Maybe I'm a bit stubborn when it comes to Staal not being used as L3 C, but if you put Rupp as LW on L2 and Guerin filling the other wing, we could have:
Sit Guerin and Fedotenko out for a game when Kunitz and Kennedy are back healthy. Use the top six wingers interchangeably until you find something that might work. Again, this is a ONE-game trial. I'd love to see what the team does with 12 forwards that are actually skating, hustling and trying out there.
As for Cooke, all I know is he can fight a heck of a lot better than Brett McLean can.
I would give Talbot, Rupp, and Dupuis a couple shifts w/ Sid each game, limiting Guerin's minutes. Any time I move Talbot to the 1st line for a shift, I let Dupuis play on Staal's line. I would seriously keep Guerin at around 10-12 minutes a game.
Who can blame them? It won us a Cup. I don't see DB changing it up.
Good call. Of course TK has been out but we all heard how great he was with Malkin in training camp and we never got to see it.
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Originally Posted by The Mighty Boosh
Yeah. I'll go on record as saying I hated the signing, was enamored with Zigomanis and wanted/thought he would definitely be re-signed, no brainer. Erroneous! I was erroneous on both accounts!
I was confused by the anti-Rupp crowd as well. He was always a guy who caused havoc and was extremely noticeable when we played NJ.
It has to be a pain for the opposition to have Cooke, Rupp or Kunitz out there for most of the night.
Good call. Of course TK has been out but we all heard how great he was with Malkin in training camp and we never got to see it.
I was confused by the anti-Rupp crowd as well. He was always a guy who caused havoc and was extremely noticeable when we played NJ.
It has to be a pain for the opposition to have Cooke, Rupp or Kunitz out there for most of the night.
I think what makes Kennedy so successful is that he doesn't give a **** who he's on the ice with, he's always going to get his shots. I think when guys play with Sid or Geno, they all of a sudden get the feeling that they always have to be looking to put it on their stick, when that's the furthest thing from the truth.
Sit Guerin and Fedotenko out for a game when Kunitz and Kennedy are back healthy. Use the top six wingers interchangeably until you find something that might work. Again, this is a ONE-game trial. I'd love to see what the team does with 12 forwards that are actually skating, hustling and trying out there.
Gotta a feeling that this guys will only play in 2010?
Boring October to December regular season games...
I'd be in for a scratch or two.
Jag: Gooch just filed a complaint to the bürgermeister because of your first line RW.
Not the way Atlanta was playing before that fight.
And what do you call Sidney's blow-up against McLean last year? Was he protecting himself? Was he protecting a teammate? It was an ambush, pure and simple. And the Panthers had every right to be upset. But we loved it, because that's what a captain does. Kovy did the exact same thing. We loved what Sid did, but Kovy was selfish? I seriously doubt you'd have the same opinion of both incidents had the jerseys been reversed.
You can't have it both ways.
I don't blame Kovy for freaking out. I'm not here to try and discredit how he reacted. I'm rather just applauding the efforts of Cooke in getting him to crack, thus taking him out of the game
Sit Guerin and Fedotenko out for a game when Kunitz and Kennedy are back healthy. Use the top six wingers interchangeably until you find something that might work. Again, this is a ONE-game trial. I'd love to see what the team does with 12 forwards that are actually skating, hustling and trying out there.
As for Cooke, all I know is he can fight a heck of a lot better than Brett McLean can.
Jordan Staal is a frustrating one, he'll make a great individual play for a goal, yet when he's open on the wing he fires a shot that would miss a soccer net (see the last Anaheim game). He more-than-occasionally loses the puck to himself when he has time and space in offensive zone. This happens especially when he's on the power play. Maybe the guy plays much better when he's getting pressured (short-handed/one-on-one situations)?
As for Guerin, on Thorburn's shortie he was flat-footed and the end of his shift, on top of that he's slow to begin with. There was no way he was catching a guy with a full head of steam. But he definitely could have showed more effort, maybe even taken a penalty to slow Thorburn down.
I don't blame Kovy for freaking out. I'm not here to try and discredit how he reacted. I'm rather just applauding the efforts of Cooke in getting him to crack, thus taking him out of the game
The bigger factor was how Atlanta responded after the fight, not Cooke's actions imo.
+ 2 regulation points in a game i expected them to lose. Sorry, Atlanta was hot, Pens were not. Playing in their house i just figured they'd lay a turd. The team has got more energy then i give them credit for. Maybe they'll scratch their way back to the top of the standings. The Crapitals are looking pretty sour lately and the Devils are starting to fall back to earth.
~+ PP showed some signs of life. The 4 minute PP was embarassing though. I'll take 1 PP goal a game though.
+ Skoula. Is anyone jumping to send this guy back down anymore? I kinda like having him in the lineup. When playoffs come, take him out and go with the top 6, but for regular season he can stay in and give some one else a rest.
+ Cooke. Not sure how much instigating he did, but taking Kovalchuk out of the game earns a plus every time.
-Talbot's penalty shot. He must have been practicing them with Malkin. Too slow
-- Officiating. This ruined an otherwise perfect effort by the Pens. That slashing fiasco might be top 10 worst calls of the year because it was so blatant and resulted in an opposition goal. Thank god Atlanta didn't tie it. The "trip" on Orpik will be a youtube classic for many years. I haven't seen a dive like that one since Avery on Jagr or Ovechkin's corkscrew.
The bigger factor was how Atlanta responded after the fight, not Cooke's actions imo.
Atlanta's comeback could also hugely be attributed to the Pens taking their foot off the pedal, which it clearly looked like they were doing for the final 10 minutes or so of the 3rd period at least. Their effort (or lack thereof) alone when ATL had the empty net was facepalm worthy for how sad it was to see. Now, with this in mind, you'd have to think how much better Atlanta's chances of tying this game up would've been had their best player, who also happens to be one of the best goal scorers in the league, would've still be on the ice. Kovy may have inspired his teammates a tad, but he also weakened them considerably at the same time, so it pretty much cancels itself out.
Penguins trying to score on an empty net should be watched with the Looney Tunes theme playing. It is cringe-worthy.
I think they've been scored on more by the team with the extra attacker than they've scored empty netters this year. The guys just don't play with the same intensity that the rest of the league does. I watch Thorton or AO or Kovalchuk break their necks to get those easy points and close the game out. On the Penguins the only guy who looks like he wants to score is Fleury.
Penguins trying to score on an empty net should be watched with the Looney Tunes theme playing. It is cringe-worthy.
I think they've been scored on more by the team with the extra attacker than they've scored empty netters this year. The guys just don't play with the same intensity that the rest of the league does. I watch Thorton or AO or Kovalchuk break their necks to get those easy points and close the game out. On the Penguins the only guy who looks like he wants to score is Fleury.
This is why I think we should have guys like Dupuis, Tablot, and when healthy, TK on when the opposition have the goalie pulled. All 3 of them are responsible defensively, so you know they at least won't be a liability to have on the ice, they all got great speed, and they're all absolute workhorses on the attack. Dupuis in particular would have to simply resort to using his patented slapper from 20 feet away
