Kid seems to be able to steady himself but he's only played about 15 games in the nhl so it's to be expected
- dbell646

Oh, he's gonna have off nights and some hiccups, no doubt. I think he has it in him to take them all the way this year.

Since the Phil dosent have a good one timer and has been struggling with the puckon the PP I wouldn't mind seeing Sheary get a chance. Much better puck handler. Could it hurt the PP that is 0fer this series?

Are we really critiquing Murry this morning?

Oh, he's gonna have off nights and some hiccups, no doubt. I think he has it in him to take them all the way this year.
- jmatchett383

He has that look to him that no game is to big

Are we really critiquing Murry this morning?
- all-pgh

Not critiuing (personally), just saying he didn't have his A-game at the beginning last night. I think that's fair to say.

Not critiuing (personally), just saying he didn't have his A-game at the beginning last night. I think that's fair to say.
- jmatchett383

Having a fluke goal flutter over your shoulder doesnt constitute not having your A game. After that he was a rock.

laine is gonna be the new fin flash. a modern day teemu... great for the league. bad for the 29 other teams that don't have him.
honestly think I might need to start following toronto, winnipeg and edmonton a bit more. 3 teams that will be REALLY good in the future. except edmonton cuz they suck AND have as bad luck as pens have with injuries.
- martox

I didn't think it was allowed for a Swede to compliment a Finn.

Every time I watch Weber make that perfect setup pass to Hornie, all I can think of is Homer Simpson saying Doh! I almost feel sorry that Pittsburgh guy. Almost.

Not critiuing (personally), just saying he didn't have his A-game at the beginning last night. I think that's fair to say.
- jmatchett383

Eh ... he gave up a soft goal at the start, a shot he should have had, but closed the door down after that. Had a .944 save percentage last night and has been basically stellar the entire play-offs.

When he gives up an early goal, he shakes it off and slams the door shut from there. That is his MO.

The end result is all that matters.

Should have traded Hornquest, just not enough skill.

Not critiuing (personally), just saying he didn't have his A-game at the beginning last night. I think that's fair to say.
- jmatchett383

That first goal against was actually a perfect shot. It was from the goal line on the backhand. Beagle could try that a thousand more times and never get that in. Yeah Murray could of been standing on that one but almost any other time thats not going in. I have zero issues with his play last night.

Every time I watch Weber make that perfect setup pass to Hornie, all I can think of is Homer Simpson saying Doh! I almost feel sorry that Pittsburgh guy. Almost.
- madmike71

I had to read this twice to make sure you weren't talking about Shea.

Are we really critiquing Murry this morning?
- all-pgh

I mean what J Machett said was right. And this all goes back to the original poster that said Murray's already hit his ceiling. There's definitely areas where he needs to improve and can improve. There's nothing to criticize. He's way better than any 21 year old has the right to be, but saying this is his ceiling isn't right

Yeah they just stare. I was at the flight line chow hall. It's pretty small so when I jumped and yelled, everyone stared at me like I was an idiot. The cool thing is I work with Canadien Air Force, so they can understand where I'm coming from.
Side note; few days ago I went in to bullpoop with them and asked how their teams are doing in the playoffs. They were all like "ooooooooo" lol. It's the small thinks that count out here.
- Brownsoldier

I like that chow hall better anyways, we got into fights with the Canadians when playing hockey at the rink... Some where cool but others were @ssholes...

We tried to paint a pens mural with our c130s on the rink's boards but never got around too it.

Why do people automatically think Sprong is a better option? Sprong is a better scorer without question, but he isn't better defensively and I think last night's game needed a better all around defensive player than Sprong. Not a knock on him, but ...
- Oneonta Penguin

Agreed. Sundquvist is a safe player. Nothing fancy but gets the job done and gives the Pens more versatility incase a center goes down or if they need another PK guy.

What are the thoughts on Sundquist? It really doesnt look like he is a productive player. He went out there and played hard, threw some checks but clearly looks out of place. Not very fast, poor balance and very limited skill.

I think its time for Sprong to rejoin the team. With Cullen, he would get plenty of ice time with a guy who is very good defensively and having a great run offensively. Imagine what that 4th line could do with an extra sniper out there?

Also think it is time to rethink Kessel on the 1st PP. He makes no positive contribution and everytime the puck comes to him he mishandles it. Sprong could fit that role and might have as good a shot as Kessel coming off the LW boards. Not trying to be overly critical as he has been a productive player overall, but Kessel is hearing footsteps big time in this series.
- MacPatty

Don't forget Sundquivst really is a true rookie and is still very young at 22. The other "young" guys are all a year or 2 older. On top of that this is his first full year playing in North America. I think he's looked fine and don't forget he doesn't profile as a sniper, but more of a checking line center. He's reliable, consistent, and good defensively.

Sprong should stay in the minors where he is and play top line minutes at WBS instead of bottom 6 minutes here, because next year he's going top be a top 6 guy here.

Don't forget Sundquivst really is a true rookie and is still very young at 22. The other "young" guys are all a year or 2 older. On top of that this is his first full year playing in North America. I think he's looked fine and don't forget he doesn't profile as a sniper, but more of a checking line center. He's reliable, consistent, and good defensively.

Sprong should stay in the minors where he is and play top line minutes at WBS instead of bottom 6 minutes here, because next year he's going top be a top 6 guy here.
- Emperor Filonius

Man with all the various story lines surrounding this year Sprong is really forgotten about. How in the world did we get this kid in the second round? The fact that he's one of the top guns in the AHL playoffs after wasting away in the Q all year is extremely promising. I can't wait to see Danny Sprong on Malkin's wing next season. I'd love to see us finagle our way into getting a high caliber young LW this offseason too. Give Geno two young whipper snappers and keep the other two first lines in tact and the only team that could beat us is ourselves.

I mean what J Machett said was right. And this all goes back to the original poster that said Murray's already hit his ceiling. There's definitely areas where he needs to improve and can improve. There's nothing to criticize. He's way better than any 21 year old has the right to be, but saying this is his ceiling isn't right
- Victoro311

My only critique of Murray is at times after a save he doesn't move the puck when the option is there and it results in a defensive zone faceoff.

So is Muzza's stance his natural stance or is it something he has invented to be the best possible goalie he can be at the current time? Can he change it & manufacture a 'better' stance to provide less weaknesses or will that disrupt his natural flow he has now?

Can he correct anything that is associated with his stance? Thinking of a golfers swing that if they changed it it would (frank) their game up, & have to go back to the original??
- Aussiepenguin

Fair questions. Play on the bad angles is mostly just save selection. Bales corrected that in Fleury and the results were noticeable. Middle of the net is a comfort thing, and it will affect hand position, but should be correctable and not affect his mobility. In fact, I think he will have better balance and mobility if he starts with the body more upright.

The Pens have a very good goalie coach in Bales, so I have to think these were not his priorities this year and I doubt he would try to change anything right now.
It's remarkable that a second year pro has so few technical flaws. I do, however, expect opponents to target the upper net, but that's a tough shot (I've never seen a puck miss the net low).

My only critique of Murray is at times after a save he doesn't move the puck when the option is there and it results in a defensive zone faceoff.
- willi

He could definitely improve this aspect of his game, but I'd rather have a D-zone face-off than one at center ice after a mistake. Puck movement requires reading the player movement at NHL game speed with no margin for error. He still hasn't played that many games with this defensive group or seen that many different NHL forechecks.

At this point, conservative play is a plus. He's not trying to do too much or pushing the envelope.

This team just keeps surprising me. If i would have told you that through 4 games, the Pens have went 0 for on the powerplay, Crosby only having 1 point, and Malkin only having 2 points, would anyone have thought the Pens would be up 3-1??? This teams depth has really shown through in this series.

I didn't think it was allowed for a Swede to compliment a Finn.
- Oneonta Penguin

meh finland was a part of sweden for longer than the official country Finland has existed

This team just keeps surprising me. If i would have told you that through 4 games, the Pens have went 0 for on the powerplay, Crosby only having 1 point, and Malkin only having 2 points, would anyone have thought the Pens would be up 3-1??? This teams depth has really shown through in this series.
- cap1681

If you also told me that Ovi and Kuz weren't producing either then then yes

It's so refreshing watching another team lose its cool and resort to cheap shots and whining for a change..... God knows that was the Pens for most of the last 5 years

Having a fluke goal flutter over your shoulder doesnt constitute not having your A game. After that he was a rock.
- MacPatty

Not covering the top half of the net is whatever, it happens. But he had a few shots that hit him square in the glove that he wasn't able to hang on to, which was more worrisome. He got better and stronger as the game went on, but he certainly didn't play his best the first 15 minutes or so.

As I have said every single time (this makes #4) I was only referring to the beginning. He made a misplay and had some shaky moments early. I don't know why that's such a horrible overstatement.