Pens Tidbits

[tony hipchest]

im lucky if the penguins are on in my area 5-6 times a year. i really only see them when they make the playoffs. thanks for the great brekdowns 83, X, and HTG

[augustashark]

The D must get better! If not then we will have another long season.

[83-Steelers-43]

Therrien sticking with Fleury tonight against the BJ's. Smart man.

[83-Steelers-43]

Good performance for the most part. 5-3 Penguins victory over the Blue Jackets.

Great:

Staal. Two shorthanded goals last night (one on a penalty shot). Not only should he stay up at the NHL level, but we can't afford to send him down to the juniors.

Malkin. Another goal assisted by Sid. Kid is unbelievable. Not much else to say.

Fleury. Another good showing. Keep riding him. He has two days of rest before we suit up against the Devils.

Gonchar. PP goal and decision making was better compared to past nights. Seems like when Malkin is out there, Gonchar is on target. He's not shooting the puck up in D section or having as many brain farts as he did for the majority of last season. Hopefully that stays the same.

Good:

Ouellet. Would like to see him start netting goals 5 on 5 (along with the rest of our wingers) but I can't complain about the kid. He's doing his job for the most part.

Eaton. Shot blocking master. Seems to always be in the right place at the right time.

Moore. Throws his body around. Solid on the PK.

So/so:

Malone. Solid on the PK and it was nice to see him stick up for Crosby, but he is lost out there on 5 on 5 and doesn't do nearly enough to deserve first line status. Injured his hand last night, maybe opens up a spot for Staal to play on the first or second line where he deserves to be. Kid has earned it.

Letang. Threw a nice hit, didn't notice him giving up the puck, taking himself out of position or being a step behind anyone. Still think he will be sent down to juniors.

Scuderi. Made a nice play on Staal's first goal, and good work on the PK.


The Bad:

Whitney. Horrible defensive play. Following puck/man behind the net leaving no D-man in front of the crease leading to a goal.

Armstrong. Where has he been? Since the Letowski hit, he hasn't touched a body. More importantly, he can find the back of the net. He's not the same Army as last season, that's for sure. Also, a turn over which led to a Ranger PP goal.

LeClair. I think it's safe to stick a knife in LeClair. Much like Recchi, his best/good/average days are behind him. It's hard to watch.

Roy. Why is he on this team? He doesn't fight. He's getting paid a million a year (CP decision, go figure).

First ten minutes of the second period. Scary how this team blows leads. Second period we come out looking completely dazed and confused. We need to work on carrying over the same intensity we come out with in the first period over to the second period.

Bring on the Devils.

[X-Terminator]

Looks like Therrien took my advice and put Ouellet on the top PP unit, and pulled Recchi off - good decision. He'd probably score more 5-on-5 goals if he played on one of the top 2 lines, but that probably won't happen. He is a PP specialist, and I have no issue with that so long as he keeps scoring. I also agree that it's time to move Staal up to the 2nd line with Malkin - no question that he's earned it. Army will be fine - I'm not worried about him. This is really the first time he's been counted on to be a major contributor and maybe he's having difficulty handling it, but I'm confident he'll turn things around. As for Whitney, I really do like the kid and think he will develop into a rock-solid 2-way defenseman, but his decision-making has left a lot to be desired. I see him running around way too much in his own end and is caught out of position more often than not. He's also not physical enough for a guy his size - I've seen Gonchar play the body better than he has, and he's not known as a physical defenseman by any stretch. He has to improve that aspect of his game, and sooner rather than later.

And if Andre Roy isn't going to fight, he's useless to this team and should be sitting in the press box. It's like he got his million bucks and has gone soft. Put somebody in there with more grit and more willingness to fight when needed - hopefully when Cairns is healthy, he'll take over as our enforcer. Therrien has already said he plans to play him when he's ready.

Also, I know you don't want to see this, but I'd like to see Ruutu find his "inner bastard" again. He's not raising nearly as much hell as he usually does, though he has drawn a few penalties and has obviously been very good on the PK. Isn't that what he was brought in here for?

[83-Steelers-43]

lol, oh man. I have no problem with Ruutu playing a physical game and drawing penalties. That is why we brought him in here. I just don't want him to make it a habit of taking dumb penalties at the wrong time. What I "don't want to see" is Fleury having to stop over 40 shots a night because of dumb penalties. Choose your targets wisely, light them up, fight when the time arrives (at the right time) and don't take dumb penalties. As stated on........five different occasions now, that goes for the rest of the team.

Also, I have no problem with Ruutu releasing his "inner bastard" nor did I expect Ruutu to come in here and become a flower child while doing triple lutz's at center ice in a tight skinned pink leotard. I just want physical, disciplined play. That's all. I'm sure Therrien and Shero want the same. It's not exactly an unreasonable request.

[Petesburgh66]

Ruutu has a history of taking dumb penalties in Vancouver. The Penguins knew what they were getting from him.

[Petesburgh66]

Originally Posted by X-Terminator

And if Andre Roy isn't going to fight, he's useless to this team and should be sitting in the press box. It's like he got his million bucks and has gone soft. Put somebody in there with more grit and more willingness to fight when needed - hopefully when Cairns is healthy, he'll take over as our enforcer. Therrien has already said he plans to play him when he's ready.

Roy was brought in to protect Crosby. In the games I saw last year, he failed to do this. It could have been worse. Remember Roy was plan B as Mario wanted to bring in Tie Domi. But Domi's play was just brutal last year and hence the reason why the Leafs bought him out for this season. Toronto loved Tie. But they turned on him last year making him the whiping boy for the team's play.

As for Cairns, he was brought in because Roy wasn't protecting Crosby. Cairns is just a pilon in my books and not suited for the new NHL style. He is a liability on the ice.

[X-Terminator]

Originally Posted by 83-Steelers-43

lol, oh man. I have no problem with Ruutu playing a physical game and drawing penalties. That is why we brought him in here. I just don't want him to make it a habit of taking dumb penalties at the wrong time. What I "don't want to see" is Fleury having to stop over 40 shots a night because of dumb penalties. Choose your targets wisely, light them up, fight when the time arrives (at the right time) and don't take dumb penalties. As stated on........five different occasions now, that goes for the rest of the team.

Also, I have no problem with Ruutu releasing his "inner bastard" nor did I expect Ruutu to come in here and become a flower child while doing triple lutz's at center ice in a tight skinned pink leotard. I just want physical, disciplined play. That's all. I'm sure Therrien and Shero want the same. It's not exactly an unreasonable request.

OK, fair enough. It certainly is not an unreasonable request and it is what I prefer as well. I just want to see a little more of the reason why the man piled up 124 PIMs last season. Am I wrong for that? I'm an old-school hockey fan, and enjoy the rough stuff as well as the great plays and players (though the former doesn't happen nearly as much as it used to, because you can't breathe on a player without a friggin penalty being called).

[83-Steelers-43]

Originally Posted by X-Terminator

OK, fair enough. It certainly is not an unreasonable request and it is what I prefer as well. I just want to see a little more of the reason why the man piled up 124 PIMs last season. Am I wrong for that? I'm an old-school hockey fan, and enjoy the rough stuff as well as the great plays and players (though the former doesn't happen nearly as much as it used to, because you can't breathe on a player without a friggin penalty being called).

I'd love to see why the man piled up 124 PIMs last season, but I don't want to see 124 PIMs. Not with this defense. I love old school hockey, I've been going to games since I was four years old. I enjoy the hard hits and when the gloves come off. At the same time, I don't want to watch this team killing penalties with a mediocre defense on a regular basis. We can play a physical game and not take dumb penalties.

As for the way the game is being called. I guess we agree to disagree. I personally have no problem with the way the game is being called. It's nice to see that the clutching and hooking is finally being called. I enjoy seeing what a Crosby, Ovechkin, Kovalchuk and Gionta can do when they don't have to carry a player on their back. Do I catch myself saying "Oh!! That's a weak call!!"? Sure and at times they are weak calls. It happens. But then I think back to the days when Lemieux and Jagr were practically getting raped on the ice and not a whistle blown.