I do not believe the Penguins are going to miss the playoffs. They still have a 91% probability of making the playoffs. In fact they might may hit the 100 points barrier on the season.

I'm not trying to troll, but there are quite a few factors that odds website misses.

The main ones are injuries, strength of schedule and how a team has played lately.

If the Sens go 2-0, Boston goes 2-1 and the Pens go 1-1, the Pens are out.

Based on the fact the Pens play the Isles in one of their games, and Boston/Ottawa have been streaking, I think there is more than a 10% chance of that happening.

I don't think the Pens will miss either. I just think the 91% odds thing is way off. It's closer to 65% I would think.

Sure, we play like a giant tooth filled tumor infested dead hookers vage. But the important thing is our team believes we "deserve" to win.

F Them; all of them, except Downie and MAF
- nbartley9

Pretty good response. In addictions medicine this is comparable to the denial phase. A kind of magical thinking where we tell ourselves everything is okay. It is just a few injuries. Everything will be fine. It will be okay tomorrow.

Was at the game and I don't know if its coaching or what but Hammond was fighting the puck (again), the puck seems to bounce up in the air on many saves and other times lost in his feet, I give him credit for battling, BUT WHY STOP SHOOTING. Keep getting pucks to the net you don't need the fancy play, just put the puck on net from everywhere.
- Superfan87

This team doesn't like doing things that aren't fancy. It's been that way for a number of years now & it's not going to change unless they have someone behind the bench to reign them in again. They don't need to be Kevin Constantine'd or even Therrien'd, but they need someone that will kick them in the ass when they start playing stupid fancy & don't just play the simple game when appropriate.

I don't blame him for the injuries, but I don't trust him at all and I don't think he has any sort of system. Just randomness. I want a GM that builds the team with a purpose and relies heavily on their assessment system. No more GMs relying on intuition. It leads to too many mistakes.
- jfkst1

I would agree. I can't blame Rutherford for Scuderi being on the ice; he inhereited that contract. But what kills me those bad moves he didn't have to make. They don't make up for the good moves like extending Fleury or trading for Perron.

You miss my point. Regardless the reason, if your number 1 center is a minus on any night you probably loose the game. The Crosby line is getting out scored at even strength. As long as that continues you will lose more games than you win. Obviously, this is even more important in the playoffs when fewer penalties are called and winning is almost always about even strength performance.
- spatso

Crosby's ES this year has a GF% of 56.88 with a relative GF% of +8.84.
You know nothing Spatso.

I personally hope we just don't make the playoffs this year to allow our team to get healthy and to also(hopefully) make the changes needed to this team.

I'd love to see the Pens play a full 60 minute hockey game. Wouldn't that be great?
- znagle

Pull up a tape of the pens 5 years ago

So severe? Why did Boston only have cap penalties for exceeding Iggy's cap? I thought it may just be the amount you exceed gets taken off the cap next year, & this time of year doesn't the cap hit basically go down to close to zero with only 2 games left?
- Aussiepenguin

That was likely Claude (I) which states, essentially, that the team would receive a fine $1M - $5M and the amount by which the contract exceeded the cap would be tacked on to next year's cap.

61 points in his rookie season isn't considered a T6F? Obviously he needs to do it consistently but imo he has all the tools to be a legit threat every time he's on the ice. Did I mention he also leads the entire league in takeaways?

Hoffman still has major holes in his game but once again Murray has found an absolute gem late in the draft with Stone.
- SENS 613

Give him a break, he had never heard of either player until last night. He hasn't had an opportunity to do a break down to see how their games compare to that of Steve Downie.

I'd love to see the Pens play a full 60 minute hockey game. Wouldn't that be great?
- znagle

Or score a powerplay goal...remember those?

Nice to see the entitlement narrative is alive and well.

I'm not trying to troll, but there are quite a few factors that odds website misses.

The main ones are injuries, strength of schedule and how a team has played lately.

If the Sens go 2-0, Boston goes 2-1 and the Pens go 1-1, the Pens are out.

Based on the fact the Pens play the Isles in one of their games, and Boston/Ottawa have been streaking, I think there is more than a 10% chance of that happening.

I don't think the Pens will miss either. I just think the 91% odds thing is way off. It's closer to 65% I would think.
- Charliebox

if youve watched the pens recent play then one must realize the sabres game isnt going to be a walk in the park, hell we will probably go up a couple goals and then let them back in it. I would say based on how the pens have played over the last few months that theres less than a 50% chance we make it at this point, and if it werent for fleury then theyd be planning where they are going golfing next week

I personally hope we just don't make the playoffs this year to allow our team to get healthy and to also(hopefully) make the changes needed to this team.
- chanceb

I was thinking this before the game last night. Lose last night and it puts us in a position where we have to play lights out hockey to get in the playoffs, hopefully carrying that over. If we don't make it, I feel some big changes coming. Not 87 71 big though.

Or score a powerplay goal...remember those?
- YouMeAndDupuis9

pull up a tape on the pens 5 years ago (or so it feels)

Pretty good response. In addictions medicine this is comparable to the denial phase. A kind of magical thinking where we tell ourselves everything is okay. It is just a few injuries. Everything will be fine. It will be okay tomorrow.
- spatso

Ha everything is so far from OK, our players think they deserve to win just by showing up; and skating around for 60 min; its infuriating.

I would agree. I can't blame Rutherford for Scuderi being on the ice; he inhereited that contract. But what kills me those bad moves he didn't have to make. They don't make up for the good moves like extending Fleury or trading for Perron.
- s0rcerer1984

It's two steps forward and one step back. The only way to get ahead is by continually making progressive moves in the positive direction with minimal errors. The Winnik trade was probably a neutral. He has been a solid addition but was a lot to pay for someone that easily could have been had in the offseason. Another negative was letting Arcobello go. The current forward depth could easily be better than what it is now and while it wouldn't make a difference in winning in the postseason with all these injuries, the team would almost certainly have already clinched a postseason berth.

Nice to see the entitlement narrative is alive and well.
- Stillson14

Ding, Ding, Ding; and the boy wins a cigar.

good blog ryan. you and i disagree on a lot but you were spot on today.

thats why im very calm with all of this, there is no point to getting worked up. this is a team destroyed by injuries with overworked healthy players who are running out of gas.

if the penguins can take care of business versus NYI and BUF and you can rest your guys for a few days and then get ehrhoff and letang back, who knows what can happen.

as is though, this team is going no where.

So severe? Why did Boston only have cap penalties for exceeding Iggy's cap? I thought it may just be the amount you exceed gets taken off the cap next year, & this time of year doesn't the cap hit basically go down to close to zero with only 2 games left?

Edit: after reading the rule (thanks for that), that's more in place for a team & player deliberately trying to cheat the cap over a season not a team desperate with injuries & only 2 games left. Still rules are rules, although it wasn't the case for Iggy & his bonus.
- Aussiepenguin

Boston didn't exceed the Cap. They put bonuses into his contract which he achieved. The Cap hits for those bonuses can be pushed forward into the next league year. As bonuses only seem to exist in rookie deals & in +35 deals, they usually don't really come into play that much.

I was thinking this before the game last night. Lose last night and it puts us in a position where we have to play lights out hockey to get in the playoffs, hopefully carrying that over. If we don't make it, I feel some big changes coming. Not 87 71 big though.
- znagle

I agree with all of that. hopefully next season we'll have decent 3rd and 4th lines and can finally stay healthy. I also hope we replace a lot of players. Sutter has to go, Scuderi, Lapierre, Adams. All those are obvious, but I'd love to see a lot of new faces for next season.

Or score a powerplay goal...remember those?
- YouMeAndDupuis9

Nope. Sadly now 1 of 3 things happen.

1. Fancy passes lead to nothing but failure
2. They score a shorty
3. We can't even get into the other teams zone until there is 45 seconds left, then 1 or 2 or a combination of them both happens.

Of all the things that piss me off the most about this team, and there are many, I think the biggest is their limp-ass power play. More specifically, its their absolute refusal to play basic PP hockey. Quick movement, pucks at the net, crash, jam in rebounds.

They have a perfect NFP guy in Horny. Other than him, the rest of them, 87 and 71 included, quite frankly aren't good PP players.

I just don't understand what goes on in their minds as they sit there and pass the puck back and forth on the perimeter.

Whats the point in paying for all of this top talent if they cant score a goal while having one more guy on the ice than the other team?

if the penguins can take care of business versus NYI and BUF and you can rest your guys for a few days and then get ehrhoff and letang back, who knows what can happen.

as is though, this team is going no where.
- SuperHenderson13

Agreed. A team playing Scuderi/Lovejoy as their second pair and with Taylor Chorney on the third pairing isn't a recipe for postseason success. If they can limp in and get Letang, Erhoff, and Malkin healthy, they have a punchers chance.

I agree with all of that. hopefully next season we'll have decent 3rd and 4th lines and can finally stay healthy. I also hope we replace a lot of players. Sutter has to go, Scuderi, Lapierre, Adams. All those are obvious, but I'd love to see a lot of new faces for next season.
- chanceb

We've been saying that for 4 or 5+ years tho. Ever since going into the playoffs with Staal as the top-line center & hoping for Matt Cooke to put up some points against the Lightning because of Malkin's ACL or whatever it was & Sid's concussions, we've been talking about injuries to our top-end players killing this team. And every year, we're in the same position. Maybe this has to do with the system or maybe it has to do with the med staff or the strength & conditioning guys, but there comes a point where injuries aren't just about "bad luck".

I personally hope we just don't make the playoffs this year to allow our team to get healthy and to also(hopefully) make the changes needed to this team.
- chanceb

non-sense. as a fan, that's just dumb. and as a die-hard, its even dumber. the revenue we generate in the playoffs is vital to future success.

I feel like people want us to miss the playoffs so they can prove they were "right"