Ryan Wilson: Penguins going for ten divisional losses in a row tonight Penguins going for ten divisional losses in a row tonight

Hextall! The GOAT

Jarry back tonight. Thank fvck. However, not far fetched to me he's a bit rusty.

Still a 1/3 of the season left boys and girls...so much time to tighten up.

Bruins have a +90 goal differential. That's f'n bonkers. The next closest to this are the Devils at +46. 3 of the top 5 teams for this are in the Metro, the other team in top 5 is the Leafs. Bolts are 7th, so that makes 6 of the top 7 teams at this metric are in the east. The east is pretty f'n powerful this season. Last season, in the playoffs, it kind of felt wide open. The Bolts were still there though of course, they just didnt look like themselves until round 2. They are the kings of the east until a different team represents it in the finals...will they be there 4 seasons in a row?

Crosby: "We're going to see what we're made of here down the stretch."

That's right, we are, and I love knowing you're saying things like that, captain. He's going to bring it even more. They are now entering into actual desperate times where they HAVE to start winning more. They didn't HAVE to win much since those two great months earlier in the season until now. Excited to see how it goes.

Not to mention I have had, and pushed, the narrative of they play differently in front of Jarry...so hopefully I'm right....and Jarry stays healthy haha.

Bruins have a +90 goal differential. That's f'n bonkers. The next closest to this are the Devils at +46. 3 of the top 5 teams for this are in the Metro, the other team in top 5 is the Leafs. Bolts are 7th. East is pretty f'n powerful this season. Last season, in the playoffs, it kind of felt wide open. The Bolts were still there though of course, they just didnt look like themselves until round 2. They are the kings of the east until a different team represents it in the finals...will they be there 4 seasons in a row?
- MattStrat

I'm normally pretty optimistic, but the east is as good as I can ever remember. Plus, I don't think Jarry will stay healthy. If all the rumors are true about his hip (all the insiders think it is), no way he makes it through the remainder of the season and a long playoff run.

Since Jarry is coming back the pens will probably allow 50+ shots against instead of 40. They want him to earn his money since he has missed so many games.

Pens Need to win in regulation. Giving Isles a loser point is not acceptable.

Bring on the Bruins. I'm not scared of them. The Pens played them tough so far this year. History suggests a team that dominant in regular season will lose somewhere in the NHL playoffs. It wouldnt be the first time a President's Trophy winner went out with a whimper in round one. No they wouldnt lose 4 straight like Tampa did, but I'd rather play them than Carolina...

Better focus on just making the playoffs first. Those losses to Buffalo and Detroit earlier in the year might come back and loom large as even those teams get closer to the Pens...

I'm normally pretty optimistic, but the east is as good as I can ever remember. Plus, I don't think Jarry will stay healthy. If all the rumors are true about his hip (all the insiders think it is), no way he makes it through the remainder of the season and a long playoff run.
- madmike71

I think Jarry has been cleared by specialists and they just wanted to be safe. I dont have solid proof of this, just what I think. He was just about to return, then ends up taking a few more games off to see docs and what not and is now back a few games after seeing docs. So while I do think there was fire to that hip smoke being blown around, perhaps its not as bad as originally sounded. I also keep in mind that medias like selling fear. It's what gets lapped up, read and clicked on the most. Sports media is no exception to this haha. Having said all of that, I could still see Jarry getting injured again, hip related or not.

Not with this bottom six..

Just had this notification pop up on my phone from Yahoo Fantasy... I hope they're right... But they already have the favourable schedule part wrong hahaha

I think Jarry has been cleared by specialists and they just wanted to be safe. I dont have solid proof of this, just what I think. He was just about to return, then took time off to see docs and what not and is now back a few games after seeing docs. So while I do think there was fire to that hip smoke being blown around, perhaps its not as bad as originally sounded. I also keep in mind that medias like selling fear. It's what gets lapped up, read and clicked on the most. Sports media is no exception to this haha. Having said all of that, I could still see Jarry getting injured again, hip related or not.
- MattStrat

He really is the lynch pin. If I believed he's likely to stay healthy, I'd go all in and try to shore up the bottom 6. If there's a good chance he hurts that hip again, I stand pat. Only management knows those probabilities.

They have 6 games before the TDL....mostly playing every other night. I think Hextall will wait til the last possible minute to make a decision on what to do and that's probably the right thing to do.

He really is the lynch pin. If I believed he's likely to stay healthy, I'd go all in and try to shore up the bottom 6. If there's a good chance he hurts that hip again, I stand pat. Only management knows those probabilities.

They have 6 games before the TDL....mostly playing every other night. I think Hextall will wait til the last possible minute to make a decision on what to do and that's probably the right thing to do.
- madmike71

I can’t see hex staying around another season if they miss or a first round exit. That’s on him at this point.

You’d think he’d be pretty aggressive to make a deep push for his job at this point.

The whole idea of bringing the trio back was to give them proper support which he’s failed to do so. Rakell was about it and the d is worse.

Love how DOC gets ONE game on the 3rd line and Sullivan demotes him like he’s the problem lol

Love how DOC gets ONE game on the 3rd line and Sullivan demotes him like he’s the problem lol
- buckster2342

That's actually not a demotion. I think Sullivan somehow thought DOC could somehow prop up Carter and Kap. The opposite happened. Might as well keep all the rotten eggs in one basket and keep a good 4th together.

From Taylor Haas at DK's site after the Islander game...

Outstanding game by the Drew O'Connor-Teddy Blueger-Josh Archibald line, even though it won't show up on a box score. When they were on the ice the Penguins led 18-5 in shot attempts, 14-2 in unblocked shot attempts, 3-1 in high-danger attempts, and 8-2 in shots on goal. That's despite not being on the ice for a single offensive zone faceoff, but three defensive zone draws. They didn't get (or allow) any goals, but they sure helped keep the momentum trending in the Penguins' direction while it did.

After the NJ game....

The combination of O'Connor, Carter and Kapanen was on the ice as a unit for a total of 8:37 at five-on-five in Saturday's loss, and the results were pretty disastrous. When they were on the ice, the Penguins allowed 14 shot attempts and registered seven. They allowed seven high-danger attempts and registered only one. They allowed 13 unblocked attempts and registered just three. They were outshot 11-3, and they were outscored 1-0, with the lone goal being Dawson Mercer's first-period tally after a scramble in front of the Penguins' net.

As bad as those results are, they were even worse through the first two periods, and were a major part of the Penguins trailing 3-1 at second intermission. They played an even five minutes through the first two frames. They trailed in shot attempts 1-12, high-danger attempts 0-6, unblocked shot attempts 0-11, shots 0-9, and goals 0-1, the aforementioned Mercer tally.

More from Haas on DK's site...

There have been 87 forward line combinations across the NHL this season that have been together for at least 150 minutes of five-on-five ice time. "Expected goals" is a goofy-sounding stat that takes into account a number of factors that impacts the statistical likelihood of the shot being a goal -- distance and angle of the shot, whether it's off a rebound or rush, type of shot, time and score of the game, among others. It's the best way to measure an overall quality of a player, line or team's chances. These stats are usually presented in a "per 60" format, meaning that the player or team would be expected to score that many goals in 60 minutes of five-on-five ice time.

Of those 87 regular forward line combinations, the McGinn-Carter-Kapanen line ranks 85th in expected goals for, with 1.97 per 60 minutes. They're not exactly any better on the other side of the puck. They rank 84th-worst in expected goals against, expected to allow 3.33 per 60 minutes.

More from Haas on DK's site...

There have been 87 forward line combinations across the NHL this season that have been together for at least 150 minutes of five-on-five ice time. "Expected goals" is a goofy-sounding stat that takes into account a number of factors that impacts the statistical likelihood of the shot being a goal -- distance and angle of the shot, whether it's off a rebound or rush, type of shot, time and score of the game, among others. It's the best way to measure an overall quality of a player, line or team's chances. These stats are usually presented in a "per 60" format, meaning that the player or team would be expected to score that many goals in 60 minutes of five-on-five ice time.

Of those 87 regular forward line combinations, the McGinn-Carter-Kapanen line ranks 85th in expected goals for, with 1.97 per 60 minutes. They're not exactly any better on the other side of the puck. They rank 84th-worst in expected goals against, expected to allow 3.33 per 60 minutes.
- madmike71

So make the DOC-Bleuger-Archibald line the new 3rd line and give them more minutes. But that would be so not Sullivan.

At this point, is the salary cap the only thing stopping us from giving some AHL guys a chance? If not, I cannot think of a reason why we couldnt give the likes of Poulin or Nylander a chance. Surely they could provide a spark over the same waste of spaces we see every night.

I’d be willing to try Carter in the Billy G role, move Rakell to Malkins line. Ideally you then have Poe as your 3rd line center with arch and Rust. But with Poe out that’s leaves Blueger. I’m over Blueger.

Someone in the other thread asked about AT&T Sports Network and their impending bankruptcy. I misspoke. It wasnt AT&T that divested them lately, it was Disney when they acquired Fox. Sinclair purchased them (with way too much debt) and now the subsidiary that controls a lot of them, Diamond Sports, could file for bankruptcy protection.

Separately, there are several AT&T sports channels, including Pittsburgh, that are owned by TimeWarner. Recently separated from AT&T. They reportedly missed a payment to the Pirates, though the local paper denies that.

So I took two separate issues and combined them. At the end of the day, some major questions about the future of regional sports networks.

https://www.forbes.com/si...ue-model/?sh=7cd9c86425df

At this point, is the salary cap the only thing stopping us from giving some AHL guys a chance? If not, I cannot think of a reason why we couldnt give the likes of Poulin or Nylander a chance. Surely they could provide a spark over the same waste of spaces we see every night.
- SuperHenderson13

You want poulin or nylander to center the 2nd line? Come on man.

Someone in the other thread asked about AT&T Sports Network and their impending bankruptcy. I misspoke. It wasnt AT&T that divested them lately, it was Disney when they acquired Fox. Sinclair purchased them (with way too much debt) and now the subsidiary that controls a lot of them, Diamond Sports, could file for bankruptcy protection.

Separately, there are several AT&T sports channels, including Pittsburgh, that are owned by TimeWarner. Recently separated from AT&T. They reportedly missed a payment to the Pirates, though the local paper denies that.

So I took two separate issues and combined them. At the end of the day, some major questions about the future of regional sports networks.

https://www.forbes.com/si...ue-model/?sh=7cd9c86425df
- SuperHenderson13

Thanks, I am going to delve into this deeper. As mentioned, I have stock in $WBD.

According to the article, neither the Pirates nor the Penguins will be affected by the bankruptcy of Diamond Sports/Bally Sports.

Another real good start...interrupted by whatever that supposed PP was.