Bylsma

[SFNL]

Seeing an increasing number of people growing impatient with ol Disco these days... I think this is a pretty important season for him if he wants to stay. Discipline on this team is poor at best & he is seemingly making bad coaching decisions on an every other night basis. Time is ticking on this core group of Penguins and a lot of people are having a hard time seeing how Disco is the right man moving forward. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt through the rest of this season but I am expecting a lot out of this team.... A lot more than I have seen on a consistant basis. Our home record is absolutely inexcusable.

Thoughts?

 

[evolver115]

I am disappointed in Bylsma and his staff(not to be confused with me wanting him fired). Of the Penguins' six losses this season, they have held a lead in four of them! This is a recurring issue that wraps around to the end of last season. I don't exactly know how much blame he should be expected to shoulder for this, but it is a reflection on how his in-game management seems to be lacking, and how his team fails to listen to him.

His approach, in my opinion, seems to be stubborn. He won't change his coaching strategy and philosophy, lightly. When I think of a situation in which Dan handled well, I go back to the 2010-11 season when the Pens were sans Crosby and Malkin. He changed their style from a north/south attack at all costs, to a much more defensively oriented approach. It worked up until the lack of star talent among the forward position finally caught up to them in the seven game series against Tampa. They just couldn't score enough to stay competitive.

With Crosby and Malkin back in the lineup, Dan is obviously willing to go back to the north/south aggressive style. Which is fine. They have the talent to do it. Why not unleash that star power? Yet, it is a fine line between aggressive and over aggressive. So much so that he doesn't seem to know when to call off the dogs.. like when they have a 2 goal lead(winnipeg,philly).

I also question his ability to get his talent to listen to him when it comes to playing smart. The lack of discipline with taking retaliatory penalties is a concern. This is also a recurring issue. Consider the game last night, the game against NJ last week, or the game against the leafs last month. Too many needless retaliatory penalties cost them precious minutes of taking the top talent off the ice in order to kill penalties.

With all of that said, I think Dan still has more than ample time to mold this team into a consistent disciplined group. If he can get them to buy into a philosophy of playing smart hockey, instead of arrogant and retaliatory, they can go far.

 

[element1286]

Well said, Evolver.

If they Pens are unable to change gears, slow the game down, speed it up, then that is failed coaching. He makes minor adjustments, but they are always within the same North-South at all costs philosophy.

 

[evolver115]

Thank you, El.

It might also be a reflection on the roster, too. What has really changed since last season's collapse?

Not much.

Add in Tanner Glass, Despres and Bortuzzo. Subtract Steve Sullivan, Richard Park and Arron Asham. There is also the Staal for Sutter trade, but those aren't significant changes. They're subtle. Staal never shouldered more than a third line center role, and Sutter does the same. So should we really expect the issues that dogged them at the end of last season to all of a sudden disappear?

 

[SFNL]

With Crosby and Malkin back in the lineup, Dan is obviously willing to go back to the north/south aggressive style. Which is fine. They have they talent to do it. Why not unleash that star power? Yet, it is a fine line between agressive and over agressive. So much so that he doesn't seem to know when to call of the dogs.. like when they have a 2 goal lead(winnipeg,philly).

I also question his ability to get his talent to listen to him when it comes to playing smart. The lack of discipline with taking retaliatory penalties is a concern. This is also a recurring issue. Consider the game last night, the game against NJ last week, or the game against the leafs last month. Too many needless retaliatory penalties cost them precious minutes of taking the top talent off the ice in order to kill penalties.

Disco had a few fairly "no shit" comments after the game... It's the same thing each time & it's his job to fix it. One of them..

, Dan... Now fix it.

 

[evolver115]

Disco had a few fairly "no shit" comments after the game... It's the same thing each time & it's his job to fix it. One of them..

, Dan... Now fix it.

It's an easy fix, IMO. Just cut the crap. They cannot afford to be taking cheap shit penalties like Adams took in the last two minutes of the 2nd. Or the stupid retaliatory penalty Malkin took against Couturier while he was cross-checking the ever living shit out of Geno in the corner. If Malkin would have just skated away, he probably would have seen them go back to the power-play. Geno couldn't resist.

That stuff just can't happen. Last two minutes in the period and you take a weak penalty? Adams probably felt horrible about it after the fact, but that just can't happen.

 

[element1286]

The frustration is out of control....and it leads to the Pens getting over-hyped, and not 'playing their game'. They get super frustrated and start trading chances, the system breaks down too easily. In that regard there is equal share of blame on the players and coaches.

 

[JustAsking]

Therrien taking the Habs from last to first in his first season kind of makes you go, hmm.....