GDT #34 Minnesota Wild 26-Dec-2015 8:00pm EST

Postby **nocera** » Sat Dec 26, 2015 10:23 pm

Letang is back on the ice which means the league won't even take a look at the hit.

Postby **willeyeam** » Sat Dec 26, 2015 10:25 pm

Today I learned the pens blog is still a thing

YouTube · Postby **mikey** » Sat Dec 26, 2015 10:40 pm

Malkin sleeps in a bit, Crosby picks it up...nice win...

Postby **Rx6687** » Sat Dec 26, 2015 11:18 pm

Letang is back on the ice which means the league won't even take a look at the hit.

I don't mean to fire up this old debate again, but perhaps the Pens need a nuclear option...it's a shame that guys like Bonino and Wilson have to drop the gloves. Hits to the head will continue to happen either way, and I'm not suggesting the Pens go out and get John Scott....but perhaps they need a guy who can throw down, even if he is a healthy scratch most nights.

YouTube · Postby **mikey** » Sat Dec 26, 2015 11:26 pm

Sure, but who is going to fight that guy on the Wild...?

Parise-Granlund-Pominville
Zucker-Koivu-Vanek
Neiderreiter-Coyle-Fontaine
Carter-Stoll-Haula

None of those guys would even consider fighting anyone that could be deemed a "nuclear option"...you could maybe, maybe, get Ryan Carter to fight like a Chris Kunitz type...or even Ian Cole...but not a real fighter...

Postby **Rx6687** » Sat Dec 26, 2015 11:45 pm

Sure, but who is going to fight that guy on the Wild...?

Parise-Granlund-Pominville
Zucker-Koivu-Vanek
Neiderreiter-Coyle-Fontaine
Carter-Stoll-Haula

None of those guys would even consider fighting anyone that could be deemed a "nuclear option"...you could maybe, maybe, get Ryan Carter to fight like a Chris Kunitz type...or even Ian Cole...but not a real fighter...

Right, and this is why most teams don't carry a guy like that on the roster, unless he can actually play hockey a little. I hated the way Matt Cooke would target players and his play often crossed the line, but at least guys like him, Ruutu, Kasparaitis, etc were somewhat of a deterrent.

YouTube · Postby **mikey** » Sat Dec 26, 2015 11:54 pm

So then Morkle's idea of getting a complete nutjob/Downie replacement like Zack Kassian is something you would back then...?

I suppose it's worth a conversation...but if the organization wanted that, they would not have waived Farnham probably...

Postby **columbia** » Sat Dec 26, 2015 11:59 pm

Downie would have fared better under Sullivan than the insurance salesman.

Postby **MR25** » Sun Dec 27, 2015 1:44 am

Malkin sleeps in a bit, Crosby picks it up...nice win...

Malkin is, aside from a game or two in the last ~ month, in his usual season hideaway. For some reason, unless he's the only guy, he doesn't really sustain points.

Postby **Rx6687** » Sun Dec 27, 2015 8:18 am

So then Morkle's idea of getting a complete nutjob/Downie replacement like Zack Kassian is something you would back then...?

I suppose it's worth a conversation...but if the organization wanted that, they would not have waived Farnham probably...

Normally I wouldn't back this, but so far this season there have been too many liberties taken against Sid, Letang, Olli, Geno, even Fleury. I mean, Letang returns from injury and plays ONE full period before his head is targeted. #58 and #87 won't be in the league for long if they keep getting hit in the head/concussed.

When you had Ulf, Kaspar, Cooke, etc at least it was in the back of someone's mind...target our star player and we'll target yours. I do realize the league isn't the way it used to be, but if Ulf were around when Dubinsky pulled his crap a few weeks ago, he may well have spent Christmas eating through a straw.

Postby **NTP66** » Sun Dec 27, 2015 8:47 am

This has probably already been said, but we can't afford a roster spot on a guy like that. If Downie weren't such a psychopath, he could have filled that role. The days of Ulf, Kaspar, Stevens, etc. are long gone. The game has evolved, and will continue to evolve.

Postby **large garlic** » Sun Dec 27, 2015 12:26 pm

I really think that the only way to deal with hits like the one Letang received is through punishment at the league level. Guys like Stoll will refuse to fight dedicated goons, and guys who will retaliate in other ways like Downie seem to cost the team more in penalties against than in providing any deterrent to other teams targeting the Pens' stars.

Postby **Rx6687** » Sun Dec 27, 2015 5:21 pm

I really think that the only way to deal with hits like the one Letang received is through punishment at the league level. Guys like Stoll will refuse to fight dedicated goons, and guys who will retaliate in other ways like Downie seem to cost the team more in penalties against than in providing any deterrent to other teams targeting the Pens' stars.

You can still carry a guy like that as a 7th defenseman or an extra forward, and the next time you play that team, you can plant that player several rows up into the stands. If the league won't address it, the players will have to at some point. The question is, when does it reach that point and how far will it have to go? I've had enough of Dubinsky, and this goes back to the 2014 playoffs and even before that. The league has done nothing and will continue to do nothing.

Postby **Avyran** » Sun Dec 27, 2015 5:34 pm

Speaking of doing nothing...
https://twitter.com/Russostrib/status/6 ... 9095937024

Postby **Gaucho** » Sun Dec 27, 2015 5:46 pm

**** them

Postby **large garlic** » Sun Dec 27, 2015 7:24 pm

I'm not saying I'm optimistic that the league will do anything, just that the only hope is that the league start regulating this stuff better. Last season the Pens had Downie (and Lapierre and Farnham for part of the season), and whatever deterrence that bought the Pens was arguably outweighed by all the penalties Downie got (legit penalties and those of the "2 minutes for being Downie" variety).

The Pens have had actual goons, they've had agitators who were a bit dirty and could play a bit, and now they have a "pack mentality," but their stars keep getting targeted. I really don't think anything changes until the league gets serious about protecting its star players like, say, the NFL has.

Postby **Rx6687** » Sun Dec 27, 2015 7:34 pm

I guess I'm saying that, on the whole, the team is too soft. More than the Steve Downies of the world, they miss guys like Mike Rupp. Just a big, solid guy who was one heck of a bottom 6 and a great locker room guy. I really like Cullen and Bonino, but they can't be expected to answer the bell the way Rupp did.

Postby **shmenguin** » Sun Dec 27, 2015 7:37 pm

I really think that the only way to deal with hits like the one Letang received is through punishment at the league level. Guys like Stoll will refuse to fight dedicated goons, and guys who will retaliate in other ways like Downie seem to cost the team more in penalties against than in providing any deterrent to other teams targeting the Pens' stars.
You can still carry a guy like that as a 7th defenseman or an extra forward, and the next time you play that team, you can plant that player several rows up into the stands. If the league won't address it, the players will have to at some point. The question is, when does it reach that point and how far will it have to go? I've had enough of Dubinsky, and this goes back to the 2014 playoffs and even before that. The league has done nothing and will continue to do nothing.

This kind of retaliation is extremely uncommon and when it happens, nobody is happy afterwards.

Maybe if you don't dress a team full of Sally's, the other team won't be eager to make the game into something physical since things can turn unpleasant for everyone. But we are a big giant collective Sally, so that theory will remain untested.

Postby **shmenguin** » Sun Dec 27, 2015 7:38 pm

And for all the Downie talk, that guy was a joke last year. He talked a lot but did zero. His lasting physical impact was trying to hurt people's hands with his face.

Postby **dodint** » Sun Dec 27, 2015 11:52 pm

Ohhhhhhh NOW Downie sucks.

Get bent, all of you.

Postby **shmenguin** » Mon Dec 28, 2015 11:52 am

He didn't suck. He was a fine 3rd liner. He was just a useless joke in this area.

Postby **NTP66** » Mon Dec 28, 2015 11:57 am

Ohhhhhhh NOW Downie sucks.

Get bent, all of you.

I'd have been fine with Downie if he could control himself. He was too much of a liability, and the only reason I thought he should have a shot was because of how Tocchet handled him in Tampa Bay. I was fine with him moving on.