This board sure is quick to turn on Bylsma. He does some things that frustrate the hell out of me, but he's still a very good coach who's done great things for this team.
Bylsma didn't tell Lovejoy to ****ing gift the Flyers a goal last night with an unbelievably stupid pass up the middle. Bylsma didn't tell Martin to play like the biggest ***** on earth. Bylsma didn't tell Orpik to start charging around like a rhino with blinders and lose position on every second play.
We need to revamp the defense this off-season. Starting with Martin and Lovejoy, but not necessarily ending with them.
I'm on board with revamping the D, but I also think that that has to include some tweeking of the defensive system itself. That's on DB to make the necessary adjustments I'm afraid.
After having a night to digest the loss, i think my conclusion is that they have simply gotten too full of themselves. The arrogance comment going around the league is right, they think they can come in and outscore any team. They've been scoring 4.5 goals a game since Crosby came back, and at some point along the way the finer points of the game have gone to hell. The pens refuse to pay the price to protect their d-zone and protect their net. The pens had 5 blocked shots last night...if that's not indicative of refusal to sacrifice your body for playoff hockey i don't know what is. Pens have become what we've always laughed at. The 2007-10 Capitals. Their problems are correctable, but it's probably too little too late. At the end of the day it is on Bylsma, he should know better than to let this happen and it shouldve been corrected before it spiraled out of control like it has.
After having a night to digest the loss, i think my conclusion is that they have simply gotten too full of themselves. The arrogance comment going around the league is right, they think they can come in and outscore any team. They've been scoring 4.5 goals a game since Crosby came back, and at some point along the way the finer points of the game have gone to hell. The pens refuse to pay the price to protect their d-zone and protect their net. The pens had 5 blocked shots last night...if that's not indicative of refusal to sacrifice your body for playoff hockey i don't know what is. Pens have become what we've always laughed at. The 2007-10 Capitals. Their problems are correctable, but it's probably too little too late. At the end of the day it is on Bylsma, he should know better than to let this happen and it shouldve been corrected before it spiraled out of control like it has.
Some of you guys just kinda underestimate the Flyers. Don't be shocked if they win the cup if they got past you.
I think most of us know the Flyers are good enough to win it all and that they are every bit as good if not better than our team. They certainly match-up well with us.
This Pens/Flyers series should have been at least a conference semi or the conference final, but the current way of seeding has these two powerhouse teams playing each other in round 1. I guess that's good for the league in a way. They get an unbelievable 1st round match-up and the first two games of this series have not disappointed in terms of exciting hockey, but having a great season and being forced to play another elite team right away feels like punishment instead of reward. The guaranteed playoff spot for winning your division should be reward enough, imo, but that's another argument...
We don't have the tools on the defensive end to compete. That's the bottom line.
Defense
Kris Letang - He's fine.
Brooks Orpik - He might be slowing down. He can still be effective on a lower pairing with some PK minutes.
Zbynek Michalek - +1 in each of the games. He brings something that none of our other defensemen can. Makes some mental errors from time to time.
Paul Martin - Heroic effort last night. Thanks, Paul. I still think you need to go.
Ben Lovejoy - He's a #7. Injury has forced him into this role. I think we need a legitimate veteran defenseman in the #7 role. This type of situation will happen in the NHL, and we need a guy that can step up.
Deryk Engelland - He's signed to an affordable cap hit and does a solid job on the defensive end. He's been making some mistakes, trying to push the puck up the ice on his own. He might miss Nisk. I know I do. But, I'm fine with Deryk.
Matt Niskanen - It will be interesting to see what happens with his RFA contract this offseason. I don't know if his game can advance past where it is right now. Right now, he offers, for 17 minutes a game, exactly what the signing of Paul Martin offered the Penguins: calm demeanor, solid passing, mistake-free. His growth this season was pretty shocking.
Left Wing
Chris Kunitz - 2goal = 6assist. -5 last night.
Steve Sullivan - Not sure what he'll have in the tank next season. I feel bad for the man.
Matt Cooke - As sickening as it is to say, without his dirty play, he isn't worth $1.8mil a year. He's a solid cog on this team. I'm fine with seeing him stay for the last year of his contract. I don't want him to be resigned for 2013-2014.
Right Wing
James Neal - -4 last night. Two assists. He made a desperate attempt to score when the team was down last night.
Pascal Dupuis - Thanks.
Tyler Kennedy - I own a Kennedy shirt for a reason.
Arron Asham - He's getting up there.
Craig Adams - Read above. Signed for next year, which is fine. He provides a solid locker room presence. Perhaps he'll be Forward #13 by this time next season.
Center
Sidney Crosby - The fact that he's playing the game of hockey is enough of a gift for me.
Evgeni Malkin - no comment
Jordan Staal - Playing the role of the lineup rover. He disappeared for a while during the second period, which was odd. I'm not going to complain about Jordan. I just wish Bylsma would use him in a more effective manner.
Joe Vitale - Played 4:19 last night.
Goaltender
Marc-Andre Fleury - While his performance could improve, what's going on in front of him isn't his fault.
Hockey, more than any other sport, is a game of change.
I love how arrogance is everyones new favorite word...
Bylsma needs to.mature as a coach. I think he came him, won a cup, and thought that was it as far as coaching goes.
Doesnt matter if u have the best players in the world or a great offense...you need to coach guys. Laviolette is outcoaching DB right now...
Get. Rid. Of. Paul. Martin. I dont even see how thinking about keeping him around is even an option...remove him...bring in someone new. At this point...Suter aint a bad option to explore.
Letang is a #1, Michalek is a suitable top 4, Engo is a great depth guy. Wouldnt mind dumping Orpik but...heres what im thinking:
Letang - Michalek
Suter - Niskanen
Engo - Orpik
If we can find someone better than Nisky, switch em out.
I think we could get Suter for $7mil...
But beyond a quick revamp...we need a new defensive system.
I love how arrogance is everyones new favorite word...
Bylsma needs to.mature as a coach. I think he came him, won a cup, and thought that was it as far as coaching goes.
Doesnt matter if u have the best players in the world or a great offense...you need to coach guys. Laviolette is outcoaching DB right now...
Get. Rid. Of. Paul. Martin. I dont even see how thinking about keeping him around is even an option...remove him...bring in someone new. At this point...Suter aint a bad option to explore.
Letang is a #1, Michalek is a suitable top 4, Engo is a great depth guy. Wouldnt mind dumping Orpik but...heres what im thinking:
Letang - Michalek
Suter - Niskanen
Engo - Orpik
If we can find someone better than Nisky, switch em out.
I think we could get Suter for $7mil...
But beyond a quick revamp...we need a new defensive system.
I'm not sure swapping Suter for Martin and saying 'Dan, you need to revamp the defensive system' isn't marginally better than rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Hyperbole, yes, I know, but I think you'll be talking about more significant change than that this summer.
I'm on board with revamping the D, but I also think that that has to include some tweeking of the defensive system itself. That's on DB to make the necessary adjustments I'm afraid.
Buddy says Fitzgerald is filling in for Rierden today. Powerplay sucks. Team defense sucks. Maybe that's a lack of confidence in him.
Course, Yeo got blamed for the same, but subtracting him didn't improve anything other than the PP (for the second half of this season).
This board sure is quick to turn on Bylsma. He does some things that frustrate the hell out of me, but he's still a very good coach who's done great things for this team.
Bylsma didn't tell Lovejoy to ****ing gift the Flyers a goal last night with an unbelievably stupid pass up the middle. Bylsma didn't tell Martin to play like the biggest ***** on earth. Bylsma didn't tell Orpik to start charging around like a rhino with blinders and lose position on every second play.
We need to revamp the defense this off-season. Starting with Martin and Lovejoy, but not necessarily ending with them.
I don't know if he's a good coach but a good coach generally has to make adjustments and the Penguins didn't look any different in game two than they did in the first game.
He called no time outs during the game except at the very end which then became pointless.
The D was making several mistakes consecutively but no timeout was called.
There were no real significant roster changes so there should be in game 3.
The team was playing the same and it showed on the scoreboard. They allow the Flyers to come back because the D doesn't tighten up at all and they are not sustaining enough pressure in the offensive zone. The cycling was a bit better in game two but when Philly regained possession, the checking was way too soft or over pursuing which led to the odd man rushes and missing the open man.
This is something the coach has to point out and make sure they respond.
Some of you guys just kinda underestimate the Flyers. Don't be shocked if they win the cup if they got past you.
I think the Flyers have the respect of everyone on this board. Its not about losing to the Flyers as much as how the Pens are losing. A lot of us old timers from these boards thought the country club, slob hockey was gone... somehow it ended up creeping back in.
I think the Flyers have the respect of everyone on this board. Its not about losing to the Flyers as much as how the Pens are losing. A lot of us old timers from these boards thought the country club, slob hockey was gone... somehow it ended up creeping back in.
I'm afraid it's doing more than creeping, and, like you, I'm old enough to remember the country club days. It's probably just as bad; it's just this team is more talented, so it doesn't look as bad until the playoffs come.
Some of you guys just kinda underestimate the Flyers. Don't be shocked if they win the cup if they got past you.
You'll still be losers, because you'll more than like still end up playing the Rangers at some point, and we both know how well your lot do against them. Keep dreaming
I don't think it's quite like the old country club days. I see hitting and effort, but they are playing retarded. They can't go a couple minutes without making a horrendous mistake and it's not always the same guy. Maybe it's coaching. Maybe it's just the fact that this group hasn't been healthy enough to play that many games together the past two seasons.
It is still a team game and there is something to be said for chemistry and being able to come together to play like a well oiled machine. Seems this team just can't get on the same page defensively more than anything. They have all the talent in the World though so they can just wing it and still be highly competitive. That's probably part of their issue. A normal team would get blown out for playing this way, would be humiliated for getting blown out and learn their lesson. The Pens aren't going to get blown out by anyone. They mostly get away with playing this way. Now they are going to have to change their ways in a hurry just to survive in this series.
Stewart is a healthy scratch tonight. Maybe this will convince them to unload him this summer... hopefully for Martin straight-up since they're looking for a #2 lefthaded D. (enter Paul Martin)
The forwards could always be better, but they have certainly scored enough goals to win the past 2 games.
They could control the play and tilt the ice? We're a counter punching team. We don't hold the puck in the offensive zone for long stretches. It's pretty hard for a run and gun team to be one that generates so much of its offense off the counter punch.
So many of the breakdowns (short-handed goals against, giveaways, blown coverages) had little to do with Bylsma's coaching/system. They were fundamental defensive errors, stuff that the average mite hockey player should know and should not have to be taught at a pro level.
We are headed for a crash a massive megaton nuclear **** up this team hasn't seen since 93'. The most goals scored in the NHL regular season, an extremely productive year from players having their best season statistically, two of the worlds best players leading the charge and an Elite goalie. We are down 0-2 having lost 2 home ice games to the Flyers in dramatic fashion.
I ask you what is better for the team, right now. Pulling this series out of our ass, and likely saving DB's job and seeing us lose to the next team. OR losing this series (not on purpose) and getting a huge overhaul and likely a new coach.
