Their PP has been dog poop since Kessel was traded. They haven't been able to replace him. 1 for 7 is what sunk them this game.
- j.boyd919

Pretty much

There were a lot of times where both Penguins defensemen skated behind the net to chase the puck. Sometimes it left a guy wide open in front of the net. I think on the winner, both Schultz and Johnson were chasing the puck in the corner and couldnt get back.

A lot of ugly tonight. Sid was flying. Malkin had some good and bad moments. Kinda like a whatever game.
- SuperHenderson13

They both went to the corner, JJ to chase a hit and Schultz to follow the center drive which forced both all the forwards to come down low allowing the D on the point to walk to the high slot. It was a pretty rough play, it was a broken play but still rough.

Their PP has been dog poop since Kessel was traded. They haven't been able to replace him. 1 for 7 is what sunk them this game.
- j.boyd919

That's on the coach and GM. They had all season and 4 months of the covid to figure out a plan and they came out with that mess.

Honestly, this game was all on Sullivan. Hornqvist on the bench on the PP. Sheary on the top line. JJ getting a jersey.

That's on the coach and GM. They had all season and 4 months of the covid to figure out a plan and they came out with that mess.

Honestly, this game was all on Sullivan. Hornqvist on the bench on the PP. Sheary on the top line. JJ getting a jersey.
- madmike71

I completely agree with you, pretty much every aspect. I didn't want Sheary over Kahun either.

There were a lot of times where both Penguins defensemen skated behind the net to chase the puck. Sometimes it left a guy wide open in front of the net. I think on the winner, both Schultz and Johnson were chasing the puck in the corner and couldnt get back.

A lot of ugly tonight. Sid was flying. Malkin had some good and bad moments. Kinda like a whatever game.
- SuperHenderson13

To me it looked like JJ went chasing a forward wide who was already engaged and not a threat to score. But, he does that a lot. Which is why he sucks and can lose you a game when you make a stupid move like that at a crucial time.

Sully pulled JJ last year after the first game and he HAS to do it now. JJ is just too much of a liability.

To me it looked like JJ went chasing a forward wide who was already engaged and not a threat to score. But, he does that a lot. Which is why he sucks and can lose you a game when you make a stupid move like that at a crucial time.

Sully pulled JJ last year after the first game and he HAS to do it now. JJ is just too much of a liability.
- Hockey66

Yep.

Had it been played correctly, JJ would have backed off, allowed Tanev to drive him into the Corner. Schultz would have followed the center drive and Aston Reese wouldn't have had to collapse low to cover for the D which wouldn't have given Petry all that space to walk in.

Sullivan just blamed their lack of "net presence" in front of Price. I hope that's his way of taking some heat. His best net front guy finished 2nd to last in TOI and only 3 mins of PP time.

Definitely a game where the mixer should have come out and nothing from Sully. Shearys leash is already too long.

I was worried about Sid before the game. He was easily the best player tonight. No help at all though.

To me it looked like JJ went chasing a forward wide who was already engaged and not a threat to score. But, he does that a lot. Which is why he sucks and can lose you a game when you make a stupid move like that at a crucial time.

Sully pulled JJ last year after the first game and he HAS to do it now. JJ is just too much of a liability.
- Hockey66

Wish in one hand and poop in the other. See what fills up faster. Sheary JJ MM all dress next game.

For F sake. Singling out JJ mistakes? The goalie let in one over his weak a$$ glove, one through his arm and body and I argue if he doesn’t face flop he may have been in position to slide right to block the first goal. But this game should be hung on JJ. Un-f’in-real.

For F sake. Singling out JJ mistakes? The goalie let in one over his weak a$$ glove, one through his arm and body and I argue if he doesn’t face flop he may have been in position to slide right to block the first goal. But this game should be hung on JJ. Un-f’in-real.
- Doogs

I agree with you. JJ, Murray, and Sheary all suck. We all knew this going in. Yet, Sully hasn't figured it out yet. Apparently.

Sullivan just blamed their lack of "net presence" in front of Price. I hope that's his way of taking some heat. His best net front guy finished 2nd to last in TOI and only 3 mins of PP time.
- madmike71

I don't get it. Horny was made for playoff hockey yet he gets minimal minutes. Sheary has no business being on the ice during the playoffs yet he gets top line minutes.

Pens have lost their last 7 playoff games. Maybe the coach is the problem? We have a pretty good team of players. Recchi seems clueless, too. Not sure what his contribution is.

For F sake. Singling out JJ mistakes? The goalie let in one over his weak a$$ glove, one through his arm and body and I argue if he doesn’t face flop he may have been in position to slide right to block the first goal. But this game should be hung on JJ. Un-f’in-real.
- Doogs

I don't get this. Plenty of blame has gone Murray's way. Unless you're trying to absolve JJ, in which case you're on your own. He was bad again and if you want to blame Murray more than him on the first goal where he made at least 3 mistakes, you've hit the point of blindly defending him.

I mean Murray shouldn't have started so I'll agree there and that was another weak glove side goal.

I can certainly pick moments for JJ, Murray, and Sheary, but if I'm looking for one place to but the most blame it has to be the PP. They want to blame sloppy ice, but you need to adjust and keep it simple: traffic in front and shots. 2nd unit was much better. 1st just moved it around the perimeter with no plan.

I really don’t understand the extreme hate and blame for Sheary. Last night he did some good things and a some not-so-good things. I think he’s from from any reason the Pens failed.

I also don’t think Murray is to blame. Yeah, he’d like that second goal back, but he played a fairly solid game.

JJ definitely deserves some heavy criticism and screwed the pooch in OT, but as pointed out previously, when you have 7 PP chances and only capitalize on one, not to mention blowing a 90 second 5-3, the problem is obvious. I do also agree with Sully that they didn’t have enough traffic/presence in front of Price.

More PP success and getting in Price’s face is the key to that game last night and moving forward.

That's on the coach and GM. They had all season and 4 months of the covid to figure out a plan and they came out with that mess.

Honestly, this game was all on Sullivan. Hornqvist on the bench on the PP. Sheary on the top line. JJ getting a jersey.
- madmike71

I agree. I think it is more on Sullivan though. I 100% agree with the statement of why was Hornqvist on the bench during the PP. Pretty much all season long he has been on the 1st powerplay. Now all of a sudden they played it like they wanted to see life after Hornqvist on the team. He comes in with Rust and we scored our only powerplay goal because of his screening and Rusts quick reflexes to get the rebound. So Sullivan then rewards Rust and Horny still stays on the bench.

I am going to be 100% honest here. Sullivan is a good coach, but he is absolute garbage when it comes to personnel. He always uses his bias opinion when making the call. Sheary as you also pointed out was nothing special until the last 2 minutes of the game where he end up being non-existent even on the penalty shot. You can see why Buffalo buried him in their lineup, yet Sullivan makes him a staple. I won't pick on JJ in this discussion, because we all know last season especially there were times he shouldn't have been playing yet he was in the lineup.

I think we have great depth and had shown it through the scrimmages. I think Sullivan needed to do what Montreal did and played the hot hands. I think a lot of our younger guys showed they are hungry for a chance and they looked great! I think he should have used the Philly game to sit a few players and mix the younger guys in to see how they would look in the line up. I definitely would have sat JJ and Sheary. Probably would have let Jarry and Murray split it similar to what he did. I think Lafferty and Rodrigues would have been my top looks from how they played in camp/scrimmage.

My lines would be
Zucker - Crosby - Hornqvist
Guentzel - Malkin - Rust
Marleau - McCann - Lafferty/Rodrigues
Tanev - Blueger - ZAR


I feel Zucker plays well on Malkin's line, but Zucker and Crosby had great chemistry together. Also the Malkin, Guentzel Rust line was unstoppable when they were together. I think Crosby kept getting cheap shot after cheap shot last night and more focus would be put on Hornqvist in front of the net. Plus it should allow some space to open up with the defenders working on Hornqvists net front presence (something that we all agree needed last night).

Finally I think Lafferty and/or Rodrigues brings a little bit more to the table than Sheary. Sheary has a good shot, but if he isn't scoring he is kinda useless. I feel like Lafferty brings the pressure to allow us to get a SHG and also has some dangerous speed. Rodrigues is also fast, but has good hands which we say in scrimmages/camp. I would give Lafferty the nod over Rod, but either can play on the PK and also could potentially score on the 3rd line so I take them over Sheary. Plus I think Sheary's shot could be replaced on the 3rd line with Marleau.

Fancy stat takeaways:
After a dominant 1st period, territorially the game was slightly in Montreal's favor 5v5 though pretty even. They adjusted and we weren't as good most of the game as the stats would have us believe.

PP only generated 2 HD shots (one was the goal) and 1 rebound attempt. And they gave up a HD shot. Woof.

3rd line was caved in while every other pair and line graded out decent to great over the course over the night. And they only managed one shot

Blueger line and Schultz-JJ pair had some of the team's best fancies with the Blueger line getting about 70% control yet they were on the ice together for the 1st and 3rd goals against. While mistakes were made, maybe a little unlucky as well as both goals against took Habs bounces.

Fancy stat takeaways:
After a dominant 1st period, territorially the game was slightly in Montreal's favor 5v5 though pretty even. They adjusted and we weren't as good most of the game as the stats would have us believe.

PP only generated 2 HD shots (one was the goal) and 1 rebound attempt. And they gave up a HD shot. Woof.

3rd line was caved in while every other pair and line graded out decent to great over the course over the night.

Blueger line and Schultz-JJ pair had some of the team's best fancies with the Blueger line getting about 70% control yet they were on the ice together for the 1st and 3rd goals against. While mistakes were made, maybe a little unlucky as well as both goals against took Habs bounces.
- Tojo.

I agree Tojo, I think some of the bounces were unlucky. Especially the first goal. I just hope for game 2. Sullivan takes a hard look at some changes especially letting Hornqvist get more ice time and frustrate Price a bit.

All I can say is I am happy I didn't put any money on this series.

Actually I do have more to say. But most of the points have been hit.

1-7 on the power play.
5 on 3 was ugly.
Very little net front presence.
What few odd man breaks there were, was all Montreal.
Sheary not even getting the puck on net.

None of this had anything to do with Jack Johnson but hey let's pin it all on him anyway.

A lot of this will change by getting the first goal. Except for the parts about Sheary and Johnson.

And another thing, whatever happened to Drew Ann? When he was with Tampa he scored every time he touched the puck. Last night he looked like he couldn't score into a soccer net.

I used Malkin just to see how a random member of the top PP did this year with or without Hornqvist.

With Hornqvist and Malkin together on the PP, they score 9.19 goals/60

When Hornqvist plays without Malkin, the PP scores 9.6 goals/60

When Malkin plays without Hornqvist, the PP scores only 4.33 goals/60

So yeah, if they want to keep cutting their chances of scoring in half, by all means keep Hornqvist off the top PP. 🤔

I really don’t understand the extreme hate and blame for Sheary. Last night he did some good things and a some not-so-good things. I think he’s from from any reason the Pens failed.

I also don’t think Murray is to blame. Yeah, he’d like that second goal back, but he played a fairly solid game.

JJ definitely deserves some heavy criticism and screwed the pooch in OT, but as pointed out previously, when you have 7 PP chances and only capitalize on one, not to mention blowing a 90 second 5-3, the problem is obvious. I do also agree with Sully that they didn’t have enough traffic/presence in front of Price.

More PP success and getting in Price’s face is the key to that game last night and moving forward.
- Rinosaur

I can agree with all this. I would like to bump Sheary to the 3rd line, play Jarry for Murray, and bench JJ. But I wouldn't pin the loss on any of them. But not getting anything off that early dominance or even threatening from the top PP is what cost them.

I don't get this. Plenty of blame has gone Murray's way. Unless you're trying to absolve JJ, in which case you're on your own. He was bad again and if you want to blame Murray more than him on the first goal where he made at least 3 mistakes, you've hit the point of blindly defending him.

I mean Murray shouldn't have started so I'll agree there and that was another weak glove side goal.
- Tojo.

Not absolving JJ for anything, but in this board he catches blame for everything. I saw bigger flaws elsewhere. I am not blindly defending, but here he is blindly blamed.

Their PP has been dog poop since Kessel was traded. They haven't been able to replace him. 1 for 7 is what sunk them this game.
- j.boyd919

This might be true guys, and Kessel was a "pure sniper"....but, c\mon.

7 pp....a 90 second 5 on 3....and you guys can send out Crosby, Malkin, Letang, Guentzel and Hornqvist.

My God man!!!

That SHOULD be a Top 3 PP in the entire league.

I just don't get it. That 5 on 3 was infuriating....pass, pass, pass....shoot wide....pass, pass.....Geez....