The "Therrien Shuffle" Juggling Begins Again
Matt Bodenschatz | Pittsburgh Penguins
Nov 20, 11:38 AM | Hype this story!
As per the usual, Pittsburgh Penguins coach Michel Therrien has shuffled the lines following Saturday’s loss to the New York Rangers.
Of note, Colby Armstrong and Mark Recchi appear to be battling for the second line right wing spot, while Erik Christensen has replaced Jordan Staal as the second line left wing.
As outlined in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the top two lines for tomorrow night’s game appear to be:
- Ryan Malone – Sidney Crosby – Petr Sykora
- Christensen – Evgeni Malkin – Armstrong/Recchi
The third and fourth lines, however, are slightly more fuzzy, though one can assume (based on previous games) they may look something like this:
- Gary Roberts – Staal – Adam Hall
- Jarkko Ruutu – Maxime Talbot – Georges Laraque
So let’s analyze.
First of all, I am thrilled the top line has remained intact. Malone and Sykora have played well on Crosby’s wings, as one is the sniper and the other provides the dirty work.
But the second line simply baffles me. What has Christensen done to earn a promotion? He looks completely lost at his natural center position, so imagine how he will look playing along the boards, a part of the ice he never appears to be comfortable in.
Additionally, the lineup change from Thursday to Saturday resulted in a loss. The primary difference was that Recchi was reinserted into the second line and Kennedy was benched. Why not give Kennedy a little bit more of an extended look with Malkin?
And what about Armstrong? For six of the last eight games he wasn’t good enough to even play on the fourth line and now, all of a sudden, he’s fighting for a second line spot? What type of messages are being sent?
Lastly, Staal had two games with Malkin and now, unsurprisingly, he gets shifted to the third line.
The problem with the Penguins during Saturday’s pathetic loss was not the line combinations, but rather a lack of passion and willingness to play the same way for 60 minutes.
In fact, I submit that complacency, more than a lack of talent, has been the biggest problem of the season.
Changing the lines won’t reintroduce dedication and urgency, as it is done almost on a game-to-game basis.
The solution for Therrien and his staff is to hold all of his players accountable in the same way. In other words, he shouldn’t be looking at the back of players’ jerseys when deciding who should be benched.
Recchi and Roberts have done little to justify their roster spots this season. Granted, both provide veteran leadership, but both are running out of steam. What would it hurt to give one or both a few nights off?
On the same token, Tyler Kennedy has done nothing but work hard and perform at the NHL level, even when playing with elite talent, such as Malkin. His reward: a benching.
The best players should be playing, regardless of name, age or experience. And, at the same time, the worst players should be benched.
And, with the constant line-juggling, position changing and favoritism, I fear the team’s problem may be stemming from a lack of respect for and/or confidence in the coaching staff.
How else can a team with world-class talent onsistently play so inconsistent?
Inconsistency breeds more inconsistency, and until Therrien becomes consistent with his lines and treatment of players, the team as a whole will remain inconsistent.
Comments
Andrew R
Nov 20, 12:17 PM
Matt, this has been my central frustration with the team: passion. The only players who you can not only see but feel their passion on the ice: Crosby and Talbot. No one else comes close to meeting their constant desire to do whatever is necessary to win games.
You see it intermittantly from some players, like Ruutu’s huge game against the Devils last week, but as a team, that moxie, that young-gun fire that pushed us to excel last year has been largely absent this year. I think the team got fooled into thinking its high skill level was enough to replicate last year’s performance.
What has Therrien done to try to bring out that fire in his players? He has, as you correctly point out, played players whose performances have been so lacking in production that it almost defies belief. He has sat players whose performance merited playing time or whose development is so central to the future success of this team (read: Fleury).
Everyone criticizes the constant line-juggling because it fails to allow players to form a consistent chemsitry. While that is true, I think there is an even more fundamental problem with it. This is a team full of players struggling to find their confidence. The line-shuffling, moving players up and down the lines and from center to wing sends an inconsistent message. One day, you deserve to be a second-line wing with 2nd PP time. Next day, you’re watching from the press box. Players have no sense of the coach’s confidence in them, its no wonder they cannot find confidence in themselves.
The line shuffling was not a problem last year, because confidence was not a team issue. It becomes a problem when players are trying to find their game.
In general, I question how effective in season coaching changes actually are. I am starting to accept that, while the players certainly deserve a share of the blame for the team’s performance, the coaching staff has failed them by rarely putting them in a position to succeed, to realize their considerable potential.
Matt Bodenschatz
Nov 20, 12:34 PM
Andrew, excellent, excellent points. Therrien and his staff need to show confidence in the players right now rather than doing the opposite. As you said, the constant line changes worked last year because the players were confident and could handle a demotion or promotion. But right now, few are confident, and, as a result, the line shuffling only serves to lower confidence even more.
I think it all can be traced back to the beginning of the season when Therrien thought he had three scoring lines. When things got off poorly, it was difficult to regain confidence — especially for Staal, a guy who had a great season last year, but somehow was demoted at the start of the season.
Again, it’s about putting players in the best position to succeed, both mentally and physically. It’s not happening, and the results are not good.
Ben
Nov 20, 02:17 PM
And now, just to throw a monkey wrench into everything, the team will be without Talbot for a few games:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07324/835392-100.stm
I’m guessing Hall ends up as the fourth line center, and this probably pulls Armstrong back into the lineup on the third line. Maybe Kennedy gets to compete with Recchi again for the second line spot?
Honestly, though, if Therrien is just going to scratch Kennedy, send him back to WBS so he can get some ice time. It isn’t like he has to clear waivers and the Baby Pens could use some scoring help right now…
DaBich
Nov 20, 03:22 PM
Oh. My. God.
Talbot injured. That’s disastrous, simply disastrous. One of perhaps two or three players on the ice who show some passion and consistency, and he hurts his ankle….AT PRACTICE!
As for the comments, I couldn’t agree more with all of this. That is why I am admitting to myself that this team will not make the playoffs this season. No one will step up/in to take corrective action (read: SHERO), and as a result, the players are in a muddle of confusion. No wonder they can’t win games!
DaBich
Nov 20, 03:25 PM
Can anyone give me Ray Shero’s cell phone or e-mail addy????
Matt Bodenschatz
Nov 20, 04:07 PM
Dabich, not yet. If he continues to stand still into the Christmas season, then I’ll start wondering. But typically teams aren’t interested in making trades until after Thanksgiving, which could make things difficult for Shero even if he wanted to make a trade.
And, as far as a coaching change is concerned, doing it mid-season generally is disastrous. Few playoff caliber teams make such a move — so don’t expect it to happen, even though it may be needed.
DaBich
Nov 21, 06:34 AM
Disastrous? I can’t see much difference anyway! lol
Matt Bodenschatz
Nov 21, 01:47 PM
I think that’s being a bit harsh. The Penguins have 18 points in 20 games, which is 2 points shy of .500 hockey. That’s not exactly a horrible record, and it certainly isn’t a hole that can’t be dug out of.
When a coach is fired midseason, a new system must be learned and many, many adjustments must be made both on the ice and off the ice. While the team isn’t playing well right now, we’ve seen less than a year ago that this group of guys with this coach is more than capable of performing at high levels. We don’t know that to be the case with any other coach who is out there — and the pickings are very slim.
I’m not saying I’m either for or against a change, as I don’t claim to know what’s best for the team. But what I am saying is that coaching changes do one of two things: they either spark the team bigtime or they put an end to the season. And, as I said above, their record isn’t so bad right now that the season should be thrown away.
A much easier way to potentially spark the team is making a trade or two to add some needed elements, such as right-handed shooters. Trades are much less drastic and often send a message to the team that no one is safe.
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