Post-Game Talk: Pens/Blues: Cappys for Kappy

[Gurglesons]

Good, I’m all for that.

Yeah how could a team that thrives on East west succeed. Tampa and Colorado.

And realistically this is realizing both contribute to success. The reason McGinn - Carter - Kapanen is succeeding is nevaise of the combination of skill sets rather than asking everyone to play identical games.

 

[Rave7215]

Season ticket holder? I envy you guys living in Pitt on nights like these.
Our team has pretty good reason to trust in its 5v5 scoring. Their current rate has to be close to a high point in the Sid era.
People here keep saying the team's boring, but they're 6th in GF/G. Maybe it's the users that are boring and just don't like hockey that much anymore?
They should try watching one of the lower ranked teams as a reality check. We don't have it so bad.

Jarry can let goals in from the opposite goal line for all I care, as long as he doesn't concede more than he should by night's end. All the focus is on the bad goals but he's also making huge saves that fly under the radar. That's 6 in a row with a .919+. Deserves more praise.

Yes, I am one of those dreaded "Season Ticket Holders" that comment on games. Sadly, Malkin is my favorite player, so I'm not welcome in the STH club

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Rakell is averaging 17:32 TOI to Rust's 17:42. Marcus Pettersson is averaging 20:10 (only Letang and Petry average more).

Malkin obviously gets a ton of responsibility

Teddy Blueger is close to the team lead in SH TOI/G and that number will probably go up now that he's fully back to speed.

Jan Rutta is second on the team in SH TOI/G behind only Dumo.

I know you're mostly trolling about the Euro thing so I dunno why I'm bothering lol. If you want to argue that Sullivan has mismanaged Rakell this year I'm on board. Until recently, he did. I don't have an issue with his handling of Kapanen though. Pretty hard to complain about that when Kapanen sucked a big one before being scratched and has now come back and is playing great. Sure looks like scratching him actually worked in that case.

You could look at it a different way. Which Europeans has Sullivan every OVERPLAYED when they were struggling and continued to give them rope when they didn't deserve it? Favoritism isn't just about who is getting ice time when they're playing well, it's also about who gets punished when their play isn't where it needs to be.

Now is it strictly a American versus European thing or a playstyle thing? Hard to say for certain. But it just seems odd that quite often if a European struggles for a stretch, his minutes instantly get cut, but if an American struggles it takes Sullivan quite a while before he'll reduce his minutes or lower him in the lineup.

 

[ronduguayshair]

Yeah how could a team that thrives on East west succeed. Tampa and Colorado.

And realistically this is realizing both contribute to success. The reason McGinn - Carter - Kapanen is succeeding is nevaise of the combination of skill sets rather than asking everyone to play identical games.

Those teams have the players to play that way. We don’t.

If you like that style of play find a live feed of those teams.

 

[Pancakes]

You could look at it a different way. Which Europeans has Sullivan every OVERPLAYED when they were struggling and continued to give them rope when they didn't deserve it? Favoritism isn't just about who is getting ice time when they're playing well, it's also about who gets punished when their play isn't where it needs to be.

Now is it strictly a American versus European thing or a playstyle thing? Hard to say for certain. But it just seems odd that quite often if a European struggles for a stretch, his minutes instantly get cut, but if an American struggles it takes Sullivan quite a while before he'll reduce his minutes or lower him in the lineup.

Who does this apply to, other than Kasperi Kapanen? Again, I think you guys are reaching here.

Look at the players that Gurgleson mentioned. Sprong, who was 21 when he was here and has been bouncing around from team to team since then. Puustinen, who has played a grand total of 1 NHL game so it's hard to even comment how Sully would use him long term, and then Rakell whose role has been steadily increasing since he's come to the Penguins. Again, I think Rakell should have been bumped up to PP1 earlier, and put with Crosby earlier, but it's not like Sullivan ever punted him out of the top six or scratched him. He didn't promote him earlier because we had Bryan Rust who has been an awesome performer for like 150gp in a row and who Sullivan gave a ton of rope to because of that. Most coaches would have done the same.

Meanwhile there's like a dozen players who are Euro who have gotten prominent roles on the Penguins and that continues to this day.

It's silly. There's next to zero evidence for it. If there was more then Gurglesons wouldn't have had two of this three examples be Daniel Sprong and Puustinen lol.

 

[ronduguayshair]

strange to see all the complaining after a nice win.

Gotta manufacture posts for the anti Sullivan narrative I guess. Attention is more important than happiness.

Who does this apply to, other than Kasperi Kapanen? Again, I think you guys are reaching here.

Look at the players that Gurgleson mentioned. Sprong, who was 21 when he was here and has been bouncing around from team to team since then. Puustinen, who has played a grand total of 1 NHL game so it's hard to even comment how Sully would use him long term, and then Rakell whose role has been steadily increasing since he's come to the Penguins. Again, I think Rakell should have been bumped up to PP1 earlier, and put with Crosby earlier, but it's not like Sullivan ever punted him out of the top six or scratched him. He didn't promote him earlier because we had Bryan Rust who has been an awesome performer for like 150gp in a row and who Sullivan gave a ton of rope to because of that. Most coaches would have done the same.

Meanwhile there's like a dozen players who are Euro who have gotten prominent roles on the Penguins and that continues to this day.

It's silly. There's next to zero evidence for it. If there was more then Gurglesons wouldn't have had two of this three examples be Daniel Sprong and Puustinen lol.

Don’t waste your time and give the people looking for attention, attention.

 

[BusinessGoose]

Sullivan loved Domink Simon

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Who does this apply to, other than Kasperi Kapanen? Again, I think you guys are reaching here.

Look at the players that Gurgleson mentioned. Sprong, who was 21 when he was here and has been bouncing around from team to team since then. Puustinen, who has played a grand total of 1 NHL game so it's hard to even comment how Sully would use him long term, and then Rakell whose role has been steadily increasing since he's come to the Penguins. Again, I think Rakell should have been bumped up to PP1 earlier, and put with Crosby earlier, but it's not like Sullivan ever punted him out of the top six or scratched him. He didn't promote him earlier because we had Bryan Rust who has been an awesome performer for like 150gp in a row and who Sullivan gave a ton of rope to because of that. Most coaches would have done the same.

Meanwhile there's like a dozen players who are Euro who have gotten prominent roles on the Penguins and that continues to this day.

It's silly. There's next to zero evidence for it. If there was more then Gurglesons wouldn't have had two of this three examples be Daniel Sprong and Puustinen lol.

I also asked which Europeans he's overplayed. Rakell's been underplayed in comparison to his actual on-ice performance. Even a guy like Rutta has been underplayed given his performance versus a guy like Dumoulin who was dog shit for a lot of the season.

It's also about "rope". Rakell finally found himself on the top PP unit. If he goes 10 games without a goal there, like Rust has, do you see Sullivan sticking with Rakell on that unit for 10-15 games straight? If Rutta starts to struggle, do you see him getting as much rope as Dumoulin has gotten?

 

[CascadiaPenguin]

This was a super fun game. I don't care if we never win again in the era as long as we play with this much heart.

This ain't your first rodeo, you know how the Pens roll. We save inspired play for when one of the big 3 goes down.

 

[CascadiaPenguin]

Who does this apply to, other than Kasperi Kapanen? Again, I think you guys are reaching here.

Look at the players that Gurgleson mentioned. Sprong, who was 21 when he was here and has been bouncing around from team to team since then. Puustinen, who has played a grand total of 1 NHL game so it's hard to even comment how Sully would use him long term, and then Rakell whose role has been steadily increasing since he's come to the Penguins. Again, I think Rakell should have been bumped up to PP1 earlier, and put with Crosby earlier, but it's not like Sullivan ever punted him out of the top six or scratched him. He didn't promote him earlier because we had Bryan Rust who has been an awesome performer for like 150gp in a row and who Sullivan gave a ton of rope to because of that. Most coaches would have done the same.

Meanwhile there's like a dozen players who are Euro who have gotten prominent roles on the Penguins and that continues to this day.

It's silly. There's next to zero evidence for it. If there was more then Gurglesons wouldn't have had two of this three examples be Daniel Sprong and Puustinen lol.

Agreed, this kind of stuff is hard to read and diminishes the forum. This too shall pass. I'm agnostic on Sullivan, but it is telling he's getting zero credit for sitting/resetting Kap. Dude is playing different than his first two months of suck, let's share some credit.

 

[HandshakeLine]

I was talking about the offense this season, not this game. This was the 6th time they put up a touchdown (minus the kick). This team scores a lot of goals for a "geriatric team" with "no creativity or desire."
If we played like this all the time, we'd be up there in the President's Trophy race. That's unrealistic relative to the strength of the roster.

The opponents aren't gonna let you look this good very often.

I think there's a couple of things here, AB, no offense. The first is that more offense does not always equal exciting hockey, at least in my mind. This was clearly a game that the players were emotionally invested in, they thrived on, and when they're playing like that, it could be a 1-0 SO and it'd feel exciting. Secondly, I think the big complaint against this team through the early season has been that they look generally disinterested, and largely because big names like Rust, Dumo, Letang, and even Sid on occasion were taking huge stretches of games off or playing badly/without emotion. And when they showed up to play, they were suddenly no longer boring!

So, that's what I'd like to see on a regular basis. We don't need to keep potting 6 goals a game, but I'd like to see a sustained stretch of play where this team looks like they actually give a shit about the game.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

So, that's what I'd like to see on a regular basis. We don't need to keep potting 6 goals a game, but I'd like to see a sustained stretch of play where this team looks like they actually give a shit about the game.

Yes we do!

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

So ol’ “Garbage Bin” was at it again eh?? Figures. The guy is a giant dildo on skates.

Why someone in this chickenshit joke of a league won’t just step up and feed that insufferable a few of his teeth is beyond me….

 

[Turin]

You could look at it a different way. Which Europeans has Sullivan every OVERPLAYED when they were struggling and continued to give them rope when they didn't deserve it? Favoritism isn't just about who is getting ice time when they're playing well, it's also about who gets punished when their play isn't where it needs to be.

Now is it strictly a American versus European thing or a playstyle thing? Hard to say for certain. But it just seems odd that quite often if a European struggles for a stretch, his minutes instantly get cut, but if an American struggles it takes Sullivan quite a while before he'll reduce his minutes or lower him in the lineup.

Which french Canadians did Sully overplay? None? Because he chased them all away. Replaced Flower with Murray, Perron was traded shortly after he got there, Brassard's career died when he got to Pittsburgh. The only French Canadian he overplayed was Letang and it was out of spite to make him have a stroke. Sully hates the french confirmed.

 

[Zirakzigil]

Was only able to listen to the game last night. Glad the PGT title did not disappoint.

Happy to see Kappy start scoring. Even happier that the wins are starting to pile up.

 

[Zirakzigil]

Which french Canadians did Sully overplay? None? Because he chased them all away. Replaced Flower with Murray, Perron was traded shortly after he got there, Brassard's career died when he got to Pittsburgh. The only French Canadian he overplayed was Letang and it was out of spite to make him have a stroke. Sully hates the french confirmed.

What about our favorite Ironman Pascal Dupuis?

 

[Empoleon8771]

The "Sullivan hates Europeans" comments from here are so overblown. What Sullivan likes is straight-line, north-south NA style hockey. He plays fewer Europeans because the European hockey game is fundamentally different than the NA hockey game, especially for young guys.

It's not this bias against Europeans, it's that his preferred play style happens in way more NA players than European players.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Which french Canadians did Sully overplay? None? Because he chased them all away. Replaced Flower with Murray, Perron was traded shortly after he got there, Brassard's career died when he got to Pittsburgh. The only French Canadian he overplayed was Letang and it was out of spite to make him have a stroke. Sully hates the french confirmed.

Everybody knows French Canadians are basically Europeans who just so happen to live on the wrong continent, right @Scandale du Jour ?

 

[Turin]

What about our favorite Ironman Pascal Dupuis?

Is it a coincidence that Pascal Dupuis had a career-ending blood clot the year Sullivan was hired? It's all connected man.

 

[Empoleon8771]

You could look at it a different way. Which Europeans has Sullivan every OVERPLAYED when they were struggling and continued to give them rope when they didn't deserve it? Favoritism isn't just about who is getting ice time when they're playing well, it's also about who gets punished when their play isn't where it needs to be.

Now is it strictly a American versus European thing or a playstyle thing? Hard to say for certain. But it just seems odd that quite often if a European struggles for a stretch, his minutes instantly get cut, but if an American struggles it takes Sullivan quite a while before he'll reduce his minutes or lower him in the lineup.

Dominik Simon, easy.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Dominik Simon, easy.

I was told repeatedly that that was due to some other guy controlling who he plays with rather than Sullivan liking the guy.

 

[Zirakzigil]

Is it a coincidence that Pascal Dupuis had a career-ending blood clot the year Sullivan was hired? It's all connected man.

It all makes sense now. Im surprised Sid likes Sully considering this. Sid is a Habs fan after all.

 

[Empoleon8771]

I was told repeatedly that that was due to some other guy controlling who he plays with rather than Sullivan liking the guy.

Simon played like 50 games for the Penguins last year while not with Crosby. So yes, Sullivan continued overplaying him even when he wasn't with Crosby.

Idk, I think the explanation for Sullivan's preferences is pretty obvious. He wants these three things:

1. Straight line, north-south style hockey
2. Responsible defensive players
3. Keep your mouth shut and don't engage in bullshit (focused at Reaves and Cole)

It just so happens that those things come more in NA players than European players. He seemingly liked Hornqvist way more than Kessel, which goes against this "Sullivan hates Europeans" idea.

 

[Scandale du Jour]

Everybody knows French Canadians are basically Europeans who just so happen to live on the wrong continent, right @Scandale du Jour ?

f*** no. We are not that rafined.

 

[AjaxTelamon]

I think there's a couple of things here, AB, no offense. The first is that more offense does not always equal exciting hockey, at least in my mind. This was clearly a game that the players were emotionally invested in, they thrived on, and when they're playing like that, it could be a 1-0 SO and it'd feel exciting. Secondly, I think the big complaint against this team through the early season has been that they look generally disinterested, and largely because big names like Rust, Dumo, Letang, and even Sid on occasion were taking huge stretches of games off or playing badly/without emotion. And when they showed up to play, they were suddenly no longer boring!

So, that's what I'd like to see on a regular basis. We don't need to keep potting 6 goals a game, but I'd like to see a sustained stretch of play where this team looks like they actually give a shit about the game.

And although you can't exactly sit Sid, you can most certainly sit Heinen, Kapanen, even Rust if those guys stand around and watch.

I tell Kapanen that as long as you keep going to the blue paint, you'll get to dress. I'm not talking about outcomes here, just that he plays the right way. He's a blockhead, but it's not all that complicated.

Going to the net and creating traffic needs to be a team effort, we can't sit back and hope our smallest guys like Zucker, Jake and Sid are going to provide all the traffic. Or like a year ago, Jake will be a wreck by the playoffs.