2019-20 Penguins and NHL Offseason

[Sarge]

Pens looking like ***. Lotsa guys standing around watching. 2-1 Florida.

 

[JMM]

Crap...another turnover in front of the net by Letang that wound up in our net.

Wondering if Galchenyuk has a future here. Not exactly sure what he brings to the table.

 

[JMM]

Pens looking like ***. Lotsa guys standing around watching. 2-1 Florida.

You saw that too eh?

 

[Djfan]

McCann took a great shot at the guy from Florida. That was funny.

 

[JMM]

Not liking the way this game is going.

 

[Sarge]

Crap...another turnover in front of the net by Letang that wound up in our net.

Wondering if Galchenyuk has a future here. Not exactly sure what he brings to the table.

Nothing. It is obvious by now.

 

[Djfan]

Second time this game we have lost the PP advantage by penalty.

This game has an odd vibe.

 

[Vader]

Letang is a TO machine. I've watched almost every game this year and he continually turns the puck over. And I don't mean in the offensive zone. He does it right in front of his own net. He did it twice at least last night. I wonder how many assists he has for the other team this year?

Also Malkin back in the penalty box over and over again. Just a bad game so far but they are only down 1 thanks to Jarry. It could be 5-1 easily.

 

[Sarge]

Second time this game we have lost the PP advantage by penalty.

This game has an odd vibe.

Just some really uninspired play. Lots of passengers tonight. Letang and Malkin having a dumbass contest. Jarry has been the only real bright spot.

 

[Steelr4evr]

Well it looks like this one is going in the L column shortly.

 

[JMM]

I turned off the tube after the 1st. Watched some Netflix with my wife. Doesn't look like I missed much. Even back in the 1st it looked like they were taking the night off. Maybe simply lack of sleep. I heard they didn't get in until 2 am.

 

[JMM]

Nothing. It is obvious by now.

That was the guy we traded Kessel for right? Maybe we can get our money back.

 

[steel dino]

Can’t win them all men..

We all have bad days at work occasionally

 

[MTC]

Crap...another turnover in front of the net by Letang that wound up in our net.

Wondering if Galchenyuk has a future here. Not exactly sure what he brings to the table.

Galchenyuk needs to go. He hasn’t offered anything.
He’ll jump off a bridge for Geno it seems. But aside from that, he sucks.

 

[str8liner]

Can’t win them all men..

We all have bad days at work occasionally

Didn't help playing Saturday night in Montreal and having to come back and play at 5 yesterday. I got disinterested after the first, you could see they didn't have it. I think we are going to see the loss of Jake showing up on the scoreboard from here on out. Hopefully Sid coming back will help that.

 

[Uncle Ben]

Last night was my fault. Back end of back to back and 4 games in 6 days. We knew what we were going to see but went anyway. The first sign that it wasn't going to be a good day was when we were halfway to the Turnpike before I looked at my phone and saw the news alert that the Turnpike was closed. Horrible accident, prayers go out to all the families.

I agree that Galchenyuk needs to go. Won't get much in return but he sure hasn't offered much.

Letang had another bad one. That's 2 in a row. That said, The first goal was on DiPauli. He got his pocket picked, should have moved toward the puck, instead he waited. It wasn't a great outlet but still. No doubt Letang is nursing an injury. The look on his face after he took some hits made it obvious (to me). The second goal was all on him. He couldn't run down Vatrano ? Injured or stupid, Letang gets the L

Loved the juggling act by McCann. Shame he couldn't close the deal.

Besides sending Chucky to the moon. What this team needs is an injection of Crosby. I'm not look forward to this 3 game road trip without him.

 

[Uncle Ben]

Second time this game we have lost the PP advantage by penalty.

This game has an odd vibe.

It sure did. Malkin reverts back to bad Malkin when he gets frustrated.

 

[Djfan]

Last night was my fault. Back end of back to back and 4 games in 6 days. We knew what we were going to see but went anyway. The first sign that it wasn't going to be a good day was when we were halfway to the Turnpike before I looked at my phone and saw the news alert that the Turnpike was closed. Horrible accident, prayers go out to all the families.

I agree that Galchenyuk needs to go. Won't get much in return but he sure hasn't offered much.

Letang had another bad one. That's 2 in a row. That said, The first goal was on DiPauli. He got his pocket picked, should have moved toward the puck, instead he waited. It wasn't a great outlet but still. No doubt Letang is nursing an injury. The look on his face after he took some hits made it obvious (to me). The second goal was all on him. He couldn't run down Vatrano ? Injured or stupid, Letang gets the L

Loved the juggling act by McCann. Shame he couldn't close the deal.

Besides sending Chucky to the moon. What this team needs is an injection of Crosby. I'm not look forward to this 3 game road trip without him.

We live in Wyoming, and thought about going to see them in Denver this Friday. It would pretty much guarantee the loss there, as we have never seen them win live. Now we won't go for sure.

McCann is interesting with that lacrosse thing. I would have loved to see him score there. Potash said that he practices that in practice. Cool idea.

 

[Uncle Ben]

We live in Wyoming, and thought about going to see them in Denver this Friday. It would pretty much guarantee the loss there, as we have never seen them win live. Now we won't go for sure.

McCann is interesting with that lacrosse thing. I would have loved to see him score there. Potash said that he practices that in practice. Cool idea.

Wyoming, a beautiful state. Absolutely love it. I hunt and fly fish, it's a mecca for both. Been to Yellowstone more time than I'll admit.

McCann does juggle almost every pregame warm up. Usually right before they all release to take shots on net. Enjoy the game, even when their bad. It's still great entertainment.

 

[Djfan]

Wyoming, a beautiful state. Absolutely love it. I hunt and fly fish, it's a mecca for both. Been to Yellowstone more time than I'll admit.

Get your butt out here and we'll fish.

We're not going to make the game. I told Mrs. Fan that she could leave me to shack up with Sid if she wanted to, but I get season tickets out of it. She's making calls.

 

[Djfan]

Good article

https://pittsburghhockeynow.com/kris-letang-mistakes-piling-up-sullivan-says-simplify/?fbclid=IwAR19AmEMqAv50QusoPZb5Zr50h3jOY0i0IjSkwxFOUhuFiDkJ0wWrYIvFJE

PENGUINS LOCKER ROOMLetang Mistakes Piling Up, Sullivan Says ‘Simplify’Published 16 hours ago on January 6, 2020
By Dan Kingerski

Kris Letang is often a high-wire act worthy of the bright lights and costumes of Circque du Soleil. The Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman is unquestionably one of the best in the game and will soon be one of seven active defensemen to rack up 400 assists and the only one in Penguins history.

88
SHARES
ShareTweetCommentFlipboardReddit
Kris Letang is often a high-wire act worthy of the bright lights and costumes of Circque du Soleil. The Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman is unquestionably one of the best in the game and will soon be one of seven active defensemen to rack up 400 assists and the only one in Penguins history.



He also makes a few mistakes.

Trying to keep the mistakes in context can be a tricky proposition. PHN analyzed the number of turnovers this summer in comparison to the other top defensemen and found Letang fits right in, for better and worse.

Sunday night, it was decidedly for the worse.

Letang was credited with two turnovers but the real number seemed to be twice that on Sunday night. Florida forward Frank Vatrano breezed by him two minutes into the game for the first Florida goal. Alexander Barkov whizzed past for a shorthanded breakaway in the second period. He had the puck stolen by Denis Malgin who backchecked Letang as he tried to skate to center ice in the third period, and…well, you get the idea.

“I think (Letang) can simplify his game in those situations,” head coach Mike Sullivan said. “(He) and I have had this conversation. And it’s ongoing with us.”

Letang was a minus-2 in over 24 minutes of ice time, just 22 hours after an overtime win in Montreal in which Letang also logged heavy minutes. The Penguins ask a lot of Letang, and sometimes their defenseman falls off the highwire.

“(Letang) has the ability to be a difference-maker and we don’t want to take the stick out of his hand, but as we say to all of our players, sometimes, the best play is a simple play. It’s (about) recognizing those situations.”

That Sullivan didn’t spin the Letang question to the positive and instead admitted he wants Letang to tone it down speaks volumes, as well. Sullivan is not a coach to call out his players publicly, even as cameras sometimes catch a few of the seven dirty words on the bench.

Statistically, Letang is having another superior season. He has 26 points, including eight goals in just 33 games. He is an All-Star Game candidate via the “Last-Men In” vote.

Yet, the last few weeks have been rocky for the defensemen who returned from injury on Nov. 25 and Kris Letang hasn’t scored a point in his last eight games.

88
SHARES
ShareTweetCommentFlipboardReddit
Kris Letang is often a high-wire act worthy of the bright lights and costumes of Circque du Soleil. The Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman is unquestionably one of the best in the game and will soon be one of seven active defensemen to rack up 400 assists and the only one in Penguins history.



He also makes a few mistakes.

Trying to keep the mistakes in context can be a tricky proposition. PHN analyzed the number of turnovers this summer in comparison to the other top defensemen and found Letang fits right in, for better and worse.

Sunday night, it was decidedly for the worse.

Letang was credited with two turnovers but the real number seemed to be twice that on Sunday night. Florida forward Frank Vatrano breezed by him two minutes into the game for the first Florida goal. Alexander Barkov whizzed past for a shorthanded breakaway in the second period. He had the puck stolen by Denis Malgin who backchecked Letang as he tried to skate to center ice in the third period, and…well, you get the idea.

“I think (Letang) can simplify his game in those situations,” head coach Mike Sullivan said. “(He) and I have had this conversation. And it’s ongoing with us.”

Letang was a minus-2 in over 24 minutes of ice time, just 22 hours after an overtime win in Montreal in which Letang also logged heavy minutes. The Penguins ask a lot of Letang, and sometimes their defenseman falls off the highwire.

“(Letang) has the ability to be a difference-maker and we don’t want to take the stick out of his hand, but as we say to all of our players, sometimes, the best play is a simple play. It’s (about) recognizing those situations.”

That Sullivan didn’t spin the Letang question to the positive and instead admitted he wants Letang to tone it down speaks volumes, as well. Sullivan is not a coach to call out his players publicly, even as cameras sometimes catch a few of the seven dirty words on the bench.

Statistically, Letang is having another superior season. He has 26 points, including eight goals in just 33 games. He is an All-Star Game candidate via the “Last-Men In” vote.

Yet, the last few weeks have been rocky for the defensemen who returned from injury on Nov. 25 and Kris Letang hasn’t scored a point in his last eight games.


“It’s not going to be perfect out there, especially guys who log the type of minutes that “Tanger” logs. It’s not going to be a flawless game,” Sullivan said. “But that’s a conversation that “Tanger” and I have fairly frequently.

In other words, Sullivan is also on Letang to dial back the attempts at bigger plays and to better pick his spots to use his skills. The game snowballed on Kris Letang on Sunday. And without other lightning rods, it has again become Letang’s turn in the social media crosshairs.

Given the injuries the Penguins have suffered this season, it’s not out of the question that Letang is nursing an injury because the Penguins desperately need him in the lineup. Kevin Czuczman who hasn’t played an NHL game since 2014 is the next man up if any of the Penguins defensemen go down.

It’s been that kind of season for the Penguins. However, now is when the Penguins need the best version of Letang, and perhaps that is the temporary problem as one of the Penguins few core players left standing, he feels that pressure to do more.

Regardless of the reasons, even the Penguins head coach had a message. “Simplify.”

 

[Sarge]

Jarry and Letang were selected to the all star game.

https://www.nhl.com/penguins/news/t...ar-game/c-313622506?partnerId=pit-fb-penguins

 

[MTC]

Pens up 2-0 over VGK end of 1st.
Not sure I can stay up too late these days. Understaffed work hours are kicking my ***.

Hoping to wake up to a W

 

[Djfan]

This is a scrappy game. Lots of guys playing like Tanev on both sides of the ice. Would love to see a W. Cool seeing Hornqvist and MAF laughing together

 

[MTC]

This is a scrappy game. Lots of guys playing like Tanev on both sides of the ice. Would love to see a W. Cool seeing Hornqvist and MAF laughing together

Liking the scrappiness of the team.