Random Penguins Fodder

[Pens4Life]

Is anyone else worried Puustinen will get send back down as his minutes are getting lower, last two games he played only 10min? Harkins or Zohorna should be obvious choice,but they can play 4th line. Carter meanwhile getting 13min again.. Rust is close to be back. VP isnt 4th line player tho, he must be playing 3rd line at least.

Rust comes back to 2nd or 1st line, DOC - Eller - Puusty should be 3rd line,but with Sully you never know.

Also I'm hoping Poulin gets called up in next weeks,as he gets more physicaly ready.

Ludwig is also skating on thin ice,his usage getting lower and lower. Shea or POJ will probably get some games there soon.

Graves is also just horrible,maybe even worst among all D we signed in his first season here. Many adapted and played better down the road,but man oh man, he just looks AHL bottom pair guy.

[Puck-Lurker]

I'm worried about a lot of things.. if Rust comes back:

Guentzel-Crosby-Rakell
Smith-Malkin-Rust
DOC-Eller-Puustinen
Zohorna-Acciari-Carter

- I'd keep Rakell up with Crosby, unless he prefers Rust. Sid has earned to call who is on his wing so far this season.
- Where to put Rust if not with Sid, I'm thinking with Geno. But I'd also like Smith-Malkin-DOC and Rust-Eller-Puustinen, spreading the love around.
- I'd pick Zohorna over Harkins on the bottom, not that it matters an awful lot, but he's got the bigger frame. Right now, I'd pick him (as 4th line wing), over Nieto too if he were healthy. Again not that much difference I suppose.

Graves.. man.. I dunno. I think he's a write-off for this season. Still expect him to be better next. If anything Karlsson has me more worried than Graves though.

[Antonio]

Karlsson is a perfect example of Sullivan being the problem. EK is long past the point in his career where he's going to change, learn anything, develop new style etc. He looks like ass here and there realistically is only one reason, especially since Sullivan said it out loud that they are screwing with his game. I mean honestly, why do we think that some guy who was a barely NHL caliber plugger for some magical reason knows all aspects of everything and is some magical coach who sees and teaches the game at some incredible level years beyond where he was ever capable of playing it?

They beat STL yesterday but barely and if you replay that game 5 times, I think they lose it 4 times. That short handed 3 on 1 they gave up? They were inches away from giving it up 5 more times but got lucky with their idiotic passing, high risk **** etc. That kind of stuff is coaching and the system and holding players accountable. Like many have said, either they're doing what they're told to do or they're ignoring and have no consequences. Neither is good and both are a coaching problem. It's great they won last night, but it doesn't change much.

I expect Puust to go back because why shouldn't he? He's been productive and hard working but he's new so, I'm sure Sullivan is dying to get rid of him. Guy plays 1 game last year gets a point, gets rewarded by getting sent away. This year, he has what, 6 points in 9 games? (7 points really because honestly that goal yesterday was a goal without the penalty and that shot he took would have counted otherwise). His reward? Barely seeing the ice every night. I know he's fresh and it isn't going to last but he's on like a 60 point pace over 10 percent of the season. Worth at least a spot over the other trash we're putting out... Harkins, Nieto, Acciari, JC etc.

[FLPensFan]

I'm worried about a lot of things.. if Rust comes back:

Guentzel-Crosby-Rakell
Smith-Malkin-Rust
DOC-Eller-Puustinen
Zohorna-Acciari-Carter

- I'd keep Rakell up with Crosby, unless he prefers Rust. Sid has earned to call who is on his wing so far this season.
- Where to put Rust if not with Sid, I'm thinking with Geno. But I'd also like Smith-Malkin-DOC and Rust-Eller-Puustinen, spreading the love around.
- I'd pick Zohorna over Harkins on the bottom, not that it matters an awful lot, but he's got the bigger frame. Right now, I'd pick him (as 4th line wing), over Nieto too if he were healthy. Again not that much difference I suppose.

Graves.. man.. I dunno. I think he's a write-off for this season. Still expect him to be better next. If anything Karlsson has me more worried than Graves though.

Sullivan actually has a few "good problems" on his team up front, which are Puustinen, Zohorna, and DOC are all playing well over the past few games. The problem is, when Rust comes back, where do those 3 play? Neither Puustinen nor DOC looked out of place in the top 6, but we know they aren't going to be there.

Puustinen and Zohorna played a lot together in WBS, and that chemistry was evident the other night. Do they stay on the 3rd line, which would mean DOC drops all the way to 4th line, or does Sullivan break up a working duo in Puusty and Big Z? Willing to be it is the latter, with Zohorna even potentially sitting for Harkins or Carter instead.

[Puck-Lurker]

I'm worried about a lot of things.. if Rust comes back:

Guentzel-Crosby-Rakell
Smith-Malkin-Rust
DOC-Eller-Puustinen
Zohorna-Acciari-Carter

- I'd keep Rakell up with Crosby, unless he prefers Rust. Sid has earned to call who is on his wing so far this season.
- Where to put Rust if not with Sid, I'm thinking with Geno. But I'd also like Smith-Malkin-DOC and Rust-Eller-Puustinen, spreading the love around.
- I'd pick Zohorna over Harkins on the bottom, not that it matters an awful lot, but he's got the bigger frame. Right now, I'd pick him (as 4th line wing), over Nieto too if he were healthy. Again not that much difference I suppose.

Graves.. man.. I dunno. I think he's a write-off for this season. Still expect him to be better next. If anything Karlsson has me more worried than Graves though.

Sullivan actually has a few "good problems" on his team up front, which are Puustinen, Zohorna, and DOC are all playing well over the past few games. The problem is, when Rust comes back, where do those 3 play? Neither Puustinen nor DOC looked out of place in the top 6, but we know they aren't going to be there.

Puustinen and Zohorna played a lot together in WBS, and that chemistry was evident the other night. Do they stay on the 3rd line, which would mean DOC drops all the way to 4th line, or does Sullivan break up a working duo in Puusty and Big Z? Willing to be it is the latter, with Zohorna even potentially sitting for Harkins or Carter instead.

Got this nagging fear Puustinen will have a quiet game or two and gets bumped down to WBS so that we can play Harkins.

[Tico Rick]

And now for something completely different. Kyler Murray is now my favorite NFL QB:

[Crash66]

That is outstanding!

[Take the Body Shoot the Puck]

If we win against the Caps next game we’re back in the playoff picture.


That is all.

[Ericf]

If we win against the Caps next game we’re back in the playoff picture.


That is all.

Not exactly. If we win and the Lightning don’t get 2 points on Tuesday, then we’re back in a playoff spot. At least until the Devils play lol. Unfortunately Tampa won tonight so they have 41 points, which is WC2 right now.

[thehockeyguru]

I'm worried about a lot of things.. if Rust comes back:

Guentzel-Crosby-Rakell
Smith-Malkin-Rust
DOC-Eller-Puustinen
Zohorna-Acciari-Carter

- I'd keep Rakell up with Crosby, unless he prefers Rust. Sid has earned to call who is on his wing so far this season.
- Where to put Rust if not with Sid, I'm thinking with Geno. But I'd also like Smith-Malkin-DOC and Rust-Eller-Puustinen, spreading the love around.
- I'd pick Zohorna over Harkins on the bottom, not that it matters an awful lot, but he's got the bigger frame. Right now, I'd pick him (as 4th line wing), over Nieto too if he were healthy. Again not that much difference I suppose.

Graves.. man.. I dunno. I think he's a write-off for this season. Still expect him to be better next. If anything Karlsson has me more worried than Graves though.

Id switch up the RWs.

Puustinen
Rust
Rakell

[pronovost19]

So it took a few weeks, but these lines have all had time to gel nicely. This is good. Injuries have provided us with opportunities to develop some depth in case these guys are needed.

The question is how can you assemble the bottom six for the best team possible?

[Pens4Life]

Puustinen already down to 7min and change.. jeez, just FO Sully! I mean for god sake...

[pronovost19]

Puustinen already down to 7min and change.. jeez, just FO Sully! I mean for god sake...

Yeah you would think after watching DOC become more confident that he may want to try to develop some young talent. Must be able to roll 4 lines and depend on them for insulation. Absorb minutes so your top lines are fresher and ready to go.

[KG]

Don't look now, but if you believe any of these projections, after this run the Pens have 82% change of making the playoffs.

[E-Ramone]

With a healthy forward group, I’d have to think Dubas would consider unloading some of these pricier veteran bottom six pluggers and keep the cheaper younger guys up. Might help with keeping Jake, Ned, etc. on the team next year even if the production isn’t any different.

[Puck-Lurker]

Don't look now, but if you believe any of these projections, after this run the Pens have 82% change of making the playoffs.

I don't believe those numbers. I can't get much further north than 52% using the numbers we have. If Pens continue to perform well, that goes up.

[KG]

So going with the assumption that we continue to play well and climb the standings and will look to be buyers come deadline time...

What do you think Dubas would look to add? Assuming the top 6 is pretty much set. The bottom 6 is playing better. But, Sully still doesn't trust Puustinen in tight games in the 3rd. He bumps up Carter and Acciari to play on the 3rd line in those cases. I guess we will look to add a bottom 6 forward. Could that be Puljujarvi if he progresses? If not there are some pending UFA bottom 6 wings available: Chicago has Foligno, Beauvillier, Dickinson. San Jose has Duclair, Labanc, Barbanov. Ottawa has Tarasenko. That would make the top 9 pretty deep obviously. Question how well Tarasenko would fit into Sully's system, especially coming in so late into the season.

I could also see Dubas looking to bring in a D man. Lybushkin in Anaheim is a UFA and Dubas traded for him in the past. Physical guy. Tanev in Calgary would be pretty pricey one would think. With Graves struggling you wonder if Dubas will go for a top 4 D man and bump down Graves. D men are expensive to get come deadline time though.

I guess a bottom 6 wing who can play both ways and a bottom pairing D man would be on my list.

What say you?

[FLPensFan]

So going with the assumption that we continue to play well and climb the standings and will look to be buyers come deadline time...

What do you think Dubas would look to add? Assuming the top 6 is pretty much set. The bottom 6 is playing better. But, Sully still doesn't trust Puustinen in tight games in the 3rd. He bumps up Carter and Acciari to play on the 3rd line in those cases. I guess we will look to add a bottom 6 forward. Could that be Puljujarvi if he progresses? If not there are some pending UFA bottom 6 wings available: Chicago has Foligno, Beauvillier, Dickinson. San Jose has Duclair, Labanc, Barbanov. Ottawa has Tarasenko. That would make the top 9 pretty deep obviously. Question how well Tarasenko would fit into Sully's system, especially coming in so late into the season.

I could also see Dubas looking to bring in a D man. Lybushkin in Anaheim is a UFA and Dubas traded for him in the past. Physical guy. Tanev in Calgary would be pretty pricey one would think. With Graves struggling you wonder if Dubas will go for a top 4 D man and bump down Graves. D men are expensive to get come deadline time though.

I guess a bottom 6 wing who can play both ways and a bottom pairing D man would be on my list.

What say you?

Well, I would be looking at "cheap" options first, since we are tight on cap space. I honestly didn't see a lot of great UFAs that I would be gunning for this year.

Up front, Sean Monahan from Montreal would be a nice add. He can play all 3 forward positions and be moved up and down the lineup. UFA at end of year, and makes 1.95M. Barbanov or Duclair were two others that I was looking at. On defense, I too thought of Lybushkin in Anaheim. I still would really love to add a physical, semi-skilled forward...but that will never happen. So I guess Acciari and Harkins will have to serve that role.

I'd also like to see what Poulin has to offer here, preferably before the trade deadline. I know he was injured for a bit, but he is really the only "prospect" we have that hasn't gotten his shot at this level yet. Nylander, Zohorna, and Puustinen all have gotten their games in so far. Wouldn't mind a look at Pitlick either.

Now, if we move Guentzel....that opens up a lot of possibilities. But again, I'm not holding my breath that it will happen.

[KG]

Looks like Rust is back tonight. I guess we can expect Hinostroza and Shea to get sent down to make room for Rust.


Wes Crosby
@OtherNHLCrosby
#Pens lines:
Guentzel--Crosby--Rakell
Smith--Malkin--Rust
O'Connor--Eller--Puustinen
Harkins--Acciari--Carter

D:
Pettersson--Letang
Graves--Karlsson
Ludvig--Ruhwedel

[Pitts]

So going with the assumption that we continue to play well and climb the standings and will look to be buyers come deadline time...

What do you think Dubas would look to add? Assuming the top 6 is pretty much set. The bottom 6 is playing better. But, Sully still doesn't trust Puustinen in tight games in the 3rd. He bumps up Carter and Acciari to play on the 3rd line in those cases. I guess we will look to add a bottom 6 forward. Could that be Puljujarvi if he progresses? If not there are some pending UFA bottom 6 wings available: Chicago has Foligno, Beauvillier, Dickinson. San Jose has Duclair, Labanc, Barbanov. Ottawa has Tarasenko. That would make the top 9 pretty deep obviously. Question how well Tarasenko would fit into Sully's system, especially coming in so late into the season.

I could also see Dubas looking to bring in a D man. Lybushkin in Anaheim is a UFA and Dubas traded for him in the past. Physical guy. Tanev in Calgary would be pretty pricey one would think. With Graves struggling you wonder if Dubas will go for a top 4 D man and bump down Graves. D men are expensive to get come deadline time though.

I guess a bottom 6 wing who can play both ways and a bottom pairing D man would be on my list.

What say you?

I think a top9/bottom6 wing with grit like Duclair would be ideal. I believe he's a good playoff performer as well. Perhaps another vet defence for the bottom pair as well?

[FLPensFan]

Taking a closer look at forwards and cap fit, my list of guys to look at the trade deadline, should we be in a playoff spot would be:

--Monahan or Thomas Novak as added center depth. I think Monahan has more versatility position wise, but Novak is a much better defensive option.
--Duclair or Yakov Trenin as winger depth. Duclair has more offensive upside, Trenin better player defensively plus would add a physical element.

Many of the other options out there are too expensive (meaning we'd likely have to give up more for salary to be retained) or are just having such underwhelming seasons that it is hard to gauge their true value.

[Badger Bob]

I just realized that tonight is an ESPN+ / Hulu game. Grrrrrrr!!!!

[emarzock]

Noticed that Pens practice schedule isn't posted for January. Can somebody say what their practice schedule is for tomorrow (Wednesday) and/or Thursday?

[FLPensFan]

If you want to see what is wrong with NHL officiating, a perfect example tonight in the Florida-Arizona game. Watch this sequence, and then tell me how Nick Cousins got off scott free with no penalty. He elbows a guy (who is on his knees) in the head, elbows his head into the boards, and leaves his feet doing it. And the ref is right there, because the ref was quick to correctly give Zucker a boarding call on the retaliation hit. But Valimaki wasn't injured, so no reason to call a penalty, right?

[Pens4Life]

yeah, I think that for last decade refs in NHL and NBA are pure trash, worst in all pro sports..