Fifth Avenue Forum

Mentally, this team is a bunch of pussies.

The regression is bizarre.

They lost big time character guys with Kunitz and Fleury. Lost some sandpaper when Cole and Kuhnhackel left. Lost speed when Hags, Bonino, and Daley left.

You can't keep everyone when you win a championship, and players get older. But they tried to replace those guys with the Casey DeSmith's and Dominic Simon's of the world, and it just wasn't good enough.

I thought the "core-core" would be enough. But, no.

If Johnson is your major problem with this series, then you haven’t been paying attention.

He's a main cause of what ails the Pens.

???? >6 of our forwards have done next to nothing so far; the speed overall is lacking; can't get anyone to the net with any regularity. JJ didn't play in the game 1 loss....lots of other things on top of JJ's play.

The forwards will have trouble having the puck and shooting if Jack Johnson can't move the puck up to them and turns it over in his own zone, or can't keep it in the O zone.

That happens, yes, but 100 other bad things are happening or not happening, not involving JJ, that are rendering Pens ineffective. Awful play at awful times by Letang, Dumo, Maataa; inability of stars to mount any kind of consistent pressure, which has little to do with JJ.

This is the '96 Panthers series except I don't have the emotional investment I did as a 13 year old.

I don’t think this team is nearly as good as the 96 team but maybe I just built that team up in my memory.

This is the '96 Panthers series except I don't have the emotional investment I did as a 13 year old.

I wish this were the '96 Panthers series. That was at least tied after 4, IIRC.

This is just humiliating.

What in the actual ****

The core was brutal in the playoffs from 2012 through 2015. The guys that were brought in the next year formed instant chemistry with some young guys who came up from WBS, and it was the perfect storm. That entry level help ushered in a ton of speed and energy. This year, the team lacked both of those, and that is an understatement.

They've played this series like it was a gdamn road trip before Christmas break

About a month ago, I thought this team had found something. McCann, Jake, and Sid were on fire. Kessel was starting to come around. Murray was looking solid. Power play was clicking.

Then, things got weird. The top line just stopped scoring completely. Letang and Dumo were not close to 100% after returning. After that Philly game, it appeared the team was sort of rallying around that. I thought collectively they might have turned the corner. I was mistaken.

Geno was injured and McCann was moved to help the 2nd line because... reasons. Rust was on the top line because Sully said they liked his speed on the forecheck? The D did well with Dumo and Olli out but we’re exposed a couple times by fast teams.

They can be soft as long as they’re fast, they are not fast but are still built like a fast team. As a result they can’t adjust and play any kind of gritty game such as a dump and chase hard forecheck. They don’t have the guys for it.

This is the '96 Panthers series except I don't have the emotional investment I did as a 13 year old.

I don’t think this team is nearly as good as the 96 team but maybe I just built that team up in my memory.

What I remember from that series is watching and just being furious that they couldn't do a damn thing to get quality scoring chances for the entire duration of the series and that's the feeling I'm having now.

All of the above post by Pavel is correct.

Obviously too many people not producing. Certainly the other team on the ice has a say in making that happen, but these guys are paid to get through once in awhile..

I take solice in the Pens were in finals and winning Cups before the kings and Hawks and after they’ve come and gone Pens are still winning and in post season. 16 and 17 was incredible.

Team like bruins have caught that magic in bottle with young guys coming up to blend with their core vets at the 11th hour though

Good news: we can win 4 in a row against the Isles

Bad news: it's probably not going to happen

No. Pens will win 2 straight to get our hopes up then **** the bed in game 6 at home.

As long as we get one more home game. $$$$

This is the '96 Panthers series except I don't have the emotional investment I did as a 13 year old.

This is accurate for me, as well.

Should have fired Sullivan mid season. Just for the sake of lighting a fire under their asses.

Mentally, this team is a bunch of pussies.

The regression is bizarre.

It really is. This team just won two consecutive championships and has a bunch of guys with 3+ Cups, yet sometimes I feel like I’m watching the Pens team that got slaughtered by the Sens in the first playoff series of the Crosby era.

At least they are not arguably the best Pens team in history losing in game 7 ot on the eve of my college graduation.....

Sooo stuck with

JMFJ
Gudbranson
Horny - still effective in a reduced role but for sure slowing.

Guys like,
Simon
Kessel

Could be moved pretty easily if the Pens wanted to IMO. I’m not even a get rid of Kessel guy but he is for sure a luxury item. I don’t even hate Simon if he was on a proper 3rd line with Rust and Bjugstad

The Red Sox's Dave Roberts steals 2nd with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th in the 2004 ALCS, where the Yankees were busting out the caps to celebrate a sweep.

Peter Laviolette calls a timeout while the Flyers are down and about to be swept by a vastly superior Bruins team. The Bruins even tied that game with only a couple a seconds left. 'Twas pitch-dark for the Flyers, and I was thrilled.

Justin Williams and Marian Gaborik put the Kings on their backs to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Sharks and slowly climb out of the 3-0 hole toward creating a slow-motion train wreck upset of the Sharks.

Cool to know that those things *did* happen, and if I didn't watch each one of them with my own eyes, I'd say it was totally BS.

Yeah, all that is nice.

This series feels more like the 2013 Bs series to me imo

This series feels more like the 2013 Bs series to me imo

This just feels like the Bruins series.

I didn't expect much from this team in the playoffs. But I sure never expected to be SWEPT by the Islanders in the first round. I thought they would at lest make the second round before going golfing. Is the Islander's defense this good or are we just this bad? Maybe just no hunger or desire compared to the Isles.

This series feels more like the 2013 Bs series to me imo

This just feels like the Bruins series.

Minus the huge deadline splash of a future HOFer who was then asked to play out of position and was turned into a non-factor.

About a month ago, I thought this team had found something. McCann, Jake, and Sid were on fire. Kessel was starting to come around. Murray was looking solid. Power play was clicking.

Then, things got weird. The top line just stopped scoring completely. Letang and Dumo were not close to 100% after returning. After that Philly game, it appeared the team was sort of rallying around that. I thought collectively they might have turned the corner. I was mistaken.

Geno was injured and McCann was moved to help the 2nd line because... reasons. Rust was on the top line because Sully said they liked his speed on the forecheck? The D did well with Dumo and Olli out but we’re exposed a couple times by fast teams.

They can be soft as long as they’re fast, they are not fast but are still built like a fast team. As a result they can’t adjust and play any kind of gritty game such as a dump and chase hard forecheck. They don’t have the guys for it.

Yes

I didn't expect much from this team in the playoffs. But I sure never expected to be SWEPT by the Islanders in the first round. I thought they would at lest make the second round before going golfing. Is the Islander's defense this good or are we just this bad? Maybe just no hunger or desire compared to the Isles.

I think our defensemen are playing so extraordinarily dumb it's ruining any chance of well, anything. And we're sitting maybe our most cerebral one