i have to eat crow bruce says Green and Ovi were injured. Not that i didnt think all players that play extremely physical were nicked up, but Green and none of our D has kicked ass under extreme pressure. The rags and pens just got in passing lanes blocked and deflected everything and anything, we got smothered all over the ice in every game. Green continued to throw monster hits cranked some slappers and logged tons of minutes; deceiving me; I was wrong. Good eye strung and others.
Bruce loves him some hershey's syrup. Steckel Flash Green Sloan - those seem to be the guys he trusts most.
I would have been elated to see Gordo shadow 87. Hell, maybe all the centers. Game 1, dont wait for a hat trick. At home if no where else. He killed us this series. Malkin only showed up for one game.
The headline to Leone's article sums it up: "A classic Pittsburgh-Washington series ends with a dud"
Stayed from the first puck drop until the last player left the ice, well except for the last couple of interviews down by the Pens bench. Ugh, not a fun game.
I was surprised Gonchar only sat midway through the third; I thought they would sit him earlier than that. He skated ES as well as on the PP in the third.
i have to eat crow bruce says Green and Ovi were injured. Not that i didnt think all players that play extremely physical were nicked up, but Green and none of our D has kicked ass under extreme pressure. The rags and pens just got in passing lanes blocked and deflected everything and anything, we got smothered all over the ice in every game. Green continued to throw monster hits cranked some slappers and logged tons of minutes; deceiving me; I was wrong. Good eye strung and others.
Bruce loves him some hershey's syrup. Steckel Flash Green Sloan - those seem to be the guys he trusts most.
I would have been elated to see Gordo shadow 87. Hell, maybe all the centers. Game 1, dont wait for a hat trick. At home if no where else. He killed us this series. Malkin only showed up for one game.
I haven't confirmed this yet but if Boudreau played Green all these dreadfully ineffective minutes when he was hurt then that shows horrible judgment. It not only hurt the team but also made Green look very bad. If BB thinks that is loyalty it's not, it's stupidity. Ovy (even if hurt) was at least effective.
Yeah part of the reason me thinking Green was only mildly nicked up was Bruce was working him a lot of ES TOI. One could surmise that Bruce had no confidence in Juice or Pothier to eat up those extra minutes, oddly even resorting to turning to feds in game 5 OT of all times, an epic failure.
One thing I noticed from Ovechkin all series, and especially this game, is that he tries to do too much. It is admirable, but it is hurting the team! This isn't the same team Ovechkin first joined, where he had to do everything. He needs to realize that there are talented players like Semin, Backstrom, Green, and others that he can utilize. Attempting to dangle through three players by himself or taking bad-angle shots is not helping. One may argue that in this game, he merely got frustrated since the score was so lopsided, but great teams don't let their frustration adversely affect their play.
One of the Penguins's main reasons for success is that the superstars buy into the system. Crosby and Malkin have confidence in their teammates that is well-deserved, and the whole team performs better.
Looked like a couple of the guys snubbed Ovechkin in the handshake. Like barely shook his hand like he wasn't even standing there. Orpik I think & the guy after him. & I don't think Gonchar was buying whatever Ovie was trying to sell him either
One thing I noticed from Ovechkin all series, and especially this game, is that he tries to do too much. It is admirable, but it is hurting the team! This isn't the same team Ovechkin first joined, where he had to do everything. He needs to realize that there are talented players like Semin, Backstrom, Green, and others that he can utilize. Attempting to dangle through three players by himself or taking bad-angle shots is not helping. One may argue that in this game, he merely got frustrated since the score was so lopsided, but great teams don't let their frustration adversely affect their play.
One of the Penguins's main reasons for success is that the superstars buy into the system. Crosby and Malkin have confidence in their teammates that is well-deserved, and the whole team performs better.
None of them really use each other. Their passing is cycle-chip, low to D to D to wide shot for more cycle, and worse or all a pass to a pen. Part of this is why AO acted like he did. The team chemistry was horrific. Bunch of individuals.
Looked like a couple of the guys snubbed Ovechkin in the handshake. Like barely shook his hand like he wasn't even standing there. Orpik I think & the guy after him. & I don't think Gonchar was buying whatever Ovie was trying to sell him either
Yeah, but Gonchar and Ovechkin are good friends, no? I have no doubt that Ovechkin didn't mean to injure Gonchar, but I imagine Gonchar is a little ticked because Ovechkin hasn't been forthcoming in an apology.
Yeah, but Gonchar and Ovechkin are good friends, no? I have no doubt that Ovechkin didn't mean to injure Gonchar, but I imagine Gonchar is a little ticked because Ovechkin hasn't been forthcoming in an apology.
They were friends along time ago. They had a falling out a while back, when Ovechkin injured him in a different game. Then there was that whole thing about Ovechkin punching Gonchar's agent in the face. I think the reason Gonchar is pissed has nothing to do with the apology, but just the manner in which Ovechkin hits, with no respect for his opponent. He's not the first player Ovechkin has injured with a missed check.
When the CBC guy asked Gonchar after the handshake, what Ovechkin said, & Gonchar said they talked about the incident, then he asked him if him & Ovechkin are "ok" with each other, Gonchar ignored the question. So I think there is a grudge now.
Whats with these loony russian posters making excuses for Semin and hating on Backstrom? Ugh. Try judging a player by what they do on the ice and stop being blinded by your jingoistic crap.
Its really petty but I think Brash should have gotten a sweater over Beagle in game 6 and 7. Beags got his chance and got a minus and that was pretty much it. Brash was our 4th line guy, and the 4th line sucked trying to bring energy and a forecheck. If Poti had a broken foot, BB should have turned to Sarge or Hershey. I dont remember anyone playing with a broken foot. Erskine seemed worse than Poti. Semin obviously hurting and missing practice, i am surprised a guy like Fehr Coin or Bork didnt get a chance. We finally could make some callups cap free and play Sloan over Alzner. then it seems Alzner is now injured... ugh.
Its really petty but I think Brash should have gotten a sweater over Beagle in game 6 and 7. Beags got his chance and got a minus and that was pretty much it. Brash was our 4th line guy, our 4th line sucked for what they should bring. If Poti had a broken foot, BB should have turned to Sarge or Hershey. I dont remember anyone playing with a broken foot. Erskine seemed worse than Poti. Semin obviously hurting and missing practice, i am surprised a guy like Fehr didnt get a chance. We finally could make some callups cap free and brought up Sloan over Alzner. then it seems Alzner got injured... ugh.
The point about playing someone in place of Beagle given the TOI he as getting I agree with and have posted before. IMO, the option was to dress a 7th dman given the injuries and lack of playing time for a 4th line in this series. While practicing, I doubt Fehr or Schultz were ok to return. Yes, they dressed Sloan over Alzner for 2 games, but then he sat, too. Sloan took warm-ups tonight (along with Brashear), I knew it was wishful thinking, but I was hoping to see 7dmen on the bench.
Tonight, I was hoping for a timeout or a goalie switch after the third goal (a nice shot) to wake up the team and see if they would try to get back into the game, oh well.
Maybe we needed 9D, jeez. Green Poti and Erskine were probably all borderline. WRT to 7 D, i was perusing the pens board and they seemed up in arms with the 7 D move they did. Saying it disrupted thier D pairings and forward lines, the costs outweighed the benefits. But they were not the desperate ones, we were. I suspect Bruce thought he had 7 D already with Feds...
Part of what the 4th line does is get the forecheck going, hit the D, bring some energy, let the top line guys rest. Bruce changed up what he likes to do, roll four lines. He had no confidence in his 4th line. Not that Brash would have gotten 10 minutes, but maybe Brash Gordon Bradley may have, who knows.
then it seems Alzner is now injured... ugh.
