B21 Posted October 8, 2014 Posted October 8, 2014 Per Mike Johnston, both will play in tomorrow's opener against the Ducks. He expects to use Malkin on a wing with Sutter and Dupuis (interesting). Crosby centers Kunitz and Hornqvist. 3rd line that Johnston has been a fan of is Goc centering Comeau and Spaling. 4th line of Downie, Adams and ??? Chorney? Sill? Ebbett? On D.... Letang/Erhoff Martin/Maatta Depres/Scuderi (w/ Bortuzzo injured).
Polaris922 Posted October 8, 2014 Posted October 8, 2014 @B21 Some interesting moves. I expected Hornqvist to be with Malkin and wasn't sure Malkin would skate so I benched Hornqvist in fantasy hockey on one of my teams! LOL
jammer2 Posted October 9, 2014 Posted October 9, 2014 @B21 The Pens roster seems to be constructed in a way that would make the Wings old strategy of playing with 5 man units a viable option. Basically playing the top forward lines with a set group of d-men, and letting them create and evolve as a single unit. It would be fun to pair Erhoff and Letang with Crosby and then roll Matta and Martin (eventually Pouliot) with Malkin's line. The more they play together as a unit, the more familiar they become with each other, to the point where passing to each other becomes second nature, and they get a better feel for where each player will be, ie which way they like to curl before they receive the puck etc. Another little nuance you can pick up is which way a player likes to receive the puck, on the forehand or backhand.....thus making it easier to complete multiple passes before the other team can react. I'm really surprised more teams with elite talent don't employ this tactic more often. It can give you a huge advantage.
Polaris922 Posted October 9, 2014 Posted October 9, 2014 I'll be there tonight. Tough opponent but let's see how the boys do!
B21 Posted October 9, 2014 Author Posted October 9, 2014 I'll be there tonight. Tough opponent but let's see how the boys do! I am going to curb my expectatons for the first 1-2 months. New coach. New system. Lots of new faces. Tough October schedule. I wouldn't be shocked if they hover just over .500 during that time.
Polaris922 Posted October 10, 2014 Posted October 10, 2014 Call on the waived off goal looked like a bad one from my seat... And can somebody chain Fleury to the net please?
Polaris922 Posted October 10, 2014 Posted October 10, 2014 Ok now I'm convinced the officiating is deciding the game. Ghost call on SPaling now too... Then they blow the play dead when we have the puck and they knock their own goalie down... ??
nossagog Posted October 10, 2014 Posted October 10, 2014 Hey Polaris, hope you had a great time at the game. Didn't see the game tonight, what's you opinion of the new structure and entries for the team after opening night?
Polaris922 Posted October 10, 2014 Posted October 10, 2014 @mossagogClearly the wide open offense style is what this team is built for. Take away Fleury's stellar puck handling and some poor officiating and this is a 7-3 or even 8-3 win. The Pens pulled up skating after the 3-0 lead and looked more like the old Pens feeling entitled, but they overcame it and went for the throat, so to speak. No defensive shell like the Bylsma days. Was good to see. Dupuis was a stud out there tonight. Total effort end to end. Maatta was impressive too. Malkin looked out of place but no games to ready himself so its understandable. Do NOT like Sutter on Malkin's wing though. Not one bit.
B21 Posted October 10, 2014 Author Posted October 10, 2014 Ok now I'm convinced the officiating is deciding the game. Ghost call on SPaling now too... Then they blow the play dead when we have the puck and they knock their own goalie down... ?? Hey, Polaris. I think TedZep or doom88 may have hacked your account.
B21 Posted October 10, 2014 Author Posted October 10, 2014 @mossagogClearly the wide open offense style is what this team is built for. Take away Fleury's stellar puck handling and some poor officiating and this is a 7-3 or even 8-3 win. The Pens pulled up skating after the 3-0 lead and looked more like the old Pens feeling entitled, but they overcame it and went for the throat, so to speak. No defensive shell like the Bylsma days. Was good to see.Dupuis was a stud out there tonight. Total effort end to end. Maatta was impressive too. Malkin looked out of place but no games to ready himself so its understandable. Do NOT like Sutter on Malkin's wing though. Not one bit. You mean Malkin on Sutter's wing? I missed the line combinations from the pregame and cannot seem to find them on the Pens' site but from what I can tell the lines were: Kunitz / Crosby / HornqvistDupuis / Sutter / MalkinDownie / Goc / ComeauSill / Spaling / Adams I have to admit - I at least want to see Geno on Sutter's wing for a few games. If he's going to "float" from time to time, better at wing than center.
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