- Jun 13, 2010
- 42,723
- 21,570
It's a hockey night in Pittsburgh!
Game #23 - Pittsburgh Penguins vs Carolina Hurricans
5:00PM EST @ PPG Paints Arena
ATTSN-PT
and...
He's back!
Game #23 against the visiting Carolina Hurricanes marks the return of the semi-beloved but oft-scorned Kasperi "I cost the Penguins a 1st round pick twice" Kapanen.
While appearing 13 games this season, Kapanen has amassed an impressive 5 points, including 1 goal and 4 assists. On the heels of a 7 game-losing streak, Kapanen was removed from the lineup. Since then, the Penguins have gone 5-2.
Will tonight be the turning point? Probably not, but we are all rooting for him as we scour CapFriendly and the Trade Forum for possible swaps with other teams.
Projected Line Up (subject to change):
Jake Guentzel - Sidney Crosby - Rickard Rakell
Jason Zucker - Evgeni Malkin - Bryan Rust
Brock McGinn - Jeff Carter - Kasperi Kapanen
Ryan Poehling - Teddy Bleuger - Josh Archibald
Marcus Pettersson - Kris Letang
PO Joseph - Jeff Petry
Brian Dumoulin - Jan Rutta
Tristan Jarry
Seth Jarvis - Sebastian Aho - Martin Necas
Andrei Svechnikov - Jesperi Kotkaniemi - Stefan Noesen
Jordan Martinook - Jordan Staal - Jesper Fast
Jack Drury - Paul Statsny - Derek Stepan
Jaccob Slavin - Brent Burns
Brady Skjei - Brett Pesce
Calvin De Haan - Jalen Chatfield
Pyotr Kochetkov
SEALBound's Tips to Win:Game #23 - Pittsburgh Penguins vs Carolina Hurricans
5:00PM EST @ PPG Paints Arena
ATTSN-PT
and...
He's back!
Game #23 against the visiting Carolina Hurricanes marks the return of the semi-beloved but oft-scorned Kasperi "I cost the Penguins a 1st round pick twice" Kapanen.
While appearing 13 games this season, Kapanen has amassed an impressive 5 points, including 1 goal and 4 assists. On the heels of a 7 game-losing streak, Kapanen was removed from the lineup. Since then, the Penguins have gone 5-2.
Will tonight be the turning point? Probably not, but we are all rooting for him as we scour CapFriendly and the Trade Forum for possible swaps with other teams.
Projected Line Up (subject to change):
Jake Guentzel - Sidney Crosby - Rickard Rakell
Jason Zucker - Evgeni Malkin - Bryan Rust
Brock McGinn - Jeff Carter - Kasperi Kapanen
Ryan Poehling - Teddy Bleuger - Josh Archibald
Marcus Pettersson - Kris Letang
PO Joseph - Jeff Petry
Brian Dumoulin - Jan Rutta
Tristan Jarry
Seth Jarvis - Sebastian Aho - Martin Necas
Andrei Svechnikov - Jesperi Kotkaniemi - Stefan Noesen
Jordan Martinook - Jordan Staal - Jesper Fast
Jack Drury - Paul Statsny - Derek Stepan
Jaccob Slavin - Brent Burns
Brady Skjei - Brett Pesce
Calvin De Haan - Jalen Chatfield
Pyotr Kochetkov
1. Play a complete 60 minutes - this team has been notorious this season for playing less than 60 minutes and getting trounced for long periods of time. Against the Hurricanes, that is a bad idea. They must play a complete 60 minutes.
2. Defensive structure - While Carolina may not have as potent of an offense as previous years, they still have plenty of guys that can score. Their first line is as good as any team's first line. Svechnikov is no stranger to scoring. Jordan Staal always finds a way against the Penguins. And the old timers on the 4th could easily surprise us. No line can take the night off from responsible defensive play.
3. Goaltending - Most nights, your goalie has to be your best player. Both Jarry and Desmith have been shakey, at best, this season. Pyotr Kochetkov has never played against the Penguins before, but in 6GP, he's managed a respectable 2.33 GAA and a 0.913 SV%. This game may come down to which goalie rises to the challenge.
4. Powerplay - there's not much more to say about how god-awful the powerplay is. It's astonishingly atrocious. Confusingly horrific. Doctors and scientists are baffled. But SEALBound, who is rarely wrong on many things, has a fool-proof three-step solution:
1. Move. Actually MOVE-YOUR-FEET. Force the other team's PK to move. This could (and please bear with me if this gets too technical) open up additional shooting lanes and open ice.
2. Skip the pretty-pass bullshit. The 1PP is all about making the perfect pretty pass for the pretty goal. Most of these passes are low-percentage, telegraphed passes that can be learned from watching 30 seconds of tape. Keep is simple. Move, pass, shoot.
3. Shot volume. We know what doesn't work. We know they pass up a lot of opportunities to shoot. Shot volume for this powerplay is key. They no longer possess the crafty skills above and beyond those of the PK'ers. Age has caught up with them. Moving your feet to open up shooting lanes, making simple passes, and shooting the puck will do wonders for this powerplay. And who knows, they may even score a goal.
Players to watch
Penguins: Kapanen. Obviously. You know the saying though - Eat. Pray. Love. Have some dinner, pray for the young man, and commit to love no matter how much inner rage you may have.
Hurricanes: One-time Penguin "Most Irrelevant Random Player Ever" award nominee Stefan Noesen. After ripping the AHL to shreds at 28yo last year for the Chicago Wolves, Noesen finds himself on the right wing with Svechnikov and Kotkaniemi. Posting a "nothing to shake a stick at" stat line of 21GP 3G 6A 9PT, could he continue the tradition of former players torching the Penguins? We'll see.
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