John Toperzer: Game Night: Pens need Wednesday win to keep dream alive Pens still looking for their game against Boston

Lets go Bruins !

Lets go Bruins !
- Rayven

Iggy should of picked Boston!!

Boston cannot be allowed to get the lead.. Simple. They are a completly different animal with the lead.

Iggy is looking SLOWER that Jagr. Yikes.

Ducks blog that is up poses the thought of moving Hiller......hmmmmm

Ducks blog that is up poses the thought of moving Hiller......hmmmmm
- Rawdog9755

You'd think that they would do something. With Fasth signed and Gibson on the way, they have a bit of a logjam there.

Iggy should of picked Boston!!
- The_Hinter

I have a bad feeling about tonight, I think the Bruins get stomped.

Should be a great game, Boston can't keep Crosby and company off the score board again!.....can they?

I have a bad feeling about tonight, I think the Bruins get stomped.
- Rayven

Your reverse psychology has no place here.

Your reverse psychology has no place here.
- canadianpenfan

actually I'm legit, Pens were embarrassed on their home ice, they are gonna come out like gang busters and show Boston what they should have at home.

Pens need to play a good/great game. The kind of game you EXPECT a team that makes it to the conference finals to play.

Confidence is HUGE in hockey. If the Pens can get some...and steal a little bit of the Bruins mojo, they COULD still make this a series.

actually I'm legit, Pens were embarrassed on their home ice, they are gonna come out like gang busters and show Boston what they should have at home.
- Rayven

I would honestly like it much better if they came out and played smart...didn't try to kill the Bruins...just did what they need to to beat them.

That 'gang busters' approach has them down 0-2 with 1 goal scored and 9 against.

I am very interested to see how Bylsma handles his matchups on the road with Boston getting the last change. Overall I thought Claude severely outcoached Bylsma in this regard in Pittsburgh, consistently getting Chara and Bergeron on the ice against the Pitt forwards he wanted to match them up with. And Bylsma did next to nothing to prevent this or maneuver around it. It will be MUCH harder for Bylsma to do so on the road, but since getting his best players going has to be his top priority I have to imagine managing these matchups is at the top of his to-do list. If the Bruins continue to be able to get the matchups they want it will continue to be difficult for Pitt to score, and that will make the all-important first goal even MORE critical.

Pens better stop skating fast to other Bruins player when someone is pressuring and not have someone to pass to. Pass the Puck to your team mades. They only pass the puck when they want to have beautiful assist. I still can see 4 Pens players and 1 Bruins player pressuring and Pens player just tried to skate fast but just skated towards Boston other player. Pass the Puck to other player, Bruin would be pressuring just to waste his energy.

I am very interested to see how Bylsma handles his matchups on the road with Boston getting the last change. Overall I thought Claude severely outcoached Bylsma in this regard in Pittsburgh, consistently getting Chara and Bergeron on the ice against the Pitt forwards he wanted to match them up with. And Bylsma did next to nothing to prevent this or maneuver around it. It will be MUCH harder for Bylsma to do so on the road, but since getting his best players going has to be his top priority I have to imagine managing these matchups is at the top of his to-do list. If the Bruins continue to be able to get the matchups they want it will continue to be difficult for Pitt to score, and that will make the all-important first goal even MORE critical.
- TheGreatNumber8

Bylsma has never really been one to take advantage of match ups. He's stubborn in that sense.

I am very interested to see how Bylsma handles his matchups on the road with Boston getting the last change. Overall I thought Claude severely outcoached Bylsma in this regard in Pittsburgh, consistently getting Chara and Bergeron on the ice against the Pitt forwards he wanted to match them up with. And Bylsma did next to nothing to prevent this or maneuver around it. It will be MUCH harder for Bylsma to do so on the road, but since getting his best players going has to be his top priority I have to imagine managing these matchups is at the top of his to-do list. If the Bruins continue to be able to get the matchups they want it will continue to be difficult for Pitt to score, and that will make the all-important first goal even MORE critical.
- TheGreatNumber8

Bylsma rarely if ever matches players/lines. It's maddening at times, but that's the facts. Bylsma gets out-coached frequently, but the sheer amount of talent has made him look much better than he is.....IMO.

Lets see what this team is made of with their backs to the wall. It's one thing to lose and play your best but it's completely another thing to lose and show no emotion or urgency.

They've played well in Boston. Got to win tonight to have any shot getting in the SCF.

One thing I noticed is that Bylsma refuses to get into a line match situation. He is comfortable matching the Malkin line against Krejci, the Crosby line against Bergeron and the third and fourth lines against their counterparts. Now I'm not huge on line matching, but can it hurt to perhaps get the Sutter line against the Krejci line and see if the defensive and chip and chase play of Cooke, Sutter and who ever else is with them slows that line down.

Having Malkin give the puck away between the bluelines against Krejci is killing the Penguins.

Bylsma rarely if ever matches players/lines. It's maddening at times, but that's the facts. Bylsma gets out-coached frequently, but the sheer amount of talent has made him look much better than he is.....IMO.
- madmike71

I did not realize that....This is a HUGE mistake against the Bruins in my opinion. Penetrating their defensive system is difficult enough before you throw in world class defensive players like Chara, Seidenberg, Bergeron, etc. The Bruins are deep but their bottom defense pairings are not even on the same planet as the top guys. In fact, the biggest mismatch of the series would be either Crosby or Malkin against McQuaid/Krug/Ference.

I did not realize that....This is a HUGE mistake against the Bruins in my opinion. Penetrating their defensive system is difficult enough before you throw in world class defensive players like Chara, Seidenberg, Bergeron, etc. The Bruins are deep but their bottom defense pairings are not even on the same planet as the top guys. In fact, the biggest mismatch of the series would be either Crosby or Malkin against McQuaid/Krug/Ference.
- TheGreatNumber8

I like to think Crosby and Malkin can create against anyone but Chara and Bergeron are as good as they come defensively and he should absolutely try and get them away from those 2. When we come back for game 5 pay attention. He doesn't do it. He may send them out for a draw off an icing or in our defensive end but that's it.

I did not realize that....This is a HUGE mistake against the Bruins in my opinion. Penetrating their defensive system is difficult enough before you throw in world class defensive players like Chara, Seidenberg, Bergeron, etc. The Bruins are deep but their bottom defense pairings are not even on the same planet as the top guys. In fact, the biggest mismatch of the series would be either Crosby or Malkin against McQuaid/Krug/Ference.
- TheGreatNumber8

It's a huge mistake against anyone when you get to this level of the playoffs. I understand not making it a priority in early February, but this time of the year against other elite teams, you need every edge you can get.

Like someone said before...."the Pens in 7 or the B's in 4." If it's the B's in 4, I'll be somewhat confident that we get a less stubborn coach next year.

I figure by about 8:15 we'll know how much longer the season will be. Did they learn and adjust, or will they crash and burn?

I figure by about 8:15 we'll know how much longer the season will be. Did they learn and adjust, or will they crash and burn?
- brianb0422

The only thing that matters is that the game is still manageable come the third period. Style points need not apply.

I like to think Crosby and Malkin can create against anyone but Chara and Bergeron are as good as they come defensively and he should absolutely try and get them away from those 2. When we come back for game 5 pay attention. He doesn't do it. He may send them out for a draw off an icing or in our defensive end but that's it.
- dbell646

Taking nothing away from Crosby or Malkin, in my opinion it is even MORE foolish to not match lines when you have such transcendent offensive players. You need Crosby and Malkin to be at their best to win, so why not try and make it easy on them? You know with the Bruins style they want to get their big guns out there against Crosby and Malkin to disrupt and frustrate them mentally, and punish them physically. Why allow that to happen? Why not do everything in your power to make it as easy for them to produce as possible, especially when you've scored 1 goal in 2 games?

The Bruins want Chara and Bergeron to play all, or most, of their minutes against Pitt's top guns. Minutes those two play against the third and fourth lines would be a waste. Why not try and make that happen if you are Pitt, even if you believe Crosby and Malkin can (or should) be able to generate offense against even the best defensive players the Bruins have to offer?

Makes absolutely no sense to me, but hey I'll take it.

Game 3 Predictions

Pens score first.
Boston scores next three.
Crosby does something dirty.
Giant fight breaks out with a few game misconducts.
Pens lost 4-1