Lovejoy
- goirish

Now that there's no cap, couldn't they call up one of Harrington/Dumoulin to replace Chorney?

IMO, where PITT has the advantage in their top 2 Centers, the Rangers have the advantage on the Wings for those lines. Kreider, Nash, Zuccarello, St. Louis/Miller vs. Winnik, Kunitz, Hornqvist, Perron? Not to mention, when those 2 lines are out, you will see McDonagh/Girardi, Staal/Boyle out there too and thats miles better than what PITT will be putting out for their D.
- xcheckmajor

Whoa whoa whoa, back up now... hold the phone. Let's get this straight. We have David Perron, Hornqvist, Kunitz ON TOP OF Crosby and Malkin... now you are making the argument that you have better wingers... Yes you have St. Louis, yes you have Nash.. but you also have guys like Stepan, JT Miller, Kreider, etc. Guys who to not match up skill wise to Perron, Hornqvist, and Kunitz... they just do not period. So you cannot say that forward wise you outgun us because truthfully you guys are not impressive at forward. Now if you want to talk about your defense and goaltending than yes you have a huge advantage in that area. But to say you have better wingers and that they "outweigh" Malkin and Crosby and thus are forward unit in general... sorry you are sadly mistaken. We have far improved at the forward position in terms of skill as compared to last year (whether we have positive results from that right now or not). Don't get too romancy with the regular season; if the Rangers have this mindset against the Pens to under estimate the forward unit you will surely pay.

Now that there's no cap, couldn't they call up one of Harrington/Dumoulin to replace Chorney?
- jmatchett383

They could, and they already have... However, I would prefer Chorney to Harrington, and it seems for game 1, the 3rd pairing is Chorney - Dumoulin. Which was actually a very very strong pair in the AHL.

Whoa whoa whoa, back up now... hold the phone. Let's get this straight. We have David Perron, Hornqvist, Kunitz ON TOP OF Crosby and Malkin... now you are making the argument that you have better wingers... Yes you have St. Louis, yes you have Nash.. but you also have guys like Stepan, JT Miller, Kreider, etc. Guys who to not match up skill wise to Perron, Hornqvist, and Kunitz... they just do not period. So you cannot say that forward wise you outgun us because truthfully you guys are not impressive at forward. Now if you want to talk about your defense and goaltending than yes you have a huge advantage in that area. But to say you have better wingers and that they "outweigh" Malkin and Crosby... sorry you are sadly mistaken.
- Kittyblender1

Stepan is better than Perron; not sure what planet you are living on.

The only advantage Pittsburgh has in this series are their top two centers. But they have that advantage over every team in the league.

sarcasm, big guy.
- jmatchett383

Stepan is better than Perron; not sure what planet you are living on.

The only advantage Pittsburgh has in this series are their top two centers. But they have that advantage over every team in the league.
- MidnightMarauder

Bahahahaha Stepan is better than Perron in what way? Defensive of play? Sure defensively he is.. skill wise, offensive potential? No how, no way.

Actually rooting for the Penguins for the first time in my life.

Bahahahaha Stepan is better than Perron in what way? Defensive of play? Sure defensively he is.. skill wise, offensive potential? No how, no way.
- Kittyblender1

He is better than Perron. In most ways. You may not like it, but it's true. He's actually extremely underrated.

Bahahahaha Stepan is better than Perron in what way? Defensive of play? Sure defensively he is.. skill wise, offensive potential? No how, no way.
- Kittyblender1

Derek Stepan's career stats to date:

252 points in 362 games played.

David Perron's career stats to date:

296 points in 499 games played

Stepan is better than Perron in every way you can think of actually.

Whoa whoa whoa, back up now... hold the phone. Let's get this straight. We have David Perron, Hornqvist, Kunitz ON TOP OF Crosby and Malkin... now you are making the argument that you have better wingers... Yes you have St. Louis, yes you have Nash.. but you also have guys like Stepan, JT Miller, Kreider, etc. Guys who to not match up skill wise to Perron, Hornqvist, and Kunitz... they just do not period. So you cannot say that forward wise you outgun us because truthfully you guys are not impressive at forward. Now if you want to talk about your defense and goaltending than yes you have a huge advantage in that area. But to say you have better wingers and that they "outweigh" Malkin and Crosby and thus are forward unit in general... sorry you are sadly mistaken. We have far improved at the forward position in terms of skill as compared to last year (whether we have positive results from that right now or not). Don't get too romancy with the regular season; if the Rangers have this mindset against the Pens to under estimate the forward unit you will surely pay.
- Kittyblender1

I think the original point, was that the top lines of both team are formidable but will ultimately cancel out each other's production, which is fairly logical. The rest of the point being the at the 3rd and 4th lines are going to really determine the end result.

He is better than Perron. In most ways. You may not like it, but it's true. He's actually extremely underrated.
- jmatchett383

Ummm hmmm... wait a minute.. let's see... Perron has oh... wait he has 29 Goals and 34 Assists totaling 63 points. Stepan has only scored 20 goals once in his career and has 16 goals and 39 assist for a total of 55 points this year. Perron also outscored Stepan last year in goals with 28 with the EDMONTON OILERS and matched Stepan's point. Perron is still 26. I do not know what you guys are smoking but I really want some!

I think the original point, was that the top lines of both team are formidable but will ultimately cancel out each other's production, which is fairly logical. The rest of the point being the at the 3rd and 4th lines are going to really determine the end result.
- climbdenali12

Ok Spock

Ummm hmmm... wait a minute.. let's see... Perron has oh... wait he has 29 Goals and 34 Assists totaling 63 points. Stepan has only scored 20 goals once in his career and has 16 goals and 39 assist for a total of 55 points this year. Perron also outscored Stepan last year in goals with 28 with the EDMONTON OILERS and matched Stepan's point. Perron is still 26. I do not know what you guys are smoking but I really want some!
- Kittyblender1

Because goals and assists are the only way to measure a player.

Wow, Nik Zherdev is a fantastic hockey player. He scored a lot.

Bahahahaha Stepan is better than Perron in what way? Defensive of play? Sure defensively he is.. skill wise, offensive potential? No how, no way.
- Kittyblender1

I am interested in the following aspects of this series:

1. If the Pens split or even (unlikely) go up 3-1 going back to NYC for game 5 and Hank doesn't look great in the process, will the Ranger faithful begin clamoring for Talbot? Say Hank's SP is like .900 or something. Interesting dynamic that could favor Pens.
2. What will the Downie effect be? He's a wildcard IMO. Sid got his ass beat last year. Downie was brought in to help alleviate that. I know lots of folks don't believe he's a deterrent. But, at least, he's a guy we have that wont take any crap and hold the opponent accountable. Can he do it without melting down?
3. How will the Rags react to being such a heavy favorite? All of the pressure in on them. Its also a new dynamic for the Pens. Will they embrace the underdog role?
4. Is the Pens D gassed? If PMart, Scuds, Cole, and Love cant hold their own, we have no shot.
5. What Sid and Geno will we see? If those guys come out firing, Pens can indeed win this series.
6. Can Horny get into Hank's kitchen enough to effect him? I've been waiting all year to see this dude in the playoffs. His game should translate fantastically to playoff hockey. After watching Neal float around the perimeter last night, I'm even more convinced of it.
7. What Sutter do we get?

If the Pens D wasn't gassed from overuse the past 10 games or so and we just even had Erhoff at 100% for the start, I'd predict the upset. But, I just think too many happenstance things have to fall in favor of the Pens to win this series. If the Pens won, I'd be surprised, not shocked. Only way they win is if some aspect of the Rags game totally fails them (Hank, goal drought), we get hot on the PP, and/or some injury occurs.

Rags in 5.

I think the original point, was that the top lines of both team are formidable but will ultimately cancel out each other's production, which is fairly logical. The rest of the point being the at the 3rd and 4th lines are going to really determine the end result.
- climbdenali12

Successful playoff teams are always anchored by their depth. Lack of it often ends teams.

Because goals and assists are the only way to measure a player.

Wow, Nik Zherdev is a fantastic hockey player. He scored a lot.
- jmatchett383

We are talking offensively skill set right? Goal scoring is included in that. Alexander Ovechkin is a better scorer than Sidney Crosby thus making him more of an offensive threat (his assist numbers equal to comparable total points) so yes Ovy is more gifted offensively while Sid is a more all around player. Same with the Perron and Stepan argument. Stepan is great defensively but he won't score key goals for you.. while Perron is opposite type of game

Whoa whoa whoa, back up now... hold the phone. Let's get this straight. We have David Perron, Hornqvist, Kunitz ON TOP OF Crosby and Malkin... now you are making the argument that you have better wingers... Yes you have St. Louis, yes you have Nash.. but you also have guys like Stepan, JT Miller, Kreider, etc. Guys who to not match up skill wise to Perron, Hornqvist, and Kunitz... they just do not period. So you cannot say that forward wise you outgun us because truthfully you guys are not impressive at forward. Now if you want to talk about your defense and goaltending than yes you have a huge advantage in that area. But to say you have better wingers and that they "outweigh" Malkin and Crosby and thus are forward unit in general... sorry you are sadly mistaken. We have far improved at the forward position in terms of skill as compared to last year (whether we have positive results from that right now or not). Don't get too romancy with the regular season; if the Rangers have this mindset against the Pens to under estimate the forward unit you will surely pay.
- Kittyblender1

First of all, in no way did I say our wingers outweigh Crosby and Malkin. Crosby and Malkin will be the ones that make the difference for you guys. But I did say that combined with our Wing depth AND our 2 Dmen that make up the 5 man units out there, it will be better than the 5 man unit that you guys put out.

Secondly, you are seriously delusional if you think your wingers are better. Hornqvist is and has always been really good player, Perrone is inconsistent AT BEST. Winnik isn't even in the same category as any of our wingers and Kunitz isn't the same player this year that he was. Nash, Kreider, Zuccarello, MSL combined for 216pts. The comparison at Wing isn't even debatable.

Dominic Moore has been successful at shutting down Sid

Ummm hmmm... wait a minute.. let's see... Perron has oh... wait he has 29 Goals and 34 Assists totaling 63 points. Stepan has only scored 20 goals once in his career and has 16 goals and 39 assist for a total of 55 points this year. Perron also outscored Stepan last year in goals with 28 with the EDMONTON OILERS and matched Stepan's point. Perron is still 26. I do not know what you guys are smoking but I really want some!
- Kittyblender1

Stepan's point totals this season are with 68 games played. If Stepan played a full 82 games he likely nears 70 points.

Your argument sucks, Perron had one decent season while on a horrendous hockey team. His career, for all of his natural hockey talent, has been on the disappointing side of the ledger.

Bahahahaha Stepan is better than Perron in what way? Defensive of play? Sure defensively he is.. skill wise, offensive potential? No how, no way.
- Kittyblender1

Stepan is a center and is by far better than Perron in basically every area.

I am interested in the following aspects of this series:

1. If the Pens split or even (unlikely) go up 3-1 going back to NYC for game 5 and Hank doesn't look great in the process, will the Ranger faithful begin clamoring for Talbot? Say Hank's SP is like .900 or something. Interesting dynamic that could favor Pens.
2. What will the Downie effect be? He's a wildcard IMO. Sid got his ass beat last year. Downie was brought in to help alleviate that. I know lots of folks don't believe he's a deterrent. But, at least, he's a guy we have that wont take any crap and hold the opponent accountable. Can he do it without melting down?
3. How will the Rags react to being such a heavy favorite? All of the pressure in on them. Its also a new dynamic for the Pens. Will they embrace the underdog role?
4. Is the Pens D gassed? If PMart, Scuds, Cole, and Love cant hold their own, we have no shot.
5. What Sid and Geno will we see? If those guys come out firing, Pens can indeed win this series.
6. Can Horny get into Hank's kitchen enough to effect him? I've been waiting all year to see this dude in the playoffs. His game should translate fantastically to playoff hockey. After watching Neal float around the perimeter last night, I'm even more convinced of it.
7. What Sutter do we get?

If the Pens D wasn't gassed from overuse the past 10 games or so and we just even had Erhoff at 100% for the start, I'd predict the upset. But, I just think too many happenstance things have to fall in favor of the Pens to win this series. If the Pens won, I'd be surprised, not shocked. Only way they win is if some aspect of the Rags game totally fails them (Hank, goal drought), we get hot on the PP, and/or some injury occurs.

Rags in 5.
- 87_71_11_29

I'd like to say that our D is no longer gassed, or at least SHOULDN't be so... The 5 who were running the gauntlet got 2 days off and a light day in our 4 days off I believe. Had this been only a 2 day break, I'd say they might have not been back.

Aside from that, I think we will see the elevated late season/post season Sutter, while we all hate his possession and first half of the year, this is when most of us (not you Bartley, you made this mistake already) accept and love him.

I am interested in the following aspects of this series:

1. If the Pens split or even (unlikely) go up 3-1 going back to NYC for game 5 and Hank doesn't look great in the process, will the Ranger faithful begin clamoring for Talbot? Say Hank's SP is like .900 or something. Interesting dynamic that could favor Pens.
2. What will the Downie effect be? He's a wildcard IMO. Sid got his ass beat last year. Downie was brought in to help alleviate that. I know lots of folks don't believe he's a deterrent. But, at least, he's a guy we have that wont take any crap and hold the opponent accountable. Can he do it without melting down?
3. How will the Rags react to being such a heavy favorite? All of the pressure in on them. Its also a new dynamic for the Pens. Will they embrace the underdog role?
4. Is the Pens D gassed? If PMart, Scuds, Cole, and Love cant hold their own, we have no shot.
5. What Sid and Geno will we see? If those guys come out firing, Pens can indeed win this series.
6. Can Horny get into Hank's kitchen enough to effect him? I've been waiting all year to see this dude in the playoffs. His game should translate fantastically to playoff hockey. After watching Neal float around the perimeter last night, I'm even more convinced of it.
7. What Sutter do we get?

If the Pens D wasn't gassed from overuse the past 10 games or so and we just even had Erhoff at 100% for the start, I'd predict the upset. But, I just think too many happenstance things have to fall in favor of the Pens to win this series. If the Pens won, I'd be surprised, not shocked. Only way they win is if some aspect of the Rags game totally fails them (Hank, goal drought), we get hot on the PP, and/or some injury occurs.

Rags in 5.
- 87_71_11_29

Rags SHOULD win in 5 (just like Pens probably should have won in 5 last year). Have a feeling that Fleury might come up big in a series in which the Pens seem to be given little chance, and obviously Malkin/Crosby can tilt any series if they string together 4 games of dominant play.

We are talking offensively skill set right? Goal scoring is included in that. Alexander Ovechkin is a better scorer than Sidney Crosby thus making him more of an offensive threat (his assist numbers equal to comparable total points) so yes Ovy is more gifted offensively while Sid is a more all around player. Same with the Perron and Stepan argument. Stepan is great defensively but he won't score key goals for you.. while Perron is opposite type of game
- Kittyblender1

Goals and assists are part of it. Ability to drive play, create offense, stickhandle, skate with speed, pass, screen goalies, forecheck, and support the puck are all some other factors on offense as well. Perron gets his numbers, sure. But his overall offensive game is lacking compared to Stepan (and the original post was that Stepan was better than Perron in general, not just offensively). But keep fighting it to the death, you've picked your hill to die on.

Edit: By the way, I'm 100%+ rooting for the Penguins. But that doesn't mean I'm gonna deceive myself when evaluating players.

Stepan's point totals this season are with 68 games played. If Stepan played a full 82 games he likely nears 70 points.

Your argument sucks, Perron had one decent season while on a horrendous hockey team. His career, for all of his natural hockey talent, has been on the disappointing side of the ledger.
- MidnightMarauder

His agrument really sucks, Perron better than Steps is a complete joke.