Report: Lemieux may order Bylsma's Dismissal

[B21]

http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/blog/eye-on-hockey/22380648/report-mario-lemieux-could-order-dan-bylsmas-dismissal-in-pittsburgh

The

Pittsburgh Penguins

were swept in the Eastern Conference finals by the Boston Bruins, the fourth straight season they failed to reach their lofty goal of making the

Stanley Cup

Final.

That has some asking about coach Dan Bylsma's job security. Should he, despite all of this team's regular-season success and the

Stanley Cup

on his resume from four years ago, be shown the door? It seems a bit silly to me but it could very well happen, especially if Mario Lemieux wants it to happen.

Which could very well be the case, according to

Larry Brooks of the New York Post

.

Several individuals within the industry have told Slap Shots Penguins chairman Mario Lemieux, distressed by his team's fourth straight failure to get out of the Eastern Conference after consecutive trips to the Finals in 2008 and 2009, the latter culminating with a

Stanley Cup

victory, may instruct Shero to dismiss the coach.

There already is chatter out of Pittsburgh about how the Penguins failed to "adapt" or "adjust" to the Bruins in the Eastern finals sweep -- during which they never held the lead, were limited to two goals overall and were shut out on the power play. All those areas generally are the purview of the coaching staff.

To me it seems a bit rash to fire Bylsma, but something is going to change because with their expectations, the past seasons have been disappointments. We all know it's easier to fire the coach than the team, and if that's what Lemieux wants, it likely won't matter what GM Ray Shero would have to say.

[ruxpin]

No offense, but the Pens as a group played like ass except for the BACKUP goalie. I'm not sure what adjustments Pepto Bylsma was supposed to make.

Although, the game by game results were as follows:

3-0

6-1

2-1 (2OT)

1-0

That indicates to me that Bylsma DID make adjustments after the 2nd game disaster--and tried to during the second game by switching up goalies. They were system adjustments aimed at defense, which actually seemed to work. Unfortunately, when you do that it sometimes comes at the expense at offense, which wasn't doing super to begin with.

I'll leave it to you follks who follow the Pens more closely to duke it out on whether Bylsma should stay or go, but if it's based solely or largely on the Bruins series I've got to say it's not really fair. They were just (soundly) beaten by a good team that came prepared to play with a style that clearly worked.

[ruxpin]

@B21

Double post, sorry. Again, I don't follow the Pens as closely as you folks who are fans of the team, but I wonder from the outside looking in if they ended up with too many offensive-minded guys and not enough muck in the corners and take care of business guys. Does that make any sense to you? I know it sounds like a "chemistry" thing, which most of the Pens fans on here have seemed to rule out. But to me it's more than "do they get along?" chemistry. I just wonder if they ended up with too much of a type rather than maybe the mix of types. Maybe they were missing the Guerin/Fedotenko/Talbot/Roberts type.

I don't know. People want to blame the defense, but it seems to me that other than the 2nd game they took care of business defensively--enough to win anyway. I'm not trying to insult anyone by saying they were missing "grit" because that doesn't really sum up what I'm going for here, but it's the best word I can come up with at the moment.

[hf101]

@ruxpin

Sometimes the stats really do state what went wrong with the Penguins. Granted this is through 3 rounds thus far but....... Sort the +/- stat http://www.nhl.com/ice/playerstats.htm?fetchKey=20133ALLSASAll&viewName=summary&sort=plusMinus&pg=1

Look how Horton, Krejci, Lucic, and Chara are a +24, +14, +13, +12 respectively thus far in the playoffs. The first Penguin with a plus rating is Kennedy at a +6. There are a total of 7 Boston players ahead of him. Then look at the big 4 for the Penguins Crosby, Malkin, Iglina, and Letang with their respectively +/ - rating -3, -4, -2, +2 .

The Penguins depend on the PP shut that down and it is rather obvious which team won the puck battles 5 on 5.

This ^ is on the players, the best players, imo, not the coach.

[B21]

@B21

Double post, sorry. Again, I don't follow the Pens as closely as you folks who are fans of the team, but I wonder from the outside looking in if they ended up with too many offensive-minded guys and not enough muck in the corners and take care of business guys. Does that make any sense to you? I know it sounds like a "chemistry" thing, which most of the Pens fans on here have seemed to rule out. But to me it's more than "do they get along?" chemistry. I just wonder if they ended up with too much of a type rather than maybe the mix of types. Maybe they were missing the Guerin/Fedotenko/Talbot/Roberts type.

I don't know. People want to blame the defense, but it seems to me that other than the 2nd game they took care of business defensively--enough to win anyway. I'm not trying to insult anyone by saying they were missing "grit" because that doesn't really sum up what I'm going for here, but it's the best word I can come up with at the moment.

See, I see too little, too late as far as adjustments in the Bruins series. I see too much line tinkering....frankly, all season. Engelland against this style team. Bortuzzo or Eaton against that style team. Sometimes Bennett. Never enough Depres. That works in baseball. Not hockey.

The Pens got by the Sens and Isles on sheer talent i/m/h/o. Bylsma should have recognized this....no later then after Game 1 of the Bruins. Yet Game 2 was their worse effort of the entire post season by far.

[ruxpin]

The Pens got by the Sens and Isles on sheer talent i/m/h/o

Completely agree.

See, I see too little, too late as far as adjustments in the Bruins series.

Have to agree again. By game three they'd already lost two at home. I mean, if it wasn't too late by then, it was damn close.

I see too much line tinkering.

Three for three. This seems to be the beginning and end of Lavy's adjustments as well--I don't like it from him either. I do think something changed for the Pens starting with the third game because they did seem to tighten up a bit. They just never seemed to get around to adjusting the offense. On the other hand, I saw the Pens players doing some bizarre stuff that Bylsma just couldn't help. I heard maybe Melrose say it and I was already thinking it: there seemed to be a force around the Bruins net that had little to do with Rask or the Bruins. Just taking the last desperate gasp from the Pens in the last minute or so of game 4. They had some wide open chances and the puck simply bounced or the Pen whiffed with little or no help from Boston. I don't really believe in this crap, but it really was almost as if the hockey "gods" said, "gonna stock up with every star in the league? We'll show you it doesn't guarantee anything!"

[Polaris922]

@ruxpin

I've never seen so many bounces go against us as those two games. Star players missing open nets, hitting posts, each other... There are a lot of factors. But obviously bounces matter too.

[B21]

@ruxpin

See - I can Jedi mind trick anyone into agreeing with me.

[mojo1917]

@ruxpin

I've never seen so many bounces go against us as those two games. Star players missing open nets, hitting posts, each other... There are a lot of factors. But obviously bounces matter too.

It's the hardest tournament in sports to win for a reason, it takes skill , toughness, good health and some luck. For whatever reason lady luck didn't smile on the Pens this spring among other things.

This Bruins team like the team that won the cup seems to have all those eggs in their basket. I don't see why anyone would feel bad about losing to them they are a well constructed hockey club, Peter Chiarelli has done a really nice job .