The struggles of Crosby, Kunitz, Hornqvist, and Perron

[Shockmaster]

scary fact-- crosby was under a point per game in the second half of last season, had a poor playoffs, and is now pointless in the first three games of the season.

Didn't he have 4 points in 5 games? He was the best Penguin forward in that series.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

sid is playing some pretty poor hockey, and has been for a while now. how worried should we be?

Not as worried as you will make it out to be.


It seems like Sid is gripping his stick a little too tight right now trying to score to get over that pressure. Malkin is the same right now and so is Kessel. The system is crap, the coach can't or won't make the changes necessary to alleviate any of this.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Didn't he have 4 points in 5 games? He was the best Penguin forward in that series.

Carrying a lifeless Kunitz and a round-about of wingers on his other wing.

He's not Lemieux or Gretzky, he can't carry people like that, no one can in the league.

 

[billybudd]

He's playing some horrible hockey - turnover machine, refuses to take shots, and isn't willing to go to the dirty areas in front of the net.

Guys like Eichel and McDavid are playing better hockey than crosby. How pathetic is that?

You're half right, not that not setting the world on fire four games in is some sort of Scarlet Letter for Connor McHockey.

In Eichel's case, he's been better than practically everyone. He's only got two points, but he could have 15 with a couple more bounces. Consolation prize my ass.

 

[Saved]

That 25 game point streak was some of the best hockey I've ever seen... sigh.

 

[Sam Spade]

This thread is ridiculous but should definitely be revisited after the Leaf game when Crosby has a five point night.

 

[discordant concord]

Hopefully it isn't PCS. If it is Crosby should seriously reconsider his career.

I've lived with a condition that is similar to PCS for about 2.5 years now. Trust me it's not a joke, it's hell.

 

[NewAgeOutlaw]

Hopefully it isn't PCS. If it is Crosby should seriously reconsider his career.

I've lived with a condition that is similar to PCS for about 2.5 years now. Trust me it's not a joke, it's hell.

Nobody thinks pcs is a joke but it is the last thing you should worry about with Crosby. He would not be allowed to play and would never get medically cleared if he was suffering from pcs. It's just not acceptable to allow a player on the ice with that condition anymore.

Marc Savard and Chris Pronger would both be playing through their injuries had they been suffered a mere 10 years ago. They will never play again in today's league, and rightfully so. As you say, it is no joke.

 

[NeedleInTheHay]

I wonder how many points he would have with James Neal on his line.

 

[UnderratedBrooks44]

I wonder how many points he would have with James Neal on his line.

Quite a few. Then it would be the same old **** with Neal, doing nothing when it matters because every game isn't against Buffalo where he can spend the whole game doing nothing but finding a soft spot to shoot from.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

The three things that stand out to me is

1) 87's body language is way better
2) defenders are way, way, way more hesitant about playing the puck carrier with their stick and don't touch any player away from the puck at all, ever
3) the team without the puck is closing gaps much slower than they get closed now.

Regarding #3, whether coaches are coaching more pressure or guys just cover more ground, I don't know, but I'd be interested in how many players from that season are still active, even though it was only four years ago. I can't imagine more than 5 or 6 on that Thrashers club are.


Edit: fourth thing I'm noticing. With 2-3 players high on the PP and 2 more deep, we had way more ice with the man-advantage and clears were harder to come by for the other team. Also, 87 is not on the right half wall, ever.

I don't think there's any doubt that the league has improved significantly over the past 3 or 4 years. Everyone in this league is big, strong, and can skate like the wind nowadays. Combine that with Crosby losing a half step and playing a more perimeter game and that's all it takes to go from a dominating presence and clearly the best to only among the best.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

His skating looks fine to me. He's just not playing hard for some reason. Maybe he's afraid of getting hurt, I don't know.

I'd be more worried if Geno looked gang busters and Sid looked like he does. The fact that they both look as bad as they do suggests something deeper at work, whether that's coaching, how bad our d are at passing, bad chemistry with linemates, general disillusionment with the franchise, or any combination of that.

His top speed is still pretty good, but his acceleration is clearly not what it used to be. He can't beat defenders one on one or attack holes the way he did five years ago. Gretzky and Lemieux's skating degraded in their late 20s, but they had insane vision to fall back on and remain elite well into their 30s. Crosby does not have that type of vision and depended on speed more than those guys did.

 

[Ogrezilla]

James Neal wouldn't do much of anything to help our current offensive struggles. Its really not an issue of personnel right now.

 

[IcedCapp]

James Neal ain't winning any races or battles, isn't carrying the puck into the offensive zone, isn't supporting the breakout or along the walls.

James Neal would have 0 points and people would be *****ing about him.

 

[NeedleInTheHay]

James Neal wouldn't do much of anything to help our current offensive struggles. Its really not an issue of personnel right now.

Really? Cause i've seen zero chemistry for Malkin playing with Hornqvist, Perron, and Plotnikov.

Malkin and Neal were like bread and butter, it was a bad idea to get rid of that duo.

I agree a big trade had to be made after the Rangers flame out, but it should have been Kunitz, He was coming off a 30 goal year and losing Kunitz would have shook the room up a lot more.

 

[Malkin112*]

 

[plaidchuck]

Something something leech something something one dimensional

 

[AquaticBirdman]

I think it's more of a case of everyone else having gotten faster and more familiar with Sid's habits, rather than Sid himself having seemingly "regressed" with age. The guy is still pretty damn quick and strong on the puck, especially down low along the boards. The rest of the league has merely caught up to him and are defending against him much better. Hopefully the addition of Kessel on his line will free up some space for him though.

 

[NeedleInTheHay]

Something something leech something something one dimensional

Yep. He really only had 1 bad playoffs here, and it was the same year Crosby scored all of 1 goal. He looked terrific in Nashville last year in the playoffs.

 

[AquaticBirdman]

This clip is an anomaly, considering how brutal Geno is in the faceoff circle. The fact that he won that draw clean is a miracle in itself.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

We have plenty of options to make people (and more importantly Geno) forget about James Neal.

Of course, those who continuously do the same thing repeatedly expecting a different result...

 

[Malkin112*]

This clip is an anomaly, considering how brutal Geno is in the faceoff circle. The fact that he won that draw clean is a miracle in itself.

 

[AquaticBirdman]

We have plenty of options to make people (and more importantly Geno) forget about James Neal.

Of course, those who continuously do the same thing repeatedly expecting a different result...

Welcome to the team where talented players are constantly made to look substantially less talented, and where undeserving vets are worshiped as deities.

 

[plaidchuck]

Yep. He really only had 1 bad playoffs here, and it was the same year Crosby scored all of 1 goal. He looked terrific in Nashville last year in the playoffs.

Yeah this board gets irrational with him. NEWSFLASH: You can like Hornqvist without slagging Neal.

Perron for Neal anyone?

 

[NeedleInTheHay]

Yeah this board gets irrational with him. NEWSFLASH: You can like Hornqvist without slagging Neal.

Perron for Neal anyone?

Bingo. Hornqvist is one of my favorite players on the team but i'd gladly reverse that trade today.

Second point, Nashville isn't that stupid.