OK sure, I can get behind that rest my hat because of the past 10 years stuff too if this really is the only series we see this year but the thing is we (or at least I know) damn well this team is better than this haha... You think they're suddenly not capable of tape to tape passing and keeping on their edges skating?
Go home where Sully has the last change and regroup. There's a reason these are best of 7s... The Isles have been best of 2...in the first game though not by much, only the first 5 mins or so. Those two games were not MUST win.
Last years cup winners lost the first 2 at home. One of the greatest regular season in history teams have dropped their first 2 at home this year.
Also, it's real hard to get a rhythm going when youre in the box so much. Someone like Malkin who doesn't pk at all is gonna be outta sync sitting on bench so long. Ridiculous amount of penalties last night... No surprise with Wes calling the game...
So much hockey left yet.
- MattStrat
Sure tons of hockey, but right now I’m seeing two major things that are giving me major doubts moving forward 1) Getting totally outworked by an inferior team talent level wise 2) A coach that focused on the wrong things when we lost game 1.
I felt a ton better after Game 1 than I did after last night. The Isles played a better game that night and the Penguins played as sloppily as physically possible, but the brand that was played ultimately benefitted the Penguins. Last night the Isles weren’t at their best and still punked us because we were unable to open up the game. If we’re gonna get punked like that by this team, there’s really no point in advancing. The Capitals are better and will probably beat us in 5.
Then of course you have Mike Sullivan who zeroed in on the exact wrong thing after Game 1, which is probably why this happened in Game 2. His adjustment was basically tightening up and scratching one of his six best defensemen because he had a bad game to make a point about sloppiness. When really what he needed to do was keep the game open but adjust his strategy for zone exits. If our coach can’t figure it out behind the bench, the likelihood that the team will figure out how to overcome the first piece I laid out drops significantly.
