When Sid doesn't win the Hart, I'm Going to be Pissed...

[SFNL]

Think about this one... Put Staal at center, line 2.. Leave Letestu at 3. Drop Connor, and put Malkin up at Sid's wing.

Lines would look like this

1.
Kunitz, Crosby, Malkin

2.
Dupuis, Staal, Asham

3.
Kennedy, Letestu, Cooke

4.
Rupp, Talbot, Adams

Edit... Lots of scoring chances on line #1

 

[loki604]

Right now Pittsburgh is 15-8-2 through 25 games, in a more top heavy division. Philly is playing well, the Rangers are in the hunt, but the Isles and Devils have been garbage thus far. Tampa is 13-8-3 through 24 games, in a more balanced division... Washington is quietly the number one team in the league, and Atlanta and Carolina are both in the playoff picture.

Pittsburgh has a +15 goal differential, they have scored only three more goals than TB this year but have allowed 17 fewer. That's going to come with a more mature, "been there seen that" kind of team. They have had some turnover since they last won the Cup, but the core is the same and the team seems to be playing a more complete defensive game. Tampa had a lot of roster movement over the off season with Yzerman taking the helm, and it takes time to get a new coach and a bunch of new players on the same page.

Both teams looks about equal in terms of overall talent, or at least pretty damn close. Tampa has had to deal with a new coach, new system, new GM, and new players, while Pittsburgh has had injuries and slumps to manage. Staal has been out, Michalek and Orpik have missed time, and I heard Paul Woods on the radio today saying that Malkin has been battling knee injuries all year. I don't know if this is true, or if Paul Uh Woods uh needs uh to uh check uh his sour uh ces a little uh better, but it would explain some things.

Right now Stamkos has scored 28% of his team's goals, and has been in on 53% of them.

Crosby has scored 23% of his team's goals, and has been in on 52% of them.

Those raw numbers give Stamkos an edge, but as was pointed out there is a huge gap between Crosby's point totals and the next closest players. Stamkos has St. Louis on his wing and next to him on the scoring charts. There is some evidence of St. Louis doing a little Rucchining off of Stamkos, he's on pace for 98 points and scored 94 last year after two 80 point campaigns... most players don't get a jump like that towards the end of their careers, so I think it's obvious Stamkos is contributing to that.

Obviously St. Louis is a great player and a great playmaker, and he's ten times the player that Dupuis or Chris "careful with that last name" Kunitiz will ever be, I'm not making that argument.

But I think right now the numbers and situations are so close that it's just a matter of opinion at this point. I can see the argument that Stamkos is getting all the consideration because everyone loves a new toy, but I think if you removed both those players from their respective teams the Pens would still be in the playoffs, while the Lightning would be dropping like a rock.

Stamkos is putting up a higher percentage of his team's numbers, on a team that desperately needs the offense (shaky goaltending is a killer).

Nice post. I'm not sure if the Penguins would be a playoff team without Crosby...it would depend on the consistency or lack thereof from Fleury and Malkin. Certainly, the Penguins D/goaltending is better than the Lightning's, but they pretty much have no one putting the puck in the net consistently other than Crosby. Malkin looks disinterested a lot...hard to say...though our only sampling of a Malkin-led Penguins team did see Malkin tear it up, so who knows.

No doubt the St. Louis-Stamkos pairing is mutually beneficial, but Sid is creating something from nothing most nights (Kunitz's decent play as of late aside), not to mention the work he does on faceoffs and away from the puck.

 

[Eddie_Shack]

Is it true Malkin has been having knee issues? I just heard it on the radio tonight and it's the first I've heard of it this season.

 

[loki604]

with all do respect, how can sid be the runaway hands down favorite?

forget whose setting you up. what stamkos is doing right now, in this day and age is simply unheard of.

I think that is a weird thing to say when Sid is only three behind him. How did you feel last year...Sedin with 29 goals, Crosby with 51.

Edit: And I think he's the runaway favorite because what are you going to use as a tiebreaker if production is relatively the same? You're looking at three more goals...I'll look at defensive play and faceoffs along with who he is playing with, which factors into that valuable question.

As for the Lester P. or whatever the fuck they call it, that would be a coin flip.

 

[Eddie_Shack]

Also as far as D goes, both teams are top four in the league for shots allowed per game. TB is number two, Pittsburgh is number four. It just goes to show you that as shaky as MAF has been, the Ellis/Smith tandem has been even worse. I think Pittsburgh has a better defense, but Tampa's players have bought into the system and are working hard at a good complete team defense.

 

[loki604]

Is it true Malkin has been having knee issues? I just heard it on the radio tonight and it's the first I've heard of it this season.

Who the fuck knows. Every injury is a damn secret. He doesn't look like himself most nights though, so probably.

 

[Eddie_Shack]

Who the fuck knows. Every injury is a damn secret. He doesn't look like himself most nights though, so probably.

Well fuck that borscht rapist then.

 

[SFNL]

Malkin is fine. He's just been moved around a lot...

 

[loki604]

Malkin is fine. He's just been moved around a lot...

He gets paid $8.7 million. He needs to play like it. I know he's playing with trash, but he used to be so good defensively and now he's just not. That has nothing to do with his linemates.

 

[SFNL]

He gets paid $8.7 million. He needs to play like it. I know he's playing with trash, but he used to be so good defensively and now he's just not. That has nothing to do with his linemates.

Wow...

 

[loki604]

Wow...

I find him frustrating. When he's on, he is so on. When he's off, it's bad. He's looked better in the last handful of games though.

 

[SFNL]

I do think that sometimes he tries to make more out of a play than is available (mainly when on the ice w/ lesser talent).. But I wont question his defensive abilities.

 

[loki604]

I do think that sometimes he tries to make more out of a play than is available (mainly when on the ice w/ lesser talent).. But I wont question his defensive abilities.

I agree with you first point and it's especially evident when he's pressing for a goal.

Sorry, but he just hasn't returned to his previous defensive greatness and has made some pretty boneheaded decisions. Remember the sequence of events that led to the Rangers tying goal in the waning seconds of the third period when we played them? That was a dumbass play by Malkin. Not to mention his faceoff percentage is 37%. That is ridiculous.

He needs to be better. We know he can be.

 

[JustAsking]

I would think it's a safe bet to say Malkin is having knee issues. He's missed one game because of a knee, and he gets some "maintenance" days off, rather than practice. Sid also gets maintenance days for his hip flexor and Orpik does as well for his abdomen. But I wouldn't consider any of them as a hindrance to playing the game at a high level. No player, other than Staal, misses consecutive practices.

The puck is just not going in for Malkin right now... he's doing some good things on the ice. He's the only Russian on the team, I'm not sure if Gonch's departure is uncomfortable to him. Pens only have two non-north americans. There may be other, non hockey related issues he's dealing with, I'm not sure. But, he'll be OK. He just needs to play a bit smarter and simpler. He's dominate at times on the ice, but doesn't have the results on the score sheet. As long as he shows up in the playoffs, I'm ok with him being on pace for roughly 82 pts in the regular season.

 

[loki604]

I would think it's a safe bet to say Malkin is having knee issues. He's missed one game because of a knee, and he gets some "maintenance" days off, rather than practice. Sid also gets maintenance days for his hip flexor and Orpik does as well for his abdomen. But I wouldn't consider any of them as a hindrance to playing the game at a high level. No player, other than Staal, misses consecutive practices.

The puck is just not going in for Malkin right now... he's doing some good things on the ice. He's the only Russian on the team, I'm not sure if Gonch's departure is uncomfortable to him. Pens only have two non-north americans. There may be other, non hockey related issues he's dealing with, I'm not sure. But, he'll be OK. He just needs to play a bit smarter and simpler. He's dominate at times on the ice, but doesn't have the results on the score sheet. As long as he shows up in the playoffs, I'm ok with him being on pace for roughly 82 pts in the regular season.

I agree that he hasn't been rewarded at times for strong play, the game against Calgary being a good example.

 

[evolver115]

He gets paid $8.7 million. He needs to play like it. I know he's playing with trash, but he used to be so good defensively and now he's just not. That has nothing to do with his linemates.

I agree with that. The year Geno won the Ross, his defense played a huge part in that. He was a thief on the blue-line, poke-checking pucks off guys sticks and creating two on one's the other way. He lived by the steal. Now... not so much.

I don't know if that has to do with a knee injury, or not. But it's safe to say, Geno isn't playing with a full deck right now.

 

[Darkstone42]

Think about this one... Put Staal at center, line 2.. Leave Letestu at 3. Drop Connor, and put Malkin up at Sid's wing.

Lines would look like this

1.
Kunitz, Crosby, Malkin

2.
Dupuis, Staal, Asham

3.
Kennedy, Letestu, Cooke

4.
Rupp, Talbot, Adams

Edit... Lots of scoring chances on line #1

I would balance the team a little more I think. Basically, I would switch Kunitz and Dupuis.

1. Dupuis - Crosby - Malkin
2. Kunitz - Staal - Asham
3. Cooke - Letestu - Kennedy
4. Rupp - Adams - Talbot

Talbot, Cooke, and Asham are interchangeable. Whoever's got the scoring touch at the time should go to the second line. Staal and Kunitz have played well together in the past. Dupuis and Crosby have good chemistry.

 

[dash]

Dupuis and Crosby have good chemistry.

Speaking of chemistry...

Dailymotion - We've got chemistry here, you feel it? - a Funny video

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

Malkin should be playing Center. It's his natural position & he plays better when he's at center.

 

[DChero]

I know, I know. I'm living in the past. I was looking through some older threads and found this kind of funny. It's a good thing that the awards weren't voted on then. I can't wait to see what this fall holds.