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icedog97

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  1. icedog97
    -- The Boston Bruins are making the Chicago Blackhawks look a lot like the Penguins did in the Eastern Conference Finals. Game 4 is huge for the Hawks (says Captain Obvious) but it will be even more difficult to win if Marian Hossa is out of the line-up again. Either way, it will be interesting to see if Chicago can make any adjustments to help them out of the sleeper hold the Bruins have started to apply. Coach Quenneville probably shouldn't ask Dan Bylsma for any advice on that front.
    -- Speaking of Bylsma, as we all know he got a vote of confidence from GM Ray Shero by receiving a contract extension a couple of days after the Penguins were eliminated from the playoffs. The comments from reliable sources seem to indicate that Mario and the ownership believe strongly in Shero as GM and Shero believes in Bylsma. The players like Bylsma too. Now that we have acknowledged the good feelings toward eachother by all of those involved, let's see if they ALL can't find a way to get back to the finals next year.
    -- Speed is important but relative. I read a lot of comments about how slow the Penguins looked...especially their trade deadline acquisitions (The Turtle Trio?)...in the series against the Islanders and Bruins. When you lose you almost always look slower...most of the time because you are not controlling the game...thus you are chasing after the other team who has the puck. But the important thing, in my opinion, is that it's not speed that makes the difference, it's positioning. If you ask a guy that's slower than you might want (or need) to play a certain type of game that's so dependent on speed, he's gonna look and potentially be, snail slow when the opposition goes the other way. Bylsma is either going to need to get more players that can execute his style of play more consistently...or change his style. You can't keep pounding square pegs into round holes and expect there not to be a big mess as a result.
    -- Speaking of big messes...did anybody see the jacket Don Cherry had on?

    -- What are we to make of the Flyers signing of Mark Streit? OK...he has an offensive upside, even at 35 (will be 36 in Dec) but he's not exactly known for his play in the defensive zone. He was a -14 last season in New York and a -27 the year before. Sure, The Isles haven't been a great even strength team, but his defensive teammate Lubomir Visnovsky was a +12 last year. I'm sure it's part of other things the Flyers will do to bolster their defense this off season...so maybe we hold off judgement until we see more from them?
    -- I was eating in a local restaurant the other day and happened to notice the two guys sitting at the bar looked very familiar. Upon closer inspection (which was more obvious than I would have liked) I saw that it was James Neal and Paul Martin. I was thinking of casually going over to ask them for autographs for my son but then more people started to arrive at the restaurant and I got the sense they probably just wanted to enjoy their dinner. I did ask the guy who waited on me if they came in often and he said 'Pretty often. I think they like it here 'cause they don't get bothered much. Kris Letang is usually with them.' I wonder if it was just coincidence or if maybe James and Paul are trying to get used to what it might be like next year?
  2. icedog97
    There is a Creed song from the movie Scream 3 that has the title: Is This The End?
    It closes with:
    So, is this the end for us my friend?
    Sitting here today that's the thought going through my head with regard to Dan Bylsma's coaching days with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
    I am one of those people that thinks the Penguins can come back from the 0-3 deficit in this series and win it.
    Now, I'm not crazy (my mom had me checked) - I said THINKS and CAN...not KNOWS and WILL.
    The trouble is...that kind of comeback - although possible - is VERY difficult and, as history shows us, not very common.
    So if we gaze into our crystal ball for a minute and image that we wake tomorrow morning to find the Penguins have put up another
    valiant effort (like game 3...finally) but still lost to the Bruins in 4 games, what will that mean for head coach Dan Bylsma?
    Even if we imagine a scenario where the Penguins win a couple of games and lose the series in 6...what will it mean for Dan?
    I'm of the opinion that nothing short of the Penguins forcing game 7 in this series...
    and winning (okay, maybe losing in heartbreaking triple OT fashion)...will save Dan's job.
    Of course, I'm just a fan...I don't officially get paid to think about this stuff or have any say in what actually goes down.
    But there's a pretty strong argument that if the Penguins don't make a historic (or almost) comeback against the Bruins, the coach must go.
    Assuming a series loss to the Bruins...the facts are pretty clear.
    The Penguins will have been eliminated from the playoffs - for the 4th year in a row - by a team they were expected to beat.
    The Penguins will have displayed - for a 4th year in a row - an inability to grasp the concepts of patience and composure when it's needed most.
    The Penguins will have shown - for a 4th year in a row - the insane ability to look like the best team in hockey one day and the
    world's biggest turnover machine the next.
    Of course, it's not ALL Dan's fault. You have to believe that even with his north/south approach to the game he has told his players to make
    sure they do smart things, not dumb things. The players have done a number of dumb things over the past 4 playoff seasons.
    But when you look at the 'embarrassment of riches' roster that GM Ray Shero has put together for this Stanley Cup Playoffs...
    the skill, talent, size and grit...you have to ask the question:
    Could any team be better prepared for a cup run from a player personnel standpoint?
    (ok...you don't really need to ask that because the answer is NO)
    Look, I like Dan. He's a good guy and, in a lot of ways, a good coach. But something is not right here and it's either in the way the
    players are coached or the way they respond to what they are being told to do.
    The biggest problem that I (and others who observe the team regularly) see is that there appears to be a certain stubbornness/resistance
    to alterations in the game plan.
    Again, whether it's the coaches plan or the players execution, the problem is that there have been way too many times to mention when
    it appears this team is moving head on for a collision with a semi and does not alter it's course.
    Pittsburgh Tribune Review hockey columnist Dejan Kovacevic had some really good points in his article today
    http://triblive.com/sports/dejankovacevic/dejancolumns/4144756-74/bylsma-coach-really?fb_action_ids=10201163115617636&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582#axzz2VXVRY5a9
    The best part for me was when he mentioned the Peguins only getting THREE shots off rebounds through the entire series to date. THREE.
    Dejan asserts:
    "And the glaring reason is that, once in the Boston zone, rather than simply gunning and going to the net
    — picture an armada of Tyler Kennedy clones — they've insanely tried to Mario their way through four boxed-in Bruins,
    including Zdeno Chara and his 75-foot stick.

    That's on the coach."
    I couldn't agree more or have said it any better than that.
    And it's not just this series against the Bruins where this has happened,
    So, Is This The End For Us My Friend?
    I'm sorry to say, but unless the Penguins manage to pull off a miracle comeback in this series,
    I believe the answer as it relates to Dan Bylsma's head coaching days in Pittsburgh is yes.
  3. icedog97
    The rest of the hockey world is laughing at you, the Pittsburgh Penguins.
    They say that the ALL STAR team assembled in Pittsburgh, stock full of Hall of Fame like talent is an elite bunch of brats and when crunch time comes, they fold like an old picnic table.
    After watching the first two games of the series against the Bruins, where it seems like the Penguins are more intent on out hitting the Bruins than they are on out playing them, I have to agree with the assessment.
    So far...this is embarrassing.
    The question is...Penguins...what are you going to do about it?
    It's not a stretch to say that what happens next to this group of players is potentially CAREER DEFINING.
    Manage to scratch and claw your way back into this series and people will HAVE to respect you.
    Play two more games like the first two and it will be at least another whole year before you'll have the chance to redeem yourself...and the weight of this performance will be a heavy one to carry...perhaps too heavy for certain individuals.
    Now is the time when the true character of the player is shown.
    Back in 1991 the Penguins faced a similar situation against the Bruins and Kevin Stevens (and a few others) stood up and said enough. They turned an 0-2 series deficit into a 4-2 series win.
    Say what you will about Stevens troubles off the ice...the guy that played the game was all about the character necessary to succeed on the ice.
    These Penguins face an even more daunting task because these Bruins are better than those 1991 Bruins. These Bruins (essentially) have won a Cup.
    But isn't that what real character is all about?
    Facing the toughest situation and finding a way to deal with it?
    The challenge is there for every coach and player within the organization. The Bruins are beating you and making it look bad. Your ideas about how to beat them are not
    working.
    It's time for radical changes in the approach.
    It's time for serious ego checks at the door.
    It's time to decide how important winning is and make sure you put your players and teammates in the best position to do that come Wednesday night.
    You want the laughing to stop?
    Make it stop.
    It's not up to anyone else but you.
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