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Round 2: Pens vs. Craps

COOL MAN said:
I admit I still strongly question Matt Murray's current ability to match Holtby save for save in consecutive games......then again, I think most will agree the pressure on Holtby (once he won Game 5) doesn't truly ramp up until Game 7. Speaking of Holtby, has he given up a single bad goal the entire series ?? Maybe so, but my feeble mind doesn't immediately recall one.

Meanwhile, the Pens have scored 13 goals in the 5 games whereas the Craps have scored 17 (though 3 were ENG). That means goals are 14-13 with goals tended, which means.....even with Murray's comparatively substandard play.....the Craps are hardly dominating on the scoreboard (and the Guins have actually outshot the Craps marginally, 142-138).

Don't recall if Guentzel's 2nd goal in the last minute of Game 4 might have been into the empty net (it was a PPG, though).
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After an 82 game schedule and now 11 playoff games, I am not confident Murray can win a game for his team like I thought Holtby did in game 5. He has been perfectly average to below average all season if only based on save %. His failure to make a relatively easy save to preserve the lead in game 4 coupled with the two that went through his 5 hole Saturday all point to the fact that the Pens have to win with an average Murray. All that aside, other than the 2 minute blunder at the end of the first and the mindless Letang play to open the 3rd, the Pens controlled play. In many ways, it was the best game of the playoffs for the Pens all around considering the opponent. I can still see them taking the series. A game 7 puts the pressure squarely on the Caps and we all know how they react to that.
 
COOL MAN said:
I'm really surprised how down I still am over Saturday's loss....so much so that I'm really not even looking forward to Game 6.

Oh, I'll certainly watch and pull for the Guins to extend the series. But the reality this game could so easily have been the clincher for the Pens.....and isn't simply (or at least mostly) because they didn't mind their friggin' basic p's and q's......just has me as down in the dumps as I've been in ages.

Of course, there's nothing that says the Guins would close out the series tonight even if they had won Game 5. I mean, I'm not sure either team is all that much more likely to win on home ice than on the road anyway.

I guess I just can't get rid of the notion we actually got a pretty decent full 60 minutes from them on Saturday.....for arguably the first time in the series....and have nothing but devastation/disappointment to show for the effort.

It probably doesn't help that the entire hockey world outside Pittsburgh is pulling for the Craps to close it out tonight. Then again, since none of them wants any part of a Game 7 no matter how well the Craps are playing.....
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Saturday did suck! Going into the 3rd I felt like the longer it went with the Pens leading the tighter the Caps would get. The building was a morgue and had we got that two goal lead the game would have been over. But the Pens shit themselves and the Caps tie it 52 seconds in. Ugh.

I’ve moved on. I’m excited and hopeful that a desperate Pens team finds it’s “A” game and we get the win tonight. Let me go further and say the Pens WILL win tonight and we will control play most of the way. Geno will score as will Phil and our first line will continue it’s dominance. Murray will make some key stops and and perhaps even a couple spectacular ones. Go ahead and plan your Wednesday viewing parties as this thing is going 7 fellas!
 
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Original Mountaineer1 said:
I can still see them taking the series. A game 7 puts the pressure squarely on the Caps and we all know how they react to that.
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I really think it ends tonight, and I've said since the breakup of the 2017 squad that the Pens lost too many pieces to make it very far in the playoffs. They just don't have the team defense, no scoring from any but the Crosby-Guentzel-Hornqvist line, and Matt Murray is no Marc-Andre Fleury, let alone Braden Holtby - although to be fair, Holtby hasn't been hung out to dry with odd man rushes nearly as much as Murray has.
 
Popeer said:
I really think it ends tonight, and I've said since the breakup of the 2017 squad that the Pens lost too many pieces to make it very far in the playoffs. They just don't have the team defense, no scoring from any but the Crosby-Guentzel-Hornqvist line, and Matt Murray is no Marc-Andre Fleury, let alone Braden Holtby - although to be fair, Holtby hasn't been hung out to dry with odd man rushes nearly as much as Murray has.
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I think the Penguin fans completely underestimated or under-valued the contributions of Bonino and Cullen. I did. While Sheahan has been effective at times, we are getting nothing from him in the playoffs....zero. You think back to those 2016 and 2017 runs and how effective the 4th lines were on the score sheet and defensively. While I can't complain about their defense, there has been zero scoring except for the Oleksiak goal Friday from anything other than the Crosby line this series.
 
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Original Mountaineer1 said:
I think the Penguin fans completely underestimated or under-valued the contributions of Bonino and Cullen. I did. While Sheahan has been effective at times, we are getting nothing from him in the playoffs....zero. You think back to those 2016 and 2017 runs and how effective the 4th lines were on the score sheet and defensively. While I can't complain about their defense, there has been zero scoring except for the Oleksiak goal Friday from anything other than the Crosby line this series.
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I don't think they underestimated Cullen's value, but he is almost 42, plus he wanted to go home to Minnesota. I think Bonino was a case of him wanting more than the Pens were willing or able to pay, but either way they've definitely missed those two. But they also lost Trevor Daley, Chris Kunitz, and Ron Hainsey in addition to Fleury going to Vegas, and they've gotten nothing from their replacements - a couple of them aren't even in Pittsburgh any more (Antti Niemi)
 
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COOL MAN said:
I'm really surprised how down I still am over Saturday's loss....so much so that I'm really not even looking forward to Game 6.

Oh, I'll certainly watch and pull for the Guins to extend the series. But the reality this game could so easily have been the clincher for the Pens.....and isn't simply (or at least mostly) because they didn't mind their friggin' basic p's and q's......just has me as down in the dumps as I've been in ages.

Of course, there's nothing that says the Guins would close out the series tonight even if they had won Game 5. I mean, I'm not sure either team is all that much more likely to win on home ice than on the road anyway.

I guess I just can't get rid of the notion we actually got a pretty decent full 60 minutes from them on Saturday.....for arguably the first time in the series....and have nothing but devastation/disappointment to show for the effort.

It probably doesn't help that the entire hockey world outside Pittsburgh is pulling for the Craps to close it out tonight. Then again, since none of them wants any part of a Game 7 no matter how well the Craps are playing.....
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they? this is about 58.
 
Popeer said:
I don't think they underestimated Cullen's value, but he is almost 42, plus he wanted to go home to Minnesota. I think Bonino was a case of him wanting more than the Pens were willing or able to pay, but either way they've definitely missed those two. But they also lost Trevor Daley, Chris Kunitz, and Ron Hainsey in addition to Fleury going to Vegas, and they've gotten nothing from their replacements - a couple of them aren't even in Pittsburgh any more (Antti Niemi)
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Bonino signed 4 years $16.4 million with Nashville.....which basically doubled his salary. FWIW, his stats this season were 12/13/25 in 71 games.

From the get-go, I thought that was too much money for what he delivers. But that's the trick with FA's; they virtually always sign for more than they deserve. Plus Nashville had the cap space to overpay for a guy with a solid (though certainly not exceptional) reputation with 2 rings.

Not sure they need a 3rd line center today at that price; the Turris trade pushed him back to the 3rd line where he belongs. But they still have cap room until such time as they have to actually step up and pay both Josi and Ellis (which is still a couple years away).

Anyway, there's no way the Pens were ever going to pay their 3rd line center that kind of money.......well, that is, until they traded for one whose cap hit is a full million/season higher. Now, whether Pens fans would rather have Brassard or Bonino today is entirely up to the beholder.
 
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COOL MAN said:
Bonino signed 4 years $16.4 million with Nashville.....which basically doubled his salary. FWIW, his stats this season were 12/13/25 in 71 games.

From the get-go, I thought that was too much money for what he delivers. But that's the trick with FA's; they virtually always sign for more than they deserve. Plus Nashville had the cap space to overpay for a guy with a solid (though certainly not exceptional) reputation with 2 rings.

Not sure they need a 3rd line center today at that price; the Turris trade pushed him back to the 3rd line where he belongs. But they still have cap room until such time as they have to actually step up and pay both Josi and Ellis (which is still a couple years away).

Anyway, there's no way the Pens were ever going to pay their 3rd line center that kind of money.......well, that is, until they traded for one whose cap hit is a full million/season higher. Now, whether Pens fans would rather have Brassard or Bonino today is entirely up to the beholder.
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100% THIS.
 
Irwineer2 said:
they? this is about 58.
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Ya...it has plenty to do with him, and he's in my doghouse. But where in the hell are 81, 71 and 19? These 3 musketeers are completely MIA. If they're banged up so be it...figure out a way to make a bloody difference. The Pens are in nowheresville without at minimum one of em doing something...let's hope one or two of them decide to make it to the rink tonight.
 
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Original Mountaineer1 said:
What is Sullivan thinking by running PK out there on the power play? Anyone.....anyone else
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I have to believe he is going purely on his shot at this point...although he can't seem to get it off with the usual velocity...not to doubt or argue with your valid query, but who else is goin out there? We are double shifting somebody in my eyes, between the 2 units....maybe thats what needs to happen...it is frustrating to watch.
 
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