Game 36 Preview: Bruins At Penguins

Matt Bodenschatz | Pittsburgh Penguins

Dec 23, 12:19 PM | Hype this story!

 at

3:00 @ Mellon Arena
FSN Pittsburgh, NESN (Boston)
Season Score: Pittsburgh 1, Boston 0
 
Inside The Game
Thursday’s matchup between these two teams was interesting, to say the least.  Sidney Crosby earned a Gordie Howe hat trick, the Pittsburgh Penguins blew a 4-0 lead, and Kristopher Letang and Erik Christensen continued their shootout dominance to secure the victory.

The late-game momentum, however, did not carry over to Friday’s game against the New York Islanders, as they lost 4-2 in a snoozefest.

Though the Penguins are short-staffed because of injuries, the Boston Bruins are in a much worse position, with several prominent figures, including starting goalie Manny Fernandez and star center Patrice Bergeron, out of the lineup.  Since Thursday, the Bruins also have added defensemen Aaron Ward and Andrew Alberts, as well as forward Glen Murray to their injured list.

This news could be just what the Penguins need to win for the second time in four days against one of the Eastern Conference’s top teams.
 
Prediction
It’s so difficult making these predictions.  As fellow FF writer Mike Adams reminded me a few weeks back, my prediction record is not very good.  But I’ll keep throwing them out there for entertainment purposes (I hope).

_Final score: 3-2, Boston wins_
 
Standings
  GP W L OT Pts Division Conference League
Penguins 35 17 16 2 36 5, Atlantic 12, Eastern 23, NHL
Bruins 35 18 13 4 40 2, Northeast 4, Eastern 11, NHL
                 
Team Stats
  GF GA PP% PK% Home Away L 10 Streak
Penguins 99 106 18.9 78.9 7-8-2 10-8-0 6-4-0 1 loss
Bruins 92 90 20.0 77.8 8-6-2 10-7-2 4-4-2  
                 
Team Leaders
Stat # Penguins Stat # Bruins
Goals 16 Crosby Goals 13 Kobaswe
Assists 31 Crosby Assists 30 Savard
Points 47 Crosby Points 38 Savard
PIMs 59 Malone PIMs 69 Chara
Wins 9 Fleury Wins 10 Thomas
 
Injuries
Penguins Injury Bruins Injury
Malone, DTD
Fleury, IR
Talbot, IR


 		 Leg Infection
High Ankle Sprain
High Ankle Sprain


 		 Ward, IR
Murray, IR
Alberts, DTD
Fernandez, IR
Bergeron, IR
Zhamnov, IR		 Broken left foot
Hip flexor
Post-concussion syndrome
Left knee surgery
Concussion
Ankle
       
Note: Info up-to-date as of 11:15 am, Sunday, December 23, 2007.

Comments

  1. DaBich

    Dec 23, 01:05 PM

    Haha! 3-2 Boston. Now we have a chance to win! lol

  2. Ashley Gallant

    Dec 23, 02:21 PM

    Hmm Sid was just named Sportscentre Athlete of the Year…maybe it’ll be the spark for a big game this afternoon?

    Or maybe I’m just fooling myself?

  3. Michael

    Dec 23, 05:21 PM

    After just listening to Mike Lange describe the Penguins’ futile 5-on-3 powerplay in the First Period, during which PP they managed only one shot, I’m compelled to post this.

    It has been brought up in another forum by “kirk” .. that the Penguins are being hurt by their coaching. This is a fundamental problem, now only exacerbated by the injuries to Fleury, Talbot, and Malone.

    The basic problem with the coaching is that Therrien (as “kirk” explains) is continually trying to force the Penguins to play a system/style that is NOT congruent with their real talents and abilities. The Penguins are not a “dump and chase” nor a “bang and crash” team. They are a developing ‘finesse’ team that
    needs to emphasize speed, fine skills, and creativity. Therrien is simply not allowing the team to function according to its best skills and talents.

    The Penguins need to skate as (basically) a 5-man unit for puck-support, and this also would allow them to have a breakout with speed through the neutral zone. Therrien does not seem to be aware that this is basically what they need.

    Even on the powerplay, the team needs to have much more puck-support as a “pack” of skaters coming into the offensive zone, as well as needing to be creative with a lot of player-movement. This is TOTALLY lacking due to the horrendous “coaching” of Mike Yeo .. who has absolutely no clue. On the penalty kill, the team stands still like a bunch of pylons, when it is obvious that actually__pressuring__the puck-carrier would greatly improve the PK. Again .. a failure in terms of basic coaching.

    Again, the injuries are a big factor right now, but the fact remains that the coaching is simply going directly AGAINST the grain of the team’s true identity and best talents.

    The Penguins need a head coach, and coaching staff, that will encourage them and that will teach them and exhort them to use their fine skills and their creativity .. the elements that will allow them to develop into bonafide Cup contenders.

  4. Matt Bodenschatz

    Dec 24, 12:43 AM

    Well, as it turns out, the Penguins won 4-2…so my trend of poor predictions continues! Maybe I should just quit with that segment! Ashley, Crosby had an okay game, but something just seems to be lacking from his play of late — I’m wondering if maybe there isn’t some sort of undisclosed injury or something.

    Michael, I see your point — or kirk’s point — but at this point in the season, a coaching change is rough. If anything was to be done, it should have been done around Thanksgiving, when the team had nearly a week off and plenty of time to adapt to a new coach. With the start of the new year, the hockey season enters a stretch of intense hockey — and adding a new coach, a new system, etc to the mix would serve only to make things more confusing than they already are.

    There are many things I see from Therrien that I truly like — he has loyalty to his players, he is harsh after losses, and he doesn’t stand for losing. But, the way he deals with losing (line changes, etc), the way he uses some players, etc is confusing at times.

    One of the most glaring things I see from Therrien that has me befuddled is that, when Whitney and Gonchar manned the points on the powerplay, Whitney (left shot) played the left side and Gonchar (left shot) played the right side. Gonchar was there for the booming one-timer, and Whitney was there to sneak in the back door, though he had to shoot across his body because his stick was against the boards. Now, Letang enters the mix in place of Whitney, and Gonchar (still shooting left) is on the left side, with his stick facing the boards and Letang (right shot) is on the right side, with his stick facing the boards. Who, exactly, is to provide the one-timer from the blueline?

    I can see using this method with a defensive defenseman during even strength play, as it makes for easier defense along the boards — but on the power play, the idea is to have as many scoring possibilities on the ice that can exist. By playing the two defenders with their sticks facing the boards, it essential renders them useless.

    That’s my biggest beef with Therrien right now.

  5. DaBich

    Dec 24, 07:37 AM

    Michael ~ I’m with you all the way. I’m tired of this team’s abilities being abused by coaches who refuse to see the obvious.

  6. Ashley Gallant

    Dec 24, 10:22 AM

    Matt – I was wondering the exact same thing about Crosby. Maybe he does have some kind of injury that isn’t serious enough to keep him out of the lineup..or maybe he feels as though he can’t take time off because of all the injuries. Then again, maybe it’s not that at all, but just a regular ‘slump’ of sorts.

  7. Michael

    Dec 25, 09:52 AM

    Dabich ..

    I’m glad you agree.

    I really think this team would have a much better won-lost record with a good coach in the mold of a Lindy Ruff.

    Ruff figured-out that good transition and puck-movement goes along with having the forwards come back low enough into the defensive zone to support the defensemen when beginning the breakout. This allows quick, short passes .. and then speed through the neutral zone as a unit. This is what the Penguins need, and this would be tailored to the strengths of their best players. And then__even if__they still have to dump it in, they’ll__still__have enough speed going into the offensive zone in order to have a good chance of capturing the puck after the dump-in. But most of the time, they won’t have to dump it in.

  8. Matt Bodenschatz

    Dec 26, 12:49 PM

    Michael, I agree. The transition game is very poor in Pittsburgh and, as a result, the team tends to dump and chase — which is not something a good offensive team should do.

    Jay Caufield says it has everything to do with the quality of the ice surface. Good ice means skate the puck, pass the puck, etc. Bad ice means dump and chase. The Pens must be playing on bad ice each and every game, then, because they dump and chase a heck of a lot more than they skate and pass.

    With that being said, the coaching must stay the same for the rest of the season, unless Shero decides he wants to mail it in. It’s not impossible for a new coach to turn the team around at this point in the season, but history suggests there will be a negative trend of play while players adjust to the new coach. Additionally, even with a new coach now, the team likely wouldn’t adopt a new system until next season. It’s just too difficult to change systems without extended practice time.

    If, and I do mean if, Shero decides to fire Therrien, it will come as soon as the season ends or the Penguins are eliminated from the playoffs. The more likely scenario, however, is that Mike Yeo gets the axe and a more experienced coach comes in to run the special teams.

  9. DaBich

    Dec 27, 06:46 AM

    Hmmm…and here I thought Malkin needed new skates and all along it was just bad ice…

    lol

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