“You guys wanna play?” snapped Penguins coach Mike Sullivan. “Then get the puck in deep.”
The object of “Sully’s” ire, according to NBCSN’s between-the-benches guy Pierre McGuire? … The Pens’ newly constructed third line of Scott Wilson, Conor Sheary and Nick Bonino.
Apparently the troubled trio got the message, loud and clear. Minutes after Washington knotted the score midway through the third period, Bonino took a pretty feed from Wilson in stride, shrugged off a whack from ex-Pen Brooks Orpik, and laced the puck past Caps goalie Braden Holtby on the blocker side.
“Bones’s” bolt, which quelled a Caps rally and propelled the Pens to a scintillating 3-2 victory in the Second Round series opener, was framed from a black-and-gold perspective by a pair of extraordinary sequences.
The first featured captain Sidney Crosby in a starring role. Seconds after Sid won the faceoff to begin the second period, Jake Guentzel pounced on a loose puck and sped over the Washington blue line. Breaking down the left side, the Pens’ rookie sensation slipped a no-look pass to Crosby at the right faceoff dot. In perfect shooting position, Sid whipped the puck past Holtby to the glove side.
Sullivan, who had rolled four lines through a scoreless opening period, smartly turned back to his hot hand. Number 87 didn’t disappoint.
Fifty-two seconds after his initial tally, Crosby—working both ends of the ice—scooped up the puck in the Pens’ zone and sprang Guentzel with a bounce pass off the far side boards. Jake, in turn, fed Olli Maatta, who hammered a shot on net. Holtby made the save but couldn’t control the rebound. From his customary perch in the slot, Patric Hornqvist settled the puck and dished a short pass to Crosby racing in from the right circle. Holtby was helpless.
Sid was quick to credit his linemates.
“It was two great plays,” he said. “On both (Hornqvist) gave us some loose pucks. He poked a couple pucks free and then Jake made a great pass on the 2-on-1. (Hornqvist) found me on the rebound there, so some really good looks from that.”
Fast-forward to the other bookend sequence, this one shining the spotlight on Pens goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. As the game clock ticked down to the closing minutes of regulation, Caps defenseman Nate Schmidt fired off a rocket from the right point. The puck popped off Fleury and into the slot, instantly drawing a crush of skaters—friend and foe alike.
For the next 24 seconds, the Caps’ biggest guns—Alex Ovechkin, Niklas Backstrom and Evgeny Kuznetsov—tried everything short of picking up the puck and tossing it into the net. While they flailed at the bouncing rubber—and anyone wearing a Penguins crest—Fleury laid supine on the ice, lost his stick, clambered to his knees to stop John Carlson, was (intentionally) bowled over by Ovechkin, scrambled back to his knees to stop Schmidt, stacked his pads to thwart Backstrom from point-blank range, and somehow had the wherewithal to sprawl on the puck and draw a whistle.
“I couldn’t see the puck for a little while there,” Fleury admitted afterward in his typically modest manner. “I had no stick, so I was trying to make some stops. It was fun.”
In between the (black and) gold moments? There was plenty of action, most of it controlled by the home team. Although the Pens were better on the transition and, for the most part, avoided being pinned in their zone for extended periods, the Caps piled up a staggering 83-41 edge in shot attempts.
Fortunately, only two of them eluded Fleury. Ovechkin struck on a bullet from his favorite spot atop the left circle at 18:17 of the second period. Countryman Kuznetsov evened the score eight minutes into the final frame, thanks to a sharp cross-ice dish from former Pen Matt Niskanen. Thus setting the table for Bonino’s heroics.
“I haven’t had a breakaway in I don’t know how long,” Bonino said, describing the game-winning goal. “I just tried to get it on net, and it found a hole there.”
Softening in the afterglow of victory, Sullivan was most appreciative.
“I just think Bones is a guy that’s a high-stakes player,” Sully said. “He brings his best game when the games are most important.”
Puckpourri
The Capitals outshot the Pens, 35-21, and dominated in hits (41-17). The Pens won 54 percent of the faceoffs and blocked 29 shots, compared to eight for Washington.
Ian Cole made a beautiful stretch pass on Bonino’s tally. The goal was Bones’ second straight game-winner against the Caps in postseason play. Last spring he scored the series-clincher in overtime of Game 6, enabling the Pens to advance to the Conference Finals.
Bonino earned the number one star, following by Crosby. Incredibly, Fleury (33 saves) was snubbed in favor of Ovechkin for third-star honors.
Chris Kunitz returned to the lineup after missing the First Round series with an upper-body injury. Skating on the fourth line, “Kuny” registered a team-high four hits and three shots in 12:59 of ice time.
Carter Rowney, Chad Ruhwedel and Mark Streit were healthy scratches.
Hey All.
How big is the monkey now!!!!!
2 down and 2 to go..
What a performance by MAF in the first.
Cheers☺☺
Hey All
Now that I had a night to sleep and reflect upon the game 2…RE.Play of MAF in the first period.
To me that was his best performance of his career. That was one great display of agility,composure, and reflexes.Let’s us not forget this guy is 33 years old I think this year. Wow….( and a little luck too ..posts ).
Once again I say the Caps should have scored 4 goals in that opening period.Maybe more!.
6 to 2…Can you imagine what is going thru the Caps heads right now ?
How about Sidney blocking the slap shot and then on his stomach pushing the puck a head to Jake who made Holtby look average?That is a high light reel all last night on Candia sports media….Plus the Ottawa kid who scored 4 goals yesterday to beat New York…Pageau ?
I really hope Hornqvist is not hurt as he took a nasty one last night.We need his net presence play.
Way to go Pen’s. 😀
Plus did you see that the draft lottery last night…
big upset.
1.Devils 2. FLYERS 3. Stars 4. Avs 5. Vancouver
6.Vegas 7. Arizona
I do not like that # 2 pick. Maybe JR can swing a deal with Shero and get number 1..
Jim
Hey Jim,
Sometimes it is better to just say thank you, then take the money and run; this may be one of them. I wouldn’t want to get the Caps thinking about anything other than their futility. I wouldn’t want them rallying against gloating.
Think about this, the Caps missed the net with 38 (19 + 19) shots in the first 2 games and had another 62 (29 + 33) shots blocked; 100 shots in 2 games that didn’t get to the net. Maybe that is why Vegas has now switched to Edmonton as odds on favorite to win the Cup, droppong both the Caps and the Pens.
Hey Coach
Is this the same Vegas that wrote off the Penguins, Ottawa and never saw Nashville coming?
I am not to worried about what Vegas thinks…We are the Champions until someone beats us.
I like our chances now… Statically the Caps have about an 17% chance of coming back to win after losing the first 2 games.
Cheers
I am not as worried about the Caps now, not going to say more than that.
However, I do understand the skepticism of others. Again not going to say more than that either.
I do want to again say, how about that Guentzel! and what about Malkin and Kessel?
And add my concerns too about Hornqvist. Can’t say enough about a warrior like that.
Hey Coach
Just got home from Church.Was rushing my last comment.Now I can answer you properly.
You,Rick, Phil,55,Jay all know that the Caps are a powerful team.Best in the regular season once again.
I too was deeply concerned about their size and scoring prowess.
But last night again their weakness showed.
1. In Cullens first goal there is no way a 40 year old beats a 27 year old d man in a foot race for the puck.
Shattenkirk had 3 steps on Cullen. That simply does not happen in Round 2 of the Stanley Cup. But it did.
2. On Kessel’s first goal…Where was the coverage ?
Sidney made a great pass but where was the d coverage? Again foot speed or should I say lack of by the Caps d men allowed that goal to happen.
3.Jakes goal on a ridiculous play by Sidney. Foot speed of the d man. Once the shot was blocked a faster d man would have caught Jake.Again the Caps were caught pressing and no one was back.
4.Geno’s goal. How do you let the man with the most points in the playoffs get to screen your goalie that close?;That is PeeWee hockey stuff. Should never have happened. Sloppy defensive mistakes.
So as I said before the Caps weaknesses was shown in the Toronto series and unless the Caps can score 5 goals on us, they are done for.
Here is a really good point brought up last night on HNIC Coach. The Pen’s are the best team right now in the play offs.The Caps out chanced them 3 to 1 and maybe more but the Pen’s DO NOT NEED TO HAVE 30 shots to get 3- 4 goals.That is why they finished first in the league in goals scored. They capitalize ( pardon the pun) on other teams mistakes.It is the second and 3rd periods when other teams are tired and make mental mistakes that the Pen’s shine.
HNIC says the Pen’s could sweep the Caps if they continue to play the way they are.
Let’s go Pen’s.
Hi guys,
I love coming here and reading your thoughts. Not that I need getting any more pumped up, but I can hardly wait for them to drop the puck!
Reading through the posts, there’s a common thread about Sheary – namely, he’s too small to handle the bigger players. Here’s my question – because we didn’t see this problem during the regular season (at least I didn’t), is it possible that his small size isn’t the problem, but rather that he’s either a.) simply hit a rough patch in his game, or b.) he’s nursing a minor injury that’s taken away a step? I don’t know – you guys see a lot more than i do when watching the game – so it’s just a thought.
Anyway, I cannot say this enough: GO PENS!
Jayelene
Hey Jayelene,
Excellent observations.
One of the things I truly marvel (and love) about Sheary is his ability to win puck battles and thrive in the dirty areas, especially given his size. Watching him against the Blue Jackets, however, he did seem—perhaps for the first time—to be consistently outmatched along the wall by bigger players.
Without the puck, Conor became considerably less effective. I sensed he began to press, trying to overcompensate in other ways. Unfortunately, it seemed to lead to turnovers and some questionable decision-making in the few instances when he did have the puck. Hence, his present funk.
Still, I have mixed feelings about the way Mike Sullivan’s handled him. On one hand—as Jim, Phil and Other Rick so duly noted—Sully isn’t shy about making tough decisions. Indeed, he’ll do whatever he thinks is best for the team, and 99 percent of the time I agree with him. And, truthfully, Crosby’s line was being exploited with an ineffective Sheary on the wing.
His replacement, Hornqvist, has added a physical element and, perhaps, some defensive savvy to the trio. At least for now, it’s clicking.
On the flip side, I do feel like Sheary was given a “quick hook,” in baseball pitching parlance. After all, we’re not talking about a player of marginal ability and skills. Conor was fourth on the Pens in scoring and seventh in the NHL in points/60 minutes among skaters who played at least 20 games. He’s extremely clever and creative, and a master at finding the seams and exploiting them.
Unfortunately right now, he’s kind of a man without a country. With his speed, skill and creativity, I think Sullivan was hoping Sheary might be able to fill Kessel’s old role on the third line. So far, the chemistry hasn’t been there with Bonino and Wilson.
A couple of nice plays notwithstanding, I haven’t been thrilled with Wilson, either. Again, a case of a smaller guy being overmatched by bigger guys playing a similar style. But I really liked Wilson and Kunitz together on the fourth line, albeit with the departed Eric Fehr at center (Cullen was out with an injury).
If you return Wilson to a fourth-line role, where I believe he’s most effective, and Hagelin dresses, it basically boils your choices down to Sheary vs. Tom Kuhnhackl, whose all-around game probably works better against the Caps.
As they say, “styles make fights.” And, as inconceivable as it seems, in this particular instance, Sheary may be the odd man out.
Rick
PS–Not to jinx us. But as we know all-too-well, injuries happen. Even if Sheary sits for now, I wouldn’t expect him to be out too long.
Still, it’s tough to see the kid have to go through this. You just hope it doesn’t affect his confidence and that he can keep it in perspective and, perhaps, even use it as a growing experience. Given Conor’s upbeat attitude and spunk, I’m guessing he will.
Hi Jay
Great to hear from you.
You raise some really good points.
1. Yes he could be nursing an injury and thus affecting his play.
2. During the regular season the play of the NHL is muted on purpose.That is
the owners of the league do not want their star players getting hurt, thus affecting the ticket sales for the regular season. Come play off time, all that changes. That is why there is a REAL difference between regular season play and the playoffs.True hockey fans all love play off hockey because it is more aggressive, faster paced, and played with more conviction as compared to the mundane 82 game regular season.
3. Sheary is only 160 pounds and maybe 5’9″…Real terms, The Team program
guides tend to exaggerate a bit to the size of their smaller players.
The average player size for the NHL is 6’1″ and about 202 pounds, the last information I saw. Big difference.
For example, Ovi is 239 pounds and about 6′ 2 1/2″. He skates just as fast or faster than Sheary. Ovi is a bully ! No other way to say it. While I respect his goal scoring abilities and his past scoring titles, I am extremely upset on his
dirty style of play, and the league lets him get away with it. Sheary simply can not match Ovi’s brute force and it is only a matter of time before Ovi will injure Conner. That is why Rick, Coach, I and others have been saying we need a few bigger players ,( really big ) and physical to stop the abuse that is given out against our smaller players.
I love Sully as a Coach and I can really appreciate his up tempo style of play, but if you look back 50 years and you will see eventually small teams get more injuries and they do not do well long term.
4. I like Sheary. He should be used in a less physical series or at home where by we get last line change and Sully can protect him more,
5. Last point Jay is because we have traded away most of our first round picks and because we had to draft in lower positions a lot of the skilled players available were smaller.( Auston Matthews was 6’3′, 216 pounds when he was drafted. Patrik Laine was 6’5″ and 206 pounds when he was drafted. They went 1 and 2 in last years draft. They are bigger and stronger now and they are only 19 years old ) .
That is the real issue.
Legendary Coach Scotty Bowman said “If you have 2 players of equal ability you always draft the big body, because come play off time you will be glad you did.”
Sorry for the rambling,but there are many points to consider. Sheary was a great pick up for us and he surprises me every time in what he can do.
I just wish he was 40 pounds heavier and 4 inches taller.
Cheers.
Hey Jayelene,
Rick and Jim did a bang up job on answering your question. I just want to add that play-off hockey and regualr season hockey are two different animals. Once the play-offs start, most referees forget how to use their whistle and bigger players abuse smaller ones. If this were the regular season, Sheary may still be looking like a world beater as the hits is taking would probably have drawn 3 or 4 penalties by this point.
Thanks for the responses, Rick, Jim, & Other Rick. I always come away from here knowing more that I did when I came in.
On your comment on Ovechkin, Jim – I couldn’t agree more. I had to laugh in the Toronto series when he was embellishing what was nothing more than a hard (but legal) hip check from one of the Leaf forwards (Kadry?). Oh the humanity! Never mind that he throws that same check time after time after time, and not always as legal this one was. (I’ve seen it often enough, having been cursed to see him play too many times.) Anyway … a girl’s gotta vent! 😉
Thanks again guys, and GO PENS!
Jayelene
Hey Jaylene, I’m late to this as usual… If Sheary is nursing an injury, I have no problem Hagelin replacing him.
My opinion is that once Guentzel was healthy is when Sheary started to slide. Crosby and Guentzel are both puck possession players and since they only play with one puck at a time, I think Sheary saw a lot less puck than he was used to.
Hopefully he makes a rebound playing on the third or fourth line. Rick, you mentioned Khunackle. Hagelin, Sheary & Wilson all play the same side, I think Kuhnackl can rest easy that he will have a spot, Though Sullivan doesn’t seem to mind throwing a player to his off wing now and then.
Can’t wait for this game to start!!!
Interesting observation, Phil. I think you’re right – Sheary’s game did seem to begin its slide about the same time that Guentzel was rounding back into form. Like you, I don’t think placing him on another line is a bad idea. Sid’s line with do fine with Guentzel and Hornqvist, and like you say, hopefully Sheary will thrive with different linemates. GO PENS!
Jayelene
Not sure about this, the source was a new one, but I heard that Crosby and Guentzel were skating with Rust not Hornqvist. That could be lightning. Rust is a playoff guy.
Pretty dynamic, Other Rick … adding Rusty’s speed. Although I’ve been liking the way that line’s looked with Hornqvist in there. He kinda give them a little extra edge.
(But then again, I’m perfectly happy letting Sully make out the line combinations. He hasn’t let us down yet!)
Oh, and did I mention: GO PENS! 😉
Jayelene
NHL.com reports that Hagelin is a game time decision.
So my question to Sully and everyone here is who sits? Do you really mess with what brung you for a guy who hasn’t played since March 10th? I know my answers, but I will wait to see who else wants to play arm chair coach.
Hey tOR,
One thing that I have appreciated about Sullivan is that he puts in the best players for the job and is not afraid to sit an experienced well paid player to get the job done. He proved it with the Murray/Fleury stuff last playoffs this regualar season and has demoted experienced players to lower lines when they haven’t been performing.
If Hagelin is healthy and flying like they say he is in practice, I’m sure he will be in the lineup.
As for arm chair coach, I would put Hagelin on the third line, and move Sheary to 4th and sit Wilson. It’s a tough call because Wilson has been out playing Sheary. At away games Sheary has the bonus of chemistry with Sid so much that you can put Sid on his line to avoid defensive matchups.
Hey Phil,
Agreed, Sully almost always goes for it regardless of experience or price tag. I can only remember 1 instance were he made conservative decisions and he, Sully came out in the media and apologized for it. That is why, I trust him. I may not always agree with him, but I still trust him if that makes any sense.
My initial thought was to sit Sheary, since he has been struggling against the heavier teams, but you make an interesting point, if push comes to shove, he and Crosby may work a little magic, particularly in OT. I do remember a deflection goal he scored last year in the play-offs about the edge of the attacking right face-off circle that proved huge. I have to re-think about that a bit.
Hey Coach
Hagelin goes on 3rd line with Bonino to increase speed,depth and scoring chances. They pay him 4 million for a good reason. HE PERFORMED BEST IN BIG GAMES. Also gives the PK another dimension.
The more interesting question is who do you sit?
That is the hard one for me to answer.
If Sheary can not handle the rough stuff and he no longer plays with Sid….so he does not score anymore then he should go.. for this series anyway.
I do not question his work effort.He gives 110%.
Sheary, Wilson,
Tough choice to make Coach.
Jim
My thoughts were originally like yours Jim, but Phil made an interesting point. I am not sure I will change my mind, but I am mulling over his point about Crosby – Sheary. If Sully chooses to try double shifting Crosby at some point Sheary may prove more valuable. I am thinking about it right now.
Hey Coach
There could be a silver lining for us long term.If Sheary does not perform well against the heavier teams then come this summer his new salary, RFA will be reduced accordingly.
I worried that he may merit a 4 to 5 million dollar pay day playing with Sid in the play offs and that would put him off our team for simple cap reasons next year. Now that people can see his limitations in action his future salary should be considerably less. Thus we can afford him then. Like Rick,I like Sheary and his game and welcome him back next year, for the right price.
So the fact Sheary may have to sit this round out does not bother me that much. What is hard to believe is that Wilson is playing so well.
Bottom line is Hagelin makes us much harder to play against and his foot speed should give the Caps defense even more problems.
Jim
Hey all,
So much gets glossed over when I do my game summaries. But I neglected to mention what a truly phenomenal game Crosby played last night, at both ends of the ice.
I don’t know if I’ve ever seen Sid play better two-way hockey. Just incredible. What a player and what a leader!
A shout-out to Olli Maatta, too. Phil, you were right. He’s been so solid since returning from the hand injury.
The fact that he and Daley were on the ice during the final minute speaks volumes about how well he’s playing, not to mention the trust Olli’s earned from Mike Sullivan and the coaching staff.
Rick
Hey Rick,
Good guys won… Way to go Pen’s…
Not to ruin our mood, and I am one of the few who said Pen’s in 6, so
I say this in those terms of reference.
We did not win last night !! The Cap’s LOST !!
Just as they will lose this series my friend.
Here are a few points to consider ..
1. Face offs. In the Toronto series it was clear that this was a weakness of the Caps. They could not beat rookie and second year kids on the dot. My point being we struggled this year on face offs and we are not that great either, but we are a lot better than the Caps. It showed last night.
2. Discipline. Just when the Caps were rallying in the third period, bingo right on que they take a stupid penalty. The refs did not want to call it but the Caps player was jumping over the backs of other players to get to ours.
Just Stupid !! Same idea with the penalty in the first. Pens played like champions and kept their composure and the Caps did not.
The Caps should forget that nonsense and play hockey.
But they can’t.
3. Defense problems… The Caps defense looked stressed at times and very slow. Example the Bonino goal and Sid’s second. I hope they play Orpik – ShattenKirk 25 minutes a game. As good as Shattenkirk is on the PP he is having all kinds of problems with our fore check. Keep it up.
4. Caps getting caught on too many odd man rushes. You can play aggressive all you want with the Pens, but you must always be aware of the high slot break out.
5. Caps frustration.. You could see it building as the game went on.
That is their Achilles heal.
So I say with the greatest respect for our beloved Penguins,yes we will win this series,( barring major injury ) and when we look back this will be our toughest opponent by far to reach the finals,and as in the past realize the Caps beat themselves….
Watching MAF, the play of our so called no name defense and the play of the kids…. we will do just fine.
What happens when the Caps drop game 2 Rick ??
Houston, somebody has a problem . 🙂
Great game, great effort and as I said before the Caps are a lot more afraid of us than we are them…
Lets go pens !!
Hey Jim,
That is what I am hoping for, the Caps to beat themselves.
I do think the Caps made their first mistake before the play-offs started. Trading for a big gun like Shattenkirk, when you are racing towards a consecutive Presidents trophy really is a vote of no confidence in your team. Now, considering the weak psyche of the Caps team, well, they started the play-offs behind the 8-ball. Management amped up the pressure, even before the play-off puck dropped.
I really don’t think there is that great of a talent gap between the two teams and that is why I am still a bit worried. If Guentzel doesn’t make that save and the Pens are down 1-0, I am not exactly sure we still win. MAF made a boat load of spectacular saves but also was helped out, a ton, by plays like Guentzel’s as well as the Caps 19 missed nets. A little puck luck and the Caps can easily get back into the series.
As for game 2, I refer you to my comment below about superstition and not wanting to mention things.
Also agree with your assessment of Oshie and Williams undisciplined brand of hockey. They both are very talented players who often shoot themselves (or their team) in the foot with blatant stupidity.
And as for the Caps frustration, that Gorilla can keep growing and growing until it buries them, at least I hope.
Hey Rick,
Could you here the Bonino, Bonino, Bonino chants?
Like Las Vegas, who know has the Pens at 7/2 and Caps a very close second at 15/4, I am leaning a little more towards our home town boys but waiting to see what happens next. Bottom line, the team won, but to be sure it wasn’t exactly a dominant performance by the Pens; lots of shots against, big rebounds, and total shot attempts, with precious few shots for. But the Pens found a way to steal 1 game on enemy ice and that is big.
And lets give the Caps some credit, they had a very sound strategy at least before they had to play desperate, they where trying bounce passes off of MAFs pads, creating traffic and making him move side to side while MAF was positioning himself aggressively high in his crease. Problem is, the Caps appear snake but at the moment, with about 25% of their shots missing the net (19 of 83), while the D, although not being able to clear the zone with rapidity were at least blocking about 35% of the total shots (29 of 83). So lets take the win, smiling like a butcher’s dog (as the saying goes) and hope that the ever growing Gorilla on the Caps back weighs them down into sel-defeating submission.
I just want to repeat an earliet comment; how about Guentzel! He is my pick as the most important player this year so far. Not only does he lead the league in play-off goals, he picked up an assist on the first Pens goal, did a yoeman’s job on the setting up the second Pens goal, but won’t get any credit for his work there, and then or more accurately before all of that, preserved the then 0-0 tie with a brilliant save in the crease behind MAF. He just keep continuing to impress me.
I do still want to give Sheary a shout out, he is trying. He is taking on bigger customers physically. Hopefully, everything starts falling in place for him again soon.
There is something I am wondering about, but will not mention just yet out of superstition.
Let’s go Pens!
Hey Rick, awesome win! A couple of quick observances…
Rust’s playoff stat line is ridiculously identical to Ovechkin’s,
5’8″ Sheary is struggling to play with the bigger teams. I think Sullivan took notice.
Orpik & Shattenkirk continue to pave the way with the league’s worst +/- for active playoff participants. I think Orpik is still signed for 2 more years @5.5 mil.
Fleury’s play is insane.
It took me forever to figure it out, but Trotz reminds me of Burl Ives from the Rudolph Clay-mations.
He Phil,
I never thought about it but you are right, dress Trotz up as a snowman and I could easily see him struming his banjo and singing to Rudolph.
I am feeling bad for Sheary, you are right, he does appear to be struggling against bigger teams but not for lack of trying. He is battling. If Sully wanted to dress Kunitz, I wonder why he didn’t sit Sheary instead of Rowney. Not that Rowney has Sheary’s scoring potential, but Rowney has been a physical force and with Sheary bumped out of a top 6 role, I would think a hitter may be more important.
About Orpik/Shattenkirk, that just may be a really bad pairing. Orpik isn’t the Orpik that patrolled the Pens blueline. He is much longer in the tooth and may not be able to compensate for a Shattenkirk’s lack of D-zone responsibility. If that is the case, I hope Trotz doesn’t figure it out.
I hope he doesn’t figure it out either.
I used to be a big fan of deadline rental players like Shattenkirk, but one of things that I noticed when Ray Shero used to do it every year is that the rental players always seem to be playing not to get hurt. Sometimes they play more of a “me” game not a team game. Therefore protecting their potential big contract.
I’m seeing that in Shattenkirk.
I hear you there Phil. Every once in a while I forget myself and look for the grass is greener at the trade dead line. I mus tadmit I was contemplating what Shattenkirk could do under Sully, however, your point is spot on, rental players are me first players and Sullivan has built a team first team. There is no room for me first players.
Should the boys in black and gold go the distance and win their last game this year (and like everyone here that is what I am praying for) it will be because all of the players put team first and lay down the bunt (blk shots and sacrifice body or glory to win the game) when called upon.
Hey Phil.
Great comparison to Burl Ives … 🙂
All in all, I thought the Pens played pretty well, too. While I didn’t get to watch the game straight through, I was surprised when I heard the attempted shot totals. Maybe it’s just my sense, but it didn’t feel that lopsided to me.
I feel sorry for Sheary. Decidedly rough stretch aside, I still think he belongs on the top line with Crosby and Guentzel. Having said that, I do understand why Sullivan made the switch. It was becoming kind of a boon or bust combo.
Hornqvist has certainly blended well with Sid and Jake. He adds some sand to the mix. It kind of gives the line a classic look with a scorer, a cornerman and a setup guy, although Sid’s obviously much more than that.
My guess is, given Sheary’s speed, skill and creativity, that Sullivan perhaps felt he could more or less fill Kessel’s role on the reconstructed third line. Unfortunately, it hasn’t worked out so far.
Still love the kid.
Rick