Yeah St. Ivany is looking alot like John Marino when he came to the Pens. Just solid. And what a horrible trade that was. I also really like DOC. I think he is blossoming into a really good player. Pustinen also looks like he is a keeper. I see nothing from Poulin, but will be interested in some of the young guys they got for Jake.
Hey, if they are going to blow the lottery pick, then might as well make the playoffs, right?
Sid looks highly motivated and it is good to see Geno arrive at the party.
The "Big Boys" are playing well which is obviously a huge help but in addition ....
- Brian Rust is playing maybe his best hockey ever ...... he has been great.
- Bunting is no Jake but he has given the Pens something they have needed/been missing ...... grit, forecheck, net area presence (getting the dirty goals), solid defensively.
- I wouldn't downplay the contributions Lars Eller is making to the team on and off the ice as well ...... a real pro who is playing very well in his role.
- As far as the goalies, both TJ and Ned played well the 1st half of the season and both overall have played poorly the 2nd half until about 3 weeks ago when Ned started playing well to very well and TJ has continued to play poorly ...... have to ride the hot hand and so have to play Ned and hope he continues his good play and doesn't get that awful GI virus that is running through the team presently ...... no further back to back games so if Ned's play warrants keeping him in the lineup he should be able to comfortably do that ....... question will be what to do about the goalie situation in the off season ...... I and others on here said after last season that it was fine to try and replace Jarry (he was an UFA) if they could get someone better at an affordable price but if they ended up re-signing him that a mild to modest raise with a shorter term contract was advisable ..... it ended up that there really wasn't any other free agent better and they couldn't make a trade for someone better so they re-signed TJ but at a big raise and longer term ...... right now that contract isn't looking so great (I think TJ is somewhere around the 10th to 12th highest paid goalie and is playing for the entire year as a 19th ranked goalie but fading in the 2nd half of the season as usual for him) and I'm not sure how easy it would be to trade him now with his contract ..... in addition , Ned is an UFA and will be due for a raise (and although he is playing very well at present, he is playing like about the 29th ranked goalie for the entire year) ...... Joel Blomqvist is looking more like the long range solution but may need another season at WBS ...... so a lot of variables with the goalies that need to be taken into consideration (what can they get for TJ in a trade, what will it take to re-sign Ned, can Ned outplay TJ for an entire year if he plays starter minutes/games, when will Blomqvist be ready to play in the NHL, what goalies will be available in Free Agency, what goalies can be reasonably be obtained in a trade, salary cap issues must be taken into consideration, etc.) ..... the off season should be an interesting one for Dubas and the Pens and what to do with the goalies will be one of those interesting issues.
- Yeah agree with you, Poulin is going to have to prove himself one way or the other soon ...... he hasn't played a lot of hockey the last two seasons with mental health issues last year and physical injuries causing him to miss 2-2.5 months of this season which has likely delayed his development but in 36 games at WBS this year he has played well ...... he played 3 games recently with the Pens and I thought was at least solid the 1st 2 games and definitely played poorly the 3rd game ...... if he comes into camp next fall in good shape and does well, I'd rather see him get a 20+ game look with the Pittsburgh Pens than guys like Harkins, Nieto, Zohorna, Koppanen, Hinostroza, and maybe even Acciari at 2M/year ...... give him an extended look next year if he earns it in camp before they give up on him (obviously if they make trades this summer, Poulin could be an asset the Pens give away).
- I'm impressed that the Pens haven't given up on the season and have shown no quit but it is still unlikely they make the playoffs ...... right now they are given a 15.1% chance of making the playoffs ...... 7.9% chance of WC2 and 7.2% chance of 3rd place in the Metro ....... the game tomorrow against the Caps is obviously huge and if they can win, their playoff chances will get another significant boost, lose and their playoff chances will plummet.
