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PocketNines said:
Good times in Pittsburgh ... the video clip someone took in this story is worth the watch



pittsburghhockeynow.com

The Full Story: Idiot Takes Puck From Boy, Penguins Fans Go Nuts

There was side drama to the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 5-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning Sunday evening. Many fans at PPG Paints Arena and those watching on screens large and small were left to wonder what in the world was happening as a larger corner of the arena was going bonkers and chanted...
pittsburghhockeynow.com pittsburghhockeynow.com
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Here is how you are suppose to do it when you do it right.

 
Brian39 said:
He had a few clunkers in December that contributed to him losing 6 of 7 starts, but he's been excellent since the Winter Classic. All in all, he's let in a few more back breaker late softies than I'd like (or expect out of him) and he's been a touch more hot/cold than I'd like. I'd like him to have a better 2nd half than 1st half and I think that is a reasonable expectation given his contract and past track record.

But right now is a very weird time to criticize. He was no less than our 2nd best player last night in a 2-1 victory and he's been above average in 4 of his last 5 starts.
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Not saying you're complaining or bitching but just wanted to add to your post.

For those bitching just remember it can always be worse.

 
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Sabres doing Sabres things last night (fun thread on the mains about it).

Becoming the first team known to play a full 20 minute period without recording a shot on goal, yet still getting credited with a goal in that period (due to it being automatically awarded when a Canes player slashed and broke the stick of a Sabres player who had a clear path to an ENG).

They managed to win the game too - a very un-Sabres thing to do.

The two other times in recorded NHL history that a goal was scored without a SOG in a period happened in overtime.
 
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Stealth JD said:
Sabres doing Sabres things last night (fun thread on the mains about it).

Becoming the first team known to play a full 20 minute period without recording a shot on goal, yet still getting credited with a goal in that period (due to it being automatically awarded when a Canes player slashed and broke the stick of a Sabres player who had a clear path to an ENG).

They managed to win the game too - a very un-Sabres thing to do.

The two other times in recorded NHL history that a goal was scored without a SOG in a period happened in overtime.
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McLeod scored a hat trick on just 2 shots. There are trivia questions after this one.
 
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games at hand aside

Would be nice tomorrow if at this time stl was 1 point out of the wildcard and tied with the Canucks who have to deal with the kings tonight

I do gotta say the Canucks are fun. It’s kinda a nice silver lining - if we don’t make the playoffs they probably will and they’re fun to watch. A lot easier to root for them than the kings, Vegas, or sharks or somebody like that. Nice to have one team during the late games to not hate. I wouldn’t get all pumped up that we booted them from a playoff slot like maybe I would for other teams.
 
StlBigFly said:
games at hand aside

Would be nice tomorrow if at this time stl was 1 point out of the wildcard and tied with the Canucks who have to deal with the kings tonight

I do gotta say the Canucks are fun. It’s kinda a nice silver lining - if we don’t make the playoffs they probably will and they’re fun to watch. A lot easier to root for them than the kings, Vegas, or sharks or somebody like that. Nice to have one team during the late games to not hate. I wouldn’t get all pumped up that we booted them from a playoff slot like maybe I would for other teams.
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Now that Thornton is gone from San Jose I don’t mind them. We beat them to a Cup, and most of their fans I’ve interacted with are cool, including when I’ve attended a game there.

Kings fans were the best. But that franchise has already had its share of success, so I’d just as soon they lose.

Vegas, can’t stand them. Canucks fans have been one of the harder groups to tolerate. They seem to have a higher than average percentage of pricks, and other than maybe Colorado, I can’t think of many fan bases who trolled out forum more. That influences me more than how much I like/dislike their actual roster and coaches.
 
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StlBigFly said:
games at hand aside

Would be nice tomorrow if at this time stl was 1 point out of the wildcard and tied with the Canucks who have to deal with the kings tonight

I do gotta say the Canucks are fun. It’s kinda a nice silver lining - if we don’t make the playoffs they probably will and they’re fun to watch. A lot easier to root for them than the kings, Vegas, or sharks or somebody like that. Nice to have one team during the late games to not hate. I wouldn’t get all pumped up that we booted them from a playoff slot like maybe I would for other teams.
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Meh I still hate the Canucks because of the Kesler, Bieksa, Burrows era
 
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Stupendous Yappi said:
Now that Thornton is gone from San Jose I don’t mind them. We beat them to a Cup, and most of their fans I’ve interacted with are cool, including when I’ve attended a game there.

Kings fans were the best. But that franchise has already had its share of success, so I’d just as soon they lose.

Vegas, can’t stand them. Canucks fans have been one of the harder groups to tolerate. They seem to have a higher than average percentage of pricks, and other than maybe Colorado, I can’t think of many fan bases who trolled out forum more. That influences me more than how much I like/dislike their actual roster and coaches.
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The Kings and the Cartman chant in the 2011-2014 era…..I don’t think I can put that aside. Still a strong hatred there, and unlike the Sharks we never got our revenge.
 
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StlBigFly said:
games at hand aside

Would be nice tomorrow if at this time stl was 1 point out of the wildcard and tied with the Canucks who have to deal with the kings tonight

I do gotta say the Canucks are fun. It’s kinda a nice silver lining - if we don’t make the playoffs they probably will and they’re fun to watch. A lot easier to root for them than the kings, Vegas, or sharks or somebody like that. Nice to have one team during the late games to not hate. I wouldn’t get all pumped up that we booted them from a playoff slot like maybe I would for other teams.
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Vancouver seduces a person the most. It's a beautiful part of a likable country and they've never won so the feeling is intense if they ever do win ... but their fans cannot help it, they are like Avs fans, the most miserable winners. it's similar to what happened this century with Boston teams when the non-Celtics teams started winning. they are miserable winners but they are in the east so we don't get it as much.

Hawks/Sharks will always be 1 & 2. Sharks fans are I would say the worst in general, we just haven't heard from those bums since the Hand Pass game, their last playoff "win"
 
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PocketNines said:
Vancouver seduces a person the most. It's a beautiful part of a likable country and they've never won so the feeling is intense if they ever do win ... but their fans cannot help it, they are like Avs fans, the most miserable winners. it's similar to what happened this century with Boston teams when the non-Celtics teams started winning. they are miserable winners but they are in the east so we don't get it as much.

Hawks/Sharks will always be 1 & 2. Sharks fans are I would say the worst in general, we just haven't heard from those bums since the Hand Pass game, their last playoff "win"
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Their last playoff even strength goal.
 
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Was looking at some stats and saw our guy Ivan Barbashev currently has the second highest 5v5 scoring rate in the league. Seems like he was horribly miscast as a center here, and while playing with Eichel sure is nice he is a great power winger himself.
 
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LGB said:
Was looking at some stats and saw our guy Ivan Barbashev currently has the second highest 5v5 scoring rate in the league. Seems like he was horribly miscast as a center here, and while playing with Eichel sure is nice he is a great power winger himself.
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Strong disagree.

Barby was primarily a winger here who would slide to center as needed. We played him as a wing a ton, especially once he actualized as more than a bottom 6 player in his last couple years here. He never finished higher than 4th in faceoffs for the Blues and he was 5th or lower every year but one.

In 2021/22 he played way more wing than center. He took the 5th most faceoffs on the team, averaging 4 per game. The large majority of those came in the stretch when we put him between Buch and Tarasenko and that line was fantastic. Honestly, that might have been his peak performance as a Blue. He was almost exclusively at wing in 2022/23. That year, he took fewer faceoffs than each of Walker, Brown, and Alexandrov (despite Barby playing more games here than any of them). He averaged just 2.1 faceoffs per game that year.

He played way, way more wing than center here. He also played extremely similar minutes in his last 2 years here when actualized as more than a bottom 6 player. he played 16:24 a night in 2021/22 and 16:26 a night in 2022/23. He is playing 16:41 a night in Vegas.

He was miscast here in the sense that we didn't put him on a line with someone as good as Jack Eichel. Which isn't really a poor decision or misuse of him since we didn't have a player as good as Jack Eichel to put him with.

I love Barby. He is one of my all time favorite Blues and I'm very happy that he found a great home riding shotgun with Eichel in Vegas. I'm very happy for him winning a 2nd Cup and then getting $25M to stay there. But I haven't seen him play like a different player in Vegas. I see him doing the same things he did here, but getting more chances because he is playing with an elite player and damn good team. Nothing wrong with that, but it doesn't mean we blew it with him.
 
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Brian39 said:
Strong disagree.

Barby was primarily a winger here who would slide to center as needed. We played him as a wing a ton, especially once he actualized as more than a bottom 6 player in his last couple years here. He never finished higher than 4th in faceoffs for the Blues and he was 5th or lower every year but one.

In 2021/22 he played way more wing than center. He took the 5th most faceoffs on the team, averaging 4 per game. The large majority of those came in the stretch when we put him between Buch and Tarasenko and that line was fantastic. Honestly, that might have been his peak performance as a Blue. He was almost exclusively at wing in 2022/23. That year, he took fewer faceoffs than each of Walker, Brown, and Alexandrov (despite Barby playing more games here than any of them). He averaged just 2.1 faceoffs per game that year.

He played way, way more wing than center here. He also played extremely similar minutes in his last 2 years here when actualized as more than a bottom 6 player. he played 16:24 a night in 2021/22 and 16:26 a night in 2022/23. He is playing 16:41 a night in Vegas.

He was miscast here in the sense that we didn't put him on a line with someone as good as Jack Eichel. Which isn't really a poor decision or misuse of him since we didn't have a player as good as Jack Eichel to put him with.

I love Barby. He is one of my all time favorite Blues and I'm very happy that he found a great home riding shotgun with Eichel in Vegas. I'm very happy for him winning a 2nd Cup and then getting $25M to stay there. But I haven't seen him play like a different player in Vegas. I see him doing the same things he did here, but getting more chances because he is playing with an elite player and damn good team. Nothing wrong with that, but it doesn't mean we blew it with him.
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We figured it out in the end. I don’t remember him being a full time winger until his final season here. I know he put up a lot of points the season before, but his defensive metrics were pretty bad and completely corrected the next year when he was a winger. Also, his line with Buch and Tarasenko was good because of Buch and Tarasenko’s chemistry. They were much better with Thomas centering them than Barbashev. Not saying we blew it, but obviously his game has gone to another level and I think a huge reason for that is he is being used in the best way for his skill set. I acknowledged that playing with Eichel is very helpful.
 
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