PLAYOFF GAME DAY: Sens @ Pens :: Game 2, Round 2 :: 7:30pm ET :: Fri. May 17th, 2013

We look like a team without Spezza and a 50% Karlsson

Ev wrote:Penguins trailed the Caps 2-0 in 09, and they were up 2-0 against Montreal...let's go!

And Rangers were down 0-2 to the Caps in '13.

Looking for positives:

1. We scored 1 goal in the first and 3 in the second. Progress.
2. We were flying through the neutral ice. Had no problems breaking out of our own zone or going through the middle -- is the Penguins forecheck that bad? How about chipping it in just before the blue line on their D once in a while? Murray, Engelland, Orpik -- think any of them can beat Pageau to the puck in the corner when they try to stand them up on the blue line? Not a chance.
3. Even with the very uneven powerplay numbers we were only down by one.

We lost by 1 considering:
1. Karlsson played half his usual minutes (yes, I know it was because he sucked, but I'm hoping here that he will be better.
2. All those penalties. Not arguing they were deserved or not, but Pittsburgh was not playing a clean game by any stretch of the imagination. Really hated that high stick on Pageau -- Crosby lifted his stick, so how can you be in control of your stick if a bigger, stronger opposing player does an upward slash on it?
3. Spezza will be in, so bye-bye Tenderloin. Kassian may not have brought much in terms of offense, but I also don't think he would have done what Latendresse did coming out of the box: nothing. The team kills off your penalty, at least try to help them when your 2 minutes are up.
4. Our goaltending needs to be better and it can be. We have not seen a game from Anderson like G1 from round 1. We know he can play better, and so can Lehner. I still think PMac goes back to Anderson on Sunday, but he will have a shorter leash than in the first 2 games.
5. Sens have been fantastic at home this year. I have to think it has to do something with line matching. Inserting Spezza on the PP and against the lines/pairings that PMac wants can result in a very effective player being added to the lineup.

Breaking down the first goal from last night:

Neil goes for the hit on Niskanen in the corner, completely takes himself out of the play. While he takes an extra 2 seconds and risks a charging penalty, Crosby is winding up, going full speed by the time he hits the blue line, and receives the puck. Zibanejad is all by his lonesome in the neutral territory as Silfverberg has to contend with Adams coming off the ice as he tries to catch Crosby. I have to wonder if that is a set play -- Adams comes off crossing in front of Silfverberg slowing him down just a split-second, enough to ensure that Crosby just gets through his attempt at a check. Or maybe Silfverberg is just outclassed here. Regardless, Crosby is in full flight, and all three forwards are now behind him. Karlsson tries for a stick check at the blue line I realize standing the forward up at the blueline with a hard check is not his game, but he could at least track him and slow him down a bit. Instead he misses the puck and the man and Crosby moves inside past him, with only Zibanejad trying to catch up. And still, that shot was not Andy's best.

What can we learn from that play?

1. When Crosby is winding up like that *he* is the most dangerous player on the ice, not Niskanen. If you want to hurt one of their defensemen, go for Letang (who is small and *has* injury history), or Orpik, just because if you don't hurt him he *will* hurt you. But regardless of any of that, you have to slow down Crosby in his own zone first.

2. Two rookies (Silfverberg and Zibanejad) are out against Crosby. I hope that doesn't happen too much in Ottawa.

3. I know Silfverberg is a rookie but he has to be harder on the man than that. Even with Adams crossing in front of him there was still time to compensate. It's like he misjudged Crosby's speed. Or maybe he wasn't prepared for what would certainly have been a fairly hard hit if they connected. I don't expect him to crush anyone but at least slow him down a little.

4. Stick checking is ok when you are tracking the guy along the boards, but not when you're standing flat-footed at the blue line. If you stand at the blue line, deliver a hit, not a stick check.

5. Crosby has a good shot, Andy, be ready for it next time.

This goal was a little over 3 minutes into the game. Not a "first shot in" type of goal, but still, you don't want to get scored on that early in the game.

Oh, and Zibanejad was close enough to try to dive and knock the puck off. It's the kind of play you see all the time in OT -- players desperately trying anything and everything. Even though it's 3 minutes into the game, you have to play with the same kind of desperation. Every. Freakin. Shift!

Momentum was shifting after Neo was pulled and it should continue with our amazing playoff crowd.

We got this.

Okay, second goal, here goes.

AGAIN! All three forwards are caught behind the three Penguins forwards. There is a battle in the corner with Silfverberg and Zibanejad and two Penguins. A third Penguin joins in and they win the puck battle. Just before that Conacher moves to the front of the net, putting himself out of position (defensively). Sorry, but when it's 3 on 2 in the corner you cannot assume that they will get the puck to the slot.

Also, when the Pens break out they should *only* have 2 on the rush, since there were three of them in the corner battling for the puck. Of course it's Crosby, who was one of the three battling, but he catches up to the rush in a few strides. Zibanejad, Sifverberg and Crosby were all on the ice for 30+ seconds before the breakout, so you can't say they were gassed. Can you?

And this time Karlsson didn't go for the flat-footed stick check at the blue line. Plays him pretty well, actually, I thought. Couold have been a little harder, maybe, actually make contact. But he left Crosby with next to nothing except a long saucer pass to Dupuis (who was covered by Conacher). That is until Anderson cheated on the pass and moved off the post.

So what can we learn from that one?

1. Again, three rookies on the ice against Crosby. This cannot happen in Ottawa.

2. Anderson has to have better faith in his defense and forwards (to prevent the pass and/or cover the shooter).

3. Maybe Anderson was cheating because it's hard to go post-to-post. It was the right ankle he had sprained, and that is the leg he would have to push off going to his left, as would have been the case if Crosby passed to Dupuis. Maybe we *should* put Lehner.

4. Again, Karlsson was on the ice. Can't really blame him for the goal like on the first one, but if that was Gryba I don't think Crosby gets away scott-free on either play.

Game 3 is now huge. The pivot game... win that, we're back in this. Lose and well, we all know.

The third goal was the only one you can't really pin on Anderson. Powerplay and Phillips cuts right across as the shot is taken, getting out of the way just in time for it to go past him. Anderson could not have seen the shot.

And the fourth goal was tipped right in front. It was a 5-on-5 powerplay, or that's what it looked like. Cowen and Gonchar had been on the ice for about 90 seconds by that time, and Alfie and Michalek were on for about a minute. Dead tired killing of Latendresse's boarding penalty. Tenderloin gets back on, bangs his tick on the ice a few times, then skates in circles with no-one near him until they score.

That's your game winning goal. Even though Latendresse got an assist on Pageau's goal, I've got to think that, barring injuries, this was hist last game in a Sens jersey. At this point I'd rather play Stone or Puempel or even Kassian. Spezza, of course, in G3 but I'm saying if there are injuries after that I'll have a long list of players I would prefer to insert into the lineup ahead of him. You want skill and scoring touch but are afraid to put in rookies? Then Regin or O'Brien before Latendresse. That was a disgusting lack of effort after your team mates killed off your penalty.

I see what you're saying about the rookies, but it can't be underestimated that you learn from mistakes and not from success.

I think Andersson needs to come clean to the coaching staff about his ankle. He's had two games in which he's been less than what is needed. The first two goals were very stoppable, and he was cheating on the second one, which could be due to his ankle. If he's not 100% then Lehner is the better option.

And if Karlsson plays like he did last night, maybe it's time to give him a rest, too.

And what has Michalek done to justify his ice time? 2 points on 21 shots on goal through 7 games. And that includes the two blowout games in the Montreal series. Kassian has 2 points as well. Neil has 3.

LeKing wrote:I see what you're saying about the rookies, but it can't be underestimated that you learn from mistakes and not from success.

That will be great next year. Not going to help us this year.

Look I realize those are rookies going up against the best player in the world, but I feel they are showing him way too much deference. If you are a fan going to a game, go ahead and ask for his autograph. If you are playing against him on the ice, give him an elbow to the jaw instead.

By the way, on that high sticking penalty he *lifts* Conacher's stick, so I'm not sure what the ruling is. It's not a follow through on a shot or clearing, but he did not lift his own stick.

Also, the stick goes up on the side nowhere near his face or jaw or eyes or anything. Not even sure if it hits him or not, but the head snapping back happens *after* the stick would have made contact. He is absolutely *not* hurt on the play (not with the shield and the jaw guard and helmet -- the stick was nowhere near any open exposed surface) yet he snaps his head back and then flops to the ice like he was shot.

It's been 2 games and the Penguins have crazy amount of playoff experience on their roster.
Young players learn over time. Crosby and Malkin were overwhelmed in 2007 also and they were the same age as Zibanejad.

On a more positive note, Pageau is a monster. Looking every bit as good as in junior.

wprager wrote:I think Andersson needs to come clean to the coaching staff about his ankle. He's had two games in which he's been less than what is needed. The first two goals were very stoppable, and he was cheating on the second one, which could be due to his ankle. If he's not 100% then Lehner is the better option.

And if Karlsson plays like he did last night, maybe it's time to give him a rest, too.

And what has Michalek done to justify his ice time? 2 points on 21 shots on goal through 7 games. And that includes the two blowout games in the Montreal series. Kassian has 2 points as well. Neil has 3.

Lol Anderson's ankel is fine. Did you just forget about his MTL series?

Pageau's play has been astounding. No other word for it.

Ev wrote:

wprager wrote:I think Andersson needs to come clean to the coaching staff about his ankle. He's had two games in which he's been less than what is needed. The first two goals were very stoppable, and he was cheating on the second one, which could be due to his ankle. If he's not 100% then Lehner is the better option.

And if Karlsson plays like he did last night, maybe it's time to give him a rest, too.

And what has Michalek done to justify his ice time? 2 points on 21 shots on goal through 7 games. And that includes the two blowout games in the Montreal series. Kassian has 2 points as well. Neil has 3.

Lol Anderson's ankel is fine. Did you just forget about his MTL series?

Could be, but I was worried about his ankle. (sorry, couldn't resist)

The ankle that was supposed to be day-to-day and keep him out of the lineup for 2 games ended up costing him a third of the season. So it was a high-ankle sprain and those take a while to fully heal, especially for a goalie.

As for the Montreal series, it's quite possible that during one of those games he tweaked it. And he did let in a couple weak ones there, too.

Game 1, first goal (Bouorque) he was cheating off the right post again.

That goal in game 3 (1st home game) which kinda slid into the goal in slow motion, he seemed to do a bit of a stutter step on that foot (right foot). Could have tweaked something, or maybe the stutter was because it's not as strong as it needs to be.

SpezDispenser wrote:They played well in the last half. Friggin frustrating, but if they can channel that, they might win a game or two. Pageau's awesome.

Or four.

That was a nice building block game on the road, no less. A little home cookin' can turn the whole series around.