Pens March
- Thread starter torontoeers
- Start date
Yikes! Just can't seem to shake this injury bug...hopefully all hands are on deck come April. Although I'd really like to see them fire things up over this next month going in...that first seed would be a nice spot to be!
What's the issue here? Somebody asked Bourque between periods of today's game what is going on with Pouliot and he basically said he wished he knew. I hate to give up on young defensemen. He seems to have moments in WBS when he shines. It surely isn't a speed issue or talent issue. He just seems he gets lost and chases at times. Who knows.
Having never played the game, I freely admit I have no truly informed personal take on your question. I think t's opinion would be way more useful than mine, and I'd appreciate his take on this subject.
But DP strikes me like the WR or DE with the measurables and overall look of a great player but who ends up lacking basic/fundamental skills. You know the type; the now stereotypical "looks great in shorts" (and at the Combine) prospect who just can't play the game. I get the impression he makes an inordinate number of mistakes given his experience, and doesn't make near enough of the instinctive plays an honest, developing pro needs to make.
I don't think anyone will argue the kid has dealt with confidence problems for at least a couple years. Unfortunately, given his exceptionally high.....by Pens' standards.....Draft position, he's stuck with equally high expectations. IMO, he's fitting the profile of the kid who simply can't reach his potential with the organization carrying the inflated expectations, and he's allowed to fully reboot. Maybe Wilkes Barre/Pittsburgh was just never the right emotional fit for this Western Canada kid from the get-go.
Of course, he may end up a career minor leaguer; and we all know there really aren't too many more guarantees in the Top 10 of the 1st Round than in the 3rd 10. The simple fact that journeymen/FA-types have passed him by in the organization......and worse, on a team currently desperate for D-help.....simply have to have the kid emotionally buried.
But the reality is that he's had more than enough chances to make a name for himself, and remains stuck in the mud. I believe he's an upcoming RFA, and I'm currently assuming he will not be tendered by the Pens next summer. It also won't surprise me in the least if he ends up rebooting back home (in the Canucks organization) next season.
Who is playing better now, Murray or Fleury? Hats off to MAF. Right now he is playing very well. What a pro he has been since last April.
Thanks CM...I will take a stab at it anyway lol...from all I have heard DP is actually a pretty model citizen , and has handled the entire roller coaster fairly well to this point? Maybe something actually lies there, and he needs some attitude for lack of a better word?
There's the angle of Schultz...I mean he really jumped in and took the bull by the horns almost immediate, after (somewhat) similar issues in Edmonton. And he is bigger , stronger, and a solid skater. Truthfully I personally think the Schultz deal was one of the biggest wins I have seen for any team league wide in a few years...a stroke of genius.
Cole is a far superior defender to DP, and has a modicum of offensive skill from time to time...
What I'm thinking the biggest factor is, that he just doesn't have it between the ears to process the speed of the game consistent at this level. Or perhaps the X's and O's? With Portland in the WHL (which imo is actually a faster paced game than the bigs), he could process it easier because the game was more flash and dash with infinitely more mistakes. Many of which he could take advantage of.
I think of last night I saw 'my' Petes D man Timms down in Oshawa (Petes lost, arrghh...although it was last game of season, and playoffs start Thurs vs Niagara with the good guys as the #1 seed) who basically equates to 5ft nothing shifting in and out of behind the net, making adept passes to the outlet, because the Gens forwards were coming in hot but with reckless abandon, he would never make it as a D man at the next level imo , however in the O? He is on the #1 pairing on a very good team...as I recall DP is around 6ft? I wonder if size is a factor for him as well...this is all just general spit balling on my part really. He looks a good skater, can pass fairly effectively at times....
Regardless I think he has received plenty of opportunities under decidedly different coaching regimes, it certainly seems this horse has left the building. Perhaps as you say Vancouver is a good landing spot for him to try and crack a lineup. Were I the Nuks with that D lineup what would they have to lose?
Both have had some less than stellar outings...however I agree MAF has handled himself extraordinarily well, a very solid teammate it seems...of late? I would give the edge to MAF slightly. I know one thing is it's a luxury to have 2 capable netminders going in again this year, especially 2 guys that really seem to get along! Whomever takes the reigns, we know they are gonna need to be more than average...I wish them both big success!
What a pleasure it has been to watch all three play. I might get in trouble for saying this but if Jagr had the Crosby work ethic over his entire career, he would be the greatest ever.
Nah...not trouble lol...no secret he was 'wild and free' at the start of his NHL career...he definitely could have landed in the conversation imo. And also IMO no slight to the other 2, but I have never ever seen a player take over a game like 66 did with my own eyes...yes even moreso than 99...and that might get me in trouble too lol...
I am obviously biased but I agree. Had he had the cast 99 had for the early part of career, he would have out up unreal season totals. I was listening to NHL Radio one day and they had somebody on who played with both 99 and 66. Might have been Barnaby but I can't recall and he said that when Mario wanted to pay defense he was the best defensive center in the league. He was unreal on the PK with that reach
Sounds like something Barnaby would have said......Mario obviously took advantage of his size as much as his ability.
Trying to think of other big All-Star caliber centers in advance of his arrival in the mid-80's. Esposito was pretty big.....probably broader than Mario, though not as tall.....and I think Jean Beliveau was considered a horse back in his heyday. There were some big wingers like Clark Gillies, but no other centers come to mind.
Regardless, no other centers I remember leveraged sheer physical advantages to Mario's extent. When properly motivated....and while defense obviously was never his game.....he had the ability to just physically overwhelm most opposing puck carriers. Plus, he was smart enough to know the stripes were less likely to penalize him.
But size aside, I doubt too many would disagree that neither Espo nor Beliveau....and both were all-time greats.....even approached the kind of thoroughbred ability Mario brought to the game. And as a practical matter, there never was anyone in the League who could match Mario physically man-for-man until Eric Lindros.....who was a far different kind of player.....finally came around in the days he was winning his 2 Cups.
WHOA!!! WTF was that by Rutsolienen or whatever on Geuntzel??? Lined him right up backwards and BOOM right to the melon! Wow...I hope he has a hearing with the league scheduled asap. Asshat maneuver !!!
The league has to, at some point, clean some of this $hit up.
At least that, to me, looked unintentional compared to some of the other cheap shots.
Didn't see it in real time; but after seeing it on the replay, I found myself reminiscing about the zillions of similar hits Nik Kronwall has made throughout his career (though Ristolainen didn't launch himself to Kronwall's typical extent). But, RR (like Kronwall) just knew Guentzel was vulnerable and took the shot without any regard to anything else.
It was therefore ironic when I read, in Josh Yohe's game review this morning on DK, that Ian Cole was quoted to have said how much it looked like a Kronwall hit. Either way, the Pens clearly weren't happy seeing JG get laid out; no word early this morning on his concussion, though one would have to think he'll miss (at best) a minimum week or so
Meanwhile, Crosby's poke between O'Reilly's legs got a lot of run on the Sabres broadcast; perhaps justifiably. I'm not crazy about anyone taking that kind of shot, though I did find myself wondering it this was far more common than I may realize (especially after Kevin Weekes' reaction on the NHL Network highlights). I also thought the Sabres broadcast team felt it was payback against the Pens for Sid's between-the-legger.
Beyond that, I also found myself wondering if O'Reilly had taken some kind of shot at Sid earlier in the game, prompting Sid to issue his own payback. Anyway, I don't know; though it's the way of the world that Sid will pay for it as his haters will almost assuredly pick-up on it today.
And that's especially true in the aftermath of all the run he's justifiably getting today on the one-hander.
Nice to see the Laffs do the Pens a favor by slapping the Blojax in Columbus last night, and putting the Guins back in 2nd place (for now, at least) .
Pens need to keep winning, because they're behind both Washington (-3) and Columbus (-2) in the key ROW (regulation and overtime wins) metric. So, with only 10 games left to make up that difference......and assuming none of the three collapse......the Pens probably can't win on a tiebreaker, and therefore HAVE to finish with more points in order to place above either team.
Pens need to keep winning, because they're behind both Washington (-3) and Columbus (-2) in the key ROW (regulation and overtime wins) metric. So, with only 10 games left to make up that difference......and assuming none of the three collapse......the Pens probably can't win on a tiebreaker, and therefore HAVE to finish with more points in order to place above either team.
Well.........oh man....what a night. Very proud of the efforts outta those EERS Tonight...that was no SF Austin, no Kenturkey type loss....they gave an outstanding effort imo and credit to Zags...and then...well...the shootout.....arrghh!!! Get the Isles!!!!!!!!
Sometimes I get the feeling that the Pens ought to warm up MAF for any and all shootouts. Murray is just awful in that situation.
You may be on to something...regardless, the Pens should NOT be losing shootouts to the bloody Ottawa Sens...I like Bonino, quite a bit, but here's where I disagree with Sully no matter what his percentage is, No way in hell should he be our FIRST shooter! You put THEM on the ropes as soon as you can and imo we have 4 or 5 that could strike fear into a guy like Condon for Gawd sakes...nevermind whatever the hell Sid was doing on our second attempt I guess...wtf was that?
I think that is the Pens 17th OT loss. For a team with this much offense, I can't understand that. And to be completely honest, what has Kessel given this team over the last 20 games? He won't shoot and his effort level has fallen to about a 2 out of 10
PK definitely needs to tune it up down the stretch here...hell they all do.They have been pretty good over the last 10 with all the injuries , but still need more imo. Home ice will be monumental this playoff as tough as the Metro has been....and specifically the goalkeeping had better find another level, someway , somehow...
The pittsburgh fans and media have been kind to PK. He has shown he can be or is an elite talent when his motor is running. But over his career, he just seems to coast for long stretches. I am sure you know all about that living in Toronto.
I've sort of adjusted to the notion that Kessel is simply an inconsistent taste; either yummy or blah.
His reputation as a softie......or as an out-of-shape load.....is (and will continue to be) difficult for his supporters to deal with. But let's be honest; Sid has pulled a fair number of disappearing acts in the past month or two as well. And we all know Geno's history (at least aside this season).
At the end of the day, much is expected of players with a scoring touch and salaries to match. But what seems to hurt Kessel in particular is that he doesn't seem to deliver much of anything when he's not driving chances.
At the very least, he doesn't take bad penalties (like Geno and Letang).....then again, you have to be involved in the action (and not out for a skate) for the stripes to be looking at you.
His reputation as a softie......or as an out-of-shape load.....is (and will continue to be) difficult for his supporters to deal with. But let's be honest; Sid has pulled a fair number of disappearing acts in the past month or two as well. And we all know Geno's history (at least aside this season).
At the end of the day, much is expected of players with a scoring touch and salaries to match. But what seems to hurt Kessel in particular is that he doesn't seem to deliver much of anything when he's not driving chances.
At the very least, he doesn't take bad penalties (like Geno and Letang).....then again, you have to be involved in the action (and not out for a skate) for the stripes to be looking at you.
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