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OT: Hockey starts tonight!!! Pens at Tampa. Thoughts??

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.
He was never charged or convicted of anything, he's likely THE VICTIM of gold diggers looking for a payday.
 
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Why? That's always a real possibility with rich and famous men.
It’s also a possibility that he, you know, raped some women. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen you even acknowledge the possibility in any situation ever. So there’s that.
 
Letang was a minus 3 on the night. Hoping this isn’t going to be the Letang from two years ago.
 
Found this on ESPN. At least more people will be exposed to the NHL now.

It's a shame that now the NHL is on a more mainstream forum as the Pens are entering their twilight. Much like the 90's before it got onto ESPN, the Pens were the dominant team. LOL
 
Speaking of rapes.....in a metaphorical sense and bringing this back to the original subject matter, my god did the NHL screw the Pens for their schedule. Coming off a season and a half of pandemic reduced or zero crowds, in a league that is gate driven, the Pens play their next 8 games at home.

This is BS. This is the hardest time for the Pens to draw, still is football season, everybody is in football mode usually it isn't until Thanksgiving where locals start really focusing on hockey. So it will be their toughest draws all stacked in a row, with their stars injured.

What crap.
 
Speaking of rapes.....in a metaphorical sense and bringing this back to the original subject matter, my god did the NHL screw the Pens for their schedule. Coming off a season and a half of pandemic reduced or zero crowds, in a league that is gate driven, the Pens play their next 8 games at home.

This is BS. This is the hardest time for the Pens to draw, still is football season, everybody is in football mode usually it isn't until Thanksgiving where locals start really focusing on hockey. So it will be their toughest draws all stacked in a row, with their stars injured.

What crap.


The Penguins next road game is on November 9th. That is, well, insane. Whomever made up this schedule should be fired.
 
Fleury not starting tonight at NJ, meaning he will be starting tomorrow night against the Pens.
 
I'm trying to see what the longest home stand in the NHL is this season, and it looks like Minnesota has a nine game home stand in March.
 
The Penguins next road game is on November 9th. That is, well, insane. Whomever made up this schedule should be fired.
The NHL does. I can see if there was some large scale event going on where they don't have use of the arena for a month, but this is inexcusable. I can't believe the Pens didn't push back to the NHL and say "no way".
 
Well sure, a long home stand is better in March than in October. But there is still no excuse for a home stand (or a road trip) that long, not at any time of the season.
The Islanders are starting the season on a 13-game road trip due to a delay in their arena opening so better a long homestand than the road trip!
 
The Islanders are starting the season on a 13-game road trip due to a delay in their arena opening so better a long homestand than the road trip!
Yes. This makes sense. Or sometimes in MSG the Rangers have to go on a long road trip because of events scheduled. But for the Pens, not the case.
 
This thread keeps on getting buried but what a tremendous win by the Pens last night. And what an exciting game, both teams exchanged chances throughout the game. If healthy, the Pens would have buried the Flyers.

Props to Tristan Jarry, he was outstanding. Huge, gutty win. They are somehow keeping their heads above water fielding a depleted lineup no team has had to face in a while.
 
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Absolutely the most subdued, quiet, unenthusiastic opener for the Pens since they drafted Sidney Crosby in 2005. That's a long time. Dave Wannstedt and Matt Cavanaugh were coaching our Panthers trying to figure where the hashmarks there back then. Pitt basketball was in the midst of becoming a full blown powerhouse. The Steelers were led by 2nd year QB named Ben Roethlisberger who led them to a 15-1 record and AFC Champ game the year before. Andrew McCutcheon just finished his rookie year in the Gulf Coast League. Joe Paterno was leading his Penn State Nittany Lions to an 11-1 record.

Wow, a different world.

2021. Unfortunately father time has caught up with the Pens. Sidney Crosby is still a great player, but no longer the best player. Kris Letang and Evgeny Malkin are still good players, when they are healthy, but again, especially with Malkin, no longer plays at a Hall of Fame pace. A dozen years of continuing to "go for it" has caught up with the Pens, as their prospect pool is pretty much depleted from a lack of high draft picks. But hey, Sid and group won 3 cups. That's not a disappointment, though the past 3 years going out in the 1st rd is a disappointment.

And what do we see? A team hoping to get into the playoffs, then bowing out again in Rd 1? I don't want to give up any more draft picks at the deadline to try and go in. I am fine with, you know, rebuilding. The trouble with this unlike your Stillers n'at, the Pens need capacity, especially after the last season and a half of COVID. The NHL is a gate driven league. So the Pens will walk an interesting tight rope by trying to keep fan interest and also trying to figure out how to get young talent here again.

It is great to read about the Zahorna's, O'Connor's, etc.....but these guys are no more than bottom forwards, no more than a Zach Aston-Reese at best, and that isn't going to elevate this team. It's sad, but inevitable.

I maybe writing the epitaph too soon, but I can't see how the Pens get lucky again in my lifetime with a Mario, with a Sid, hell with even a Jagr or Malkin. Most franchises don't see one of these guys come through in 25-30 years, we had all 4 in their prime. I just can't imagine that happening again. Sure, there will be great players, but another generational talent? Doubt it.

Anyways......it's hockey season!
Well said and spot on…

There are similarities between the Pens & the Steelers. Both teams feel they still have enough to make a run at the championship, but both are kidding themselves.

I would not make any more moves to try and make a run. I would go with what they have and if things go south, start unloading players for draft picks (with the exception of Crosby).
 
Well said and spot on…

There are similarities between the Pens & the Steelers. Both teams feel they still have enough to make a run at the championship, but both are kidding themselves.

I would not make any more moves to try and make a run. I would go with what they have and if things go south, start unloading players for draft picks (with the exception of Crosby).
I don't really mind "going for it", because when I turn on the TV to watch a game, I could never root for a loss even if the #1 overall draft pick was the prize for losing. I just care about enjoying a win in TODAY'S GAME above "the future".
 
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Well said and spot on…

There are similarities between the Pens & the Steelers. Both teams feel they still have enough to make a run at the championship, but both are kidding themselves.

I would not make any more moves to try and make a run. I would go with what they have and if things go south, start unloading players for draft picks (with the exception of Crosby).
Yeah but that was a great win. Trust me, the first half of my life the Flyers made my life miserable. I am so enjoying this half of my life making the Flyers basically irrelevant.
 
I don't know where are hockey aficionados are, especially goalie guys....but...

I love the guy, he is a HOFer, I too was one of the folks hoping the Pens could reacquire him....but have yinz seen Marc Andre Fleury's stats so far??

45th out of 47 goalies in save percentage at .881. 1-7, 4.11 GAA

Meanwhile Jarry is in the top 10 of save percentage. If the Pens need a vet goalie at the deadline, they probably could pick up MAF for a nickel if this continues.
 
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I don't know where are hockey aficionados are, especially goalie guys....but...

I love the guy, he is a HOFer, I too was one of the folks hoping the Pens could reacquire him....but have yinz seen Marc Andre Fleury's stats so far??

45th out of 47 goalies in save percentage at .881. 1-7, 4.11 GAA

Meanwhile Jarry is in the top 10 of save percentage. If the Pens need a vet goalie at the deadline, they probably could pick up MAF for a nickel if this continues.


How much of that is on him, and how much of that is going from a defensively responsible team like Vegas to, well, the Blackhawks?

I haven't watched him play yet this season, but he's got to be seeing a ton more quality chances against him than he did last year.
 
I don't know where are hockey aficionados are, especially goalie guys....but...

I love the guy, he is a HOFer, I too was one of the folks hoping the Pens could reacquire him....but have yinz seen Marc Andre Fleury's stats so far??

45th out of 47 goalies in save percentage at .881. 1-7, 4.11 GAA

Meanwhile Jarry is in the top 10 of save percentage. If the Pens need a vet goalie at the deadline, they probably could pick up MAF for a nickel if this continues.
Haven't seen him play yet. But as was pointed out. The team in front contributes a lot.
 
I don't know where are hockey aficionados are, especially goalie guys....but...

I love the guy, he is a HOFer, I too was one of the folks hoping the Pens could reacquire him....but have yinz seen Marc Andre Fleury's stats so far??

45th out of 47 goalies in save percentage at .881. 1-7, 4.11 GAA

Meanwhile Jarry is in the top 10 of save percentage. If the Pens need a vet goalie at the deadline, they probably could pick up MAF for a nickel if this continues.
I've seen parts of two games in which Fleury played ...... by my eye test, it is a combination of Chicago playing poor defensively and at times hanging Fleury out to dry AND Fleury playing poorly .....

I don't want to go through a lot of film review or advanced analytics, so let me give one set of advanced analytics that support what I'm saying .......

Last season with the VGK, Fleury faced 7.67 High Danger Shots/60 minutes and this year so far with Chicago he is facing 9.76 High Danger Shots/60 minutes ...... which shows that the Blackhawk's are giving up significantly more high scoring chances then the VGK did last year with Fleury in the net (MAF has faced 27.1% more high danger shots/ 60 minutes this season than last) .....

On the other hand, Fleury's SV% on high danger shots this year with Chicago is 0.704 (poor) while it was 0.853 (good) last year with the VGK's meaning, although Chicago is giving up significantly more HD shots then VGK did last year, Fleury is making significantly less saves on those high danger shots this year then last ...... so it seems to be a combination of of Chicago defensively giving up more scoring chances and Fleury playing poorly against those shots.
 
Nice road trip for the Pens. A 3-0 road trip Put thems back into the playoff race. That’s the thing about hockey. Because of the loser point system they have, it’s always hard to jump over multiple teams late in the season and put yourself into playoff position. This little streak they are on came at the right time. Falling down in the standings and chasing all season is not the best way to go about things.
 
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