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Forums :: Blog World :: Ryan Wilson: Galchenyuk and Legare lead way for Penguins
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Ryan Wilson
Pittsburgh Penguins
Location: Rochester, NY
Joined: 06.13.2013

Sep 20 @ 8:26 AM ET
Ryan Wilson: Galchenyuk and Legare lead way for Penguins Galchenyuk and Legare lead way for Penguins
VeryModernMan
Pittsburgh Penguins
Location: Munich
Joined: 06.06.2017

Sep 20 @ 8:40 AM ET
Letting Botterill and Guerin walk while letting GMJR making all that bad recent signings/trades was not the smartest idea... feels also like some kind of cup² tax.
Cousinskrid
Pittsburgh Penguins
Location: the BURGH, PA
Joined: 03.08.2018

Sep 20 @ 8:47 AM ET
This coming season will go a LONG way toward determining how open the window still is. And the cap situation only gets tougher for the Pens over the next couple seasons, even while I believe there's some eventual cap relief already built into the plans via the Seattle expansion draft.
Maybe the cupboard isn't so bare considering last night's game (which I missed but got lots of positives from others who were there).

I still have faith in GMJR, and for all the knocks he gets for chasing down former 1st rounders, maybe the failure is the coaching or other teams these guys have been on that's failed them, and not his pursuit of them.

I DO think JJ is on a very short leash this season, unlike last season, which is encouraging.
Barnaby36
Pittsburgh Penguins
Location: Former Orpik44
Joined: 02.22.2013

Sep 20 @ 9:22 AM ET
Galchenyuk looked good out there. I thought he was smaller tbh. He can skate fine and has good hand eye coordination. Nice addition with the subtraction of Phil.
Thorny87
Pittsburgh Penguins
Location: Calgary, AB
Joined: 10.17.2014

Sep 20 @ 9:39 AM ET
I still have no idea what to think of Guddy. He looked calm and composed all night. He was in position, didn't chase hits. He looked competent again.
madmike71
Pittsburgh Penguins
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Joined: 12.21.2006

Sep 20 @ 9:43 AM ET
I still have no idea what to think of Guddy. He looked calm and composed all night. He was in position, didn't chase hits. He looked competent again.
- Thorny87


Agreed. I think he skates pretty well too for a big guy. I really liked Petts game last night. I'm loving this Marino pick up so far.

What scares me is Warsofsky sucks and even he looked better than JJ did in the Buffalo game.
Barnaby36
Pittsburgh Penguins
Location: Former Orpik44
Joined: 02.22.2013

Sep 20 @ 9:47 AM ET
Agreed. I think he skates pretty well too for a big guy. I really liked Petts game last night. I'm loving this Marino pick up so far.

What scares me is Warsofsky sucks and even he looked better than JJ did in the Buffalo game.

- madmike71

In the Columbus game the Pens had a much better roster out there. Hard to judge lol

I thought you failed to mention Joseph. He was pretty good too. Such a long stick and good outlet passes. Good skater too.
Barnaby36
Pittsburgh Penguins
Location: Former Orpik44
Joined: 02.22.2013

Sep 20 @ 9:49 AM ET
I still have no idea what to think of Guddy. He looked calm and composed all night. He was in position, didn't chase hits. He looked competent again.
- Thorny87

He's just solid and is a lot more composed. He gives a lot of credit to Gonchar. Nice to have such a good teacher.
Thorny87
Pittsburgh Penguins
Location: Calgary, AB
Joined: 10.17.2014

Sep 20 @ 9:59 AM ET
Agreed. I think he skates pretty well too for a big guy. I really liked Petts game last night. I'm loving this Marino pick up so far.

What scares me is Warsofsky sucks and even he looked better than JJ did in the Buffalo game.

- madmike71


I don't know. I had forgotten that they re signed him. First shift I was who the (frank) is 55. He was pretty bad. He lost the front of the net on their goal in a very JJ like fashion.

JJ did have 3 breakaways against in the buffalo game so Warf has him there.

Both should start and stay in WBS.

Hockey66
Pittsburgh Penguins
Joined: 07.05.2019

Sep 20 @ 10:01 AM ET
Galchenyuk looked good out there. I thought he was smaller tbh. He can skate fine and has good hand eye coordination. Nice addition with the subtraction of Phil.
- Barnaby36

Phil who?
Tojo.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Location: Aliquippa, PA
Joined: 11.11.2014

Sep 20 @ 10:03 AM ET
I still have no idea what to think of Guddy. He looked calm and composed all night. He was in position, didn't chase hits. He looked competent again.
- Thorny87

Agree, he was good, great sign. Need to find a way to get another LHD and he should be fine.
Thorny87
Pittsburgh Penguins
Location: Calgary, AB
Joined: 10.17.2014

Sep 20 @ 10:04 AM ET
I remember how happy we all were with Rikki after the pre season last year so I'm cautiously optimistic about Marino. He made some great plays last night. Hopefully he can continue to wow in WBS and get a call up. As Tojo mentioned his R handedness is working against him right now too.
Hockey66
Pittsburgh Penguins
Joined: 07.05.2019

Sep 20 @ 10:11 AM ET
I remember how happy we all were with Rikki after the pre season last year so I'm cautiously optimistic about Marino. He made some great plays last night. Hopefully he can continue to wow in WBS and get a call up. As Tojo mentioned his R handedness is working against him right now too.
- Thorny87

Well, there would be a pathway for a call-up if Schultz has injury issues crop up again. It's amazing how many 7th defensemen the Pens have, including JJ. Hopefully one of them will be able to step up in a big way as a regular. Maybe two if we're lucky.
Tojo.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Location: Aliquippa, PA
Joined: 11.11.2014

Sep 20 @ 10:13 AM ET
Dom's article put the Pens at 8th, largely because their elite quartet is very elite and their forward depth as he gave them the top ranked bottom six and 4th line.

Reason for more optimism: only Hornqvist at 1.4 had a rating at forward above 1 besides the 3 stars, so any kind of breakout performance gets them higher.

Gudbranson was rated the worst defenseman in the league (JJ second) and they combined for -1.4 wins. If Gudbranson is even close to competent and they bump JJ out if the line up, that's a 2-3 win improvement on a team he's projecting at 100 points. Schultz in a contract year I could see outperforming his 1 win rating.

Murray grades out average last year, but it was a tail of 2 halves. If we get second half Murray, that's a bump.
Rinosaur
Pittsburgh Penguins
Location: Somewhere, NJ
Joined: 01.21.2016

Sep 20 @ 10:36 AM ET
Phil who?
- Hockey66


It's still so weird for me not seeing Phil on the Pens. Yeah, he was only here for four years, but he's one of my favorite Penguins of all time.
Dr Blob
Pittsburgh Penguins
Joined: 09.30.2018

Sep 20 @ 10:40 AM ET
Some bright spots last night, especially with some of the younger players. Still interested in defensive pairings as this will most assuredly will be the weak link. As usual the theme will be, Can we outscore the opposition? Hard to score 4 every night. Still can’t wait. Drop the puck already.
j.boyd919
Pittsburgh Penguins
Location: Tampa, FL
Joined: 06.14.2011

Sep 20 @ 10:43 AM ET
Dom's article put the Pens at 8th, largely because their elite quartet is very elite and their forward depth as he gave them the top ranked bottom six and 4th line.

Reason for more optimism: only Hornqvist at 1.4 had a rating at forward above 1 besides the 3 stars, so any kind of breakout performance gets them higher.

Gudbranson was rated the worst defenseman in the league (JJ second) and they combined for -1.4 wins. If Gudbranson is even close to competent and they bump JJ out if the line up, that's a 2-3 win improvement on a team he's projecting at 100 points. Schultz in a contract year I could see outperforming his 1 win rating.

Murray grades out average last year, but it was a tail of 2 halves. If we get second half Murray, that's a bump.

- Tojo.


Crazy that the only player worse than JJ is Guddy (given that it’s based on recent years and not Guddys 20 games in a Pens uni). Insane that a GM could actively acquire 2 of the worst defensemen in the league in the same year.

I’m curious to see if Gudbranson can tread water on the 3rd pairing. If by some miracle Gudbranson plays well from here on out for the Pens I’ll gladly eat crow.
Rinosaur
Pittsburgh Penguins
Location: Somewhere, NJ
Joined: 01.21.2016

Sep 20 @ 10:43 AM ET
It's only pre-season and I'm not looking too deep into anything because sometimes players who have poor starts go on to have great seasons and vice/versa, but here's my take on last night:

Positive:
-Geno and Galch definitely looked to have something going.

-Simon, while his line wasn't terrific all the time, looked comfortable at center, but I still think he belongs in the top-six as a winger.

-Marino continues to impress and a year in the AHL with maybe one or two call-ups could make things interesting for the Penguins next year.

-I want to single out Legare, but that whole fourth line was my favorite to watch. Lafferty, Bjorqvist and Legare were awesome and made poop happen almost every time they were on the ice.

-Murray looked comfortable

-Guds and Petts had great poise and awareness, moved the puck well.

-Joseph: you can tell the speed is a bit much for him right now, but he did some really good stuff out there. Major potential. A Joseph/Marino pairing could be something to watch for in the 21/22 season.

Not-so-postitives:
- Kahun looked invisible

- Geno looked good, but he continues to try and do too much. He needs to let his linemates do a little more so he can focus more on the stuff that makes him great.

Overall this was starter-heavy Pens lineup against a thin CBJ team, but systematically the Pens looked to have a little something different going on.
j.boyd919
Pittsburgh Penguins
Location: Tampa, FL
Joined: 06.14.2011

Sep 20 @ 10:43 AM ET
It's still so weird for me not seeing Phil on the Pens. Yeah, he was only here for four years, but he's one of my favorite Penguins of all time.
- Rinosaur


For sure. Still bummed he didn’t get that Conn Smythe in the first cup.
Rinosaur
Pittsburgh Penguins
Location: Somewhere, NJ
Joined: 01.21.2016

Sep 20 @ 10:47 AM ET
Crazy that the only player worse than JJ is Guddy (given that it’s based on recent years and not Guddys 20 games in a Pens uni). Insane that a GM could actively acquire 2 of the worst defensemen in the league in the same year.

I’m curious to see if Gudbranson can tread water on the 3rd pairing. If by some miracle Gudbranson plays well from here on out for the Pens I’ll gladly eat crow.

- j.boyd919


All we really need for him to pull a Justin Schultz for one year. I'm still remaining cautiously optimistic, but I have a good feeling he's going to be solid.
Rinosaur
Pittsburgh Penguins
Location: Somewhere, NJ
Joined: 01.21.2016

Sep 20 @ 10:48 AM ET
For sure. Still bummed he didn’t get that Conn Smythe in the first cup.
- j.boyd919


Yup
madmike71
Pittsburgh Penguins
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Joined: 12.21.2006

Sep 20 @ 10:50 AM ET
Some bright spots last night, especially with some of the younger players. Still interested in defensive pairings as this will most assuredly will be the weak link. As usual the theme will be, Can we outscore the opposition? Hard to score 4 every night. Still can’t wait. Drop the puck already.
- Dr Blob


For me, the most important aspect is a dogged back check. Last year was non-existent. I think they'll be fine in the scoring department, I'll start to believe in this team if they work as hard at preventing goals as they do as scoring them. The game they played last year wasn't recognizable if you watch some of those games from the cup teams. Gotta insulate that D better.

FWIW.... The regulars were pretty damn good last night on the back check. Tanev made a great play last night taking the puck back after a giveaway. I think it's clearly one of the main priorities of this years camp.
Rinosaur
Pittsburgh Penguins
Location: Somewhere, NJ
Joined: 01.21.2016

Sep 20 @ 10:51 AM ET
On a side-note, I know Bjugstad is not a stats-darling and most here are kind of meh on him, but I'm a fan. I like how he uses his size to protect and move the puck. He seems to find ways to get in position and play responsible. IMO he's high-end vanilla.
Thorny87
Pittsburgh Penguins
Location: Calgary, AB
Joined: 10.17.2014

Sep 20 @ 10:51 AM ET
It's only pre-season and I'm not looking too deep into anything because sometimes players who have poor starts go on to have great seasons and vice/versa, but here's my take on last night:

Positive:
-Geno and Galch definitely looked to have something going.

-Simon, while his line wasn't terrific all the time, looked comfortable at center, but I still think he belongs in the top-six as a winger.

-Marino continues to impress and a year in the AHL with maybe one or two call-ups could make things interesting for the Penguins next year.

-I want to single out Legare, but that whole fourth line was my favorite to watch. Lafferty, Bjorqvist and Legare were awesome and made poop happen almost every time they were on the ice.

-Murray looked comfortable

-Guds and Petts had great poise and awareness, moved the puck well.

-Joseph: you can tell the speed is a bit much for him right now, but he did some really good stuff out there. Major potential. A Joseph/Marino pairing could be something to watch for in the 21/22 season.

Not-so-postitives:
- Kahun looked invisible

- Geno looked good, but he continues to try and do too much. He needs to let his linemates do a little more so he can focus more on the stuff that makes him great.

Overall this was starter-heavy Pens lineup against a thin CBJ team, but systematically the Pens looked to have a little something different going on.

- Rinosaur


This is one area I worry about when Geno is paired with lesser skilled players. He doesn't defer and tries to make it happen all on his own. A couple of times he could've made the simple play and passed to a line mate that was open. Instead he holds on to it in traffic and eventually loses the puck.
Rinosaur
Pittsburgh Penguins
Location: Somewhere, NJ
Joined: 01.21.2016

Sep 20 @ 10:52 AM ET
This is one area I worry about when Geno is paired with lesser skilled players. He doesn't defer and tries to make it happen all on his own. A couple of times he could've made the simple play and passed to a line mate that was open. Instead he holds on to it in traffic and eventually loses the puck.
- Thorny87


This is EXACTLY what stood out to me. He needs to trust his linemates more and see if they can handle it.
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