It's a Hockey Night in Pittsburgh.
Season opener, Pens vs Coyotes
LET'S GO PENS !!!!
Season opener, Pens vs Coyotes
LET'S GO PENS !!!!
OT - PENS
- Thread starter goalieman
- Start date
Man, these last few 1st rd exits has taken alot of enthusiasm away. It is almost like, okay, yay we can make the playoffs again and get 100 points but then what?
I am excited, but that is buffering some of the excitement. The key to me is Malkin and Jarry. If Jarry continues to improve and Malkin can stay healthy and regain any form, then this is a really good team. Again, depending on injuries. And the last few years they have been decimated by injuries.
I am excited, but that is buffering some of the excitement. The key to me is Malkin and Jarry. If Jarry continues to improve and Malkin can stay healthy and regain any form, then this is a really good team. Again, depending on injuries. And the last few years they have been decimated by injuries.
Yeah, I know what you guys are talking about and a lot of things would have to go right this year for the Pens to make the playoffs and make it through the first round of the Playoffs ........
Certainly injuries hurt us big time last year during the regular season and especially in the Playoffs, so this season we have to stay healthier and even though we didn't have a big overhaul of the roster, we did revamp our defense and made some nice signings of several of our UFA's ...... with the salary cap considerations of most teams and the UFA market available, it was very difficult to make all the deals that we wanted to ........ We may not make the Playoffs this year or if we do, may not make it through the first round but I think their are some signs that we may be somewhat better this season than last ....... we will start to find out tonight ......
Malkin is not the player he was 5-10 years ago but he looks like he is skating better now than when he came back from his surgery last year ...... that is a good sign but will he hold up ....... Crosby, Guentzel, Rust, Letang all continue to look like stars ....... Rakell has been on L1 in pre-season and I think he may do better this year now that he knows the Pens system and teammates better ....... Zucker is healthy right now and his skating is much better, can he stay healthy, if so, he could have a much improved year ....... of course, Kapanen has to start playing better, he has skills but needs to get into the scoring areas in the slot with his shots, he is also supposed to play on the PK which he did pretty well in Toronto, this would help the team if he is effective ....... Sam Poulin was terrible the first half of the year at WBS last season (his first year out of juniors) and then they switched him from forward to center and he looked like a new player in the second half of the season ..... the Pens loved his play in camp playing center and he was one of the late cuts ..... he is much more involved than previously in all zones and I noticed in the last two years Poulin has upgraded his skating a great deal ....... I think Poulin and Drew O'Connor may be called up to the NHL from WBS at some point in the season so we have some forward depth there ........
I think we added some players on defense that bring some of what the team was missing last season ....... Rutta and Petry should help a lot on the right side ..... Petry can help offensively and is also good in his own zone ...... Rutta more the stay at home defenseman ...... the big thing is that those two are better at clearing the front of the net and are more physical in the defensive zone than the players we had last season ....... both can move the puck ....... Last year Dumoulin had a bad season mainly because of lower body injuries that affected his skating significantly ...... someone said he is still having some problems with skating but when I saw him in the pre-season games, his skating looked better than last year ..... a comeback by Dumo would be big ....... POJ is slowing improving although I think he made the NHL roster mainly because they didn't want to lose him on waivers and Ty Smith who I thought outplayed POJ somewhat didn't have to go through waivers so was sent to WBS ....... I think if we have injuries on the blue-line, we have better depth in Ty Smith and Mark Friedman to come up from WBS but POJ is going to have to show he can play, if he can, the defense will be in good shape ..... Smith needs to work on his play in the defensive end while at WBS, he has been very good offensively in camp.
I'm more comfortable with the goalies of Jarry and DeSmith than many are and I think Tokarski and Lindberg at WBS may well end up better as a third goalie than Dominque if needed.
Of course there are a lot of things that have to go right for us to be better this season and it's also possible that a lot of things could go wrong and the season go poorly ....... tonight we start to find out .... I'm excited !
Again Goalieman, I have faith in Jarry. But again, I am sorry DeSmith's fragility I still can't believe the Pens didn't get a Halak/Vokoun type as a back up goalie. Still alot of time between now and the post season. But that is my biggest concern.
And it only took 2 minutes and 6 seconds for Bob Errey to be completely confused by what was going on on the ice. So even the broadcasters are in mid-season form!
I feel this..but watching another Pittsburgh franchise go thru the ugly stage that follows the "early playoff exit" part of this cycle... I'll enjoy the competitive teams while they last.
Agree, the main worry with DeSmith is his injury history the last couple years (both core muscle injuries at different sites both ultimately surgically repaired) ....... I wouldn't be against another back up goalie, but injuries are hard to predict, and when healthy, Casey DeSmith has been a very solid goalie ...... I think technically he is very good.
Great goal. Man I hope this old team can stay healthy and fit over a long season. Hoping for one last ride.
btw, I hate these Pens crowds, the stupid goal song, the stupid Iceberg horn, Mears on play by play, and the annoying public address announcer. Not to be critical.
Come on Joe, ..... Errey got the correct penalty just the wrong team !
BTW, it's only seven minutes of the first game of the season, but this Coyotes team is going to be really bad, aren't they? Like I mean maybe not quite 74-75 Capitals level bad, but maybe like 82-83 Penguins level bad.
Dam it. This team needs someone who will destroy that Coyote goon. He should leave this town in a body bag.
There are so many other hockey markets that’d be glad to take in Arizona. Idk why Bettman refuses to pull the plug there. They’re terrible and playing in a college rink.
Those stupid digital ad overlays on top of the boards on the ATT Sports broadcast are god awful.
Fun game to watch.
Heinen is very underrated , played a good game.
PP is humming.
Heinen is very underrated , played a good game.
PP is humming.
Why do you hate Mears?? Lol. Do you hate the crowds because the real fans can’t sit in the lower bowl when it turns it into a wine and cheese festival in most cases?
I’m not a fan of Mears. The radio guy is better. Of course they have a HOFer and legend that they are following in Lange. But even Steigy was better.
as far as the crowds, they just respond to the nerdy things that the PA announcer does and sit on their hands the rest of the game. There’s never the energy in that building that the team deserves.
I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who prefers Steigy. He was terrible. Mears is leaps and bounds better.
Some thoughts regarding the first two games of the season ......
- Obviously the season has just started but the Pens played great in the first two games !
- Team other than Blueger is healthy and health will be a huge factor for the season.
- Sid and Jake look great and Rakell is complimenting that line nicely.
- L2 is also playing really well ..... Geno is skating better, not making bad passes or taking stupid penalties and has been responsible defensively so far (and I emphasize so far as it's really early) ....... he with Rust and Zucker are playing very well together ...... Zucker is healthy and skating much better ...... he looks like a different player and it would be huge for the team if he can stay healthy ...... Rust pairs well with Geno (of course, he pairs well with Sid also).
- L3 with Carter, Heinen, and Kapanen has been good and trying to play a 200 foot game ...... Heinen is off to a fast start like he was last season and hopefully he can keep it up longer this year, he has some skills ..... Carter has been solid and Kapanen looks a little better than last year ...... he has to continue to try and get into the scoring areas/slot to take his shots ...... I also like that Kapanen is playing on the penalty kill which gets him more involved in the games and he was pretty good at it in Toronto ...... he can also be a threat for SH goals in that role.
- L4 consisting of McGinn, Poehling, and Archibald has been solid ..... I don't think they have any points in the first two games but haven't given up any either .... they have had good energy and played more minutes than the 4th line usually plays which helps rest the top 9 ...... Poehling is still learning the system and his teammates but has been solid ..... when Blueger gets back this line should be even better.
- Letang looks great and just as importantly, Dumoulin, who late in the regular season and playoffs last year looked bad as injuries affecting his skating and play .... in the first two games this years he is skating and playing well which is huge for this team !
- The overall defense played great in the first two games and looked to be much improved with the addition of Petry and Rutta ...... those two seem to be a significant upgrade over Marino and Ruhwedel in all zones.
- POJ had a rough first game but did much better in game 2.
- So far, I like Petterrson paired with Petry.
- Jarry played very well in both games.
- PP has been revamped some and working really well ..... we'll see how it does after opponents study film on it.
- Interesting that Geno is taking most of the face-offs on the PP (instead of Sid) and winning a great majority of them.
- PK is a work in progress and needs to get better.
- I expect to see Casey DeSmith in goal tomorrow against Montreal.
- A word of caution that the above are observations after only two games and things could change quickly and drastically in any direction at any time but the first two games give me optimism ..... let's see how we do against Montreal tomorrow night.
- Obviously the season has just started but the Pens played great in the first two games !
- Team other than Blueger is healthy and health will be a huge factor for the season.
- Sid and Jake look great and Rakell is complimenting that line nicely.
- L2 is also playing really well ..... Geno is skating better, not making bad passes or taking stupid penalties and has been responsible defensively so far (and I emphasize so far as it's really early) ....... he with Rust and Zucker are playing very well together ...... Zucker is healthy and skating much better ...... he looks like a different player and it would be huge for the team if he can stay healthy ...... Rust pairs well with Geno (of course, he pairs well with Sid also).
- L3 with Carter, Heinen, and Kapanen has been good and trying to play a 200 foot game ...... Heinen is off to a fast start like he was last season and hopefully he can keep it up longer this year, he has some skills ..... Carter has been solid and Kapanen looks a little better than last year ...... he has to continue to try and get into the scoring areas/slot to take his shots ...... I also like that Kapanen is playing on the penalty kill which gets him more involved in the games and he was pretty good at it in Toronto ...... he can also be a threat for SH goals in that role.
- L4 consisting of McGinn, Poehling, and Archibald has been solid ..... I don't think they have any points in the first two games but haven't given up any either .... they have had good energy and played more minutes than the 4th line usually plays which helps rest the top 9 ...... Poehling is still learning the system and his teammates but has been solid ..... when Blueger gets back this line should be even better.
- Letang looks great and just as importantly, Dumoulin, who late in the regular season and playoffs last year looked bad as injuries affecting his skating and play .... in the first two games this years he is skating and playing well which is huge for this team !
- The overall defense played great in the first two games and looked to be much improved with the addition of Petry and Rutta ...... those two seem to be a significant upgrade over Marino and Ruhwedel in all zones.
- POJ had a rough first game but did much better in game 2.
- So far, I like Petterrson paired with Petry.
- Jarry played very well in both games.
- PP has been revamped some and working really well ..... we'll see how it does after opponents study film on it.
- Interesting that Geno is taking most of the face-offs on the PP (instead of Sid) and winning a great majority of them.
- PK is a work in progress and needs to get better.
- I expect to see Casey DeSmith in goal tomorrow against Montreal.
- A word of caution that the above are observations after only two games and things could change quickly and drastically in any direction at any time but the first two games give me optimism ..... let's see how we do against Montreal tomorrow night.
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Yeah they have been flying so far. I mean the first game was tough to measure, it was reminiscent of those Olympic games where the USSR in their prime would be playing Norway and just embarrassing them. But they did the same to Tampa.
Health is the key for this team. If the core is playing like this still in April, this team can go on a run.
The Powerplay has been almost like a video game it has been so effective.
On an unrelated note, but a goalie note, did anyone see Matt Murray give up 4 goals, all to the glove hand in the Leafs first game, then hurt his abdominals and is out 4-6 weeks already. Yeesh!
Yeah the health thing is something I was going to bring up. I don’t know if it’s the modern day NHL and everyone goes through it because I don’t follow the league much, but it’s just seems like the Pens are never healthy, like ever, in this era. I just don’t remember it like this in the past. Over the past 10 years, I do wonder how many games our core trio of Malkin, Crosby and Letang have played together. And throw in other top 6 forwards, top 4 defensive pairings, and goaltending injuries keeping players in and out of the lineup, and it’s just been brutal. What I want more than anything is to have a season void of long term injuries so that we can see what this aging group is capable of. That said, they are aging, so injuries are likely a foregone conclusion.
I miss seeing the ads on the Canadian teams boards, especially the French ones in Montreal.
I'm with you on this. Pens fans used to laugh at other teams for the stupid air horn during games and now it's the only way they cheer at home. We used to have iconic, very Pittsburgh play-by-play announcers and PA announcers with Lange and Barbaro and now they went generic with Mears and Ryan Mill.
As for the team, they are pretty exciting early on. We'll see moments where they stink and others where they look unbeatable. It'll be interesting to see how this season plays out.
We know injuries will come -
But man -
This early season shows the firepower when clicking and healthy particularly the top 2 lives
But man -
This early season shows the firepower when clicking and healthy particularly the top 2 lives
Wow, are they really tired already?
That was pretty ugly. They can thank DeSmith for stealing them a point.
That was pretty ugly. They can thank DeSmith for stealing them a point.
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