Game Thread: Pittsburgh Penguins(1) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets(WC 1)| ECQF

[Gooch1034]

I really wanted the BJs to play any other team but Pittsburgh so I could root for them. I liked what I saw in the RS. Easy team to like. Tough to hate.

 

[forty_three]

I cant totally write them off simply because of their talent. They need to get things figured out fast to have a real chance to go any further though.

The biggest advantage they had in this series (read: the Jackets biggest weakness) is the lack of pure scoring threat from the Jackets. There was not one punch player on the Jackets forward corps that made the Pens D back up. The Jackets played well and attacked the puck, but the Pens never really had to do anything to contain a pure sniper, especially a second line one. Top D faced the top guys (Plug Johansen), and the Jackets had to grind for goals.

Almost wishing they'd have held onto Gabby. Even if he didn't fit the Jackets mold, he has to be accounted for. Jackets need to address that in the offseason.

Pens need to address it sooner. Because both the Rangers and Flyers have snipers up and down the lineup.

 

[evolver115]

I really wanted the BJs to play any other team but Pittsburgh so I could root for them. I liked what I saw in the RS. Easy team to like. Tough to hate.

Yep. Kinda said the same thing earlier tonight. Tons of respect for them. They play the game the way it was meant to be played. Loved their heart. Will be rooting for them next season when they aren't playing Pittsburgh.

 

[Gooch1034]

The biggest advantage they had in this series (read: the Jackets biggest weakness) is the lack of pure scoring threat from the Jackets. There was not one punch player on the Jackets forward corps that made the Pens D back up. The Jackets played well and attacked the puck, but the Pens never really had to do anything to contain a pure sniper, especially a second line one. Top D faced the top guys (Plug Johansen), and the Jackets had to grind for goals.

Almost wishing they'd have held onto Gabby. Even if he didn't fit the Jackets mold, he has to be accounted for. Jackets need to address that in the offseason.

Pens need to address it sooner. Because both the Rangers and Flyers have snipers up and down the lineup.

Exactly right! Even without having any punch players, they took this Pens team to their knees.

They will only get better from here. I look forward to watching them these next couple seasons.

 

[DevilishWon]

Great effort jackets...43 had to feel good I think this team is gonna continue to improve

 

[dash]

As soon as they brought JD and Jarmo on board, you knew brighter days would be on the horizon for the Jackets. JD re-built the Blues and he's doing the same with Columbus.

 

[forty_three]

As soon as they brought JD and Jarmo on board, you knew brighter days would be on the horizon for the Jackets. JD re-built the Blues and he's doing the same with Columbus.

And you have to give Howson credit. JD and Jarmo put in the culture, but it was Howson who drafted Atkinson, Calvert, Johansen, Murray, Jenner, Savard and Prout. And traded for Johnson, Anisimov, Bobrovsky, Dubinski, Letestu and Foligno.

Add Wiz, Tyutin and Horton. That's the core. With the Jarmo draft class coming (Wennberg, Rychel, Bjorkstrand and Dano)



I will even forgive Howson for overpaying for Umberger and Boll.

 

[evolver115]

The biggest advantage they had in this series (read: the Jackets biggest weakness) is the lack of pure scoring threat from the Jackets. There was not one punch player on the Jackets forward corps that made the Pens D back up. The Jackets played well and attacked the puck, but the Pens never really had to do anything to contain a pure sniper, especially a second line one. Top D faced the top guys (Plug Johansen), and the Jackets had to grind for goals.

Almost wishing they'd have held onto Gabby. Even if he didn't fit the Jackets mold, he has to be accounted for. Jackets need to address that in the offseason.

Pens need to address it sooner. Because both the Rangers and Flyers have snipers up and down the lineup.

Funny thing about that, though. Once April and May rolls around, those are the type of hockey players you want on the ice. Granted, not an entire four lines of grinders, but the perimeter skating goal scorers don't seem to show up as often once playoff hockey begins (Sharp, Neal).

 

[dash]

And you have to give Howson credit. JD and Jarmo put in the culture, but it was Howson who drafted Atkinson, Calvert, Johansen, Murray, Jenner, Savard and Prout. And traded for Johnson, Anisimov, Bobrovsky, Dubinski, Letestu and Foligno.

Add Wiz, Tyutin and Horton. That's the core. With the Jarmo draft class coming (Wennberg, Rychel, Bjorkstrand and Dano)



I will even forgive Howson for overpaying for Umberger and Boll.

So in summary, the culture stinks in Edmonton?

 

[scoutyjones2]

Seriously? CBJ is not a talented team...The Pens are far and away a more talented team that should have won like they did in game 5, and most of game 6...handily and fairly easily for a playoff. But the Pens are prima donnas...look how they played the last 10 minutes of the game. They think because they are talented/skilled, they are just going to win even though toughness, grit and desire play as important a roll...that is what CBJ had...certainly not a very talented squad. I tip my hat to them for grinding this series out but their talent pool is nowhere near Pittsburgh's.


And to give them credit for being a coin flip (NHL playoff) team just shows how stupid it is to let half the teams into the playoffs...Should be the top 8 teams, not 16. Makes the regular season meaningless

 

[pixburgher66]

Seriously? CBJ is not a talented team...The Pens are far and away a more talented team that should have won like they did in game 5, and most of game 6...handily and fairly easily for a playoff. But the Pens are prima donnas...look how they played the last 10 minutes of the game. They think because they are talented/skilled, they are just going to win even though toughness, grit and desire play as important a roll...that is what CBJ had...certainly not a very talented squad. I tip my hat to them for grinding this series out but their talent pool is nowhere near Pittsburgh's.


And to give them credit for being a coin flip (NHL playoff) team just shows how stupid it is to let half the teams into the playoffs...Should be the top 8 teams, not 16. Makes the regular season meaningless

I'll simply say that I disagree with just about everything you said...and leave it at that.

 

[elocomotive]

Seriously? CBJ is not a talented team...The Pens are far and away a more talented team that should have won like they did in game 5, and most of game 6...handily and fairly easily for a playoff. But the Pens are prima donnas...look how they played the last 10 minutes of the game. They think because they are talented/skilled, they are just going to win even though toughness, grit and desire play as important a roll...that is what CBJ had...certainly not a very talented squad. I tip my hat to them for grinding this series out but their talent pool is nowhere near Pittsburgh's.


And to give them credit for being a coin flip (NHL playoff) team just shows how stupid it is to let half the teams into the playoffs...Should be the top 8 teams, not 16. Makes the regular season meaningless

Not for the teams that finish the regular season 9th in the conference.

In any case, the owners certainly aren't going to be giving back all that extra revenue from the first round of the playoffs anytime soon.

 

[Darkstone42]

Seriously? CBJ is not a talented team...The Pens are far and away a more talented team that should have won like they did in game 5, and most of game 6...handily and fairly easily for a playoff. But the Pens are prima donnas...look how they played the last 10 minutes of the game. They think because they are talented/skilled, they are just going to win even though toughness, grit and desire play as important a roll...that is what CBJ had...certainly not a very talented squad. I tip my hat to them for grinding this series out but their talent pool is nowhere near Pittsburgh's.


And to give them credit for being a coin flip (NHL playoff) team just shows how stupid it is to let half the teams into the playoffs...Should be the top 8 teams, not 16. Makes the regular season meaningless

You know, you could just give the Jackets credit for playing a great and effective brand of playoff hockey and acknowledge that perhaps they are pretty talented.

They played a great system. As it turns out, playing a great system is really important. When everyone buys into that system, the team has success.

No, they aren't flashy, but to say they aren't talented is ridiculous. They have perhaps the best goaltender in hockey, a 21-year-old 30+ goal scorer, some very good two-way players with both scoring touch and grit, and a young and up-and-coming defense.

They're a good team.

The Penguins didn't play a great series, but Richards and his staff and the Blue Jacket players deserve a lot of the credit for that.

 

[elocomotive]

You know, you could just give the Jackets credit for playing a great and effective brand of playoff hockey and acknowledge that perhaps they are pretty talented.

They played a great system. As it turns out, playing a great system is really important. When everyone buys into that system, the team has success.

No, they aren't flashy, but to say they aren't talented is ridiculous. They have perhaps the best goaltender in hockey, a 21-year-old 30+ goal scorer, some very good two-way players with both scoring touch and grit, and a young and up-and-coming defense.

They're a good team.

Yeah and they're young, so they have something to look forward to.

To the bolded part, the danger too is that they show other teams a blueprint for how to come at you in a series, especially when coaching your way through a series is entirely different than how you approach an 82-game season. About 2/3 of the way through the season I would have said the Pens would roll through the East in the playoffs. With some of their defensive issues, I think they might struggle to get past most of the remaining teams. But they are schizophrenic, so you never know when the light may come on again.

Certainly things to be positive about coming out of this series for the Pens and things to cause worry.

 

[Jared]

Respect to that team. They played what is probably a more talented team and played them pretty close to even. That series, and every game in it, could have gone either way. It was nice to see the reaction they got from the home fans. The level of effort team wide was one of the highest I can remember.

Hopefully they did the Pens a favor and woke this team up, we shall see.

 

[dare2be]

Who puked all over this thread?

If you get the reference, kudos.

 

[scoutyjones2]

You know, you could just give the Jackets credit for playing a great and effective brand of playoff hockey and acknowledge that perhaps they are pretty talented.

They played a great system. As it turns out, playing a great system is really important. When everyone buys into that system, the team has success.

No, they aren't flashy, but to say they aren't talented is ridiculous. They have perhaps the best goaltender in hockey, a 21-year-old 30+ goal scorer, some very good two-way players with both scoring touch and grit, and a young and up-and-coming defense.

They're a good team.

The Penguins didn't play a great series, but Richards and his staff and the Blue Jacket players deserve a lot of the credit for that.

Sure, I could blow smoke up their fans arse but I won't...this is a superior Pens team that turns to crap in the playoffs because of their internal makeup. This should have been a cake walk series, and it wasn't because of the Pens stars playing like shit and the perpetual ineptness of Abysmal D scheme. This is a continuation of Penguin playoff failures, not the Blue Jackets "talent".

 

[scoutyjones2]

Who puked all over this thread?

If you get the reference, kudos.

Oh please...it's a forum for opinions, debate and discussion...put on some big boy pants.

 

[forty_three]

So in summary, the culture stinks in Edmonton?

Yes, but I would trade my entire roster for theirs.

Wait. Would NOT. Would not trade rosters. I would not even trade Ryan Murray for any THREE players on that roster.

Seriously? CBJ is not a talented team...The Pens are far and away a more talented team that should have won like they did in game 5, and most of game 6...handily and fairly easily for a playoff. But the Pens are prima donnas...look how they played the last 10 minutes of the game. They think because they are talented/skilled, they are just going to win even though toughness, grit and desire play as important a roll...that is what CBJ had...certainly not a very talented squad. I tip my hat to them for grinding this series out but their talent pool is nowhere near Pittsburgh's.


And to give them credit for being a coin flip (NHL playoff) team just shows how stupid it is to let half the teams into the playoffs...Should be the top 8 teams, not 16. Makes the regular season meaningless

:rollseyes:

Who puked all over this thread?

If you get the reference, kudos.

I like that you still have that one line as your user title, Mr Mod Sir.

 

[dare2be]

Well, at least one person didn't get the reference.