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Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality

Welcome to the Neno's Place!

Neno's Place Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality


Neno

I can be reached by phone or text 8am-7pm cst 972-768-9772 or, once joining the board I can be reached by a (PM) Private Message.

Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality

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Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality

Many Topics Including The Oldest Dinar Community. Copyright © 2006-2020


    Pittsburgh Penguins

    jedi17
    jedi17
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    Posts : 10738
    Join date : 2013-02-20
    • Post n°1

    Pittsburgh Penguins Empty Pittsburgh Penguins

    Post by jedi17 Mon 06 Mar 2017, 6:28 pm

    Pittsburgh's Fleury at the end too much for Buffalo
    March 6, 2017, 10:24 AM ET [93 Comments]
    Ryan Wilson
    Pittsburgh Penguins Pit Pittsburgh Penguins Blogger • RSS • Archive • CONTACT
    The Pittsburgh Penguins made things a lot more difficult than they had to be, but ultimately defeated the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 in regulation time. Buffalo jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period and was never able to add to that total.

    Matt Murray did not have his ‘A’ game and allowed three first period goals. Mike Sullivan decided during the first intermission to pull Murray and put in Marc-Andre Fleury. Pittsburgh’s backup was flawless and stopped all 28 shots he faced. It earned him the first star of the game. His play paved the way for a Penguins comeback that had little wiggle room for error.  

    Despite the 3-0 hole in the first period things were never as glum as they appeared. The Penguins were not being significantly outplayed. They held a 17-14 edge in shot attempts at even-strength and also owned an 8-4 advantage in high danger chances that period. The team needed to stop taking penalties and continue driving play at even-strength and they did.

    The Buffalo Sabres have some nice pieces up front. They have two very good centers in Jack Eichel and Ryan O’Reilly. They both scored goals in the first period. However, they can’t do it all. The Sabres lack functional depth and their defense corp. is not good enough for them to find regular success. Too many of their players are asked to be in a role above what they can handle. None more glaring than Rasmus Ristolainen. He isn’t a top pairing defender at the present moment (or maybe ever), but that is how the Sabres deploy him. He routinely plays out of his own end and last night was no exception. He needs a sheltered role on a team that cannot afford to give him one. Penguins fans should be able to understand this situation. They have seen firsthand how deployment can impact a player with Justin Schultz. The former Oiler went through similar growing pains until he was able to be thrust into a more appropriate role with the Penguins.

    Justin Schultz continues to rack up points this year. Every goal and every point is now a career high. He had a goal and two assists last night. His pass on the game winning goal was great




    Schultz is no longer being paired with Ian Cole. Given Kris Letang’s uncertain health status a lot of the heavy lifting may fall on Schultz moving forward. I don’t doubt that he is playing with a lot more confidence in Pittsburgh than he did in Edmonton, but there is no guarantee he can handle that elevated role. It is a good choice by the coaching staff to throw him in that role now with Brian Dumoulin to start that evaluation process sooner than later. The playoffs are in a month.

    It’s good to have Conor Sheary back in the lineup. His speed is such an asset and provides a lot of opportunities for his linemates. The Crosby line began with Chris Kunitz, but ended with Jake Guentzel instead. Mike Sullivan’s plans to balance the offense were not working. Instead of spreading the wealth with his wingers he loaded up the top six by placing Guentzel with Crosby and Kessel with Malkin. This left Patric Hornqvist on the outside looking in. Hornqvist has not scored in 11 games.  

    A big positive to take from last night’s game was Mike Sullivan giving Jake Guentzel a bigger role. Not only did Sullivan promote Guentzel to the top line, but he used Guentzel with Crosby in 4v4 situations. Moving forward the Sheary-Crosby-Guentzel line is going to be nightmare fuel for the opposition. The line has plenty of speed, hockey IQ, and hands. It’s hard to come up with reasons why they won’t be consistently good/great. This line should stay together.

    I am also going to advocate for Jake Guentzel to take the net front spot on the first power play. He has the proper skill set for that role. He has a great goal scoring touch near the net whether it is poking pucks in during a scramble or tipping shots. He is a great passer and has a great mind for the game. You don’t need to be the grittiest player in the league to find success in that role. A lot of times a team can benefit more from a guy that can create a controlled play out of chaos down there.  

    I’m not so sure Guentzel’s tip in goal last night was under the cross bar, but it was another example of his eye hand coordination being an asset near the goal cage.  

    Sidney Crosby had nine shots on goal. He’s doing all the right things and not being rewarded with points right now.  

    Evgeni Malkin did something that used to be a lot more common back in the day. He scored on the power play for a second consecutive game. It was an old school Geno bomb from the right side.  




    He can clearly still wire the puck. Keep giving him more looks like that.

    Nick Bonino only played 4:13 at even-strength last night. He has struggled this season. His play was a huge part of the championship run last year. The Penguins chances to repeat will be greatly hindered if they can’t get quality play from their third line center. Matt Cullen can play that role in a pinch, but asking him to do it for an entire playoff run is too much for the 40 year old. Bonino has to find his game. 

    Bonino isn’t alone. Carl Hagelin is another player who needs to step it up. Hagelin can’t use quality of teammate as an excuse. The top four forwards he has played with this year are Phil Kessel, Nick Bonino, Patric Hornqvist, and Sidney Crosby. While it is true that Bonino has struggled the majority of the time Hagelin has played with him it has also come with Kessel on the other wing. His 1.44 points per 60 at even-strength is way down from his Penguins sample last year. It wasn’t reasonable to expect Hagelin to keep performing at an elite top line player, but falling below the threshold of a third line player shouldn’t have been expected either. They need more from Hagelin. Only the K from HBK has maintained the magic from last offseason.

    Up next for the Penguins will be their annual road trip to Western Canada. They will start that road trip on Wednesday night in Winnipeg.
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