GDT: LXXVII - PIT @ DET - 7:38PM EDT

[Dickie Dunn]

Nope, everything is bad. The losses are bad, the wins are worse. There are no other teams in the league that have any similar problems and they never have. All of their players play at 100% every single day (not even just game days, regular days too). We're playing .600 hockey this month and we've played .600 hockey this year...so, this is clearly an anomaly...


Look, I'm not saying there aren't some concerning things and that everyone is just peachy...but take a breath...out of all the Penguins teams that I've been fortunate enough to see in my lifetime...I trust this one, this one gets the benefit of the doubt...that doesn't mean they'll flip the switch and win the Cup automatically...but laying an egg against Detroit isn't the worst thing that's happened to us...

Spend this next week or 10 days getting your defense right and your PK right...we need to shave off a half a goal...after that, we're gonna be in good shape...

What would you do to fix the PK? There's been some turnover in personnel (Rowney out, Rust/ZAR in; Cole gone, whoever is breathing in) but to me that shouldn't lead to a drop off of this magnitude. I don't want to say that it's effort level, because that gets overused as a catchall for anytime things aren't going well. It just seems like everything is going wrong. Zone entries are uncontested, cross ice passes are easily completed, guys are being lost in front of the net, clearing attempts go nowhere.

[Gaucho]

They need a cardboard Cole in the room, as he was obviously the secet MVP of the team.

[mikey]

My own PK strategy doesn't work at this level because players can routinely score from 55 feet. So let's get that out of the way, I'd be in over my head if tasked with fixing it now.

That said, our switches out high are horrific. Guys fold under each other too quickly or not at all...I'm actually not even sure what they're trying to accomplish sometimes...

I'd actually just call a spade a spade and just match quick and quick and then smart and smart...so Hagelin and Rust and then Brassard and Kuhnhackl...find a way to work Sheahan in there, as, to my eye, he's been one of our better PKers this year...maybe swap him out for Kuhnhackl, and let Kuhn rotate in...

Special teams, probably more than any other aspect of the game, can really rely on X's and O's to work or fail. It's difficult to overcome bad strategy because the game isn't nearly as dynamic as it is at even strength and it's played in a 75 foot space as opposed to 200.

Power play goals against universally start with zone entries. So that's always the first thing you want to deal with...we're not fast on the blueline, but we have reach...Letang's laterally mobility makes him an asset, Oleksiak's mobility and reach make him an asset...and when he went to his guidance counselor in 10th grade, Brian Dumoulin was told he was meant to kill penalties for a living. Maatta is my 4th option.

Letang and Oleksiak can double back and cover a lot more ground on pucks chipped by them when they hold the line than Dumoulin or Maatta...so by that logic, Letang and Oleksiak (if together) are good skaters but not very inteliigent, they get to go with Brassard/Sheahan/Kuhnhackl. Dumoulin and Maatta are smart, but they can't make the required footwork criteria while holding a line and need support underneath...give them Hagelin and Rust (and Simon).

Then there's no one fix. Your video guys got to get with your coaches and you plan for each team's power play. Get their entry(ies) down, get their movement down, get their options/looks down. Then develop a strategy to counteract that. Lowest hanging fruit: Philadelphia uses that slingshot entry and they get it to the center with speed and then he has overlap support wide -- outside the dot line but in the same lane as one defender. Philly knows that everyone knows their entry. So what happened on Sunday, Gostisbehere faked the slingshot and then carried it himself and one of our players just burst into flames (Kuhnhackl?). Then you know a team like Washington and what they're about in the zone...through the seam to Ovechkin in the left dot. In short: that guy has scored that goal 600 times, make someone else beat you. And/or make them make a perfect play to beat you.

I tell my guys all the time...I'm ok if we get beat by a perfect play, because I know perfect plays aren't sustainable...take the odds away...if it comes up snake eyes, it comes up snake eyes...they get their 30:1 and we move on to the next shooter...

Right now, we're allowing easy plays to beat us...it's poor planning/execution/communication from our group...

[shmenguin]

The IQ of this D group (actual IQ - not hockey IQ) is a marvel I may be telling my grandkids about. I think it matters that these guys generally seem like boneheads. Hopefully they turn into good little drones in a couple weeks. This improv routine they’re doing doesn’t suit them.

[mikey]

Just off the top of my head, and maybe others will want to weigh in...but if I had to give out hockey sense "grades" to our d-men, I think it would go something like this...(note: this is not limited to just the last 75 or whatever games we've played...it's an "overall" feeling)

Maatta: A
Dumoulin: B+
Ruhwedel: B
Schultz: B
Letang: C
Oleksiak: D

I really don't think it's that stupid of a group from a hockey perspective...which I know shmengy noted against (focused on actual IQ)...I'm just saying it out loud for funsies...

[Beveridge]

The Cole fixation is interesting. Weren't the PK numbers when he was on the team and not playing decent?

I feel like it's armchair GM group think that no Cole is the reason for bad PK.

[Gaucho]

To be clear, I don't miss him.

[mikey]

**** Cole

- Dickie

[meow]

Just off the top of my head, and maybe others will want to weigh in...but if I had to give out hockey sense "grades" to our d-men, I think it would go something like this...(note: this is not limited to just the last 75 or whatever games we've played...it's an "overall" feeling)

Maatta: A
Dumoulin: B+
Ruhwedel: B
Schultz: B
Letang: C
Oleksiak: D

I really don't think it's that stupid of a group from a hockey perspective...which I know shmengy noted against (focused on actual IQ)...I'm just saying it out loud for funsies...

Where does knowing one's limitations and playing within them fall? Hockey IQ or actual IQ? If it is Hockey IQ, I'd put Dumo ahead of Maatta. Oleksiak may have a lower hockey IQ, but Letang proves his is low more often.

[Gaucho]

Schultz has been a pleasant surprise this season with his solid all-aound game.

[mikey]

That's a really good question and that's definitely a part of it. And this is just hockey IQ, I have no idea how smart these players actually are on the SATs or whatever...

I thought those might be two points of contention. I'm gonna stand by my rankings, but it's a "feel" thing more than anything...Oleksiak just gets isolated so often and then just drifts into oblivion or back to screen his goalie. Letang hasn't been as dumb in his career as he has been this year...I don't know what that's about...I still don't find him to be a complete dunce...yet...but he's not tracking towards mensa...

[dodint]

REAL TALK

Look, if Bob Errey is wondering aloud if the Pens will make the playoffs it's all over. Short of Lange doing the same I can't think of a more clear sign of the apocalypse.

[Dickie Dunn]

**** Cole

- Dickie

Nah not him. I liked Cole. **** Bonino though for sure. And Matt Cullen too, through no fault of his own.

The Cole fixation is interesting. Weren't the PK numbers when he was on the team and not playing decent?

I feel like it's armchair GM group think that no Cole is the reason for bad PK.

I'm not going to go through and crunch the numbers for games where he was actually in the lineup, but on just a before trade/after trade basis:

Season: 199/249 - 79.9%
Before Trade: 170/206 - 82.5%
Since Trade: 29/43 - 67.4%

[shmenguin]

Schultz has been a pleasant surprise this season with his solid all-aound game.

An unpleasant surprise is that he forgot how to hit the net this year. Between him and Oleksiak brutalizing the glass, Letang working over people’s shin pads and Maatta’s on the job training where he’s slowly learning how to shoot during games...I get more excited when ruhweedle shoots than anyone else. What a time to be alive.

[Gaucho]

Schultz has been a pleasant surprise this season with his solid all-aound game.

An unpleasant surprise is that he forgot how to hit the net this year. Between him and Oleksiak brutalizing the glass, Letang working over people’s shin pads and Maatta’s on the job training where he’s slowly learning how to shoot during games...I get more excited when ruhweedle shoots than anyone else. What a time to be alive.

True, but I really like his overall game.

[skullman80]

I'm not in panic mode, but I am concerned that they need to get their **** together so they even make the playoffs. Fixing stuff is all well and good, but keep laying eggs and they won't even get a chance to defend the cup.

[mikey]

For the Pens not to make the playoffs, we're talking about plane crash type stuff...it's all but a lock...

[shafnutz05]

Missing the playoffs is the least of our concerns. Not having home ice in any playoff series is a distinct possibility though.

[Troy Loney]

I don't really understand what's causing the home/road splits. But I fully expect for them to flip the switch for the post season and start playing tighter and more physical defensively. Because, if not, then they probably wont make it out of the first round.

[Lemon Berry Lobster]

For the Pens not to make the playoffs, we're talking about plane crash Hobey Baker type stuff...it's all but a lock...

[dodint]

I literally just cringed, but then I remembered that you're not a professional sports announcer so then I chuckled.

[shafnutz05]

I know I've mentioned this before, but I stopped by Hobey Baker's grave one time on my lunch break when I used to work in Bala Cynwyd outside of Philly.

[shmenguin]

I don't really understand what's causing the home/road splits. But I fully expect for them to flip the switch for the post season and start playing tighter and more physical defensively. Because, if not, then they probably wont make it out of the first round.

For a team that has had difficulty being fully engaged all season long, the disparity makes sense. If they could speak candidly about it, they’d probably say that it’s hard to take these games seriously, when they know that the playoffs are completely different and the only thing that matters. So if it’s a road game where you’re missing out on the comforts of home and you aren’t getting anything from the crowd, it ramps up the disengagement. Being home is fun. For a team what only deals in Stanley Cups, a road game against basement dweller Detroit is the worst.

[Gaucho]

Even more so in an half empty building.

[Lemon Berry Lobster]

I literally just cringed, but then I remembered that you're not a professional sports announcer so then I chuckled.

Would you have been better if I said Roberto Clemente?