Phase 2 -- NHL Return to Play Plan

[COOL MAN]

Pens supposedly back on the ice 6/9/20.....in groups of a maximum of 6, and adhering to social distancing guidelines. Coaches not allowed on the ice, and no media or fans in the building.

Sounds like a great reason to get excited......for the leftovers of a season which I myself completely lost interest in two weeks after the shutdown. Not sure what it's going to take to turn that around; maybe the teams taking the ice for the actual games will help, but I'm typically a little more focused on football when August rolls around.

Maybe this year will be different......

 

[COOL MAN]

DK reporting that "more than half" the roster showed up yesterday for the beginning of Phase 2 workouts, including (according to PHN) Sid and Jake. And with all the recent Instagram photos of Geno (along with his family) working out, it's seems a pretty safe bet he was there as well.

Meanwhile, I still haven't read even any guesses as to the player who dealt with COVID; something which I assume the team will keep pretty close to the vest.

 

[COOL MAN]

Jason Botterill out in Buffalo......with all the noises coming from Jack Eichel recently, I'm a little surprised he lasted THIS long. Will be interested to see if he'd be interested in coming back to Pittsburgh; or, whether the team would actually want him back.

 

[COOL MAN]

PHN reporting this afternoon that Pittsburgh is out of the hub city derby......and that the Final 6 are believed to be Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton, Las Vegas, Chicago, and Los Angeles.

 

[COOL MAN]

FWIW, Pierre McGuire is reportedly saying Carey Price currently is 60/40 against playing in the restarted season.

 

[COOL MAN]

Kingerski reporting (through Elliotte Friedman) that three NHL players with diabetes......presumably, the Type 1 variety.......could be prohibited from playing, as they'd be viewed to be (as determined by Health Canada) at higher risk for COVID-related complications. The players are the Rangers' Kaapo Kaako, the Wild's Luke Kunin, and the Canadiens' Max Domi.

Should such a decision be made (by the team's doctor and infectious disease specialist), the player will have the right to seek out a second opinion.

 

[COOL MAN]

Per Kingerski, it looks like the players that have been placed into quarantine are:

Patric Hornqvist, Anthony Angello, Adam Johnson, Samuel Poulin, Pierre-Olivier Joseph, Philip Varone, Sam Miletic, Juuso Riikola and Alex D'Orio.

 

[COOL MAN]

Domi reportedly back at Habs camp today, while Sid is out for the second consecutive day.

Meanwhile, I just read Rossi's piece in the Athletic (dated 7/19) and the current implication seems to be Sid's issue may well be related to his core surgery. Reportedly, it's not so much that he's injured, but that "something didn't feel right".

One more thing from the Rossi piece is that it appears McCann is centering the 3rd line, and is supposedly working with Marleau.

 

[COOL MAN]

According to DK, Sid skated this morning (WED 7/22).....but he evidently packed his gear and left the ice before the rest of the team came out for the 1030am practice session.

 

[COOL MAN]

PHN is reporting today that NBC will control the "world broadcast feed" of the playoffs. Not sure what this means for TV in Canada.

• PBP broadasters will include Doc Emrick (calling games from a/his home studio in Michigan), Kenny Albert, Mike Tirico, John Forslund, Brendan Burke, and Gord Miller. Game color analysts will be Eddie O, Milbury, and that AJ Mleczko from NYC. Pierre M will work the Edmonton benches, and Brian Boucher those in Toronto.

• Studio hosts will be Liam McHugh, Kathryn Tappan, and Tirico, while Pat Sharp, Keith Jones, and Anson Carter will co-pilot. Evidently, Eddie O, Jones, and Carter will work both the games and the studio. In total, NBC will use 20 broadcasters; some located in the arena, while others will be in their Connecticut headquarters. All in all, sounds like busness as usual for NBC.

• Pens/Habs will be the first NBC primetime game on Saturday night 8/1 at 8PM EDT. NBC will broadcast 120 hours of the Qualifying Series on the network, NBCSN, and USA Network. They'll also be showing round robin games from 8/1-5.

As an aside, I heard on NHLN Radio last week that John Forslund and the Hurricanes are at an impasse regarding a new contract. The Canes went to a simulcast a year or two back after shit-canning veteran (from the team's Hartford salad days) radio guy Chuck Kaiton......and I assume Forsland now wants to be paid appropriately.

From what I understand, Canes Radio has always been a losing proposition, which led to new owner Tom Dundon originally making the move on Kaiton.

 

[WVRON]

 

[WVRON]

 

[WVRON]

Boys I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve! Yea i know it’s only an exhibition but bring on the filthy flyers and drop the puck already!!

LET’S GO PENS!!

 

[WVRON]

 

[WVRON]

 

[Euell]

Connnnnnnorrrrrrrr Sheaaaarrrryyyyyyyy! Sorry, it's been a long time.

 

[Original Mountaineer1]

Dumo! Wtf was that in OT! Good third period

 

[WVRON]

Our goalies and D we’re good but PP was bad as usual. Ugh.

 

[Euell]

Our goalies and D we’re good but PP was bad as usual. Ugh.

I thought Geno played pretty well, but I hope the sloppy turnover directly in front of the Penguins net that led to Flyer's 2nd goal does not become a recurring theme as we have seen in the past.

 

[COOL MAN]

Glad to see the group back here......though I will say I'm keeping my fingers crossed t hasn't ejected permanently.

I myself frankly wasn't that excited about yesterday's game, and I'm not all that more so about the playoffs. But hey, if the games are going to played (and televised), I may as well tune in. Meanwhile, that Malkin TO pissed me off to absolutely no end.......but better for him to get something like that out of his system before the games matter (though I wouldn't bet that to be the case).

Meanwhile, PHN seems to think this morning that.....while Murray remains the favorite to start Saturday night......Jarry could still get the call (or worst, at least be on a very short leash) to come in if MM doesn't come out looking confident.

 

[WVRON]

What’s your takeaways guys from last nights tuneup?

As expected we looked a little rusty and sloppy, of course the mucked up ice didn’t help, but I think we looked better by the third period and I think we’re close.

I thought Jake looked great considering how long he’s been out and that first line seems to have great chemistry. The fourth line was solid all night and I thought Tanev brought great energy as he always does and I’d love to see him get some shifts with the top two lines. I was also extremely surprised at how well Jack Johnson played. Of course my expectations weren’t very high. Lol!

Obviously the biggest negative for me was the PP. If we are to advance deep into these playoffs we’ll need to vastly improve. Geno wasn’t bad but he can’t make that pass out in front of Murr like he did last night. Terrible! And it seemed Letang couldn’t keep the puck on his stick. I’d also like to see more traffic in front of the net and more physicality.

Last night was a starting point and gives us something to build on but we’ll have to ramp it up to advance. I think game one is critical as we have to set the tone and come out flying. Let’s not give the Habs any confidence especially Price. Can’t wait for Saturday night boys! Let’s go Pens!!

 

[COOL MAN]

What’s your takeaways guys from last nights tuneup?

As expected we looked a little rusty and sloppy, of course the mucked up ice didn’t help, but I think we looked better by the third period and I think we’re close.

I thought Jake looked great considering how long he’s been out and that first line seems to have great chemistry. The fourth line was solid all night and I thought Tanev brought great energy as he always does and I’d love to see him get some shifts with the top two lines. I was also extremely surprised at how well Jack Johnson played. Of course my expectations weren’t very high. Lol!

Obviously the biggest negative for me was the PP. If we are to advance deep into these playoffs we’ll need to vastly improve. Geno wasn’t bad but he can’t make that pass out in front of Murr like he did last night. Terrible! And it seemed Letang couldn’t keep the puck on his stick. I’d also like to see more traffic in front of the net and more physicality.

Last night was a starting point and gives us something to build on but we’ll have to ramp it up to advance. I think game one is critical as we have to set the tone and come out flying. Let’s not give the Habs any confidence especially Price. Can’t wait for Saturday night boys! Let’s go Pens!!

My own opinion isn't worth much, since I only saw the first two periods......and the 3rd was (as I understand it) their best of the three.

• I myself didn't feel as though I saw much useful from Crosby, though folks like Kingerski gave him a solid B grade.

• Probably I liked Guentzel's effort most; from what I saw, his wheels looked pretty active.

• Wish I'd have seen much more of the strong 3rd period Geno was said to have played (though I did see the Zucker goal off his effort).

• I personally didn't think Murray or Jarry played either of the last two Cryer goals very well.....which admittedly were one-on-none situations.

All I know is that I'm sick of the cement heads north of the border giving the Canadiens so much credit coming into the series.......hoping the Pens win it in a max of 4 games. Personally, I'm less worried about Price than the fact that good skating teams (like the Habs last season) often give the Pens problems.....though the Pens shouldn't have that much trouble outscoring the Canadiens, even if the series is low scoring.

One new item in this morning's news; Kingerski believes Letang may be pulled from the top power play unit in favor of Schultz.

 

[WVRON]

My own opinion isn't worth much, since I only saw the first two periods......and the 3rd was (as I understand it) their best of the three.

• I myself didn't feel as though I saw much useful from Crosby, though folks like Kingerski gave him a solid B grade.

• Probably I liked Guentzel's effort most; from what I saw, his wheels looked pretty active.

• Wish I'd have seen much more of the strong 3rd period Geno was said to have played (though I did see the Zucker goal off his effort).

• I personally didn't think Murray or Jarry played either of the last two Cryer goals very well.....which admittedly were one-on-none situations.

All I know is that I'm sick of the cement heads north of the border giving the Canadiens so much credit coming into the series.......hoping the Pens win it in a max of 4 games. Personally, I'm less worried about Price than the fact that good skating teams (like the Habs last season) often give the Pens problems.....though the Pens shouldn't have that much trouble outscoring the Canadiens, even if the series is low scoring.

One new item in this morning's news; Kingerski believes Letang may be pulled from the top power play unit in favor of Schultz.

Im all for swapping out Shultz for Tanger on the top PP unit. Tanger is a shorty waiting to happen.