I found CapGeek.com today. It's a wonderful site that tells you everyone's cap number for their teams. And looking through some of the teams, I saw people who are way overpaid for their production. So today I'm gonna list the most overpaid players to form the all-overpaid team.
Forward:
Scott Gomez, MON: He signed with the Rangers in 2007 with a huge 7 year, $51 million deal. In his first year with the Rangers, he had 16 goals and 54 assists for a total of 70 points, which makes his cap number look good, but his actual salary was $10 million. His next season, he had 58 points on an $8 million salary. He was traded to Montreal the next year where he had 59 points on $8 million again. This season, Scotty is doing even worse. He has 7 points in 24 games on $8 million again. I would buy out this contract ASAP. He's never going to live up to it.
Chris Drury, NYR: Hey look, another guy who the Rangers signed in 07. This signing never made sense, he never had more than 69 points in a season. $5 million probably would have been ok for him, so I guess the extra $2 million is for leadership. His first two years, his salary was $7.1 million and he put up 58 &56 points. Last season his salary went up to $8,050,000 and his production dropped to 32 points in 77 games. He's played one game this year and is making $8 million this year. Thankfully for the Rangers, his salary drops to $5 million next year, which is (also thankfully for the Rangers) his last year.
Shawn Horcroff, EDM: Some of you are probably asking "Who is this guy?". Well he plays on the Edmonton Oilers, notorious for overpaying players. Horcroff is no different. He had one 70 point season back in the 2005. Since then he hasn't gotten above 53. In 2008, he signed a 6 year, $33 million extension for the 2009 season. In that 2009 season, he had 36 points to go with his $7 million salary. This year doesn't look to bad so far with 14 points in 20 games, making his $6.5 salary look manageable. It's still early in this contract but you don't pay $5.5 million a year for a 50 point player.
(Dis-)Honorable Mentions: Thomas Vanek, BUF, Ryan Smyth, LAK, Brian Rolston, NJD
Defense:
Brian Campbell, CHI: If only Sergei Gonchar was a few years younger, do you think he would have asked for this kind of money. 8 years $51 million, which winds up being #2 in the league in cap hits among defenseman. Campbell's not even the second best defenseman on his team. His cap number is absolutely killing the Hawks as they had to move many pieces from their cup winning team because of this ludicrous contract. Campbell has had more than 60 points just once and that was in his contract year. I never blame the player for taking the money but there is a reason Dave Tallon was fired as the GM and this contract was one of them.
Wade Redden, NYR: It may seem like I'm picking on the Rangers, but I promise, they have signed all of these contracts. This one is probably the worst because they have no return from this deal whatsoever. Redden signed a 6 year, $39 million deal in 2008. Redden never had more than 50 points in a season. In his first season under this contract, he had 26 points to go with his $8 million salary. In his second year, he had 14 points to go with his $8 million salary. The Rangers needed to free up cap room, so they're paying him $6.5 million to play in the AHL this year. No wonder the Rangers' fans chant "Fire Saither".
(Dis-)Honorable Mentions: Dion Phanuef, TOR, Bryan McCabe, FLA, Michal Rosival, NYR
Goaltenders:
Cristobal Huet, CHI: You want to know why Dave Tallon is in Florida? See Brian Campbell. Here's reason number 2. In the summer of overspending, Chicago signed Huet to a 4 year $22 million contract. Huet never fit Chicago's system, which I know sounds weird because I'm talking about a goalie. But the Hawks consistently gave up the least amount of shots over those first two years of this contract. Huet never played up to it. His playoff statistics were terrible and he lost his job to Antti Niemi. Huet is now playing in France just to be off Chicago's books.
(Dis-)Honorable Mentions: Pascal Leclaire, OTT, Nikolai Khabibulin, EDM, Mike Smith, TB
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
Grading the Pens First Quarter
Hey guys I'm back. Today I'll be grading the Pens so far after 21 games in the season. I'll be going in alphabetical order so here we go:
Craig Adams: Every year I wonder why Craig Adams is on the team. He doesn't score goals or put up alot of points or really stand out in games. Well, something I've learned in hockey is that if you're standing out, it's usually because you're doing something wrong. So Craig Adams' play by not standing out is actually a good thing. That one goal he has is also a plus considering he can't buy multiple goals. Grade: C
Arron Asham: After being signed from Philly, I specifically remember hating this guy, not for his talent but because he pestered people. Now, I see it from the other side and love it. It's weird to think he's developing chemistry with Malkin. He was hurt early and is now seeing top-6 time. He hasn't made the most of it but that chemistry will keep coming. Grade: C+
Mike Comrie: Talk about disappointing. This guy was heralded as the signing of the offseason. Bargain basement price, good skill. Thankfully it's such a low cap hit. Mike Comrie saw top-6 time early in the season and then started free falling in the lineup with almost no production. He was on the top PP unit and then his poor play allowed Letang to show up. He needs to go to the minors for awhile to figure it out or something. Grade: F
Chris Connor: When I heard he was getting called up, I was hoping he'd get some top-6 time with either Crosby or Malkin, but he's been solid on the third line with Letestu and Kennedy. That may be the fastest line in all of hockey right now. He hasn't put up any points yet but he will. Grade: I (I haven't seen enough to make a truly fair grade yet.)
Matt Cooke: Quick, who leads the NHL in shorthanded points? If you couldn't guess, it's Matt Cooke. With Jordan Staal out, Matt Cooke has taken over as the Pens top penalty killer and he's filling the job admirably. It also doesn't hurt that he has 11 total points in 21 games, which puts him on pace for 43 points. That contract he signed in the offseason looks good so far. Grade: B
Sidney Crosby: What can you say about Sid that hasn't already been said? His 14 goals are tied for second in the league, his 19 assists are good for second in the league, and his 33 points are good for, you guessed it, second in the league. He's been the Pens most consistent player, which has been exemplified by the 8 game point streak he's on right now. People can rave about Steven Stamkos as much as they want, but the best player in the league so far has been Sidney Crosby. Grade: A+
Pascal Dupuis: Dupuis has been thought of as the throw in the Marian Hossa deal, but he has stuck with the Pens for 3 years now. He's had multiple opportunities to play with Sid over those three years and I feel this was his last chance. He's making the most of it. He has 5 goals, which is good for third on the team. It is very weird thought that he has 4 assists, considering Sid and Chris Kunitz have 21 combined goals. Good PKer, definitely worth the 1.4 million cap hit right now and he's definitely due a raise. Grade: B-
Deryk Engelland: Godard who? The Pens have found a new enforcer and his name is Deryk Engelland. But here's the kicker, this guy can actually do his job of fighting and play his position. He has averaged about 11 minutes a night. He's been solid some nights and not so solid other nights. He's been better than Ben Lovejoy though. Grade: C
Marc-Andre Fleury: Hey, it's everyone's favorite goat. The beginning of the season was rough for MAF 1-6-0 sub .900 save percentage, plus 3.00 GAA. But now, he's turned it around. He's 4-0-1 in his last 5 starts. The Carolina game wasn't sensational by any stretch of imagination, but games like that will happen. HCDB's system hasn't been very kind to MAF, but hopefully with an improved defense corps in front of him, those numbers will get better. Grade: C+
Eric Godard: Not much to say. He's an enforcer and probably won't be resigned. Plays sparingly in games, no real production to speak of. Grade: I
Alex Goligoski: Talk about the most inconsistent Pens player. There are nights where he looks like he could replace Gonchar and there are nights where he looks like he needs to go. He's tied for fifth in points on the Pens with Matt Cooke. His defense needs work badly. I'd say to play him with Michalek, but he's got his own struggles. I'll get onto that. Grade: C-
Andrew Hutchinson: He's a fill-in defenseman. If he deserved to be on the big league roster, he would be. But there's a reason in the minors and we saw it when he was up here. Grade: D
Brent Johnson: Johnny is the reason the Pens are fourth in the conference right now. With Fleury struggling early, Johnny's strong play held the Pens in games and had them winning. The magic has worn off some, and with Fleury back in form, Johnny has moved back to his backup role. But he has shown he can be solid when we really need him to be. Grade: A
Tyler Kennedy: Tyler Kennedy is 24 now, and to be honest I haven't seen much of a difference between him now and when he first came into the league. TK is a double digit goal scorer with a possible upside of 20 goals. He takes a ton of shots, he's 61st in the league, which is amazing considering he's a third line player. But his shooting percentage is 327th in the league, which tells me why he'll never be a top-6 guy. That's not a bad thing though. He's been solid this year, and I don't think I've seen him this fast in a long time. Grade: C+
Chris Kuntiz: He's been on Sid's wing for 2 years now and I don't see anyone else playing there for a long time. His 7 goals are tied for second on the team with Geno. He's finally playing up to the billing. He's on pace for 27 goals. His 3 PP goals are 2nd on the team ahead of Geno. His 5 assists are a little worrying considering Dupuis and Sid have a combined 19 goals and he gets PP time. But Sid has needed a scoring winger and Chris Kunitz is filling that role now. Grade: B
Kris Letang: I'll admit it, when Kris Letang signed for a 4 year 14 million dollar deal, I was skeptical of the money. He's looked like a bargain now. His 18 points are third on the team. He's clearly the team's number one defenseman. His play is making people forget about Sergei Gonchar pretty quickly. This early into the season, I put him into Norris contention. Grade: A+
Mark Letestu: Most people saw Letestu coming into the season as the third line center. Well, his torrid early pace to this season forced a short promotion to the second line as Mike Comrie struggled. Letestu has cooled off, but he's still playing good third line hockey. He's a very underrated player right now. Grade: B-
Ben Lovejoy: He's the seventh defenseman right now. He had his chance as the sixth defenseman but played poorly in his chances. He won't play unless there's an injury or HCDB decides to sit someone. Grade: D
Evgeni Malkin: Jaromir Jagr syndrome. I can't figure him out sometimes. Some games he's completely invisible. Others he's dominating. He could lead the league in scoring if he consistently put out effort like a teammate of his. His 20 points are second on the team. The placement in scoring on the team was to be expected, but not the point total. He's regressed since his MVP type season two years ago, that or the passion isn't there. Grade: B
Paul Martin: I was talking to Black Knight about how if I could switch the defensemans' contracts between the 3 who recently signed, Letang would be making 5 mil, Martin 4, and Michalek 3.5. Martin so far hasn't lived up to the contract, but don't get me wrong, he's playing solid hockey. He needs to find the back of the net, the only one he scored was the empty netter against New Jersey. But this system is built for Paul to thrive and he will once he gets better play from his defense partner. Grade: B
Zybnek Michalek: In Paul Martin's part, I said I would have given him the 3.5 mil. That's if I could switch the contracts. Right now, I'd pay someone 3.5 mil to take him. He's playing poorly, and it wasn't just the shoulder. I think he's gotten worse since the shoulder injury. He does not want to battle in the corners anymore which you can't do if you play hockey. He needs to quit worrying about getting hurt and playing up to his contract. Grade: F
Brooks Orpik: Does Brooks Orpik really have a goal this early in the season? The answer is yes. He's really benefited from the system he's put down at times (http://djbrenic182.blogspot.com/2010/11/sorry-brooks-i-dont-agree-here.html). He's now playing with Tanger on the shutdown pair and did a number on the Sedins on Wednesday. Grade: B
Mike Rupp: He will probably never put up the numbers he did last year, so everyone should remove last year from your memories. This year's Mike Rupp is the version you should expect to see consistently. 5 points is fantastic for a fourth liner this early in the season. Grade: C+
Max Talbot: Teams have gotten some "Superstar Treatment" recently. Max is back. I don't think he should play top-6 minutes but he is a skilled bottom-6 guy. He's a fantastic penalty killer and a big time energy and sandpaper guy. Those 4 goals are pretty big right now, especially because one is shorthanded. Grade: B-
Eric Tangradi: For the first 5 games, he had a great shot to stick with this team on the second line with Mike Comrie and Geno. Both of those guys struggled early and that could be why Tangradi's play suffered so for the next 4 games he was relegated to fourth line duty. After Arron Asham came back, he was sent to the minors for seasoning. He wasn't ready for the big time yet. He might be ready later in the year. Grade: D
Going through it my top 5 Pens players would be:
1. Sidney Crosby
2. Kris Letang
3. Evgeni Malkin
4. Matt Cooke
5. Chris Kunitz
Feel free to agree/disagree. And I know alot of you will say Malkin is better than Letang. Well, he needs to show it then. Until tomorrow after the Panthers game everyone.
Craig Adams: Every year I wonder why Craig Adams is on the team. He doesn't score goals or put up alot of points or really stand out in games. Well, something I've learned in hockey is that if you're standing out, it's usually because you're doing something wrong. So Craig Adams' play by not standing out is actually a good thing. That one goal he has is also a plus considering he can't buy multiple goals. Grade: C
Arron Asham: After being signed from Philly, I specifically remember hating this guy, not for his talent but because he pestered people. Now, I see it from the other side and love it. It's weird to think he's developing chemistry with Malkin. He was hurt early and is now seeing top-6 time. He hasn't made the most of it but that chemistry will keep coming. Grade: C+
Mike Comrie: Talk about disappointing. This guy was heralded as the signing of the offseason. Bargain basement price, good skill. Thankfully it's such a low cap hit. Mike Comrie saw top-6 time early in the season and then started free falling in the lineup with almost no production. He was on the top PP unit and then his poor play allowed Letang to show up. He needs to go to the minors for awhile to figure it out or something. Grade: F
Chris Connor: When I heard he was getting called up, I was hoping he'd get some top-6 time with either Crosby or Malkin, but he's been solid on the third line with Letestu and Kennedy. That may be the fastest line in all of hockey right now. He hasn't put up any points yet but he will. Grade: I (I haven't seen enough to make a truly fair grade yet.)
Matt Cooke: Quick, who leads the NHL in shorthanded points? If you couldn't guess, it's Matt Cooke. With Jordan Staal out, Matt Cooke has taken over as the Pens top penalty killer and he's filling the job admirably. It also doesn't hurt that he has 11 total points in 21 games, which puts him on pace for 43 points. That contract he signed in the offseason looks good so far. Grade: B
Sidney Crosby: What can you say about Sid that hasn't already been said? His 14 goals are tied for second in the league, his 19 assists are good for second in the league, and his 33 points are good for, you guessed it, second in the league. He's been the Pens most consistent player, which has been exemplified by the 8 game point streak he's on right now. People can rave about Steven Stamkos as much as they want, but the best player in the league so far has been Sidney Crosby. Grade: A+
Pascal Dupuis: Dupuis has been thought of as the throw in the Marian Hossa deal, but he has stuck with the Pens for 3 years now. He's had multiple opportunities to play with Sid over those three years and I feel this was his last chance. He's making the most of it. He has 5 goals, which is good for third on the team. It is very weird thought that he has 4 assists, considering Sid and Chris Kunitz have 21 combined goals. Good PKer, definitely worth the 1.4 million cap hit right now and he's definitely due a raise. Grade: B-
Deryk Engelland: Godard who? The Pens have found a new enforcer and his name is Deryk Engelland. But here's the kicker, this guy can actually do his job of fighting and play his position. He has averaged about 11 minutes a night. He's been solid some nights and not so solid other nights. He's been better than Ben Lovejoy though. Grade: C
Marc-Andre Fleury: Hey, it's everyone's favorite goat. The beginning of the season was rough for MAF 1-6-0 sub .900 save percentage, plus 3.00 GAA. But now, he's turned it around. He's 4-0-1 in his last 5 starts. The Carolina game wasn't sensational by any stretch of imagination, but games like that will happen. HCDB's system hasn't been very kind to MAF, but hopefully with an improved defense corps in front of him, those numbers will get better. Grade: C+
Eric Godard: Not much to say. He's an enforcer and probably won't be resigned. Plays sparingly in games, no real production to speak of. Grade: I
Alex Goligoski: Talk about the most inconsistent Pens player. There are nights where he looks like he could replace Gonchar and there are nights where he looks like he needs to go. He's tied for fifth in points on the Pens with Matt Cooke. His defense needs work badly. I'd say to play him with Michalek, but he's got his own struggles. I'll get onto that. Grade: C-
Andrew Hutchinson: He's a fill-in defenseman. If he deserved to be on the big league roster, he would be. But there's a reason in the minors and we saw it when he was up here. Grade: D
Brent Johnson: Johnny is the reason the Pens are fourth in the conference right now. With Fleury struggling early, Johnny's strong play held the Pens in games and had them winning. The magic has worn off some, and with Fleury back in form, Johnny has moved back to his backup role. But he has shown he can be solid when we really need him to be. Grade: A
Tyler Kennedy: Tyler Kennedy is 24 now, and to be honest I haven't seen much of a difference between him now and when he first came into the league. TK is a double digit goal scorer with a possible upside of 20 goals. He takes a ton of shots, he's 61st in the league, which is amazing considering he's a third line player. But his shooting percentage is 327th in the league, which tells me why he'll never be a top-6 guy. That's not a bad thing though. He's been solid this year, and I don't think I've seen him this fast in a long time. Grade: C+
Chris Kuntiz: He's been on Sid's wing for 2 years now and I don't see anyone else playing there for a long time. His 7 goals are tied for second on the team with Geno. He's finally playing up to the billing. He's on pace for 27 goals. His 3 PP goals are 2nd on the team ahead of Geno. His 5 assists are a little worrying considering Dupuis and Sid have a combined 19 goals and he gets PP time. But Sid has needed a scoring winger and Chris Kunitz is filling that role now. Grade: B
Kris Letang: I'll admit it, when Kris Letang signed for a 4 year 14 million dollar deal, I was skeptical of the money. He's looked like a bargain now. His 18 points are third on the team. He's clearly the team's number one defenseman. His play is making people forget about Sergei Gonchar pretty quickly. This early into the season, I put him into Norris contention. Grade: A+
Mark Letestu: Most people saw Letestu coming into the season as the third line center. Well, his torrid early pace to this season forced a short promotion to the second line as Mike Comrie struggled. Letestu has cooled off, but he's still playing good third line hockey. He's a very underrated player right now. Grade: B-
Ben Lovejoy: He's the seventh defenseman right now. He had his chance as the sixth defenseman but played poorly in his chances. He won't play unless there's an injury or HCDB decides to sit someone. Grade: D
Evgeni Malkin: Jaromir Jagr syndrome. I can't figure him out sometimes. Some games he's completely invisible. Others he's dominating. He could lead the league in scoring if he consistently put out effort like a teammate of his. His 20 points are second on the team. The placement in scoring on the team was to be expected, but not the point total. He's regressed since his MVP type season two years ago, that or the passion isn't there. Grade: B
Paul Martin: I was talking to Black Knight about how if I could switch the defensemans' contracts between the 3 who recently signed, Letang would be making 5 mil, Martin 4, and Michalek 3.5. Martin so far hasn't lived up to the contract, but don't get me wrong, he's playing solid hockey. He needs to find the back of the net, the only one he scored was the empty netter against New Jersey. But this system is built for Paul to thrive and he will once he gets better play from his defense partner. Grade: B
Zybnek Michalek: In Paul Martin's part, I said I would have given him the 3.5 mil. That's if I could switch the contracts. Right now, I'd pay someone 3.5 mil to take him. He's playing poorly, and it wasn't just the shoulder. I think he's gotten worse since the shoulder injury. He does not want to battle in the corners anymore which you can't do if you play hockey. He needs to quit worrying about getting hurt and playing up to his contract. Grade: F
Brooks Orpik: Does Brooks Orpik really have a goal this early in the season? The answer is yes. He's really benefited from the system he's put down at times (http://djbrenic182.blogspot.com/2010/11/sorry-brooks-i-dont-agree-here.html). He's now playing with Tanger on the shutdown pair and did a number on the Sedins on Wednesday. Grade: B
Mike Rupp: He will probably never put up the numbers he did last year, so everyone should remove last year from your memories. This year's Mike Rupp is the version you should expect to see consistently. 5 points is fantastic for a fourth liner this early in the season. Grade: C+
Max Talbot: Teams have gotten some "Superstar Treatment" recently. Max is back. I don't think he should play top-6 minutes but he is a skilled bottom-6 guy. He's a fantastic penalty killer and a big time energy and sandpaper guy. Those 4 goals are pretty big right now, especially because one is shorthanded. Grade: B-
Eric Tangradi: For the first 5 games, he had a great shot to stick with this team on the second line with Mike Comrie and Geno. Both of those guys struggled early and that could be why Tangradi's play suffered so for the next 4 games he was relegated to fourth line duty. After Arron Asham came back, he was sent to the minors for seasoning. He wasn't ready for the big time yet. He might be ready later in the year. Grade: D
Going through it my top 5 Pens players would be:
1. Sidney Crosby
2. Kris Letang
3. Evgeni Malkin
4. Matt Cooke
5. Chris Kunitz
Feel free to agree/disagree. And I know alot of you will say Malkin is better than Letang. Well, he needs to show it then. Until tomorrow after the Panthers game everyone.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Today, Redemption is spelled F-L-E-U-R-Y; Pens top Bolts 5-1
Well, not to toot my own horn, but I said in my last blog that the Pens should start Marc-Andre Fleury last night. Well I got what I wanted, and every Pens fan got what they wanted, a win. On to Plus/Minus:
Pluses:
Marc-Andre Fleury: Fleury for Vezina!!! Just kidding. Fleury needed this win. And he needed to win convincingly. Now yes, he only faced 16 shots tonight but don't let the score sheet fool you. He made a great save on St. Louis in the opening seconds of the second period. He never lost the puck in the couple of scrambles around the net. And the only shot he let in would be the lethal Steven Stamkos one-timer from the bottom of the left circle, and he even got a big piece of it. Fleury was solid last night, not spectacular, but solid. He made the saves he needed to make to keep the game tied early and kept the softies out of the net unlike his counter-part Mike Smith. I hope this is a turnaround for MAF because we're gonna need him.
Team Defense: After a pathetic third period against Boston, the Pens seemed to forget the third period of that game even happened, holding Tampa to just 16 shots, 5 of those coming on 8 power play chances. Yes there were some almosts with a couple of scrambles around the net and a Marty St. Louis breakaway, but all in all, the team made this an easy one for MAF.
Pascal Dupuis: Since Dupuis came here on February 26, 2008, he's been an after thought. Marian Hossa was brought in and he was the marque player in that deal. Well Hossa left for money and what he calls a "better chance to win the cup" and Pascal Dupuis signs a 3 year deal in Pittsburgh. Over the next couple of seasons, Pascal played some top 6 minutes but never made an impression on the coaching staff. This year with Bill Guerin gone, Pascal received one final chance to play top 6 minutes with Sidney Crosby. Boy is he making the most of them. With 5 goals in the season so far, Pascal is on pace for 24 goals and 39 points. Now that doesn't seem like top 6 numbers but for Sid to have a 20 goal scorer is huge. That makes teams think a little harder about their kind of d on Sid. Chris Kunitz is on pace for a 19 goal and 43 point season. Dupuis makes 1.4 million, Kuni makes around 3.5. Pascal's due for a pay raise.
Minuses:
Discipline: The Pens had 8 penalties last night and none of them were Majors, like fighting. The Lightning had the 4th or 5th ranked PP going into the game last night, not to mention the best PP weapon in the league in Steven Stamkos. The penalty kill stepped up and kept this one out of reach late.
Some people are calling it the most complete game by the Pens this year. I agree. Everything worked last night. All of the Fleury haters can't say anything about last night. But they're waiting, and when they decide they want to talk smack, Fleury will be waiting.
Pluses:
Marc-Andre Fleury: Fleury for Vezina!!! Just kidding. Fleury needed this win. And he needed to win convincingly. Now yes, he only faced 16 shots tonight but don't let the score sheet fool you. He made a great save on St. Louis in the opening seconds of the second period. He never lost the puck in the couple of scrambles around the net. And the only shot he let in would be the lethal Steven Stamkos one-timer from the bottom of the left circle, and he even got a big piece of it. Fleury was solid last night, not spectacular, but solid. He made the saves he needed to make to keep the game tied early and kept the softies out of the net unlike his counter-part Mike Smith. I hope this is a turnaround for MAF because we're gonna need him.
Team Defense: After a pathetic third period against Boston, the Pens seemed to forget the third period of that game even happened, holding Tampa to just 16 shots, 5 of those coming on 8 power play chances. Yes there were some almosts with a couple of scrambles around the net and a Marty St. Louis breakaway, but all in all, the team made this an easy one for MAF.
Pascal Dupuis: Since Dupuis came here on February 26, 2008, he's been an after thought. Marian Hossa was brought in and he was the marque player in that deal. Well Hossa left for money and what he calls a "better chance to win the cup" and Pascal Dupuis signs a 3 year deal in Pittsburgh. Over the next couple of seasons, Pascal played some top 6 minutes but never made an impression on the coaching staff. This year with Bill Guerin gone, Pascal received one final chance to play top 6 minutes with Sidney Crosby. Boy is he making the most of them. With 5 goals in the season so far, Pascal is on pace for 24 goals and 39 points. Now that doesn't seem like top 6 numbers but for Sid to have a 20 goal scorer is huge. That makes teams think a little harder about their kind of d on Sid. Chris Kunitz is on pace for a 19 goal and 43 point season. Dupuis makes 1.4 million, Kuni makes around 3.5. Pascal's due for a pay raise.
Minuses:
Discipline: The Pens had 8 penalties last night and none of them were Majors, like fighting. The Lightning had the 4th or 5th ranked PP going into the game last night, not to mention the best PP weapon in the league in Steven Stamkos. The penalty kill stepped up and kept this one out of reach late.
Some people are calling it the most complete game by the Pens this year. I agree. Everything worked last night. All of the Fleury haters can't say anything about last night. But they're waiting, and when they decide they want to talk smack, Fleury will be waiting.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Sorry Brooks, I don't agree here
Please read this article before you read my blog: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_708789.html
Brooks Orpik would be a captain on any other team. I have no reason to say why he wouldn't be. This guy has been the conscience of this team for years. He's been the most outspoken player on this team. When Crosby sugar coats everything, Brooks is very blatant. But now, Brooks is calling out the system, the one that has been in place for a couple of years now. Here's the quotes that I'm referring to:
Brooks Orpik would be a captain on any other team. I have no reason to say why he wouldn't be. This guy has been the conscience of this team for years. He's been the most outspoken player on this team. When Crosby sugar coats everything, Brooks is very blatant. But now, Brooks is calling out the system, the one that has been in place for a couple of years now. Here's the quotes that I'm referring to:
"It's not that (other teams) are doing anything. I mean, everything they get, we give them. It's just (our) guys got to be accountable. Part of the problem is we're not playing to the situation. I mean, why are defensemen playing like forwards when we've got a 4-2 lead — this is the problem to me.
"We've got enough good forwards here. We don't need our defensemen playing like forwards when we're up 4-2."
Sorry Brooks, I don't agree...at all. You guys got the lead because your defensemen skate well enough to act like forwards. Hell, that's why you even got your goal. So why do would you shut it down if that's how you started winning in the first place? The answer is you don't. You guys lost because you went into a shell and when you needed to come out, you were so far deep in it that you couldn't come out of it in order to win. So Brooks, you're wrong here. I wouldn't be surprised if you have a sit down with Disco Dan. Actually, I would be surprised. He's done a poor coaching job this season as it is, I'd be surprised if he even said anything to you. So I guess you can keep calling out the system until Sid tells you to be quiet, because Sid will. Sid's more of a coach than Dan Bylsma right now, so HCDB should be giving Sid his salary until he starts earning it.
After watching the goals again, Brooks has no idea what he's talking about. If you need proof watch this: http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=35&id=82297
After watching the goals again, Brooks has no idea what he's talking about. If you need proof watch this: http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=35&id=82297
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
The game is 60 minutes for a reason: Pens fall to the Bruins 7-4
What in the world happened? Through two periods, the Pens were dominating the Boston Bruins in every facet. And something happened. On to the Plus/Minus section:
Pluses:
The offense: When you put up four goals, you expect to win most nights. Crosby with a three point night, Malkin and Letang with two assists and those are stats you see in a win. Not tonight. Most people will blame the offense but there's no way this is any fault of the offense.
Two-headed Monster: As alluded to in the first plus, Crosby had a huge night with a goal and two assists tonight. Malkin had two assists and was everywhere tonight. A lot was made of the Chara vs. Crosby matchup after Chara has shut down Ovechkin this season and many people thought Chara would shut down Crosby but not tonight. Malkin and Crosby just wouldn't be denied until the third period.
Minuses:
The defense: Through 40 minutes, the defense was adequate. They gave up too many odd man rushes and fortunately Brent Johnson played well early. In the last period, the Pens kept giving up those odd man rushes and Brent Johnson went to hell. The Pens worked their defensive zone coverage in practice and they didn't look bad in their zone with the exception of the Horton and Wheeler goals. But Gogo and big Z made bad pinches to give up scoring chances and in Gogo's case a goal. Transition game needs work.
Zybnek Michalek: I separate him from the defense because he was terrible tonight. On the Wheeler goal, he did not battle at all for that puck, which tells me he's afraid to hurt his shoulder again. Dan Bylsma needs to realize he's not willing to battle and he needs to sit if he won't.
Brent Johnson: Yep, the magic's done. What a meltdown for him in the third. Just a terrible period for Johnny. That marred his game that was until that point good. Expect to see MAF in net against Tampa.
HCDB: Yep, him again. It's easy to coach when you're up big. But you need to tell your team to keep playing the way that got them there. The Pens went into a shell in the third and paid the price. I feel he should have called a timeout when the game went to 4-4 to get the guys situated again. I also think Fleury should have played after the game went to 6-4. What harm would it cause to go to him? The games over because the guys have it shut off in their heads. He needs to figure how to manage games or this might keep happening.
Poor night for the Pens. Like I said, I expect MAF in net against Tampa Friday. Crosby might hold another players meeting soon if they keep playing like this. Gogo and Big Z had awful games. Everyone else was ok. I didn't hear Lovejoy's name or Martin's name said too much which is good when you play defense. Otherwise, just an awful third period for the Pens made it an awful game.
Pluses:
The offense: When you put up four goals, you expect to win most nights. Crosby with a three point night, Malkin and Letang with two assists and those are stats you see in a win. Not tonight. Most people will blame the offense but there's no way this is any fault of the offense.
Two-headed Monster: As alluded to in the first plus, Crosby had a huge night with a goal and two assists tonight. Malkin had two assists and was everywhere tonight. A lot was made of the Chara vs. Crosby matchup after Chara has shut down Ovechkin this season and many people thought Chara would shut down Crosby but not tonight. Malkin and Crosby just wouldn't be denied until the third period.
Minuses:
The defense: Through 40 minutes, the defense was adequate. They gave up too many odd man rushes and fortunately Brent Johnson played well early. In the last period, the Pens kept giving up those odd man rushes and Brent Johnson went to hell. The Pens worked their defensive zone coverage in practice and they didn't look bad in their zone with the exception of the Horton and Wheeler goals. But Gogo and big Z made bad pinches to give up scoring chances and in Gogo's case a goal. Transition game needs work.
Zybnek Michalek: I separate him from the defense because he was terrible tonight. On the Wheeler goal, he did not battle at all for that puck, which tells me he's afraid to hurt his shoulder again. Dan Bylsma needs to realize he's not willing to battle and he needs to sit if he won't.
Brent Johnson: Yep, the magic's done. What a meltdown for him in the third. Just a terrible period for Johnny. That marred his game that was until that point good. Expect to see MAF in net against Tampa.
HCDB: Yep, him again. It's easy to coach when you're up big. But you need to tell your team to keep playing the way that got them there. The Pens went into a shell in the third and paid the price. I feel he should have called a timeout when the game went to 4-4 to get the guys situated again. I also think Fleury should have played after the game went to 6-4. What harm would it cause to go to him? The games over because the guys have it shut off in their heads. He needs to figure how to manage games or this might keep happening.
Poor night for the Pens. Like I said, I expect MAF in net against Tampa Friday. Crosby might hold another players meeting soon if they keep playing like this. Gogo and Big Z had awful games. Everyone else was ok. I didn't hear Lovejoy's name or Martin's name said too much which is good when you play defense. Otherwise, just an awful third period for the Pens made it an awful game.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Dan Bylsma and Sidney Crosby on Fleury
I don't know if anyone read the Penguins report yesterday but a couple of questions were asked to Dan Bylsma about Marc-Andre Fleury. Here's my translation:
On hoping to get Marc-Andre Fleury a string of wins:
I don’t think there’s a lot of hoping in the direction that we’re taking. He’s got to get better, but he’s got to get to his game. It comes from practice and focus and it comes from our team and our attitude when we play the game. I think our team feels that way as well. We got behind the last two games and we had to fight to come back and we got the win in Phoenix. But that doesn’t mean we’re where we need to be. We need to look at this next stretch of games here, these three games coming up in four nights where we have a chance to put some wins together.
Translation: I'm gonna ride Brent Johnson until the wheels fall off. We win when Johnny plays but can't when Fleury does, can anyone explain why? I can, they don't really trust him. They'll say they do to his face, but they don't. And as for this upcoming stretch, I plan on playing Johnny all three games.
On Marc-Andre Fleury’s game:
I think that what type of goalie we have and the quality and the effort that he’s putting in is he’s working really hard on his game, but going out with the mindset and sticking to his game and his foundation when he’s out there is a big thing for Marc. Even in practice, he’s got to confident in the mindset that his ability and what he does as a goaltender is going to get him through this.
Translation: Fleury's confidence is pretty much shot and it shows.
On how Fleury can find confidence:
The conversation about what confidence is is a long one. Does he understand confidence? Well, he understands that he doesn’t have it right now. But it’s a long conversation about what confidence is.
Translation: This one is not code for anything, this is very straight forward.
You can tell that HCDB is not at all happy with MAF's performance in this young season. He's frustrated and he's believes the team is frustrated. But Sid seems to have a different opinion:
On Marc-Andre Fleury:
I think he’s dealing with (problems) okay. It’s not easy. It’s going to be tough. But to sit here and say that he’s not frustrated – he probably is. I have times where I don’t score and I’m going to be frustrated to. But unfortunately for a goalie, the goalie’s always the center of attention more than anyone, so there’s always a lot of pressure that comes with that. And he’s more than capable to deal with it. He’s mentally strong. But you have to be patient to. He’s going to have good games, and it’s not like he can change it overnight. I’m sure he wants it more than anyone and he’ll do whatever it takes.
Translation: If you think MAF isn't frustrated you're an idiot. His problems are magnified because he's the goalie and goaltender is the most important position in hockey. He can deal with it but leave him alone. He wants to play and I think he should be playing more. He's being paid $5000000 to be our starter, Johnny's being paid $600000 to be our back up. Do the math. Fleury should be playing, he'll snap out of it and when he does, you'll all be sorry for doubting him.
I side more with Sid on this. We've seen how he can play when he's on top of his game. So let's ride him. Yeah, we might lose more but this will get Fleury some confidence. He can't have confidence in himself whenever his coach doesn't have confidence in him. Start him all three games this week. That will benefit us more than trying to ride Johnny to the playoffs.
On hoping to get Marc-Andre Fleury a string of wins:
I don’t think there’s a lot of hoping in the direction that we’re taking. He’s got to get better, but he’s got to get to his game. It comes from practice and focus and it comes from our team and our attitude when we play the game. I think our team feels that way as well. We got behind the last two games and we had to fight to come back and we got the win in Phoenix. But that doesn’t mean we’re where we need to be. We need to look at this next stretch of games here, these three games coming up in four nights where we have a chance to put some wins together.
Translation: I'm gonna ride Brent Johnson until the wheels fall off. We win when Johnny plays but can't when Fleury does, can anyone explain why? I can, they don't really trust him. They'll say they do to his face, but they don't. And as for this upcoming stretch, I plan on playing Johnny all three games.
On Marc-Andre Fleury’s game:
I think that what type of goalie we have and the quality and the effort that he’s putting in is he’s working really hard on his game, but going out with the mindset and sticking to his game and his foundation when he’s out there is a big thing for Marc. Even in practice, he’s got to confident in the mindset that his ability and what he does as a goaltender is going to get him through this.
Translation: Fleury's confidence is pretty much shot and it shows.
On how Fleury can find confidence:
The conversation about what confidence is is a long one. Does he understand confidence? Well, he understands that he doesn’t have it right now. But it’s a long conversation about what confidence is.
Translation: This one is not code for anything, this is very straight forward.
You can tell that HCDB is not at all happy with MAF's performance in this young season. He's frustrated and he's believes the team is frustrated. But Sid seems to have a different opinion:
On Marc-Andre Fleury:
I think he’s dealing with (problems) okay. It’s not easy. It’s going to be tough. But to sit here and say that he’s not frustrated – he probably is. I have times where I don’t score and I’m going to be frustrated to. But unfortunately for a goalie, the goalie’s always the center of attention more than anyone, so there’s always a lot of pressure that comes with that. And he’s more than capable to deal with it. He’s mentally strong. But you have to be patient to. He’s going to have good games, and it’s not like he can change it overnight. I’m sure he wants it more than anyone and he’ll do whatever it takes.
Translation: If you think MAF isn't frustrated you're an idiot. His problems are magnified because he's the goalie and goaltender is the most important position in hockey. He can deal with it but leave him alone. He wants to play and I think he should be playing more. He's being paid $5000000 to be our starter, Johnny's being paid $600000 to be our back up. Do the math. Fleury should be playing, he'll snap out of it and when he does, you'll all be sorry for doubting him.
I side more with Sid on this. We've seen how he can play when he's on top of his game. So let's ride him. Yeah, we might lose more but this will get Fleury some confidence. He can't have confidence in himself whenever his coach doesn't have confidence in him. Start him all three games this week. That will benefit us more than trying to ride Johnny to the playoffs.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Crosby scores, Saku dives, Getzlaf complains and the Pens fall to the Ducks
Pens lose 3-2 to the Diving Ducks of Anaheim. I'm sorry, I still can't get over how easily Saku Koivu went down on the Pens third period power play not to mention the dive by Corey Perry. But, I'm talking opinions here, so onto the +/- segment.
Pluses:
Power Play: They finally scored tonight. The power play finally broke their 0 for forever slump with a deflection goal by Crosby. The first power play wasn't all that great considering the Pens spent some time in their zone. But the rest of the PPs looked like the Pens of earlier this year, movement of all sorts and they get rewarded. That goal by Crosby was huge as it stopped the slide. To that point, the Ducks got all of the bounces. After that, momentum really went Pittsburgh's way.
Marc-Andre Fleury (late): Fleury did his job late in the game, holding the Ducks off the scoreboard after their third goal. If Fleury could pretend he's holding on to a lead when the game starts, maybe he'll win a game with less than 3 goals against.
Sidney Crosby: Boy, Sid must hate the Western Conference players. Crosby almost was in his second fight in as many games against Ryan Getzlaf. But instead of dropping the gloves tonight, Crosby puts up a two spot on the Ducks and was the Pens most influential player tonight. With Geno not doing very much, Sid's stepping up and trying to put this team on his back. Tonight it just didn't work.
Minuses:
Evgeni Malkin: I said it to Brian DeBaldo and a Caps fan who tried to tell me Malkin was better than Crosby, Jaromir Jagr syndrome. For those of you unfamiliar with this disease that plagues some top NHL players, it's when the player only tries in the offensive zone. Evgeni Malkin's not a centerman, he's a winger, and it showed. Malkin's never in defensive position and it showed tonight. Someone needs to light a fire under him now or he might never get going.
Fleury (early): What's going on with this guy? At times he's masterful and other times he looks like it's his rookie year again. With what Johnson is going to do being a question mark, Fleury didn't step up here to take ownership of that starting job. I'm not bashing, but boy talk about someone who needs a fire lit under him. If the Pens want to go to the playoffs and be successful, this guy needs to get going.
All in all, the Pens were once again inconsistent. They need to put 60 minutes together tomorrow in Phoenix to salvage this road trip and get back to .500.
And as a side note, anyone who follows the Pittsburgh Penguins on Facebook should unfollow them. It's run by fair weather fans who know nothing about hockey. Please begin a campaign to remove as many fans from them as possible.
And as another side note, I don't like Getzlaf. I think he's a complainer and yes I know he's a captain, but he complains and he runs from fights. I know Crosby wanted to drop the gloves but Getzlaf ran with his tail between his legs. Good job sticking up for yourself and your team. Selanne for Captain.
Pluses:
Power Play: They finally scored tonight. The power play finally broke their 0 for forever slump with a deflection goal by Crosby. The first power play wasn't all that great considering the Pens spent some time in their zone. But the rest of the PPs looked like the Pens of earlier this year, movement of all sorts and they get rewarded. That goal by Crosby was huge as it stopped the slide. To that point, the Ducks got all of the bounces. After that, momentum really went Pittsburgh's way.
Marc-Andre Fleury (late): Fleury did his job late in the game, holding the Ducks off the scoreboard after their third goal. If Fleury could pretend he's holding on to a lead when the game starts, maybe he'll win a game with less than 3 goals against.
Sidney Crosby: Boy, Sid must hate the Western Conference players. Crosby almost was in his second fight in as many games against Ryan Getzlaf. But instead of dropping the gloves tonight, Crosby puts up a two spot on the Ducks and was the Pens most influential player tonight. With Geno not doing very much, Sid's stepping up and trying to put this team on his back. Tonight it just didn't work.
Minuses:
Evgeni Malkin: I said it to Brian DeBaldo and a Caps fan who tried to tell me Malkin was better than Crosby, Jaromir Jagr syndrome. For those of you unfamiliar with this disease that plagues some top NHL players, it's when the player only tries in the offensive zone. Evgeni Malkin's not a centerman, he's a winger, and it showed. Malkin's never in defensive position and it showed tonight. Someone needs to light a fire under him now or he might never get going.
Fleury (early): What's going on with this guy? At times he's masterful and other times he looks like it's his rookie year again. With what Johnson is going to do being a question mark, Fleury didn't step up here to take ownership of that starting job. I'm not bashing, but boy talk about someone who needs a fire lit under him. If the Pens want to go to the playoffs and be successful, this guy needs to get going.
All in all, the Pens were once again inconsistent. They need to put 60 minutes together tomorrow in Phoenix to salvage this road trip and get back to .500.
And as a side note, anyone who follows the Pittsburgh Penguins on Facebook should unfollow them. It's run by fair weather fans who know nothing about hockey. Please begin a campaign to remove as many fans from them as possible.
And as another side note, I don't like Getzlaf. I think he's a complainer and yes I know he's a captain, but he complains and he runs from fights. I know Crosby wanted to drop the gloves but Getzlaf ran with his tail between his legs. Good job sticking up for yourself and your team. Selanne for Captain.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
The ups and downs of the Pens power play
As I said in my last post, I was going to break down what made the Pens power play so successful and what's happened to it now.
Heading into the first game of the season, I hadn't watched any Pens preseason games. Everything I was seeing was going to be fresh and brand new. When the Flyers took their first penalty, I assumed the PP was going to be no different from last year. Boy was I wrong. What I saw was the Dan Bylsma system to a T: puck possession. The power play didn't run through one guy like last year with Gonchar. Instead I saw Sid to Malkin to Comrie to Gogo to Malkin to Sid to Gogo...you get the idea. With Kunitz parked in front of the net (I actually loved Tangradi in front of the net, but that's neither here not there), that devoted one player on the penalty kill to attempt to dissuade him from standing in front of the net. That left 3 penalty killers against the Pens four most talented offensive players, two of those players being world class talents. Advantage: Pittsburgh. But the puck movement wasn't the only great thing, there was player movement too. Last year you saw Crosby and Malkin and Gonchar all parked on the right side with the one guy standing on the left looking for the seam pass. A simple diamond formation would kill that strategy. Now, the PKers have no idea where to go. Crosby could be waiting for a one-timer on the right side and then all of a sudden wind up on the left looking to shoot. Malkin, who now plays the left point, could be down at the goal line stick handling. What that does is draw defenders away from where they should be defending, leaving players even more open leading to great chances.
More recently, the power play is having flashes of last year. Crosby, Malkin and Gogo all parked on the right, Kunitz in front, Letang on the left and everyone is looking for that one-timer or that back door play, you know, the pretty plays, plays that make highlight reels. That wasn't the power play of earlier this season. Earlier, they just wanted to score. Now they want to look good doing it. That strategy isn't going to work. Tonight's 5-on-3 showed that. That power play out of any of them should have had movement. They're gonna leave Kunitz alone in front but that still leaves their three against our 4. That's still an advantage. But by standing still, you make yourself predictable and that's why the Pens couldn't win tonight. They know they needed to score on that PP, maybe that's why they did what they did. Whatever the reason, it needs to get fixed and fast.
Heading into the first game of the season, I hadn't watched any Pens preseason games. Everything I was seeing was going to be fresh and brand new. When the Flyers took their first penalty, I assumed the PP was going to be no different from last year. Boy was I wrong. What I saw was the Dan Bylsma system to a T: puck possession. The power play didn't run through one guy like last year with Gonchar. Instead I saw Sid to Malkin to Comrie to Gogo to Malkin to Sid to Gogo...you get the idea. With Kunitz parked in front of the net (I actually loved Tangradi in front of the net, but that's neither here not there), that devoted one player on the penalty kill to attempt to dissuade him from standing in front of the net. That left 3 penalty killers against the Pens four most talented offensive players, two of those players being world class talents. Advantage: Pittsburgh. But the puck movement wasn't the only great thing, there was player movement too. Last year you saw Crosby and Malkin and Gonchar all parked on the right side with the one guy standing on the left looking for the seam pass. A simple diamond formation would kill that strategy. Now, the PKers have no idea where to go. Crosby could be waiting for a one-timer on the right side and then all of a sudden wind up on the left looking to shoot. Malkin, who now plays the left point, could be down at the goal line stick handling. What that does is draw defenders away from where they should be defending, leaving players even more open leading to great chances.
More recently, the power play is having flashes of last year. Crosby, Malkin and Gogo all parked on the right, Kunitz in front, Letang on the left and everyone is looking for that one-timer or that back door play, you know, the pretty plays, plays that make highlight reels. That wasn't the power play of earlier this season. Earlier, they just wanted to score. Now they want to look good doing it. That strategy isn't going to work. Tonight's 5-on-3 showed that. That power play out of any of them should have had movement. They're gonna leave Kunitz alone in front but that still leaves their three against our 4. That's still an advantage. But by standing still, you make yourself predictable and that's why the Pens couldn't win tonight. They know they needed to score on that PP, maybe that's why they did what they did. Whatever the reason, it needs to get fixed and fast.
Pens vs. Dallas Stars
Hey folks,
I've started a blog just because Bill complains about me filling up his Twitter feed. So here goes:
So the Pens lost 5-2 tonight to the Dallas Stars. Not a whole lot of positives to come out of this one but I'll try.
- Penalty Kill: The penalty kill played pretty well tonight. Stars went 0/5 on the power play. Brent Johnson only faced 5 shots and had to make a couple big saves, but you have to expect facing tough chances on the PK and Johnny stood on his head (at least on the PK).
- Fights: The team stood up for each other tonight. TK's fight against Jamie Benn was textbook. TK didn't have to win, but he did his job of defending his superstar linemate. Crosby fight? Yep, Crosby fought Matt Niskanen. I don't know what set off Crosby but I liked it. The only thing I didn't like is that Kris Letang fought Brendan Morrow. Someone needed to take an instigator penalty on that. Bob Errey said it best (holy crap, Bob Errey was right?!), Letang should not fight after a hand injury. Noone went after Morrow in the game and I didn't like that either. I lost some respect for Brendan Morrow tonight after that display but he's a Star so I don't see him that much and quite frankly don't care.
Obviously in a loss there a bound to be more negatives than positives. Here they are:
Power Play: What happened? The power play was unstoppable in the first 7 games of the season and now they can't buy a goal. In those first 7 games, if they didn't score, they at least had a ton of chances. That 5-on-3 was awful. It was so predictable, just like last years PP. Crosby one-timer, Malkin one-timer, Goligoski one-timer. Where's the movement? I'll get into what made the PP so good early on in another post because I don't have enough time to put it down now.
Defense: I haven't been very vocal about the defense of this team but it's not very good at all. I don't mean just the defensemen, the team as a whole. HCDB's defensive philosophy is to play a puck-possession style of offense. There are nights it works and there are nights it doesn't. Tonight it didn't. Defensive zone coverage needs to be stressed in practice. On the second goal, Big Z was battling 2-on-1 down low. Gogo should have come down to help him out but stood in front of the net when Brad Richards was off to his left for the easy one-time goal. Malkin was on the ice for it and stood around the point area, because of his reps at wing. I'll get into that in a bit.
Brent Johnson: First bad game for Johnny tonight. The Robidas goal he wants back. The Leif Eriksson penalty shot goal he wants back. HCDB has ridden the Johnny wave to a 5-1-1 start, but did the magic wear off? Tonight won't be a good indication of that. If Johnny plays poorly next game, I'm willing to believe Fleury will get the nod of confidence for the majority of season.
HCDB: I don't think this was a well coached game tonight. After Dallas jumped out to a 2-0 in the first 10 minutes, I think it's a good idea to call a timeout and get everyone situated. I also didn't like that Geno wasn't on the wing tonight. If that's going to be the long-term place for him, leave him there. Let Letestu or Comrie or Crosby center a line with Geno on it. Yeah, Letestu and Comrie aren't Jordan Staal, I get that. But he'll be better served to play wing the whole time rather than moving to wing when Staalsy comes back. And I feel that Fleury should have played the third period. What was Johnny going to gain from playing there? Absolutely nothing. Put Fleury in during garbage time, let him build his confidence for Friday, see where it goes.
Tonight could have gone better. Most of this seems knee-jerk after a poor performance all around, but the PP really needs to figure out what it's doing and fast or this team will continue to perform inconsistently.
If you like what you read, follow me on twitter: @djbrenic182
I've started a blog just because Bill complains about me filling up his Twitter feed. So here goes:
So the Pens lost 5-2 tonight to the Dallas Stars. Not a whole lot of positives to come out of this one but I'll try.
- Penalty Kill: The penalty kill played pretty well tonight. Stars went 0/5 on the power play. Brent Johnson only faced 5 shots and had to make a couple big saves, but you have to expect facing tough chances on the PK and Johnny stood on his head (at least on the PK).
- Fights: The team stood up for each other tonight. TK's fight against Jamie Benn was textbook. TK didn't have to win, but he did his job of defending his superstar linemate. Crosby fight? Yep, Crosby fought Matt Niskanen. I don't know what set off Crosby but I liked it. The only thing I didn't like is that Kris Letang fought Brendan Morrow. Someone needed to take an instigator penalty on that. Bob Errey said it best (holy crap, Bob Errey was right?!), Letang should not fight after a hand injury. Noone went after Morrow in the game and I didn't like that either. I lost some respect for Brendan Morrow tonight after that display but he's a Star so I don't see him that much and quite frankly don't care.
Obviously in a loss there a bound to be more negatives than positives. Here they are:
Power Play: What happened? The power play was unstoppable in the first 7 games of the season and now they can't buy a goal. In those first 7 games, if they didn't score, they at least had a ton of chances. That 5-on-3 was awful. It was so predictable, just like last years PP. Crosby one-timer, Malkin one-timer, Goligoski one-timer. Where's the movement? I'll get into what made the PP so good early on in another post because I don't have enough time to put it down now.
Defense: I haven't been very vocal about the defense of this team but it's not very good at all. I don't mean just the defensemen, the team as a whole. HCDB's defensive philosophy is to play a puck-possession style of offense. There are nights it works and there are nights it doesn't. Tonight it didn't. Defensive zone coverage needs to be stressed in practice. On the second goal, Big Z was battling 2-on-1 down low. Gogo should have come down to help him out but stood in front of the net when Brad Richards was off to his left for the easy one-time goal. Malkin was on the ice for it and stood around the point area, because of his reps at wing. I'll get into that in a bit.
Brent Johnson: First bad game for Johnny tonight. The Robidas goal he wants back. The Leif Eriksson penalty shot goal he wants back. HCDB has ridden the Johnny wave to a 5-1-1 start, but did the magic wear off? Tonight won't be a good indication of that. If Johnny plays poorly next game, I'm willing to believe Fleury will get the nod of confidence for the majority of season.
HCDB: I don't think this was a well coached game tonight. After Dallas jumped out to a 2-0 in the first 10 minutes, I think it's a good idea to call a timeout and get everyone situated. I also didn't like that Geno wasn't on the wing tonight. If that's going to be the long-term place for him, leave him there. Let Letestu or Comrie or Crosby center a line with Geno on it. Yeah, Letestu and Comrie aren't Jordan Staal, I get that. But he'll be better served to play wing the whole time rather than moving to wing when Staalsy comes back. And I feel that Fleury should have played the third period. What was Johnny going to gain from playing there? Absolutely nothing. Put Fleury in during garbage time, let him build his confidence for Friday, see where it goes.
Tonight could have gone better. Most of this seems knee-jerk after a poor performance all around, but the PP really needs to figure out what it's doing and fast or this team will continue to perform inconsistently.
If you like what you read, follow me on twitter: @djbrenic182
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