Pens vs Rangers 4-21-16 game 4 comments

[Steelperch]

It's a shame that Pems fans traded away Malkin earlier in the week. Do these goals still count?

[Ice]

Had to listen to the first two periods on the radio.

Even still, it sounded like two of the most dominant playoffs periods the Pens had in recent memory.

Add in the third period of last game for good measure, as well. Just wow.

Let's go Pens!

[Legacy User]

Just wow. Not a whole lot I can say. I'm just kinda beside myself and speechless at what we've witnessed tonight. This is just a very different Pens team than years past. Got a lead and no fuckin' letup. They kept their foot on the Rangers' throat. Sheary made me cream my shorts on that gorgeous sequence for the goal. Murray is the man. Gino is getting back to being Gino. I just don't have the train of thought right now (after a number of beverages) to give everybody their proper due. Let's end this thing in Pittsburgh.

yep..pens look like the teams they normally face and bow down too in playoff series!! love watching this team....cept for game 2..

[Legacy User]

It's a shame that Pems fans traded away Malkin earlier in the week. Do these goals still count?

yes..want fuerry traded now!

[Ice]

It's a shame that Pems fans traded away Malkin earlier in the week. Do these goals still count?

Whoever the Pems are, I'm glad their fans traded Malkin to us. Did we send Fleury and a couple of picks back.

Just kidding, Perch. Truer words never spoken.

[jeemie]

Speaking of listening on the radio, I listened to it via iHeartRadio on 105.9.

Can someone tell me why Mike Lange sounds like he's broadcasting over a telephone line?

I could hear Phil Borque as clear as day, but Lange sounded all tinny.

Like he wasn't even in the booth with Borque.

[Orangesteel]

I. Am. Stunned.

That said, we've blown 3-1 series leads I think twice in the last four years.

Bury these fucks at home on Saturday and get ready for the Caps.

DO NOT LOSE THE NEXT GAME

[AZ Stiller Fan]

Speaking of listening on the radio, I listened to it via iHeartRadio on 105.9.

Can someone tell me why Mike Lange sounds like he's broadcasting over a telephone line?

I could hear Phil Borque as clear as day, but Lange sounded all tinny.

Like he wasn't even in the booth with Borque.

I've had to listen to several games when I'm still at work, and wondered exactly the same thing.

[swissvale72]

Suppose we'll know tomorrow what time gametime is on Saturday.

[Legacy User]

watching Rangers post game in NYC

no credit given to the Pens for the dominating performance

they blame King Henry for the "off night"

Pens just completely dominated that team, all 4 fucking lines were dominant, and they're saying it's because Henry had an off night

granted, as Rangers paid broadcast team, i guess they can't say "holy fuck, they just whipped our asses all over the ice -- the talent disparity is fucking unreal"

But that's the truth. Rangers look old and slow - Pens look fast, confident and incredibly deep

[Jobu]

I. Am. Stunned.

That said, we've blown 3-1 series leads I think twice in the last four years.

Bury these fucks at home on Saturday and get ready for the Caps.

DO NOT LOSE THE NEXT GAME

Drive the stake in!!!

[Legacy User]

I. Am. Stunned.

That said, we've blown 3-1 series leads I think twice in the last four years.

Bury these fucks at home on Saturday and get ready for the Caps.

DO NOT LOSE THE NEXT GAME

VERY different team this year. I don't expect any letdown from these guys.

We lost one period to the Rangers so far, and a lot of that had to do with the 3rd string goaltender in net.

[swissvale72]

NY Daily News:

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/hocke ... -1.2610761

[Suwanee88]

NY Daily News:

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/hocke ... -1.2610761

No respect for the Pens. Listening to Boomer Carton opening - no respect - hate those no good sons of bitches

[Donnie Brasco]

Henrik wasn't off last night, no goalie was stopping those goals: deflection from Sid, a bomb from Geno. Maybe Sheary's goal was a bad one. But the Pens kicked the Rags asses up and down the ice all fuckin night

As someone mentioned before, I'm not celebrating shit. Last time we were up 3-1 on those fucks I was feeling good as Sid seemed to be warming up and another trip to the ECF seemed on the horizon but then we got Bylsma'd and went home with our tail between our legs.

Pens play Sat at 3pm...which pisses me off as I'll miss it and need to go on radio silence until I watch it later that evening.

Thoughts:
I'm not sold on the Lovejoy/Cole pair. I thought Lovejoy looked faster tonight (forget about his pass off the pad assist). He seemed quicker even to activate in the zone. Separately I think they are a serviceable part of a 3rd pairing. Together I'm always holding my breath.

Maata is a skating 2 min hooking minor waiting to happen. He's looking a bit better but he's another one I'm not quite confident with

Other than that what else is there to say? This team has finally got it's lineup correct (although I'd swap Daley for Letang on PP1, but that's a minor quibble) and it's showing it's depth and dominance. Connor Sheary is the sparkplug that started this. He and Sid really read each other well and I wouldn't necessarily state Sheary's hockey IQ is off the charts but they just work together for whatever reason.

[Jobu]

3pm Saturday
Apparently that's a guaranteed loss!

[swissvale72]

3pm Saturday
Apparently that's a guaranteed loss!

I was thinking about this, though. Down the stretch, Pens won consecutive Saturday afternoon games in Philly, Detroit & Brooklyn (against Isles), then played damn well in Philly sans Sid & Letang in season finale.

Not buying this biz about Saturday afternoon being a jinx.

[fractalsteel]

Up 3-1 going into game five sounds familiar.
One good thing. Marty St Louis is retired and if he did come back tomorrow his mother can't die a second time.

All the chatter is about the Rangers and while that is annoying I like this team being under the radar.

[COR-TEN]

I agree. Lundqvist wasn't off. He had some nice saves early, but the barrage was just too much.
They pulled him so he wouldn't be embarrassed. He could have stopped maybe one goal? The Sheary one, I think.

The second Malkin goal was just an example of how silly the rangers looked. He was doing pirouettes to the right of Hendrik with nobody around him. How do you let Malkin roam around right in front of the crease without a big body on him?

And Murray was. . .

Out.Fucking.Standing.

[jeemie]

I agree. Lundqvist wasn't off. He had some nice saves early, but the barrage was just too much.
They pulled him so he wouldn't be embarrassed. He could have stopped maybe one goal? The Sheary one, I think.

The second Malkin goal was just an example of how silly the rangers looked. He was doing pirouettes to the right of Hendrik with nobody around him. How do you let Malkin roam around right in front of the crease without a big body on him?

And Murray was. . .

Out.Fucking.Standing.

The way Murray is playing, he's my guy until he proves he can't do it.

Marc-Andre...rest up until next year!

[Louis Lipps Service]

I agree. Lundqvist wasn't off. He had some nice saves early, but the barrage was just too much.
They pulled him so he wouldn't be embarrassed. He could have stopped maybe one goal? The Sheary one, I think.

The second Malkin goal was just an example of how silly the rangers looked. He was doing pirouettes to the right of Hendrik with nobody around him. How do you let Malkin roam around right in front of the crease without a big body on him?

And Murray was. . .

Out.Fucking.Standing.

The way Murray is playing, he's my guy until he proves he can't do it.

Marc-Andre...rest up until next year!

I just don't see how you can take Murray out, at the very least, until he loses a game.

Like I said earlier, Fleury was a top 5 goalie this year and I'd normally think it'd be insane to not put a guy of that caliber back into the lineup...but Murray is so out of his mind right now that this is definitely an exception even I can't ignore.

That said, there's ramifications to whatever decision is made. What if you end up sitting Fleury for the rest of the playoffs? Is he going to want to stay in Pittsburgh if he sits the bench for a playoff run? If Murray keeps playing this well, I'm not against trading Fleury in favor of Murray, but Fleury has a limited no trade clause and might be harder to move than we think. Or if he gets pissed off at not playing, maybe he waives it. I don't know.

And is trading Fleury still a good idea, even if Murray does play like this all throughout the playoffs? We all remember Johan Hedberg, who had an insane run to start his career only to fall back to earth and spend most of the rest of his career as a backup while floating around the league. Finding a good goalie who can remain relatively consistent year after year is not easy in the NHL. And hitching your wagon long term to the young hot-hand isn't always a wise decision, especially when you have a goalie like Fleury already on your roster.

[Donnie Brasco]

Was MAF a top 5 goalie this year? Yup, he and Geno were the one ones who seemed to benefit under MJ.

But since after the All Star Game, he just didn't seem right. Then he got his first concussion...again something just seemed off to me after that. And of course who knows how long he will be out now. Theoretically he might not be cleared to play for the remainder of the playoffs- hows that for a scary thought?

I know Sid's wasn't a concussion but a neck issue, but how long did we get the "oh he's practicing...he'll play soon" dance in 2011? Could conceivably happen to MAF too. Regardless, until Murray puts an absolute disaster of a game up he should be the guy going forward.

[Louis Lipps Service]

Was MAF a top 5 goalie this year? Yup, he and Geno were the one ones who seemed to benefit under MJ.

But since after the All Star Game, he just didn't seem right. Then he got his first concussion...again something just seemed off to me after that. And of course who knows how long he will be out now. Theoretically he might not be cleared to play for the remainder of the playoffs- hows that for a scary thought?

I know Sid's wasn't a concussion but a neck issue, but how long did we get the "oh he's practicing...he'll play soon" dance in 2011? Could conceivably happen to MAF too. Regardless, until Murray puts an absolute disaster of a game up he should be the guy going forward.

I disagree. Fleury had a couple games right after the All-Star game where he was shaky, but he was back to form well before his injury happened. And his success under MJ wasn't just a scehme thing. He was playing well regardless, consistently making big saves in key spots during games.

[swissvale72]

I agree. Lundqvist wasn't off. He had some nice saves early, but the barrage was just too much.
They pulled him so he wouldn't be embarrassed. He could have stopped maybe one goal? The Sheary one, I think.

The second Malkin goal was just an example of how silly the rangers looked. He was doing pirouettes to the right of Hendrik with nobody around him. How do you let Malkin roam around right in front of the crease without a big body on him?

And Murray was. . .

Out.Fucking.Standing.

The way Murray is playing, he's my guy until he proves he can't do it.

Marc-Andre...rest up until next year!

I just don't see how you can take Murray out, at the very least, until he loses a game.

Like I said earlier, Fleury was a top 5 goalie this year and I'd normally think it'd be insane to not put a guy of that caliber back into the lineup...but Murray is so out of his mind right now that this is definitely an exception even I can't ignore.

That said, there's ramifications to whatever decision is made. What if you end up sitting Fleury for the rest of the playoffs? Is he going to want to stay in Pittsburgh if he sits the bench for a playoff run? If Murray keeps playing this well, I'm not against trading Fleury in favor of Murray, but Fleury has a limited no trade clause and might be harder to move than we think. Or if he gets pissed off at not playing, maybe he waives it. I don't know.

And is trading Fleury still a good idea, even if Murray does play like this all throughout the playoffs? We all remember Johan Hedberg, who had an insane run to start his career only to fall back to earth and spend most of the rest of his career as a backup while floating around the league. Finding a good goalie who can remain relatively consistent year after year is not easy in the NHL. And hitching your wagon long term to the young hot-hand isn't always a wise decision, especially when you have a goalie like Fleury already on your roster.

I don't think that Hedberg came in with the resume of Murray though. Murray had what, 12 AHL shutouts.....he's going to be a fuckin' star....should be with the Penguins.

[Louis Lipps Service]

I don't think that Hedberg came in with the resume of Murray though. Murray had what, 12 AHL shutouts.....he's going to be a fuckin' star....should be with the Penguins.

I think so, too. I just thinks it's also a pretty big gamble.

[Donnie Brasco]

Was MAF a top 5 goalie this year? Yup, he and Geno were the one ones who seemed to benefit under MJ.

But since after the All Star Game, he just didn't seem right. Then he got his first concussion...again something just seemed off to me after that. And of course who knows how long he will be out now. Theoretically he might not be cleared to play for the remainder of the playoffs- hows that for a scary thought?

I know Sid's wasn't a concussion but a neck issue, but how long did we get the "oh he's practicing...he'll play soon" dance in 2011? Could conceivably happen to MAF too. Regardless, until Murray puts an absolute disaster of a game up he should be the guy going forward.

I disagree. Fleury had a couple games right after the All-Star game where he was shaky, but he was back to form well before his injury happened. And his success under MJ wasn't just a scehme thing. He was playing well regardless, consistently making big saves in key spots during games.

I did not mean that MAF benefited from MJ's system in the beginning of the year- he was light's out regardless. He just didn't pass the eye test for me after the ASG...I can't pinpoint it but he just seemed off, quite different from what I saw in the beginning of the year. I've been a MAF backer from the beginning...actually since they drafted him, I liked his style and athleticism. Even when he sucked balls in the Flyers series and when he melted down vs the Isles. I didn't like his performance but I thought he could rebound. But there comes a point where salary cap considerations come into play when it appears you have a viable replacement available for the fraction of the cost, you have to be good at asset management. We'll see what Murray does from here on out.

Goalies are hard to predict. Is Murray the next Roy or is he another Jim Carey/Blaine Lacher? He's probably somewhere between that spectrum

And I disagree on the Hedberg reference. Hedberg had "journeyman" written all over him when the Pens traded for him and had a number yrs of professional experience. He caught fire at the exact right moment for us and then he became who he was before: a backup goalie and the remainder of his career that's who he was.

[zeke5123]

I don't think that Hedberg came in with the resume of Murray though. Murray had what, 12 AHL shutouts.....he's going to be a fuckin' star....should be with the Penguins.

I think so, too. I just thinks it's also a pretty big gamble.

I don't think it is as big a gamble as you are suggesting.

First, Fleury is getting older.

Second, Fleury played above his abilities earlier this year. But looking at his career holistically, he seems to be closer to a 10-15 NHL goalie as opposed to a top 5 goalie. You are banking on Fleury remaining a top 5 goalie, when it seems more likely that he will regress. This doesn't even touch on Fleury's post season play.

Third, as Swiss alluded, Murray has a helluva AHL track record (i.e., he has pedigree). This isn't just some hot streak. Pierre sucks, but he is correct in calling Murray the Carey Price of the AHL last season (in about half a year). He was well on his way to repeating that season prior to the call up. He was doing that all at a young age for the AHL. Oh, and he keep on playing well in the NHL.

Fourth, Tristan Jarry (who albeit struggled a bit towards the end of the AHL season) is also an excellent goalie prospect. Even if Murray crashes, we have another bullet to fire.

Finally, it is trite, but fortunate favors the bold. We have a unique opportunity here to both re-stock the farm system with young talent and clear cap space to be allocated to other needs (i.e., D -- not sold on Cole/Lovejoy...would love to be able to sign a decent guy like a Paul Martin back in the day so that DP could be a trade chip with someone like Scott Wilson to bring in a stud LW). This is the kind of "gamble" that you need to take to maximize assets and give the Pens the best shot in the next five years to come up with a cup or two. Make it so that goalie is less important, while relying on a very talented goalie.

[Louis Lipps Service]

I don't think that Hedberg came in with the resume of Murray though. Murray had what, 12 AHL shutouts.....he's going to be a fuckin' star....should be with the Penguins.

I think so, too. I just thinks it's also a pretty big gamble.

I don't think it is as big a gamble as you are suggesting.

First, Fleury is getting older.

Second, Fleury played above his abilities earlier this year. But looking at his career holistically, he seems to be closer to a 10-15 NHL goalie as opposed to a top 5 goalie. You are banking on Fleury remaining a top 5 goalie, when it seems more likely that he will regress. This doesn't even touch on Fleury's post season play.

Third, as Swiss alluded, Murray has a helluva AHL track record (i.e., he has pedigree). This isn't just some hot streak. Pierre sucks, but he is correct in calling Murray the Carey Price of the AHL last season (in about half a year). He was well on his way to repeating that season prior to the call up. He was doing that all at a young age for the AHL. Oh, and he keep on playing well in the NHL.

Fourth, Tristan Jarry (who albeit struggled a bit towards the end of the AHL season) is also an excellent goalie prospect. Even if Murray crashes, we have another bullet to fire.

Finally, it is trite, but fortunate favors the bold. We have a unique opportunity here to both re-stock the farm system with young talent and clear cap space to be allocated to other needs (i.e., D -- not sold on Cole/Lovejoy...would love to be able to sign a decent guy like a Paul Martin back in the day so that DP could be a trade chip with someone like Scott Wilson to bring in a stud LW). This is the kind of "gamble" that you need to take to maximize assets and give the Pens the best shot in the next five years to come up with a cup or two. Make it so that goalie is less important, while relying on a very talented goalie.

I don't think you're wrong about most of those points (although I'd argue it's more relevant to look at his last 2-3 years when predicting Fleury's value than it is to look at his entire career as he seems to have mostly gotten over the inconsistencies that plagued in him the years prior).

And I'm not even saying trading him away is even the wrong choice. I just hate the tendency of sports fans to be reactionary on this stuff without thinking it through. So I want to encourage some more thorough thought on it instead of watching everyone succumb to the typical "Murray's won some games, trade Fleury!" logic. I think it's a big move and not one that should be taken lightly.

Goalies in the NHL are like QBs in the NFL. You can argue all day long about whether or not yours is top 5, 10, or even 15, but good ones are so rare that the fact you're even having that argument might be a good indication that you need to be 100% sure of what you're doing before you attempt to move on to another one. Because if you're wrong, it might be a long time before you stumble across another one, and there's a lot of teams out there that know how futile it is to try and win without a quality player at that position.

[stillthere]

3pm Saturday
Apparently that's a guaranteed loss!

I was thinking about this, though. Down the stretch, Pens won consecutive Saturday afternoon games in Philly, Detroit & Brooklyn (against Isles), then played damn well in Philly sans Sid & Letang in season finale.

Not buying this biz about Saturday afternoon being a jinx.

Not necessarily a jinx but they seem to not get their brains onto the ice and into the game on Saturday afternoons quite often this season .

[Legacy User]

I'm going to wait and see how things progress before I take any definitive stance on Fleury's future with the team. DK reported he had a setback and hasn't been on the ice in several days, so I don't see him coming back before round 3 anyway (assuming we make it that far). Let's see what Murray does moving forward. But yeah, MAF's trade stock would be beneficial to the team but there's also a relationship there and I'm not sure I see them moving him if he doesn't want to be moved.