Game 56 vs Flyers - Thoughts from the Morning After

[Penspal]

Pens win 4-1

- Beating the Flyers, especially in Philly, never gets old. A rivalry game is always provides something extra, this game did not disapoint
- Murray was fantastic. Sure, there should have been 2 goals against him, but that's still a win. EAT IT Murray haters (sorry, some rivalry juice still in system)
- Geno showed some great jump which has not been present for a long time. The stick swing is overblown. Definitely dangerous, fine him and move on.
- Maatta goes down and the Flyers were able to dominate play for long periods. Those two points are related people. Maatta haters Eat It (juice almost out)
- Maatta's injury allows Schultz to slide right back in. Schultzy will likely need 4-5 games before he's feeling it.
- Glad to see Bjugstad get one. He should have fed Geno on the 2-1, but he'll get there. McCann quietly effective in the 3C role
- Love hockey for how everything can change. Game was O.V.E.R. until Geno's penalty, then it was definitely back. Flyers should have pulled keeper earlier
- Was it Voracek or Gritty who got that 1st Flyer goal... Gritty.... he was the Flyers best player out there.
- Completely understand how that quick whistle call got blown. Philly was crashing the net all night, so its a ref's job to limit that by blowing it dead promptly.

[thehockeyguru]

Give Murray a gold star for last nights performance.

Interesting to see how the pairings look if Maatta is out for a stretch. I wouldn't be surprised to see Ruhwedel get a game or two if Schultz isnt ready.

[penny lane]

Matt Murray with the 2 points for the pens.
Sid welcoming the latest flyer goalie to his collection.
Letang played about 31 mins- amazing. More goals to pad his record with passing Paul Coffey.
Signs of Phil coming out of hibernation.

Please don't be a serious injury to Oli.

[midd]

Hopefully Sully allows the top 2 lines to continue as they are. Bjugstad seems like a natural fit at least with Kessel.

[Weegie]

I was able to watch this on the Cryers channel and listened to Jim Jackson and Keith Jones call the game, they weren't too bad for being home boys and actually threw some credit to Crosby and Murray and Letang. It was amazing that the Cryers didn't score more as they took it to the Pens for most of the game, but like the announcers said "when leading after 2 periods it is near impossible to come back on the Pens" and said since I forget what year they are 123-1-4 after leading after two periods! WOW!!!! So I thought they'd be okay despite the Cryers dominating most of the play, and after that controversial quick whistle non goal I felt the tide was turning but the Pens held on....then Malkin pulled that stunt and I thought "here we go, you knew it was too good to be true" and while they allowed a goal they hung on to win which was good.

But as others have stated, this team just doesn't inspire that much in me. Oh sure, there are games where they look like the Pens of old and wallop teams, but that seems to fade quickly, and at times look like an average team and other times not even that good. I don't know if they will be able to hit the switch and take it to the next level if they make the playoffs, but something inside me tells me the answer is going to be "no". I hope I am very wrong!!!

[DelPen]

If they set a new standard with Malkin I’m fine with a suspension but it better not be a one off like Cooke and then ignore what the rest of the league does. It was as reckless as you can be with your stick and it should be the ententes that gets punishment, same with an elbow or birding. Severity of injury shouldn’t dictate discipline. Goes the same way too for clean hits where people get hurt.

The defense is a disaster. Pettersson can’t handle playing with Letang and why is he the one jumping up into the play? Stupid moments in his part both games.

[Pitts]

- Geno showed some great jump which has not been present for a long time. The stick swing is overblown. Definitely dangerous, fine him and move on.

Hardly overblown. It was asinine on his part. Regardless of the situation, had he connected with the guys face, it would have been shattered and gruesome. No friggin excuse. he will and should get a suspension.

[Pens4Life]

What were the lines ? I heard Phil on LW, Horny on 4th line
Guentzel - Crosby - Rust?
Kessel - Malkin - Bjugstad?
Pearson - McCann - Simon?
Wilson - Cullen - Hornquist

[murphydump55]

- Geno showed some great jump which has not been present for a long time. The stick swing is overblown. Definitely dangerous, fine him and move on.

Hardly overblown. It was asinine on his part. Regardless of the situation, had he connected with the guys face, it would have been shattered and gruesome. No friggin excuse. he will and should get a suspension.

Based on what JVR did last week, Geno should get nothing. JVR only got a 5k fine.

[DelPen]

What were the lines ? I heard Phil on LW, Horny on 4th line
Guentzel - Crosby - Rust?
Kessel - Malkin - Bjugstad?
Pearson - McCann - Simon?
Wilson - Cullen - Hornquist

Seemed like Pearson and Horny switched up at some point.

[Southern Fan]

- Liked the long reach of Bjugstad. These two new guys seem to fit better than Brassard and Sheahan.
- Malkin is a mess. He might escape a suspension but he probably should get something.
- The way the Flyers were crashing the net, the quick whistle wasn't totally outlandish. Funny how the whistle disappeared the rest of the game when the puck was in the crease.
- Flyers haven't reverted to goonism post-Hakstol. Pretty clean game for the most part. Seen worse from Tampa.
- Refs weren't calling anything both ways in the third. Until the major.
- Pettersson needs an equipment assessment- skates and sticks both.

-Huge win. Hated to go into the circus game next week with the Flyers 2-4 points behind.

[Stillerz Bar]

If they set a new standard with Malkin I’m fine with a suspension but it better not be a one off like Cooke and then ignore what the rest of the league does. It was as reckless as you can be with your stick and it should be the ententes that gets punishment, same with an elbow or birding. Severity of injury shouldn’t dictate discipline. Goes the same way too for clean hits where people get hurt.

I'd be fine with a suspension as well but agree that it can't be one thing for Geno and then a different standard for the rest of the league. Perhaps a suspension would help him understand that losing his cool...well it isn't cool (sorry, couldn't help myself). As great as Geno is, he still gets sucked into to stupid penalties and I'd love to see him finally "get it" that he helps our opponents more than the team when he retaliates.

[midd]

No, their announcers were bad. Carter Hart can "anticipate turnovers" and be ready to make a save? Come on Man!!" Sid kinda ruined that theory in the first. Murray has to be tired after facing 28 shots in the 2nd". Nope not really. And Chris Therrien should stick to radio. woo wee!!!

I was able to watch this on the Cryers channel and listened to Jim Jackson and Keith Jones call the game, they weren't too bad for being home boys and actually threw some credit to Crosby and Murray and Letang. It was amazing that the Cryers didn't score more as they took it to the Pens for most of the game, but like the announcers said "when leading after 2 periods it is near impossible to come back on the Pens" and said since I forget what year they are 123-1-4 after leading after two periods! WOW!!!! So I thought they'd be okay despite the Cryers dominating most of the play, and after that controversial quick whistle non goal I felt the tide was turning but the Pens held on....then Malkin pulled that stunt and I thought "here we go, you knew it was too good to be true" and while they allowed a goal they hung on to win which was good.

But as others have stated, this team just doesn't inspire that much in me. Oh sure, there are games where they look like the Pens of old and wallop teams, but that seems to fade quickly, and at times look like an average team and other times not even that good. I don't know if they will be able to hit the switch and take it to the next level if they make the playoffs, but something inside me tells me the answer is going to be "no". I hope I am very wrong!!!

[Puck-Lurker]

- We did not win, so much as steal this one.
- Early whistle goal? Meh... kinda get it if Flyers fans have a fuss about it. Bad call on the ice. In an ideal world, that gets overturned and it's a goal. Those aren't the rules though.
- Happy to see Bjugstad get a goal as a Pen.
- Petterson is a 6-7D. He fits the mold of Cole and Oleksiak. Stop giving him top pair minutes.
- Great performance by Murray, definitely made a difference. More needed in the future.


Apart from Murray, I saw little that really gives hope for a break from .500 hockey in the future. I'd love to be proven overly pessimistic

[IntangibleBeer]

- I enjoyed almost every minute of this game. Suck it, Flyers!!!
- I hope this really does put the nail in the Flyers' playoff hopes.
- Murray played lights out.
- Geno needs to keep it under control. He's not 18 any more and if Philly were competent and Murray not at 1000%, this game could have been tied. It's time to grow up.

[LimerickPensFan]

No, their announcers were bad. Carter Hart can "anticipate turnovers" and be ready to make a save? Come on Man!!" Sid kinda ruined that theory in the first. Murray has to be tired after facing 28 shots in the 2nd". Nope not really. And Chris Therrien should stick to radio. woo wee!!!

I was able to watch this on the Cryers channel and listened to Jim Jackson and Keith Jones call the game, they weren't too bad for being home boys and actually threw some credit to Crosby and Murray and Letang. It was amazing that the Cryers didn't score more as they took it to the Pens for most of the game, but like the announcers said "when leading after 2 periods it is near impossible to come back on the Pens" and said since I forget what year they are 123-1-4 after leading after two periods! WOW!!!! So I thought they'd be okay despite the Cryers dominating most of the play, and after that controversial quick whistle non goal I felt the tide was turning but the Pens held on....then Malkin pulled that stunt and I thought "here we go, you knew it was too good to be true" and while they allowed a goal they hung on to win which was good.

But as others have stated, this team just doesn't inspire that much in me. Oh sure, there are games where they look like the Pens of old and wallop teams, but that seems to fade quickly, and at times look like an average team and other times not even that good. I don't know if they will be able to hit the switch and take it to the next level if they make the playoffs, but something inside me tells me the answer is going to be "no". I hope I am very wrong!!!

Since I live in the area, I can tell you that the Flyers announcers were much less homer in that game than they have been in the past. I don't know if it's that he's working so much national coverage, but Keith Jones appears to have mellowed in his dislike for the Pens and actual praise for individual players on the Pens team (Crosby in particular). I was actually amazed at how easily they took both the called-off goal and Malkin's swat.

Jackson can be pretty over-the-top with his homerism, but I actually heard him do a Pens game against another team, and he made a pretty darned good non-biased play-by-play announcer. I wouldn't mind seeing him go national, to tell the truth.

[LimerickPensFan]

I'm wondering if the Pens may have found Hart's achilles heel. He didn't seem to handle it well when they had the puck behind the net. On Crosby's goal, he saw neither Sid nor the puck. Guentzel's goal was a wrap-around. If you remember, Patrick Lalime had a hot start with the Pens (still holds the record for consecutive wins at start of the career) until the players figured him out, and then he became basically a backup for the rest of his career.

[Puck-Lurker]

Geno suspended for one game.

[Southern Fan]

Not a terrible game to miss. No Malkin turnovers for a McDavid breakaway. Geno now elevated to repeat offender status next time, and most likely will be a next time.

[pens2005]

No, their announcers were bad. Carter Hart can "anticipate turnovers" and be ready to make a save? Come on Man!!" Sid kinda ruined that theory in the first. Murray has to be tired after facing 28 shots in the 2nd". Nope not really. And Chris Therrien should stick to radio. woo wee!!!

I was able to watch this on the Cryers channel and listened to Jim Jackson and Keith Jones call the game, they weren't too bad for being home boys and actually threw some credit to Crosby and Murray and Letang. It was amazing that the Cryers didn't score more as they took it to the Pens for most of the game, but like the announcers said "when leading after 2 periods it is near impossible to come back on the Pens" and said since I forget what year they are 123-1-4 after leading after two periods! WOW!!!! So I thought they'd be okay despite the Cryers dominating most of the play, and after that controversial quick whistle non goal I felt the tide was turning but the Pens held on....then Malkin pulled that stunt and I thought "here we go, you knew it was too good to be true" and while they allowed a goal they hung on to win which was good.

But as others have stated, this team just doesn't inspire that much in me. Oh sure, there are games where they look like the Pens of old and wallop teams, but that seems to fade quickly, and at times look like an average team and other times not even that good. I don't know if they will be able to hit the switch and take it to the next level if they make the playoffs, but something inside me tells me the answer is going to be "no". I hope I am very wrong!!!

Since I live in the area, I can tell you that the Flyers announcers were much less homer in that game than they have been in the past. I don't know if it's that he's working so much national coverage, but Keith Jones appears to have mellowed in his dislike for the Pens and actual praise for individual players on the Pens team (Crosby in particular). I was actually amazed at how easily they took both the called-off goal and Malkin's swat.

Jackson can be pretty over-the-top with his homerism, but I actually heard him do a Pens game against another team, and he made a pretty darned good non-biased play-by-play announcer. I wouldn't mind seeing him go national, to tell the truth.

Honestly I've listened to the flyers announcers since I moved to the Delaware area in 2010. They are actually quite good actually. Keith Jones is actually amazing I must say. He has been one of the best non-biased analyst out there.

[Weegie]

No, their announcers were bad. Carter Hart can "anticipate turnovers" and be ready to make a save? Come on Man!!" Sid kinda ruined that theory in the first. Murray has to be tired after facing 28 shots in the 2nd". Nope not really. And Chris Therrien should stick to radio. woo wee!!!

I was able to watch this on the Cryers channel and listened to Jim Jackson and Keith Jones call the game, they weren't too bad for being home boys and actually threw some credit to Crosby and Murray and Letang. It was amazing that the Cryers didn't score more as they took it to the Pens for most of the game, but like the announcers said "when leading after 2 periods it is near impossible to come back on the Pens" and said since I forget what year they are 123-1-4 after leading after two periods! WOW!!!! So I thought they'd be okay despite the Cryers dominating most of the play, and after that controversial quick whistle non goal I felt the tide was turning but the Pens held on....then Malkin pulled that stunt and I thought "here we go, you knew it was too good to be true" and while they allowed a goal they hung on to win which was good.

But as others have stated, this team just doesn't inspire that much in me. Oh sure, there are games where they look like the Pens of old and wallop teams, but that seems to fade quickly, and at times look like an average team and other times not even that good. I don't know if they will be able to hit the switch and take it to the next level if they make the playoffs, but something inside me tells me the answer is going to be "no". I hope I am very wrong!!!

Since I live in the area, I can tell you that the Flyers announcers were much less homer in that game than they have been in the past. I don't know if it's that he's working so much national coverage, but Keith Jones appears to have mellowed in his dislike for the Pens and actual praise for individual players on the Pens team (Crosby in particular). I was actually amazed at how easily they took both the called-off goal and Malkin's swat.

Jackson can be pretty over-the-top with his homerism, but I actually heard him do a Pens game against another team, and he made a pretty darned good non-biased play-by-play announcer. I wouldn't mind seeing him go national, to tell the truth.

Yeah that's what I thought too, they used to be really biased before to the point I couldn't stand them, but last night they were tolerable. Of course I don't listen to every word they say lol!

[johnnews]

No, their announcers were bad. Carter Hart can "anticipate turnovers" and be ready to make a save? Come on Man!!" Sid kinda ruined that theory in the first. Murray has to be tired after facing 28 shots in the 2nd". Nope not really. And Chris Therrien should stick to radio. woo wee!!!

I was able to watch this on the Cryers channel and listened to Jim Jackson and Keith Jones call the game, they weren't too bad for being home boys and actually threw some credit to Crosby and Murray and Letang. It was amazing that the Cryers didn't score more as they took it to the Pens for most of the game, but like the announcers said "when leading after 2 periods it is near impossible to come back on the Pens" and said since I forget what year they are 123-1-4 after leading after two periods! WOW!!!! So I thought they'd be okay despite the Cryers dominating most of the play, and after that controversial quick whistle non goal I felt the tide was turning but the Pens held on....then Malkin pulled that stunt and I thought "here we go, you knew it was too good to be true" and while they allowed a goal they hung on to win which was good.

But as others have stated, this team just doesn't inspire that much in me. Oh sure, there are games where they look like the Pens of old and wallop teams, but that seems to fade quickly, and at times look like an average team and other times not even that good. I don't know if they will be able to hit the switch and take it to the next level if they make the playoffs, but something inside me tells me the answer is going to be "no". I hope I am very wrong!!!

Since I live in the area, I can tell you that the Flyers announcers were much less homer in that game than they have been in the past. I don't know if it's that he's working so much national coverage, but Keith Jones appears to have mellowed in his dislike for the Pens and actual praise for individual players on the Pens team (Crosby in particular). I was actually amazed at how easily they took both the called-off goal and Malkin's swat.

Jackson can be pretty over-the-top with his homerism, but I actually heard him do a Pens game against another team, and he made a pretty darned good non-biased play-by-play announcer. I wouldn't mind seeing him go national, to tell the truth.

Yeah that's what I thought too, they used to be really biased before to the point I couldn't stand them, but last night they were tolerable. Of course I don't listen to every word they say lol!

I live outside Philly, but I'm streaming ATT Sports every game. No way I'm listening to these jagoffs. Especially Chris Thierrible.

[stonewizard51]

Honestly I've listened to the flyers announcers since I moved to the Delaware area in 2010. They are actually quite good actually. Keith Jones is actually amazing I must say. He has been one of the best non-biased analyst out there.

-So what happens when Jones is on NBCsn ? Who is it, perhaps Milbury, that helps him flip the switch and become not so unbiased ?

-The quick whistle was bad enough. It should have been a goal but luckily it wasn't a factor in the end in much the same way Briere's offside goal wasn't a factor in that game either.

-Geno being Geno was ignorant and deserved the suspension. Teams know all they have to do is get under his skin and he'll go ballistic. Come on Geno. You're way better than playing like that.

-Not giving up a SHG was a much needed break.

-A win was much needed even if they were outplayed for a lot of the game.

[LimerickPensFan]

Honestly I've listened to the flyers announcers since I moved to the Delaware area in 2010. They are actually quite good actually. Keith Jones is actually amazing I must say. He has been one of the best non-biased analyst out there.

-So what happens when Jones is on NBCsn ? Who is it, perhaps Milbury, that helps him flip the switch and become not so unbiased ?

-The quick whistle was bad enough. It should have been a goal but luckily it wasn't a factor in the end in much the same way Briere's offside goal wasn't a factor in that game either.

-Geno being Geno was ignorant and deserved the suspension. Teams know all they have to do is get under his skin and he'll go ballistic. Come on Geno. You're way better than playing like that.

-Not giving up a SHG was a much needed break.

-A win was much needed even if they were outplayed for a lot of the game.

I agree with your statement on Geno, but the fact that Raffl got no call for what he did leading up to that is ridiculous. If refs are going to let that type of thing go, you're going to get more players taking things into their own hands.

[midd]

Jackson and Jones are bad IMO. I know most announcers are huge homers for the teams they work for. But I can't stand Jim Jackson. He over-exaggerates everything when something happens to the Flyers. Jones does it too but his demeanor is much calmer than Jackson's.