The Pittsburgh Penguins

rass · Post by **rass** » Mon Dec 07, 2015 9:12 am

Seems like there could be better ways for the GM to handle this?

bapo! · Post by **bapo!** » Mon Dec 07, 2015 10:52 am

That's the way things have always been done, rass. When Jerry Jones fired Tom Landry after taking over the Cowboys, that news was leaked thru the blogs first. And when Branch Rickey wanted to integrate baseball, his first call was to The Mighty MJD.

Ugh. Yeah, things don't look good. There's a lot of consternation about Scuderi playing every game while Clendenning (or anybody else, really) is sitting in the press box. And Sprong hasn't played since November 17.

The first half or so of the Kings game on Saturday was ugly. Shots at one point were something like 26-6. They scored a few goals to make it interesting, but it was not a good showing. The fact that Fleury played both games this weekend might have been a sign of desperation from Coach Johnston.

Playoff seeding obviously means nothing in early-December, but they're outside of the top 8 now.

rass · Post by **rass** » Mon Dec 07, 2015 11:09 am

bapo! wrote: There's a lot of consternation about Scuderi playing every game while Clendenning (or anybody else, really) is sitting in the press box.

I listened to just enough of the game on Saturday to hear the Pens kill off a lingering Scuderi penalty to open the second and then hear the Kings score their first goal on another Scuderi penalty (cleared the puck over the glass) just a couple of minutes later.

bapo! wrote:The fact that Fleury played both games this weekend might have been a sign of desperation from Coach Johnston.

I watched just enough of the game last night between SNF commercials to see Fleury was playing and shout "WHY???" at the TV.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Tue Dec 08, 2015 3:06 pm

Dupuis retiring because of issues related to the blood clots. That sucks.

rass · Post by **rass** » Tue Dec 08, 2015 5:39 pm

Tweets suggesting the recent 14-87-9 reunion was for Dupuis' benefit (one last ride) and not Crosby's are making me sad.

bapo! · Post by **bapo!** » Wed Dec 09, 2015 11:16 am

The Penguins just lost their Phil Hartman.

rass, who said that about the Kunitz/Crosby/Dupuis line? Was it a reporter or, like, Mitch from Blawnox?

The Pens play in Colorado tonight. Really curious to see how they respond. At least Sprong will get more playing time now, I guess. And GM Jim Rutherford is with the team, instead of at the Board of Governors meeting. I guess he wants to fire Mike Johnston in person.

Being a fan of this team shouldn't be so hard.

rass · Post by **rass** » Wed Dec 09, 2015 12:53 pm

At best, blogger Mitch I think. Just the thought was awwww.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Wed Dec 09, 2015 12:57 pm

I've always had a soft spot for Dupuis and have had him on my fantasy hockey teams several times over the years. A classic example of a guy you can get for nothing at the end of the draft but has value (when healthy) because he'll end up playing on a line with the the stars.

vandwagon · Post by **vandwagon** » Wed Dec 09, 2015 4:04 pm

A few years back when HBO ran the Penguins/Capitals show prior to their matchup in the Winter Classic there was a scene of Dupuis fooling around at home with his kids, driving to the facility then walking through the facility saying hi to everyone. Except Malkin who he greeted with a discreet "Fuck You, Gino." Seemed like a good guy from that show and it's too bad that he has to go out early.

bapo! · Post by **bapo!** » Thu Dec 10, 2015 10:24 am

rass wrote:At best, blogger Mitch I think.

Oh, that Mitch. (Not an impossible scenario, I guess. Dupuis, at least, seemed to know the end was nigh.)

So, the Pens won last night, extending the Mike Johnston Watch thru at least another game. (They play the Kings again on Friday.) Beau Bennett scored 2 goals! Daniel Sprong played 6 minutes!

Here's that clip, vandwagon. I giggle every time I watch this.

Post by **Sabo** » Thu Dec 10, 2015 10:39 am

Is there real heat between Malkin and Dupuis, or are they just fucking around? I think the latter, but I'm curious how well-liked Malkin is by his teammates.

BSF21 · Post by **BSF21** » Thu Dec 10, 2015 10:40 am

bapo! wrote:
rass wrote:At best, blogger Mitch I think.
Oh, that Mitch. (Not an impossible scenario, I guess. Dupuis, at least, seemed to know the end was nigh.)

So, the Pens won last night, extending the Mike Johnston Watch thru at least another game. (They play the Kings again on Friday.) Beau Bennett scored 2 goals! Daniel Sprong played 6 minutes!

Here's that clip, vandwagon. I giggle every time I watch this.

I couldn't sleep last night and this game was on NBCSN. There were glimpses of a great team in there. PIT was throwing some solid hits (and taking some), but every time they got into the zone mid 3rd period you just felt like Berra was going to have to stand on his head to keep COL in the game. Bennett's goal was nasty, skated through traffic in the slot, deke right, Berra went down, lost the puck, Bennett skated left and flipped a nifty little backhand over the right pad.

Also I couldn't help myself, Sid had a chance from in tight, all kinds of space and shot it right into Berra's sweater crest. All I could think was "Pat Kane puts that in the back of the net 98/100".

bapo! · Post by **bapo!** » Thu Dec 10, 2015 10:59 am

Sabo wrote:Is there real heat between Malkin and Dupuis, or are they just fucking around? I think the latter, but I'm curious how well-liked Malkin is by his teammates.

No, I don't think there's any heat there. That's just how Dupuis is. You can find a bunch of clips on YouTube of him fucking with Dan Potash, the reporter/interview guy. Actually, you can find a bunch of clips of all of the Penguins fucking with Potash.

(Potash asked Malkin about that spinorama goal that you saw vs. Edmonton. Malkin said it wasn't hard. Potash: 'So, you mean that even I could do it?' Malkin: 'No, not you. Maybe Mike Lange, tho.')

I've never heard anything bad about Malkin. And now that he's more comfortable with his English, the media is really starting to like him.

vandwagon · Post by **vandwagon** » Thu Dec 10, 2015 11:01 am

bapo! wrote:
Sabo wrote:Is there real heat between Malkin and Dupuis, or are they just fucking around? I think the latter, but I'm curious how well-liked Malkin is by his teammates.
No, I don't think there's any heat there. That's just how Dupuis is. You can find a bunch of clips on YouTube of him fucking with Dan Potash, the reporter/interview guy. Actually, you can find a bunch of clips of all of the Penguins fucking with Potash.

(Potash asked Malkin about that spinorama goal that you saw vs. Edmonton. Malkin said it wasn't hard. Potash: 'So, you mean that even I could do it?' Malkin: 'No, not you. Maybe Mike Lange, tho.')

I've never heard anything bad about Malkin. And now that he's more comfortable with his English, the media is really starting to like him.

The clip I talked about made it pretty clear that he was messing with Malkin. I didn't do a good job conveying that above.

rass · Post by **rass** » Thu Dec 10, 2015 11:11 am

bapo! wrote:Daniel Sprong played 6 minutes!

Did not see the ice in the third...

bapo! · Post by **bapo!** » Thu Dec 10, 2015 11:17 am

BSF21 wrote:There were glimpses of a great team in there.

And there's the crux of the problem. Why aren't they better?

A local broadcaster/blogger has been talking about zone entry, how the Penguins have been playing more dump-and-chase this year, which cuts down on scoring chances. He goes on to say that Johnston wants the puck carried into the zone more, but that his assistant coach, Rich Tocchet, wants dump-and-chase. (Keep in mind that working with Tocchet was a prerequisite for Johnston taking the job.) This is the kind of juicy speculation that gets tossed around whenever a team is struggling.

Post by **Sabo** » Thu Dec 10, 2015 11:39 am

bapo! wrote:
Sabo wrote:Is there real heat between Malkin and Dupuis, or are they just fucking around? I think the latter, but I'm curious how well-liked Malkin is by his teammates.
No, I don't think there's any heat there. That's just how Dupuis is. You can find a bunch of clips on YouTube of him fucking with Dan Potash, the reporter/interview guy. Actually, you can find a bunch of clips of all of the Penguins fucking with Potash.

(Potash asked Malkin about that spinorama goal that you saw vs. Edmonton. Malkin said it wasn't hard. Potash: 'So, you mean that even I could do it?' Malkin: 'No, not you. Maybe Mike Lange, tho.')

I've never heard anything bad about Malkin. And now that he's more comfortable with his English, the media is really starting to like him.

I figured that was the case. Thanks for the info.

Moreta · Post by **Moreta** » Thu Dec 10, 2015 11:51 am

I can't imagine Malkin isn't well liked. He drunk dialed me once and he was hilarious.

Post by **Sabo** » Thu Dec 10, 2015 11:52 am

Moreta wrote:I can't imagine Malkin isn't well liked. He drunk dialed me once and he was hilarious.

OK, you can't post that and not expect us to ask you to expand on this.

rass · Post by **rass** » Thu Dec 10, 2015 11:53 am

Sabo wrote:
Moreta wrote:I can't imagine Malkin isn't well liked. He drunk dialed me once and he was hilarious.
OK, you can't post that and not expect us to ask you to expand on this.

Yup.

Moreta · Post by **Moreta** » Thu Dec 10, 2015 11:55 am

Fair enough. I was seeing a guy who was working security for the Penguins. The guy I was seeing called me one night, wasted, bragging that some of the players had invited him along on a night out. I was at work at the time and not thrilled to be getting drunk phone calls, so I got him off the line, kind of rudely. The cell rings again almost immediately and it's some Russian guy, barely intelligible, giving me a hard time for not talking to his "friiiiiend".

I didn't find out it was Malkin until the next day.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu Dec 10, 2015 11:56 am

Now I love Malkin.

rass · Post by **rass** » Thu Dec 10, 2015 12:07 pm

mister d wrote:Now I love Malkin.

(I hope you appreciate that I started that a little early so you could see the Gomez celebration)

bapo! · Post by **bapo!** » Thu Dec 10, 2015 12:10 pm

Sabo, I know that you've been thinking of jumping on the Geno bandwagon. This pretty much seals it, right?

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu Dec 10, 2015 12:12 pm

rass wrote:(I hope you appreciate that I started that a little early so you could see the Gomez celebration)

Gomez was the best free agent signing of atleast the last decade for the Rangers.

bapo! · Post by **bapo!** » Thu Dec 10, 2015 12:17 pm

rass wrote:(I hope you appreciate that I started that a little early so you could see the Gomez celebration)

I drank my first Dogfish Head 60 Minute that night. Precious memories.

rass · Post by **rass** » Thu Dec 10, 2015 12:22 pm

bapo! wrote:
rass wrote:(I hope you appreciate that I started that a little early so you could see the Gomez celebration)
I drank my first Dogfish Head 60 Minute that night. Precious memories.

I didn't get to see the game live! Though, at the party we were at I did dance with the attractively mature (late 50s at least?) wife of one of my wife's co-workers and have kept a running joke about my crush on her alive at least through this past spring (when the husband retired and through himself a big wedding reception-like party).

Post by **Sabo** » Thu Dec 10, 2015 1:18 pm

bapo! wrote:Sabo, I know that you've been thinking of jumping on the Geno bandwagon. This pretty much seals it, right?

I'm ordering my Malkin jersey right now.

bapo! · Post by **bapo!** » Fri Dec 11, 2015 1:34 pm

Kris TheTang is hurt again. He missed a game or two recently, but apparently suffered a new injury on Wednesday. Going to miss tonight's game and might be out 'for the next little bit,' according to Beleaguered Coach Mike Johnston.

Will Pouliot finally be called up to take a roster spot? He's been one of their biggest prospects forever now, but they seem hesitant to pull the trigger. (Getting into a drunken fight with a cab driver in Wilkes-Barre might factor into it.)

Another big game tonight. Playing the Kings, who completely man-handled them a week ago.

rass · Post by **rass** » Fri Dec 11, 2015 1:43 pm

bapo! wrote:Will Pouliot finally be called up to take a roster spot? He's been one of their biggest prospects forever now, but they seem hesitant to pull the trigger. (Getting into a drunken fight with a cab driver in Wilkes-Barre might factor into it.

Pat Kane wins that fight 98/100.

rass · Post by **rass** » Sat Dec 12, 2015 11:59 am

Well, BHCMJ is now just ex-HCMJ.

bapo! · Post by **bapo!** » Sat Dec 12, 2015 12:10 pm

[Sighs]

I was just about to post about last night's game and post-game. The effort/intensity was there. Fleury gave up a soft goal but was otherwise good. Malkin willed in the tying goal with about a minute remaining.

But Sprong played 5 minutes. After the game, Johnston criticized Sprong for making a mistake on his first shift. I was going to write that the Sprong situation is becoming a big thing between coach and GM, but I guess it's not as much of a thing now that Johnston is gone.

Frustrating season. Johnston seemed to want to play a safer style of hockey, which makes sense considering how tightly controlled the NHL is these days, but maybe doesn't make as much sense when you have Crosby, Malkin, and Kessel just kind of wasting away. Then again, they don't have the defensemen needed to open things up, especially with Scuderi playing every game and Letang injured. Ugh. Anyway, I feel badly for Johnston.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Sat Dec 12, 2015 6:49 pm

Yeah, you need to let the stars be stars. Wonder if Buffalo will let you guys have Bylsma back?

bapo! · Post by **bapo!** » Sun Dec 13, 2015 1:03 pm

sancarlos wrote:Yeah, you need to let the stars be stars. Wonder if Buffalo will let you guys have Bylsma back?

I liked this team a helluva lot more when Bylsma and Shero were still around.

So we'll see what we have in Mike Sullivan now. He had been coaching the Pens' AHL team in Wilkes-Barre, so I'm guessing that systematically he's going to be similar to Johnston. Roster management will be the biggest tell. They have four games in six nights next week, so they'll be tested right away. Everybody will be looking at Sprong's minutes.

Rich Tocchet was retained as an assistant coach, of course.

SportsDoc · Post by **SportsDoc** » Mon Dec 14, 2015 11:58 am

Tocchet probably there to act as fall guy for gambling issues.

Saw an internet blurb (can't find it right now) that claimed Crosby wants to be traded to Montreal, and that Bob McKenzie of TSN and Mario know but are keeping it quiet at Crosby's request. Mario is supposedly on board because getting some high draft picks make the franchise more salable than an aging star like Crosby does, and Mario wants out of ownership. The claim was it would all come out by mid-January. Of course, this was before coaching change. Anyone else heard any of this?

Back to "The Phil Kessel Experience", the gift that keeps on taking. He is an extremely talented, lazy, don't care if we win dumpster fire. Only Boston got something worthwhile for him (a lot of draft picks and players), or from him (his one and only + season in the NHL).

bapo! · Post by **bapo!** » Mon Dec 14, 2015 3:23 pm

I've heard a fair share of Crosby rumors lately, but I hadn't heard the Montreal rumor. Seems kind of far-fetched, but the thought of Crosby getting traded isn't as outlandish as it would have been a year or two ago.

I just can't see how any kind of major decision like that could be made now, tho. Lemieux and Burkle want to sell, and they have a lame-duck GM and a brand-new coach. There's just too much uncertainty at the top. Nobody knows who's steering the ship.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Mon Dec 14, 2015 9:43 pm

I can't imagine trading such a star as Crosby unless the haul is prodigious. And given what has been an off-year so far, I'd guess the take would be much less than it would have been in recent years. And, you don't want to sell low at what might be a temporarily depressed price. (Unless he'll accept a deal to the Sharks - in that case, DO IT, NOW!)

bapo! · Post by **bapo!** » Tue Dec 15, 2015 10:45 am

sancarlos wrote:(Unless he'll accept a deal to the Sharks - in that case, DO IT, NOW!)

Crosby for Paul Martin and Joel Ward. Do it, Rutherford!

The Pens lost to the Caps, 4-1, in Sullivan's first game as coach. Didn't see it, so I can't really comment, but the anti-Kessel sentiment on the Internet it strong.

Beau Bennett got boarded by TJ Oshie. Looks like a collarbone or shoulder injury. No word, but he's probably going to be out for a while. I feel so badly for that guy.

And the Pens traded Rob Scuderi to Chicago for Trevor Daley. Scuderi was a big part ('The Piece') of their Cup team in '09, but that was many years ago, and he just doesn't have much left. The Pens will retain 1/3 of Scuds' contract.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Tue Dec 15, 2015 11:21 am

Did Oshie cry?

bapo! · Post by **bapo!** » Tue Dec 15, 2015 11:47 am

mister d wrote:Did Oshie cry?

Is that a thing? Is he a crier?

One bright spot this year has been the play of Brian Dumoulin. He might be their best defenseman now, and that includes when Letang is healthy. Last night, Sullivan played him over 26 minutes, so that's something.

Sprong played 9 minutes last night.