Pens vs Wild Grades
Mike Adams | Report Cards
Nov 19, 09:05 AM | Hype this story!
Somebody wake me from my slumber
Offense: D
Not much going on against the stifling Wild defense.
Defense: B
Would have been an A but for the one they put in their own net.
Power play: D
On only one of their power plays did they really generate any pressure. The addition of Boucher might help in the long run, but last night, it was same old, same old. They had trouble getting the puck in the zone. Once there, they really didn’t work hard enough to keep it there. They lost way too many battles along the boards. And the four-on-three in overtime was horrendous. They looked like they had no clue how to do that. It was scattershot.
Penalty kill: A
They didn’t give the Wild much at all.
Goaltending: B
Sabourin played well for the most part. But he allowed a goal that a pee wee would have stopped. It was one of the most embarrassing goals you will ever see a goalie let in. The puck just rolled to him after a faceoff and he let it trickle between his legs. Good thing Mike Keenan wasn’t the coach, or John Curry would have seen his first NHL action. But Sabu shook it off and shut the door the rest of the night.
Overall: C-
When scoring meets boring, boring usually rules. And it did in this snoozefest. Neither team seemed terribly willing to try to score. Both seemed happy to get to a shootout and take their chances.
And now, the rest of the story…
Philippe Boucher: C
He will be a nice addition to the power play. But, as might be expected in his first game, he looked rather hesitant at times. There were several occasions where he was confused whether to go for a puck or let a teammate take it. Once he learns the system, that should go away. He did have one nice shot on goal where he kept a puck in and whipped it right back at the net.
Sidney Crosby: D
He didn’t do much at all.
Evgeni Malkin: C
Ditto, but at least he was a little more noticeable.
Minnesotans: F
They must be the stupidest people in the country. They elected Jesse Ventura governor. They might send Al Franken to the Senate. But the proof of their lack of intelligence is that they continue to fill Xcel Energy Center game after game to watch the crap that this organization puts on the ice. Jacques Lemaire ruined hockey for Devil fans, and he’s doing the same here. But at least Devil fans were smart enough to eventually quit going to games. Not so, Wild fans. They just keep spending their hard-earned money to go take a nap for 2 ½ hours 41 nights a year. I’m sorry, but that product, especially without Marian Gaborik, is simply unwatchable.
Alex Goligoski: C
Keith Jones deemed him a “future all star.” But all stars don’t get muscled off the puck by Pierre-Marc Bouchard.
Shootout lineup: F
It’s time to dump Sid from the top three. He has yet to put one in this year. And his “attempt” last night was pathetic. It looked like he was taking a shot in warm-ups. The Genius took Letang out last night, but Goligoski muffed his attempt. Not sure what to do now, but how about Sykora, Letang, Satan?
Versus announcers: C
That’s an A for John Forslund, who I really like, and an F for Darren Elliot, who I really don’t. The latter talks over his partner just to make mundane observations. He grates.
Monk Moment
I give it to myself and all other fans who managed to stay awake through this plodding contest.
Icehole of the Game
Jacques Lemaire, for continuing to ruin hockey.
Striped Buffoon Huh? Call of the Game
When is a high stick not a high stick? When Daddy’s Boy calls the game, apparently. First, Staal gets hit in the face by Zidlicky, but no call. Then Staal hits a Wild player in the face. Again, no call. Four buffoons on the ice, and none of them managed to see either infraction. Go figure.
A Guide to the Grades can be found here
Comments
Pens1967
Nov 19, 09:28 AM
Mike, I thought Boucher looked good last night and very comfortable on the point on the PP. I think he will be a big asset for the balance of the year. I can see Therrien teaming him with Orpik on the top pair in a few weeks, too. I think Mark Eaton has played himself out of the team’s plans and would not be surprised by a buy-out of the second year of his contract at the end of the season.
devin
Nov 19, 09:48 AM
jesse ventura was a beast as governor
teri
Nov 19, 09:55 AM
I was also impressed with Boucher. For a first game with a new team he looked like he was fitting in.
I not only blame Sabu for that goal but Ziggy. He did the same thing to Flower the other night but, thankfully, MAF stopped it. Rule #26- ALWAYS warn your goalie if you plan to pull the puck straight back (conversely, rule #26A- goalies should ALWAYS be ready for the worst on a face off, including having his own man win and pull it straight back).
Pretty much everyone on the Pens looked like they were not “with it.” The passing was terrible. Hope they work on that before Thursday. Playing like that in Atlanta would be downright embarrassing.
teri
THEONEANDONLYSURGE
Nov 19, 11:15 AM
Offense should be an F. Anyway, whats the deal with Sid. Soft turnover after soft turnover. Then he has a chance to take a stide and receive that pass in OT that would have ended as a breakaway on the PP but no I will just coast. Then in the shoot all three players crawled to the net. For having one of the fastest teams in the NHL you could of fooled me. The only positives were that we did good on the PK against a very good PP unit, we played pretty well defensively and we did alrigt in the faceoff circle.
Steve
Nov 19, 11:29 AM
Gotta agree that Sid doesn’t seem to be himself on the whole. Yes, he put up some decent numbers in the few games prior to last night and his stats aren’t bad by any means (other than the lofty standards we’ve come to expect from him). But the feeling that something good is going to happen whenever he has the puck is missing right now.
Maybe he’s not 100%, maybe it’s just a funk, who knows at this point. Again, it’s somewhat silly to criticize a guy who has 22 points in 18 games (on pace for 100), but when you’re regarded as one of the best on the planet (the best by many), it comes with the territory…
Carl
Nov 19, 11:45 AM
Also, have to agree on Sid. Just doesnt have the tenacity, the non-stop effort we have seen in the past. Is it the hip? Some other injury? Hope he gathers it back up – hate to see him try something, lose the puck and then just coast! Anybody have any insight on why he seems not himself? Then again, him at 80% is better than most.
DigitalGypsy66
Nov 19, 01:08 PM
I’m thinking that Sid is still injured. He doesn’t seem to have the jump that we are all accustomed to.
I remember thinking “Wow, Sykora’s playing a lot tonight” a couple of times, thinking Sid was Sykora after only seeing part of his sweater number.
That said, I have an incredibly small television and I watching it from 15 feet away. :)
Malkin played pretty well and Staal was a beast — a goal short of a Gordie Howe hat trick!
KG
Nov 19, 01:13 PM
I’m not to concerned with Crosby. I think the bigger problem is their wings are:
Satan
Sykora
Fedotenko
Talbot
3 out of the 4 of them have tendencies to streak and sleep walk for a long period of time…
If Staal could produce on a wing, that would help…just a bit!
TheOneandOnlySurge
Nov 19, 01:29 PM
I think the point is that Sid ran all over the ice with the puck last year without forcing too many bad turnovers. This year he seems to be playing timid and forcing plays that don’t exitist. Last night at one point he centered the puck to the high slot. No one was there but 3 Minnosota players. Then he didn’t even try to catch up to the play and help out his defense, he just simply skated to the bench for a change. Yes Sid is producing but he is not playing every shift like he usually does. Maybe this is him pacing so he is not too tired come the playoffs or maybe he is still sore but one thing is for sure, hes not playing to the BEST OF HIS ABILITY!
Steve
Nov 19, 02:52 PM
Tom, I too was thinking that it might make more sense to play either Scuderi or Gill with Goligoski or Boucher, not with each other. It seems to work in many ways, righty/lefty for one of the pairs, offense/defense for both, etc. But we all know by now that Therrien rarely keeps lines/pairings together for long, so perhaps we’ll this eventually:
Orpik/Letang (love it, but can’t see them together when/if everyone is healthy)
(Scuderi/Eaton)/Boucher
Gill/Goligoski
It would provide a nice balance in terms of size/speed/mentality. I think you could easily swap Scuderi/Eaton/Gill between Boucher & Goligoski, but I like the idea of the USS Gill playing with the smallest partner. Anyways, I’m not an NHL coach (unless NHL 09 counts), so what do I know…
nate
Nov 19, 04:24 PM
I agree with pretty much everything but the PP. Minny is killing at 93.3%, at these standards it means every team Minny faced this year has crap PPs.
DaBich
Nov 19, 07:11 PM
Nice to see you back, Mike…missed the grades. Too bad this was the game you came back with. On to Thursday!
StuporDave
Nov 20, 09:52 AM
I remember hearing people say Sid played every shift like he was shot out of a cannon. And it doesn’t seem that way anymore… A couple weeks ago, he missed some practice and there was talk about whether he was going to miss a game. I really think he must be injured and, as usual, is not saying anything about it. No question he doesnt have his normal jump and that would be the only explanation.
Lindros
Nov 20, 10:07 AM
Two things to educate ya’ll on:
1)Crosby needs a curve on his stick because his shot is absolutely horrendous and pathetic. He does NOT have the ability to just tee one up (like Wayne or Mario did) and just RIP it past the goalie.
2)Like I told you people before, Mark Eaton is not an NHL Defenseman. NHL DefenceWOMAN, maybe. He can block all the shots he wants but he is and always will be a chick. Just look at him. He does NOT look like a hockey player but an IT Administrator. Trade him for Carcillo or a bag of pucks.
Peace.
Steve
Nov 20, 10:46 AM
Sorry Tom, I missed the line where you referred to the PP and I was talking about even strength pairings. As for the PP, I don’t mind Malkin on the center point, but whatever they do, I’d also like to see the point-men with their sticks in the center of the ice.
If they’re going to run an umbrella-style PP, it makes sense to have the guys at the point positioned for the one-timer. Whether that means having Boucher in the middle with Malkin at the top of the right circle (Goligoski to sneak in the back door ala Whitney) or Malkin/Goligoski in the middle with Boucher on the left, you need some sort of righty/lefty mix to make it work.
I know there are reasons to have a player on his forehand near the boards, but setting up shooting/scoring opportunities needs to be considered as well. Also, I imagine it was meant as a message, but playing Cooke & Fedotenko over Satan on the PP doesn’t bode well for their chances of converting…
Commenting is closed for this article.