Sens at Pens Grades
Mike Adams | Grade "A" Reviews
Oct 6, 09:46 AM | Hype this story!
Power outage.
Offense: D
The Pens were able to generate a bit of offense, but when they did, Alex Bald stoned them. They didn’t have much of a transition game, but did generate a few chances on the forecheck. Just not nearly enough. It looked like The Genius was at his best over the weekend, constantly shuffling lines in hopes that something would click. He basically went with three lines worth of players as Godard, Thomas, and Bissonnette saw little ice time. Whether or not it was the shuffling of personnel or not, they never really seemed to develop any flow.
Defense: B+
They played well defensively, allowing only one even strength goal. And that was when they were pressing for a goal of their own toward the end. Again, they held Ottawa’s Big Three Regular Season Line in check. I didn’t notice too many times where they got caught running around in their own end.
Power play: U
U as in ugly. On Saturday, they got away with that ugly power play, but not yesterday. It is not a stretch to say the power play cost them the game. They are just flailing right now. The Genius took Geno off the point and used two d-men back there. But the power play was just as terrible, if not moreso. They can’t gain the zone with possession. On those rare occasions when they do, they lose it along the boards or make an errant pass. Ottawa was just pressuring them all over the ice, forcing turnover after turnover. I do consider it a moral victory that at least they didn’t get scored on again, so maybe things are looking up. The struggles of this unit prove once again how incompetent Mike Yeo is. Give him five all stars, and he can make the power play look good. But take a couple of those guys away, and this unit has no clue. The only guy that looks like he knows what he’s doing is Alex Goligoski. He seems to have great instincts. And he got rewarded by scoring a meaningless goal (well, not so meaningless to Bald). He parked himself out front and waited for Sid to get him the puck. Very nice play.
Penalty kill: F
Memo to the PK unit: the Sens have this guy named Dany Heatley who kills you like he was driving a sports car. You might want to always know where he is. But as usual, the Pens left him wide open twice, and he buried both chances. On the first, Gill tried to block a cross-crease pass and failed. That left Dany Boy all alone to Flower’s left. Flower made an amazing save on the first chance, but was helpless on the rebound. On the second one, Heatley just whipped a beautiful one-timer over Flower’s shoulder off a bouncing puck. But again, how can you give him that shot? You might as well assign one guy to him and play four on three against the rest of the unit.
Goaltending: B-
Fleury was not the problem. You really couldn’t blame him on any of the goals. Vermette drove him into the net on the breakaway, while Heatley was left unattended on his two tallies. But the puckhandling has got to improve. Once again, he gave up two quality chances by mishandling the puck around the net. That has got to stop. I’m glad to see he’s more confident doing it, but what good is that if you are overconfident? He needs to be more careful, or one of these is going to end up in the net.
Overall: D
Not a good day at all. The effort seemed to be there, but not much else. They blew this game on special teams, but they also didn’t score at even strength. They split over there, which is fine, but The Genius and Shero have myriad issues to address this week.
And now, the rest of the story…
Kris Letang: F
He was just as awful on the right point as he was on the left on Saturday.
Alex Goligoski: A
What does it say when a rookie is the only defenseman you notice in a positive way?
Beelzebub: F
Did he even suit up? Revoke this contract now!!!
Ruslan Fedotenko
Two penalties were the only evidence that he played. Is it too late to ship him back to the Island?
Bryan Berard: A
How about bringing him in to quarterback the power play?
Versus/Comcast: F
This is their fourth year covering the NHL, and they still have no clue. First, they don’t even bother to send announcers over to Stockholm. In case you didn’t know, the announcers were sitting in a cushy stateside studio calling the games. I guess plane tickets just cost too darn much nowadays. Second, they don’t even bother to carry the game in HD. It was more important to them to carry some meaningless golf tournament in HD than the hockey game. Now, that’s what I call a great partner.
Monk Moment
It has to be Goligoski’s goal, because it might be the only PP goal they get until Sarge comes back..
Icehole of the Game
Jarkko Ruutu. Could someone please explain how he can just lay on top of Sid for 30 seconds and not get called for it?
Striped Buffoon Huh? Call of the Game
Nothing comes to mind.
A Guide to the Grades can be found here
Comments
Matt Bodenschatz
Oct 6, 10:13 AM
I talked to Jesse Marshall Saturday evening and mentioned to him that I wouldn’t be surprised in the least if Dick Tarnstrom — who watched at least one Penguins practice in Sweden — finds himself in Pittsburgh before long.
He’s without a job currently, he’s familiar with the team, and he’ll be cheap. I’m not sure who he’d replace in the lineup, as Goligoski looked good yesterday, but he might be worthy looking into.
TheHammer24
Oct 6, 10:57 AM
I just don’t see much value in Berard. I like his PP ability, but he is weak in almost all other aspects of the games including taking bad penalties. Because of this, I don’t think it would be justifiable to take another player’s roster spot. I think Gogo or Letang will become sufficiently competent on the PP until Whitney comes back. At that point, 19 is going to have to show us he can take the reins.
Steve
Oct 6, 10:58 AM
Pretty fair grades. I’m a bit worried about Crosby & Satan meshing. The Dark Prince appears to like to hold onto the puck and Sid looked to be getting frustrated with it. Although I think it’s a bit early to be casting off Satan & Fedotenko and calling for guys like Berard & Tarnstrom to be brought in (but perhaps your sarcasm was lost in translation)...
THEONEANDONLYSURGE
Oct 6, 12:04 PM
I’m not trying to jump the gun here, but Eaton didn’t impress much. Maybe a trade involving him and Sydor for a quarterback on the PP. Let me say this, I have a lot of confidence in our two young offensive deffensman but it is not good to put all that weight on these two guys. Tarnstrom would be a great fit if he is the same player he was a few years ago. But the last thing we need is to just sign another defensman. Another question I have is why are we dressing two fighters and no one has engaged in a fight. Late in the game would of been a good time for Godard or Bissonnete to grab Ruutu or Neil and just started pounding, whether they wanted to fight or not. Just send a message.
Player X
Oct 6, 12:09 PM
I think yesterday proved that dressing both Godard and Bissonette at the same time is a waste. Having a 4th line of Taffe, Thomas, and say Bissonnette actually gives a 4th line that can play some hockey and give the top guys a breather. Heck, once Sykora is healthy, A Kennedy – Taffe – Thomas 4th line is one that you don’t have to worry about defensively and can put some pucks in the net for you.
Matt Bodenschatz
Oct 6, 12:11 PM
Surge, your last point is valid, though I will say that there are several issues with fighting late in the game, especially with an unwilling combatant.
First, the fighters get thrown out and, I believe, an automatic suspension. Not sure that’s worth it.
Second, fighting someone who truly is avoiding a fight is always touchy ground, as it could result in suspension if done wrong.
With that being said, I definitely wanted to see Bissonnette or Godard go after Neil or Ruutu. The two times Godard stirred things up, he was thrown in the box. I think with time, we’ll see these two patrol a bit better — but even as they are, they seem a bit more intimidating than Laraque, who really wasn’t ever willing to do much.
Michael
Oct 6, 04:27 PM
I don’t think Fedotenko is going to cut it on Sid’s line. Just isn’t going to happen.
I’d recall Pesonen immediately, and put him with Sid. I think it would definitely help the powerplay .. significantly.
I think Sid and Malkin should each have his own PP unit .. and neither of them should be on the point.
Goligoski is great on the PP. He needs to be free to do his own thing, too. He will be a great one!
Pesonen—Crosby—Satan
And .. Staal—Malkin—Sykora. Getting Sykora back will help a lot. Fedotenko should be put with Cooke and Talbot, and Dupuis should be bumped down to the 4th line. Of course either Thomas or Bissonette should be sent to WBS.
I really don’t like the looks of Satan’s play, either. But we’re pretty much stuck with him. Yes, that’s a problem.
THEONEANDONLYSURGE
Oct 7, 08:49 AM
Matt I do understand the concern with a suspension but these guys are here to look after Sid and Geno. If they can’t do that then what is the point of wasting a roster spot.
Michael, I can’t really say that Fedotenko is performing any worse than Satan. I would like to see Posonen in the NHL and posssibly playing on that line (as I stated when he was sent down). I just don’t think that will happen until after Sykora is back and the Pens continue to struggle. I’m hopping that they don’t struggle but after seeing games 1 and 2, I’m worried. Don’t get me wrong they did have moments of good play but remember it only takes a few bad ones to lose the game.
Matt Bodenschatz
Oct 7, 09:54 AM
Surge, if they’re suspended, what happens next game when they are in the press box? There is a time and place for everything, and picking your points is crucial in retaining a roster spot. People already are calling for Godard’s head because he took six minutes of penalties (2 minutes Saturday for going after Chris Neil, who was targeting the Pens’ top players all game; and four Sunday for going after Jason Smith, who was targeting Sid all series).
As for the top line, let’s give it some time. Fedotenko and Crosby totaled 8 points in a combined 5 games during the preseason (not including the scrimmage against Jokerit). Satan, in an additional 3 games, added another 3 points. So, in total, that line had 11 points in 8 man-games. That’s not bad at all — and it’s a better sample than 2 regular season games on horrible ice. Now, I realize Fedotenko wasn’t with Crosby and Satan most of that time, but most of his points came on that line.
I think concerned is a good state to be in, but not to the point where we’re looking for changes already.
Dabich
Oct 7, 05:41 PM
I’m more than willing to give Goddard a medal for having the b*lls to stand up for his teammates. Go git ‘em Goddard!
c
Oct 7, 10:25 PM
Did anyone else notice a quick moment late in Sundays game when Sid skated to the bench, sat between Fedotenko and Satan, took a glance to one side, then the other, and just kind of hung his head, seeming to know he wasn’t going to get a goal out of either of them.
Matt Bodenschatz
Oct 8, 10:33 AM
C, I did not see it, but I think it might be a bit of exaggeration to read it as you did. The Crosby, Satan, Fedotenko line put up 11 points in 8 man-games during the preseason, and Fedotenko led the team in points with 5.
The whole team — including Crosby — couldn’t get it together.
Satan and Fedotenko as Crosby’s winger beat the heck out of Christensen and Armstrong from two years ago and Recchi and ___ from one year ago.
What we really have to realize is that, with two world-class centers, a top-notch goalie, and two young defensemen locked up for the long haul, money isn’t going to be there for big-time wingers.
Get used to Satans, Fedotenkos, etc. They’re the exact types of players you’ll see on the top lines for years to come, as money just isn’t there superstar wingers.
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