"Penguins have nobody but themselves to blame for the loss. They lost their focus in what otherwise was a well played game by them.

Teams like Chicago play on and focus on playing well. Pittsburgh does not. But hey, they showed some grit, so there's that."

Agree. A foreshadowing of playoff fate?!

It would have probably eliminated the Penguins in the first round instead of the second, but trading Orpik and Niskanen would have yielded a good return on both of them that could have benefited this year's squad.
- jfkst1

Hindsight is 20/20. Trading Duper before the blood clot, Kuni before he lost a step, and Sutter before he turned into a steaming pile would've all helped too.

Quick fact: Pens regular season record vs. the Caps in 2009? 1-3... coincidence?

And yes...I do realize that would require us to beat them next week.

The penns core is the reason for the league wide reduction in scoring? Bettman needs to step in and break this core up if that's the case
- willi

wtf is this? I just can't even

Second round pick and good prospect, or a first round pick and a middling prospect. It doesn't do jack poop keeping an asset like Martin when you ain't winning it. This team isn't good enough to get out of the second round. What good does that do you?

You are all about IFs. I'm about reality. The fact is this franchise is devoid of assets and talent in the farm. That is because of dumb deals for rentals. If there is one year to stop the asinine acquisitions and maybe start recouping some, this is it. I would rather deal Martin and get the first and a prospect than sit through another play-off year of disappointment,w hich probably ends in the second round, if not the first. There are many flaws on this team. However, people are truly delusional because they don't see them.
- Oneonta Penguin

You have to remember ownership has a say in this team.Dealing off assets that may get you 1 round deeper is a big hit to the pocket book.

This place is a friggin bummer today. Some of you guys act like we have won 15 games this season. Be happy youre not an Edmonton fan and enjoy having the world class players we do.

Are they playing their best right now? No. Is a loss like last nights frustrating? Yes.

Blame the PP, hope its gets better and move on with your day. Cuz unless youre the coach or GM, it really doesnt make a difference how mad you are.

PS - Am I the only one who thought that hit by Kunitz was a good one? He hit him with his shoulder in the chest. Penalty my sweet arse.

Second round pick and good prospect, or a first round pick and a middling prospect. It doesn't do jack poop keeping an asset like Martin when you ain't winning it. This team isn't good enough to get out of the second round. What good does that do you?

You are all about IFs. I'm about reality. The fact is this franchise is devoid of assets and talent in the farm. That is because of dumb deals for rentals. If there is one year to stop the asinine acquisitions and maybe start recouping some, this is it. I would rather deal Martin and get the first and a prospect than sit through another play-off year of disappointment,w hich probably ends in the second round, if not the first. There are many flaws on this team. However, people are truly delusional because they don't see them.
- Oneonta Penguin

I for one am not delusional. I am well aware of the flaws. But they are fixable. And fixing them doesn't start with trading one of their best defense men. The entire Stanley Cup playoffs is about IFs. Like I've said before I'd rather see my team take a chance at winning the cup year in and year out while their top players are in their prime than try to stock the cupboards of prospects so they'll have the possibility of having NHL players in the super stars are in their twilight years. Other NHL teams are envious of the position the penguins are in, having the opportunity to compete year in and year at. Take advantage of that and compete. Sit back and enjoy having a contending team while we do, because once Sid and Geno are gone.... prepare for some more dark years. I'm glad we've had a management that wasn't afraid to go all in year after year. Like I said earlier, the entire NHL season is nothing but ifs.. so I'm all about enjoying the ride and trying to win a cup. Year in and year out. That's the position the pens are in. Enjoy it.

Hindsight is 20/20. Trading Duper before the blood clot, Kuni before he lost a step, and Sutter before he turned into a steaming pile would've all helped too.

Quick fact: Pens regular season record vs. the Caps in 2009? 1-3... coincidence?

And yes...I do realize that would require us to beat them next week.
- stowerkraut

Really? I was instructed by the posters here that I was totally wrong about that stuff and that I needed to wait and see how this season was going to go before stripping things down to a 2-player rebuild.

Hindsight is 20/20. Trading Duper before the blood clot, Kuni before he lost a step, and Sutter before he turned into a steaming pile would've all helped too.

Quick fact: Pens regular season record vs. the Caps in 2009? 1-3... coincidence?

And yes...I do realize that would require us to beat them next week.
- stowerkraut

I don't in anyway condone dumping players at the deadline unless the Pens sustain more major injuries (is that even possible?). It was just a response that those moves would have helped this year's team.

There is no correlation between regular season success and postseason success against the same teams so I'm more concerned with the team's health and structured play than being good against Metro teams.

This place is a friggin bummer today. Some of you guys act like we have won 15 games this season. Be happy youre not an Edmonton fan and enjoy having the world class players we do.

Are they playing their best right now? No. Is a loss like last nights frustrating? Yes.

Blame the PP, hope its gets better and move on with your day. Cuz unless youre the coach or GM, it really doesnt make a difference how mad you are.

PS - Am I the only one who thought that hit by Kunitz was a good one? He hit him with his shoulder in the chest. Penalty my sweet arse.
- thickman1178

Whether you hit a player in the chest or shoulder or back it doesn't matter, boarding is defined as checking or hitting a player violently into the boards.. and given thay ward was a few feet from the boards and kunitz nailed him into the boards, I think it was the right call. Definitely dangerous.

I for one am not delusional. I am well aware of the flaws. But they are fixable. And fixing them doesn't start with trading one of their best defense men. The entire Stanley Cup playoffs is about IFs. Like I've said before I'd rather see my team take a chance at winning the cup year in and year out while their top players are in their prime than try to stock the cupboards of prospects so they'll have the possibility of having NHL players in the super stars are in their twilight years. Other NHL teams are envious of the position the penguins are in, having the opportunity to compete year in and year at. Take advantage of that and compete. Sit back and enjoy having a contending team while we do, because once Sid and Geno are gone.... prepare for some more dark years. I'm glad we've had a management that wasn't afraid to go all in year after year. Like I said earlier, the entire NHL season is nothing but ifs.. so I'm all about enjoying the ride and trying to win a cup. Year in and year out. That's the position the pens are in. Enjoy it.
- j.boyd919

Kris Letang has had a career to establish that he's not a very good PP quarterback and that he is prone to taking rash penalties.

Sid has had a career to establish that his preferences for line mates and PP positioning don't work. It's like he can't help but make listless backhand passes to blind ice if Duper isn't somewhere close by. I never hear about how hard it is to play with Geno.

The core guys have been in the league 10 years and have repeatedly come up short in the same few ways in the big moments. Teams don't have the Penguins' number, the Penguins just aren't very good at hockey. Having a few gamebreakers glosses over that from time to time.

Whether you hit a player in the chest or shoulder or back it doesn't matter, boarding is defined as checking or hitting a player violently into the boards.. and given thay ward was a few feet from the boards and kunitz nailed him into the boards, I think it was the right call. Definitely dangerous.
- j.boyd919

Was not a fan of Malkin getting the stick up in Green's face when he ran him either... but at that point they were all in KILL mode anyway.

Whether you hit a player in the chest or shoulder or back it doesn't matter, boarding is defined as checking or hitting a player violently into the boards.. and given thay ward was a few feet from the boards and kunitz nailed him into the boards, I think it was the right call. Definitely dangerous.
- j.boyd919

Looked to me like they were right up against the boards. You see that same hit 10x a game.

I could be wrong since I didnt watch a replay of it other than what they showed on tv, I just felt at that point to call that penalty on us was pretty brutal.

Kris Letang has had a career to establish that he's not a very good PP quarterback and that he is prone to taking rash penalties.

Sid has had a career to establish that his preferences for line mates and PP positioning don't work. It's like he can't help but make listless backhand passes to blind ice if Duper isn't somewhere close by. I never hear about how hard it is to play with Geno.

The core guys have been in the league 10 years and have repeatedly come up short in the same few ways in the big moments. Teams don't have the Penguins' number, the Penguins just aren't very good at hockey. Having a few gamebreakers glosses over that from time to time.
- Johnny Wrath

What are your suggestions ?

What are your suggestions ?
- willi

Trade them all, then female dog about how we didn't get enough value from the trades and we still gave away our future and present in the trades.

What would it take to get Emelin or Volchenkov?

What would it take to get Emelin or Volchenkov?
- joescullz

An insane GM. ...

What are your suggestions ?
- willi

Same as they were last summer and the summer before that going back to the Islanders series: strip the team down to 87 and 71 (Minus, say, Perron and Hornqvist) and develop a heavy, defensive forward core around them as all of the D prospects Pittsburgh has gain NHL experience and learn how to win together. It was and is the best sustainable way to compete for the Cup before 87 and 71 are in their mid thirties.

It starts with Letang because he'll yield the most return. Letang is also the most miscast in terms of his deployment and his chunk of the cap.

Takes one to know one, right.

Actually, I don't think we're calling them dirty, just that the fanbase has to take a look in the mirror instead of calling up events from 40 years ago.

Also, as the one guy clarified, this current crop of Penguins fans seem (in general, not specifically) to be fairly ignorant of the Penguins' teams prior to 2005 aside from knowing that Mario Lemieux was good at hockey.
- jmatchett383

Who is this Lemieux guy I keep hearing about anyway?

Trade them all, then female dog about how we didn't get enough value from the trades and we still gave away our future and present in the trades.
- Guile

Same as they were last summer and the summer before that going back to the Islanders series: strip the team down to 87 and 71 (Minus, say, Perron and Hornqvist) and develop a heavy, defensive forward core around them as all of the D prospects Pittsburgh has gain NHL experience and learn how to win together. It was and is the best sustainable way to compete for the Cup before 87 and 71 are in their mid thirties.

It starts with Letang because he'll yield the most return. Letang is also the most miscast in terms of his deployment and his chunk of the cap.
- Johnny Wrath

Letang's return would be one good roster dman with a high hit, a good prospect, and a late 1st. No one is giving up major assets on a guy with a heart defect. I'm also curious how he is being misused in Johnston's system as he is a legit Norris candidate this year.

Same as they were last summer and the summer before that going back to the Islanders series: strip the team down to 87 and 71 (Minus, say, Perron and Hornqvist) and develop a heavy, defensive forward core around them as all of the D prospects Pittsburgh has gain NHL experience and learn how to win together. It was and is the best sustainable way to compete for the Cup before 87 and 71 are in their mid thirties.

It starts with Letang because he'll yield the most return. Letang is also the most miscast in terms of his deployment and his chunk of the cap.
- Johnny Wrath

So what you're saying is, trade everyone other than 87 71 39 72 and try to build around them so they can get back to the Cup hopefully by the time they are 35? No thanks, I'd rather take my chances with the so called 3rd pairing defenseman in Kris Letang and the rest of the team.

Letang's return would be one good roster dman with a high hit, a good prospect, and a late 1st. No one is giving up major assets on a guy with a heart defect. I'm also curious how he is being misused in Johnston's system as he is a legit Norris candidate this year.
- jfkst1

Me too.

Letang's return would be one good roster dman with a high hit, a good prospect, and a late 1st. No one is giving up major assets on a guy with a heart defect. I'm also curious how he is being misused in Johnston's system as he is a legit Norris candidate this year.
- jfkst1

OV has a good shot, speed, and will play the body. Malkin has size a good shot and completely unwilling to play the body. There is no mean streak in him. One thing I like about OV is he will get mean and nasty. Malkin will shut down if the game goes that way. Pens really have nobody that take it to that edge. THey just go straight over it.
- sammy87

Im starting to think you dont watch games. On some nights Malkin is the most physical forward we have. And mean streak? The guy goes out and takes stupid penalties for just that reason all the time!

Letang's return would be one good roster dman with a high hit, a good prospect, and a late 1st. No one is giving up major assets on a guy with a heart defect. I'm also curious how he is being misused in Johnston's system as he is a legit Norris candidate this year.
- jfkst1

Yeah... that's absurd. Trading Letang is like telling LA to trade Doughty... or Montreal to trade Subban...