Sweeeeeeeeep.....

[Polaris922]

Speaking of Cpt Crybaby, did Cindy ever get punished by the NHL for tampering with Iginla?

We went over that. There was no violation. I forget the particulars but as it was a NMC on Iginla he can talk to whomever he wants to. He's the one choosing not the Clubs.

As for the rest, all we hear are positives about Crosby's leadership from his teammates, before, during, and post-season. I don't think leadership was the issue. We had a great veteran presence, and many guys who'd already won the cup.

Our defense proved excellent the last two games, but our offense faltered. Who'd have thought that? Rask was phenomenal this series.

The first two games nobody can explain. They just didn't have it. But does that even matter when you score twice in four games?

How do you explain a 4.7 goal per game average dropping to a 0.5 ?? Great defense? Sort of... Though 58 shots plus another 43 blocked/missed or posts doesn't sound like great defense. Great goaltending? Yes, Rask gave them that. And fighting the puck a lot... I suppose we hurt ourselves as much as they stopped us. And when everything is going on at the same time? 4-0 sweep.

Do I think this team needs torn apart? Absolutely not. I'm not even convinced Bylsma needs replaced. Part if me thinks they just learned a very important lesson. If they were cocky going in they're certainly humbled coming out. It may behoove them to keep this core together and her what exactly they've learned.

I DO think Bylsma needs a little less player friendly and more willingness to adapt, but he's a good coach. Fastest coach to 200 wins in history, right? He has earned some respect for that.

[MaineFlyFan]

Hockey is one of the only true TEAM SPORTS left in my opinion. When you have a roster that reads, Crosby, Malkin, Neal, Inginla, Fluery, Vocoun (orpik, letang, etc)......and your not winning games..?!?! Well, in my opinon you've put together a great list of names but not a good TEAM.

something wrong in the locker room FOR SURE!....looks like the pens just failed chemistry again. Back to summer school!

Edited June 8, 2013 by MaineFlyFan

[Phlyer1]

God is slow but he is sure. My prayer answered with the Crybaby being shut down and eliminated.

[aziz]

The first two games nobody can explain. They just didn't have it. But does that even matter when you score twice in four games?

I have a theory on it. it isn't the first time we've seen the penguins melt down in exactly that way. it seems to happen when they try to play a physical game, when they try to re-write their image as a finesse squad into a rough-and-tumble bruins-style team. and I think it comes from Crosby. I think he dislikes the deserved or not reputation and image as a soft player, and tries to establish a physical presence for himself. and most of the team follows. he and they get so wrapped up in being tough that they throw themselves off their game, pull themselves away from their actual strengths. when I saw Crosby trying to get in chara's face (always with a ref within 5 feet) and doing the bump into rask thing after the period, I knew they were in trouble. it is what happened against the flyers last spring, he and they got so wrapped up in answering the physical bell that they couldn't apply themselves to the details of the game.

obviously, Crosby is a generation talent, and the cindy crysby thing is largely a matter of point of view...but he definitely has a particular flaw in that he allows himself to be distracted far too easily with that stuff. his leadership position on the team, both due to star status and the letter on his chest, draws the rest of the team down with him. it's one thing to try to play tough guy against claude Giroux and a personality-crisis flyers' squad, but quite another to try it against the bruins, who basically define the concept in today's NHL.

I think they got a very stern talking to from coach after game 2 and put that stuff on lockdown for games 3 and 4...we didn't see any of it, and they were very much in those games from start to finish. it was just too late, though. the bruins are a good enough team that if you spot them 2 games, it is pretty much over.

I think shero and bylsma have some thinking to do. they have to find a way to exorcise Crosby of that tendency. I have to figure that as he matures it'll go away, but it is a very real problem until that happens. he and they need to accept their character as an ultimately skilled team that can skate and pass around anyone. so long as they try to see themselves as a bruising, nasty, in your face team, they are gonna have issues.

Edited June 8, 2013 by aziz

[doom88]

Just because Crosby's teammates say he's a great guy to the media doesn't make it so. It just means they keep internal affairs private.

[blocker]

<br />both due to star status and the letter on his chest, draws the rest of the team down with him. it's one thing to try to play tough guy a<br />

I like that point.

IMHO, young guys should never be Captains. That's a job for a veteran.

[pensuck]

@ polarissportsman335

You hope they learn a lesson?

Is there a learning curve there after last years melt down?

[flyercanuck]

Part if me thinks they just learned a very important lesson. If they were cocky going in they're certainly humbled coming out. It may behoove them to keep this core together and her what exactly they've learned.

Isn't that what last years first round exit should have taught them?

[pensuck]

@fc

Haha exactly.

[Polaris922]

Last year's exit came from preparing for a less talented gaggle of thugs (Flyers teams from the previous few years) and not adjusting when encountering a more skilled and determined Club actually playing with a system beyond just starting scrums. The entire team was guilty.

These are grown men playing a big boy sport. I don't buy that twenty other guys in and out of the roster couldn't figure it out for themselves that Crosby's way, if that's what it was, didn't work.

I don't buy the failed leadership bit being on Crosby. Guys like Iginla and Morrow wouldn't sit there quietly and watch a great opportunity for them just slip away. It Orpik for that matter... Kunitz .. These guys are strong figures who don't just wilt away.

I think the team has a "coast mode" regardless of leadership. You can charge forward on your horse with your sword in the air, but if the rest if your unit isn't next to you, you're not going to get very far. I think there's a sense of "if we just keep going we'll win" there. The first two games they really missed countless scoring chances. By the time they tightened up, game three, Rask became the difference maker. They outplayed Boston in two games, but Rask stood on his head.

It sucks to run into the hottest goaltender in the playoffs after handing him two games for free. We all want to blame someone and point fingers... The first two were a team collapse. There were great shifts along the way for everyone, including Malkin and Crosby, but they never performed cohesively. Blame that in Bylsma or Crosby... Whomever you want, but I don't think any one man can change that in those cases.

It's certainly not immaturity, selfishness, or any of the other broad brushes I'm reading here. Grown men do not follow stupidity blindly. If Crosby were off his rocker, the others have the experience and respect to set it straight. And I'm speaking as a man who has been in the position of following stupidity at a time when it costs lives. You figure it out and rebel if necessary.

Edited June 8, 2013 by Polaris922

[yave1964]

Not rubbing salt in the wounds of the Pens, as a Wings fan we got our comeuppance last week.

It has to be hardest stealing Iginla away from the Bruins at the eleventh hour who settled for one of the greatest Pens of all time in Jagr instead. Out of everything that would be the bitterest pill to swallow, IMHO.

[pensuck]

@Polaris922

You're definitely in denial. Almost every post you make you mention the Boston goalie responsible for the pens demise. At the same time you say none of the bruins could crack ur third line. You got beat by a TEAM playing cohesive hockey. From the forwards on back to the goalie. Along with the refs letting BOTH teams getting away with murder. The bottom line is that the bruins smoked ur mighty pens in 4 . Move along. And as far as following the military chain of command... hockey and the military have a completely different set of rules. You should know that.

[Polaris922]

@Polaris922

You're definitely in denial. Almost every post you make you mention the Boston goalie responsible for the pens demise. At the same time you say none of the bruins could crack ur third line. You got beat by a TEAM playing cohesive hockey. From the forwards on back to the goalie. Along with the refs letting BOTH teams getting away with murder. The bottom line is that the bruins smoked ur mighty pens in 4 . Move along. And as far as following the military chain of command... hockey and the military have a completely different set of rules. You should know that.

You haven't read all of my posts then. I have said Boston played better as a team. But I stand by the statement that Rask won games three and four. Of that there is no doubt. The Pens outplayed the Bruins in every way except goal scoring. If you'd watched the games, Rask was excellent in net. I give him more credit than the Bruins defense, or the Pens failings. He WAS the biggest factor, though as I've already said there were several.

I think your trolling and hatred prevent you from reading what Pens fans say without a chip on your shoulder. I really think you have your mind made up before actually trying to discern the meaning.

As for the military inference, I wasn't mentioning rules. I was talking about how good men will overcome poor leadership by forging their own path. That would definitely happen on an NHL team. These are grown men playing an aggressive sport.

Edited June 9, 2013 by Polaris922

[pensuck]

The pens outplayed the bruins in every way except goaltending? Hahaha that's all I needed to hear. You got swept by a goaltender? Man ur pathetic.

BTW where's ur older sister b21 that usually has ur back?

[pensuck]

Also. If good men overcome poor leadership there's usually a courtmarshall close behind. You should stop typing now. I think your intelligence has gone the way of your team...

[hf101]

@pensuck

Stop with the trolling posts

[pensuck]

@hf101

Who started this topic?

[hf101]

@hf101

Who started this topic?

and guess who can end it

[pensuck]

Yes I know the almighty moderator.

But seriously hf101. How can I possibly troll my own topic??? Isn't that an oximoron?

[hf101]

@pensuck

it is trolling when your posts are directed at a member with flaming personal comments. Your original post was about the Penguins.

[B21]

@pensuck

it is trolling when your posts are directed at a member with flaming personal comments. Your original post was about the Penguins.

And started in the Flyers forum...curiously.

Well handled, Moderator. (Not sarcasm...real compliment.)

[B21]

@Polaris922

Don't you find it ironic that a fan of a team who didn't even make the playoffs (not even remotely close) is gloating about the loss of a team in the ECF? I do.

Can you imagine if we did the same to the Flyers after the Devils schooled them in the 2nd round last year?

[pensuck]

@B21

Was that right after we schooled the pens in the first round? Lol. The pens were cup favorites the last 2 years and got schooled. Classic.

[pensuck]

@hf101

Nothing personal or flaming there:)

[hf101]

@hf101

Nothing personal or flaming there:)

Correct