More in-depth analysis because I guess that's important;
Geno, if he plays, needs to not be a detriment. As long as he's not hobbling around the ice lagging behind the play, all he really has to do is get Kap the puck. Wish that line had a better guy than Zucker to handle the defensive work and to do the puck retrieval. Kap's gonna need to rely on his skating and ability to fly the zone in a hurry to put a bunch of pressure on the Isles' neutral zone plan.
Jarry needs to be healthy and he needs to not lose us games. That's it. He doesn't have to stand on his head, he doesn't have to steal games. Just don't get hurt since DeSmith is messed up and don't let in softies.
Sid's line needs to be kept away from the Isles top pairing and they need to show up, to a man, for the first time in multiple trips to the playoffs.
TB's line needs to be on top of their game as they'll probably be against Barzal's unit (and Eberle, who seems to torch us every time we play). Geno's line's going to be a mess defensively, Sid's line needs to be the production line, and Carter's line needs to take advantage of the matchups they'll get as Trotz shadows Sid.
Matheson's return is super important for being able to skate pucks out of danger and get the team to an attacking position. The Isles decimated us with their forecheck but we no longer have the likes of JJ, Gudbranson, Maatta and a bum Schultz on the blueline. If Matheson's good, that puts the Isles in a really tough spot.
Battle of the special teams is going to go a long way too. The Isles' PK is great, the Penguins' power play has the potential to score every time they're on the ice. If they keep our PP from doing much damage, that could easily shift the course of games or the series.
Sullivan needs to not let his ego force this team to start several steps back. If lines need to be shaken up or a line needs a particular presence, like Geno's line needing Tanev or even ZAR, please don't refuse to split the 3rd or 4th lines up if/when a scoring line is getting caved in.
Paycheck please.
There's discussion to be had on the subject without the awful delivery, imo.
Is it in the team's best interest to re-sign an aging and oft-injured Geno? I personally don't think so, not at the price he'll command (and get), but I don't think it really matters because this team's going to hand him like a 3-year $24 million deal next summer. You're not going to get a good return for a 35 year old Geno coming off of a bad knee injury--especially if/when he has surgery this summer.
May as well start preparing yourself now.
Ignorant people, man.
