Faceoff Factor

Pens at Thrashers Grades

Mike Adams | Report Cards

Nov 21, 10:27 AM | Hype this story!

A win is a win

Offense: B-

Two even strength goals, but not a lot of good chances. They were out of sync last night, and The Genius knew it. That’s why he juggled the lines.

Defense: C

Allowed a fair number of good chances.

Power play: B+

When the opposing goalie has time to drink from the water bottle during your power play, that’s not a good sign. But seriously, they did generate lots of pressure during the 5-on-3, they just couldn’t get it past Ondrej Pavelec. But someone please inform the Genius that Z-man has no business being on the power play. He is so clueless. Let him win the draw, but then get him off the ice in favor of a real offensive player. I do like Boucher at a point. He shoots the puck, and well. How long before Yeo cures him of that unacceptable habit? They got a break with a late power play chance, and took advantage. Great pass from Geno to Sid, diagonally through the box. Then Sykora deftly deflected Sid’s slapper, and that was that.

Penalty kill: C

They gave up a goal in four chances. It was way too easy, as Gill was flailing around in front.

Goaltending: B

Sabourin again played well for the most part. But for the second straight game, he allowed a softie. That is why he’ll never be a starter in the NHL. He makes lots of good saves, then allows a bad goal to erase it all. His strength is that he hangs in there after allowing the bad goals, maybe because he’s used to it. Last night, there wasn’t much he could do on the first goal, but Jim Slater’s goal where he just swung it toward the net was unacceptable. He was spectacular in the third period, though, and that made up for the earlier miscue. He stopped breakaways by Ilya Kovalpunk and Erik Christensen, and that gave them a chance to win.

Overall: B+

Atlanta is perhaps a bit better than most folks thought they’d be. The Pens win another road game.

And now, the rest of the story…

Philippe Boucher: B

As I said, he shoots the puck. That alone makes him stand out. Of course, one time his shot was blocked and Atlanta got a breakaway out of it.

Sidney Crosby: A

He was embarrassed by the D the other night and came back with a very strong game. He looked more into it.

Evgeni Malkin: D

I didn’t notice him much at all, except on the winning goal.

Hockey in Atlanta: F

One team already failed there, now it looks like a second might be going down that road. I wonder what the actual attendance was last night? Maybe 3,000? They can thank Don Waddell and the idiot owners who continue to employ him for this mess.

Alex Goligoski: F

One brutal giveaway at the blue line on the power play, and we didn’t see much of him with the man advantage the rest of the night. He also had another giveaway where he was very weak on the puck.

Hal Gill: F

Let’s just put Eaton out there and let him play his way into shape. He can’t be any worse than Gill, who is just a slow skating giveaway machine.

Free Cookies: A

Free candy is so last year. Now we have free cookies. Stevie Cooke gave one out last night when he just crushed Slava Kozlov and got the whole Atlanta team chasing him around.

Colby Armstrong: F

Swing and a miss! He tried to nail Sid, and got nothing but air when Sid saw him at the last minute.

Anders Hedberg: A

One of the first Swedes to make it in the NHL, but somebody please tell Bibsy that his nickname is not “Moose.”

Icehole of the Game

Don Waddell, for ruining hockey in Atlanta.

Striped Buffoon Huh? Call of the Game

Shockingly, I offer two non-calls on Penguins. First, Kennedy on the Crosby goal clearly tripped Ron Hainsey behind the net, but nothing was called. He didn’t do it intentionally, but he did trip him. Then Letang nailed Todd White with a big hit that could easily been interference.

A Guide to the Grades can be found here