GDT: Game V Pens vs Swords: Can we make it 2 in a row?

[DesertedPenguin]

Oh gosh I'm so tempted to bookmark this you have no idea haha

But I'll set aside my cynicism for now and just say I hope you're right.

Crosby DOES need some help, though. His wings are a disgrace rn. Even Rust at his best shouldn't be the feature wing on this team. Not his fault but there it is.

Yeah, Rust has always been better as a complementary piece.

If Rakell continues to play well and Malkin's line cools off a touch, I wouldn't be surprised for them to swap Rakell and Rust. Rakell is a bit better down low behind the goal line and has a better touch.

I don't think they tried McGroarty with Sid because I don't think he has the pace to play with him just yet. It's not that he's slow overall, but that his stop and start ability is pretty rough. If he improves and if he performs well in the AHL, if there is an opening I think they may rethink that and do what they did with Guentzel in his rookie season.

Sid wanted to play with him lol…I wouldn’t be heartbroken if he and DOC were swapped, but it’s not like we have four legit top six wingers on this team lol

I think Sid isn't wild about DOC being a long-term fix on his line because DOC isn't the sharpest tool in the shed. He works hard. His hands are OK. But he doesn't read and react well offensively, which is surprising because he's responsible defensively.

It's the same issue Sid had with Hornqvist. They were fine for short bursts, but Sid eventually would get frustrated and they'd start barking at each other.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

I don't think they tried McGroarty with Sid because I don't think he has the pace to play with him just yet. It's not that he's slow overall, but that his stop and start ability is pretty rough. If he improves and if he performs well in the AHL, if there is an opening I think they may rethink that and do what they did with Guentzel in his rookie season.

I'll concede that this actually makes sense. Groats is a... um... imperfect skater and Crosby doesn't usually do well with linemates who can't play with pace.

Now Malkin OTOH... but yeah... that line has been too good early on to futz with.

Oh well. The whole situation doesn't sit great with me (what does?) but the end result is he's in the AHL which I think is for the best all things considered so meh.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

Not sure what the deal with Buffalo is. Two years ago they looked really good and on the verge of becoming an elite team. But they've regressed and are bad again. Also think the Middlestadt trade was bad.

 

[DesertedPenguin]

I'll concede that this actually makes sense. Groats is a... um.. imperfect skater and Crosby doesn't usually do well with linemates who can't play with pace.

Now Malkin OTOH... but yeah... that line has been too good early on to futz with.

Oh well. The whole situation doesn't sit great with me (what does?) but the end result is he's in the AHL which I think is for the best all things considered so meh.

Right. They don't need to be burners, but they need to be agile and get up to whatever their top speed is quickly.

If you could create a prime Kunitz and prime Guentzel combo for Sid, that'd be ideal. Kunitz was fast enough and physical enough to be a factor, and his hands were good enough for those tight plays. Guentzel's IQ and vision, combined with his shot and passing, made him a threat.

I think McGroarty could work towards being like Kunitz, but he has a ways to go to get there, and that's only going to come with time.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

They shouldn't lose to the Sabres at all, Lindy Ruff is an even worse coach than Sullivan is, can't be losing to a wanker like Ruff who is mostly confused about everything coaching related these days.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Not sure what the deal with Buffalo is. Two years ago they looked really good and on the verge of becoming an elite team. But they've regressed and are bad again. Also think the Middlestadt trade was bad.

So many things...

• Hired a retread of a coach that should be retired, instead of hiring a good up and coming coach or just a coach that is actually worth hiring. They could have hired Nelson or even just hiring Gallant would have been better really, Gallant would at least make that top 9 something to fear offensively and then as usual get fired a year or two in, lol. But yeah, awful coaching hires for a long time.
• Lack of depth adds, a season or two ago, they surprised a lot of teams and since then Adams hasn't done a lick to add proper depth to that line up to help insulate that young group, so he kept allowing more and more youth on the roster while they actually needed a couple of vets sprinkled in for some guidance, he just never understood that and still hasn't and now that young core is a couple of years older and some of that development that a veteran could have buffered, is going to have some lasting issues for some players.
• Goalie depth, while they do have a solid starter, they needed a better back-up buffer and not force a goalie that is supposed to be their future #1, be playing back-up in a 1A/1B situation behind a defense that isn't all that great.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

How many goals does Tage Thompson score tonight?

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

How many goals does Tage Thompson score tonight?

He only has two points (both goals) on the season and you KNOW how much he loves playing the Penguins...

 

[Honour Over Glory]

I could play musical chairs with every line at this point:

Beau-Sid-Raks
DOC-Geno-Rust
Bunt-Eller-Puustinen
Hayes-Accari-Puljujarvi

Wait why are we taking Glass out of the line-up?

I'd go with:

Bunting, Crosby, Rust
O'Connor, Malkin, Rakell
Hayes, Eller, Puustinen
Beauvillier, Glass, Puljujarvi
Acciari

Pettersson, Karlsson
Grzyzyzclicks, Letang
Graves, St Ivany
Shea

If for some reason they do want to take Glass out because of production or whatever, I'd go with this for the bottom 2 lines:

Puljujarvi, Eller, Puustinen - Not a fan of Pooljuice on his off wing, but his game is still effective on his off wing with being a disruptor behind the net and in front and he can play LW.
Beauvillier, Hayes, Acciari

Unless they don't want Hayes at C, then it's easier.


Hayes, Eller, Puustinen
Beauvillier, Acciari, Puljujarvi

 

[Honour Over Glory]

I just hope when Geno scores his 500th goal, it isn't during a loss. So the belly slide is at least a great memory during a win.

https://x.com/i/web/status/1846211537926533564

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

He only has two points (both goals) on the season and you KNOW how much he loves playing the Penguins...

All I know is that guy is a Penguins killer. Even before he broke out against the rest of the league, he seemed to look like a 40 goal guy against the Pens (and a 10 goal guy versus everyone else).

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

All I know is that guy is a Penguins killer. Even before he broke out against the rest of the league, he seemed to look like a 40 goal guy against the Pens (and a 10 goal guy versus everyone else).

I'd like to think that the Penguins are directly responsible for like 3 of those 7odd millions he makes a year.

 

[Arkadiusz]

Not sure what the deal with Buffalo is. Two years ago they looked really good and on the verge of becoming an elite team. But they've regressed and are bad again. Also think the Middlestadt trade was bad.

To say nothing of the Sam Reinhart trade...

 

[Andy99]

People, the Pens are going to get goalied tonight…guaranteed 3-1 or 4-1 win for the Sabres…

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

People, the Pens are going to get goalied tonight…guaranteed 3-1 or 4-1 win for the Sabres…

Yeah pretty easy to see coming.

I think Sid gets his 1600th point, tonight. No way Geno gets his 500th goal.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

I love stats in it's basic form, but many go way too far with them and take them entirely outta context. Besides, there are stats that can make you look both good or bad and many just cherry pick which ones further an agenda. Honestly, some of these stat dependent geeks over do it. And I was brilliant in math. I'd bet a lot that many here who spew out stats do so without even watching games.

The real problem is most fans don't go far enough, and put in any research at all. They don't support their views properly. They're too lazy to consolidate what they think they saw, data-wise. So they don't learn anything new on their own, and are dependant on the people who did put in the time, later.

The extreme stats guys are an incredibly small contingent of fans. I'm not even sure we have a user that qualifies as one on the board anymore. I laughably get accused of that, but I haven't even opened NST this year. I just give basic shit most of the time. I'm tired and my hope for the team is at a low point, so my effort with research will suffer.
Extreme stats is like WAR, heat maps, individual zone breakdowns, etc... Actual deep dives. We got precious little of that these days.

People's biased eye test means little to me. There's players they want to succeed and fail, and they will actively look for those things during games. Most fans don't even watch games attentively to begin with, so how can I trust them? Even many on the board at the end of last year confessed how many games they missed, or how it's "background noise"

If it's a choice between that and stats, give me the stats. At least those are things supported by more than just their word.

 

[Coastal Kev]

Going to be a tough game Tage usually Torches us.

Don't change line 2
DOC to line 1 or Glass?

Beau to line 3 or 4.

Or sit beaver and put Puus in

 

[canadianguy77]

The real problem is most fans don't go far enough, and put in any research at all. They don't support their views properly. They're too lazy to consolidate what they think they saw, data-wise. So they don't learn anything new on their own, and are dependant on the people who did put in the time, later.

The extreme stats guys are an incredibly small contingent of fans. I'm not even sure we have a user that qualifies as one on the board anymore. I laughably get accused of that, but I haven't even opened NST this year. I just give basic shit most of the time. I'm tired and my hope for the team is at a low point, so my effort with research will suffer.
Extreme stats is like WAR, heat maps, individual zone breakdowns, etc... Actual deep dives. We got precious little of that these days.

People's biased eye test means little to me. There's players they want to succeed and fail, and they will actively look for those things during games. Most fans don't even watch games attentively to begin with, so how can I trust them? Even many on the board at the end of last year confessed how many games they missed, or how it's "background noise"

If it's a choice between that and stats, give me the stats. At least those are things supported by more than just their word.

Aren’t you the poster who only looks at the stats and doesn’t watch the games?

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

Lemme get one of them Sid 1600th points, and uhhhh, a Geno 500th goal.

 

[Pancakes]

It’s weird how we can make judgements on a player after 3 games playing 8 - 10 minutes with Lars Eller.

I’m also curious how he didn’t look ready for NHL games. What was the expectation of McG in his usage?

I didn't have any expectations but just based on what I saw he had trouble keeping up with the pace of play and generally didn't assert himself offensively.

His skating looks like an issue to me and one that he'd be better off working on in the AHL.

Sullivan's usage was dumb but every non elite prospect goes through that. Bryan Rust worked his way up from the fourth line.

 

[Bishop7979]

He only has two points (both goals) on the season and you KNOW how much he loves playing the Penguins...

He is on my fantasy team, and I'm matched up for a tight week, so he will get shut out... We are safe

 

[Gurglesons]

Dubas was the GM when Knies made his debut in Toronto and felt he was NHL ready.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/4341071/2023/04/09/matthew-knies-contract-maple-leafs/

Poitras fit a very specific need for Boston as a playmaking center following the retirements of Bergeron and Krejci.

Luchanko could still end up in the OHL this season. He's played two games and doesn't have a point, and he's already been scratched once.

It's almost like every player is different and has their own path to the NHL or something.

We are a terrible team with no LW depth.

There is no reason why McG shouldn’t have gotten a few shifts with Geno or Sid and no way you can rationalize it not happening.

 

[WickedWrister]

lol

 

[Gurglesons]

Jarry is back baby. 1st shot 1st goal.

 

[Pancakes]

The tj special