I wouldn't get too upset at the coach. He is just doing his job. He is trying to buy the next call and guilt the refs into "woe is me, the Penguins are getting all the calls."
Orpik suspended 3 games....
- Thread starter pitt-girl
- Start date
I wouldn't get too upset at the coach. He is just doing his job. He is trying to buy the next call and guilt the refs into "woe is me, the Penguins are getting all the calls."
-I'm not buying the Letang hit being dirty. The puck was right on the carrier. And they are talking possible suspension? Common, that's a clean Scott Stevens hit when he used to knock players out of the game, at .6 seconds when the rule is .8 He didn't elbow anyone in the face when the puck wasn't even close to him. Bad hit my ass. Crying doesn't win hockey games. Letang has nothing to apologise for.
Quit being a homer. He makes contact to the head, it doesn't matter what he uses. He won't get 3, because he doesn't have a history like Orpik.
-Its a shoulder. Argue against that. A shoulder against the puck carrier in the middle of the ice. Doubt he's suspended.
He hits the jaw AFTER the puck is way gone. It doesn't matter WHAT he uses. Shoulder, elbow, knee, doesn't matter! Min 1 game, 2 in my opinion.
Ok access the penalty when we play the Buffalo Sabres next season
.Actually there's a time criteria when evaluating these penalties and I think he was just under the limit so I say no lost time.
We'll see!
Blind homer who doesn't have the ability to subjectively judge anything. No wonder people here think you're a moron.
-Announcers just said its rare a player gets suspended.for .6 seconds. Thanks and good day.
-We got to get Crosby going. When he's hot, he's hot. When he's cold, he's cold. Need him to step up here. Malkin's been big, they can't handle him. Need the kid on Malkin, Murray, and Letangs level and we are going all the way.
I wouldn't be surprised to see Letang get a game for his hit on Johansson. It was NOWHERE CLOSE to being as dirty as Orpik's hit but it was not a good play by him and he will at least be fined. I would be surprised if he is suspended for more than one game - given his history.
If Letang is out for even one game, that is BAD NEWS for Pittsburgh as he is our most important player - by a mile. He is basically the only legitimate top pairing D on a team full of bottom pairing guys. It's easy to see why we were just 2-8 this season without him in the lineup.
Other thoughts:
1.) Murray stole tonight's game - there's no other way to say it. Washington GROSSLY outplayed Pittsburgh and probably deserved a better fate. However, the young netminder was really, really good tonight and we held on just long enough to pull out the win.
2.) I REALLY hated tonight's game. It was extremely frustrating. If the rest of the series is played like tonight's game, Washington will win the series. If it is played like the first two games, Pittsburgh will win the series.
3.) Derrick Pouliot was atrocious. He looked slow and indecisive all night long. I noticed him every time he was on the ice - and not in a good way. If Letang is suspended for Game 4, Pouliot is going to have to play again but he needs to be on the bottom pairing. Schultz MUST be better than that.
4.) Nick Bonino is as slow as hell. However, I'll be damned if that sonovabitch doesn't make some big plays for this team. It rarely looks pretty but he's been extremely effective for us.
5.) Losing Bryan Rust really disrupted our team tonight. He is also an EXTREMELY underrated player for this team. He is an ideal third line guy in today's fast-paced NHL.
6.) Ovechkin finally scored tonight but he is standing around too much. That is doing us a major favor.
7.) Evgeny Kuznetsov looked absolutely fabulous tonight. I'm very concerned about him going forward. He is clearly NOT Alexandre Semin 2.0. Kuznetsov is a great player. Hopefully we can continue to contain him.
8.) There are two ways to look at tonight's game:
A.) Mighty Washington finally found its A-game and will now steamroll the smaller, over-matched Penguins.
B.) The Penguins just took Washington's best shot on a night Pittsburgh played its worst game of the playoffs and yet the Pens STILL won the game.
I'm not sure we'll know the answer to that question until at least Wednesday evening and maybe not until Saturday.
9.) I still think Pittsburgh needs to do whatever it has to do to stay out of the box. Washington is an EXCELLENT hockey club. They can win games in any number of ways. They can beat you up, they can skate around you, they can steal a game through goaltending and they can play a patient, disciplined 1-0 type of game. However, our overall team speed is a tough match up for the Caps. Pittsburgh needs this to be a 5/5 skaters' series to even have a chance to pull this off whereas Washington needs to turn it into a special teams/banger type of series. It will be interesting to see whose style wins out in the end.
10.) Wednesday's game becomes even bigger than it otherwise may have been. If Washington dominates again, and gets the win this time - which could easily happen, especially if Pittsburgh is w/o No. 58 - that could be real trouble for the Pens. However, if Pittsburgh can skate like it did in the first two games of the series, and they can win Wednesday's game, Washington would definitely be in some deep schitt and I'm not sure they could beat this year's Penguins three games in a row?
The way I see it is Pittsburgh really controlled the first two games of the series but only came out of it 1-1. Tonight, Washington got the better of the action (by a mile) but it too failed to get the result. Therefor the series is 2-1, Pittsburgh, just as it should be. Pittsburgh needs to play a LOT better going forward though or this is not going to end well for us.
If Letang is out for even one game, that is BAD NEWS for Pittsburgh as he is our most important player - by a mile. He is basically the only legitimate top pairing D on a team full of bottom pairing guys. It's easy to see why we were just 2-8 this season without him in the lineup.
Other thoughts:
1.) Murray stole tonight's game - there's no other way to say it. Washington GROSSLY outplayed Pittsburgh and probably deserved a better fate. However, the young netminder was really, really good tonight and we held on just long enough to pull out the win.
2.) I REALLY hated tonight's game. It was extremely frustrating. If the rest of the series is played like tonight's game, Washington will win the series. If it is played like the first two games, Pittsburgh will win the series.
3.) Derrick Pouliot was atrocious. He looked slow and indecisive all night long. I noticed him every time he was on the ice - and not in a good way. If Letang is suspended for Game 4, Pouliot is going to have to play again but he needs to be on the bottom pairing. Schultz MUST be better than that.
4.) Nick Bonino is as slow as hell. However, I'll be damned if that sonovabitch doesn't make some big plays for this team. It rarely looks pretty but he's been extremely effective for us.
5.) Losing Bryan Rust really disrupted our team tonight. He is also an EXTREMELY underrated player for this team. He is an ideal third line guy in today's fast-paced NHL.
6.) Ovechkin finally scored tonight but he is standing around too much. That is doing us a major favor.
7.) Evgeny Kuznetsov looked absolutely fabulous tonight. I'm very concerned about him going forward. He is clearly NOT Alexandre Semin 2.0. Kuznetsov is a great player. Hopefully we can continue to contain him.
8.) There are two ways to look at tonight's game:
A.) Mighty Washington finally found its A-game and will now steamroll the smaller, over-matched Penguins.
B.) The Penguins just took Washington's best shot on a night Pittsburgh played its worst game of the playoffs and yet the Pens STILL won the game.
I'm not sure we'll know the answer to that question until at least Wednesday evening and maybe not until Saturday.
9.) I still think Pittsburgh needs to do whatever it has to do to stay out of the box. Washington is an EXCELLENT hockey club. They can win games in any number of ways. They can beat you up, they can skate around you, they can steal a game through goaltending and they can play a patient, disciplined 1-0 type of game. However, our overall team speed is a tough match up for the Caps. Pittsburgh needs this to be a 5/5 skaters' series to even have a chance to pull this off whereas Washington needs to turn it into a special teams/banger type of series. It will be interesting to see whose style wins out in the end.
10.) Wednesday's game becomes even bigger than it otherwise may have been. If Washington dominates again, and gets the win this time - which could easily happen, especially if Pittsburgh is w/o No. 58 - that could be real trouble for the Pens. However, if Pittsburgh can skate like it did in the first two games of the series, and they can win Wednesday's game, Washington would definitely be in some deep schitt and I'm not sure they could beat this year's Penguins three games in a row?
The way I see it is Pittsburgh really controlled the first two games of the series but only came out of it 1-1. Tonight, Washington got the better of the action (by a mile) but it too failed to get the result. Therefor the series is 2-1, Pittsburgh, just as it should be. Pittsburgh needs to play a LOT better going forward though or this is not going to end well for us.
Great post!
Neither Letang or Orpik are " dirty" players.
Orpiks hit was really late so penalty accessed.
Letang is a great tough tough hockey player with occaisional mental lapses and IMO his play was a bang bang reaction play.
On the other hand I do wish someone on the PENS would knock Oveckin's head off so it rolls on the ice like a loose stick. The officials could clear it so it doesn't impede play. I do hope the helmut stays on for safety reasons.
Great "nerveracking" game last night especially the 3rd period.I got a drink with 3 minutes to go and got another drink with 2 minutes to go, and got another drink with 50 secs to go. Glad the game ended with a win we were running out of voice and stuff to drink.
Last edited:
It was selfish and unnecessary. It was nowhere near as dirty as Orpik's. But it was stupid. And based on the current tone, it will merit a suspension of likely a game.
Wow. Lot's of stuff.
1) Agree. Murray was fantastic. And he looks so smooth out there, he is so big and positionally sound, you don't need the Marc Andre Fleury highlight save. He sucks in rebounds, he has a really good glove, the kid is cool. He is a really good goalie with a chance to be one of the best in the league as he goes forward.
2) "I really HATED this game". LOL. I can't believe you said this. Because that might be the exact same thing I said to someone last night. Exact. I almost felt dirty, like I stole something or got away with something.
3) I tweeted out to someone, "Pouliot looks like me on the ice, and trust me you don't want me on the ice playing D". Yes he was. He is going to have to step up and play better. IF Letang is suspended for the next game, he has to play. If not, I would go with Schultz who also I think can help the power play with his shot.
4) Bonino is crafty. And shows he can play with skilled players. He is the Ying to Hagelin and Kessel's yang and knows how to find them. He has great hands, hands and smarts can make up for shortcomings like speed.
5) Yeah, definitely. He brings a lot of speed on the forecheck. Our forecheck really suffered last night, and because of that, the Caps easily gained our zone and controlled possession.
6) He is becoming the true NHL version of a Prince Fielder type. HR or bust. Man, that shot though is unhuman.
7) Until he starts burying shots, he is Alex Semin 2.0.
8) Yeah, that is the take. I am firmly convinced the Pens can and will play better. But you are wondering if the Caps are gaining confidence out of this. But I think the Pens are going to play a more simplified game. Doc, something you and I have gone around this before, Sidney Crosby simply has to be better. He has to make some kind of impact. And it is not his linemates, they are making more of an impact than he is. He shrinks at the big moments.
8.1) Geno has to be better too.
9) 87 and 71 need to step up and be the decider. Just like 8 and 19 need to do it for the Caps.
10) Yeah.....if Washington wins a rather even game, especially w/o Letang, then the series is even. If the Caps dominate and win, then we are in trouble. If the Pens win, then the Caps may just be resigned to their fate and know they aren't going to be able to climb out of that hole.
I still can't believe we won that game. It looked like one of those Belarus/Canada Olympic games where the goalie stands on his head.
Crosby has been the ultimate role player so far this series. Doing a lot of little things that have gotten us to the 2-1 lead. When he wakes up on offensive (and he will) look out.
Letang left his feet. If he doesn't do that, he can't make contact with the head. Legal, questionable, or otherwise, it was stupid. You have to have better awareness especially after the Orpik fiasco.
Other problem Letang will have is that with four guys already close to the player, what the heck was he even doing there? He obviously ignored anyone else rushing the zone to make the hit so it just is a bad look. I'll credit him with the fact that he became a punching bag from that moment on and still managed to darn near ice the game with the most solid shot off the post I've ever heard.
Other problem Letang will have is that with four guys already close to the player, what the heck was he even doing there? He obviously ignored anyone else rushing the zone to make the hit so it just is a bad look. I'll credit him with the fact that he became a punching bag from that moment on and still managed to darn near ice the game with the most solid shot off the post I've ever heard.
Crosby has played this series?? Joking aside, it was a nice little drop pass off the boards to Tanger last night.
Let me first say I'm in no way suggesting Letang isn't crucial to the Pens and isn't a highly skilled player. He is. That said, with Letang in the lineup last night they gave up 49 shots and were outplayed badly. Ovechkin was credited with 7 shots, missed the net on at least 5 other attempts and had several blocked. Point being, with or without Letang it is almost impossible to play any worse than they did last night defensively as a group. You won't see many teams approaching 50 shots in regulation in the regular season much less the playoffs. The Pens never got going last night and had enough puck luck early to win the game. What they weren't able to do last night was roll four lines smoothly because Rust was injured and out of the game after his first shift. You can't underestimate the importance of being able to roll the lines that way and essentially play defense by controlling the puck. Look no further than game two to see how rolling 4 lines (and giving Letang 35 minutes) covered for the loss of Maata early in the game. Second, and again, by no means am I pinning this entirely on Letang, but through three games the power play is 0-10. He's the QB. If they were up 2-1 at this point on the back of a red hot power play that helped them win 2-1 and 3-2 this would be a much worse situation. As it is, they're ahead in the series having not scored a power play goal and really not even threatening to score a power play goal. It's going to be very difficult to win this series without a power play goal. When the power play is good, it's real good, when it's bad, it's pathetic. Letang has not been able to enter the zone smoothly or get shots to the net so far on the power play. Maybe giving Daley some increased minutes there will actually be a spark in an area they desperately need one. With Sundquist likely in for Rust they'll still be able to roll lines like they have down the stretch. IMO that part of the game is far more important than how Poulliot and Shultz play in place of Letang and Maata. Because lets face it, it's a massive hole in the defensive lineup with those two out, but as we saw last night, if they don't control the puck in the offensive zone for large chunks of time they can look really bad even with Letang on the ice for 30 minutes. Relentless pressure from four solid lines is what drove this team to the 2 seed. Yes, they get plenty of D support on the puck and yes Letang is a huge part of that, but getting back to that 4 line pressure is the key to avoiding another 49 shot debacle.
Last edited:
I certainly respect your opinion but we just don't see the game the same on that front. I don't agree that Crosby or Malkin shrinks in the big moments. In fact, I think they tend to play their best in the big moments.
This is a pretty big moment, no? How many guys in the history of the sport have a "big moment" that compares to this one?
What about this?
How about these?
Do they always come through? Of course not, nobody does. I can prove that just about anybody is a playoff choker by using the methodology that people use to prove Crosby is a choker.
For example, Wayne Gretzky never won the Cup after leaving Edmonton. Did he forget how to win too or was it something else?
Does Crosby (and Malkin) need to score more in this series? Absolutely they do. However, people hold them to a ridiculous standard that they don't hold the Ovechkin's and the Toews's and the Kane's and the Kopitar's of the world to and personally I think it's ridiculous and unfair.
I can't say this enough. Sometimes we have lost because he hasn't played well enough. That has definitely happened and I'm not arguing otherwise. However, FAR more often than not, when we have lost, it's been because of breakdowns - and sometimes SEVERE breakdowns - elsewhere that he was not quite brilliant enough to overcome.
Hockey is a game of depth. Teams are going to sell out to stop the big guns and if they devote that many resources to stopping 87 and 71, they are going to succeed. That's just how it goes. Incidentally, that is also how it went for 66 and 68 in their respective primes. You need other guys to step up. When that happens, you are going to be successful. When it doesn't happen, you are going to lose and it's just that simple.
Did you know that over the past 27 years the No. 1 overall pick has won just five Stanley Cups and Patrick Kane has three of them. Crosby and Fleury have the other two. It takes more than elite top end talent - A LOT more.
However, as we have seen with Chicago in recent years, if the depth players continue to contribute and keep the ball rolling, eventually the big guns will also get going. If they don't we are going to lose. However, I just refuse to blame every loss on our best players. I just don't agree with that line of thinking. It's like when college football fans blame every single loss on the coach or the quarterback. I mean sure it happens but not typically.
Crosby may have been our third best player last night after Murray and Letang. He was again dominating in the face-off circle - winning approximately 68 percent of his face-offs mostly against Nickolas Backstrom, arguably one of the top face-off specialists in the league - and he was setting up guys left and right. We just couldn't finish.
Who made the pass to Letang that he rang off the post? Crosby.
Who made the gorgeous drop pass to Sheary that he shanked way wide? Crosby.
Who is winning every board battle he engages in? Crosby.
He does need to score more but to suggest he isn't playing well is incorrect. He's playing very well against a very tough assignment.
Last edited:
As an aside, Kuhnackl's goal reminded me a LOT of a goal Troy Loney scored during our '91 Cup run. I think Loney's may have been in OT though but it was a HUGE goal off his backside I believe. Does anyone else remember that one?
Wake me up the next time either scores a 3rd period goal in a game after the 2nd game of a series.
