Post-Game Talk: Game VI Pens loss to Stars: Our Stars can’t dance

[Ryder71]

If we get the 8th pick or something, just please let SJS have it. We're a top 3 team next year, at best.

That'd be a bit of a conundrum to be sure. My guess is a guy like Jake would bring a 1st plus a prospect and maybe more IF it's a sign and trade.

 

[DesertedPenguin]

So, what's a realistic amount of rope for Sullivan? How bad does the record have to get?

I don't think it's so much a record - unless they lose 10 in a row or something - as it is an overall vibe check around Thanksgiving.

I think Dubas will continue to assess the team for the next month, evaluate the coaching, make a few moves around the fringes, and go from there.

 

[Flying Dego]

When you set aside any emotion. It's stupid easy to evaluate.

Coaching goes first. Then assess if this group can be a playoff team.

But we all know limping along with the same plan is going to result in this...

And for anyone concerned. Yes Sullivan is a fine coach. But he's dried up here, like every coach it's well expired. Bring in fresh air and people would be blown away how quickly things can change.

If it doesn't? At least you tried.

 

[Allie Kitsune]

+ Top 10 Protected pick.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

Reminder that if Karlsson didn't force his way out of SJ and to Pittsburgh, for essentially free, this team would have Granlund on their 3rd line and Petry on the blueline with all the same amorphous, grey blob that is the bottom-6.

At this point I'll take any kind of change and I've been one of the proponents of keeping Jake.

But im tired of watching this mess. Do whatever with it except for trading Sid/Geno/Letang (unless they ask out)

Shit, I'm fine with anybody leaving tbh. I'd rather watch Sid or Geno playing and enjoying themselves on a team with a legit shot at winning than watching them decay in a Pens sweater under Sully and with Jake's lame ass as their best supporting player. 11 times out of 10

+ Top 10 Protected pick.

So the Pens will end up drafting 11th.

 

[66-30-33]

+ Top 10 Protected pick.

- unprotected 1st in 2025

 

[mephisto1812]

Graves body of work this season is worse than anything done by Jack Johnson. If the team has any accountability, he will be scratched next game in place of an AHL defender

Whoa their chief, "worse than anything done by Jack Johnson"? Either I'm experiencing early onset Alzheimer's, or we have not watched the same team this last decade.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

If we get the 8th pick or something, just please let SJS have it. We're a top 3 team next year, at best.

I don't think they're drafting top-3 until Sid's gone, but yeah. If it's closer to 10 than 5 this year, give it to SJ imo.

 

[Will Hunting]

6th year of underachieving. Sullivan is immortal though. 6th game of outshooting the opponent this year. We are the best in the NHL in outshooting the opposition. What a system Sully runs.

 

[ChaosAgent]

I don't think they're drafting top-3 until Sid's gone, but yeah. If it's closer to 10 than 5 this year, give it to SJ imo.

We are perfectly capable of bottoming out while he's here. Especially if Letang is spazztastic and Geno's putting up his usual -2.

 

[Victor Z]

Ludvig making his NHL debut and then blowing himself up on a good hit and being out for weeks/months has to be just about the most "Penguin thing" ever. And now we have to put an inferior player back in the lineup.

Shea looked pretty good tonight, and we're going to need him to stay that way now. Graves looked terrible. EK, defensively, is slightly better than Graves.

Ned is not good at handling the puck or deciding when to come out of the net. That much was evident in his FIRST start for the Pens, not just tonight.

 

[lettuceAA]

That was DOC's best game of the season at least. They have no choice but to switch up the top 6 now.

For whatever reasons the pens just haven't capitalized on their chances at all. It's hard to watch, like you know they aren't going to catch a good break.

 

[Ryder71]

We are perfectly capable of bottoming out while he's here. Especially if Letang is spazztastic and Geno's putting up his usual -2.

Up until this game Geno was our best player by a wide margin. Maybe other guys need to pick it up a bit?

 

[Dessloch]

Ned is not good at handling the puck or deciding when to come out of the net. That much was evident in his FIRST start for the Pens, not just tonight.

Ned just came from his worst season ever in Detroit, and DET got rid of him even he was adored there as a person - what Dubas saw in him I have no idea.

 

[66-30-33]

Ned just came from his worst season ever in Detroit, what Dubas saw in him I have no idea.

Ned has been really good every game except that 3rd period.

 

[Ryder71]

Ned just came from his worst season ever in Detroit, and DET got rid of him even he was adored there as a person - what Dubas saw in him I have no idea.

Modest cap hit? Limited options?

 

[Empoleon8771]

Something weird happened halfway through last year that put this team in this current situation, and I really don't understand it. In the first half of last year, the Penguins were the 9th best team in hockey based on point% and were generally good in terms of production (12th in 5v5 GF/60, 10th in all situations GF/60). Their bottom-6 was decently productive before January 1st:

-McGinn: 10 goals and 15 points in 36 games
-Kapanen: 5 goals and 15 points in 27 games
-Carter: 6 goals and 17 points in 33 games
-Blueger: 1 goal and 7 points in 21 games
-Heinen: 3 goals and 10 points in 31 games

In the first half of last year, the Penguins had 22 goals for and 28 goals against in 36 games without Crosby or Malkin on the ice. That's not anything special, but that's also not terrible whatsoever. Then January hit and the bottom-6 just entirely imploded. All of Carter (7 goals and 12 points in 46 games), McGinn (0 goals and 1 point in 24 games), Kapanen (2 goals and 5 points in 16 games) and Blueger (1 goal and 3 points in 24 games) fell off a cliff offensively and the bottom-6 started giving up even more goals. It just doesn't make sense to me.

The Penguins had decent forward depth as recently as December 2022, I really don't understand how it has gotten so much worse so quickly.

 

[PensPlz]

+Ludvig

I wish I had thought to knock myself out so that I didn't have to watch that 2nd and 3rd period.

Fire Sullivan.

 

[Tacitus Kilgore]

Something weird happened halfway through last year that put this team in this current situation, and I really don't understand it. In the first half of last year, the Penguins were the 9th best team in hockey based on point% and were generally good in terms of production (12th in 5v5 GF/60, 10th in all situations GF/60). Their bottom-6 was decently productive before January 1st:

-McGinn: 10 goals and 15 points in 36 games
-Kapanen: 5 goals and 15 points in 27 games
-Carter: 6 goals and 17 points in 33 games
-Blueger: 1 goal and 7 points in 21 games
-Heinen: 3 goals and 10 points in 31 games

In the first half of last year, the Penguins had 22 goals for and 28 goals against in 36 games without Crosby or Malkin on the ice. That's not anything special, but that's also not terrible whatsoever. Then January hit and the bottom-6 just entirely imploded. All of Carter (7 goals and 12 points in 46 games), McGinn (0 goals and 1 point in 24 games), Kapanen (2 goals and 5 points in 16 games) and Blueger (1 goal and 3 points in 24 games) fell off a cliff offensively and the bottom-6 started giving up even more goals. It just doesn't make sense to me.

The Penguins had decent forward depth as recently as December 2022, I really don't understand how it has gotten so much worse so quickly.

Weird innit

 

[Ryder71]

The Firtst HALF of the game I thought we were much the better team, we just didn't garner a big enough lead. I think the PP and our inability to get separation early on came back and bit us. Sadly, this is likely gonna be a common theme.

 

[Human]

At what point the bottom six is a Sully/coaching issue and not a players issue? How many f***ing bottom six players you plug around with the same result? How many f***ing changes you bring around before you finally shoot all the coaching stuff into the Sun?

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

We are perfectly capable of bottoming out while he's here. Especially if Letang is spazztastic and Geno's putting up his usual -2.

I think Geno's been better than Sid through half a dozen games. But yeah, overall agree that this team's teetering on the edge of some grisly shit.

But we'll still get the dorks who are like "Oh boy, just you wait until the rebuild actually starts!" as if that's any kind of threat after watching this team full of big names play like it's a pre-season game for like 70-80% of the games in each of the previous few seasons.

Gimme the losses if it means actually rebuilding a contender. This shit's just spinning your tires in mud at this point, driven entirely by sentiment and a refusal to accept the reality that's been knocking their teeth out for years. Following the path of the Wings teams that couldn't let go, so they extended a half-decade rebuild to like a dozen years. Can't wait.

 

[Tacitus Kilgore]

So psyched for Ruhwedel to slot in over POJ now that Ludvig sent himself to the shadow realm

 

[Dessloch]

Ned has been really good every game except that 3rd period.

Hes played 2 games, wait til he gets more playing time and you´ll see what I mean.

 

[CheckingLineCenter]

It’s a talent problem up front. The actual good players are old and need bonafide stars. Guentzel, Rust, Smith, Rakell are not bonafide stars.