Penalty Killing is Killing the Pens

[RxBandit66]

What is up with being 30th in the league in killing penalties on the road and 24th overall? Wasn't that supposed to be dealt with and improved? Is it the forwards or the defense that is the problem, or both? Someone shed some light on this...it has me baffled as to why the Penguins cannot clear the freakin' puck out of the zone.

[Armyrulez]

I wouldn't say it's killing them, they're 10-0-2 in their last 12

[Jim]

Players like Moore, Ruutu, Petrovicky, etc were brough in as PKers to play the PK. Reason, we were trying to make guys into PKers instead of using guys that were actually really good at it. So what happened... they decided to use Armstong, Malone, etc on the PK indtead of the guys with a good track record. Not saying that Armstrong and Staal, etc are bad... they are just guys trying to be good PKers as opposed to ACTUALLY being good PKers. I hope I got that across right...

[RxBandit66]

Yes, its not KILLING them, but if a few injuries happen or if the PP slows down a bit, it will kill them, especially against a team like Buffalo or the Devils. I just don't understand how the Pens could be 30th in ANY category.

[Armyrulez]

I wouldn't say it's killing them, they're 10-0-2 in their last 12

its not making it easy

No one ever said winning in the NHL would be easy.

and I don't think Petro and Ruutu were ever seen as PKers.

[Armyrulez]

Yes, its not KILLING them, but if a few injuries happen or if the PP slows down a bit, it will kill them, especially against a team like Buffalo or the Devils. I just don't understand how the Pens could be 30th in ANY category.

they're 30th on the road PK, 23rd overall PK

[Jim]

No one ever said winning in the NHL would be easy.

Pimpin' ain't easy!

[Armyrulez]

No one ever said winning in the NHL would be easy.

Pimpin' ain't easy!

could you pimp my ride?

[dboss]

Quick answer: DON'T TAKE PENALTIES!!!

Last night was the first game during their streak where they weren't moving their feet well and were taking penalties as a result. They need to get back to where they were prior to last night by taking very few penalties.

[RxBandit66]

I own a Mazda Rx8. It was pimped out already when I bought it. Here's an interesting story. I was driving my Rx8 on rt. 28 to Pittsburgh when MAF passed me as I merged off one of the exits. He pointed to my car and gave me a "thumbs up" and smiled. There was some other dude in the car with him, and I think his licence plate had his name or number or something. Anyway, later that day I found out he was in the area for some charity event or something, so I know it was him for sure. His ride is amazing also, by the way.

[Scott]

Lets not forget the Pens best DMAN was out for several months. When March comes, lets see where we rank in that department.

The other thing I would like to see is Staal getting #1 PP time. Down the stretch and in the playoffs, we are going to have to be the best at PP.

Having Staal on the second unit and getting 20-30 seconds on the PP is
S T U P I D. What happens in a playoff game down by 1, 90 seconds to go and you get a PP? You better have all your horses out there. He could use the reps NOW, not then.

[RxBandit66]

Excellent point about Eaton. Winning the occasional draw would help, too.

[Raab711]

not killing them but could be doing much better

[Henry Hank]

Not really. During this 10-0-2 stretch, the Pens have killed penalties at a 82.1% rate. The middle of the pack teams are all killing penalties at about that rate. How is that killing them? They've been doing a decent job of killing penalties since Eaton came back. My expectation for this season was that the PK would be middle of the pack, so they're meeting my expectations lately.

Players like Moore, Ruutu, Petrovicky, etc were brough in as PKers to play the PK. Reason, we were trying to make guys into PKers instead of using guys that were actually really good at it. So what happened... they decided to use Armstong, Malone, etc on the PK indtead of the guys with a good track record. Not saying that Armstrong and Staal, etc are bad... they are just guys trying to be good PKers as opposed to ACTUALLY being good PKers. I hope I got that across right...

Only Moore was really known for his penalty killing. Ruutu killed some in Vancouver but wasn't a go-to guy. Petro's never been known for his penalty killing. And really, you're not even right because Moore and Ruutu ARE being used on the PK. Moore's fourth among forwards in averaging 2:27 of PK time a game. Ruutu is only getting 41 seconds a game, but again, he was never a big time penalty killer. I don't get what's wrong with using guys like Armstrong and Malone. I wouldn't say they're just trying to be good. I'd say they ARE good.

The Pens' PK problems typically seem to stem from not being able to defend around the net. That's mostly on the defense. That's simply the flaw of our D. Eaton, Scuderi, Melichar, and Nasreddine are all good with their sticks but aren't physically imposing. Neither are Gonchar or Whitney. Guess what, those are the defensemen we've used on the PK.

The PK is not a strength but not the weakness it was last year. It's been pretty solid lately. I'd expect that to continue as long as Eaton stays healthy. In the offseason, this is an area to continue to improve, especially from the defensive end.

[Maestro]

As much as they have improved through the course of this season, their PK is now what is keeping them from being elite - they need another D-man who excels at the PK

We'll see if a change is made - a semi-skilled goon could be coming as well seeing that Crosby's been off his game a bit

[Maestro]

It's been pretty solid lately.

Try to understand - ranking 23 out of 30 is not 'solid' for a team that will be trying to advance through the first round of the playoffs

[Henry Hank]

LATELY. As I've said, their success rate during this winning stretch has been equal to that of a team in the middle of the pack. That's pretty solid, nothing great, but not bad either.

[MrBrightside]

Therrien is trying to keep Eaton and Gonchar together, so when Eaton goes out against the top PP unit, so does Gonchar...and he's just horrible at the PK. I don't know if the answer is to put a different guy with Eaton when Eaton's out there on the PK or just to play the other two pairs, but as solid as Eaton generally is, I think most PP goals have been scored against that defense pairing.

[Maestro]

LATELY.

Well, they haven't moved up in PK rankings during this stretch - they were ranked 23rd overall 2 weeks ago and still are

Most of what's been said is fairly accurate - Eaton can PK, but they need a Dman to clear people out and noone currently on the roster fits that bill - it SHOULD be Orpik, but he may not be able to produce what is needed

Even with Eaton/Orpik - the 2nd PK would be horrible in terms of Dmen on it (scuderi/Gonchar?)

So, in conclusion I am now convinced Matttias Norstrom would represent a tremendous upside to the Pens and could be the missing link for them making a run this season

[MrBrightside]

LATELY. As I've said, their success rate during this winning stretch has been equal to that of a team in the middle of the pack. That's pretty solid, nothing great, but not bad either.

It's actually good at home, but LATELY on the road it's been abysmal. Montreal was 2-for-2 on Sunday, Philly 2-for-5 last night, and they gave up at least 1 PP goal in the 7 road games before that. That's 9 straight road games giving up at least 1 PP goal...that will bite you, and bite you hard if you don't fix it.