Don't Ride The Roller Coaster
Matt Bodenschatz | Pittsburgh Penguins
Jan 8, 11:53 AM | Hype this story!
The Pittsburgh Penguins and their fans could use some good fortune right about now.
After starting the season on fire and sitting atop the league standings for a period of time, the Penguins have cooled off considerably and now sit in 10th place in the NHL, 4th place in the Eastern Conference, and 2nd place in the Atlantic Division.
And they’ve played more games than all but three teams in the NHL.
To put it simply, the season has taken a turn for the worse, and while their current standing isn’t dire, it could get there soon, as they’ve lost seven of their last 10 games.
Now, after a short home stand, the Penguins will pack their bags and hit the road for their annual grueling road trip where they will make a quick stop in Toronto before traveling to four cities in the Western Conference — Minnesota, Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver.
And if the Penguins plan to get out of this funk, they won’t find much sympathy from their opponents, three of whom are on the outside looking in with regard to the playoff race.
Still, this won’t be an easy week, as the Penguins must dig deep and do a bit of soul searching to get back on the right track and reclaim the distinction of being one of the best teams in the NHL.
It’s fitting, I think, to reference Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin in such an instance.
Like the Penguins, Tomlin’s Steelers finished last season with the ultimate prize. And like the Penguins, Tomlin’s Steelers found themselves mired in a midseason slump.
Where the comparison hopefully ends is that Tomlin’s Steelers were unable to recover from their slump and ultimately missed the playoffs.
The Penguins, meanwhile, aren’t in such danger yet — they remain closer to the top of the Eastern Conference (six points back) than the eighth place team (eight points ahead) — but could be soon if they don’t make adjustments.
The best advice for the Penguins — and maybe just as importantly, their fans — fittingly comes from Tomlin: don’t ride the emotional roller coaster.
It’s a phrase Tomlin has used so often he should have it trademarked, but it’s filled with wisdom.
For the players, each shift is part of a whole, and not every shift will be perfect. The idea is to take the game one shift at a time, while striving to make each shift the best.
If a shift results in a goal-against, don’t take the roller coaster down the gut-wrenching plunge. Likewise, if a shift results in a goal-for, don’t ride the roller coaster to the peak.
This analogy can be expanded to the season. There will be highs, as we saw earlier this season, and there will be lows, as we’re seeing now. The key is to not get too excited during the highs and not to downtrodden during the lows.
Each game must be taken in stride, win or lose.
For the fans, it’s difficult watching the Penguins lose with such regularity. It’s maybe even more difficult when some of the star players, those expected to pull the team out of the slump, or the ones contributing to it.
Last February, the Penguins were in 10th place, yet they miraculously finished fourth in the Eastern Conference and went on to win the Stanley Cup.
The current situation isn’t nearly as dire as the one we experienced one year ago, so let’s take Tomlin’s advice and stay grounded.
With time, the Penguins will rise out of this dip in the roller coaster and this slump will be a thing of the past.
Comments
Shlim
Jan 8, 12:16 PM
What we really need is for Vyacheslav Bykov & the Malkin’s to come to the game more often!
Sheesh.
bag o' pucks
Jan 8, 12:44 PM
Forget that! I like the roller coaster. It’s part of the fun for me. We’re just fans, the results of the Pens games has no real effect on our lives. So, it’s fun to blow off some steam and have a good time when they win and grouse when they lose. Yes, I understand that the comment is mostly for the bridge jumper type of fan who can’t separate his own fortunes from those of a sports franchise. But, those people have no perspective and aren’t going to listen to the coach, or anyone else, frankly.
Casey
Jan 8, 01:27 PM
@ Pucks – Totally agree. Part of the fun is the drama that comes with sports. Think of how great it felt to watch the Pens win the Cup last summer. Winning the Cup would have felt great anyway it happened, but since it happened in a season where the team had to go a tear to make the playoffs, didn’t roll through the earlier series, then wound up beating the team they lost to last year with a player who jumped off our ship – heck, Hollywood tried making movies like that for years and it always felt fake until it really happened to the Pens.
So I say, ride the rollercoaster, don’t take it TOO seriously, and don’t let your emotions get to entangled with the team to the point where if they lose you go crazy.
DaBich
Jan 8, 01:34 PM
Pucks and Casey, heck yeah. I love coming to FF and crowing when our boys win and ranting when they lose. I actually typed something to that effect on Mike’s grades before I came to this article. We are part of this blog, we are Pens’ fans, and we DESERVE to rant if we so choose! People in the real world leave it at that, they don’t go into an emotional funk and mess up their lives over something they have no control over.
Matt, great article. Maybe Tomlin can be talked into visiting with the team and giving the guys this pep talk. It’s sorely needed!
Casey
Jan 8, 01:37 PM
Dabich – It’s funny you mention Tomlin giving the Pens a pep because for weeks I’ve been telling my wife that the Pens need to go to the Steelers and have a talk with them about what it takes to win a championship and not take a dump the next season. Oh well. It’s an 82 game season.
DaBich
Jan 8, 02:33 PM
Casey, that’s one of the reasons I like Hockey more than football – it’s an 82 game season. I’m not ditching the team or giving up, I’m just having a good old-fashioned rant, which makes me feel better.
And I do wish the guys would talk to each other, no doubt it would keep things in perspective.
Natty Lite
Jan 8, 04:10 PM
I just miss not being able to sit through a whole game.
Blood gets so high, I end up watching “Jersey Shore” just so I can realize things for me could be worse.
I COULD be orange and covered in grease wearing an unreal shirt.
Casey
Jan 8, 04:16 PM
Natty – What would you nickname be? The Situation? N-Dawg? N-Juice?
Matt Bodenschatz
Jan 8, 05:56 PM
This brings up a good question. Hypothetically, if your real name was “Natty Lite,” what would your Jersey Shore name be?
Pens1967
Jan 8, 06:48 PM
IIRC, “Natty Lite” is the Jersey Shore name our former poster “Nate” generated from the Jersey Shore name generator.
Albert
Jan 9, 08:31 AM
No roller coaster when it comes to Malkin.
He has been bad ALL year.
Is he still injured? Or is he not focused? Something else? He’s not very good. Last year he led the NHL in Takeaways. This year, he is a Giveaway machine.
We need Coach Therrien back for one of his one-on-one sit downs where the English stinks, but body language is CLEAR as a bell and he points to the NHL leaderboard and shows Malkin where he needs to be.
That said, I think this team still misses Malone. I would so much rather have him than Kunitz.
Casey
Jan 9, 08:39 AM
I agree that Malkin isn’t having the best year, but he is averaging more than a point a game with no wingers and a horrible powerplay. I have some hope for Luca Caputi as his winger. I really hope he plays someone out of a job.
Albert
Jan 9, 09:54 AM
How can you not love Malkin after last year? And he’s being a good guy to play on his off side on the PP, and I know his wingers aren’t great, but he has produced before w/ the likes of (a healthy) Talbot and and old/slow Sykora, for example.
I just don’t see the effort—and I’m not talking about when he tries to split the entire D and score every 3rd shift. That’s frustration, not effort.
He can be much, much better.
And he is playing w/ Crosby a fair bit. Not just on the PP, but also on regular shifts multiple times each game, so you can’t hang it all on his linemates.
ForgedMissionOrders
Jan 9, 12:05 PM
I think someone mentioned it earlier, but the ride IS the fun in being a fan. Watching that cup get raised last year couldn’t possibly mean as much if you hadn’t suffered through the awful games throughout the whole season. For all the fans that hopped on come playoff time, they didn’t see the Leafs blowing us out, or the mess the Pens were before Bylsma and the crazy run to finish trhe season.
And now for something completely different… Why don’t the Pens move Malkin to Crosby’s wing? I know they prefer Malkin at center in the long haul, but right now Malkin isn’t any good at center, he puts too much pressure on scoring, coughs the puck up nonstop, his faceoff numbers aren’t good, and they don’t have the talent to surround him. I say Put Crosby and Malkin together, throw Staal and the vaunted 3rd line out there as a second line, and use Talbot and Adams to center the 3rd and 4th lines. Hopefully, getting his mojo going with Crosby will kick start Malkin and they can move him back to center when hes got the confidence to carry his own wingers.
Albert
Jan 9, 03:45 PM
i like it.
put Malkin and Crosby on the same line.
Malkin – Crosby – Guerin
Cooke – Staal – Kennedy
Fedotenko – Talbot – Caputi
Rupp – Adams – Dupuis
Reserve: Godard, Kunitz (IR)
...and give Johnson a couple starts here while Fleury gets some time off to get his shoot together.
DaBich
Jan 11, 09:39 AM
“That said, I think this team still misses Malone. I would so much rather have him than Kunitz.”
Albert, I could kiss you for that one! =)
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