PENS vs Montreal Canadiens Round 1 (Best Of Five)

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

Sheary should ideally be skating somewhere in a practice rink waiting for whatever Buffalo wants to do with him next season. But I digress. Haha

 

[Andy99]

You're basing this on absolutely nothing.

A significant shoulder injury and hasn’t played for 6 months...it’s not an unreasonable assumption...we’ve seen a lot of players return on less severe injuries and not play that well

 

[Shady Machine]

Rust is having a great year, but I don't know think we can definitively say he's the Pens 2nd best winger over Zucker. I'd say it's a toss up.

Also, Sheary is not a Malkin winger, so that's out. Giving Malkin Marleau as one of his wingers is worse than having Sid play with Zucker-Sheary.

 

[Ogrezilla]

Sheary should ideally be skating somewhere in a practice rink waiting for whatever Buffalo wants to do with him next season. But I digress. Haha

holy shit I 100% forgot we had Sheary back

 

[OnMyOwn]

Put an asterisk if you want I guess, but every team is in the same boat for the most part. It's still NHL teams playing other NHL teams to finish on top. The format is different, but the game isn't. I don't see this as some sort of travesty or mockery to the spirit of the NHL or anything.

That’s where I’m at. The guys want to play this out, from what I’ve read. Let’s just try to enjoy whatever comes out.

 

[Empoleon8771]

A significant shoulder injury and hasn’t played for 6 months...it’s not an unreasonable assumption...we’ve seen a lot of players return on less severe injuries and not play that well

Look up Sergei Gonchar's stat line from the 2009 regular season and playoffs.

Rust is having a great year, but I don't know think we can definitively say he's the Pens 2nd best winger over Zucker. I'd say it's a toss up.

Also, Sheary is not a Malkin winger, so that's out. Giving Malkin Marleau as one of his wingers is worse than having Sid play with Zucker-Sheary.

If they're sticking with 1 lineup, it should be:

Guentzel-Crosby-Sheary
Zucker-Malkin-Rust

Give Crosby the best and worst top-6 wingers, while Malkin get the 2nd and 3rd best. I actually think the best setup would be Hornqvist on Crosby's line, but I don't think that's going to happen.

 

[Pens1566]

They'll start this abortion of a postseason, and then by game 2 some poor slob will test positive. Shit canning the whole thing ...

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

holy shit I 100% forgot we had Sheary back

You can be completely forgiven for forgetting or at least wanting to.

That’s where I’m at. The guys want to play this out, from what I’ve read. Let’s just try to enjoy whatever comes out.

Rest assured... everyone will realize a game or two in that this isn't going to be an enjoyable series. Montreal will very desperately want to win as a massive underdog and with a potential chance in front of them to steal some glory, having been given this asinine chance they had no right to. But their lineup is... uh... not so great so they will play spoiler every game. And you know how the stripes are in these tournaments... nothing will get called. Price isn't maybe what he used to be but he's still absolutely capable of being that guy, especially in a small window of time.

 

[Ogrezilla]

A significant shoulder injury and hasn’t played for 6 months...it’s not an unreasonable assumption...we’ve seen a lot of players return on less severe injuries and not play that well

luckily everyone else is also coming off a long layoff, so he won't be coming back rusty in to a bunch of guys on their 90th game of the year.

 

[Ogrezilla]

Rest assured... everyone will realize a game or two in that this isn't going to be an enjoyable series. Montreal will very desperately want to win as a massive underdog and with a potential chance in front of them to steal some glory, having been given this asinine chance they had no right to. But their lineup is... uh... not so great so they will play spoiler every game. And you know how the stripes are in these tournaments... nothing will get called. Price isn't maybe what he used to be but he's still absolutely capable of being that guy, especially in a small window of time.

yeah, so we need to come in ready for that and just don't let it work. We have the horses to run them into the ground. If we don't that's on us, not a shitty format.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

yeah, so we need to come in ready for that and just don't let it work. We have the horses to run them into the ground. If we don't that's on us, not a shitty format.

The best laid plans, Ogre. We'll see what Sullivan does, I guess.

Montreal has tenuous claim at best to even be a part of it. Teams are not that far apart in this league and hockey has never been the kind of sport won on paper, anyway. This is absolutely the exact type of team I would not have wanted to play regardless and of course they've been flippin' foisted upon the Penguins with what IS a shit format.

I know I sound like a whiner but seriously I'd rather they had just deep sixed this year and started fresh next season so that's where my head is at, you have to understand.

 

[Peat]

yeah, so we need to come in ready for that and just don't let it work. We have the horses to run them into the ground. If we don't that's on us, not a shitty format.

Word. If the team isn't as desperate to win post-season games as Montreal, then might as well lose early and get it over with anyway.

 

[Empoleon8771]

I'm just waiting until I see the "I hope we lose so we can keep our 1st" post on here. You know someone's going to say it, I just don't know who yet

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

I'm just waiting until I see the "I hope we lose so we can keep our 1st" post on here. You know someone's going to say it, I just don't know who yet

f*** that. I might think this is outta control ridiculous and potentially prone to catastrophic failure that has nothing to even do with hockey but that's not a factor at all, to me.

But I mean... is that even confirmed?

 

[Empoleon8771]

f*** that. I might think this is outta control ridiculous and potentially prone to catastrophic failure that has nothing to even do with hockey but that's not a factor at all, to me.

But I mean... is that even confirmed?

I'm not sure, it makes sense to me but this is a fairly senseless time with this comeback

I honestly don't know who's going to say it, but I totally think someone will.

 

[Peat]

I'm not sure, it makes sense to me but this is a fairly senseless time with this comeback

I honestly don't know who's going to say it, but I totally think someone will.

It is inevitable. Maybe we should have a betting pool next season for the first time someone genuinely goes "I hope we miss the playoffs and pick high instead of going in playing like this".

 

[Ogrezilla]

The best laid plans, Ogre. We'll see what Sullivan does, I guess.

Montreal has tenuous claim at best to even be a part of it. Teams are not that far apart in this league and hockey has never been the kind of sport won on paper, anyway. This is absolutely the exact type of team I would not have wanted to play regardless and of course they've been flippin' foisted upon the Penguins with what IS a shit format.

I know I sound like a whiner but seriously I'd rather they had just deep sixed this year and started fresh next season so that's where my head is at, you have to understand.

if we lose we lose. It happens. I'd rather get to watch some hockey than not.

 

[Ogrezilla]

Hell, I like our chances to win this thing more than I liked our chances to win the season before just because of what it means for Guentzel coming back.

 

[Empoleon8771]

 

[Scandale du Jour]

The problem is that you're giving Malkin the Penguins 2 best wingers with that setup. You're asking Crosby, who didn't look that good this year after coming back from his back surgery, to play with 1 top-6 forward and an inconsistent 3rd liner, while Malkin, who was phenomenal this year, plays with an elite winger and a guy who played like a 1st liner last year. That's not exactly a fair setup for Crosby.

This is akin to keeping Kunitz-Crosby-Neal together in 2014 while making the 2nd line something like Jokinen-Malkin-Stempniak. Sure, Kunitz-Crosby-Neal was great and Jokinen is a solid LWer to play with Malkin, but your wing strength is horribly imbalanced in that setup.

I do not see it like that.

I am looking at the makeup of the lines, not at "gotta make things equal for Sid and Geno". It should always be about fit... and deployment.

Jake's best fit is indeed with Sid. But since Sheary is going to be the other winger... you have to account for defense at some point. Zucker gives you that AND can do the heavy lifting on the cycle. So that line will be a little less productive offensively, but much better defensively and since they are going to face to top team's best players, it might be a good thing. Third period and we are in the lead? Demote Sheary and move up Marleau or Horny or Tanev and use that line as your shutdown line.

Then, we know Jake, Geno and Rust works. We also know that they will play against 2nd pairings and 2nd lines. Geno is a great 200-ft player, so is Rust. Jake can concentrate on offense. This line gives us a BIG strategic advantage on pretty much every team in the league. That's our top scoring line yet coaches will defend against Sid first.

Of course, if it were up to me, Sheary would be sitting and I'd go with:

Jake - Sid - Horny
Zucker - Geno - Rust
Marleau - McCann- Bjugstad
ZAR - Blueger - Tanev

But knowing that Sheary will be glued to Sid's hip for the most part, I'd go with what I propose and I think it is the best use of our resources. I do not care who is W1, W2, W3 or W4, I care about fit and strategy.

 

[Ogrezilla]

okay Ogre, don't get sucked in to line discussions. Don't get sucked in to line discussions. Don't get sucked in to line discussions. Just breath.

 

[Empoleon8771]

I do not see it like that.

I am looking at the makeup of the lines, not at "gotta make things equal for Sid and Geno". It should always be about fit... and deployment.

You have to look at things like that because Crosby and Malkin aren't superheros anymore. The point isn't about "fairness", it's about not making one of your lines ineffective (or not as effective as it should be) because you want to load up 1 line. He may be better now, but Crosby was very not good at the end of the year last year. Now, you can argue that Zucker-Crosby-Sheary was still pretty good because Zucker and Sheary were playing really well, so Crosby back to his normal makes that line very good, but I'd rather not make that gamble when you don't have to. This also doesn't mention that Zucker and Sheary have a somewhat questionable playoff history.

Crosby needs Guentzel more than Malkin and Rust do. I don't see a problem with Guentzel-Crosby-Sheary and I don't see why Zucker being on that line in place of Guentzel is the difference between it being good enough defensively or not.

 

[dogthateats]

This thread is way more negative than I expected somehow.

 

[Ogrezilla]

This thread is way more negative than I expected somehow.

seriously, we look to be getting hockey back. Let's go Pens.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Anyway, it's probably a moot point to debate where Guentzel should play, because it sounds like Sullivan has decided already:

Exclusive: Penguins, Mike Sullivan settle on a center for Jake Guentzel

Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel were in the lineup together for just 17 of the Penguins' first 69 games during the 2019-20 season. But if the NHL, which suspended operations March 12 because of the coronavirus pandemic, gets back in business before next season, the Penguins will have both available. And not surprisingly, Mike Sullivan plans to deploy them together if and when the Penguins are allowed to conduct a training camp prior to the resumption of games.

"I'm sure there will be a little bit of a feeling-out process there, but I do think Jake and Sid have developed a certain chemistry that, to us, is evident," he said. "I think they help each other be at their best. We'll have to find out the parts that go around those guys."

Sullivan has historically liked duos instead of lines, and he also said that Malkin and Rust are staying together, so I imagine his strategy will be to have Guentzel-Crosby, Malkin-Rust and maybe McCann-Hornqvist and have other players alternate through the rest of the spots.