Dog bites man - 1-5-09

Well tonight is a big game, and I hope the Pens show up...MSG hasn't been kind to us in the past but maybe it will be this evening.

I can't say I'm all that thrilled with the line combos, but at this point what's it matter?...Satan needs a fire lit under him, maybe he'll get the picture now on 4th line duty

And as for Eaton and Boucher I'm hoping the only reason they're both playing is to get them noticed for a trade, which is sad since my 16 month old daughter wouldn't trade for either of them.  I also think Gill is still a little dinged up.

Other than that, Go PENS!!

Why even dress Satan? I wish MT would use the fourth line with energy guys willing to go fight for pucks. Wallace is a better choice as a fourth liner. Guys like Satan and Peso are not energy guys. and therefore waste ice time for the team on the fourth line. But it won't matter...MT will change the lines 10 minutes into the first period.

I agree!  Put Satan in the press box for a while - until he get's hungry enough to start contributing again!  Hey it worked for Fedetenko....

I'll be at the game tonight (I'll send some pictures, Seth) -- hopefully this shakeup breaks the streak of disappointing 3-2 shootout loses that I have had the pleasure of witnessing at MSG

Makes little difference.

My question is, if Crosby is a "World Class Center", why is there this on-going search for the "World Class Winger" to play with him?  Shouldn't a "World Class Center" be able to produce with most anyone, and turn the right people into superstars?  That's what Mario did.

Could it be that Crosby is extremely difficult to complement, and therefore somewhat over-rated?  Maybe, maybe not.  (disclosure, I am a big proponent of Crosby.)

Could it be that a center like Crosby has a complex set of skills that can only be complemented after extensive experience working with him?  Probably.  The revolving door of linemates cannot be helping his development as a playmaking center.  If I were in Crosby's situation, I would imagine I would get very frustrated and try to force low-percentage individual plays.  And what do we see?  Frustration and low-percentage individual plays.  I am counting the days until a new coaching staff is in place.

What playmakers with the talents of Crosby and Malkin need are competent wingers with small egos that will do EXACTLY what Crosby (or Malkin) tell them to do.  Not superstars.  Clashing egos on or off the ice will break the chemistry.  (This is why I hate to see Crosby and Malkin on the ice together, they're taking time and space away from each other.)  Craig Patrick was able to figure this out for Mario.  Was he and his scouting staff just better than Shero's?  Perhaps.

But, if the Pens blow out the Rangers tonight that'll show you how much I know.

I'd rather see Satan spend a night or two in the pressbox and a WBS player called up and given an opportunity with Sid or Geno. Call up Pesonen and give up a full night on one of the top two lines and determine what his future is in the organization.

I like these changes. They are fairly significant shakeups but not stupid. (Like Crosby 3rd line stupid.) This team went 9-2-1 in November with more injuries than they have now. The only reasons they are losing is because of coaching or their own mindset. I can't blame coaching because look where it got us last year? Look were it got us for the beginning of this season. No, something is wrong with the mindset of the players and they need to get the funk out of them. Bring the change! GO PENS!

How will changing the lines fix the goaltending which has been horrendous lately?  Shero's biggest failure in the off season may have been not bringing in a quality backup and relying on Sabourin, who demonstrated his inability to handle an NHL workload last year when he was supplanted by Conklin.  That left Fleury unchallenged as the #1, and although he was superb in the playoffs last year, he has been inconsistent this year, at best.

As far as the coaching goes, it is becoming painfully clear that they have no idea how to fix a broken power play.

We should give up on seeing Pesonen on a regular shift.  They have obviously not seen enough from him to give him a shot.  (Although the rest of us have seen enough of Satan)

Good post above about Sid not elevating his line-mates ala Mario.  Lots of guys can't do what Mario could though.  (Sid did make Andy Hilbert look pretty good there for a while)

I'm glad to read that Shero understands that one should always trade from a position of strength not desparation.

Where did everybody come from?  It used to be so quiet around here.

Yes Mario did elevate his linemates a liitle better than Sid does, perhaps, but that is not the issue here.  Getting a quality/world-class winger for Sid is.  With all due respect to Bob Errey, Dave Hannan, Rob Brown, et. al.,  think what numbers Mario could've put up with Jarri Kurri as his winger!

Oh and last I looked Sid is 15+35 in 39 games....that's 1.28 ppg.  Not too shabby.

Yeah, everybody needs to lay off Sid. We're extremely lucky that he plays for the team we cheer for. 29 other teams could've won that lottery but the Pens' number was the one called. I agree that he is not playing up to his usual standard, but the fact that he is still over a point-per-game guy speaks to how high that standard is.

the pens traded TJ Kemp to the Habs for a conditional pick...Ha Shelly Anderson! Shero did make a move!!!  He's unloading the AHL roster...Watch out.  Sorry everyone, I had to...I have no clue what this means for future moves, but apparently we're interested in JP Dumont...is that good or bad?

JP isn't bad...he's been a solid fantasy player for me this year --- 7 goals, 24 assists.  He's in a slump right now, though and 30 years old.  

I think Therien needs to grow some you know whats and bench Crosby.  Where has Sid been lately?  

Cant bench Sid, hes gotta work through his problems.....i dont understand scratching Goligoski, your most productive offensive Dman right now makes NO sense......Eaton and Boucher are both HORRIBLE.......would rather see Satan benched than put on a line that is not even suited for his game(when he has one).......Wallace has played well in my opinion on that line..........looks like a nonsensical way to shake things up and in my opinion is part of the problem........T continues to put people in a postion to fail and has weakened the team for tonites game..........not a Gill fan either, but he is better than Eaton at the defensive part of the game and Goligoski is better than Boucher as an offensvie catalyst........

disgruntled goat, right on man.......sabourin is medicre at best......

did we think we hit bottom on Saturday?  I am not sure we even know where the bottom is yet??  scoring a goal will feel like wiinning a playoff series.....