Greetings from Pittsburgh

[Armyrulez 0]

Question.

What kind of effect has Dan Bylsma had on the team? And how? Did he just set Sid and Geno free from MT's trap system or is he a great motivator or both...?

Bylsma has changed the mentality to that of a puck posession game, their forecheck has become ferocious under HCDB, and at the same time have become a lot more responsible defensively with the forwards backtracking, allowing the D-men to maintain good gaps against rushing forwards. In short HCDB=forecheck, puck posession. FHCMT=fall back defensively, counter off neutral zone turnovers. This current Pens team is built to forecheck and attack.

[titanium2 867]

I think people enjoying playing for him a lot more. We play a free, agressive style now that I think the players really enjoy. He is very laid back( I've never seen him yell or show any sign of emotion). With Therrien, he yelled a ton and ripped the players apart some times. I think they just got tired of him. From what I hear, Bylsma is a jokester in the locker room and has a lot of fun with the guys. He could be of the great up and coming coaches.

This was his first year ever headcoaching. He started in the AHL. After the final game in the AHL, he told his players that he was hired to the NHL( He hadn't told anybody yet, and it wasn't public new yet). Apparently, they gave him a standing ovation in the locker room and were all cheering and clapping...So it seems that his players really respect him and enjoy the style that he wants his teams to play.

Kind of what I thought. Freedom is a great thing - the aggressive style you mentioned; as well as knowing your coach trusts you. He seems really impressive.

[stactum 4]

Bylsma has changed the mentality to that of a puck posession game, their forecheck has become ferocious under HCDB, and at the same time have become a lot more responsible defensively with the forwards backtracking, allowing the D-men to maintain good gaps against rushing forwards. In short HCDB=forecheck, puck posession. FHCMT=fall back defensively, counter off neutral zone turnovers. This current Pens team is built to forecheck and attack.

That is what I've seen from '09 PIT.

It will be interesting to see whether they'll have plan B since they haven't faced yet the team who possesses the puck as the Red Wings

[WingZNut13 99]

Hey Coffey, do you think Pitt can match Detriot player for player?

I honestly think that player for player, Detriot has the upper hand. I just wanted to know what the Penguin nation is thinking about when they play Detriot.

[Snazzy 0]

Malkin scares me.

As long as Fleury doesn't heat up, the Penguins do not.

Really? It's the opposite for me. Malkin and Fleury are a gift (if we play them) compared to the Hiller/Mason, Getzlaf/Perry and Nash players we faced.

Dats will regain confidence playing against Malkin. Though Malkin is the pens top scorers, he is a liability when pressured like Dats will (or Zetterberg) will do. His defensive game is nearly non existent. Perry is better defensively than Malkin.

Fleury on the other hand will be streaky. He'll make 2 highlight goals, then give up for softies. I think Flip, Huds and Sammy will have a lot of fun with him, as well as Hossa and Franzen.

Zetterberg and Dats may not score a lot of goals, but they'll certainly limit Crosby and Malkin to very few SOG and quality chances. Detroit will need to be very disciplined and stay out of the box. Because like Chicago, Pens will make us pay.

Lastly, though Detroit has the ability to make other team's goalies look good, the Red Wings have really gained a lot of killer instinct and determination to put away ugly goals when needed. Thanks to the Ducks and Hiller.

Penguins have a lot of confidence right now, but Detroit Red Wings are scientists at taking that away and discouraging other team's hopes. (See game 6 against the Ducks and game 4 against Hawks), Wings have a nack for getting under peoples skins due to their relentless tenacity.

The only thing that scares me is more injuries to the team. We do need Dats and Lidstrom back and healthy.

Edited May 26, 2009 by Snazzy

[titanium2 867]

Really? It's the opposite for me. Malkin and Fleury are a gift (if we play them) compared to the Hiller/Mason, Getzlaf/Perry and Nash players we faced.

Dats will regain confidence playing against Malkin. Though Malkin is the pens top scorers, he is a liability when pressured like Dats will (or Zetterberg) will do. His defensive game is nearly non existent. Perry is better defensively than Malkin.

Fleury on the other hand will be streaky. He'll make 2 highlight goals, then give up for softies. I think Flip, Huds and Sammy will have a lot of fun with him, as well as Hossa and Franzen.

Zetterberg and Dats may not score a lot of goals, but they'll certainly limit Crosby and Malkin to very few SOG and quality chances. Detroit will need to be very disciplined and stay out of the box. Because like Chicago, Pens will make us pay.

Lastly, though Detroit has the ability to make other team's goalies look good, the Red Wings have really gained a lot of killer instinct and determination to put away ugly goals when needed. Thanks to the Ducks and Hiller.

Penguins have a lot of confidence right now, but Detroit Red Wings are scientists at taking that away and discouraging other team's hopes. (See game 6 against the Ducks and game 4 against Hawks), Wings have a nack for getting under peoples skins due to their relentless tenacity.

The only thing that scares me is more injuries to the team. We do need Dats and Lidstrom back and healthy.

Dude, the Wings lost game 6 against the Ducks in what might have been one of their worst efforts.

I'm sure the Pens cannot wait to get at the Wings, the team that beat them last year. That's just a natural edge that they'll have being the former loser.

The Wings will have to match if not exceed their intensity, which we all know has been a problem even in the playoffs. For the most part, I'm pretty confident in the Wings but that is my only doubt because it has been a frustrating pattern this year.

[KATIEBARTHEDOOR24 426]

It may be inevitable, but arn't we getting ahead of ourselves

[Dabura 12,232]

I know a lot about the Pens. They have a franchise goalie that can play phenomenal one night then give up 4 softies the next. If he could stay consistently on his game he'd be one of the best in the league. Their top line is Crosby, Kunitz and Guerin. Crosby finally has a complete line, but I don't think its better than last year when they had Hossa with Sid. Malkin is basically on a line by himself this year. Instead of Sykora and Malone, he has Fedotenko and Talbot/Satan. All three of them (Fed, Talbot, Satan) are lousy with the exception of a big goal here and there from Fedetenko and Satan. Jordan Staal is the third line and is supposed to be the shutdown guy, although the Pens put him on Ovechkin in round two and Ovie killed him. The fourth line is a bunch of warm bodies used to fill out a lineup. Lately, its been Craig Adams, Satan and Crosby (11 forwards, 7 defensemen)

The defense is okay, but none of them are complete. Gonchar is great offensively, but mediocre at best on defense. Scuderi is a pretty good shutdown defenseman, but is a nightmare when he has to move the puck. As long as they're in the right role, they're fine, but if someone gets caught out of place, like say Hal Gill in too deep, anyone can blow right past him.

Crosby, Malkin and, to some extent, Fleury have been carrying the team, but they're no where near being as deep as they were last year and any Pens fan that tells you otherwise is lying to himself.

QFT

[NomadFromKazoo 42]

It may be inevitable, but arn't we getting ahead of ourselves

Um...no. You're confusing Wings discussing our own team amongst ourselves and banter with the prospective opposition.

[KATIEBARTHEDOOR24 426]

Um...no. You're confusing Wings discussing our own team amongst ourselves and banter with the prospective opposition.

Just checkin

[Snazzy 0]

Dude, the Wings lost game 6 against the Ducks in what might have been one of their worst efforts.

I'm sure the Pens cannot wait to get at the Wings, the team that beat them last year. That's just a natural edge that they'll have being the former loser.

The Wings will have to match if not exceed their intensity, which we all know has been a problem even in the playoffs. For the most part, I'm pretty confident in the Wings but that is my only doubt because it has been a frustrating pattern this year.

I could be mistaken, but I am pretty sure that Ducks were taking cheap shots against the Wings best players after game 6. Maybe it was game 5... I am too lazy to look it up right now. The scrimmage that Ducks displayed after the whistle was caused from the Wings getting under their skin. I do believe it affected the Ducks composure. Ducks are an impressive team and they never say die, I hate them, but respect them. Penguins don't have the flare and resiliency Ducks have. That cannot even be argued.

I have never questioned Wings intensity so far in the post season. Ducks deserved to win the games that they won, except for GM#3 (due to Hossa's non-goal). I have questioned the Red Wings legs and health, but never their determination and intensity. (see game 6 one second before the horn, the great shot Dats had on Hiller to try to tie the game... but the better save Hiller had on Dats shot should also be noted. That's two teams with pure determination).

Hossa was a pure beast in Game 4 against the Hawks, expect him to play like that against his former team.

[T.Low 1,011]

Hey, OP, welcome to Detroit.

This started out as a great thread until that EMalkintent came aboard. But we can just skip on by his posts. Such is the internet.

Crosby and Malkin worry me this year. People can say what they want about Crosby, but the guy is a tenacious competitor and is strong as can be with such a low center of gravity. He is truly amazing.

That being said, I can't believe how many times during the playoffs I've seen Crosby alone on the side of the net waiting for a juicy rebound or pass. WTF? Its Sidney Frikin Crosby. Like they're not monitoring when he's on the ice and where the heck he is at ALL TIMES? Sheesh.

Its going to be a much better series this year.

[NomadFromKazoo 42]

Crosby and Malkin worry me this year. People can say what they want about Crosby, but the guy is a tenacious competitor and is strong as can be with such a low center of gravity. He is truly amazing.

That being said, I can't believe how many times during the playoffs I've seen Crosby alone on the side of the net waiting for a juicy rebound or pass. WTF? Its Sidney Frikin Crosby. Like they're not monitoring when he's on the ice and where the heck he is at ALL TIMES? Sheesh.

That's true, but Crosby's +/- isn't impressive despite the massive number of points he has. Maybe because he's waiting for the glory goals and individual stats over team play. Malkin is such a better all around player, it's his line we need to stop. So you put our best D on Malkin's line and we burn Crosby as much as he burns us and then let our depth beat theirs.

Edited May 27, 2009 by NomadFromKazoo

[Chris L 0]

That being said, I can't believe how many times during the playoffs I've seen Crosby alone on the side of the net waiting for a juicy rebound or pass. WTF? Its Sidney Frikin Crosby. Like they're not monitoring when he's on the ice and where the heck he is at ALL TIMES? Sheesh.

Well this has a lot to do with the pathetic defense the teams put up against the Pens. Leaving Crosby all alone to float around the offensive zone uncontested is suicide. The Pens haven't faced any kind of serious defensive system yet. I thought the 'Canes would bring that but they seemed tired and worn out by the time they got to the Pens. Such is life for lower seed, giant-killing, teams.

Its going to be a much better series this year.

I do agree with this. Adding Bill Gurein was a smart move by the Pens. He's got experience and will for this time of year and is a good sheppard for Crosby, much like Feds was for Ovie. Malkin seems to have come into his own, and between the two, Malkin is the more complete hockey player. This is a different Pens squad this year, and they're better this year than last, IMO.

Plus, we're really banged up. The Ducks beat the hell out of us and I think half our roster are still nursing the lumps from that and the Hawks have tried to be just as physical as we are. We have some worrisome injuries, Lids, Dats, and Drapes are huge blows for us and we'll need them in top form for the Pens.

Between the Pens upgrades and our injuries, a Wings-Pens series is a coin toss IMO. Without injuries for us, I'd say the Wings will have this one easily (5 or 6 games max).

[HadThomasVokounOnFortSt 878]

Between the Pens upgrades and our injuries, a Wings-Pens series is a coin toss IMO. Without injuries for us, I'd say the Wings will have this one easily (5 or 6 games max).

Even that the Penguins are playing scary good right now? Hmm...

[StormJH1 231]

Even that the Penguins are playing scary good right now? Hmm...

Yeah, but that's always the case. The Cup Finals are a totally different story. Screwey things can happen in matchups with teams you hardly ever play...that 6-5 loss on VS. early this season sticks out in my head. But Philadelphia supposedly looked freakin' invincible in 1997, and they got swept.

Even without Hossa, I think you have to believe that this will be a harder series than it was last year. But that isn't really saying much at all because it basically wasn't a series until the Game 5 overtime shocker. Crosby and Malkin are a year older and wiser, and you'd have to think that they're going to be watching a lot of tape of how the Wings shadowed them with guys like Zetterberg last year and make adjustments. Moreover, the Wings are just so freaking banged up right now, who even knows who we'll send out there.

Also, I'm still not sold on Fleury as a big-time goaltender. He's probably one of the more athletically gifted netminders in the history of the game, and even though he wiped out coming out of the starting gate late year (literally and figuratively), the 2008 Finals were not his fault. But he's also prone to big mistakes that just come out of nowhere and deflate a team. Like the Caps game (which the Pens did end up winning anyway) where he elected to throw his goalstick at the end boards for no good reason, resulting in an empty net goal for Ovechkin.

If the Pens could actually get Crosby AND Malkin firing at the same time, that would be scary. I have severe doubts we can contain Crosby for an entire series...I don't like him much, but the more you watch him, the more you realize that his hockey IQ is just through the roof. Already having nightmares about him standing at his usual spot to the right of the crease on powerplays for open net tap-ins.

But all that said, I still think the Wings are a better team than the Pens, and I'll continue to believe that until I see otherwise.

[Chris L 0]

Even that the Penguins are playing scary good right now? Hmm...

Scary good? Huh? The 'Canes rolled over for them. They let Crosby have all the time and space he wanted for the whole series. Malkin too. The 'Canes that took care of New Jersey were not in this series, the 'Canes really started to fall apart against Boston and got out of that one by the skin of their teeth.

Defense wins the Cup. We have (if healthy) the better defense. Both in terms of players, coaches and system. Ozzie has better stats than Fleury, and lets not forget that the Caps lit Fleury up like a Christmas tree, and they had only one superstar, we have 3.

If Dats and Hossa find their game, plus our defense doing its thing, the Wings can very probably beat the Pens. But Dats and Hossa are struggling (and Z a bit too, to be fair), plus Lids is hurt. So I'll stick by my statement and say, right now, a Pens-Wings series would be a coin-toss, just like the Ducks series. If Dats, Z, and Hossa find their games and our defense is healthy and plays its very successful system, the Pens won't win 4 games against us.

(edited because first paragraph was incomplete)

Edited May 27, 2009 by Chris L

[T.Low 1,011]

you got to realize too that i believe if it weren't for the pens inexperience last year the series would have gone 7. we were shell shocked at playing in the finals and lost the first two games as a result. the last four games were all decided by 1 goal. so this pens team, which is better than last year's, can hang with the wings. they just needed some experience and better coaching. bylsma is much better than therrien and has the team playing better defensively - they are blocking shots and backchecking better than last year. detroit does not look as dominant this year. that's possibly due to datsyuk not playing well.

Yes, I believe the Pins are better this year due to the growth and experience of Malkin and Crosby, but you got to remember that other than a few flurries here and there towards the end of a couple of the games, the Pins were completely DOMINATED for the vast majority of the series. If you can't admit that, YOU HAVE NO CREDIBILITY HERE!

[BewareThePenguin 1]

Yes, I believe the Pins are better this year due to the growth and experience of Malkin and Crosby, but you got to remember that other than a few flurries here and there towards the end of a couple of the games, the Pins were completely DOMINATED for the vast majority of the series. If you can't admit that, YOU HAVE NO CREDIBILITY HERE!

The uh "Pins" were lucky to make it to Game 6 last year, really only outplaying Detroit for one game. Then again, they went in with that whole happy-just-to-be-here attitude, and really the inexperience showed. (No surprise, I was here predicting that before the series last year.) No shame in admitting that, it was pretty predictable actually.

That won't happen this time around. Should Detroit make the finals, it'll be one heck of a show. All you arrogant "west is the best" types will be in for a rude surprise.

I wouldn't be happy with any other opponent than Detroit.

[Ms_Hockey 0]

The uh "Pins" were lucky to make it to Game 6 last year, really only outplaying Detroit for one game. Then again, they went in with that whole happy-just-to-be-here attitude, and really the inexperience showed. (No surprise, I was here predicting that before the series last year.) No shame in admitting that, it was pretty predictable actually.

That won't happen this time around. Should Detroit make the finals, it'll be one heck of a show. All you arrogant "west is the best" types will be in for a rude surprise.

I wouldn't be happy with any other opponent than Detroit.

I don't think that's arrogance. The eastern and western conferences play different styles of hockey. The west coast teams are just really tough teams - and I'm not just talking about California. Generally speaking, the east fails when they face a western team just because the west is really damn hard to play. That's not arrogance, that's an observation. And if it is arrogance, then every sports analyst whose ever said it is also arrogant - and there have been plenty.

As far as the Pens go, they're a much better team than they were last year - especially with the experience under their belts. However, after watching them through three rounds.. it has become more than obvious that they have two players on that team. Malkin and Crosby. If it's not one of those two getting the goals, it's one of those two setting up the plays so someone else can get the goal. Nothing occurs on the ice without one of them involved in it. If Detroit can shut down Crosby and Malkin like they did last year, I think it's safe to say the Pens are going to be struggling to find something to do. If Detroit can't shut those two (or even one of them) down, they'll take the whole show on their own. But I have enough faith in the Wings. They've got enough experience to not let a two man team beat them.

Edited May 27, 2009 by Ms_Hockey

[sidthekid 0]

Ozzie has better stats than Fleury, and lets not forget that the Caps lit Fleury up like a Christmas tree, and they had only one superstar, we have 3.

(edited because first paragraph was incomplete)

what superstars do you have other than lidstrom? daytsuk, zetterberg and hossa are stars , not superstars. there are only three superstar forwards in this league - crosby, malkin and ovechkin. those three are going to the HOF. none of the red wings forwards are.

[Ms_Hockey 0]

what superstars do you have other than lidstrom? daytsuk, zetterberg and hossa are stars , not superstars. there are only three superstar forwards in this league - crosby, malkin and ovechkin. those three are going to the HOF. none of the red wings forwards are.

Pretty sure at least one of our forwards is going to land himself in the HOF. Datsyuk is a widely respected and renowned hockey player. He's going for his fourth Lady Byng and second Selke. He's been in the ranks of the three you mentioned in terms of points for the last two seasons. He keeps going the way he is, he'll be a contender for the HOF.

[xtrememachine1 795]

what superstars do you have other than lidstrom? daytsuk, zetterberg and hossa are stars , not superstars. there are only three superstar forwards in this league - crosby, malkin and ovechkin. those three are going to the HOF. none of the red wings forwards are.

HA!! You were doing so well with your last comment, now this train wreck. Aside from Lidstrom its still a little early to say who's going to the HOF. But assuming everyone plays the rest of their career the way they are right now, Datsyuk, Zetterberg and possibly Hossa are all going to the HOF. Just because you're not winning scoring titles every year, doesn't mean you're not good. Zetterberg won the Conn Smythe last year because he shutdown Crosby and at the same time scored goals. In fact, Datsyuk and Zetterberg have been best two way players in the game for a few years now. If they keep that up, they may not have the scoring titles that Crosby, Malkin and Ovechkin have, but they'll have quite a few more Stanley Cups.

[donfishmaster 62]

what superstars do you have other than lidstrom? daytsuk, zetterberg and hossa are stars , not superstars. there are only three superstar forwards in this league - crosby, malkin and ovechkin. those three are going to the HOF. none of the red wings forwards are.

No no, this guy is right. At some point every year over the past twelve years the issue of the Wings being TOO SLOW, TOO OLD, TOO EUROPEAN, NOT GRITTY ENOUGH, BAD DEFENSE, NOT ENOUGH OFFENSE, WEAK GOALTENDING, NO STARS, TOO MANY STARS, ETC, ETC, ETC. has come up.

He's right. We're done for. Pittsburgh should not even prepare for us. They should engage in wild whoring, drugs, drinking, and carousing since we are, as always, without hope.

I....I'm sorry the Wings have so much as annoyed the Pens. Enjoy the Cup...we'll slink away now without a sound...

[Firehawk 305]

Uh, I believe the NHL players and coaches ranked Lidstrom and Datsyuk in the top 5 in the league, and Zetterburg was 6th. Malkin and Crosby were ranked 7th and 8th. I'd say we have 3 superstars...