Penguins/NHL
The Columbus Blue Jackets extending their winning streak to 11 games with a 7-1 win over the Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins, are the buzz of the NHL and rightfully so.
In what was seen as a statement game to some, the Blue Jackets answered the bell with a thumping of the Penguins and this is no question a legit team in the east.
The Penguins saw first hand as the Blue Jackets come at you with four scoring lines, a quick mobile D and have a Vezina trophy winner in goal.
The Blue Jackets forward group lacks that No. 1 franchise center that you need to win in the post-season but this is a group of forwards that likely has the best combination of skill/speed/toughness in the East and built in a way like the Boston Bruins of the past that gave skilled Penguin team problems. The Blue Jackets forwards also defend in their own zone better zone better than almost any group in the East. It’s the ideal type of personnel for a John Tortorella type coached team who has done a phenomenal job in transforming the Blue Jackets this season.
The blueline has a ton of skill and upside with youngsters Zach Werenski, Seth Jones and Ryan Murray, and the emergence of the Werenski-Jones pairing has the Jackets able to deploy their top defensive pairing of Jack Johnson – David Savard properly this season. Savard is a +22 on the season, Johnson +19.
The NHL’s toughest division has another thorn in the side to deal with in the Blue Jackets who are unlikely to go away.
The Blue Jackets are now a combined 6-0 vs Blackhawks, Canadiens, Rangers, Penguins and Capitals this season, with a +21 goal differential in those games.
What Went Wrong for the Penguins?
The Penguins did not play a terrible hockey game. The floor just dropped quickly.
When Columbus took over the game in the second period, they just came at the Penguins in waves and Pittsburgh struggled mightily below the dots and possessing the puck the get out of the zone cleanly that is often a staple of their game.
Against this type of personnel, Kris Letang’s absence finally showed up and the Penguins struggles in those areas weren’t surprising with Letang and Trevor Daley out, while you’re dressing Derrick Pouliot and Steve Oleksy.
Offensively the Penguins didn’t make it a tough enough game on Bobrovsky.
Still this was a 1-1 game in the second period and the Penguins were what should have been a Carl Hagelin tap-in goal to go up 2-1 from this turning into a different game. The Penguins have received the Anaheim Ducks version of Carl Hagelin this season who has 3 goals in 34 games.
And then we have the Derrick Pouliot problem.
Pouliot crushed the Penguins with two defensive lapses that led to this game getting away from the Penguins.
The third goal of the game was an embarrassing display as Scott Hartnell blew by Pouliot like he was Michael Grabner and was another example of how bad Pouliot struggles to anticipate the play when the puck was coming up the wall.
What drives Penguin coaches nuts with Pouliot is how his play away from the puck is more at an AHL level than NHL level. The William Karlsson goal to put the Blue Jackets up 2-1 highlighted that key area where Pouliot has man-to-man coverage with Karlsson in the corner and Karlsson gets to the front of the net at ease as Pouliot is puck watching.
This is a big audition period for Pouliot to at least get the coaching staff to start believing in him a bit and he’s failing miserably.
It’s also becoming quite a disappointment that the Penguins had the chance to make a top-10 pick during the prime years of the Sidney Crosby era and this is what they ended up with.
Happy Kwanzaa Sam!
D no hockey for few days you can take a few days off
Godamn internet speed is so slow here in California.
It’s not the net, we’ve all interacted with you and… it’s definitely you.
“Dejan’s, there’s someone saying mean things about you on the Internet”. #smalltownloser
I’m upset that someone shared from one page to the other but I don’t know the size of his pee pee, hypocritical white knight with a significant reading disability 😉
Gotta love the two tards from Canada fighting over internet speed. #cantmakethisshitup
You do have a serious reading disability don’t you? On that note sammich is literally one of two people that actually has your back, why bite the hand dipshit lol
Shittt stain is the only one that has your back now that npl and Gaydogg are gone
It’s interesting… while the dumbfucks above bitch about me returning the favour on yoda, it would seem someone reported Jay… how ironic that we getting the bleeding heart melt down by yodas white knight yet someone dimed out Jay… nice and quiet like… no one owned it. Go figure!
Gaydogg got banned from here????
Maybe his long novels were giving massive migraine
Only to the chronically stupid that can’t pay attention long enough to read an in depth thought, I “tough.”
Yoda how many did pens need tonight in order to win in front of fleury. I heard yesterday magic number was 8 to win for Murray
Our fourth liner geno with another 2 pts
Vs a shitt team good job where was he when pens played vs best team in East last night
Only player in the league with more PPG this year is Crosby… sammich hasn’t noticed him
Only top dollars paid player with a lot of penalties is geno
Don’t worry 2017 is near his due for an vacation/injury
Do you dislike geno because he uses deodorant?
What’s this deodorant, shower, soap joke about? Are you like this because one of your donut makers at work stinks?
Good god you’re bad at this.
Idiot
Sitting next to sid I guess.
How many games in a row Crosby scored 1st goal for the pens
Is your province so poor that only certain parts of the Internet are available there?
Actually punk quebec has best Internet including bell fibe started in quebec since 2013 and yet alberta doesn’t even have yet
Average Canada Internet speed is 11gb a thanks too shitwholes like alberta,Saskatchewan
11 gigs you say? You don’t understand what that means do you… I’ll
Let you in on a secret. It’s wrong!
“Shitwholes”
“Gb” lol, That’s almost as bad as
Maloron not understanding what fine means
FTR, the min speed for a provider in the country is 17.7MB… its **** but still higher than what you think it was… unless you actually think it’s in gigs lol. We are just starting to see single gigs in the last 12 months lol… both sides of the country!
Oh this is good… according to PCMag PQ is 5th in the country in net speeds. Marginally better than “shitwholes” like Alberta and SK. Marginally as in immaterially… that will change in the next couple years as the infrastructure for the wests fibre optic networks are being installed for our single Gb speed lol. Wrong again sammich
Yet Alberta doesn’t even have yet
Bennett injured yet?
“Pouliot looks good”
https://media.giphy.com/media/26FPy3QZQqGtDcrja/giphy.gif
What’s this npl’s house ?
HAHAHA, it’s cute that you continually show the board that your ability to read is still at a 3rd grade level.
How is maatta doing guys when I sa they should’ve package trade him while some drooled they have to keep him. Got a contract extension based one 1 rookie season
What a fail contract so before you clowns think fleury has to be moved with his bad contract think maatta first .since stats matter a lot of many points does he have stain a player at his salary
I think we found D’s proof reader.
You watched that game last night and thought Maatta was a problem? Wow dude.
Murray was garbage much like his entire career with pens. He wins games based team in front plays good. I don’t know if he has a streak of games that he hasn’t let a soft goal in
lol… jesus, change Murray to MAF and you sound like Yoda and his white knight Maloron
How does your boy Martin St. Louis look these days?
Could have had Forsberg
Or Trouba.
I tough pens were getting trouba by sending maatta
“Tough”
I tough you were gonna start showering.
The Blue Jackets forwards also defend in their own zone better zone better than almost any group in the East. D you need a proofreader. That sentence was as well written as the Pens played last night.
What about how bad Murray was?