "D". Isles did not have the depth or experience (or good goaltending). Okposo had a couple of monster games, and Tavares now gives Sid real competition for the mantle of best player.

The Islanders love is a little overblown. Capuano should get more credit than any of their players. Hamonic and McDonald weren't lights out in their own end. Whenever we actually got some zone presence, we seemed to have our way with their shotty defense. We just couldn't break their checking in he other end of the rink enough. And Okposo didn't have some breakout series. 3 goals - one was a crappy shot that missed the net by 3 feet, one was a pass, and the other was one of the worst breakaway shots you'll see but fleury blew it. And Tavares has established himself as a top player, but just like everyone else, he's a full notch below Sid.