Faceoff Factor

Comments

1. Casey

   Jan 28, 12:56 PM

   I sincerely hope those lines change. How can Conner not skate with Crosby after producing two game against NY?!?

2. Pens1967

   Jan 28, 01:07 PM

   I think Connor is more like Kennedy and will skate with Staal.

3. DaBich

   Jan 28, 01:15 PM

   Godard, a groin injury? What do you think of that Pens67????

4. Matt Bodenschatz

   Jan 28, 01:46 PM

   @Pens, the Pens site showed Conner practicing on the second line — but it certainly would make sense to re-insert Johnson there, allowing the “more Kennedy-like” Conner to play on the third line, shifting Adams to the fourth line, where he traditionally plays.

   @Dabich, the more I think of it, the more I think it could be realistic. He seemed capable of putting weight on both legs, but had a hard time skating. Seems like a groin to me, though the injury itself looked more like a knee when it happened. Either way, I think it’s entirely possible Godard goes on LTIR until the season ends to create additional cap space for trade deadline flexibility.

5. DaBich

   Jan 28, 01:57 PM

   Hey, it just looked like a knee to me. But why lie about it, right?

   LTIR makes sense for everyone. I just hope they keep him. We need an enforcer and he is more than willing to do what needs done.

6. Brad

   Jan 28, 02:02 PM

   Adams has been struggling lately. Has anyone else noticed his face off numbers dropping? He is also a minus 8 and just 15 games ago he was at 0. I wonder if he is hurt? I don’t remember him missing any practices. Maybe he just needs to bury one to get his confidence up.

7. Matt Bodenschatz

   Jan 28, 02:13 PM

   @Dabich, I see no reason why they would lie about such an injury. I also agree that I don’t want to see him traded. He’s a good fit for the regular season.

   @Brad, +/- is so finicky for a fourth liner, as the line rarely scores. So if he’s on the ice — even if just in the midst of a line change — and the opponent scores, he gets a minus. I do agree, however, that his faceoffs haven’t been as strong. Hopefully he’ll pick that area up.

8. shlim

   Jan 28, 03:14 PM

   Small thing, but Ottawa won 7 in a row before tonight. You have 2 listed.

   I also gagged at Johnson trying to emulate Kennedy instead of Connor. I hope those two trade places.

9. Pens1967

   Jan 28, 04:25 PM

   Dabs, I don’t believe the groin injury line in the least bit.

10. Pens1967

    Jan 28, 04:30 PM

    Matt, you and I and probably the rest of the F-F regulars wouldn’t lie about what kind of injury a player has , but truthfulness is not an attribute of NHL coaches when it comes to listing injuries.

    Look at Orpik, for example. He’s still cited as having a “lower body” injury even though everyone can see him walking around with a knee brace on!

11. Matt Bodenschatz

    Jan 28, 05:21 PM

    @Pens, there’s a little difference here, though.

    1. Orpik is a crucial player. Regardless of what you or I think, disclosing his true injury could set him up for further injury — in theory.

    2. Calling Orpik’s knee injury a lower body injury is not a lie. It’s simply a vague answer. The knee is a lower body part.

    3. Godard is not a crucial player on this team and has probably a 50/50 chance of returning to action this season. So we’re not looking at a scenario where keeping information private or hidden is jeopardizing him.

    4. I can’t say I’ve ever seen a team call one injury something else. They’ve called it a vague term, but to completely switch body parts just doesn’t seem to make sense. Why not simply call it lower body if you don’t want to disclose it?

    I simply see no reason why the team would purposefully lie about a relatively meaningless injury when it defers to being vague for more serious injuries and ones of consequence.

12. Pens1967

    Jan 28, 10:09 PM

    Looks like Ottawa has NJ trappy hockey down pat. The Pens better figure out how to defeat this system or they won’t win many rounds in the playoffs.

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