Not that you asked, but I'd sort-of assumed Hughson (and Simpson ??) would be assigned by Rogers to what's considered the higher profile.....whatever that means, exactly.....of the two series; which (given the fact the Pens beat the Presidents' winner) I guess I assumed is loosely considered to be the Pens/Bolts.
That might surprise me a bit in this particular case considering Hughson is a West Coast guy, and you have a traditional West Coast team in the Western finals. Of course, it's not like San Jose is exactly a hop, skip and jump from Vancouver. We had Doc and Pierre doing Game 1 the other night, while the Rangers' PBP team of Kenny Albert and Joe Micheletti did the Sharks/Blues last night. It won't surprise me if NBCSN switches up for Games 3 & 4.....and what happens later will presumably depend on how the two series progress.
Right now, I don't think too many Pens' fans are upset if Maatta sits, though exactly what kind of upgrade Schultz is remains to be seen.....especially since that pushes Lovejoy up into the 2nd pairing (while JS plays in the 3rd with Cole). Meanwhile, I haven't seen any indication whatsoever that HCMS' line shuffling is touching the Bonino-Kessel-Hagelin line. But while I still prefer Hornqvist with Sid.....all things being equal, at least.....I suspect Sully figures Geno needs more help right now (if, for no other reason, Sid is back into don't-shoot-the-puck mode.....while Geno is at least pulling the trigger).
You'd think a Crosby-Rust-Sheary line damned well better do it on the rush......and I know there was a lot of talk yesterday from the Pens' camp about getting behind the Bolts defense......because I don't see how wingers their size operate in that Land of the Giants in front of the Bolts goal. It would also help if Cullen (and perhaps somebody like the invisible man Eric Fehr) finds the touch again.
I thought Washington had a big defense, though.....as it turns out.......most of it was focused around the iron-man Carlson-Alzner pairing. I need to watch them closer, but it seems like the Bolts pair one of their Clydesdales (Coburn, Hedman, Sustr) with a smaller partner (Carle, Nesterov, and Koekkeck/Stralman). That means a monster on the ice for 60 minutes......and that's before the monster Bishop in the cage.
Their forwards (unlike the Craps) aren't exceptionally big, but you talk about a team (especially at the blue line) built for the playoffs. I remember when Hedman came out that (given the choice) I'd have picked him in a second over John Tavares. While Tavares has obviously become the cornerstone of the NYI.....and one of the elite forwards in the game......I'd still probably take Hedman as a generational-type defensive backstop.
