How bizarre are these stats? The blocks were also the same. Me thinks the stat-keeper fell asleep
For the first time possibly ever, the Penguins actually acknowledged that Jaromir Jagr played for them before the game, well like way before the game, and gave him a piece of metal that looked like they found it at a yard sale. They also posted this video as part of the 50 years of great stories series, such great footage of young Jagr in here:
The mullet started here. pic.twitter.com/edPdok0Evy
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) October 25, 2016
get the frk out of here with that first goal, what a player
This game started much like the rest of the season, 3 trips to the penalty box in the first period, and the Pens trailing after 20 minutes. Unlike the rest of the season however, Sidney Crosby was in the lineup, and he proved to be just the spark that the Pens needed. Matt Murray was also in the lineup for the first time this season, with Sullivan stating that Murray must “start as a backup, and work his way in,” whatever that means. As soon as the Pens went down by 2 the goalie debate started full force. The goalie debate is tiring, and I suggest we just wait for JR to pull the trigger before making conclusions and in the meantime realize that there are 29 other teams that wish they could ask which one of their Stanley Cup winning goalies they should start that night.
Reilly Smith assisted by Matheson & Sceviour @ 18:02 PPG
3 penalties in a period, the Pens are lucky this is the only goal I have to review. The Pens PK is at 79.3% right now, and if it was any lower they would easily be 2-5 if not worse. By the way, when looking at PK% just saw that Chicago is at a 46.1%?? Damn. Really not sure what the defensive strategy was here, all 4 skaters go to the puck carrier as he enters the zone, by the end of the play Daley is taking the shooter at the point because nobody else is ready defensively to step up.
Mark Pysyk assisted by Harper & Massachusetts @ 6:08
Maybe the Pens practiced a new style of defense over the extra off day? Second goal scored against them where both defenders crash to the puck carrier. Oh, and it’s apparently pronounced pe-sick.
Sidney Crosby assisted by Malkin (4) & Kessel (2) @ 13:41 PPG
Malkin with the vision, Crosby with the balance to bring in an off-centered pass and place it perfectly on net. Welcome back Sid. Florida forgot he was in the lineup, or they decided the 4 defenders on the puck carrier approach was cool and they wanted to try it themselves.
The goal put the Pens in motion, and after it they started to play the “penguins hockey” we saw in the playoffs. After this goal was in, it was literally like Sid went to the bench, said “alright guys, I’m back, enough dicking around.” What followed was a 4 line onslaught of forechecking, tighter defensive play (especially for no Letang), and speedy breakouts that Florida could not handle.
Carl Hagelin assisted by Bonino (2) @ 5:36
Was in the process of making this when the goal was scored, so I figured I would include it anyways:
Carl Hagelin, back in his natural habitat on the third line, starts to play like he belongs on the 2nd. 2 on 1 with Rust on his left, Hags decides to take it for himself, which actually surprised me based on how his season has gone so far. Great to see the confidence there to shoot, and a nice play by Nicky Bonez to bank it up to Hagelin.
Eric Fehr assisted by Kuhnhackl & Cullen (5) @ 9:42
The KFC line steps right in line, amazing what a team can look like when the lines are in their proper orientations. What a play by Kuhnhackl, the hustle to get the puck from the faceoff dot, followed by the speed, and then tops it off with that pass. That is a tough pass to make. That’s a 4th line player making that pass. This isn’t your daddy’s NHL.
SSGeno with this creation, definitely think the line nickname has potential
GAME OVER
Thoughts:
- Bob Errey realllllyyyyy likes talking about how big Jagr’s backside is
- Scott Wilson is going to be one of those guys this year where some games you love him and some games you don’t
- The penalties the Pens are taking right now are due to a lack of hustle/skating or “lazy penalties” as Lange and others call them. The PK is under 80%, and as stated above if it were any lower the Pens record would be much worse
- Even with the win, it is obvious what Letang means to the defense, so hopefully he will be back before Thursday’s matchup with the Islanders
- Will be an interesting call when Sheary comes back, on who sits. Odds are Wilson at the moment, but he has scored more than Rust and goals are the currency of the land
- Another division game early in the season, it is good the Pens are able to go in to it with
Doing things a bit differently with the #hockeyporn. Instead of me ranking them, we are going to continue with our democratic blog ways, and set up a poll of the entries, and everyone will vote for the winner.
[socialpoll id=”2396473″]
Hi. I’m Brendan.
I’m testing a new type of poll, and you’re all my only friends and only beta testers. I’d like polls to have less flashy stuff and ideally, most importantly, NO ADs. So, lets try this.
If you had to bring back one player from the 2012 roster, which player do you bring back?
Total Voters: 27  Loading ... |
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