71 showing up to play tonight (at Cool Man's urging.) Time to dial one up on this pp!
Pens-Craps
- Thread starter COOL MAN
- Start date
Yep that too! WTF was Geno doing that pp? Man alive...awful. Sully, tear them a new one...
How often does the blind pass work fellas? 2-3%? How often does it BITE YOU IN THE F'N ASS? 10-15%? ....Arrggh...
87 trying to battle through that douche Beagle...quite the duel...Need the D to find a way...and SKATE!!! BE CONFIDENT!
As per my panel on CBC...'When you have Sid, Malkin and wait for it.......Schultz, you have to find a way'....well WAKE UP!
C'mon Geno! And....PHIL!!!....and I expect better from a VET like you Cullen...smarten up, I dont care what happened.
I thought (other than refusing to shoot on the power play) that Evgeni had a strong first period, but relatively invisible since. PK's name hardly mentioned all night it seems.
This game makes me say PAY DALEY...or at least find someone to move the puck in a calm manner other than Tanger...pathetic! PATHETIC!
Disappointing effort to say the least but game 7's haven't been historically kind to the capitals. I need to see it before i beleive it. I still think the pens have a good chance.
I am not an expert by any means but the Pens need a defenseman that can skate so why not dress Streit vs Ruhwedle?
Streit is not a better skater than Ruh, but he is more playoff experienced.
For certain...I would like to assume the pressure is on them, but after tonight? Well it will come down to desire and talent imo. Both are fairly evenly matched, in that respect, although I worry about the Pens back end...they looked awful tonight, just outmatched and nothing to contribute toward kickin that puck up. Not running scared but standing in cement....the majority of forwards did not help their cause....ebbs and flows I suppose....
Yep....tough call. Is Daley done for? I have not heard what his full prognosis was? If he is not back and somewhat healthy I am more than a bit concerned...
The worst part of tonight's game is realizing win or lose, the Pens have Hagelin signed for two more years.... I can't stand watching him and Kessel play like they don't give a shit
Must step on their throat and the earlier the better on Wed...if they get up 1 or 2 , this squad in it's current formulation will have great difficulty mounting any sort of pushback, after what we witnessed tonight imo....and Flower will not only have to stand on his head but juggle while he is doing it!
Both invisible....I am hopeful that at bare minimum 81 shows up on Wednesday....
My CrAPS looked pretty damn dominant tonight but it's a 7-game series so I am still not confident we can finish the job. Too much heartbreak over the years to ever feel confident. Until Wednesday.....LET'S GO CAPS.....LET'S GO CAPS.....LET'S GO CAPS!
They sure as shit did look dominant!.....arrrgggh!!!My CrAPS looked pretty damn dominant tonight but it's a 7-game series so I am still not confident we can finish the job. Too much heartbreak over the years to ever feel confident. Until Wednesday.....LET'S GO CAPS.....LET'S GO CAPS.....LET'S GO CAPS!
Tonights game was tough. If you come out and play hard and lose its one thing but if the effort is poor like tonight it leaves a bad taste. You never want to get into a 7 gamer if you can avoid it but will see in game seven if the pens still have the championchip pedigree. The caps have to prove they can get it done which is a big if with their history.
As an aside....from what I understand the league has spotters, either in the stands or in Toronto with eyes trained on the concussion protocal...Sid goes to the end boards hard , head first, has obvious trouble getting to his feet, grabbing his bucket and nobody makes the call 'hold on we gotta look at 87'??? With his history??? If Betmann was watching does he not say, 'we are in courts over this stuff and the optics are terrible'? ....or is it epic stupid commentary from the likes of Pope Mike 'I think a player is the one to determine when he can go back on the ice'? That attempts to blur the picture...
Yeah it's a fast, rough and at times dangerous sport, thats what drives the revenues....risk is assumed somewhat. But I honestly believe many of these guys who run the show must have been hit in the head themselves one too many times....
Yeah it's a fast, rough and at times dangerous sport, thats what drives the revenues....risk is assumed somewhat. But I honestly believe many of these guys who run the show must have been hit in the head themselves one too many times....
I love hockey. In my opinion the best and most fun to watch of all the professional sports. But what I will never understand is that you have a league that will call a penalty when a free hand grabs a body all day long or a defenders stick gets into a puck carriers hands. But leave your feet to board a player, cross check players to the ice when they are 40 feet from the play, or consistently slash, poke, rough, and interfere with the best player in the world and that is playoff hockey....... Sour grapes? Maybe. But that isn't good hockey
It was quite clear last year that the Pens won the cup because of the work of guys like 17, 43, 34, 62, 7, and most importantly 13. Bonino has been pretty consistent this playoffs but who else other than Sid, Jake, and Horny? Malkin is racking up points but really not producing much when it matters ....( not shooting in the first PP last night was just disgusting). Phil is hugging the boards like a middle aged man on skates for the first time. Sheary finally showed some life in the last 25 of last night's game. The rest of the team looks completely beat and demoralized. The focus and determination of 2016 is gone. Sure everything looks bad when there isn't a defenseman that can skate with the puck but the wingers just aren't willing to go to the boards and take a hit to get the puck out of the zone. The caps are owning the boards on both end. Right now the grit that we saw last year in the first 7 games of these playoffs isn't there from the wingers on lines 2 thru 4 and hence the likely elimination tomorrow.
Agreed along the boards they are WEAK from the wingers and defenders....AND on power plays how many times did we see 8, all out there on his lonesone last night, that is deadly and they are lucky it wasn't 8-2. Not sure what to expect Wednesday. I know one thing, as I think CM mention that first last night was one of the worst I have ever seen regular season or playoff in years...and I dont care if you're playing Washington or the Kentucky Thoroughblades...it has to be better than that. Flower will need to be razor sharp in net, and I pray the Captain (this is why he wears the letter, is for times like this) can figure out a way to be a difference maker whether his melon is sore (really maybe he should be held out based on eye test evidence ...who knows) or that junkyard dog Beagle is draped all over him and hackin/ whackin....Geno needs to find another gear too. Anyone hear anything on Daley? If he is80- 90% he needs to get out there, any less than that and he's a big liability however imo........sigh.....
- Puck Daddy was calling out the Crosby collision during the game, wondering where the spotters were. Sid more or less got up on his own power, and didn't appear blatantly dazed (as with the Niskanen hit)......but he's certainly the poster child for sending a player to the room for at least short-term observation.
- Obviously, the Pens team we watched last night has no chance in Game 7. I'd like to think a different squad will go to Washington; but aside the Craps history working against them, I've seen nothing the last 2 games to indicate tomorrow will even be competitive, let alone close.
- The ass-kicking aside, have we seen the end of Flower's hot streak ?? Meanwhile, I find it hard to believe that Trevor Daley out of the lineup was the reason for their collapse last night; but I know nothing about the nuances of the game to make that call. I don't know if he's a candidate to dress for Game 7 or not. Ruhwedel didn't do anything.....but played the least defensive minutes (13:14). Interestingly......or depressingly.....he led the team in SOG (3).
- To me, this looked like a team that had simply run out of gas......unfortunately, almost the entire squad, and virtually all at once. And, I honestly don't think Letang.....who everyone knows is arguably the most important player on this team in the playoffs....would have made that much difference last night. Besides, even if he had survived the Columbus series, he'd probably be every bit as beaten up as the rest of their defense by now.
- Speaking of out of gas, I feel especially bad for a guy like Cole (-3 last night), who's their only defenseman willing (and able) to stand up to the Craps size. He may be deader (is that a word) than anyone else on the roster. That is, unless the honor goes to Horndog, who we all know has been playing on one leg (and maybe less) for a week.
- Meanwhile OM.....and while this won't necessarily solve your problem......perhaps you can take some semblance in the knowledge that Carl Hagelin will be left unprotected in the Expansion Draft. Of course, his likelihood of being Vegas' selection from the Pens, even if Murray can somehow be protected, is admittedly pretty slim. Meanwhile, Kessel played 4:13 of PP time last night (16:05 total) and finished with 1 SOG. Schultz had 4:26 PP time (and 22:06 total) and finished with 0 SOG.
- As for any comparisons of this to the 2016 team.....if you didn't realize this was a totally different squad coming into the Columbus series.....you were wearing some pretty big rose-colored glasses.
The Pens lack of size finally caught up with them; which was bound to happen after series against opponents as big and rough as Columbus and Washington.
They simply don't have the physical makeup to beat a good big opponent (over a 7 game series) capable of turning the game into a 60 minute street fight. How many times have the Pens simply been trying to dig the puck off the wall.....forwards or defensemen....and the bigger Craps just flat out won the battle. San Jose....probably as big as the Craps.....didn't play that game, and a better skating (and a comparatively far healthier) Pens team was able to take advantage last season.
Meanwhile, when did you last see a Pens team have so much trouble simply connecting on passes. Passes this entire series....and the stretch pass is a key aspect of their attack.....have either been consistently off-target or long; and if the pass has hit the target's stick, it's bouncing off. Speaking only for myself, I think that's all the result of a team that's just physically overwhelmed.
Good points....and I think you know enough about the nuances of the game maybe not all of them , but who really does lol...I actually am wondering if we're all saying the same thing exception yourself CM , re: the out of gas theory, it definitely seems at least partially evident game 5 and certainly was last night. Either that or they are simply mailing it in, and I do wonder if one or two of them are (specifically the two OM1 mentioned), but no way the bulk of the team is...Cup champs I don't think would do that.
As for Daley , nah I don't think he is the be all end all for sure, moreso Tanger (who's ship has unfortunately sailed this year), however he is really the only one I have seen with enough wheels and moderate skill to both clear it quickly and make that stretch pass with any sort of authority. Schultz is being exposed by playing #1 minutes, but not much choice I guess....we need more than zero shots from him... And then as you and OM1 say, the 'battles' on the boards zero jam there whatsoever...
Meanwhile my Craps loving buddy was all over me last night....secretly I'd like to wring his neck , but that likely a bad idea as he plays on my team and we could use his skill lol. Anyway he bet me 40 that Player 8 would lift the Cup this year
vs 15 other teams, um yeah, I'll take that bet! Last night upped to 80...I exhibited some slightly guarded swagger after game 4, and I doubled down at his urging lol....now plainly exhibiting false bravado on my part. Yes I had 2 or 3 beer last night, all the while managing to avoid throwing empty cans at the tv :wink:.....but am I stupid? I may just be....yikes.
Hockey is a funny game and momentum can change quickly. The Pens must score early to have a chance tomorrow night. A little puck luck wouldn't hurt. I'm not ready to write these guys off yet though. I'm fully expecting the Pens to play their best game of the playoffs and for Fleury to go beast mode. In the end, the heart of a champion will prevail. I'm calling it boys, Pens win tomorrow night and advance!
Btw...anyone catch the 'highlights' of that idiot Lundqvist yelling at all his teamates during the play the other night followed by Stepan hopping off the bench to go tell him 'f'n relax RELAX!!!' LMAO...Such a tool...King Henrik my ass!
Oh and get a load of this nonsense...'League concussion protocal is that they cannot remove a player from the game unless his head hits the ice or another player' since Sid's melon hit the boards the onus is apparently on the Pens....well done NHL...
Who ever thought that Ottawa and Nashville would be the 1st in the clubhouse for the conference finals. If pens win tommorow hope there isn't many sens fans in your area. Im sure you take some heat from the maple leaf crowd. I go to the avalanche games decked out in my predators gear. I know i won't have to worry about abuse from the av's fans anytime soon. The one thing the avs have going for them is they have nothing to lose in next months expansion draft. They only have 3 maybe 4 good players so they can protect them. Whoever the Avs lose to Las Vegas would probably make the avs better.
