Pens at Rangers Grades
Mike Adams | Grade "A" Reviews
Mar 19, 07:54 AM | Hype this story!
Soff Pens fail first playoff test
Offense: D
In this closing stretch of ten games, it is going to be playoff style hockey within the division. The Pens were taught a lesson on how that will go last night. They had a few decent chances on the rush, but never really had the Rangers on their heels. They never established any kind of sustained pressure as the Rangers moved the puck crisply out of their own end. Both goals resulted more from brutal Ranger mistakes rather than great efforts by the Pens. On the first one, the Rangers failed to get the puck deep on a line change. Whitney made a great lead pass to Ruutu, who used his patented backhand shootout move to beat Henrik Lundqvist. Moments later, Lundqvist gave the puck away and Staal ended up burying his own rebound. But the offense dried up after that. Malone had a couple good chances, but that was about it. The Rangers, a far superior defensive team to the Pens, just shut it down after they retook the lead. The offense was invisible in the third as the Pens once again had great difficulty breaking the trap.
Defense: F————-
What a pathetic effort in their own end. Just disgraceful. The Pens pretty much let the Rangers have their way. They backed in, allowing easy access to the zone. They never covered anyone in front. They didn’t hit anyone. It was just a miserable effort all around. It started on the first goal, when the Rangers came in 2-on-3, but scored. Whitney and Sydor just backed in, Kennedy chased Puff Nuts into the corner, leaving Steven Avery all alone to fire a wrister past Conklin. But that defense pairing was just getting started. Just seconds later, Chris Drury fired a shot that Conklin stopped. But Whitney left the immortal Ryan Callahan all alone in front to tap home the rebound. But the fun for Whitney was just starting. Just after the Pens had tied it, he turned the game totally around by making a blind pass into the middle of his own zone because he was afraid of being hit. Gonchar has trained him well. Fredrik Sjostrom stole it, waltzed down the slot, and beat Conklin as if it was a shootout. On the fourth goal, the Rags decided to pick on Gill and Letang. Avery was left all alone in front to bang it past Conklin. Whitney and Sydor returned for more fun later, though. This time, they left Marty Straka all alone in front, and he redirected a Drury shot. It was just an embarrassing performance from start to finish.
Power play: F
Pass. Pass. Pass. Intercepted. Cleared. Or pass, pass, pass, Gonchar misses the net, cleared. That about sums it up. They only got one chance thanks to the inept Kerry Hairspray.
Penalty kill: A
This was about the lone bright spot. They gave the Rangers only two shots on two power plays, and had the home fans booing the power play effort. Great job by the PK units.
Goaltending: D+
That might be charitable. Twice, Conklin went out to play the puck and ended up giving them great chances. You simply cannot do that in that rathole of a building. The boards and soft ice are way too unpredictable. Conklin made a few key saves, but he was also hung out to dry most of the night. The first two goals were partially on him. Avery’s wrister was from the circle, and a goalie should stop that shot. The second goal, he gave up a horrendous rebound. On the winner, he had no chance. He really didn’t have much chance on the last two goals, either. But the ones he gave up early put them in a hole and they never really recovered. It’s Fleury’s turn now.
Overall: F
The Pens put forth a decent effort early on, but it was purposeless effort. You can try hard all you want, but if you are lacking gray matter, effort doesn’t matter. The defensive zone coverage was just abysmal. And once the Rags retook the lead, they went into their trapping game, and the Pens generated next to nothing. They have been beating up on weak and mediocre teams lately, and this game showed they have lots of work to do if they are to compete for a championship against the good teams.
And now, the rest of the story…
Ryan Whitney/Daryl Sydor: F
This soff pair was absolutely brutal. They just pretty much handed the Rangers four goals because they were afraid to get touched. “I think they try to be the worst defense.” It was just laughable how pathetic both guys were. Why they saw the ice in the third period is beyond me.
Evgeni Malkin: F
Did he play last night?
The Genius: F
Why exactly was Petr Sykora not on the top power play unit? We wouldn’t want a guy who shoots out there, would we? He also couldn’t find a way to get noted Puff Nuts killer Hal Gill out there against him.
Pascal Dupuis: C
Solid effort by him, but the decision to pass on that two-on-one down low was ridiculous and resulted in them not even getting a shot on goal.
Henrik Lundqvist: F
He became the fasted Ranger goalie to record 100 wins, erasing Mike Richter from the record books. Anybody who erases the name of Richter (one of my favorite goalies ever) from the record books deserves nothing but scorn.
Jarkko Ruutu: A
He made the beautiful move for a goal, then had a great shift right after that. He was at his agitating best. Sadly, none of the defensemen picked up on his intensity.
Dads’ Trip: F
Whose bright idea was it to do this in the middle of a playoff chase against a quality opponent? I am all for it earlier in the season, but doing it now brings a distraction the players don’t need. It might have cost them two points and possibly playoff positioning. In retrospect, it makes no sense at all to do it this late in the year.
Striped Buffoon Huh? Call of the Game
This one goes to the Garage League for allowing Kerry Hairspray to remain in their employ this long. From day one, this guy has proven to be nothing but an embittered player wannabe. Each and every game he refs, he allows the star players to take a beating. It is just out of pure jealousy for their talent. Jealousy that they made it and he didn’t. And the league just turns a blind eye to it. Even with the so-called new enforcement after the lockout, he hasn’t changed one bit. Yet he is allowed to continue butchering games. Last night was no exception. Evgeni Malkin took a pummeling, with at least some of it clearly being outside the rules. Yet not one penalty was called on plays against him. Not one. It was the same treatment he has given Mario, Sid, and every other star player in the league. He is a disgrace, plain and simple. If you want one specific call that drew my ire, how about the play where Marc Staal clearly cross-checked Talbot twice, with no call. Mere seconds later, they call Dupuis for a ticky-tack hooking penalty.
Icehole of the Game
Steven Avery, just because I tired of seeing him flap his gums from start to finish. The guy needs to be taken out, and taken out for good.
Monk Moment
It goes to Ryan Whitney for his blind pass right into the middle of the ice. Remember, the Monk Moment is for anything that defies belief. That pass sure did.
A Guide to the Grades can be found here
Comments
DaBich
Mar 19, 08:17 AM
I was wishing someone would bust Sean Avery in the chops, but no one stepped up to do it. Dupuis nearly did, but he was on his way off the ice to the bench.
Sad, sad effort all around.
devin
Mar 19, 08:52 AM
Glad to see you found a way to bring Gonchar into your criticisms even though he was a +1 for the game
TheDude
Mar 19, 08:52 AM
TOOL! You’re a fancy tool.
Michael
Mar 19, 10:09 AM
A large part of the Penguins “poor effort” in this game can be attributed to Therrien__not adjusting__to what T.Renney was doing.
If your hands are tied behind your back, it can “appear” that you aren’t putting forth any effort (in a fight) .. whereas the actual problem is that someone DID tie your hands behind your back so you can’t really fight. {“Duh .. how come dat guy ain’t fightin’ back?!”}
T.Renney used a very aggressive forecheck on the Pens’ D .. especially on Whitney/Sydor, of course .. but Therrien’s ADJUSTMENT to that never happened. The simple adjustment would have been to instruct the forwards to come back down lower in the zone so that much shorter outlet-passes could have been made by the D. But “Jack Adams Therrien” is either too unaware or too stubborn to make in-game adjustments to this sort of strategic move by an opposing coach.
When the Pens tied the game at 2-2, the proper adjustment I just referenced should have turned the game in the Pens’ favor. But, again, the adjustment never came.
Alright, I’ll admit that the effort and intensity was lacking from the Pens, but in many cases it doesn’t really matter how intense the effort is if there is a pure failure to make the necessary__basic adjustments__in terms of in-game strategic moves.
When the opposing coach makes a basic strategy move that significantly challenges Therrien’s “system” .. Therrien either refuses .. because of assinine stubbornness/ego issues .. or is unable, due to his apparent ‘unawareness’, to make the needed adjustments. We’ve seen this time and time again. And this is going to happen__big-time__in the PLAYOFFS! And THAT is what really bothers me. With the talent this team has, all we really need to be successful is a head coach who can recognize when these basic in-game adjustments are needed and be willing to make them. But alas, it seems that we are stuck with a head coach who lacks this basic awareness and/or the willingness to incorporate some strategic flexibility into his “system”. And that is a major problem in itself .. regardless of how intense the players are playing or how talented the players are.
Phil
Mar 19, 11:53 AM
Didn’t help that the Pens couldn’t get the puck out of their own zone without putting it right back on the Rangers D-men’s sticks. Fraser is really bad for letting about anything go, and usually I’m fine with that so long as it goes both ways, which it did last night.
This was sort of a trap game with NJ coming up and Sid coming back this weekend. I know the Rangers are a solid team, but blame Therrien for letting the Pens look past Jagr & Co. They’ll be there Thursday, at home, against Tampa. We’ll win that one and move on to the last 8 Atlantic division games to close out the season.
The only games I worry about from here on in are the two against the Isles. No DiPietro and Ted Nolan is still their coach. The only thing he loves more than making the playoffs with a garbage team is playing spoiler with a garbage team. I could see us losing one of those.
Jesse Marshall
Mar 19, 12:26 PM
Only in Pittsburgh will you find people calling for the coaches head when the team is 1 point out of first place in the CONFERENCE and they’ve had their:
1. Best defensive defenseman
2. Best penalty killing defenseman
3. Star player, captain and MVP of the league
4. Starting goaltender
All out of the lineup for an extended period of time.
Michael fails to mention that the score was 2-2. Michel Therrien didn’t force Ryan Whitney to turn the puck over in front of his own goal.
Ryan
Mar 19, 12:32 PM
I agree, i think that Kerry needed to make a couple calls….malkin hit from behind, how is that not called…
but i can’t blame the lose just on the refs, very poor effort from both the defense and offense..
i just hope they don’t play like this in a game 7 of a playoff series
Tom
Mar 19, 12:33 PM
Mike, Clearly, that dynamic duo (Whitney and Sydor) covered themselves with glory yet again(allowed four goals). Sit them (and Gonchar) except on power plays where they are of some value. Letang, Orpik and Gill will at least clear the crease. Bring up Lannon or some other baby pen that will play a proactive, hitting defense and sit the stiffs who do nothing but screen our goalie. Letang, Gill and Orpik may make mistakes, but, at least, they make an effort and do not hide from a forechecking offense. I just get so sick of Whitney hiding from contact, Conchar playing patty cake checks and Sydor’s granny shoves. They have no beneficial effect and merely take up time they could spend blocking the inevitable shots, Oh! I forgot, that may hurt. Why on earth are these stiffs taking up so much cap space (Gonchar $5,000,000; Whitney $4,000,000; Sydor $2,500,000, a total of $11,500,000 of wasted cap space). Great job Ray! Defensemen must defend.
Move the Needle
Mar 19, 12:49 PM
In response to “Michael’s” post #4. I agree with Jesse that many, not all, but many of the fans in this town complain heavily when the team which has performed with numerous key injuries is playing very well over all. The good games outweigh the bad games. No team will go undefeated the whole year in Hockey. No team will play perfect and with full energy every game. No team in any sport will be perfect. In every single loss in every single sport faults can be found. Even in wins fans find faults. Even the greatest teams in may sports have won championships and have had terrible games during their championship season. BUT, BUT, BUT. I also agree with “Michael” I wrote for this very site back in November that MT was the man for the job THIS year. Even though he is stubborn and abrasive on his players. I agree with “Michael” that MT is not a very good in game adjustments coach. And as I have posted and commented many times, this team is not a Stanley Cup winner THIS YEAR. Proven playoff grind Goaltending, Inconsistent defense, Youth, Chemistry and Coaching are all of the reasons. Many Championship teams have elements of these problems. I think the pens have them all. I don’t think they can beat Ottawa or even Boston in a 7 game series THIS YEAR.
Robert
Mar 19, 01:12 PM
You know what? Some people don’t want Roberts coming back and taking Taffe or someone similar out of the lineup, but if any of those people watched the playoffs last season, Roberts may have been our best forward with intensity and determination. I think he will be a huge confidence lifter once he gets back in the lineup due to the fact that he is going to be flying out there. This team needs scary Gary back asap for the playoff run.
Melvin
Mar 19, 04:23 PM
What __ is __ up with people doing __ this __ to stress a point?
DaBich
Mar 20, 06:59 AM
hey Frank! Nice to see you again.
Move the Needle
Mar 20, 09:03 PM
Hi Dabich. I am like the groundhog. I burrow under when it is cold. That six weeks is almost up so I am coming up for air more often. Go Pens, Boo Sens.
FlyersSUCK
Mar 21, 08:54 AM
this team sucks..trade sid and geno! Fire Shero and Therrien!
DaBich
Mar 21, 09:06 AM
Flyersuck, don’t give up your day job, you’re a lousy comedian =P
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