Post-Game Talk: Game #3 Pens vs Leafs

[Sidney the Kidney]

Having the blueprint is one thing. I imagine it's pretty easy to come up with a "blueprint" to beat anybody in the league, but executing is another story. Especially with this ratf***ed coach and roster.

If Sullivan got the blueprint for the Death Star, instead of advising Luke to shoot that exhaust port he'd decide that throwing the entire fleet, including the medical cruisers, at a frontal assault at the weapon made more sense.

 

[Pancakes]

Having the blueprint is one thing. I imagine it's pretty easy to come up with a "blueprint" to beat anybody in the league, but executing is another story. Especially with this ratf***ed coach and roster.

The problem with being a team like the Pens with limited talent is that you have to execute your game plan to win games.

The Leafs can afford to have one bad period in a 60 minute game and still easily defeat the Pens. The Pens have to play 60 minutes or damn near close to it to get a win.

And it's really hard to play full 60 minute efforts all season long. Elite teams have it easier because they're so talented they can coast to some sloppy wins. Back when the Pens routinely made the playoffs how many games did they have where they'd play like shit for a period or even half the game and then Crosby or Malkin would pull 1g 2a out of their asses and the Pens would come back and get points or win? They can't do that so regularly any more.

 

[Gurglesons]

The problem with being a team like the Pens with limited talent is that you have to execute your game plan to win games.

The Leafs can afford to have one bad period in a 60 minute game and still easily defeat the Pens. The Pens have to play 60 minutes or damn near close to it to get a win.

And it's really hard to play full 60 minute efforts all season long. Elite teams have it easier because they're so talented they can coast to some sloppy wins. Back when the Pens routinely made the playoffs how many games did they have where they'd play like shit for a period or even half the game and then Crosby or Malkin would pull 1g 2a out of their asses and the Pens would come back and get points or win? They can't do that so regularly any more.

The Penguins literally haven’t had 3 solid periods since 2015-16…

 

[BusinessGoose]

The Penguins literally haven’t had 3 solid periods since 2015-16…

This is the crux

We're lucky to get a full period anymore. The good old days was 55 mins with a late collapse.

Can't even hope for that now

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

No team consistently plays a full 60 minutes and I think that cliche needs to die tbh.

But yeah, this team's ratf***ed. Their wins are usually like 5-10 minute bursts of skill from Sid and/or Geno.

 

[Pancakes]

No team consistently plays a full 60 minutes and I think that cliche needs to die tbh.

But yeah, this team's ratf***ed. Their wins are usually like 5-10 minute bursts of skill from Sid and/or Geno.

Whatever you want to call it, the fact is that teams like the Leafs can make mistakes left and right and score their way out of their problems. Maybe not in the playoffs but in the regular season at least.

Pens can't do that any more.

So if the Pens don't defend well, they lose. Every once in a great while they dump a sixer on a shit team like Detroit but that's a rarity these days.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

Whatever you want to call it, the fact is that teams like the Leafs can make mistakes left and right and score their way out of their problems. Maybe not in the playoffs but in the regular season at least.

Pens can't do that any more.

So if the Pens don't defend well, they lose. Every once in a great while they dump a sixer on a shit team like Detroit but that's a rarity these days.

Eh, this team's not gonna defend its way to wins. They've got zero chance in games where they try to emulate the Trotz Isles approach or whatever. They're just built like shit for it, their "starter" is a headcase, and their backup atm is a rookie, the forwards--by and large--have at least one bad defensive player per line imo. /shrug

The wins they happen to fall bass ackwards into are, again, most likely just random bursts of skill from like two or three guys.

It's a bad team. It is what it is. The only guy capable of playing defense on the blueline, Petts, has looked f***ing dogshit through three games. Every bit as lost out there as EK in his own zone.

But this is all a buncha bullshit to say we agree. This team cannot regularly expect its near-40 year old franchise guys to carry a bad roster with a terrible coach anymore.

-edit- And for the record; I'd rather they lose every single game from here on out playing a wide open style and getting burned for it than try to play that lame ass, defensive "student of the game", structured bullshit to try and eek out wins. Nothing matters but the entertainment anymore for this team.

 

[Gurglesons]

No team consistently plays a full 60 minutes and I think that cliche needs to die tbh.

But yeah, this team's ratf***ed. Their wins are usually like 5-10 minute bursts of skill from Sid and/or Geno.

Not sure I agree.

Teams make mistakes. But there a numerous teams around the league that play a full 60 minutes.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Not sure I agree.

Teams make mistakes. But there a numerous teams around the league that play a full 60 minutes.

Exactly. No team plays flawless, mistake-free hockey for 60 minutes. But a lot of teams play hard for the entire 60 minutes.

The Pens not only make mistakes, but they also casually skate around and barely show up for like 15 to 20 minutes most nights.

Almost like they're not prepared to play.

Almost like there's someone whose job it is to get teams prepared to play on time and play hard for 60 minutes.

 

[HandshakeLine]

Almost like there's someone whose job it is to get teams prepared to play on time and play hard for 60 minutes.

Geno???

 

[Pancakes]

Exactly. No team plays flawless, mistake-free hockey for 60 minutes. But a lot of teams play hard for the entire 60 minutes.

The Pens not only make mistakes, but they also casually skate around and barely show up for like 15 to 20 minutes most nights.

Almost like they're not prepared to play.

Almost like there's someone whose job it is to get teams prepared to play on time and play hard for 60 minutes.

This team just wilts whenever it feels the slightest bit of adversity too. They rolled over and died after the Rangers got up on them. And we've seen a lot of that sort of behavior the past few years.

They used to be a team that showed more pushback before Sully became stale.

 

[HandshakeLine]

This team just wilts whenever it feels the slightest bit of adversity too. They rolled over and died after the Rangers got up on them. And we've seen a lot of that sort of behavior the past few years.

They used to be a team that showed more pushback before Sully became stale.

That's just because we got to our game. Which is losing. But it's better to have gotten to our game and lose than not get to our game and win, despite not getting to our game.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

I don't really think this team's lazy or just going for a skate. I think the roster, by and large, sucks shit and is coached by the biggest fraud in the NHL. Guys look lost way more than they look disinterested or lazy imo. That's not to say everyone is going full bore all the time--Hell, look at Sid now and then. I'm just saying I don't think the real problem is a lack of trying.

Small, slow, old and stupid. Experience Penguins hockey baybeee

 

[The Old Master]

-edit- And for the record; I'd rather they lose every single game from here on out playing a wide open style and getting burned for it than try to play that lame ass, defensive "student of the game", structured bullshit to try and eek out wins. Nothing matters but the entertainment anymore for this team.

that has never happened for a long time under sully. i don't know what they are doing, but defense is not it.