And yet for 55 minutes of the game, they could not.
Until they pulled the goalie, they couldn't generate anything. Then they got two.
OT: Hockey starts tonight!!! Pens at Tampa. Thoughts??
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Until they pulled the goalie, they couldn't generate anything. Then they got two.
In other news, Buccigross has gotten (in my opinion) MUCH better at play-by-play commentating. Was skeptical whether he should be in the booth or the studio, but he’s done a good job. Fun game in Vegas.
Fleury shit the bed his first playoff series, doesn't mean anything.
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Clement is a Flyer homer. That entire broadcast team is over the top. The nhl is out to get the flyers, they never call penalties that favor the flyers and only 1 out of 10 penalties against them are legit.
I agree. He was really good last night. Didn’t expect to be saying that.
You know, for the last 15 years or so....there have been so many games where I tuned in and expected the Pens to get handled. And so many times, the Pens responded with a fantastic effort and most often a win.
I, for the life of me, still cannot figure out what happened these last 3 playoffs where the very opposite happened.
I, for the life of me, still cannot figure out what happened these last 3 playoffs where the very opposite happened.
I highly dislike Tom Wilson the player, but I have to respect the fact that he’s not just a goon. Guy knows how to score.
He's a helluva player. I would take him on my side anytime.
You only dislike him because he's on the Caps, It's like Steelers fans hating Ray Lewis, they'd all be loving him if he was a Steeler.
LOL, you’re not wrong! He’s certainly good for the health of the rivalry.
Wish he played less “cheap,” though; I’d like to think I would have that same stance if he was on the Pens.
Every point counts. I work in Tampa and there was very little buzz over the opening night gala.
Then again, I only pay close attention to college sports and only Pitt with any level of passion so maybe I missed it.
Not a Sean McDonut fan however.
I'm a Pittsburgh fan living in the Baltimore area, Baltimore fans hate Hines Ward, because he's the "dirtiest player ever" Pittsburgh fans hate Ray Lewis, he's a murderer, Sidney Crosby is hated by Caps fans for being a big baby, Tom Wilson by Pens fans because he's a thug... IMO all those opinions get turned 180 degrees if the players in question where on the opposite team. The hatred is based on the jersey.LOL, you’re not wrong! He’s certainly good for the health of the rivalry.
Wish he played less “cheap,” though; I’d like to think I would have that same stance if he was on the Pens.
I don’t mind McDonough, but I was surprised ESPN didn’t target John Forslund for their main play-by-play role. Thought he did a good job on NBC.
I don’t like McDonut because he’s from Boston and rags on Pitt at any given opportunity. I also think his play by play is boring. Nothing against his haircut.
People don't realize this....but if Marc Andre Fleury played anything like he did with Vegas as he did for the Pens 2010-2013, the Pens likely would have won at least another cup. He particularly cost them in 2010 and 2012, and was pulled in 2013.
I only watched period three. The effort extended by the Pens between the blue lines on defense in transition was huge. Thought that Blueger and McGinn played well there.
The EN contributed to both goals. The TB forward pushed the D into Jarry on one, and the open F in the slot on the one timer. Those goals happen with an extra skater to account for.
The EN contributed to both goals. The TB forward pushed the D into Jarry on one, and the open F in the slot on the one timer. Those goals happen with an extra skater to account for.
That’s certainly fair. I hope his commentating can evolve as he gets more comfortable calling games. “And it’s a goal!” doesn’t exactly have the same flair that Emrick and Thorne possessed.
Edit: With that being said, he lacks the experience but gives the broadcast a “big time” feel due to his experience calling the World Series, Monday Night Football, College Football Primetime, etc. which was what ESPN needed with its history of overlooking the NHL. Just my opinion, of course.
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I think the average score of the last 5 Pitt games he has done is 51-7. Can you blame him ?
Pretty much. The game means very close to nothing since they are guaranteed to be in the playoffs. So just entertainment I guess. I'm sure if Pitt basketball played 82 games to eliminate only 50% of the teams, I'd watch most for entertainment but the fact that each game would mean so little would turn me off. That's probably a big reason why I cant watch pro sports. There's so many games that you never really have a "big one." Lose 3 in a row? That sucks but win the next couple and you're ok. If that happens in college basketball, you're in deep sh!t
You’re right. But when you are in a room of rabid Penguin fans you just have to accept that every minute of every game, even in October, matters.
Not a big MAF fan personally, and I believe most goalies would have failed spectacularly in those situations you mentioned.
That 2010 squad had no discipline, and didn't play defense. Fleury was the victim of that team being allowed to play an irresponsible game. And I can't recall if they even bothered playing any defensive of any kind against Philly in 2012?
Nah, the 2010 team was coming off back to back finals, I think they played defense fine. MAF melted down in games 6 and 7. I was there that Game7, the last game played at the Civic Arena.
2012 sure....bad defense, but my god, his save % was so far below every other goalie in thos playoffs, including the Philly goal who was also not good. Marc Andre could have just played poorly and the Pens would have won, but he played just absolutely horribly. At his pedigree, sometimes you need to make a save.
2013.....he was horrible, they pulled him and played Vokoun and rode him to conference finals. Look at Vokoun's save percentage that year vs Fleury's, There was an incredible gap. Same team. Same defense.
MAF is a sure fire hall of famer, but he has arguably played his best goaltending the last 5 years. Who knew? I mean if he was that valuable at the time, the Pens should have been able to trade him before the expansion draft for some nice picks. But he was not in that high of demand, and in fact the Pens gave Vegas a 2nd rounder to take him.
The Penguins are not guaranteed a playoff spot this year, but I don’t expect you to listen to any reasons why and just keep repeating the same thing over and over 🙄
Tell me you know absolutely nothing about the NHL without telling me you know nothing about the NHL.
"since they are guaranteed to be in the playoffs"
I'm just selfish, I just want a TV SHOW ONLY FOR THESE 3-4 HOURS, JUST FOR TONIGHT, watching a team I root for is all the "meaning" I need to be engaged, doesn't have to be any bigger, than just today's TV SHOW for me to be seriously engaged. In fact, something like a Pens game in October means WAY, WAY, WAY more to me than say Alabama vs. Clemson for the Championship of college football in January, so I can be way more engaged, basically to me, rooting interest is 99% of it, quality of play, meaning of game, what's on the line , is way behind rooting for and watching my personal team.
NHL on ESPN opening night was the most-watched season-opening doubleheader on record
The debut regular-season night of the NHL on ESPN drew strong numbers for Penguins-Lightning and Kraken-Golden Knights.
awfulannouncing.com
Hey, let's be fair. Ray didn't actually commit the murder, he was merely an accomplice who participated in the coverup. That's a lot different than being the guy who actually stabbed the two victims to death.
True, my point is valid though, Pittsburgh fans WANT him to be a murderer, whether he is or not, just like Ben haters WANT him to be a rapist, etc.
I'm pretty sure that the Ben haters don't actually want him to be a rapist, I'm pretty sure for a lot of them the fact that he is a rapist plays a role in the hatred.
Great start for both ESPN and TNT. I love what TNT is trying to do; may take a few games to get the wrinkles out, though. Felt like they put a little too much emphasis on Gretzky.NHL on ESPN opening night was the most-watched season-opening doubleheader on record
The debut regular-season night of the NHL on ESPN drew strong numbers for Penguins-Lightning and Kraken-Golden Knights.
- Wow what a great game the Pens played the other night against Tampa Bay ..... they totally dominated the 1st two periods and much of the 3rd ....... great structure, support, and positional play, were really fast to pucks (out skated Tampa), won many of the battles on the boards, controlled the puck, and had the better of the scoring chances overall ..... literally played well in all 3 zones.
- It's early and opinions will no doubt change as the season progresses (as early as tonight, LOL !), but just a few really early first impressions/observations this year ...... I like what I see so far from McGinn and Heinen (solid players with some upside) ....... Simon has looked good with very good puck retrieval and possession, good passing, and he is doing some scoring (we'll see how long it lasts) ...... I thought that we were in big trouble against Tampa Bay when it was announced that Ruhwedel and Friedman were the 3rd defensive pairing (with Matheson out due to injury) but those two did a really nice job and Friedman showed he may have a little offense to his game (and he played on his off wing well) ....... thought Marino played well and hopefully he will play better this year then he did last season ...... O'Connor upgraded his skating significantly since last year as well as getting in better physical condition and so far it has helped his game ...... not sure what the 4th line will look like when the team gets healthy but at least against TB the 4th line of Boyle/O'Connor/Lafferty played well together and did a nice job (Boyle had a nice goal on a very nice pass from Lafferty who played a physical game and was responsible positionally, a problem he had last season) ..... actually, will be interesting to see what roster changes are made when the team is healthy .....
- ....... and then there is Jarry (goaltending being a major concern this year) ....... thought he played overall very well against Tampa Bay ...... didn't see any significant changes in his game with the new goalie coach onboard ........ he had 26 saves on 28 shots, only saw 4 high danger shots on goal but saved them all some of which were at important times in the game ....... on the first goal, Dumoulin was battling around the crease with a TB player and ended up running into Jarry, knocking him out of position and keeping him from moving and the puck hit a TB player in the slot changing directions and there was nothing Jarry really could have done differently to make the save .....
- Goal #2, however, I thought he should have done several things differently (see video below from the 6:23 to 6:52 mark) ...... the play starts by TB shooting the puck in and Jarry going behind the net to play it ...... it looks like Jarry is going to shoot the puck up the boards but Letang is coming behind the net with a forechecker close behind him, I thought Jarry should have shot the puck out up the boards but he leaves it behind the net for Letang (it's possible that Letang yelled for him to leave it there) ..... when Letang gets the puck behind the net and tries to pass it, the forechecker pushes him and the pass goes to a TB player behind the goal line near the corner to Jarry's right (left side to the skaters) ....... Jarry appropriately goes to the near post (although as an aside, he uses poor technique in covering the post) ....... the TB player passes the puck about 30' from behind the goal line to a teammate in the high slot just beyond the inner hash marks of the left circle (to Jarry's right), who one-times it under Jarry's left pad for a goal ...... the pass goes at least 30' and you can see Jarry's head swiveling as he watches the puck go from behind the goal line to the slot but Jarry never moves and stays on the near post back on the goal line which gets him off angle and way too deep in the net (when he saw the pass coming out he should have immediately pushed out to the top of the crease just to his right of the midline and he would have been in perfect angle/position to stop the one-timer .... he had time to do it) ...... also Dumoulin did screen Jarry at the last moment before the shot so Jarry didn't see the puck off the shooters stick ...... but generally, when the goalie knows a shot is coming but is screened and doesn't see the puck well he should butterfly immediately to cover the lower part of the net .... Jarry doesn't do it quick enough and the puck goes under his left pad and into the net before he completes his butterfly ...... you can argue that it was 6 on 5 and Jarry was worried about Point coming into the low slot late on the play and a TB player behind the goal line 10 feet to his right but he still should have come out from the goal line at least 2/3rds of the way to the top of the crease .... so on that play, there was a problem between Letang and Jarry playing the puck behind the net, Jarry was sloppy in technique on the post (although that didn't lead to the goal), Jarry didn't move out from the post/goal line on the pass, and he didn't butterfly quick enough ...... that was one play, but overall I thought he played very well...... watch Goal #2 from 6:23 to 6:52 mark .....
And 6-5 there is less free space for Jarry to place the puck. That's early season stuff that can get ironed out.
I thought of you a couple of weeks ago when we played in the final of our beer league. We got a too many men penalty (completely dumb penalty in that setting--tie game with 47 seconds left). I gave up a goal on an incompletely sealed post. The skater came right at me down the goal line unimpeded (damn I hate when that happens-but powerplay so someones always free--preferably not the guy with the puck though). I went rVH but left a crack open. He shot it off my shoulder and in it goes for the game winner with 13 seconds left. We blew a 3-1 3rd period lead on two absolute snipes from one of their defencemen going end to end undefended and ends up 1 on 0 with me. He came down on my glove side so I could get out and take some angle, but keen to protect near side post as this guy would have difficulty making that shot across my body to the far side. Well that summabich hit the far corner "dink" twice in the last 5 minutes of that game. He couldn't hit that shot twice in a season and he did it twice in a row. And that shot wins games. To be fair to my teammates, we're a bunch of 50+ year olds playing against 20-30 year olds. We do tend to fade in the third and just can't keep up.
But that play with Jarry and Letang hurts my head as a goalie. I had a play like that in 2nd period of our final, where a puck got shot in off to my stick side. The forward was easily going to win the race. I came out and took possession of the puck, and had some time. Long change for that period and some of my team were changing (got surprised by the turnover). The F kept coming right at me, I was inside the face off circle, about the level of the dot. My D kept skating right with the F. That gives me nowhere to get him the puck, and I am away from the net. Only opposing jerseys back there with me already in the zone. All my D needed to do was curl to the boards and I chip it there and he can play it out. We have numbers the other way too. But he kept just skating at me. I ended up deking the forward and skating with the puck to buy some time, but he kept skating right at me not creating any space for me to pass to him. The only other player that bothered to get back positioned himself directly between me and the net, so when I ended up having to play the puck to nobody out into the corner and skate like hell back to the net, I have to plow over my teammate (standing there doing nothing) to get back. That's beer league for you. It completely confuses anyone for the goalie to actually possess the puck. I just thought you would laugh your ass off if there was video of that play!
Gee whiz USN_Panther, a goalie playing the puck out as far as the face-off dot, deking a forward, skating with the puck, dumping it in the corner, checking teammates ..... you should have made a video of that and sent it to the Penguins, they might have offered you a two way contract !!!! (hahahaha !!!!).
It was freaking chaos. And managed to get back in net and covered the puck and getting a faceoff. I freaking tell the D's all the time. If I have the puck don't skate straight at me. Look at me and listen. Get to space. The boards are our friends. Put your stick out so I know where your forehand is.
I play as a skater too, so I can skate and handle the puck. I play as a fill in sometimes in the local women's league when they need a net filled. I skate out of the net and challenge for the puck all the time when I play in that league. I can win most of those races, and they're not going to just lay me out like the men's beer leaguers will. Problem is when I am halfway out to the blue line and there is a turnover after playing the puck, it gets interesting. But that makes it fun. (We have full Olympic size rink)
I did win a beer-league game in OT doing this. We got caught in a change (3 on 3 OT) and the other team came in chasing a shot-in puck 2 v 0. I just bolted out full speed knowing it was bad no matter what. The F never expected me to do that and he looked up and I was there. Poke checked it up and he skated right past me. The line change was done and we were off 2-0 the other way. Shot it up across to the boards and off we went and won. I love coming out of the net in OT!
We have a masters tournament next week. I get crazy playing there because everybody is old like me.
