Shots Against
I don’t have the ability (or the time, to be perfectly honest) to watch every Penguins game. And yet scanning the box scores, something stands out that has to change for the team to win.
To put it mildly—the Pens give up way, way, way, too many shots. Seriously—you expect to get outshot by a 2-1 margin or 3-2 margin and still win games? The mere fact that the Penguins have stayed in so many games is a testament to the great goaltending they’ve received thus far at this early juncture in the season.
Now I understand some of the reasons why the Pens give up so many shots. Really, one doesn’t want to lasso the creativity of players like Crosby or Malkin. Seriously, years ago, I cared mostly that Jaromir Jagr was scoring goals and not so much about whether or not he was strictly adhering to the defensive system that then-coach Kevin Constantine had installed. Likewise, I also get that the Pens are a young team, with a young defense, and that they get caught—far too often—in their own zone.
I also know that these Penguins have done some good things. They’ve been able to kill penalties (lots of penalties) with aggressive penalty killing and sharp goaltending. They’ve been able and willing to block shots. Theoretically—if not yet practically—they appear to understand that it’s important to prevent the opposition from scoring more goals than you do.
However, the Pens cannot keep giving up the number of shots they are giving up and expect to maintain an above .500 record. Sure, their young players—even their young stars—have to learn to sustain pressure even against the best opponents the league has to offer. Sure, their young defensemen have to learn how to get the puck out of the zone and how to prevent opposing players from taking shots. And it would certainly help the whole team a great deal if they would stop what seemed like a constant parade to the penalty box at various times this past week.
I still think this is both a coaching and execution thing, and it’s also not something that I expect to get fixed magically and overnight. But, honestly—if the Pens truly want to sneak into the playoffs this year, and I still think the team has the talent to do that—they have to stop giving up so many shots to their opponents every night.
p
Sunday, November 12, 2006
On the Youngsters
Lest anyone think my previous post was too harsh on Crosby, Malkin, et.al, I want to make absolutely clear that despite the current winless streak, I still love watching these Penguins. Sure—did I see (okay, hear about) our best young players, our young stars, not consistently performing as stars this week?
Was there really a game when Malkin failed to score on a breakaway?
Did Marc-Andre Fleury actually fail to "stand on his head" for a game and the game wasn’t nearly as close as Fleury’s been keeping many games?
Was Sidney Crosby really kept without shots and points?
Since I didn’t see the games, I am not even going to start commenting on Jordan Staal, Ryan Whitney, or Noah Welch (I’m sure a quick scanning of various message boards could clue me in, but I’ll abstain for the moment).
Here’s the thing. The Penguins' young players are talented, some more talented than others, some already stars, and I love to watch them play. I love to hear about how they played, and I love to read about how they played. And yet—they’re young. They’re not yet in their primes. They’re not yet as good as they’re going to be, and for as good as some of them are, they’re not yet all they will be.
So, lest one think I’m being too hard on the kids—I still love that they’re on my team. I still look forward to watching them become all that they one day will be. And sure, yes, I get mad when they fail to convert on a power play or they make a rookie mistake or whatever—
And yet I know. Someday, and someday not that far away, they’re going to bury that opportunity.
Now, of course, I want them to do it now—I’m like any fan in that. Yet I also have to take a long-term perspective and realize—they’re just kids. Seriously, they’re kids. And really, to have a chance to get that upset about what a teenager or young twentysomething failed to do—in all actuality, it’s a privilege.
Of course, this is all easy to say when the winless streak is only at five games and the team is still above .500. Even the patient, long-term perspective I’ve tried to adopt is going to be tried by a winless streak that lasts much longer and an overall record that dips under .500.
But for now—beat the Flyers and the Rangers this week, that would be nice and appreciated.
#
Lest anyone think my previous post was too harsh on Crosby, Malkin, et.al, I want to make absolutely clear that despite the current winless streak, I still love watching these Penguins. Sure—did I see (okay, hear about) our best young players, our young stars, not consistently performing as stars this week?
Was there really a game when Malkin failed to score on a breakaway?
Did Marc-Andre Fleury actually fail to "stand on his head" for a game and the game wasn’t nearly as close as Fleury’s been keeping many games?
Was Sidney Crosby really kept without shots and points?
Since I didn’t see the games, I am not even going to start commenting on Jordan Staal, Ryan Whitney, or Noah Welch (I’m sure a quick scanning of various message boards could clue me in, but I’ll abstain for the moment).
Here’s the thing. The Penguins' young players are talented, some more talented than others, some already stars, and I love to watch them play. I love to hear about how they played, and I love to read about how they played. And yet—they’re young. They’re not yet in their primes. They’re not yet as good as they’re going to be, and for as good as some of them are, they’re not yet all they will be.
So, lest one think I’m being too hard on the kids—I still love that they’re on my team. I still look forward to watching them become all that they one day will be. And sure, yes, I get mad when they fail to convert on a power play or they make a rookie mistake or whatever—
And yet I know. Someday, and someday not that far away, they’re going to bury that opportunity.
Now, of course, I want them to do it now—I’m like any fan in that. Yet I also have to take a long-term perspective and realize—they’re just kids. Seriously, they’re kids. And really, to have a chance to get that upset about what a teenager or young twentysomething failed to do—in all actuality, it’s a privilege.
Of course, this is all easy to say when the winless streak is only at five games and the team is still above .500. Even the patient, long-term perspective I’ve tried to adopt is going to be tried by a winless streak that lasts much longer and an overall record that dips under .500.
But for now—beat the Flyers and the Rangers this week, that would be nice and appreciated.
#
Spreading Around the Scoring
As I scanned the box scores this week, it was nice to see some names that hadn’t made frequent appearances on the score sheet. Seriously, when Moore and Ekman start scoring goals, well, that can only be a good thing for the Pens, right?
Except—except—yes, the Penguins need scoring depth. They need contributions from their role players. They need contributions from their third and fourth lines, and sure, it would be great if the wingers on the top two lines would make their mark on the score sheet with far greater frequency. Yet dare I say—even with scoring depth—that more scoring depth isn’t going to help if the Pens’ stars don’t play like stars.
Yes, every star has games where they get shut down. It happened to Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr, and it’s going to happen to Crosby and Malkin, too. Yet here’s the thing—right now—honestly—the Penguins do not have enough scoring depth to compensate for when an opposing defense figures out how to smother Crosby and Malkin just has an off day. (Yes, stars have off days, too, and in particular, rookies who are playing their first season in a foreign country might occasionally have a day when they look more like a rookie than a star.) When Crosby and Malkin don’t find their names on the scoresheet, I’m going to venture a wild guess (sarcasm should be duly noted) that the Penguins lose far more frequently than they win.
The Penguins need their stars to be stars. And yes, they absolutely need scoring depth to compensate for those times when opponents figure out how to prevent stars from performing as stars. Yet the Pens—and Crosby and Malkin—need to reach the point where, perhaps, a superior opponent limits their opportunities but can’t fully contain them. Even if it’s a harsh night, somehow, whether that’s on the power play or a productive shift—Crosby and Malkin have to find the openings and perform as stars when given an opening. Because, at least as the team is currently constructed, if Crosby and Malkin fail to produce, the Penguins—a very, very high majority of the time—fail to win.
As I scanned the box scores this week, it was nice to see some names that hadn’t made frequent appearances on the score sheet. Seriously, when Moore and Ekman start scoring goals, well, that can only be a good thing for the Pens, right?
Except—except—yes, the Penguins need scoring depth. They need contributions from their role players. They need contributions from their third and fourth lines, and sure, it would be great if the wingers on the top two lines would make their mark on the score sheet with far greater frequency. Yet dare I say—even with scoring depth—that more scoring depth isn’t going to help if the Pens’ stars don’t play like stars.
Yes, every star has games where they get shut down. It happened to Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr, and it’s going to happen to Crosby and Malkin, too. Yet here’s the thing—right now—honestly—the Penguins do not have enough scoring depth to compensate for when an opposing defense figures out how to smother Crosby and Malkin just has an off day. (Yes, stars have off days, too, and in particular, rookies who are playing their first season in a foreign country might occasionally have a day when they look more like a rookie than a star.) When Crosby and Malkin don’t find their names on the scoresheet, I’m going to venture a wild guess (sarcasm should be duly noted) that the Penguins lose far more frequently than they win.
The Penguins need their stars to be stars. And yes, they absolutely need scoring depth to compensate for those times when opponents figure out how to prevent stars from performing as stars. Yet the Pens—and Crosby and Malkin—need to reach the point where, perhaps, a superior opponent limits their opportunities but can’t fully contain them. Even if it’s a harsh night, somehow, whether that’s on the power play or a productive shift—Crosby and Malkin have to find the openings and perform as stars when given an opening. Because, at least as the team is currently constructed, if Crosby and Malkin fail to produce, the Penguins—a very, very high majority of the time—fail to win.
Eaton
I’ve previously noted that the Penguins are not a deep team. If and when injuries to key players occur, this team, as currently comprised, simply does not have the depth to cope with such injuries.
Since Chris Pronger was on the trade market this summer (yes, yes, I understand all the very legitimate, logical, and good reasons why my Pens didn’t trade for him), I wasn’t necessarily jumping up and down in joy when the Pens got defenseman Eaton this summer. Okay, he was reputed to be a veteran, legitimate NHL defenseman (but Sergei Gonchar had come with more of a pedigree last season and didn’t play up to that pedigree for much of the 2005-06 season). In any case, watching (okay, hearing and reading about) Pittsburgh losing games this week, it occurred to me that Eaton has made an impact on the defense.
Frankly, Eaton can help to stabilize the defense. It is way better to pair one of the Pens’ young defensemen with a veteran, steady player like Eaton. And when Eaton is missing—as he was after he was injured in the game against San Jose—the entire Pens team suffers. The Pens might have been closer than they were (closer than close) to sneaking away 2 points from a couple of games this week if Eaton had played.
In any case, here’s hoping Eaton gets better soon. And here’s hoping that the young Penguins defensemen don’t just learn from mistakes—but learn enough from mistakes not to repeat the same mistakes.
I’ve previously noted that the Penguins are not a deep team. If and when injuries to key players occur, this team, as currently comprised, simply does not have the depth to cope with such injuries.
Since Chris Pronger was on the trade market this summer (yes, yes, I understand all the very legitimate, logical, and good reasons why my Pens didn’t trade for him), I wasn’t necessarily jumping up and down in joy when the Pens got defenseman Eaton this summer. Okay, he was reputed to be a veteran, legitimate NHL defenseman (but Sergei Gonchar had come with more of a pedigree last season and didn’t play up to that pedigree for much of the 2005-06 season). In any case, watching (okay, hearing and reading about) Pittsburgh losing games this week, it occurred to me that Eaton has made an impact on the defense.
Frankly, Eaton can help to stabilize the defense. It is way better to pair one of the Pens’ young defensemen with a veteran, steady player like Eaton. And when Eaton is missing—as he was after he was injured in the game against San Jose—the entire Pens team suffers. The Pens might have been closer than they were (closer than close) to sneaking away 2 points from a couple of games this week if Eaton had played.
In any case, here’s hoping Eaton gets better soon. And here’s hoping that the young Penguins defensemen don’t just learn from mistakes—but learn enough from mistakes not to repeat the same mistakes.
Sigh….
(But Not a Long Sigh)
The past week was one of those weeks I’d anticipated the Pens would have prior to the start of the 2006-07 season. However, with the team’s fast start, and the whole winning more than losing thing seeming to become habitual, this week stung more than it probably should have.
Over the course of the past week, the Penguins played several teams that I would classify as "superior" opponents. Frankly, these are games that the Penguins should lose, at least if you’re talking to the coach of the opposing team. Why? Because from top to bottom, the Penguins played teams that were—take a deep breath now—better than they currently are. Whether we’re talking special teams units, or scoring depth, or experienced and savvy NHL defensemen, or superstars in their primes instead of the infancy of their careers, the Penguins got beat by better teams this week.
Fortunately for Pittsburgh fans, the Penguins players—despite their curiously lackadaisical effort against Ottawa Friday night—do not like losing. Even better for the future of Pittsburgh’s franchise, the players on the Penguins appear to expect to win now. The players’ collective distaste for losing, in addition to their play this week, is the reason why I titled this post "Sigh" instead of "A Long Sigh."
Here’s the thing that was so frustrating this week if you were a Penguins fan. Despite the fact that the Pens were clearly outplayed in several of the games—none of the games were blowouts. The Penguins had a chance to win a game against the team with one of the best records in the NHL. And even when the Penguins found ways to shoot themselves in the foot (taking penalties repeatedly, for example), they still stayed close in several of the games they played. And, yes, in comparison to last season—staying close to some of the league’s best teams has to be considered an encouraging sign.
Yet, of course, the frustration that prompted my sigh, is, of course, that frustration that comes when a team is on a 5 game winless streak. Losing makes me sigh; losing leaves a bad taste in my mouth. And losing is particularly frustrating because these Penguins, really, were close to being able to win a couple of those games. Sure, a couple of those games, aside from sharp goaltending, could easily have turned into blowouts. Yet a few less penalties, a couple of different bounces—and the young Pens might have won a couple of games this week.
Young. That’s the thing. These Penguins, on the whole, are a young team, which is why I expected weeks like this prior to the start of the season. I expected and anticipated winless streaks, particularly when my young team faced off against deeper, more experienced, and frankly, teams that are currently more talented than is Pittsburgh. And while this winless streak is no fun (and I want it to end Monday when the Pens play the Flyers), it’s not a wholly bad thing.
Why isn’t this winless streak bad? Because the players are going to learn from the mistakes they made this week. Because losing is going to leave a bad taste in the mouths of the youngsters and make them want to improve their play and not repeat the same mistakes. Because, even if it doesn’t happen next year, perhaps in two years, these mistakes—and yes, these losses and winless streaks—will bear fruit. Because the players will have learned the hard lessons of what it takes to play with the best teams in the NHL. Because the players will have developed their skills, hopefully, to the point, that they play on one of the best teams in the NHL and know how to use the experience they gained this year to beat more inexperienced teams.
None of the assurances of future fruit, of course, which I firmly believe to be absolutely the case, will ever make a five game winless streak enjoyable for players or fans. Which is to say—please beat the Flyers.
(But Not a Long Sigh)
The past week was one of those weeks I’d anticipated the Pens would have prior to the start of the 2006-07 season. However, with the team’s fast start, and the whole winning more than losing thing seeming to become habitual, this week stung more than it probably should have.
Over the course of the past week, the Penguins played several teams that I would classify as "superior" opponents. Frankly, these are games that the Penguins should lose, at least if you’re talking to the coach of the opposing team. Why? Because from top to bottom, the Penguins played teams that were—take a deep breath now—better than they currently are. Whether we’re talking special teams units, or scoring depth, or experienced and savvy NHL defensemen, or superstars in their primes instead of the infancy of their careers, the Penguins got beat by better teams this week.
Fortunately for Pittsburgh fans, the Penguins players—despite their curiously lackadaisical effort against Ottawa Friday night—do not like losing. Even better for the future of Pittsburgh’s franchise, the players on the Penguins appear to expect to win now. The players’ collective distaste for losing, in addition to their play this week, is the reason why I titled this post "Sigh" instead of "A Long Sigh."
Here’s the thing that was so frustrating this week if you were a Penguins fan. Despite the fact that the Pens were clearly outplayed in several of the games—none of the games were blowouts. The Penguins had a chance to win a game against the team with one of the best records in the NHL. And even when the Penguins found ways to shoot themselves in the foot (taking penalties repeatedly, for example), they still stayed close in several of the games they played. And, yes, in comparison to last season—staying close to some of the league’s best teams has to be considered an encouraging sign.
Yet, of course, the frustration that prompted my sigh, is, of course, that frustration that comes when a team is on a 5 game winless streak. Losing makes me sigh; losing leaves a bad taste in my mouth. And losing is particularly frustrating because these Penguins, really, were close to being able to win a couple of those games. Sure, a couple of those games, aside from sharp goaltending, could easily have turned into blowouts. Yet a few less penalties, a couple of different bounces—and the young Pens might have won a couple of games this week.
Young. That’s the thing. These Penguins, on the whole, are a young team, which is why I expected weeks like this prior to the start of the season. I expected and anticipated winless streaks, particularly when my young team faced off against deeper, more experienced, and frankly, teams that are currently more talented than is Pittsburgh. And while this winless streak is no fun (and I want it to end Monday when the Pens play the Flyers), it’s not a wholly bad thing.
Why isn’t this winless streak bad? Because the players are going to learn from the mistakes they made this week. Because losing is going to leave a bad taste in the mouths of the youngsters and make them want to improve their play and not repeat the same mistakes. Because, even if it doesn’t happen next year, perhaps in two years, these mistakes—and yes, these losses and winless streaks—will bear fruit. Because the players will have learned the hard lessons of what it takes to play with the best teams in the NHL. Because the players will have developed their skills, hopefully, to the point, that they play on one of the best teams in the NHL and know how to use the experience they gained this year to beat more inexperienced teams.
None of the assurances of future fruit, of course, which I firmly believe to be absolutely the case, will ever make a five game winless streak enjoyable for players or fans. Which is to say—please beat the Flyers.
Sunday, November 05, 2006
Oh, But….
While I say that Crosby and Malkin will probably be impossible to shut down one day, I recall that the Florida Panthers managed to do just that to Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr in 1996—the year (aside from 1993) that leaves the worst taste in my mouth from all the Pens’ playoff losses in the nineties.
Yet the new NHL, the way the rulebook is actually enforced, the way Jaromir Jagr now thinks teams will seek to emulate the speed and skill of the Buffalo Sabres rather than the 10-year-old trap of the New Jersey Devils, I think the new NHL will make it that much harder to shut down Malkin and Crosby.
Kind of makes the nostalgic part of me wonder what might have been if this NHL has existed back when Jagr and Mario were still in their primes and playing for the Pens? But at least the future of the Penguins looks incredibly promising.
While I say that Crosby and Malkin will probably be impossible to shut down one day, I recall that the Florida Panthers managed to do just that to Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr in 1996—the year (aside from 1993) that leaves the worst taste in my mouth from all the Pens’ playoff losses in the nineties.
Yet the new NHL, the way the rulebook is actually enforced, the way Jaromir Jagr now thinks teams will seek to emulate the speed and skill of the Buffalo Sabres rather than the 10-year-old trap of the New Jersey Devils, I think the new NHL will make it that much harder to shut down Malkin and Crosby.
Kind of makes the nostalgic part of me wonder what might have been if this NHL has existed back when Jagr and Mario were still in their primes and playing for the Pens? But at least the future of the Penguins looks incredibly promising.
Speaking of What Will Be
In two years’ time, the Penguins will win the game they lost to the Sharks last night. Why? Because Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, I expect and anticipate, will have figured out what to do when other teams adjust to them. I also expect and anticipate that perhaps the Penguins will have more of a core around Crosby and Malkin at that time, that Staal will be able to contribute more than he already is, and that the Penguins will be able to beat the Sharks in a close game instead of losing to the Sharks in a close game.
Frankly speaking, Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau are in their mid-twenties. Whenever Crosby and Malkin hit their early twenties—let alone the mid-twenties—the Penguins will be scary good, and shutting down Crosby and Malkin will be near impossible. The kinds of "adjustments" that work against the Penguins now will not work in a couple of years’ time.
Of course, all that is said with the caveat of the salary cap, assuming the Penguins can keep their young star players and develop an even better core around those players. Yet in that close loss to San Jose (I have yet to see the game, so I speak from what I heard), the Penguins were able to play with San Jose. Last season, the team would have been blown out, no question. This year, the Penguins can skate and compete with a team that was one of the best in the West last year. In all honesty, even though the Penguins lost the game, I take the loss as an encouraging, hopeful sign—and I’m even more encouraged and hopeful because I believe the Pens’ young players have begun to develop a disdain for losing. And I believe that disdain for losing will only prompt those young players to work harder to figure out what they have to adjust so they can beat a team like San Jose the next time around.
Still, for all I talk about "encouraging losses," losses are still losses, and I don’t want the Penguins to lose. I’m really curious to see what happens—for good or bad—when Crosby and Malkin have to face Pronger and Niedermayer. The best youngsters against the game’s most elite and experienced defensemen. It should be interesting. Yet I don’t really want another "encouraging loss." Because close games, sure, they’re encouraging signs—but the team is still losing.
And frankly, I’ve really enjoyed watching these Penguins win thus far this season. Yet as the part of the schedule unfolds where the Penguins face some of those I deemed "superior" opponents—well, I’ll just have to watch and see what happens.
But can we please see if we can continue the whole winning more than we lose and make it a habit? I like that habit. I think it’s a good habit, and it’s a habit I want to see continue for a long, long time.
In two years’ time, the Penguins will win the game they lost to the Sharks last night. Why? Because Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, I expect and anticipate, will have figured out what to do when other teams adjust to them. I also expect and anticipate that perhaps the Penguins will have more of a core around Crosby and Malkin at that time, that Staal will be able to contribute more than he already is, and that the Penguins will be able to beat the Sharks in a close game instead of losing to the Sharks in a close game.
Frankly speaking, Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau are in their mid-twenties. Whenever Crosby and Malkin hit their early twenties—let alone the mid-twenties—the Penguins will be scary good, and shutting down Crosby and Malkin will be near impossible. The kinds of "adjustments" that work against the Penguins now will not work in a couple of years’ time.
Of course, all that is said with the caveat of the salary cap, assuming the Penguins can keep their young star players and develop an even better core around those players. Yet in that close loss to San Jose (I have yet to see the game, so I speak from what I heard), the Penguins were able to play with San Jose. Last season, the team would have been blown out, no question. This year, the Penguins can skate and compete with a team that was one of the best in the West last year. In all honesty, even though the Penguins lost the game, I take the loss as an encouraging, hopeful sign—and I’m even more encouraged and hopeful because I believe the Pens’ young players have begun to develop a disdain for losing. And I believe that disdain for losing will only prompt those young players to work harder to figure out what they have to adjust so they can beat a team like San Jose the next time around.
Still, for all I talk about "encouraging losses," losses are still losses, and I don’t want the Penguins to lose. I’m really curious to see what happens—for good or bad—when Crosby and Malkin have to face Pronger and Niedermayer. The best youngsters against the game’s most elite and experienced defensemen. It should be interesting. Yet I don’t really want another "encouraging loss." Because close games, sure, they’re encouraging signs—but the team is still losing.
And frankly, I’ve really enjoyed watching these Penguins win thus far this season. Yet as the part of the schedule unfolds where the Penguins face some of those I deemed "superior" opponents—well, I’ll just have to watch and see what happens.
But can we please see if we can continue the whole winning more than we lose and make it a habit? I like that habit. I think it’s a good habit, and it’s a habit I want to see continue for a long, long time.
Whitney, Welch, Letang
While I admitted to liking Letang’s style of play, young defensemen need to be playing a regular shift in all circumstances. Since Letang wasn’t going to do that in Pittsburgh this season, it was better to send him back to Val D’or. Fine. I’m okay with that, and I actually think Welch is more NHL ready at the moment anyway.
But here’s the thing when it comes to Whitney, Welch, and Letang. Letang is back in juniors now, but what I said of him still applies to Welch and Whitney. Sure, Welch and Whitney played 4 years of college hockey. Sure, they’re older than Letang. It doesn’t matter. They’re still young defensemen. Young defensemen are going to drive you crazy throughout a season and even throughout a game. They are learning how to play a position in a league that’s been transformed.
I am not saying that idiotic and juvenile mistakes should be continually tolerated. I am saying, however, that one should ask Mike Keenan how Chris Pronger looked that first season in St. Louis. (Caveat: If Welch or Whitney ever turn out to be 2/3 or 3/4 the player Pronger is, I will be floating on cloud nine, so I am not making a direct comparison.) Pronger didn’t look like Pronger does today, and while he didn’t look like a lost, clueless kid all the time, he resembled an average defenseman more than a Norris Trophy winner.
Thus, when it comes to Welch and Whitney this season, have some patience—as the coaching staff works with them in practice, as they get more experience—just have some patience. They are not yet who they will be, and really, we don’t know who they will be yet. Give them a chance. And when Letang returns next season or after a season of seasoning in Wilkes Barre in 2 years time (how I wish he could get that seasoning in Wilkes Barre now), he’ll be only 20 or 21 years old—still a kid. Have some patience with him, too.
And appreciate what you’ve got. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are already superstars. Defensemen, even the greatest, are not usually superstars or stars their first 2 seasons. Please, patience—and the way the coaches handle the young defensemen will tell you a lot about how long you should keep your patience.
Ä
While I admitted to liking Letang’s style of play, young defensemen need to be playing a regular shift in all circumstances. Since Letang wasn’t going to do that in Pittsburgh this season, it was better to send him back to Val D’or. Fine. I’m okay with that, and I actually think Welch is more NHL ready at the moment anyway.
But here’s the thing when it comes to Whitney, Welch, and Letang. Letang is back in juniors now, but what I said of him still applies to Welch and Whitney. Sure, Welch and Whitney played 4 years of college hockey. Sure, they’re older than Letang. It doesn’t matter. They’re still young defensemen. Young defensemen are going to drive you crazy throughout a season and even throughout a game. They are learning how to play a position in a league that’s been transformed.
I am not saying that idiotic and juvenile mistakes should be continually tolerated. I am saying, however, that one should ask Mike Keenan how Chris Pronger looked that first season in St. Louis. (Caveat: If Welch or Whitney ever turn out to be 2/3 or 3/4 the player Pronger is, I will be floating on cloud nine, so I am not making a direct comparison.) Pronger didn’t look like Pronger does today, and while he didn’t look like a lost, clueless kid all the time, he resembled an average defenseman more than a Norris Trophy winner.
Thus, when it comes to Welch and Whitney this season, have some patience—as the coaching staff works with them in practice, as they get more experience—just have some patience. They are not yet who they will be, and really, we don’t know who they will be yet. Give them a chance. And when Letang returns next season or after a season of seasoning in Wilkes Barre in 2 years time (how I wish he could get that seasoning in Wilkes Barre now), he’ll be only 20 or 21 years old—still a kid. Have some patience with him, too.
And appreciate what you’ve got. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are already superstars. Defensemen, even the greatest, are not usually superstars or stars their first 2 seasons. Please, patience—and the way the coaches handle the young defensemen will tell you a lot about how long you should keep your patience.
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Effective Coaching
Dare I utter the phrase "good coaching"? Since one never knows how quickly a team can dive into a tailspin, I’m going to go with "effective coaching" right now. But know that no matter my word choice, effective coaching/good coaching, all I’m really saying is that Michel Therrien has done a good job thus far this season.
Sure, the players have to execute the game plan. Sure, the players have to be prepared to execute the game plan. Yet the coach has to be able to come up with a game plan, and he has to know how to prepare the players to execute the game plan. Of course it helps Therrien that his number 1 goalie has thus far played the way a number 1 goalie should play. The addition of Malkin has automatically made Therrien a much smarter coach (amazing how adding great players can make coaches smarter).
Yet what Therrien has done—allowing stars to be stars, working to find the right fits for players on the third and fourth lines, and even just having the penalty killing and power play units functioning at an above-average level—has helped the Penguins to make huge improvements( at least as compared to last year’s wretched start).
Granted, Therrien is not a genius by any means. The Penguins still give up way too many shots on goal on a nightly basis. And while I grew up adoring and cheering for players who "passed and passed and passed" the puck, at times, the Penguins’ gifted youngsters are going to need to shoot the puck. (I’m not a "shoot the puck" freak by any means, but occasionally, the players are going to need to take shots they haven’t yet been taking.) There remains room for improvement across-the-board, perhaps no more evidenced by the average number of shots against the Pens concede.
Yet look at the team’s record at the moment. I’m pleasantly surprised, and I want to continue to be pleasantly surprised. As long as Therrien keeps "making adjustments" to find what works and then doing what works, as long as the players keep buying into it, well, the new NHL hasn’t changed that much.
Effective coaching still can make an average team a good team and a good team a very good team. For obvious reasons, I’d like to see effective coaching throughout the remainder of the 2006-07 hockey season.
∏
Dare I utter the phrase "good coaching"? Since one never knows how quickly a team can dive into a tailspin, I’m going to go with "effective coaching" right now. But know that no matter my word choice, effective coaching/good coaching, all I’m really saying is that Michel Therrien has done a good job thus far this season.
Sure, the players have to execute the game plan. Sure, the players have to be prepared to execute the game plan. Yet the coach has to be able to come up with a game plan, and he has to know how to prepare the players to execute the game plan. Of course it helps Therrien that his number 1 goalie has thus far played the way a number 1 goalie should play. The addition of Malkin has automatically made Therrien a much smarter coach (amazing how adding great players can make coaches smarter).
Yet what Therrien has done—allowing stars to be stars, working to find the right fits for players on the third and fourth lines, and even just having the penalty killing and power play units functioning at an above-average level—has helped the Penguins to make huge improvements( at least as compared to last year’s wretched start).
Granted, Therrien is not a genius by any means. The Penguins still give up way too many shots on goal on a nightly basis. And while I grew up adoring and cheering for players who "passed and passed and passed" the puck, at times, the Penguins’ gifted youngsters are going to need to shoot the puck. (I’m not a "shoot the puck" freak by any means, but occasionally, the players are going to need to take shots they haven’t yet been taking.) There remains room for improvement across-the-board, perhaps no more evidenced by the average number of shots against the Pens concede.
Yet look at the team’s record at the moment. I’m pleasantly surprised, and I want to continue to be pleasantly surprised. As long as Therrien keeps "making adjustments" to find what works and then doing what works, as long as the players keep buying into it, well, the new NHL hasn’t changed that much.
Effective coaching still can make an average team a good team and a good team a very good team. For obvious reasons, I’d like to see effective coaching throughout the remainder of the 2006-07 hockey season.
∏
Staal Stays
I spent most of Monday hoping the Penguins would keep Jordan Staal, and when word came that Pittsburgh had indeed decided to keep the NHL’s lone eighteen-year-old, I was glad.
At the start of the season, I really expected to be advocating for Staal to dominate at the junior level—you know, let the kid learn every aspect of the game playing against boys, etc. Save for the fact that Jordan Staal showed me—and more importantly, showed the powers-that-be in the Penguins organization—that he was more than capable of being an effective NHL player this season.
While Staal remains 18 years old, he doesn’t have the body of an eighteen-year-old kid, and the size and strength he already has will benefit him tremendously at the NHL level. Even more importantly, I now believe playing in the NHL this season accelerates Staal’s development. The kid is already a crucial member of the Pens’ penalty-killing unit, and I was pleased with the games he played in a second line role. Staal gets to learn the NHL game, but he isn’t going to be pressured to play top line minutes right away, and meanwhile, the Penguins already have an incredibly effective penalty killer who, right now, I am dreaming may one day become what Ron Francis was to Mario Lemieux.
Staal has shown the ability to put the puck in the net and to play effective defense and to work to improve his game, and frankly, if the Penguins had chosen to send him back to juniors on Monday, I would have been disappointed. Disappointed not just because the Penguins would have immediately become a weaker team (they certainly would have) but disappointed because I wouldn’t have the chance to watch a young star learn how to play at such a level in the NHL.
In any case, Staal is here to stick for the moment, and I, for one, am really glad Staal is staying.
I spent most of Monday hoping the Penguins would keep Jordan Staal, and when word came that Pittsburgh had indeed decided to keep the NHL’s lone eighteen-year-old, I was glad.
At the start of the season, I really expected to be advocating for Staal to dominate at the junior level—you know, let the kid learn every aspect of the game playing against boys, etc. Save for the fact that Jordan Staal showed me—and more importantly, showed the powers-that-be in the Penguins organization—that he was more than capable of being an effective NHL player this season.
While Staal remains 18 years old, he doesn’t have the body of an eighteen-year-old kid, and the size and strength he already has will benefit him tremendously at the NHL level. Even more importantly, I now believe playing in the NHL this season accelerates Staal’s development. The kid is already a crucial member of the Pens’ penalty-killing unit, and I was pleased with the games he played in a second line role. Staal gets to learn the NHL game, but he isn’t going to be pressured to play top line minutes right away, and meanwhile, the Penguins already have an incredibly effective penalty killer who, right now, I am dreaming may one day become what Ron Francis was to Mario Lemieux.
Staal has shown the ability to put the puck in the net and to play effective defense and to work to improve his game, and frankly, if the Penguins had chosen to send him back to juniors on Monday, I would have been disappointed. Disappointed not just because the Penguins would have immediately become a weaker team (they certainly would have) but disappointed because I wouldn’t have the chance to watch a young star learn how to play at such a level in the NHL.
In any case, Staal is here to stick for the moment, and I, for one, am really glad Staal is staying.
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Random Thoughts
∑ I like the way Letang plays, but most defensemen need seasoning time. While Letang may not be ready for the NHL, I wish he could be in the AHL this season. I think he’s learn more playing against men than boys in junior. Anyhow, that’s just a complaint about NHL rules. I know the reasons for the rules, the need to keep Canadian major junior hockey content, but sometimes—I just wish individual options were available so what is in the best interests of the player could be done.
∑ Keeping Letang around because he is the only right-handed shooting defenseman seems rather silly. I am not saying we just go about randomly making trades, but if we truly need a right shooting defenseman, can we go about exchanging a fifth and sixth defenseman, perhaps, so we can acquire a right handed shot if we deem that necessary?
∑ Granted, the Penguins have a younger core now than they did to start last season. But just looking at Fleury’s statistics this year, I really wonder if Fleury had started last season here, what a difference that might have made in the wretched start to the 2005-06 Pens’ season. When goaltending is good, teams usually win more than they lose, particularly when you have the talent up front that the Pens do.
∑ Eric Staal thinks the Penguins would be crazy to send his little brother back to juniors. Yet I know the Penguins have been known to do crazy things (witness what they did last year with Fleury). Somehow I want the Pens to make the best decision for Staal’s development and for the team, and I really want money to stay out of it. Because if you’re just sending the kid down to avoid a big time pay-out later on, it’s not a good enough reason. It’s just not a good enough reason. If the kid can play in the NHL this season, and if he’ll learn more playing here than by playing against boys in juniors, keep him where he belongs, money be darned. (Caveat: Obviously I’m a fan and not the general manager tasked with building a future Stanley Cup champion. So keep my caveat in mind.)
∑ The housecleaning in Philadelphia was similar to what happened in Pittsburgh last year (to some degree), and it happened for a similar reason. Philadelphia, Forsberg and Gagne aside, wasn’t built for the new NHL. And, just like the Pens last year, it doesn’t help when your goaltending is way less than mediocre.
∑ Have the Rangers found an identity yet? The team hasn’t seemed to make up its mind who it is, and I don’t know what to make of the Rangers yet, save to know that Jagr and Shanahan need to perform consistently, the whole team needs to find discipline, and the gold-medal winning sensation whose last name I really should learn how to spell needs to find his game for the Rangers to have any chance for contending for the Atlantic Division lead.
∑ There is still something patently unfair about Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger playing on the same defense, and I say this even after Sergei Gonchar has gotten off to a "fast" start is Malkin's landlord. I’m really curious to see what happens when the Penguins face the Ducks.
∑ I like the way Letang plays, but most defensemen need seasoning time. While Letang may not be ready for the NHL, I wish he could be in the AHL this season. I think he’s learn more playing against men than boys in junior. Anyhow, that’s just a complaint about NHL rules. I know the reasons for the rules, the need to keep Canadian major junior hockey content, but sometimes—I just wish individual options were available so what is in the best interests of the player could be done.
∑ Keeping Letang around because he is the only right-handed shooting defenseman seems rather silly. I am not saying we just go about randomly making trades, but if we truly need a right shooting defenseman, can we go about exchanging a fifth and sixth defenseman, perhaps, so we can acquire a right handed shot if we deem that necessary?
∑ Granted, the Penguins have a younger core now than they did to start last season. But just looking at Fleury’s statistics this year, I really wonder if Fleury had started last season here, what a difference that might have made in the wretched start to the 2005-06 Pens’ season. When goaltending is good, teams usually win more than they lose, particularly when you have the talent up front that the Pens do.
∑ Eric Staal thinks the Penguins would be crazy to send his little brother back to juniors. Yet I know the Penguins have been known to do crazy things (witness what they did last year with Fleury). Somehow I want the Pens to make the best decision for Staal’s development and for the team, and I really want money to stay out of it. Because if you’re just sending the kid down to avoid a big time pay-out later on, it’s not a good enough reason. It’s just not a good enough reason. If the kid can play in the NHL this season, and if he’ll learn more playing here than by playing against boys in juniors, keep him where he belongs, money be darned. (Caveat: Obviously I’m a fan and not the general manager tasked with building a future Stanley Cup champion. So keep my caveat in mind.)
∑ The housecleaning in Philadelphia was similar to what happened in Pittsburgh last year (to some degree), and it happened for a similar reason. Philadelphia, Forsberg and Gagne aside, wasn’t built for the new NHL. And, just like the Pens last year, it doesn’t help when your goaltending is way less than mediocre.
∑ Have the Rangers found an identity yet? The team hasn’t seemed to make up its mind who it is, and I don’t know what to make of the Rangers yet, save to know that Jagr and Shanahan need to perform consistently, the whole team needs to find discipline, and the gold-medal winning sensation whose last name I really should learn how to spell needs to find his game for the Rangers to have any chance for contending for the Atlantic Division lead.
∑ There is still something patently unfair about Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger playing on the same defense, and I say this even after Sergei Gonchar has gotten off to a "fast" start is Malkin's landlord. I’m really curious to see what happens when the Penguins face the Ducks.
It’s a Show Again
I had the chance to see Malkin’s fantastic goal against the Devils on Tuesday night. The play was obscene; that’s how beautiful it was, it was obscene. In any case, when the Penguins’ young stars put on a show, as they did Tuesday night when they took advantage of the Devils’ mistakes, and as they most certainly did when they pummeled the Flyers yesterday, I draw in a deep breath of "Wow!"
Because, as I heard the Pittsburgh announcers reminisce, "There used to be at a time, when Mario and Jagr and Francis were playing here, that you just looked forward to the next game because you knew it was going to be a show." The announcers went on to note that the Penguins had become something of a "traveling road show" and to note that young fans in Pittsburgh were lining up to watch the youthful stars of the Pens star on Mellon Arena ice.
In any case, I got hooked on hockey, as a kid, watching that show in Pittsburgh. I didn’t know, at the time, how incredibly spoiled I was compared to fans in other cities. I mean, Mario Lemieux and then Jaromir Jagr—who had another Hall of Fame player in Ron Francis alongside them for much of their Pittsburgh careers? I loved watching hockey, and I loved watching the show the Penguins stars used to put on whenever there was a game.
And watching Crosby, Malkin, Staal, and Fleury do their thing at the start of this season, it’s just been a sigh of, Wow! Wow, I remember what that felt like as a kid. And watching and re-watching Malkin’s goal, it’s been awhile since I’ve watched a Penguin score a goal that fantastic. Sure, I saw the obscenely fantastic goals of Jagr and Mario, and I’ll always have their playoff goals etched in my memory. But Malkin’s goal Tuesday night—the fourth of many more to come, I hope—made me feel a way I hadn’t remembered feeling since I was a kid. Because when I was a kid, Jaromir Jagr was still a kid, and I remember watching him with the puck, and marveling at his skill and wondering about how much more was still to come.
Malkin’s goal gave me a glimpse, provided, of course, health stays intact, of what is to come. And to be honest, I like what I’m seeing. I haven’t been this excited about hockey, I don’t think, since the days when my Penguins were winning Cups in the early nineties. Because right now, I think I’m beginning to see, as I saw with Malkin’s goal Tuesday night, the genesis of an emergence of the core of a team that could claim the Cup—not just once, but repeatedly.
At the moment, though, I’m just enjoying the breath of "Wow" that comes when I watch the young stars do their thing, and you bet I’m going to enjoy the show whenever the Penguins play.
Oh, and guys? I’m expecting a show now. Thank you for your play, and for that expectation you’ve set so high already—because, really, I really, really love hockey whenever I see stars put on a show.
I had the chance to see Malkin’s fantastic goal against the Devils on Tuesday night. The play was obscene; that’s how beautiful it was, it was obscene. In any case, when the Penguins’ young stars put on a show, as they did Tuesday night when they took advantage of the Devils’ mistakes, and as they most certainly did when they pummeled the Flyers yesterday, I draw in a deep breath of "Wow!"
Because, as I heard the Pittsburgh announcers reminisce, "There used to be at a time, when Mario and Jagr and Francis were playing here, that you just looked forward to the next game because you knew it was going to be a show." The announcers went on to note that the Penguins had become something of a "traveling road show" and to note that young fans in Pittsburgh were lining up to watch the youthful stars of the Pens star on Mellon Arena ice.
In any case, I got hooked on hockey, as a kid, watching that show in Pittsburgh. I didn’t know, at the time, how incredibly spoiled I was compared to fans in other cities. I mean, Mario Lemieux and then Jaromir Jagr—who had another Hall of Fame player in Ron Francis alongside them for much of their Pittsburgh careers? I loved watching hockey, and I loved watching the show the Penguins stars used to put on whenever there was a game.
And watching Crosby, Malkin, Staal, and Fleury do their thing at the start of this season, it’s just been a sigh of, Wow! Wow, I remember what that felt like as a kid. And watching and re-watching Malkin’s goal, it’s been awhile since I’ve watched a Penguin score a goal that fantastic. Sure, I saw the obscenely fantastic goals of Jagr and Mario, and I’ll always have their playoff goals etched in my memory. But Malkin’s goal Tuesday night—the fourth of many more to come, I hope—made me feel a way I hadn’t remembered feeling since I was a kid. Because when I was a kid, Jaromir Jagr was still a kid, and I remember watching him with the puck, and marveling at his skill and wondering about how much more was still to come.
Malkin’s goal gave me a glimpse, provided, of course, health stays intact, of what is to come. And to be honest, I like what I’m seeing. I haven’t been this excited about hockey, I don’t think, since the days when my Penguins were winning Cups in the early nineties. Because right now, I think I’m beginning to see, as I saw with Malkin’s goal Tuesday night, the genesis of an emergence of the core of a team that could claim the Cup—not just once, but repeatedly.
At the moment, though, I’m just enjoying the breath of "Wow" that comes when I watch the young stars do their thing, and you bet I’m going to enjoy the show whenever the Penguins play.
Oh, and guys? I’m expecting a show now. Thank you for your play, and for that expectation you’ve set so high already—because, really, I really, really love hockey whenever I see stars put on a show.
The Upcoming Road Trip
Apparently the locals in the Pittsburgh media are convinced that the Penguins upcoming road trip will tell us if the team is "for real" or not. As much as it pains me to agree with some members of the Pittsburgh media, I agree. However, I feel I must qualify my agreement with some statements about what we might expect to learn as the Penguins embark on their first real road trip of the season.
∑ How are Crosby, Malkin, and Staal (if he’s still here) going to match up against Norris Trophy winners Pronger and Niedermayer? Are they going to be completely smothered, or is one of our young stars going to make an elite defenseman look silly? (Don’t you remember how much fun it was when Mario Lemieux turned Ray Bourque inside out at various moments in his career?)
∑ How are the Penguins going to react to their first tough loss, or to being plain beat by a superior opponent? If such an event should occur, for example, when the Penguins face off against the Ducks, how are the players going to react?
∑ Do the Penguins, team-wide, have the speed to match up with the quickness of the teams they’ll be playing? Does Coach Therrien have a plan to compensate for his team’s lack of speed throughout the roster?
∑ How are the Penguins, as a team, going to handle the guys who won the league scoring title and goal scoring title last season? Can the team’s defense step up to the challenge, or will they just be plain overmatched?
∑ How is a young player—whether it be Fleury, Crosby, Malkin, or a defenseman—going to react the first time they have a game that doesn’t go as well as recent games have been going? The player’s reaction and response, in how they work to adjust their games, will say a lot about where the team can go for the rest of the season.
Honestly, both the Sharks and the Ducks were playoff teams last season, and the Penguins’ porous play last year legitimately earned them the right to draft Jordan Staal second overall. Even if the Penguins lose both games to the Sharks and the Ducks, I’m talking games that are close, and by close I mean 2 goal losses, as moral victories. (Not that players want to hear that, and for that, I commend them, and it’s why I’m convinced the young players are ready to contend right now.) Because, honestly, the Ducks were the preseason favorite of many prognosticators to win the Stanley Cup, and because the Ducks have two players in Niedermayer and Pronger who are obscenely talented and also have the NHL experience that our obscenely talented stars are still in the midst of acquiring.
Even harsh losses—being pummeled by a team or two—could end up working to the Penguins’ ultimate advantage. Because, through games that are hard and tough, our players will learn what it takes to compete against players like Niedermayer and Pronger and Thornton—and they’ll be getting the experience they need. So that, at perhaps some later point this season or even in the next couple of seasons, those lessons will pay dividends for the Penguins.
How do we know if this Penguins team is "for real?" Honestly, even if they lose games on the road trip, say all the games, we don’t know if they’re "for real" until we see how the team reacts to those losses. Do they come back roaring and ready and make sure they beat the teams they’re already clearly superior to? Do they react by improving their games and adjusting their strategies? How does the team react?
I’d be thrilled if the Penguins could sneak a point or two off either the Sharks or the Ducks. I’d be happy. I’d also be tempted to say the team is "for real." But I already know the young talent is "for real." And even if the young talent shows off its inexperience more than its skill set on this road trip, the young talent is still real—it just may not mean contending for the division title this season real.
In any case, a really successful road trip to me means sneaking a victory or a tie. Yet a somewhat successful road trip could include close losses that show the Pens aren’t far from competing with the league’s elite teams. Or even a temporarily disappointing road trip—returning home with a 3 game losing streak—could still provide fertile ground for future growth.
Yes, of course, I’m curious to see what happens on the road. I’m curious to see, especially, what the kids can do. I think the Pens will be limited by the rest of their roster when it comes to team speed and depth when facing off against some of the best teams in the Western Conference, and I wonder how the Penguins’ team limitations will affect the young stars of the team—perhaps making them easier to neutralize than they would be if surrounded by a true contending team. But no matter what—I’m excited to see—okay, read about (the games are on late)—what transpires over the next week of this Western road trip.
J
Apparently the locals in the Pittsburgh media are convinced that the Penguins upcoming road trip will tell us if the team is "for real" or not. As much as it pains me to agree with some members of the Pittsburgh media, I agree. However, I feel I must qualify my agreement with some statements about what we might expect to learn as the Penguins embark on their first real road trip of the season.
∑ How are Crosby, Malkin, and Staal (if he’s still here) going to match up against Norris Trophy winners Pronger and Niedermayer? Are they going to be completely smothered, or is one of our young stars going to make an elite defenseman look silly? (Don’t you remember how much fun it was when Mario Lemieux turned Ray Bourque inside out at various moments in his career?)
∑ How are the Penguins going to react to their first tough loss, or to being plain beat by a superior opponent? If such an event should occur, for example, when the Penguins face off against the Ducks, how are the players going to react?
∑ Do the Penguins, team-wide, have the speed to match up with the quickness of the teams they’ll be playing? Does Coach Therrien have a plan to compensate for his team’s lack of speed throughout the roster?
∑ How are the Penguins, as a team, going to handle the guys who won the league scoring title and goal scoring title last season? Can the team’s defense step up to the challenge, or will they just be plain overmatched?
∑ How is a young player—whether it be Fleury, Crosby, Malkin, or a defenseman—going to react the first time they have a game that doesn’t go as well as recent games have been going? The player’s reaction and response, in how they work to adjust their games, will say a lot about where the team can go for the rest of the season.
Honestly, both the Sharks and the Ducks were playoff teams last season, and the Penguins’ porous play last year legitimately earned them the right to draft Jordan Staal second overall. Even if the Penguins lose both games to the Sharks and the Ducks, I’m talking games that are close, and by close I mean 2 goal losses, as moral victories. (Not that players want to hear that, and for that, I commend them, and it’s why I’m convinced the young players are ready to contend right now.) Because, honestly, the Ducks were the preseason favorite of many prognosticators to win the Stanley Cup, and because the Ducks have two players in Niedermayer and Pronger who are obscenely talented and also have the NHL experience that our obscenely talented stars are still in the midst of acquiring.
Even harsh losses—being pummeled by a team or two—could end up working to the Penguins’ ultimate advantage. Because, through games that are hard and tough, our players will learn what it takes to compete against players like Niedermayer and Pronger and Thornton—and they’ll be getting the experience they need. So that, at perhaps some later point this season or even in the next couple of seasons, those lessons will pay dividends for the Penguins.
How do we know if this Penguins team is "for real?" Honestly, even if they lose games on the road trip, say all the games, we don’t know if they’re "for real" until we see how the team reacts to those losses. Do they come back roaring and ready and make sure they beat the teams they’re already clearly superior to? Do they react by improving their games and adjusting their strategies? How does the team react?
I’d be thrilled if the Penguins could sneak a point or two off either the Sharks or the Ducks. I’d be happy. I’d also be tempted to say the team is "for real." But I already know the young talent is "for real." And even if the young talent shows off its inexperience more than its skill set on this road trip, the young talent is still real—it just may not mean contending for the division title this season real.
In any case, a really successful road trip to me means sneaking a victory or a tie. Yet a somewhat successful road trip could include close losses that show the Pens aren’t far from competing with the league’s elite teams. Or even a temporarily disappointing road trip—returning home with a 3 game losing streak—could still provide fertile ground for future growth.
Yes, of course, I’m curious to see what happens on the road. I’m curious to see, especially, what the kids can do. I think the Pens will be limited by the rest of their roster when it comes to team speed and depth when facing off against some of the best teams in the Western Conference, and I wonder how the Penguins’ team limitations will affect the young stars of the team—perhaps making them easier to neutralize than they would be if surrounded by a true contending team. But no matter what—I’m excited to see—okay, read about (the games are on late)—what transpires over the next week of this Western road trip.
J
Wow! So soon?
After watching (okay, mostly hearing and reading about) the Penguins getting off to a 6-3 start, one thought keeps repeatedly rolling through my mind. The team wasn’t supposed to be this good. Not yet. Not right now. They weren’t supposed to be competing for the Atlantic Division lead. They were supposed to be lucky to earn a playoff berth. They weren’t supposed to, on some nights, be the better team than teams that are considered contenders. None of that was supposed to happen this year.
Granted, everything comes with the huge caveat that the Penguins are all of 9 games into the season and have yet to complete a major road trip. Still, let’s look at everything that’s gone right at the start of the season:
∑ Sidney Crosby is still Sidney Crosby.
∑ Evgeni Malkin takes my breath away—literally. He’s already a star.
∑ The only time Jordan Staal looks anywhere near eighteen years of age is when he’s off the ice.
∑ Marc Andre Fleury has lived up to his pedigree and is stopping the puck like top-tier NHL goalies should.
∑ The team’s defense, while still nowhere near the level of elite, has been more than adequate enough when the young players mentioned above do their thing.
Given everything that’s going right so far, it behooves to go back and look at the expectations I held prior to the start of the season. I expect this season to be a season of "growing pains"—I expected to see potential fulfilled on some nights, but I also expected to endure some games where I’d have to remind myself the team’s core players are young.
I’m in the midst of revising my preseason expectations (I’m sure constantly altering my expectations will become a consistent theme of this blog throughout the season), and I’m revising my expectations precisely because of the play of the "kids" so far. I’m stating it flat-out: The reason I still don’t consider the Penguins a Stanley Cup contender has nothing to do with the kids. Right now—yes, hear me, right now—the kids are more than capable of being the core players on a for-real Cup contender. Yes, of course, I hope and expect the kids will get better with age. Never mind that. Jaromir Jagr got better with age and he was still a crucial piece to the puzzle in the Pens’ championship years. I’m sure Eric Staal is only going to improve, but Carolina doesn’t win the Cup last year without him. Besides, the new NHL gives skilled players—such as the Pens kids—a real showcase for their all-world talent. In any case, I’m convinced that right now—yes, right now—the Pens’ core players are the real core of a legitimate Cup contender.
Granted, of course, my previous statement does still come with the caveat that the kids are kids. While I don’t want Jordan Staal returned to his junior team at the present moment, he still could be. And even the greatest players in hockey history have games where they don’t score a goal (it will happen to Malkin eventually) and even the game’s best goalies have off nights (I hope it doesn’t happen to Fleury any time soon). The kids are kids, and yes, they’re going to have off nights and mini-slumps and perhaps even slumps. And they’re going to face off against teams with better depth and with all-world defensemen (see the Anaheim Ducks) with gobs of experience. But through nine games of the season, I’ve seen the talent these "kids" have, and the talent is real, special, and explosive—and enough to dominate opponents. Domination isn’t going to come every night, but at the present moment, the kids have shown me enough to convince me that they’re for real as the core of a Cup contender—right now.
However, there is no way the Pens can yet be considered a legitimate Cup contender. Sure, I can make that statement for the usual reason that we’re only nine games into the season, blah blah, blah, which is true. I can also make the statement because the kids are kids and at some point, even if only for a few games, their youth and inexperience will lead to the so-called "rookie" mistakes. But honestly, my issue with the Pens is not with their core players but with the players surrounding their core players. Until the wingers figure out how to score with consistent regularity, until the Penguins wingers and the rest of the roster convince me they have the depth to overcome multiple injuries (I don’t expect me to be convinced), and until the defensemen truly gel as a unit—I can’t say the Pens are anywhere near being a Cup contender. Because to be a contender for the Cup, you need more than just a core of stars. You need players who support those stars. Yeah, sure, you need to know that the stars are going to perform come crunch time (and we haven’t had the chance to see that at the NHL level yet), but you need a team. The Penguins, as a team, still appear to lack the team-wide speed and depth necessary to be truly considered a for-real Cup contender. And frankly, I’m really not yet ready for general manager Shero to start bargaining with one of his core players to bring in depth because I don’t think the team is at the point where they’re ready to make a move like that. Yet I also think the team is closer to being ready for a move such as that than I would have dared to think prior to the start of the season.
Many questions remain about the 2006-07 Penguins. Can the stars remain healthy for a whole season? Does Staal even stay for a whole season? Can Fleury play this way all year? What happens if—dare I even mention this—one of the stars gets hurt at some point in the season? Can the stars keep playing the way they’ve been playing all season long? And even if everything good happens in answer to those above questions—the stars stay stars, the young players keep getting better, and Fleury stays great all year—what about the rest of the team? Does the team have the depth and speed to match up well with above-average and contending teams? Can the team win the close 1-goal games they lost so frequently last season?
At the present moment, I don’t know the answers to those questions, and I still feel one reasonable answer to why the Pens aren’t a for-real contender yet is because an injury to one of their stars would kill them, and by kill them, I mean they would lose games they would win with the star in the line-up. (The Pens won the Cup playing games without their starting goaltender, Mario Lemieux, and Joey Mullen, at various points.) But one thing I do know, especially after reading the box scores of games like those against the Flyers last night—this team is going to be fun to watch—and hopefully, it’s going to be fun to watch this team win a lot more than I expected at the start of the season.
After watching (okay, mostly hearing and reading about) the Penguins getting off to a 6-3 start, one thought keeps repeatedly rolling through my mind. The team wasn’t supposed to be this good. Not yet. Not right now. They weren’t supposed to be competing for the Atlantic Division lead. They were supposed to be lucky to earn a playoff berth. They weren’t supposed to, on some nights, be the better team than teams that are considered contenders. None of that was supposed to happen this year.
Granted, everything comes with the huge caveat that the Penguins are all of 9 games into the season and have yet to complete a major road trip. Still, let’s look at everything that’s gone right at the start of the season:
∑ Sidney Crosby is still Sidney Crosby.
∑ Evgeni Malkin takes my breath away—literally. He’s already a star.
∑ The only time Jordan Staal looks anywhere near eighteen years of age is when he’s off the ice.
∑ Marc Andre Fleury has lived up to his pedigree and is stopping the puck like top-tier NHL goalies should.
∑ The team’s defense, while still nowhere near the level of elite, has been more than adequate enough when the young players mentioned above do their thing.
Given everything that’s going right so far, it behooves to go back and look at the expectations I held prior to the start of the season. I expect this season to be a season of "growing pains"—I expected to see potential fulfilled on some nights, but I also expected to endure some games where I’d have to remind myself the team’s core players are young.
I’m in the midst of revising my preseason expectations (I’m sure constantly altering my expectations will become a consistent theme of this blog throughout the season), and I’m revising my expectations precisely because of the play of the "kids" so far. I’m stating it flat-out: The reason I still don’t consider the Penguins a Stanley Cup contender has nothing to do with the kids. Right now—yes, hear me, right now—the kids are more than capable of being the core players on a for-real Cup contender. Yes, of course, I hope and expect the kids will get better with age. Never mind that. Jaromir Jagr got better with age and he was still a crucial piece to the puzzle in the Pens’ championship years. I’m sure Eric Staal is only going to improve, but Carolina doesn’t win the Cup last year without him. Besides, the new NHL gives skilled players—such as the Pens kids—a real showcase for their all-world talent. In any case, I’m convinced that right now—yes, right now—the Pens’ core players are the real core of a legitimate Cup contender.
Granted, of course, my previous statement does still come with the caveat that the kids are kids. While I don’t want Jordan Staal returned to his junior team at the present moment, he still could be. And even the greatest players in hockey history have games where they don’t score a goal (it will happen to Malkin eventually) and even the game’s best goalies have off nights (I hope it doesn’t happen to Fleury any time soon). The kids are kids, and yes, they’re going to have off nights and mini-slumps and perhaps even slumps. And they’re going to face off against teams with better depth and with all-world defensemen (see the Anaheim Ducks) with gobs of experience. But through nine games of the season, I’ve seen the talent these "kids" have, and the talent is real, special, and explosive—and enough to dominate opponents. Domination isn’t going to come every night, but at the present moment, the kids have shown me enough to convince me that they’re for real as the core of a Cup contender—right now.
However, there is no way the Pens can yet be considered a legitimate Cup contender. Sure, I can make that statement for the usual reason that we’re only nine games into the season, blah blah, blah, which is true. I can also make the statement because the kids are kids and at some point, even if only for a few games, their youth and inexperience will lead to the so-called "rookie" mistakes. But honestly, my issue with the Pens is not with their core players but with the players surrounding their core players. Until the wingers figure out how to score with consistent regularity, until the Penguins wingers and the rest of the roster convince me they have the depth to overcome multiple injuries (I don’t expect me to be convinced), and until the defensemen truly gel as a unit—I can’t say the Pens are anywhere near being a Cup contender. Because to be a contender for the Cup, you need more than just a core of stars. You need players who support those stars. Yeah, sure, you need to know that the stars are going to perform come crunch time (and we haven’t had the chance to see that at the NHL level yet), but you need a team. The Penguins, as a team, still appear to lack the team-wide speed and depth necessary to be truly considered a for-real Cup contender. And frankly, I’m really not yet ready for general manager Shero to start bargaining with one of his core players to bring in depth because I don’t think the team is at the point where they’re ready to make a move like that. Yet I also think the team is closer to being ready for a move such as that than I would have dared to think prior to the start of the season.
Many questions remain about the 2006-07 Penguins. Can the stars remain healthy for a whole season? Does Staal even stay for a whole season? Can Fleury play this way all year? What happens if—dare I even mention this—one of the stars gets hurt at some point in the season? Can the stars keep playing the way they’ve been playing all season long? And even if everything good happens in answer to those above questions—the stars stay stars, the young players keep getting better, and Fleury stays great all year—what about the rest of the team? Does the team have the depth and speed to match up well with above-average and contending teams? Can the team win the close 1-goal games they lost so frequently last season?
At the present moment, I don’t know the answers to those questions, and I still feel one reasonable answer to why the Pens aren’t a for-real contender yet is because an injury to one of their stars would kill them, and by kill them, I mean they would lose games they would win with the star in the line-up. (The Pens won the Cup playing games without their starting goaltender, Mario Lemieux, and Joey Mullen, at various points.) But one thing I do know, especially after reading the box scores of games like those against the Flyers last night—this team is going to be fun to watch—and hopefully, it’s going to be fun to watch this team win a lot more than I expected at the start of the season.
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Random NHL Notes
∑ Dare I speak too soon, but I don’t think the Buffalo Sabres are as good as were my NHL record setting 17 game winning streak 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins. I would appreciate it if some NHL team would at least tie the Sabres. A tie with a red-hot Ryan Miller should be within the realm of possibility. And if my Pens play the Sabres any time soon, I very much desire for my young team to have one of those nights where they play "out of their minds" and as though they’re a few years older than they are, and you know, beat Buffalo.
∑ Peter Forsberg is a great player. The edge with Sidney Crosby plays the game reminds me of Forsberg’s edgy style. Forsberg, for all he might complain about Crosby, is borderline dirty and nasty. Yet Forsberg’s greatness made me wonder—what the heck is the problem in Philadelphia? And what is the irony of Forsberg captaining the Flyers, given the Eric Lindros trade?
∑ The Rangers appear to have some issues with defense and goaltending and perhaps depth. I still like the Rangers, of course, and still love Jags and Marty, so I hope the team can find some consistency. But finding some defensive consistency might help out the Rangers sophomore Swedish goaltender quite a bit. So how about it, New York? Defensive consistency? Everybody doing their part? Can you manage that 2 years in a row? Oh, and interesting questions to watch—how’s the team going to react when the Garden crowd—as it’s already done—starts hissing and booing instead of cheering? Is Jagr’s head in the right place, and will his head stay in the right place all season? (I really, really hope so—but it’s something that bears watching.)
∑ I really see so little of the Western Conference what with needing to get at least some sleep, so these statements come with a huge caveat. Eric Lindros, at least if SI is to believed, has found a home in Dallas. Good for him; the Stars need help. Apparently, if message boards are to be believed, some Anaheim fans don’t yet fully "get" Chris Pronger. Here’s the thing—you don’t "get" Pronger the way you get Scott Niedermayer. But when you watch most NHL defensemen play and then you watch Pronger, you "get" him, and you’ll get him way more as the season continues. Just my 2 cents.
∑ Dare I speak too soon, but I don’t think the Buffalo Sabres are as good as were my NHL record setting 17 game winning streak 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins. I would appreciate it if some NHL team would at least tie the Sabres. A tie with a red-hot Ryan Miller should be within the realm of possibility. And if my Pens play the Sabres any time soon, I very much desire for my young team to have one of those nights where they play "out of their minds" and as though they’re a few years older than they are, and you know, beat Buffalo.
∑ Peter Forsberg is a great player. The edge with Sidney Crosby plays the game reminds me of Forsberg’s edgy style. Forsberg, for all he might complain about Crosby, is borderline dirty and nasty. Yet Forsberg’s greatness made me wonder—what the heck is the problem in Philadelphia? And what is the irony of Forsberg captaining the Flyers, given the Eric Lindros trade?
∑ The Rangers appear to have some issues with defense and goaltending and perhaps depth. I still like the Rangers, of course, and still love Jags and Marty, so I hope the team can find some consistency. But finding some defensive consistency might help out the Rangers sophomore Swedish goaltender quite a bit. So how about it, New York? Defensive consistency? Everybody doing their part? Can you manage that 2 years in a row? Oh, and interesting questions to watch—how’s the team going to react when the Garden crowd—as it’s already done—starts hissing and booing instead of cheering? Is Jagr’s head in the right place, and will his head stay in the right place all season? (I really, really hope so—but it’s something that bears watching.)
∑ I really see so little of the Western Conference what with needing to get at least some sleep, so these statements come with a huge caveat. Eric Lindros, at least if SI is to believed, has found a home in Dallas. Good for him; the Stars need help. Apparently, if message boards are to be believed, some Anaheim fans don’t yet fully "get" Chris Pronger. Here’s the thing—you don’t "get" Pronger the way you get Scott Niedermayer. But when you watch most NHL defensemen play and then you watch Pronger, you "get" him, and you’ll get him way more as the season continues. Just my 2 cents.
Random NHL Notes
∑ Dare I speak too soon, but I don’t think the Buffalo Sabres are as good as were my NHL record setting 17 game winning streak 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins. I would appreciate it if some NHL team would at least tie the Sabres. A tie with a red-hot Ryan Miller should be within the realm of possibility. And if my Pens play the Sabres any time soon, I very much desire for my young team to have one of those nights where they play "out of their minds" and as though they’re a few years older than they are, and you know, beat Buffalo.
∑ Peter Forsberg is a great player. The edge with Sidney Crosby plays the game reminds me of Forsberg’s edgy style. Forsberg, for all he might complain about Crosby, is borderline dirty and nasty. Yet Forsberg’s greatness made me wonder—what the heck is the problem in Philadelphia? And what is the irony of Forsberg captaining the Flyers, given the Eric Lindros trade?
∑ The Rangers appear to have some issues with defense and goaltending and perhaps depth. I still like the Rangers, of course, and still love Jags and Marty, so I hope the team can find some consistency. But finding some defensive consistency might help out the Rangers sophomore Swedish goaltender quite a bit. So how about it, New York? Defensive consistency? Everybody doing their part? Can you manage that 2 years in a row? Oh, and interesting questions to watch—how’s the team going to react when the Garden crowd—as it’s already done—starts hissing and booing instead of cheering? Is Jagr’s head in the right place, and will his head stay in the right place all season? (I really, really hope so—but it’s something that bears watching.)
∑ I really see so little of the Western Conference what with needing to get at least some sleep, so these statements come with a huge caveat. Eric Lindros, at least if SI is to believed, has found a home in Dallas. Good for him; the Stars need help. Apparently, if message boards are to be believed, some Anaheim fans don’t yet fully "get" Chris Pronger. Here’s the thing—you don’t "get" Pronger the way you get Scott Niedermayer. But when you watch most NHL defensemen play and then you watch Pronger, you "get" him, and you’ll get him way more as the season continues. Just my 2 cents.
∑ Dare I speak too soon, but I don’t think the Buffalo Sabres are as good as were my NHL record setting 17 game winning streak 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins. I would appreciate it if some NHL team would at least tie the Sabres. A tie with a red-hot Ryan Miller should be within the realm of possibility. And if my Pens play the Sabres any time soon, I very much desire for my young team to have one of those nights where they play "out of their minds" and as though they’re a few years older than they are, and you know, beat Buffalo.
∑ Peter Forsberg is a great player. The edge with Sidney Crosby plays the game reminds me of Forsberg’s edgy style. Forsberg, for all he might complain about Crosby, is borderline dirty and nasty. Yet Forsberg’s greatness made me wonder—what the heck is the problem in Philadelphia? And what is the irony of Forsberg captaining the Flyers, given the Eric Lindros trade?
∑ The Rangers appear to have some issues with defense and goaltending and perhaps depth. I still like the Rangers, of course, and still love Jags and Marty, so I hope the team can find some consistency. But finding some defensive consistency might help out the Rangers sophomore Swedish goaltender quite a bit. So how about it, New York? Defensive consistency? Everybody doing their part? Can you manage that 2 years in a row? Oh, and interesting questions to watch—how’s the team going to react when the Garden crowd—as it’s already done—starts hissing and booing instead of cheering? Is Jagr’s head in the right place, and will his head stay in the right place all season? (I really, really hope so—but it’s something that bears watching.)
∑ I really see so little of the Western Conference what with needing to get at least some sleep, so these statements come with a huge caveat. Eric Lindros, at least if SI is to believed, has found a home in Dallas. Good for him; the Stars need help. Apparently, if message boards are to be believed, some Anaheim fans don’t yet fully "get" Chris Pronger. Here’s the thing—you don’t "get" Pronger the way you get Scott Niedermayer. But when you watch most NHL defensemen play and then you watch Pronger, you "get" him, and you’ll get him way more as the season continues. Just my 2 cents.
The Flyers
I heard on Sporting News radio today that Ken Hitchcock had been fired as the Flyers’ coach and that Bobby Clarke was stepping down as general manager. As a Pens fan, I just hate the Flyers. I was so excited when we beat them, but I didn’t realize Philly was in a serious free-for-all. I haven’t paid enough attention, really, (e.g. I haven’t seen the Flyers’ play) to know why what’s happening in Philly is happening there.
Though, of course, I’d probably blame goaltending before anything else. But apparently the Flyers were into waiving Petr Nedved. Seriously, does anyone know what Nedved’s deal is? Can the boy—at 34 now, just like Jagr, not a boy anymore—still skate? If he can still skate, what’s his contract like? Seriously, could he be a productive winger (more productive than what the Pens have) alongside one of our two stud centers? I speak with no knowledge, just memories of Nedved from almost a decade ago (he was one of my faves, as you may have guessed).
And, of course, Aleksey Morozov, currently tearing up the RSL, isn’t worth a huge NHL contract, and I’m assuming he’s quite content to be a star and make millions in his native land. He never did put it altogether on this continent, anyway.
Yet somehow I wonder, as I mentioned the wingers previously, if Nedved or Morozov—who both once knew how to score and had very soft hands—would be able to convert those dandy set-ups of Malkin and Crosby’s—into goals with more regularity than our current wingers.
In any case, players like that would be a short-term fix, the same way Mark Recchi and John Leclair are at present. The Pens ultimately need younger—not as young as their centermen—wingers when the time comes for the team to contend.
ê
I heard on Sporting News radio today that Ken Hitchcock had been fired as the Flyers’ coach and that Bobby Clarke was stepping down as general manager. As a Pens fan, I just hate the Flyers. I was so excited when we beat them, but I didn’t realize Philly was in a serious free-for-all. I haven’t paid enough attention, really, (e.g. I haven’t seen the Flyers’ play) to know why what’s happening in Philly is happening there.
Though, of course, I’d probably blame goaltending before anything else. But apparently the Flyers were into waiving Petr Nedved. Seriously, does anyone know what Nedved’s deal is? Can the boy—at 34 now, just like Jagr, not a boy anymore—still skate? If he can still skate, what’s his contract like? Seriously, could he be a productive winger (more productive than what the Pens have) alongside one of our two stud centers? I speak with no knowledge, just memories of Nedved from almost a decade ago (he was one of my faves, as you may have guessed).
And, of course, Aleksey Morozov, currently tearing up the RSL, isn’t worth a huge NHL contract, and I’m assuming he’s quite content to be a star and make millions in his native land. He never did put it altogether on this continent, anyway.
Yet somehow I wonder, as I mentioned the wingers previously, if Nedved or Morozov—who both once knew how to score and had very soft hands—would be able to convert those dandy set-ups of Malkin and Crosby’s—into goals with more regularity than our current wingers.
In any case, players like that would be a short-term fix, the same way Mark Recchi and John Leclair are at present. The Pens ultimately need younger—not as young as their centermen—wingers when the time comes for the team to contend.
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Wings
We also lack depth on the wings, and to be honest, none of our wingers impress me. Fine, Jaromir Jagr, (I could be wrong on this) once netted a NHL scoring title skating alongside Jan Hrdina and Kip Miller. It’s not always necessary for great players like Malkin and Crosby to play alongside other obscenely talented players.
Yet how much more successful was Jagr when he played with Ron Francis and Petr Nedved? Seriously? How many points did Mario start scoring when he finally had All-Star wingers and a Norris-Trophy winning defenseman to play with?
At some point—whether it means converting a center to a winger—the Penguins have to get more depth on the wings, and they have to get players who can complement Malkin and Crosby. I don’t mind putting them together—E.J. won a playoff series by putting Jagr and Mario on the same line one year—but when you do put them together, eventually, the teams with depth are going to reveal your lack of depth, and you’re going to lose games.
I don’t know where the Pens go to find wings who can compete in the new NHL. I don’t know where they find them at a reasonable price. But I know they need players who can put the puck in the net, skate, and be defensively responsible. Fine, we don’t have them this season, and it’s a weakness. But we need to find them if we really want to contend. So let’s start looking, searching, and perhaps, eventually, beckoning them to the Pens?
)
We also lack depth on the wings, and to be honest, none of our wingers impress me. Fine, Jaromir Jagr, (I could be wrong on this) once netted a NHL scoring title skating alongside Jan Hrdina and Kip Miller. It’s not always necessary for great players like Malkin and Crosby to play alongside other obscenely talented players.
Yet how much more successful was Jagr when he played with Ron Francis and Petr Nedved? Seriously? How many points did Mario start scoring when he finally had All-Star wingers and a Norris-Trophy winning defenseman to play with?
At some point—whether it means converting a center to a winger—the Penguins have to get more depth on the wings, and they have to get players who can complement Malkin and Crosby. I don’t mind putting them together—E.J. won a playoff series by putting Jagr and Mario on the same line one year—but when you do put them together, eventually, the teams with depth are going to reveal your lack of depth, and you’re going to lose games.
I don’t know where the Pens go to find wings who can compete in the new NHL. I don’t know where they find them at a reasonable price. But I know they need players who can put the puck in the net, skate, and be defensively responsible. Fine, we don’t have them this season, and it’s a weakness. But we need to find them if we really want to contend. So let’s start looking, searching, and perhaps, eventually, beckoning them to the Pens?
)
More Defense
I wanted Noah Welch on the Penguins team coming out of training camp, and I haven’t seen enough of Kris Letang to know if he should stay in the NHL or go back to juniors (though frankly I wish he had the option of going to the AHL—I think that might be the best place for him at some point this season). On the whole, the Pens’ defense needs to be stronger as a unit. The new NHL demands that guys who can hit can also be guys who can skate. And if we don’t have those players, maybe we don’t trade for them yet—as we’re not in a position to contend yet—but you better be sure we draft those defensemen and we scout other teams in hopes of acquiring those defensemen when the team is truly close to being a contender.
I wanted Noah Welch on the Penguins team coming out of training camp, and I haven’t seen enough of Kris Letang to know if he should stay in the NHL or go back to juniors (though frankly I wish he had the option of going to the AHL—I think that might be the best place for him at some point this season). On the whole, the Pens’ defense needs to be stronger as a unit. The new NHL demands that guys who can hit can also be guys who can skate. And if we don’t have those players, maybe we don’t trade for them yet—as we’re not in a position to contend yet—but you better be sure we draft those defensemen and we scout other teams in hopes of acquiring those defensemen when the team is truly close to being a contender.
Defense
As previously stated, I haven’t had the chance to watch games, but it strikes me as—er, well, umm—not a good thing that the Penguins seem to be in the habit of routinely giving up approximately an average of 39 shots per game. Marc-Andre Fleury has thus far played quite well in goal, but still—39 shots per game is just too much.
Sergei Gonchar appears to be playing like Sergei Gonchar of old, and I expect growing pains with any young defenseman—no matter how talented a young defenseman is, I expect to be driven crazy—routinely, and by routinely I mean probably, at minimum, wincing a few times each game—as a young defenseman learns how to play NHL defense. Still, this whole giving up close to 40 shots every night, it strikes me as something the coaching staff should mark as a "need for improvement" and then find or implement some plan to improve.
Unless, of course, we routinely expect to outscore the opposition. Which, perhaps, could happen in a couple more years. (I recall my early ‘90s Penguins teams doing this with frequency.) But as of right now, we lack the depth on the wings to expect to routinely outscore the opposition—particularly those "close to" and "clearly superior" opponents. Please, let’s, as a team, work on knocking some shots off that shot clock total. Not at the expense of bridling our best players, of course—but a few fewer shots against surely couldn’t hurt, right?
As previously stated, I haven’t had the chance to watch games, but it strikes me as—er, well, umm—not a good thing that the Penguins seem to be in the habit of routinely giving up approximately an average of 39 shots per game. Marc-Andre Fleury has thus far played quite well in goal, but still—39 shots per game is just too much.
Sergei Gonchar appears to be playing like Sergei Gonchar of old, and I expect growing pains with any young defenseman—no matter how talented a young defenseman is, I expect to be driven crazy—routinely, and by routinely I mean probably, at minimum, wincing a few times each game—as a young defenseman learns how to play NHL defense. Still, this whole giving up close to 40 shots every night, it strikes me as something the coaching staff should mark as a "need for improvement" and then find or implement some plan to improve.
Unless, of course, we routinely expect to outscore the opposition. Which, perhaps, could happen in a couple more years. (I recall my early ‘90s Penguins teams doing this with frequency.) But as of right now, we lack the depth on the wings to expect to routinely outscore the opposition—particularly those "close to" and "clearly superior" opponents. Please, let’s, as a team, work on knocking some shots off that shot clock total. Not at the expense of bridling our best players, of course—but a few fewer shots against surely couldn’t hurt, right?
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