Series Thread: Eastern Conference Finals: Tampa Bay Lightning vs Pittsburgh Penguins

[thedddd]

Well the positive was the strong play at the end of the game. Hopefully they start strong Sunday.

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

MAF or Murray? MAF looked pretty good in relief. IDK, Murray has been great for us, but he's looked shaky in this series.

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

Murray his first 7 playoff games...


Murray his last 6 playoff games...


There's been a clear drop off.

 

[scoutyjones2]

I go with MAF...I think Murray has done spectacular and yesterdays game isn't on him

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

Not looking good for Trevor Daley. Reports say that he left Amalie Arena on crutches.

 

[scoutyjones2]

If Daley is out for any period of time, Sullivan said the team has faith in Olli Maatta.

Maatta was scratched after Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals. That break served as a kind of reset, Sullivan said.

“I think so,” said Sullivan. “Olli is a really good player. He’s played in key situations for us all year. He’s been a top four defenseman for us for most of the year. We believe in him. We have a lot of confidence in him.”


Yeah, I don't!

 

[scoutyjones2]

On the goaltending:

Additionally, Sullivan said he has not yet made a decision on his starting goaltender for Game 5 Sunday in Consol Energy Center. After allowing four goals on 26 shots, Matt Murray was pulled after two periods in Game 4 in favor of former starter Marc-Andre Fleury who stopped all seven shots he faced in the third period.

“Marc's a real good goalie,” Sullivan said. “Matt's played extremely well for us, making timely saves. He did it again [Friday] night. So it's a nice problem to have when you have that quality of goaltenders.”

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

If Daley is out for any period of time, Sullivan said the team has faith in Olli Maatta.

Maatta was scratched after Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals. That break served as a kind of reset, Sullivan said.

“I think so,” said Sullivan. “Olli is a really good player. He’s played in key situations for us all year. He’s been a top four defenseman for us for most of the year. We believe in him. We have a lot of confidence in him.”


Yeah, I don't!

I would rather see Pouliot than Maatta.

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

On the goaltending:

Additionally, Sullivan said he has not yet made a decision on his starting goaltender for Game 5 Sunday in Consol Energy Center. After allowing four goals on 26 shots, Matt Murray was pulled after two periods in Game 4 in favor of former starter Marc-Andre Fleury who stopped all seven shots he faced in the third period.

“Marc's a real good goalie,” Sullivan said. “Matt's played extremely well for us, making timely saves. He did it again [Friday] night. So it's a nice problem to have when you have that quality of goaltenders.”

MAF looked really sharp last night, and it wasn't just the 7 saves out of 7 shots stat that I'm looking at. He really looked a lot more agile and in control than Murray, plus I didn't stress when people shot high on him. Guess I was so mesmerized by Murray's magical run, I forgot how good MAF was. I think we would be better off going with MAF from here on out. Murray is great at taking away everything down low, but he looks very vulnerable when teams go up high on him. MAF brings a sense of calm, composure, & stability which is what we need in net right now.

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

Not good at all...
Pittsburgh's Trevor Daley Injured in Game 4

 

[scoutyjones2]

My fear with MAF is that the already porous D will become even worse because they will play more lazy and recklessly on D knowing he's back there...but with the amount of craptastic D men to have to choose from, MAF should be the choice anyway

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

My fear with MAF is that the already porous D will become even worse because they will play more lazy and recklessly on D knowing he's back there...but with the amount of craptastic D men to have to choose from, MAF should be the choice anyway

They no doubt rallied around Murray these past couple of months, but I want MAF in net if we're going to play Maatta against a speedy team like the Lightning. Otherwise, the Bolts will just get breakaways & go top shelf every time.

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

Only reason I haven't completely lost hope after losing Daley is because we got Justin Schultz. Just as Daley had to step up with the loss of Letang in game 4 vs the Capitals, I could see Justin Schultz stepping up to make up for the loss of Daley. Thing that worries me most is if they bring Maatta back into the lineup, which I think they will.

 

[scoutyjones2]

Broken ankle and Flower in net, maybe a beau Bennett sighting ...and Maata more than likely playing D

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Penguins revealed they will be without defenseman Trevor Daley for the rest of the playoffs after he suffered a broken ankle on a collision along the boards with Tampa Bay Lightning forward Ryan Callahan in Game 4.

Coach Mike Sullivan also announced that veteran goalie Marc-Andre Fleury will start in place of Matt Murray, who has been the starter since early in the first round.

“Lots of things went into the decision,” said Sullivan, declining to elaborate.

Sullivan said the rest of his lineup will be a game-time decision. Defenseman Olli Maatta is expected to replace Daley in the lineup.

The Penguins will miss Daley’s skating and puck-moving ability. His mid-season acquisition from Chicago helped trigger the refinement of the Penguins' offensive attack. He helps them push the pace.

Forward Beau Bennett will likely return to the Penguins’ lineup, although Sullivan has not confirmed that.

"If Beau plays, he brings a lot of skill," Sullivan said. "He's a good-sized kid. He's strong on the puck. He can really shoot it. But he's a guy that has high-end offensive skills. So if we choose to go that route, that's one more guy that we can use in that capacity."

Injured Tampa Bay goalie Ben Bishop is not participating in the Lightning’s morning skate, and he’s not expected to return in Game 5.




Personally, I just don't get the love for Daley. I think he sucks at D and the Pens don't really need an offensive minded D man...they need an honest to goodness shut down D man...Look how they did without him in the 3rd period. I am glad he was gotten for that turd Scuderi though!

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

Personally, I just don't get the love for Daley. I think he sucks at D and the Pens don't really need an offensive minded D man...they need an honest to goodness shut down D man...Look how they did without him in the 3rd period. I am glad he was gotten for that turd Scuderi though!

Other thatn Letang, Daley has been our only dman who has shown he could take the puck out of our zone without turning it over. Hopefully, Schultz can fill in that role, but we'll also miss Daley's left handed shot from the point. It kind of messes us up big time. Hopefully, Maatta won't be the liability he was in game 1

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

I always have and I always will believe in Flower Power!

LET'S GO PENS!

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

Lines for tonight...
Bennett/Sid/Hornqvist
Kunitz/Geno/Rust
Hagelin/Bonino/Kessel
Kuhnhackl/Cullen/Fehr

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

Defense looking sloppy, the Flower has bailed us out about 3 times now.

Get better guys!

 

[scoutyjones2]

Yep...sloppy and bad spacing. Letang looks bad

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

HOLY SHIT DUMOULIN!

1-0 PENS WITH 1.7 TO GO!