Ryan Wilson: Washington's Best Players Played Like They Were The Best Washington's Best Players Played Like They Were The Best

Pens in 6

Pens in 6
- dbell646

Yup.

Stick with Murray.

Can I pick one guy in history to stand in front of Ovi and block that shot from ever getting to the net?

I just want to see a geno machino game where he is dominant every shift. Pens have great depth which has helped them take a 3-2 series lead, but they won't get much further if Sid and geno don't start dominating games.

Stick with Murray, keep Schultz in..get the pp going

For the Pens to close this series out, Crosby and Malkin are going to have to make their mark on it. Time for the big boys to produce a little more againt the Caps.

Is it just me or did geno look ehh last night..?

I'd use last change in Pittsburgh to match up Crosby against the Ovechkin unit. Conceding 80% of the offense to Ovechkin's line when they're on the ice is flat out unacceptable. Cullen's line is capable of timely goals when taking advantage of lesser opponents, so use them in that light against Washington's fourth line.

If Sid comes out with a fire under his ass and shuts down Ovi percent old putting points up, we win the game. Malkin sounds angry at himself again and he certainly should be frustrated with how this series has gone for him. He's only played up to his ability once and he didn't manage to register any points that game. Look for him to have another break out game like he did after calling himself out during the Rangers series.

yeah malkin def didnt look like the 2nd best player on the team last night. the only time i noticed him was when he was making stupid mistakes

yeah. team needs a big rebound from geno. no dumb penalties to start. he can do it. crosby is largely being used in a defensive role, which makes malkin all the more important.

How often have you watched Malkin? Looks ehhh frequently.

MAF gets the start Tuesday, chokes big time. Sets the table for an epic balls out gm 7.

yeah malkin def didnt look like the 2nd best player on the team last night. the only time i noticed him was when he was making stupid mistakes
- pensfan024

Which looked pretty frequent last night. Completely understand why he was mad at himself. Remember when he called himself out and then had like back to back 4 point nights right after? We all know he's capable of turning it around, he just needs to find himself right now. Watching him try and handle the puck last night was frustrating. Really hope he lights a fire under his ass for next game

i'd say whoever wins the next game is gonna win the series. obviously if the Pens win they move on. but I think if the Caps win next game then they will win the series.

MAF gets the start Tuesday, chokes big time. Sets the table for an epic balls out gm 7.
- sammy87

No way he gets the start. Murrays been huge in net and that would just be unrealistic right now.

No way he gets the start. Murrays been huge in net and that would just be unrealistic right now.
- rbaurle51

Dont feed the troll. He isnt really a Pens fan.

This series is tight, no doubt about it. It will take a solid effort from every player to chase the Caps. That said, this is the Pens team that can do it. Lets finish this.

Quotes not working... to Grinder re: blocking Ovie's shot

Fehr tried to get there, Oshie laid a pretty good pick on him. Clean though because there was no call.

I said from the beginning, the Pens in 6. If the refs call things right down the middle, we got this.

I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record but bare with me for a second because both videos of the first 2 goals in the blog are perfect examples of the 2 biggest flaws I've been trying to point out in Murray's game lately that are going to eventually catch up to him and the Pens. Now before anyone starts whining because I'm talking bad about Murray, I'm really not and I agree he didn't play bad last night but if these 2 flaws are not corrected quickly it's going to be big trouble for the Pens.

In the first video, the one showing Ovechkin's pp goal, it's easy to excuse Murray because Ovie has the best shot in the game and is maybe the best pure sniper ever, but watch the video closely and look at how deep Murray is in the blue paint when the shot goes over his shoulder, at 6'4" tall it really shouldn't matter how great of a shot it is because if he's at the top of the crease like he should be there wouldn't be an angle for that puck to go in regardless. The Pens have been very fortunate because the Caps have had similar shots in almost every game where Murray didn't challenge and take the shooting angle away but thus far have been able to escape because the Caps have been blowing most of those shots over the net when there has been room to score with a better shot.

In the second video, the one showing Oshie's rebound goal we see 2 flaws(over reacting and poor rebound control) pop up on the same play. Sure Ovie fires off a bomb but look at where Murray ends up after the shot hits him, he's almost completely out of the blue paint on the right side of the goal, this causes 2 issues, first is that he over reacts which makes it very difficult to control the rebound and it also takes him so far out of the play that he has no prayer of recovering and making the second save. Again we've seen this several times in almost every game of this series but so far have been getting good defensive play in front of the net to prevent second chance opportunities.

I agree completely that there should be no goalie controversy for the remainder of the series, it's Murray's net the next 2 games win or lose, unfortunately if these flaws continue in games 6 & 7 it's going to be a very tough task to acomplish.

are you for real?

I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record but bare with me for a second because both videos of the first 2 goals in the blog are perfect examples of the 2 biggest flaws I've been trying to point out in Murray's game lately that are going to eventually catch up to him and the Pens. Now before anyone starts whining because I'm talking bad about Murray, I'm really not and I agree he didn't play bad last night but if these 2 flaws are not corrected quickly it's going to be big trouble for the Pens.

In the first video, the one showing Ovechkin's pp goal, it's easy to excuse Murray because Ovie has the best shot in the game and is maybe the best pure sniper ever, but watch the video closely and look at how deep Murray is in the blue paint when the shot goes over his shoulder, at 6'4" tall it really shouldn't matter how great of a shot it is because if he's at the top of the crease like he should be there wouldn't be an angle for that puck to go in regardless. The Pens have been very fortunate because the Caps have had similar shots in almost every game where Murray didn't challenge and take the shooting angle away but thus far have been able to escape because the Caps have been blowing most of those shots over the net when there has been room to score with a better shot.

In the second video, the one showing Oshie's rebound goal we see 2 flaws(over reacting and poor rebound control) pop up on the same play. Sure Ovie fires off a bomb but look at where Murray ends up after the shot hits him, he's almost completely out of the blue paint on the right side of the goal, this causes 2 issues, first is that he over reacts which makes it very difficult to control the rebound and it also takes him so far out of the play that he has no prayer of recovering and making the second save. Again we've seen this several times in almost every game of this series but so far have been getting good defensive play in front of the net to prevent second chance opportunities.

I agree completely that there should be no goalie controversy for the remainder of the series, it's Murray's net the next 2 games win or lose, unfortunately if these flaws continue in games 6 & 7 it's going to be a very tough task to acomplish.
- jaydogg1974

Dude, you know nothing about goaltending

When a team is on the powerplay, the sole reason for the puck movement is to open up shooting lanes and get the goalie moving laterally. A Goalie who is consistently "at the top of his crease" will have too much distance to move to cover the net on one timers passed across the zone. He needs to play deeper in his net to be able to get his body on the puck

On the second goal, Murray did his job, he made the first save, Cullen and the other Pens player did not to theirs, by tying up the sticks of the Washington players and not allowing them a shot at the rebound

I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record but bare with me for a second because both videos of the first 2 goals in the blog are perfect examples of the 2 biggest flaws I've been trying to point out in Murray's game lately that are going to eventually catch up to him and the Pens. Now before anyone starts whining because I'm talking bad about Murray, I'm really not and I agree he didn't play bad last night but if these 2 flaws are not corrected quickly it's going to be big trouble for the Pens.

In the first video, the one showing Ovechkin's pp goal, it's easy to excuse Murray because Ovie has the best shot in the game and is maybe the best pure sniper ever, but watch the video closely and look at how deep Murray is in the blue paint when the shot goes over his shoulder, at 6'4" tall it really shouldn't matter how great of a shot it is because if he's at the top of the crease like he should be there wouldn't be an angle for that puck to go in regardless. The Pens have been very fortunate because the Caps have had similar shots in almost every game where Murray didn't challenge and take the shooting angle away but thus far have been able to escape because the Caps have been blowing most of those shots over the net when there has been room to score with a better shot.

In the second video, the one showing Oshie's rebound goal we see 2 flaws(over reacting and poor rebound control) pop up on the same play. Sure Ovie fires off a bomb but look at where Murray ends up after the shot hits him, he's almost completely out of the blue paint on the right side of the goal, this causes 2 issues, first is that he over reacts which makes it very difficult to control the rebound and it also takes him so far out of the play that he has no prayer of recovering and making the second save. Again we've seen this several times in almost every game of this series but so far have been getting good defensive play in front of the net to prevent second chance opportunities.

I agree completely that there should be no goalie controversy for the remainder of the series, it's Murray's net the next 2 games win or lose, unfortunately if these flaws continue in games 6 & 7 it's going to be a very tough task to acomplish.
- jaydogg1974

most goalies have those flaws. only people that don't have those is quick and maf cuz they are agile but they have other flaws that murray don't. ALOT of the problem is also that murray is a rookie which means he is inexperienced. he is a really talented goalie but that doesn't cover everything. he will be even better year by year when he piles up on experience through playing. Also having a goalie that is 21 years old that is this good and a rookie is a really good thing to have.

Quotes not working... to Grinder re: blocking Ovie's shot

Fehr tried to get there, Oshie laid a pretty good pick on him. Clean though because there was no call.
- jjaxxon

Yeah that was good acting by Fehr. Fehr never wanted anythinh to do with blocking that shot. Fehrs garbage, doesnt have what it takes.