Postby Avyran » Fri Mar 27, 2015 12:13 pm
Regarding Scuderi... he is definitely waning, but he is just a piece (some say the piece) of the greater problem of the Pens as a whole. Madden & Yohe were talking about the Pens yesterday, & they were discussing the Pens' lack of identity. I kinda scoffed at it, but it seemed to show last night. They're pushing, they're trying, but... it seems they're just trying without knowing what they're trying to do. The first period was alright (they outshot the Canes 14-7), but in standard Pens' fashion they still ended up down 2-1 within 10 minutes. After this, they just kept pushing and making desperate attempts, whereas the Canes seemed to coolly counter-punch for max effectiveness.
I've been waiting for them to shake this massive slump for several weeks now. Maybe they're just not going to shake it this year... or maybe it'll change with a flash. Who knows?
Re: Letang, I still think he's Norris-worthy. However, I think he - like the rest of the Pens right now - is trying too hard & hoping for his athletic skill to carry the play. Letang (to me) is not the smartest player, and he has a penchant to push too far & be too aggressive, overly relying on his athleticism to make up for mistakes. He is a sound defensive player, but is also emotional & can be pushed off his game. Again, last night was kinda an example of the negatives in Letang's game (as was for most).
Crosby played great, again. However, we're finding out that he cannot carry this team alone. Winnik also played very well, but he's a great 3rd-liner, not a 1st liner. I didn't expect Perron to be this absurdly streaky - he's almost as snakebit as Kunitz (who I thought played well). However, that gives a silver lining, as perhaps he'll suddenly get over the hump at any moment. The only defensive positive was Cole, I think. Pouliot was a neutral (making plays, but also making rookie mistakes).
Pretty weak effort by Fleury last night. But meh, it's not like the team really gave him a chance in the end.