Listen below or click here.
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| The Prime Minister's face. |
Showing posts with label Sutter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sutter. Show all posts
Monday, June 3, 2013
Podcast: Pens dominated by Bruins in Game 2, 6-1
Well that was terrible. The Pens were completely dominated by a terrific game from Boston and then compounded it with an all-time stink-bomb. We chronicle it all, LIVE on the GTOG Podcast, after the final whistle.
Listen below or click here.
Listen below or click here.
A (semi) bold prediction for tonight's Pens game
By GTOG Staff
We've discussed the evaporation of Brandon Sutter's offensive game as much as anybody, and maybe even too much. His defense has been adequate, but it appears to have come at the total expense of his offensive play. He plays like Dale Hunter coaches: Do only one thing at a time and don't ever do anything else. And maybe own only one suit.
We discussed whether to call for Sutter to be a healthy scratch, and then we discussed whether to go the other way and guarantee that Brandon Sutter will score tonight on the following premise:
The former seems one game premature (yes, only one game premature) and the latter seems irresponsible given its unlikelihood. So we've settled on a more reasonable compromise that you can take to the bank:
If Brandon Sutter scores tonight, the Penguins will win.*
*If he doesn't, the Pens will still win.
Huge game tonight. LGP.
We've discussed the evaporation of Brandon Sutter's offensive game as much as anybody, and maybe even too much. His defense has been adequate, but it appears to have come at the total expense of his offensive play. He plays like Dale Hunter coaches: Do only one thing at a time and don't ever do anything else. And maybe own only one suit.
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| They told us we'd love you. Make us love you. |
Dream BIG! "Dreamers are not people disconnected from reality. Dreamers are people fully connected to reality's potential."~ Unknown
— Kacie Boguskie (@kacielynnb) May 31, 2013
The former seems one game premature (yes, only one game premature) and the latter seems irresponsible given its unlikelihood. So we've settled on a more reasonable compromise that you can take to the bank:
If Brandon Sutter scores tonight, the Penguins will win.*
*If he doesn't, the Pens will still win.
Huge game tonight. LGP.
Sunday, June 2, 2013
5 thoughts on the Pens' game 1 loss to Boston, including a new team motto
By Finesse (follow me on Twitter)
A few leftover thoughts about last night's 3-0 loss to Boston. But first, check out the podcast.
Listen below or click here. And as always, click here to subscribe on iTunes.
5. The Showdown
The Crosby/Chara and Malkin/Bergeron showdowns at the end of the second period are getting a lot of attention, and rightfully so. It's too soon to tell whether this was a good or a bad thing, but there's a lot not to like about it.
It's admirable in a lot of ways that Crosby and Malkin are willing to mix it up more than most superstars are, but it's also not that smart for them to do it for the simple fact that when they fight or jaw at people, they aren't better at it than anyone else. They make themselves ordinary. Rather than staying on a higher plane than other players because of their superior talent, they can be brought down to the level of their competition. Give the Bruins credit for getting Sid and Geno to do it.
The other potential problem with their "standing up for themselves" response is that it's not very logical. Whatever Boston did to get Crosby and Malkin that upset (and maybe it was simply frustration with not scoring), does anyone think that Boston is going to stop messing with 87 and 71 because they fight back? Does anyone really think any of the Bruins are going to be afraid of getting their asses kicked by Crosby and Malkin? If Crosby and Malkin are reacting like that, then it means that they're at least somewhat rattled emotionally and obviously Boston will try to keep doing that if that's the response they can get from those two guys. Boston is only going to stop with that stuff when the scoreboard dictates that they have to stop.
New motto: Ignore and Score.
Four more thoughts after the jump...
4. The bottom 6 has become necessary
As we discussed on our podcast, the Pens are going to need contributions from the bottom 6 to win this series. Our initial thought was that scoring from the bottom 6 would be sufficient to beat Boston, but not necessary. After game 1, it looks more necessary than ever. Boston is going to load up, as they should, to stop the Pens' top 6, and they're good enough that they might be able to. If the bottom 6 doesn't contribute offensively, the Pens could easily lose this series. It's not enough that the bottom 6 wasn't on the ice for any of Boston's goals. They need to be on the ice for Pittsburgh's goals.
Some numbers so far in the playoffs:
Good: Kennedy (5 points in 8 games)
OK: Morrow (4 points in 11 games)
We're seeing some things, but need to see more: Cooke (3 points in 12 games); Jokinen (3 points in 7 games)
We know not to expect much, but it would be nice every once in a while: Adams (1 point in 12 games); Glass (1 point in 5 games); Vitale (1 point in 4 games); Bennett (1 point in 4 games)
Really disappointing: Sutter (2 points in 12 games)
You don't win Stanley Cups with passengers.
3. Hit the net
As Dejan Kovacevic pointed out in his column this morning, the Pens need to focus on hitting the net, not necessarily picking corners. The Pens got a lot of good looks, especially early, but channeled their inner-Alex Semin and airmailed them way over the net. When the Pens missed the net off the rush, these misses started Boston's breakouts at least a handful of times in the first period. And even though we're pretty close to being done worrying about the PP combinations, because all of the combinations are good, the emphasis needs to be on more traffic. Doesn't matter who.
2. Easy on the pinching
Letang wasn't at his worst, but also wasn't at his best. He seemed dedicated to pinching on almost every opportunity last night -- great if it works, nightmare when it doesn't. Boston isn't Ottawa -- not only can they get the puck past Letang when he pinches, they can score when they do. This certainly didn't cost the Pens the game, but it's something to watch going forward.
1. Video review on 5-minute majors
Refereeing is our least favorite topic. The Pens didn't lose the game last night because of officials -- the Pens PK was perfect, and they had 4 power-plays. No complaints on that front.
But the 5-minute major on Cooke was ridiculous. It's such a difficult call for the refs to make at full speed, and it's such an impactful decision to give a guy 5 and a game, why not let this be subject to video review? I hate anything that slows the game down, but if the ref believes in his decision to give 5 and a game, let's take away the excuse that things happen quickly. Make him look at it again, and then decide. If he makes the wrong decision after video review, then the league should discipline him. Or just let the league review it.
Bottom line: No panic heading into Game 2. The Pens know what they have to do to win, they just have to do it. And not stop doing it if it isn't working right away.
A few leftover thoughts about last night's 3-0 loss to Boston. But first, check out the podcast.
Listen below or click here. And as always, click here to subscribe on iTunes.
5. The Showdown
The Crosby/Chara and Malkin/Bergeron showdowns at the end of the second period are getting a lot of attention, and rightfully so. It's too soon to tell whether this was a good or a bad thing, but there's a lot not to like about it.
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| Very little good can come from this. |
The other potential problem with their "standing up for themselves" response is that it's not very logical. Whatever Boston did to get Crosby and Malkin that upset (and maybe it was simply frustration with not scoring), does anyone think that Boston is going to stop messing with 87 and 71 because they fight back? Does anyone really think any of the Bruins are going to be afraid of getting their asses kicked by Crosby and Malkin? If Crosby and Malkin are reacting like that, then it means that they're at least somewhat rattled emotionally and obviously Boston will try to keep doing that if that's the response they can get from those two guys. Boston is only going to stop with that stuff when the scoreboard dictates that they have to stop.
New motto: Ignore and Score.
Four more thoughts after the jump...
4. The bottom 6 has become necessary
As we discussed on our podcast, the Pens are going to need contributions from the bottom 6 to win this series. Our initial thought was that scoring from the bottom 6 would be sufficient to beat Boston, but not necessary. After game 1, it looks more necessary than ever. Boston is going to load up, as they should, to stop the Pens' top 6, and they're good enough that they might be able to. If the bottom 6 doesn't contribute offensively, the Pens could easily lose this series. It's not enough that the bottom 6 wasn't on the ice for any of Boston's goals. They need to be on the ice for Pittsburgh's goals.
Some numbers so far in the playoffs:
Good: Kennedy (5 points in 8 games)
OK: Morrow (4 points in 11 games)
We're seeing some things, but need to see more: Cooke (3 points in 12 games); Jokinen (3 points in 7 games)
We know not to expect much, but it would be nice every once in a while: Adams (1 point in 12 games); Glass (1 point in 5 games); Vitale (1 point in 4 games); Bennett (1 point in 4 games)
Really disappointing: Sutter (2 points in 12 games)
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| There are 132 action shots from game 1 on the Pens' website. Brandon Sutter is in 1 of them. |
3. Hit the net
As Dejan Kovacevic pointed out in his column this morning, the Pens need to focus on hitting the net, not necessarily picking corners. The Pens got a lot of good looks, especially early, but channeled their inner-Alex Semin and airmailed them way over the net. When the Pens missed the net off the rush, these misses started Boston's breakouts at least a handful of times in the first period. And even though we're pretty close to being done worrying about the PP combinations, because all of the combinations are good, the emphasis needs to be on more traffic. Doesn't matter who.
2. Easy on the pinching
Letang wasn't at his worst, but also wasn't at his best. He seemed dedicated to pinching on almost every opportunity last night -- great if it works, nightmare when it doesn't. Boston isn't Ottawa -- not only can they get the puck past Letang when he pinches, they can score when they do. This certainly didn't cost the Pens the game, but it's something to watch going forward.
 |
| Textbook? |
Refereeing is our least favorite topic. The Pens didn't lose the game last night because of officials -- the Pens PK was perfect, and they had 4 power-plays. No complaints on that front.
But the 5-minute major on Cooke was ridiculous. It's such a difficult call for the refs to make at full speed, and it's such an impactful decision to give a guy 5 and a game, why not let this be subject to video review? I hate anything that slows the game down, but if the ref believes in his decision to give 5 and a game, let's take away the excuse that things happen quickly. Make him look at it again, and then decide. If he makes the wrong decision after video review, then the league should discipline him. Or just let the league review it.
Bottom line: No panic heading into Game 2. The Pens know what they have to do to win, they just have to do it. And not stop doing it if it isn't working right away.
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Podcast: Pens lose, 3-0. Stay the course.
We aren't going to tell you that everything is OK, but we will tell you that it's far from the end of the world. We're covering everything about Game 1, including Cooke's 5-minute major, Tukka Rask, Tomas Vokoun, and all the emotions we're feeling. It's the GTOG Podcast.
Listen below or click here. And as always, click here to subscribe on iTunes.
d
Listen below or click here. And as always, click here to subscribe on iTunes.
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Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Pens-Bruins preview podcast: Oozing with analysis, emotion, and predictions
It's our Pens-Bruins Eastern Conference Finals preview podcast. How does the long delay affect the series? Which Bruin do you fear the most? What's the deal with the Tortorella firing? All that, our predictions, and so much more. It's the GTOG Podcast.
**If you're listening on your smartphone, the best ways to make sure that you have an uninterrupted experience are: 1) download the podcast from iTunes OR 2) download the Spreaker app by going to the App store and searching for "Spreaker" then "Get To Our Game"**
TWITTER: Follow Artistry. Follow Finesse. Follow GTOG.
TWITTER: Follow Artistry. Follow Finesse. Follow GTOG.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
First Period Recap: Pens up 2-1, but don't get comfortable
The bad news is that Craig Anderson has already proven, unlike Evgeni Nabokov, to be a real goalie. The good news is the Pens already have 2 goals on him.
Look for Morrow to be a factor in this series, albeit in limited ice time. He'll get in Anderson's kitchen. He already did on Martin's goal.
Malkin was brilliant in the first period (with the notable exception of his power-play killing penalty). If he plays like this, then not sure who touches the Pens ...
... unless, of course, Vokoun puts a couple more Fleurys in his own net.
Daniel Alfredsson's hair looks atrocious. Sorry we talk so much about hair. But come on.
Sutter-Iginla was a really bizarre choice to start the late 4-on-4. Sutter couldn't find chemistry with a Bunsen Burner and a barrel of Ammonium nitrate.
Look for Morrow to be a factor in this series, albeit in limited ice time. He'll get in Anderson's kitchen. He already did on Martin's goal.
Malkin was brilliant in the first period (with the notable exception of his power-play killing penalty). If he plays like this, then not sure who touches the Pens ...
... unless, of course, Vokoun puts a couple more Fleurys in his own net.
Daniel Alfredsson's hair looks atrocious. Sorry we talk so much about hair. But come on.
Sutter-Iginla was a really bizarre choice to start the late 4-on-4. Sutter couldn't find chemistry with a Bunsen Burner and a barrel of Ammonium nitrate.
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Pens win 5-4 in OT; The good, the bad, and the Mark Eaton
By Finesse (follow me on Twitter)
Having cooled off after the Pens' dramatic 5-4 overtime win over the Islanders to take a 2-1 lead in the series -- yes, we needed to cool off after a win -- perhaps we were too negative in our Raw Emotion Podcast recorded minutes after the Pens escaped with a win they didn't deserve.
After all, the Pens have scored 13 goals in 3 games and are winning a series against an Islanders team that played possibly its best game of the season, yet still lost 5-4 to a Pens team playing as poorly, sloppily, and lazily as it has played all year. If the Pens can actually play better, rather than just talk about the universally accepted notion that they need to play better, this can still be the 5-game series we predicted all along. So in this spirit of looking at the bright side of things, lets sprinkle a dusting of good among the bad, the ugly, and the repugnant.
Read on after the jump...
THE GOOD: Sidney Crosby. He had two goals in Game 2 but for long-time connoisseurs of his excellence, he was noticeably rusty and far less able to dictate the game than he was before his injury. That was all to be expected, of course. But seeing him that rusty made us a little bit skeptical that he would be able to get back to his level from March so quickly. That was dumb.
Crosby was far and away the Pens best player Sunday and he was the only guy who inspired any confidence when he was on the ice. His passing was sublime and he dominated the boards in the offensive zone when he wasn't preoccupied in his own zone because of defensemen who were unwilling to take seriously the fact that there are two teams in each playoff game and the other team isn't going to step aside and allow you to tap-dance to loose pucks then gently push them in the general direction of "anywhere I won't get hit."
THE WAAAAAHHHHHHHH: As sure as the days get longer, the trees start to bloom, and co-workers lament their allergies during awkward elevator rides, Sidney Crosby is the subject of springtime controversy, having drawn the penalty that led to the game winning goal. This is a good place to be if you're a Pens fan because any shift of the conversation away from how terrible the team played to the psychological comfort food that is defending Sid against allegations of diving is a welcome distraction.
Was it a dive? No. Was it a soft call, as the estimable panel of Jeremy Roenick and Mike Milbury suggested during the post-game show? No.
There may be some truth to the notion that Crosby gets the benefit of the doubt, as have so many superstars over time. But there's more truth to the notion that superstars are superstars for a reason: they are better than guys like Brian Strait. Would hockey be a better sport if Strait was allowed to offset his cavernous talent disadvantage by reaching out with both arms to impede the best player in the world from doing the very thing that makes him the best player in the world? Of course not. I agree with the argument that that play would not have been a penalty against any other player, but not because the "rules of nature" don't apply to Crosby as Jesse Spector suggests. It's because if Crosby was any other player, Brian Strait wouldn't have had to use both arms to haul him to the ice after getting worked over on the boards.
THE : Brandon Sutter was invisible yet again, which means it's a safe estimate that 95% of the minutes he's played this season have been borderline useless. Are we not reading the right newspapers or blogs, or are we the only place that's noticing just how much he isn't contributing? We're not asking for the guy to be able to give the 20 solid minutes per game that Jordan Staal gave the team, but to contribute something. Anything. And if he can do it more than once a game, even better.
THE NOT WORKING: Sutter and Morrow together isn't really working. Advanced stats will tell you that both players are bad with puck possession; your eyes will tell you that they routinely get pinned deep in their own zone and Morrow, for as much as he came on late in the season, looks like a guy who would be a lot more effective playing with guys who can actually get the puck so that he can do what he's good at: stand in front of the net and be tough to play against. You know when Brenden Morrow is not tough to play against? When he's sucking wind at the end of a 75 second shift spent entirely in his own zone.
THE STATUS QUO: The Pens defense gave Marc-Andre Fleury even less help in Game 3 than in a terrible Game 2, but four goals is four goals, and at some point if you want to be taken seriously as a goalie who can win another Stanley Cup you have to give up four goals a lot less frequently. The Pens defense was so bad, however, that the status quo holds: Fleury starts game 4, but remains on a very short leash.
THE REPUGNANT: It's hard to imagine that a hockey player could have a worse game than the game Mark Eaton played today. Matt Niskanen and Kris Letang certainly gave it their best shot, but Eaton reached such historic levels of terribleness during this game that he would have been better off spending his shifts laying across the goal line and hoping that he saved a goal by accident. And the thing is, we love Mark Eaton.
THE HANDSY: Chris Kunitz. Where would we be without him.
THE OUTLOOK: Despite our general malaise, the Pens are in a great position to win this series. The past two games have served to narrow our focus from the big picture to the little things like GETTING THE PUCK OUT OF YOUR OWN ZONE. Wooooosahhh. Anyway, the biggest reason to remain optimistic, other than leading the series, reclaiming home-ice advantage, and having the best player in the world back, is the if. If the Pens can just get by this self-imposed psychological hurdle of the first round of the playoffs, maybe they return to being the team that won fifteen straight and looked damn good doing it. It's just not going to be as easy as we hoped.
Having cooled off after the Pens' dramatic 5-4 overtime win over the Islanders to take a 2-1 lead in the series -- yes, we needed to cool off after a win -- perhaps we were too negative in our Raw Emotion Podcast recorded minutes after the Pens escaped with a win they didn't deserve.
After all, the Pens have scored 13 goals in 3 games and are winning a series against an Islanders team that played possibly its best game of the season, yet still lost 5-4 to a Pens team playing as poorly, sloppily, and lazily as it has played all year. If the Pens can actually play better, rather than just talk about the universally accepted notion that they need to play better, this can still be the 5-game series we predicted all along. So in this spirit of looking at the bright side of things, lets sprinkle a dusting of good among the bad, the ugly, and the repugnant.
Read on after the jump...
THE GOOD: Sidney Crosby. He had two goals in Game 2 but for long-time connoisseurs of his excellence, he was noticeably rusty and far less able to dictate the game than he was before his injury. That was all to be expected, of course. But seeing him that rusty made us a little bit skeptical that he would be able to get back to his level from March so quickly. That was dumb.
Crosby was far and away the Pens best player Sunday and he was the only guy who inspired any confidence when he was on the ice. His passing was sublime and he dominated the boards in the offensive zone when he wasn't preoccupied in his own zone because of defensemen who were unwilling to take seriously the fact that there are two teams in each playoff game and the other team isn't going to step aside and allow you to tap-dance to loose pucks then gently push them in the general direction of "anywhere I won't get hit."
THE WAAAAAHHHHHHHH: As sure as the days get longer, the trees start to bloom, and co-workers lament their allergies during awkward elevator rides, Sidney Crosby is the subject of springtime controversy, having drawn the penalty that led to the game winning goal. This is a good place to be if you're a Pens fan because any shift of the conversation away from how terrible the team played to the psychological comfort food that is defending Sid against allegations of diving is a welcome distraction.
Was it a dive? No. Was it a soft call, as the estimable panel of Jeremy Roenick and Mike Milbury suggested during the post-game show? No.
There may be some truth to the notion that Crosby gets the benefit of the doubt, as have so many superstars over time. But there's more truth to the notion that superstars are superstars for a reason: they are better than guys like Brian Strait. Would hockey be a better sport if Strait was allowed to offset his cavernous talent disadvantage by reaching out with both arms to impede the best player in the world from doing the very thing that makes him the best player in the world? Of course not. I agree with the argument that that play would not have been a penalty against any other player, but not because the "rules of nature" don't apply to Crosby as Jesse Spector suggests. It's because if Crosby was any other player, Brian Strait wouldn't have had to use both arms to haul him to the ice after getting worked over on the boards.
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| Not a penalty? Get real. |
THE NOT WORKING: Sutter and Morrow together isn't really working. Advanced stats will tell you that both players are bad with puck possession; your eyes will tell you that they routinely get pinned deep in their own zone and Morrow, for as much as he came on late in the season, looks like a guy who would be a lot more effective playing with guys who can actually get the puck so that he can do what he's good at: stand in front of the net and be tough to play against. You know when Brenden Morrow is not tough to play against? When he's sucking wind at the end of a 75 second shift spent entirely in his own zone.
THE STATUS QUO: The Pens defense gave Marc-Andre Fleury even less help in Game 3 than in a terrible Game 2, but four goals is four goals, and at some point if you want to be taken seriously as a goalie who can win another Stanley Cup you have to give up four goals a lot less frequently. The Pens defense was so bad, however, that the status quo holds: Fleury starts game 4, but remains on a very short leash.
THE REPUGNANT: It's hard to imagine that a hockey player could have a worse game than the game Mark Eaton played today. Matt Niskanen and Kris Letang certainly gave it their best shot, but Eaton reached such historic levels of terribleness during this game that he would have been better off spending his shifts laying across the goal line and hoping that he saved a goal by accident. And the thing is, we love Mark Eaton.
THE HANDSY: Chris Kunitz. Where would we be without him.
THE OUTLOOK: Despite our general malaise, the Pens are in a great position to win this series. The past two games have served to narrow our focus from the big picture to the little things like GETTING THE PUCK OUT OF YOUR OWN ZONE. Wooooosahhh. Anyway, the biggest reason to remain optimistic, other than leading the series, reclaiming home-ice advantage, and having the best player in the world back, is the if. If the Pens can just get by this self-imposed psychological hurdle of the first round of the playoffs, maybe they return to being the team that won fifteen straight and looked damn good doing it. It's just not going to be as easy as we hoped.
Game 3 Preview: 5 things we're looking for, including Brandon Sutter
By Finesse (follow me on Twitter)
We broke a promise and never followed up yesterday on the other Penguins who were terrible in Friday's game, leaving Marc-Andre Fleury as the sole recipient of our reactionary wrath. Suffice it to say, everyone else played like crap, too.
A reminder: we will be podcasting LIVE after every playoff game, win or lose. You can click here to listen.
Here are 5 things we're looking for in Game 3.
1) Evidence that Brandon Sutter isn't mediocre
Tweets from sportswriters last July don't count. It's the playoffs. You have to make more than one decent play per game.
2) A normal playoff game
Can the Pens play (and win) a tightly fought game that ends 3-1 with an empty netter? Or do we have to score over 4 goals and put the entirety of GTOG Nation into cardiac arrest during every playoff game?
3) Game 1 Kris Letang
Game 1 Kris Letang was the Kris Letang you happily pay $64 million until he's 35. Game 2 Kris Letang is the Kris Letang you trade this offseason for a treasure-trove of assets.
4) Fleury to play well, regardless of his mood
Nice column from Dejan Kovacevic about which Fleury will show up today, the happy one or the angry one. We'll take the one who makes saves. Whether he is laughing or crying.
5) Dan Bylsma coaching, but not over-coaching
According to Bylsma, a large part of the reason Bennett saw reduced ice time (only 7 minutes) in Game 2 was because the Pens were focused on the faceoff match-ups. The strategy worked because the Pens won 61% of their draws. But oh that's right, they were terrible in every other facet of the game. Bennett is a rookie who will make mistakes at times. He can also learn from them, if given the opportunity.
We broke a promise and never followed up yesterday on the other Penguins who were terrible in Friday's game, leaving Marc-Andre Fleury as the sole recipient of our reactionary wrath. Suffice it to say, everyone else played like crap, too.
 |
| To be fair, Fleury is not the only Penguin who put pucks in his own net. |
Here are 5 things we're looking for in Game 3.
1) Evidence that Brandon Sutter isn't mediocre
Tweets from sportswriters last July don't count. It's the playoffs. You have to make more than one decent play per game.
2) A normal playoff game
Can the Pens play (and win) a tightly fought game that ends 3-1 with an empty netter? Or do we have to score over 4 goals and put the entirety of GTOG Nation into cardiac arrest during every playoff game?
3) Game 1 Kris Letang
Game 1 Kris Letang was the Kris Letang you happily pay $64 million until he's 35. Game 2 Kris Letang is the Kris Letang you trade this offseason for a treasure-trove of assets.
4) Fleury to play well, regardless of his mood
Nice column from Dejan Kovacevic about which Fleury will show up today, the happy one or the angry one. We'll take the one who makes saves. Whether he is laughing or crying.
5) Dan Bylsma coaching, but not over-coaching
According to Bylsma, a large part of the reason Bennett saw reduced ice time (only 7 minutes) in Game 2 was because the Pens were focused on the faceoff match-ups. The strategy worked because the Pens won 61% of their draws. But oh that's right, they were terrible in every other facet of the game. Bennett is a rookie who will make mistakes at times. He can also learn from them, if given the opportunity.
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Postgame LIVE Podcast: Pens Erode the Islanders, 5-0
Recapping Game 1 of Pens-Islanders. How dominant was this performance? Was it too easy? What should we be worried about? Did Matt Moulson even play? All that and more on the GTOG Podcast.
Click here to subscribe on iTunes
**If you're listening on your smartphone, the best ways to make sure that you have an uninterrupted experience are: 1) download the podcast from iTunes OR 2) download the Spreaker app by going to the App store and searching for "Spreaker" then "Get To Our Game"**
Click here to subscribe on iTunes
**If you're listening on your smartphone, the best ways to make sure that you have an uninterrupted experience are: 1) download the podcast from iTunes OR 2) download the Spreaker app by going to the App store and searching for "Spreaker" then "Get To Our Game"**
Friday, April 12, 2013
Pens beat Lighting, 6-3; The ducks are neatly organizing into rows
By Finesse (follow me on Twitter)
Before you get to the recap, make sure to check out our podcast with Sean Gentille of The Sporting News discussing the win over Tampa, bad announcing, and all things Penguins. Listen below or click here for download information
Eleven goals and a 74-47 shot advantage over the last two games against the free-falling Carolina Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning is nothing to celebrate on its own. It's exactly what this Pens team should be doing to bad teams at this time of year. But what is cause for great optimism is theresurgence of Ray Shero's deadline acquisitions.
Jussi Jokinen. 3 goals, 2 assists, +4 in 3 games, plus a shootout winner over the Rangers. He obviously will not continue scoring at a goal-per-game pace, but Juicy J's versatility and offensive potential may dramatically impact the upside of this team. To reiterate from our post on Wednesday: whether Jokinen takes some 3rd-line minutes from Brandon Sutter or not, the mere fact that one of those guys will essentially be on the Pens "4th line" makes the Pens as bottom heavy going into the playoffs as they were top-heavy at the beginning of the year.
Brenden Morrow. He's the type of guy who will break into your house the night before Thanksgiving, open your refrigerator, take a giant bite out of the carrot cake you're saving for dessert, throw the rest on the floor, and then tell you that you're a p***y for calling the police. He was in Tampa's kitchen all night and he made his impact in only 14 minutes of ice time and without taking a penalty. The word on him coming out of Dallas was that he wasn't the player he used to be, when his skill on the ice used to equal his intangibles as captain. But with the Pens, he's freed from the burden of captaining a team that's perpetually battling for the #8 seed. Now all he has to do is go to the net.
Jarome Iginla. Have you ever started boiling a pot of water, come back to check on it 10 minutes later and thought, "this thing is barely starting to get hot, I thought it'd be ready by now," then walked away and forgot about it for a half hour, only to suddenly remember the stove is on and come running into the kitchen to see what looks like a volcano of water spewing all over the granite countertops? Welcome to Jarome Iginla's 2013 playoffs.
Douglas Murray. He finally played a game with Kris Letang in the lineup, which helped bump Murray's minutes down to a much more desirable 16:20. Prior to last night, the fewest minutes Murray had played was 18:20. Our estimate is that 15:30 is the sweetspot for Crankshaft, which is completey realistic when Paul Martin returns. There was a little bit of a PK meltdown last night, but the Tampa PP does that to people. Won't be seeing them in the playoffs, so who really cares. Finally, he had zero hesitation about dancing with B.J. Crombeen last night. Here's the fight video of Murray's overhand punching style.
More after the jump...
- Tanner Glass' quest to go 48 games without a point ended last night because he was force-fed a 5-on-3 goal in a blowout, as predicted in the comments section of this blog on Wednesday:
- Don't look now: Evgeni Malkin has scored in back-to-back games.
- Watch closely. Chris Kunitz doesn't have the heart to tell Jarome Iginla he deflected this in.
- The final game of the Pens' "Washington Capitals Tour of the Southeast United States" concludes in Florida on Saturday night. Then the Pens have three days off before hosting the Canadiens in what could be the final meaningful game of the regular season. There's still no report on a timetable for Crosby's return, but the fact that he flew down to join the team might -- if we were in the wild speculation business, which we are sometimes -- mean that he's planning on skating some laps today or tomorrow on the soft ice in the Sunshine state. That would be, as we like to say, huge.
Before you get to the recap, make sure to check out our podcast with Sean Gentille of The Sporting News discussing the win over Tampa, bad announcing, and all things Penguins. Listen below or click here for download information
Eleven goals and a 74-47 shot advantage over the last two games against the free-falling Carolina Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning is nothing to celebrate on its own. It's exactly what this Pens team should be doing to bad teams at this time of year. But what is cause for great optimism is the
Jussi Jokinen. 3 goals, 2 assists, +4 in 3 games, plus a shootout winner over the Rangers. He obviously will not continue scoring at a goal-per-game pace, but Juicy J's versatility and offensive potential may dramatically impact the upside of this team. To reiterate from our post on Wednesday: whether Jokinen takes some 3rd-line minutes from Brandon Sutter or not, the mere fact that one of those guys will essentially be on the Pens "4th line" makes the Pens as bottom heavy going into the playoffs as they were top-heavy at the beginning of the year.
Brenden Morrow. He's the type of guy who will break into your house the night before Thanksgiving, open your refrigerator, take a giant bite out of the carrot cake you're saving for dessert, throw the rest on the floor, and then tell you that you're a p***y for calling the police. He was in Tampa's kitchen all night and he made his impact in only 14 minutes of ice time and without taking a penalty. The word on him coming out of Dallas was that he wasn't the player he used to be, when his skill on the ice used to equal his intangibles as captain. But with the Pens, he's freed from the burden of captaining a team that's perpetually battling for the #8 seed. Now all he has to do is go to the net.
Jarome Iginla. Have you ever started boiling a pot of water, come back to check on it 10 minutes later and thought, "this thing is barely starting to get hot, I thought it'd be ready by now," then walked away and forgot about it for a half hour, only to suddenly remember the stove is on and come running into the kitchen to see what looks like a volcano of water spewing all over the granite countertops? Welcome to Jarome Iginla's 2013 playoffs.
Douglas Murray. He finally played a game with Kris Letang in the lineup, which helped bump Murray's minutes down to a much more desirable 16:20. Prior to last night, the fewest minutes Murray had played was 18:20. Our estimate is that 15:30 is the sweetspot for Crankshaft, which is completey realistic when Paul Martin returns. There was a little bit of a PK meltdown last night, but the Tampa PP does that to people. Won't be seeing them in the playoffs, so who really cares. Finally, he had zero hesitation about dancing with B.J. Crombeen last night. Here's the fight video of Murray's overhand punching style.
More after the jump...
- Tanner Glass' quest to go 48 games without a point ended last night because he was force-fed a 5-on-3 goal in a blowout, as predicted in the comments section of this blog on Wednesday:
"I think you'll see Glass for at least the rest of the regular season. Pens are in a pretty great spot, standings-wise and -- this is the saddest thing in the world, but still -- will try to get him a point before the season is over. If (maybe when?) the Pens clinch the #1 seed, Glass will see PP time. As annoying as that will be for us, it's also probably part of the reason the Pens and Bylsma are seen as a destination team."
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| Took a real goal-scorers touch to finish this one off. |
- Watch closely. Chris Kunitz doesn't have the heart to tell Jarome Iginla he deflected this in.
- The final game of the Pens' "Washington Capitals Tour of the Southeast United States" concludes in Florida on Saturday night. Then the Pens have three days off before hosting the Canadiens in what could be the final meaningful game of the regular season. There's still no report on a timetable for Crosby's return, but the fact that he flew down to join the team might -- if we were in the wild speculation business, which we are sometimes -- mean that he's planning on skating some laps today or tomorrow on the soft ice in the Sunshine state. That would be, as we like to say, huge.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Podcast: Talking Pens with Sean Gentille of The Sporting News
Sean Gentille of The Sporting News (follow him on Twitter) joins us to talk all things Penguins. We talk about the 6-3 win over Tampa, Juicy Jokinen vs. Brandon Sutter, Malkin and Letang's next contracts, the best and worst match-ups for the Pens in the first round, Douglas Murray bopping people on the head, the problem with NBC broadcasts, what went wrong in Philly, what's going right in Washington, and so much more. It's the GTOG Podcast.
Click here to subscribe on iTunes
**If you're listening on your smartphone, the best ways to make sure that you have an uninterrupted experience are: 1) download the podcast from iTunes OR 2) download the Spreaker app by going to the App store and searching for "Spreaker" then "Get To Our Game"**
Click here to subscribe on iTunes
**If you're listening on your smartphone, the best ways to make sure that you have an uninterrupted experience are: 1) download the podcast from iTunes OR 2) download the Spreaker app by going to the App store and searching for "Spreaker" then "Get To Our Game"**
Monday, April 8, 2013
It's not an honor just to be nominated; Pens clinch, and other NHL thoughts
By Finesse
There's a part of you that knows you shouldn't take for granted that the Penguins clinched a playoff spot thanks to Buffalo's shootout win over New Jersey last night. But then you look at the Pens' roster and realize that clinching a playoff spot for this team probably shouldn't even need to be mentioned, let alone celebrated. Sure, we can be proud that the Pens aren't the Pirates, but if the Pirates had Josh Hamilton, Albert Pujols, Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, the chubby guy on the Tigers, Steven Strasburg, and a bunch of other good pitchers whose names I don't know, then they could take the playoffs for granted, too. Having lived through through the leaner years at the beginning of the century doesn't turn making the playoffs into an achievement in itself. It just makes you appreciate that Dick Tarnstrom isn't the Pens' best player anymore.
- Speaking of the playoffs, break up the Caps! Ever since we pointed out that Ovechkin's statistics had declined in his late 20s much more significantly than those of other all-time greats, he's arguably been the best player in the league and ... wait for it ... should start getting some legitimate MVP buzz. He won't -- and shouldn't -- win, mainly because of how terrible the Southeast division is. Unless the Caps end up with a point total that is more in line with other division leaders, it's too easy to point to that dog-crap division as the reason why they're in the playoffs.
Our post still stands, both as mathematically valid at the time and for recognizing that he was far from washed up. Good for him for getting it together over the past month, but it raises the obvious question: what the hell happened the past two years?
- The biggest surprise in the East has to be the dramatic decline of the Carolina Hurricanes. When we did mid-season projections a month ago, Carolina looked like a lurking sleeper. But since beating the Caps 4-0 on March 12, they are 1-10-1 and have been outscored 46 to 18. And they have to be disappointed in Jordan Staal, who has only 22 points in 37 games and is a -13. That's a 49 point pace for a guy singed at $6 million/year for the next 10 years. The good news for the Staal brothers, though, is that now at least two of the brothers can make the family vacation this year. The one that starts in late April.
- Brandon Sutter, by the way, has 1 goal and 0 assists in his last 12 games. Or if you prefer, 1 point in his last three and a half hours of ice time.
- It's so tempting to stare at the standings and think about how the seeding will shake out. The most enticing first-round match-up that's getting more likely by the day is Capitals vs. Rangers in the 3 vs. 6 match-up They've played in 3 of the past 4 playoffs (Caps won in '09 and '11, Rangers won last year), every game is a nailbiter, and John Tortorella threw a water bottle at some dumb Caps fan who was probably trying to impress Chris Cooley. Round 4 between these two clubs would be too fun.
-
- Who even knew Margaret Thatcher was still alive?
- Remember how we were supposed to be told a more definitive time table for Crosby's return late last week? Any time now would fine please thanks.
- Ron Cook says Evgeni Malkin needs to play better.
There's a part of you that knows you shouldn't take for granted that the Penguins clinched a playoff spot thanks to Buffalo's shootout win over New Jersey last night. But then you look at the Pens' roster and realize that clinching a playoff spot for this team probably shouldn't even need to be mentioned, let alone celebrated. Sure, we can be proud that the Pens aren't the Pirates, but if the Pirates had Josh Hamilton, Albert Pujols, Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, the chubby guy on the Tigers, Steven Strasburg, and a bunch of other good pitchers whose names I don't know, then they could take the playoffs for granted, too. Having lived through through the leaner years at the beginning of the century doesn't turn making the playoffs into an achievement in itself. It just makes you appreciate that Dick Tarnstrom isn't the Pens' best player anymore.
- Speaking of the playoffs, break up the Caps! Ever since we pointed out that Ovechkin's statistics had declined in his late 20s much more significantly than those of other all-time greats, he's arguably been the best player in the league and ... wait for it ... should start getting some legitimate MVP buzz. He won't -- and shouldn't -- win, mainly because of how terrible the Southeast division is. Unless the Caps end up with a point total that is more in line with other division leaders, it's too easy to point to that dog-crap division as the reason why they're in the playoffs.
Our post still stands, both as mathematically valid at the time and for recognizing that he was far from washed up. Good for him for getting it together over the past month, but it raises the obvious question: what the hell happened the past two years?
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| "I have a theory on that..." |
- Brandon Sutter, by the way, has 1 goal and 0 assists in his last 12 games. Or if you prefer, 1 point in his last three and a half hours of ice time.
- It's so tempting to stare at the standings and think about how the seeding will shake out. The most enticing first-round match-up that's getting more likely by the day is Capitals vs. Rangers in the 3 vs. 6 match-up They've played in 3 of the past 4 playoffs (Caps won in '09 and '11, Rangers won last year), every game is a nailbiter, and John Tortorella threw a water bottle at some dumb Caps fan who was probably trying to impress Chris Cooley. Round 4 between these two clubs would be too fun.
-
- Who even knew Margaret Thatcher was still alive?
- Remember how we were supposed to be told a more definitive time table for Crosby's return late last week? Any time now would fine please thanks.
- Ron Cook says Evgeni Malkin needs to play better.
Saturday, April 6, 2013
The Flower steals it; Pens beat Rangers, 2-1
By Finesse
If you're in the mood to be negative this morning, the Pens 2-1 shootout win over the New York Rangers last night should give you plenty of ammunition In no particular order: The Pens were outplayed for the third straight game; lost their best goal scorer to what looks like a concussion; Jarome Iginla looks uncomfortable at best, slow at worst; Brandon Sutter is something less than invisible; and most concerning of all, Evgeni Malkin is playing like crap.
But the Pens still won and it's because Marc-Andre Fleury stole the game. He remains, as virtually all goalies do, the most important player on the team. He was sensational last night. The Rangers may have walked away with a morale victory but the Pens walked away with two points.
And there's no reason to apologize for this. A lot of teams win games where they play like shit but the goalie steals it.
Many more thoughts on the game after the jump...
- You can add our voices to the chorus in Pittsburgh wondering what's up with Geno Malkin's game right now. He is noticeably slower. His decision making is horrid. And he hasn't shown any natural chemistry with Jarome Iginla -- the chances they've had together so far are attributable to each of them individually being great players rather than a chemistry from a fusion of their skill sets.
Regardless of all the guys the Pens have brought in, what makes the team unique is having two mega-stars. But if only one of those mega-stars is playing like it (and he's at home drinking protein infused Master Cleanse shakes), then your team can look pretty ordinary. Malkin needs to be better than ordinary.
(We'll get into this in the offseason when Shero will have some tough decisions to make, but it's worth noting that while Malkin was amazing last year (MVP, 109 pts in 75 games), his combined points per game in the 2009-10, 2010-11, and 2012-13 seasons is 1.03 (141 points in 136 games). Is that a guy worth $10 million per year? Or is that Jason Spezza? Food for thought.)
- The Crankshaft Effect transcends numbers. After Brian Boyle, who looks like the super-pubescent white-trash love-child of Sarah Silverman and Eugene Levy, got called for cross-checking Chris Kunitz in the middle of the third period, he couldn't have acted chestier. He was itching to get his hands on any Penguin he could find. But a few minutes later when he got destroyed by Douglas Murray, the look on Boyle's face screamed, "Dear God, get me to the bench." If it wasn't for Murray "accidentally" bumping into Boyle while the latter was desperately trying to skate away, Boyle would have made a beeline to the locker room for a blanket, glass of milk, and a hug.
- I don't see any case to be made that Del Zotto's elbow to Neal was anything other than accidental. Sure, he saw Neal coming and braced himself for impact, but the elbow itself was not delivered on purpose, nor was it particularly reckless. Where else was he supposed to put his elbow? The bigger issue is whether the weapons-grade elbow pads worn by current players actually make the game safer or more dangerous.
- A Neal injury for any length of time would be a huge blow, but it may, at least while Crosby is out, necessitate a more sensible approach to the lines. Brandon Sutter does nothing for very long stretches of the game, which makes Brenden Morrow a bad linemate for him. In our limited exposure to Morrow, he seems most effective at occupying defenders and freeing up space for better players to operate. Sutter does very little with said space. For a struggling Geno Malkin, however, a little extra space would got a long way. If Neal is out Tuesday against Carolina, move Iginla back to the right side and throw Morrow on Geno's left wing. Or put Kunitz there. Or who gives a damn, let's just get Sid healthy.
- Steigerwald and Errey were at their worst last night when they were complaining that Brandon Sutter didn't get called for a penalty for playing the puck with his hand on the faceoff he lost that led directly to the Rick Nash goal. There were five of us watching the game together, and our collective thought on this analysis involved the f-word and the phrase "shut up."
- Juicy J.
- The Rangers' trades didn't seem to make a lot of sense at first glance, but upon further review, they might get this team closer to John Tortorella's ultimate goal of winning the Stanley Cup by going 16-12 in the playoffs while outscoring their opponents 16-12. He's like a Revolutionary War commander who just wants a bunch of soldiers who will stand and politely load their muskets while the other side shoots a cannon at them from 50 feet away.
With all the obvious caveats about him being a good coach, and it's a free country, and blah blah blah, the bottom line is that Tortorella doesn't need to be such a dick. You're coaching a game, dude. It's entertainment. There's no reason to be so confrontational and joyless. Lighten up.
- Finally, let's thank the scheduling Gods after a quick trip down Short-Term Memory Lane. The final four games of last season were against the Bruins, Rangers, and Flyers (twice). During those four games, John Tortorella and Peter Laviolette launched full-scale psychological warfare against the Pens, calling them gutless, arrogant, and basically doing anything they could to get inside the Pens' heads. Even though we suspected at the time that their motivations were less than pure, their tactics worked. The Pens were all wrapped up in their own heads and embarrassed themselves in the first round.
This year the Pens play only one Atlantic Division team in the final 9 games (New Jersey). The only truly emotional game will be at Boston, but it will be late enough in the season that both teams should be able to see that there's a bigger prize to be won and will not empty their emotional reserves. Otherwise, the schedule is very tame. It's a good time for the Pens to get their heads right going into the playoffs. In every way.
If you're in the mood to be negative this morning, the Pens 2-1 shootout win over the New York Rangers last night should give you plenty of ammunition In no particular order: The Pens were outplayed for the third straight game; lost their best goal scorer to what looks like a concussion; Jarome Iginla looks uncomfortable at best, slow at worst; Brandon Sutter is something less than invisible; and most concerning of all, Evgeni Malkin is playing like crap.
But the Pens still won and it's because Marc-Andre Fleury stole the game. He remains, as virtually all goalies do, the most important player on the team. He was sensational last night. The Rangers may have walked away with a morale victory but the Pens walked away with two points.
And there's no reason to apologize for this. A lot of teams win games where they play like shit but the goalie steals it.
Many more thoughts on the game after the jump...
- You can add our voices to the chorus in Pittsburgh wondering what's up with Geno Malkin's game right now. He is noticeably slower. His decision making is horrid. And he hasn't shown any natural chemistry with Jarome Iginla -- the chances they've had together so far are attributable to each of them individually being great players rather than a chemistry from a fusion of their skill sets.
Regardless of all the guys the Pens have brought in, what makes the team unique is having two mega-stars. But if only one of those mega-stars is playing like it (and he's at home drinking protein infused Master Cleanse shakes), then your team can look pretty ordinary. Malkin needs to be better than ordinary.
(We'll get into this in the offseason when Shero will have some tough decisions to make, but it's worth noting that while Malkin was amazing last year (MVP, 109 pts in 75 games), his combined points per game in the 2009-10, 2010-11, and 2012-13 seasons is 1.03 (141 points in 136 games). Is that a guy worth $10 million per year? Or is that Jason Spezza? Food for thought.)
- The Crankshaft Effect transcends numbers. After Brian Boyle, who looks like the super-pubescent white-trash love-child of Sarah Silverman and Eugene Levy, got called for cross-checking Chris Kunitz in the middle of the third period, he couldn't have acted chestier. He was itching to get his hands on any Penguin he could find. But a few minutes later when he got destroyed by Douglas Murray, the look on Boyle's face screamed, "Dear God, get me to the bench." If it wasn't for Murray "accidentally" bumping into Boyle while the latter was desperately trying to skate away, Boyle would have made a beeline to the locker room for a blanket, glass of milk, and a hug.
- I don't see any case to be made that Del Zotto's elbow to Neal was anything other than accidental. Sure, he saw Neal coming and braced himself for impact, but the elbow itself was not delivered on purpose, nor was it particularly reckless. Where else was he supposed to put his elbow? The bigger issue is whether the weapons-grade elbow pads worn by current players actually make the game safer or more dangerous.
 |
| Then. |
 |
| Now. |
- Steigerwald and Errey were at their worst last night when they were complaining that Brandon Sutter didn't get called for a penalty for playing the puck with his hand on the faceoff he lost that led directly to the Rick Nash goal. There were five of us watching the game together, and our collective thought on this analysis involved the f-word and the phrase "shut up."
- Juicy J.
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| You say no to ratchet goals, Juicy J can't. |
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| Rangers practice consists of splitting the team into two groups that take turns firing slap shots at each other |
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| You have one of the greatest jobs in the world. Is it worth going through life this surly? |
This year the Pens play only one Atlantic Division team in the final 9 games (New Jersey). The only truly emotional game will be at Boston, but it will be late enough in the season that both teams should be able to see that there's a bigger prize to be won and will not empty their emotional reserves. Otherwise, the schedule is very tame. It's a good time for the Pens to get their heads right going into the playoffs. In every way.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Choosy Morrows Choose Pittsburgh: Penguins acquire Brenden Morrow from Dallas for Joe Morrow
By Finesse
Tremendous drama just unfolded on Twitter, but all is well that ends well. The Pens acquired winger Brenden Morrow and a 3rd round pick from Dallas in exchange for defensive prospect Joe Morrow and a 5th round pick.
First: The future is bright. Maybe B. Morrow can't carry a line like he once could, but he won't have to. Assuming he skates with Malkin and Neal -- and you don't trade for another team's captain with a track record like B. Morrow's and not give him every opportunity to play with Geno -- all he will have to do is hammer defensemen and jar pucks loose for Malkin to collect and feed to James Neal. Basically he will have to fill the exact same role Kunitz filled on that line last year when it was supposedly "untouchable." For a team that showed a tendency to unwind emotionally last year, bringing in a 34-year old veteran like B. Morrow, who has been the Stars' captain for several years, is nothing short of huge.
Second: The drama on Twitter was riveting. Early reports said the Pens had B. Morrow. Then it was reported that he still needed to waive his no-trade clause. Then it was reported that Boston was involved as well. Then it was reported that the Stars and Bruins also had a trade in place and it was entirely up to Morrow to decide. Then Brenden texted someone that he would make his decision within 15 minutes. Then he chose Pittsburgh. As unprofessional as this entire exercise was, it was fascinating drama. And remember, the Washington Capitals were heavily involved in the Bill Guerin trade rumors in 2009. If they had gotten him instead of the Pens, it could have easily swung the 2009 playoffs. The importance of keeping the Bruins from getting B. Morrow (if he's still good) cannot be overstated. This is true regardless of whether Boston ends up with Iginla, because it's not certain that the Pens had a Plan B for a top-6 forward if it wasn't B. Morrow.
Third: It's impossible for us to shed any tears over losing Joe Morrow, a player with zero NHL experience. We will be more honest with you than almost every other pundit offering an opinion on Joe Morrow: we've barely seen him play. He may turn out to be fantastic or he may turn out to have been completely overhyped. We don't know. But we do know that the Penguins, and every team for that matter, have every incentive to artifically inflate perception of its own prospects to inflate their trade value. Just because Rob Rossi was supposedly hearing that the Pens considered Joe Morrow their top prospect doesn't mean that was remotely true -- it means they wanted other teams to think the Pens considered Joe Morrow their top prospect.
Fourth: This trade should not be considered in isolation. Consider it another piece of the Jordan Staal trade. Getting Brian Dumoulin and the 8th pick in the draft (Derrick Pouliot) likely made Joe Morrow expendable. So the score right now for the 2013 Cup run is: Staal for Sutter AND Brenden Morrow. That's going for it, and we love it.
Finally: As much as the Pens seem to have fleeced Joe Nieuwendyk and the Stars in the Goligoski-Neal trade, remember that B. Morrow had a no trade clause. Nieuwendyk's options were very limited. He got what he could for Brenden Morrow, and maybe Joe will be great.
There's nothing like the adrenaline rush when your team pulls the trigger on a major trade. Unlimited cautious optimism.
Tremendous drama just unfolded on Twitter, but all is well that ends well. The Pens acquired winger Brenden Morrow and a 3rd round pick from Dallas in exchange for defensive prospect Joe Morrow and a 5th round pick.
First: The future is bright. Maybe B. Morrow can't carry a line like he once could, but he won't have to. Assuming he skates with Malkin and Neal -- and you don't trade for another team's captain with a track record like B. Morrow's and not give him every opportunity to play with Geno -- all he will have to do is hammer defensemen and jar pucks loose for Malkin to collect and feed to James Neal. Basically he will have to fill the exact same role Kunitz filled on that line last year when it was supposedly "untouchable." For a team that showed a tendency to unwind emotionally last year, bringing in a 34-year old veteran like B. Morrow, who has been the Stars' captain for several years, is nothing short of huge.
Second: The drama on Twitter was riveting. Early reports said the Pens had B. Morrow. Then it was reported that he still needed to waive his no-trade clause. Then it was reported that Boston was involved as well. Then it was reported that the Stars and Bruins also had a trade in place and it was entirely up to Morrow to decide. Then Brenden texted someone that he would make his decision within 15 minutes. Then he chose Pittsburgh. As unprofessional as this entire exercise was, it was fascinating drama. And remember, the Washington Capitals were heavily involved in the Bill Guerin trade rumors in 2009. If they had gotten him instead of the Pens, it could have easily swung the 2009 playoffs. The importance of keeping the Bruins from getting B. Morrow (if he's still good) cannot be overstated. This is true regardless of whether Boston ends up with Iginla, because it's not certain that the Pens had a Plan B for a top-6 forward if it wasn't B. Morrow.
Third: It's impossible for us to shed any tears over losing Joe Morrow, a player with zero NHL experience. We will be more honest with you than almost every other pundit offering an opinion on Joe Morrow: we've barely seen him play. He may turn out to be fantastic or he may turn out to have been completely overhyped. We don't know. But we do know that the Penguins, and every team for that matter, have every incentive to artifically inflate perception of its own prospects to inflate their trade value. Just because Rob Rossi was supposedly hearing that the Pens considered Joe Morrow their top prospect doesn't mean that was remotely true -- it means they wanted other teams to think the Pens considered Joe Morrow their top prospect.
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| Pictures like this make us feel a lot more comfortable trading him. |
Finally: As much as the Pens seem to have fleeced Joe Nieuwendyk and the Stars in the Goligoski-Neal trade, remember that B. Morrow had a no trade clause. Nieuwendyk's options were very limited. He got what he could for Brenden Morrow, and maybe Joe will be great.
There's nothing like the adrenaline rush when your team pulls the trigger on a major trade. Unlimited cautious optimism.
Saturday, March 23, 2013
11 in a Row: Pens flummox Islanders, 4-2
By Artistry
Remember when we were concerned about the Penguins winning the supposedly hyper-competitive Atlantic Division? No longer an issue. We know the Penguins are winning the Atlantic Division. They're now 14 points up on New Jersey. They're 16 points up on the Rangers. And the Pens are 21 points up on the Flyers, who come to town on Sunday night. This is all after playing 32 games, mind you.
Even though they were awful for much of the game in Long Island Friday night, the Penguins got heroic efforts from Tomas Vokoun, Brandon Sutter, Paul Martin, and Finesse, who led what looked like a stampede of Pens fans into Nassau Coliseum. And can't forget Matt Niskanen, who played 23 minutes and fired 5 shots on net almost immediately after we identified him as trade piece #1 on the roster. Touche, Matty Niskanen. Touche.
No parades, obviously. Still, fun times.
Remember when we were concerned about the Penguins winning the supposedly hyper-competitive Atlantic Division? No longer an issue. We know the Penguins are winning the Atlantic Division. They're now 14 points up on New Jersey. They're 16 points up on the Rangers. And the Pens are 21 points up on the Flyers, who come to town on Sunday night. This is all after playing 32 games, mind you.
Even though they were awful for much of the game in Long Island Friday night, the Penguins got heroic efforts from Tomas Vokoun, Brandon Sutter, Paul Martin, and Finesse, who led what looked like a stampede of Pens fans into Nassau Coliseum. And can't forget Matt Niskanen, who played 23 minutes and fired 5 shots on net almost immediately after we identified him as trade piece #1 on the roster. Touche, Matty Niskanen. Touche.
No parades, obviously. Still, fun times.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Pens complete a well-earned comeback; beat Bruins 3-2
By GTOG Staff
Almost immediately after Tyler Seguin scored to put the Bruins up 2-0 with 6:30 remaining in the first period, the Penguins started cobbling together one of their finer efforts of the season, even though they spent the next 33 minutes getting shutout by a goalie whose name was either a Mexican restaurant (Qdoba) or the Supreme Leader of Iran (Khomeni). If the Pens had gone on to get shut out, we would not have been overly discouraged. The Pens were playing a disciplined game, were limiting the Bruins' chances, and were without Malkin. The Bruins are a different animal than the rest of the Eastern Conference -- they are supremely talented AND very well coached and difficult to play against. It can take a while to figure out how to beat them. Consider the Pens record against the Bruins in the last 3 seasons: In 2009-10, the Pens lost the first game then won the next three. In 2010-11, the Pens lost the first two then won the next two. In 2011-12 the Pens lost the first game and then won the next three. The Bruins take some getting used to. They're also beatable.
We've written at length in the past that the Penguins are a nightmare matchup for Zdeno Chara, because aside from having to chase Crosby around the rink, he needs to endure an onslaught from Chris Kunitz and James Neal. Here's a sampling:
December 5, 2011: "James Neal ain't afraid of no man. There is not one ounce of back-down in Neal, and if there is one thing Zdeno Chara was thinking about when he found himself startled and awake at 3:30 am Tuesday, it's this: 'I have to play 30 minutes a night. It's exhausting enough. Please don't make me do it against that guy.'"
February 4, 2012: "Come on, when Kunitz chopped down Zdeno Chara like he was a piece of wood Saturday during the Pens' 2-1 win in Boston, we were all thinking the same thing: You cut him! He's not a machine. He's a man! Chara is Drago - bigger, stronger, faster, and the worst nightmare imaginable for a team relying heavily on one line for offense. But here's the thing. Chara doesn't like to be hit. And that makes Kunitz and the equally fearless James Neal his worst nightmare."
March 11, 2012: "What we saw today was a 6 foot 9, 260 pound Zdeno Chara who was quivering like a little fawn in the forest in the face of an onslaught by James Neal and Chris Kunitz."
Well, Tuesday night we found a new lumberjack. Pascal Dupuis absolutely pummeled the Bruins in the third, and they wilted.
Dupuis, Kunitz, and Neal are not bruisers; they're fast, relentless, and very strong on the boards. They hit defensemen when it's necessary to hit them; they go for the puck when it's not necessary to hit them. They will only get more effective when Malkin is back and not just because of how talented Geno is, but because of how much better James Neal will be with Malkin. Neal was the Pens best player against Boston last season, and that was with Chara matched up against him. Put Neal and Malkin against the Bruins' other defensemen, and it's a nightmare for Boston.
One caution, though, before we plan the parade. The Bruins clearly have another gear. They were running on fumes after their shootout win over Ottawa on Monday. 16 shots on goal. That's like two shifts for the Giroux-Hartnell-Simmonds line against the Pens. We also don't recall Lucic's name being mentioned once even though he played 16 minutes. They were trying to escape with a 2-1 road victory, or at least steal a point, while expending as little energy as possible. That's a terrible strategy against the Penguins. The Pens will score if you give them enough chances. They will also give up a ton of goals if you keep trying to score. The Bruins will know this going forward, and will do it when they have their legs.
Much more after the jump...
- The biggest complaint we have with Sutter is that he goes long stretches without being noticeable. The usual sign of a good third line is that it's in the offensive zone and is a matchup problem for the other team. The third line, and particularly Sutter, has been too quiet for long stretches. But it's impossible to have beef with his actual production.
He has 8 goals this year (2 more than Jordan Staal) and they've almost all been of the Huge variety. He has three game-winners, including the OT winner in Montreal and the winner last night. He also had the tying goal last night, and maybe the best goal of the season when he tied the second game against Philly at 5 with 2 minutes left (at least for the 32 seconds before Vokoun Fleury-farted the game losing goal into his own net). Someone will try to tell you that Brandon Sutter sucks because he is 650th in the league in Corsi. That person should ask the Supreme Leader whether Brandon Sutter sucks.
- What does suck is the 4th line. Our dream for Tanner Glass to end the season with zero points in 48 games remains intact, but other than that, there's nothing redeeming about this group. Adams and Vitale work hard, but they have almost no offensive ability. And we touched on this earlier in the season, but have kind of danced around it: Craig Adams isn't really Craig Adams anymore, is he? He's had a few standout games, but even Navy Seals lose something when they turn 35. Both Adams and Glass are seeing significant time on the PK, which looks more vulnerable than a bungee-jumping Bachelor contestant. It's notable that the top 5 penalty killing teams in the league are Boston, Ottawa, San Jose, Minnesota, and Columbus. Most of those teams have been linked to Pittsburgh in trade discussions.
Ultimately, the fourth line needs to do more than kill time; they need to occasionally tip the ice. That's why an upgrade to the 3rd line is so important. Get Sutter and Cooke another linemate, then move TK to the 4th line (for all his flaws, he still has some offensive upside) and send Tanner Glass to the AHL, the OHL, or even the D-League. It really doesn't matter. Or maybe even say "Eff the fourth line, it's a short season, we're riding the three horsemen down the middle to the Cup," and dress seven defensemen in the playoffs. There is something to be said for dressing your 18 best players, even if only 11 of them are forwards.
- Prime trade chip Matt Niskanen looked terrific last night.
- Beau Bennett's numbers are good, but they're about to get a lot better. He's got an ability to anticipate the play that makes him not just a good fit with Sid or Geno, but potentially a great one. Just wait.
- The Pens have a 9 point cushion in the division, but have to keep the foot on the gas. The difference between a #1 or #2 seed and the #4 seed could be the difference between playing Ottawa or Boston in the first round.
Almost immediately after Tyler Seguin scored to put the Bruins up 2-0 with 6:30 remaining in the first period, the Penguins started cobbling together one of their finer efforts of the season, even though they spent the next 33 minutes getting shutout by a goalie whose name was either a Mexican restaurant (Qdoba) or the Supreme Leader of Iran (Khomeni). If the Pens had gone on to get shut out, we would not have been overly discouraged. The Pens were playing a disciplined game, were limiting the Bruins' chances, and were without Malkin. The Bruins are a different animal than the rest of the Eastern Conference -- they are supremely talented AND very well coached and difficult to play against. It can take a while to figure out how to beat them. Consider the Pens record against the Bruins in the last 3 seasons: In 2009-10, the Pens lost the first game then won the next three. In 2010-11, the Pens lost the first two then won the next two. In 2011-12 the Pens lost the first game and then won the next three. The Bruins take some getting used to. They're also beatable.
We've written at length in the past that the Penguins are a nightmare matchup for Zdeno Chara, because aside from having to chase Crosby around the rink, he needs to endure an onslaught from Chris Kunitz and James Neal. Here's a sampling:
December 5, 2011: "James Neal ain't afraid of no man. There is not one ounce of back-down in Neal, and if there is one thing Zdeno Chara was thinking about when he found himself startled and awake at 3:30 am Tuesday, it's this: 'I have to play 30 minutes a night. It's exhausting enough. Please don't make me do it against that guy.'"
February 4, 2012: "Come on, when Kunitz chopped down Zdeno Chara like he was a piece of wood Saturday during the Pens' 2-1 win in Boston, we were all thinking the same thing: You cut him! He's not a machine. He's a man! Chara is Drago - bigger, stronger, faster, and the worst nightmare imaginable for a team relying heavily on one line for offense. But here's the thing. Chara doesn't like to be hit. And that makes Kunitz and the equally fearless James Neal his worst nightmare."
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| Coming to get you... |
Well, Tuesday night we found a new lumberjack. Pascal Dupuis absolutely pummeled the Bruins in the third, and they wilted.
Dupuis, Kunitz, and Neal are not bruisers; they're fast, relentless, and very strong on the boards. They hit defensemen when it's necessary to hit them; they go for the puck when it's not necessary to hit them. They will only get more effective when Malkin is back and not just because of how talented Geno is, but because of how much better James Neal will be with Malkin. Neal was the Pens best player against Boston last season, and that was with Chara matched up against him. Put Neal and Malkin against the Bruins' other defensemen, and it's a nightmare for Boston.
One caution, though, before we plan the parade. The Bruins clearly have another gear. They were running on fumes after their shootout win over Ottawa on Monday. 16 shots on goal. That's like two shifts for the Giroux-Hartnell-Simmonds line against the Pens. We also don't recall Lucic's name being mentioned once even though he played 16 minutes. They were trying to escape with a 2-1 road victory, or at least steal a point, while expending as little energy as possible. That's a terrible strategy against the Penguins. The Pens will score if you give them enough chances. They will also give up a ton of goals if you keep trying to score. The Bruins will know this going forward, and will do it when they have their legs.
Much more after the jump...
- The biggest complaint we have with Sutter is that he goes long stretches without being noticeable. The usual sign of a good third line is that it's in the offensive zone and is a matchup problem for the other team. The third line, and particularly Sutter, has been too quiet for long stretches. But it's impossible to have beef with his actual production.
He has 8 goals this year (2 more than Jordan Staal) and they've almost all been of the Huge variety. He has three game-winners, including the OT winner in Montreal and the winner last night. He also had the tying goal last night, and maybe the best goal of the season when he tied the second game against Philly at 5 with 2 minutes left (at least for the 32 seconds before Vokoun Fleury-farted the game losing goal into his own net). Someone will try to tell you that Brandon Sutter sucks because he is 650th in the league in Corsi. That person should ask the Supreme Leader whether Brandon Sutter sucks.
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| "I don't know what it is. He just seems like he's got that clutch gene." |
Ultimately, the fourth line needs to do more than kill time; they need to occasionally tip the ice. That's why an upgrade to the 3rd line is so important. Get Sutter and Cooke another linemate, then move TK to the 4th line (for all his flaws, he still has some offensive upside) and send Tanner Glass to the AHL, the OHL, or even the D-League. It really doesn't matter. Or maybe even say "Eff the fourth line, it's a short season, we're riding the three horsemen down the middle to the Cup," and dress seven defensemen in the playoffs. There is something to be said for dressing your 18 best players, even if only 11 of them are forwards.
- Prime trade chip Matt Niskanen looked terrific last night.
- Beau Bennett's numbers are good, but they're about to get a lot better. He's got an ability to anticipate the play that makes him not just a good fit with Sid or Geno, but potentially a great one. Just wait.
- The Pens have a 9 point cushion in the division, but have to keep the foot on the gas. The difference between a #1 or #2 seed and the #4 seed could be the difference between playing Ottawa or Boston in the first round.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
GTOG Instant Reaction: Brandon Sutter
By Finesse (follow me on Twitter)
Except for a brief stretch in the first period, this was an encouraging performance from the Pens even when Boston was still up 2-0. The Bruins are the class of the Eastern Conference and have the #1 PK unit in the league. They can frustrate you, even if you feel like you're playing well.
But what a f***ing breakthrough by the Pens late in the third. Yes, the Bruins were on the second of a back-to-back, but good teams -- teams with expectations of winning the Stanley Cup -- win these games. They plug away, and plug away, knowing that eventually they'll get a break. That's what the Pens did.
Underrated performance by Fleury. Full recap in the morning. What a win.
Except for a brief stretch in the first period, this was an encouraging performance from the Pens even when Boston was still up 2-0. The Bruins are the class of the Eastern Conference and have the #1 PK unit in the league. They can frustrate you, even if you feel like you're playing well.
But what a f***ing breakthrough by the Pens late in the third. Yes, the Bruins were on the second of a back-to-back, but good teams -- teams with expectations of winning the Stanley Cup -- win these games. They plug away, and plug away, knowing that eventually they'll get a break. That's what the Pens did.
Underrated performance by Fleury. Full recap in the morning. What a win.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Pens, and GTOG, bring home a winner from Montreal
By Finesse (follow me on Twitter)
On the way back into the United States from Montreal today, my U.S. Customs declaration card asked me to declare the items I was bringing home and how much they are worth. I was tempted to write "winner" but you can't put a value on that.
The Pens beat the Canadiens 7-6 on Saturday night in a game that I attended and that reinforced everything positive and negative we feel about this team right now. Crosby is other-worldly, Brandon Sutter scores big goals, Chris Kunitz's contract may be the best bargain in the league, and Kris Letang's offensive ability in the transition game is unmatched. But, unfortunately, Thomas Vokoun is unraveling, Letang is far too frequently a liability defensively, Brooks Orpik's recent performance has made us all a little more understanding of that time Michel Therrien moved him to the left wing, and, generally speaking, teams score at will against us. We knew all of these things coming in.
In a way, last night's game, in addition to being an instant classic, was also a relief. Since Sid has returned from his concussion, the Pens have played a lot of games just like last night -- world-class offense, terrible defense, and porous goaltending. Unfortunately, all of those games were against Philadelphia and we lost them. Last night showed that if we can't fix the problem of being too easy to score against, and a solution does not seem to be on the horizon, at least we know we can win 7-6 instead of losing 6-5.
More thoughts on Montreal and the game Monday morning, plus a Pens-podcast after the Tampa game.
In the meantime, let's all keep Artistry and his expired passport in our thoughts and prayers.
On the way back into the United States from Montreal today, my U.S. Customs declaration card asked me to declare the items I was bringing home and how much they are worth. I was tempted to write "winner" but you can't put a value on that.
The Pens beat the Canadiens 7-6 on Saturday night in a game that I attended and that reinforced everything positive and negative we feel about this team right now. Crosby is other-worldly, Brandon Sutter scores big goals, Chris Kunitz's contract may be the best bargain in the league, and Kris Letang's offensive ability in the transition game is unmatched. But, unfortunately, Thomas Vokoun is unraveling, Letang is far too frequently a liability defensively, Brooks Orpik's recent performance has made us all a little more understanding of that time Michel Therrien moved him to the left wing, and, generally speaking, teams score at will against us. We knew all of these things coming in.
In a way, last night's game, in addition to being an instant classic, was also a relief. Since Sid has returned from his concussion, the Pens have played a lot of games just like last night -- world-class offense, terrible defense, and porous goaltending. Unfortunately, all of those games were against Philadelphia and we lost them. Last night showed that if we can't fix the problem of being too easy to score against, and a solution does not seem to be on the horizon, at least we know we can win 7-6 instead of losing 6-5.
More thoughts on Montreal and the game Monday morning, plus a Pens-podcast after the Tampa game.
In the meantime, let's all keep Artistry and his expired passport in our thoughts and prayers.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Stale, disinterested and mediocre: Your 2013 Pittsburgh Penguins?
By Finesse
We're hesitant to call last night's 4-1 loss to the Islanders a train-wreck because it takes energy to start a train. But what the Pens proved last night is that you can be part of a horrific train-wreck while exerting no energy at all. Let's start counting the bodies.
- Crosby and Malkin
The first six games have revealed the Pens as arguably the most top-heavy team in the league. We hope that resolves itself with the bottom getting heavier, but if that's not going to happen, then Crosby and Malkin have to be heavier.
These guys deserve more slack on their leash than anyone. Currently, they are still our only hope of generating offense. But they may want to entertain the idea of not trying to pass through 11 pairs of skates every shift. It's not working.
- Marc-Andre Fleury
He needs to be benched. The Pens are a team in need of an infusion of some sort of energy, whether that infusion be positive (like a new or young player scoring a goal, haha) or negative (benching an important player). The NBC Sports crew last night said Bylsma had planned on splitting Fleury and Vokoun 60-40 this season. Bylsma (more on him later tonight) should flip it and announce that, at least temporarily, he's going with Vokoun as the presumed 60% guy. If it's hard for Flower to handle being sent to the bench, perhaps the team can make it a more familiar procedure for him by having him start in the net and then skate over to the bench.
He has two good games this year and two awful ones, which is reflective of our confidence in him right now: it feels like the other team is going to score on half of their shots. He can still win games for the Penguins, but when he plays shitty, it's so bad that the Pens are non-competitive.
More after the jump...
- Consol Energy Center
This seems like a minor problem, but it's really not. You have to have a home-ice advantage to be successful. The only home ice advantage the Pens have now is that opposing teams can't feed off of quieting the crowd because they're already silent. Great fan base, terrible crowd. (On the positive side, the booing last night was totally justified and may have even been too timid in light of what the team put those poor people through last night).
Dear Jumbotron Operators, you're ruining our lives.
- Matt Cooke, LW, Healthy scratch candidate
If the season ended today, we're not even sure Matt Cooke would get a participation trophy. Can he please get in someone's face at some point and return to being disruptive to play against? There is some virtue in his reformation from a gritty-but-felonious grinder to tactful-and-dainty 19-goal scorer, but not much. After all of his travails the Pens needed him to dial back the nastiness from 100mph to 90mph. Instead, he turned the car around and drove home. Does this team have a single player who other teams hate to play against? Matt Cooke acting like a dick on the ice is good for the Penguins. Matt Cooke getting consideration for the Masterton Trophy is good for Matt Cooke's chances of not getting kicked out of the league. There's a balance. He hasn't found it.
- Brandon Sutter
Who?
Artistry will have some thoughts on Dan Bylsma later tonight. We're also planning a post showing Ray Shero's worst moves as Pens GM (it's only fair, given how much he's adored by us and many others). We're taking suggestions.
We're hesitant to call last night's 4-1 loss to the Islanders a train-wreck because it takes energy to start a train. But what the Pens proved last night is that you can be part of a horrific train-wreck while exerting no energy at all. Let's start counting the bodies.
- Crosby and Malkin
The first six games have revealed the Pens as arguably the most top-heavy team in the league. We hope that resolves itself with the bottom getting heavier, but if that's not going to happen, then Crosby and Malkin have to be heavier.
These guys deserve more slack on their leash than anyone. Currently, they are still our only hope of generating offense. But they may want to entertain the idea of not trying to pass through 11 pairs of skates every shift. It's not working.
- Marc-Andre Fleury
He needs to be benched. The Pens are a team in need of an infusion of some sort of energy, whether that infusion be positive (like a new or young player scoring a goal, haha) or negative (benching an important player). The NBC Sports crew last night said Bylsma had planned on splitting Fleury and Vokoun 60-40 this season. Bylsma (more on him later tonight) should flip it and announce that, at least temporarily, he's going with Vokoun as the presumed 60% guy. If it's hard for Flower to handle being sent to the bench, perhaps the team can make it a more familiar procedure for him by having him start in the net and then skate over to the bench.
He has two good games this year and two awful ones, which is reflective of our confidence in him right now: it feels like the other team is going to score on half of their shots. He can still win games for the Penguins, but when he plays shitty, it's so bad that the Pens are non-competitive.
More after the jump...
- Consol Energy Center
This seems like a minor problem, but it's really not. You have to have a home-ice advantage to be successful. The only home ice advantage the Pens have now is that opposing teams can't feed off of quieting the crowd because they're already silent. Great fan base, terrible crowd. (On the positive side, the booing last night was totally justified and may have even been too timid in light of what the team put those poor people through last night).
The extreme volume of the goal horn when the Pens cut it to 4-1 late in the 3rd period last night was reminiscent of when Ovechkin scored to cut the Pens lead to 5-1 in Game 7 of the 2009 playoffs and the Verizon Center speakers exploded like the space shuttle was taking off. It's horrifyingly embarrassing and makes us feel ashamed. Whatever in-game entertainment company has convinced teams that fans across the country want to hear a goal horn like that when the team is vomiting all over itself should face a class-action lawsuit. Instead of focus group studies about how to entertain a crowd, how about turning over control of the scoreboard and sound system to a person with knowledge of hockey, who can read the game and the crowd and adjust accordingly? It's entirely possible that the Consol crowd would be a good crowd if they weren't forced to listen to Nicki Minaj and Ke$ha after every icing call.
Dear Jumbotron Operators, you're ruining our lives.
- Matt Cooke, LW, Healthy scratch candidate
If the season ended today, we're not even sure Matt Cooke would get a participation trophy. Can he please get in someone's face at some point and return to being disruptive to play against? There is some virtue in his reformation from a gritty-but-felonious grinder to tactful-and-dainty 19-goal scorer, but not much. After all of his travails the Pens needed him to dial back the nastiness from 100mph to 90mph. Instead, he turned the car around and drove home. Does this team have a single player who other teams hate to play against? Matt Cooke acting like a dick on the ice is good for the Penguins. Matt Cooke getting consideration for the Masterton Trophy is good for Matt Cooke's chances of not getting kicked out of the league. There's a balance. He hasn't found it.
- Brandon Sutter
Who?
Artistry will have some thoughts on Dan Bylsma later tonight. We're also planning a post showing Ray Shero's worst moves as Pens GM (it's only fair, given how much he's adored by us and many others). We're taking suggestions.
Monday, January 28, 2013
Early evaluation of the Jordan Staal for Mike Zigomanis Trade. Wait...Brandon Sutter isn't Mike Zigomanis?
By Finesse
As Artistry pointed out in our Pens-Sens recap, we are 10.4% of the way through the shortened season, which is the equivalent of being in the second period of the 9th game of an 82 game season. In other words, Fleury is peaking. Given the accelerated season and the fact that everything else has pretty much gone according to script so far this year, there's no better time than now to make ABSOLUTELY DEFINITIVE CONCLUSIONS about the blockbuster trade sending Jordan Staal to Carolina for Brandon Sutter, Brian Dumoulin and the pick that became Derrick Pouliot.
And that ABSOLUTELY DEFINITIVE CONCLUSION is this: When Ray Shero made the decision to trade Jordan Staal, he probably didn't expect Mike Zigomanis in return.
The real truth after the jump...
The truth is that Sutter (0 goals, 1 assist) has, to this point, been a little too Zigomanissy for our liking. We're certainly willing to give him more than five games to get comfortable with a new team, particularly when the failure to find a second winger for Malkin has led to Tyler Kennedy (a good 3rd liner, not a good top-6 forward) bouncing up and down the lineup and preventing development of chemistry on a Sutter-Cooke-Kennedy line. It's too early to worry, we know.
The risk when you deal away a thoroughbred like Jordan Staal is that even though you get nice pieces in return, the whole will be less than the sum of the parts. Sutter himself will almost certainly never be the player that Jordan Staal was (or will become), but he has to make himself a much more forceful presence not only on the PK and in a shutdown role, but also in exploiting the inevitable match-up he gets against 3rd pairing defensemen. So far, we haven't seen much.
But the immediate return from the Staal trade has to be more than Brandon Sutter, even in a scenario where Sutter plays up to his potential (which we've written is very high). This trade has to bring more to the current roster than a 3rd line presence and two young defensemen who may or may not ever be good. And that's why Ray Shero absolutely has to move some of the organization's much-hyped defensive prospects, and soon.
The Pens are reaping the same PR benefits as the Yankees do in baseball by being the highest profile team in the league -- namely, that every one of their prospects seems to get a slight uptick in their perception solely based on the fact that people know their names. (Every trade the Pirates have made in the past 15 years to the Yankees or Red Sox has brought back a prospect we think is better than he is merely because we heard Karl Ravech say his name on Baseball Tonight that one time we accidentally watched Baseball Tonight). As just one example, consider Simon Despres, who is often perceived as something resembling a "can't-miss prospect" because he got great press on draft day and he plays for the Penguins so people know his name. Maybe he will one day be as good as advertised, but he had only 15 points in 44 games with the Baby Pens last year (and was a -5) and his current coaches and GM don't think he's ready to consistently see ice time over Ben Lovejoy. We know it's early in his development, but as with almost all young players, he's far from a sure thing. A defenseman in the NHL is worth at least two in the AHL.
Right now, there are two windows that are only open for a limited time -- the window for the Pens to win the Cup, and the window where young prospects can return value in a trade. Shero moved Staal for a very solid NHL player and two defensive prospects (Brian Dumoulin and Derrick Pouliout) whose windows of marketability are currently open. If the immediate payoff from trading Staal isn't enhanced beyond Sutter by moving Dumoulin, Pouliot, or any of the other young defensemen that the Staal trade helped make expendable, then we just traded a 50-point guy with a track-record for a 30-point guy who has never played a playoff game.
We currently have our GM hats on and are scouring the league for trade targets.
As Artistry pointed out in our Pens-Sens recap, we are 10.4% of the way through the shortened season, which is the equivalent of being in the second period of the 9th game of an 82 game season. In other words, Fleury is peaking. Given the accelerated season and the fact that everything else has pretty much gone according to script so far this year, there's no better time than now to make ABSOLUTELY DEFINITIVE CONCLUSIONS about the blockbuster trade sending Jordan Staal to Carolina for Brandon Sutter, Brian Dumoulin and the pick that became Derrick Pouliot.
And that ABSOLUTELY DEFINITIVE CONCLUSION is this: When Ray Shero made the decision to trade Jordan Staal, he probably didn't expect Mike Zigomanis in return.
The real truth after the jump...
The truth is that Sutter (0 goals, 1 assist) has, to this point, been a little too Zigomanissy for our liking. We're certainly willing to give him more than five games to get comfortable with a new team, particularly when the failure to find a second winger for Malkin has led to Tyler Kennedy (a good 3rd liner, not a good top-6 forward) bouncing up and down the lineup and preventing development of chemistry on a Sutter-Cooke-Kennedy line. It's too early to worry, we know.
The risk when you deal away a thoroughbred like Jordan Staal is that even though you get nice pieces in return, the whole will be less than the sum of the parts. Sutter himself will almost certainly never be the player that Jordan Staal was (or will become), but he has to make himself a much more forceful presence not only on the PK and in a shutdown role, but also in exploiting the inevitable match-up he gets against 3rd pairing defensemen. So far, we haven't seen much.
But the immediate return from the Staal trade has to be more than Brandon Sutter, even in a scenario where Sutter plays up to his potential (which we've written is very high). This trade has to bring more to the current roster than a 3rd line presence and two young defensemen who may or may not ever be good. And that's why Ray Shero absolutely has to move some of the organization's much-hyped defensive prospects, and soon.
The Pens are reaping the same PR benefits as the Yankees do in baseball by being the highest profile team in the league -- namely, that every one of their prospects seems to get a slight uptick in their perception solely based on the fact that people know their names. (Every trade the Pirates have made in the past 15 years to the Yankees or Red Sox has brought back a prospect we think is better than he is merely because we heard Karl Ravech say his name on Baseball Tonight that one time we accidentally watched Baseball Tonight). As just one example, consider Simon Despres, who is often perceived as something resembling a "can't-miss prospect" because he got great press on draft day and he plays for the Penguins so people know his name. Maybe he will one day be as good as advertised, but he had only 15 points in 44 games with the Baby Pens last year (and was a -5) and his current coaches and GM don't think he's ready to consistently see ice time over Ben Lovejoy. We know it's early in his development, but as with almost all young players, he's far from a sure thing. A defenseman in the NHL is worth at least two in the AHL.
Right now, there are two windows that are only open for a limited time -- the window for the Pens to win the Cup, and the window where young prospects can return value in a trade. Shero moved Staal for a very solid NHL player and two defensive prospects (Brian Dumoulin and Derrick Pouliout) whose windows of marketability are currently open. If the immediate payoff from trading Staal isn't enhanced beyond Sutter by moving Dumoulin, Pouliot, or any of the other young defensemen that the Staal trade helped make expendable, then we just traded a 50-point guy with a track-record for a 30-point guy who has never played a playoff game.
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| The ones that got away? |
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