GAME DAY - Pittsburgh Penguins @ Ottawa Senators, Saturday, Mar. 24, 2012

Riprock wrote:

Big Ev wrote: I said that this would be a look-ahead game for the Penguins. They playa division rival tomorrow at home, so obviously if they were to get up for a game it would be that one. Starting their backup as well. Psychologically the Penguins didn't care about this game as much, and they looked down on the Sens and took them for granted. Also Ottawa was going to be really hyped for this game after the turrible loss yesterday, and the anthem singer certainly helped loosen them up a bit and get them amped up.

That's a horrible strategy. You should show up to win every game. I hope the Penguins get blown out again tonight, serves them right for not taking every team seriously and not focusing on the game at hand. Then they miss out on 4 points instead of trying to get 2 or more.

It's not really a strategy, it's psychological. Obviously you want to win both games but you're gonna expend more energy and effort into the one against the Devils IMO. Especially when you play your backup. It's like how the Sens look so different with Auld back there instead of Anderson. It happens all the time in college football when a team is playing a Dung non-contending team before a big game against a big rival the next week. More often than not they look like crap against the weak team because they are looking towards the bigger game.

Onto the negatives. Karlsson....that's the worst game he's played for a while...and we were saying that against new jersey as well. Is he injured? It can't just be the bad batch of sticks

Cowen I thought struggled for positioning as well. I don't know who was at fault for the 3rd Pittsburgh goal but it was again because of a giveaway I think by Cowen.

Once again, kuba was our best dman along with phillips. Carkner didn't play much but I guess u don't mess with a winning lineup. Beat the jets

So the Sens are 3-1 on the year against the Rangers and Penguins imagine that. And they are 1-1-1 against the Flyers and Devils with one game against each to finish off. Not too bad for a 15th place team.

SpezDispenser wrote:

shabbs wrote:Not every player does it like that. Crosby's is unique with the arms out and him crouched down in his signature celebratory pose. Drives me nuts when I see Crosby do that. I don't know why, but it does. Thought it was hilarious when Alfie did it. Clearly a friendly mock. No question. Like his mocking of Sundin.

I wondered the same thing actually. Either it was legitimately one of the biggest goals of the season and Alfie was pumped, or he was mocking Crosby a little. Probably a little from both columns.

Interesting. I didn't think anything of it at the time, but it was certainly different from what we normally see from The Alfie. And it was Crosby-esque now that you mention it. If that's why he did it, that's hilarious and awesome.

Great, so now we'll have Penguin fans booing Alfie.

tim1_2 wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:

shabbs wrote:Not every player does it like that. Crosby's is unique with the arms out and him crouched down in his signature celebratory pose. Drives me nuts when I see Crosby do that. I don't know why, but it does. Thought it was hilarious when Alfie did it. Clearly a friendly mock. No question. Like his mocking of Sundin.

I wondered the same thing actually. Either it was legitimately one of the biggest goals of the season and Alfie was pumped, or he was mocking Crosby a little. Probably a little from both columns.

Interesting. I didn't think anything of it at the time, but it was certainly different from what we normally see from The Alfie. And it was Crosby-esque now that you mention it. If that's why he did it, that's hilarious and awesome.

It's hilarious is that's why he did that. Love it.

So, 25 year old Crosby scores a goal and an assist, while 39 year old Daniel Alfredsson scores 2 goals and 2 assists. It's just like those Participaction ads from the '70s comparing the fitness levels of a 60 year old Swede versus a 30 year old Canadian.

Big Ev wrote:

Riprock wrote:

Big Ev wrote: I said that this would be a look-ahead game for the Penguins. They playa division rival tomorrow at home, so obviously if they were to get up for a game it would be that one. Starting their backup as well. Psychologically the Penguins didn't care about this game as much, and they looked down on the Sens and took them for granted. Also Ottawa was going to be really hyped for this game after the turrible loss yesterday, and the anthem singer certainly helped loosen them up a bit and get them amped up.

That's a horrible strategy. You should show up to win every game. I hope the Penguins get blown out again tonight, serves them right for not taking every team seriously and not focusing on the game at hand. Then they miss out on 4 points instead of trying to get 2 or more.

It's not really a strategy, it's psychological. Obviously you want to win both games but you're gonna expend more energy and effort into the one against the Devils IMO. Especially when you play your backup. It's like how the Sens look so different with Auld back there instead of Anderson. It happens all the time in college football when a team is playing a Dung non-contending team before a big game against a big rival the next week. More often than not they look like crap against the weak team because they are looking towards the bigger game.

If it is is psychological, then the players lack the drive to compete and win. Where's Rooney when you need to him for his fostering a winning environment speech . The players should only be concerned with one thing - the game they are playing. Such a b.s. philosophy.

Riprock wrote:

Big Ev wrote:

Riprock wrote:

Big Ev wrote: I said that this would be a look-ahead game for the Penguins. They playa division rival tomorrow at home, so obviously if they were to get up for a game it would be that one. Starting their backup as well. Psychologically the Penguins didn't care about this game as much, and they looked down on the Sens and took them for granted. Also Ottawa was going to be really hyped for this game after the turrible loss yesterday, and the anthem singer certainly helped loosen them up a bit and get them amped up.

That's a horrible strategy. You should show up to win every game. I hope the Penguins get blown out again tonight, serves them right for not taking every team seriously and not focusing on the game at hand. Then they miss out on 4 points instead of trying to get 2 or more.

It's not really a strategy, it's psychological. Obviously you want to win both games but you're gonna expend more energy and effort into the one against the Devils IMO. Especially when you play your backup. It's like how the Sens look so different with Auld back there instead of Anderson. It happens all the time in college football when a team is playing a Dung non-contending team before a big game against a big rival the next week. More often than not they look like crap against the weak team because they are looking towards the bigger game.

If it is is psychological, then the players lack the drive to compete and win. Where's Rooney when you need to him for his fostering a winning environment speech . The players should only be concerned with one thing - the game they are playing. Such a b.s. philosophy.

No, it's human nature to be more pumped for the tougher opponent coming up. It's not BS. You saw it last night, and you saw it on Friday against Montreal. The Sens always look down on Montreal and Toronto and Dung the bed. Pretend Ottawa has a game against New York and a game against Edmonton on B2B nights. Which one are they more concerned with? Psychologically they are going to coast in the EDM game more than the NYR game.

The theory that teams often win only one game of a B2B (or only lose by one or in a SO in the game in which they don't win is also close to being a strong fact based on what I've observed this season. I will have to do some research at the end of the year and back it up with some statistics that prove it. I maybe wouldn't count the cellar dwellers most likely, because they are just crap, but I would bet that the trend is there for them as well.

The fact is that Pittsburgh thought they could coast in this game, and they did. They thought New Jersey, being the hotter team, would be a tougher match, so they even started their backup. They looked at struggling Ottawa and basically packed it in. Crosby was basically the only player who was going last night.

Cap'n Clutch wrote:This game is a perfect example of why this team could be a tough out or a push over. They have the ability to put eight past the best team in the league. Problem is the also have the ability to lose a game in the first five minutes against the worst team in the league. I blame all the youth. This team has over performed as we all know. Next year might be a down year where they crash back to earth.

Do you mean - Fail for McKinnon OR Fail for Monahan? LOL

The fact is, Pittsburgh dropped 2 points to a team that you say they "thought they could coast through", which to me makes no sense. If a team is worried about getting wins, why would you not try as hard to get points against "easy teams" as you would against any other teams?

I'm skeptical that players wouldn't be focused on the game at hand.

So we beat the Pens because they weren't actually trying? Gee wiz. Lucky us.

Not that they weren't trying but you could tell they weren't at their best. I mean, c'mon, look at some of those defensive breakdowns on their end. Spezza's goal was a joke. Shrek was invisible the entire night as well. The Sens really attacked them and used their speed for most of the game though.

Shrek?

Malkin lol

Oh, haha, got it.

Say what you will about this game, but we are 3-1 on the season against both Pittsburgh and the Rangers. And we've scored a ton of goals against the Penguins (22 in 4 games is an average of 6.5 per game). I honestly don't mind if those teams make those same excuses about losing to the Sens.