Penguins/NHL
Penguins – Islanders
The Penguins take on the last place New York Islanders tonight in Brooklyn.
The Islanders are 21st in goals per game (2.4), 23rd in Goals Against (3.0), 24th in shots per game (29.0) 27th on the Power Play (12.9), 23rd on the PK (80.0).
The Islanders not only look like a last place team from the eye test, just about every stat backs up where they currently sit in the standings.
They are 29th in the NHL in SAT% and 22nd in the NHL in 5-on-5 save percentage.
In a deeper Metropolitan Division than last season, the Islanders look cooked as the calendar hits December 1 tomorrow.
The goaltending matchup tonight, Thomas Griess goes for Islanders while in the first game of a back-to-back situation, the Penguins will start Matt Murray in goal.
Word is despite Fleury’s best performance of the season coming against the Islanders this season on Oct 27 and the Penguins facing a better opponent tomorrow night in the Dallas Stars, the coaches would like to get Fleury some home starts in trying to boost his confidence,
Fleury has a 2.61 GAA and .925 save percentage at home. On the road he’s 1-3-2 with a 4.33 GAA and .872 save percentage.
Scott Wilson soon to be Wilkes Barre Bound or Trade Bait?
Jake Guentzel’s emergence this season will have a significant trickle down effect on the Penguins’ roster in the coming weeks. The Penguins have seen enough since the start of the AHL season from Guentzel where they don’t see a scenario where he plays his way back down to Wilkes Barre. The organization feels he’s here for good and will be an integral part to the team the rest of the way.
Guentzel’s arrival is bad news for three players in particular.
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Tom Kuhnhackl, Scott Wilson, and veteran Eric Fehr.
In the short-term as in tonight, Patric Hornqvist’s return to the lineup tonight will force the Penguins to make one lineup decision and that will be Scott Wilson coming out.
With Chris Kunitz likely to return in a week- two weeks, that’s where things get interesting from who falls out of the picture.
“Which guys are doing the best job to help us win games, that’s what it boils down to, Sullivan said of pending lineup decision.” I think performance, at this level, is always the dictator.”
A good argument could be made that Eric Fehr should be the odd-man out tonight based on performance over the last couple games. He’s play has been really poor over the last week.
Expected Line Combinations:
Hornqvist will play tonight with Conor Sheary and Sidney Crosby.
Malkin will remain with Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust, while the HBK line is expected to stay together.
Cullen will center Tom Kuhnhackl and Eric Fehr.
As mentioned a few weeks ago prior to Guentzel’s callup, the Penguins had begun kicking around scenarios with the roster where Guentzel comes up and earns a full-time role.
That had rival executives already indicating that Kuhnhackl and Wilson were names out there that the Penguins could move.
Kuhnhackl is eligible for waivers, while Wilson can be sent down to Wilkes Barre without having to clear waivers. On Wilson there would be no urgency to move him, unless it addresses a need.
When it comes to Fehr, who continues to struggle with the Penguins ‘play with pace’ style, the best thing he has going for him is that his leadership (and friendship to Sidney Crosby) continues to be valued greatly by the management group.
Despite some push back from team sources that he’s not being shopped, his fit especially when this group is fully healthy, continues to be questioned.
Source: Penguins have kicked tires on Murphy trade
Carolina Hurricanes puck-moving defenseman Ryan Murphy was a first round pick of Jim Rutherford’s in 2011 and while Murphy’s not the type of top-4 defenseman the Penguins need, Pittsburgh has expressed some level of interest in trading for Murphy to boost their defensive depth, NHL sources say.
With the Hurricanes actively shopping Murphy and seeking a young NHL forward in return, the Penguins have checked in to see if there’s a trade match, per sources.
A Penguins’ source described interest in Murphy as being similar to Justin Schultz last season. A player whose offensive skill would be an ideal fit for their system and who could be coached up the right way under Jacques Martin.
If the Penguins were to decide to move a forward like a Scott Wilson or Kuhnhackl for example, this is type of deal they would love to make and have checked into.
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Murray stop a puck yet?
I don’t know, what does the box score say?
I’m sure you have time to look – being unemployed and all.
How funny is it that when people suggested that if Fleury finished his career in the top 3 all time in wins he would be in the hall of fame, the little green fraud tells us how wins are irrelevant when evaluating goalies but now he defends Murray with his wins because he’s been outplayed in the majority of those games and has had 4 sub .900sv% games in his last 7. It takes real talent to be such a world class hypocrite.
But hes 7-2
What’s really funny is that you and stanch still think Fleury is a money goalie.
No no – what’s really funny is you thinking that playing beer league dek hockey somehow makes you an expert in the way of the game.
Good news, Wilson is still on pace for 23 goals!
How is everyone celebrating the 4-2 win tonight?
With a hot dog of course. #blowitup
Here’s another interesting question, D has been very quick with a new article to point out when Fleury has struggled in a game, will he have the same haste in getting an article out calling out Murray?
Of course not… he has two fans that believe he’s the real
Journalists in the region and they both push the anti-MAF narrative, gotta know you’re audience!
Murray is 7-2 moron. St bleury is train wrecking. It’s funny how you still the Marc fraudre is the better goalie.
Let’s see, since I posted this early but I’m sure you conviently ignored it, Murray’s last 7 games, .862, .900, .941, .909, .857, .972, .893 so consider a .910-.912 game as an average game that’s 4 below average games, 1 close to average games and 2 good games. Fleury’s last 7 games, .833, .886, .970, .800, .930, .889, .905, so using the exact same criteria that’s 4 below average games, 1 close to average game and 2 games. please explain how fleury is a train wreck and Murray isn’t.
Also Fleury has faced 241 shots in those 7 games to Murray’s 176 so that’s a heavier workload with similar numbers for the train wreck?
It’s funny how much of a reading disability you have. I’ve not once proclaimed this, my commentary around MAF is pure retort to how fucken dumb you are on the subject. I’ve been clear that I think Murray is fully outplaying MAF and is the better option to keep. Although it’s not as wide a margin as you think.I just enjoy pointing out the hypocrisy that you continually bring to this board.
On top of this Jay has pulled the SV% stats over the last 6 for each… take away all the goals the pens score and the fact they have been giving up less shots overall with Murray in and this is your true explaination why Murray is winning. It’s funny how you’d suddenly use wins to make your case when only a month ago it was a joke to you that people thought wins mattered. Hypocrite bitch!
This ones incredible in fact… for at least two or three years you’ve run your mouth about the team wins being meaningless with Fleury in the net and now through one of the tougher stretches of his career while the other guys is getting the Ws you now use it as a justification? Lol so good lol
I can’t even explain how bad I feel for the players on the team, work so hard to almost pull off the unheard of feat of coming back after being deflated by your goalie giving up an early goal only to have it ripped away by the same goalie giving up a late goal when the impossible was nearly complete. I just hope that the double deflate doesn’t send them into a tailspin that sinks the entire season and ends their careers.
can’t blame murray on the last one. it was a perfect deflection. however griess>murray tonight and the isles won.
He could have made the big save. He didn’t. It’s that simple. Spotted them 3 goals. Then couldn’t make the big save with 26 seconds left. Embarrassing.
are you suggesting that the last goal wasn’t a text book picture perfect deflection? i know you guys are waiting to blame murray the 1st chance in 9 games that you could because you’d rather have the saint in there. i stated griess>murray tonight. that’s why the isles won. for the record, the saint is in meltdown mode. prepare for another 5GAA game tomrrow night.
What I’m suggesting is they needed a “big save,” and didn’t get it.
Amazing how when Murray is in we can see the difficulty saving deflections on screens. That noted he was slightly out of position, hugging the one post a bit too much
How is that the 1st chance to blame Murray in 9 games? He’s had 5 sub-par games in his last 7 with sv% of .862, .900, .909, .857 and .892, just because the team has been doing an incredible job of bailing him out when he gets outplayed by the opposing goalie doesn’t absolve him from the poor performances.
Before tonight, Murray was in the top 5 in goalie stats. St bleury is 2nd to last. That was a dumb post.
Stan took the word sout of my mouth, any time anyone has ever said the same thing about MAF you have insisted that he needed to make a big save to bail the team out and didn’t. That post is just another in the long line of examples proving why you’re a World Class Fraud.
St bleur is letting two free bees in per game dummy. That’s a big difference than getting scored on with 25 seconds left on a perfect play than choking and letting a turd in.
And Murray isn’t??? Murray has given up the 1st goal in 7 or less shots in 5 of the last 7 games.
Agreed and has done similar in playoffs difference is team in front got lucky to give him the W as I said luck will eventually run out and it his happening. Murray has some high value trade him before team is stuck with another fraud like malkin.
Murray put one in his own net and had one play in off a horrible angle from the wall… that’s at least two you hypocrite
That’s not all Stan took out of your mouth.
Well Murray was the main star of this game he single handily gave the W to the other team
BLOW IT UP
That’s a bad loss. Bad team. Murray outplayed by their backup. YOgurt hides all night. Embarrassing. #fraud
I know Sid is 1 of the better FO guys in the league but that’s a FO you just can’t lose.
Thanks Fleury
That’s the definition of backbreaker. All this bullshit about the early goal? It’s coughing up the lead with 30 seconds to go. I’m not gonna go into detail about all the mistakes on the play because yodirt has taught us all it’s just the goalie and it’s on,y the ones he doesn’t stop that matter
The real shame of it all is that he’s such a cowardly fraud that he won’t even have the balls to come around and give us a bunch of excuses about why he was wrong yet again.
how was my statement fraudulent? i said griess>murray tonight. who won? not the pens. keep spinning reality moron.
You do realize that the posts have time stamps that show you posted that after my post right? You trying to deflect yet again from Zero calling you out about always blaming the goalie when it happens to Fleury to absolving the goalie when it happens to Murray is clearly the fraudlent statement and that post only comfirmed that not only are you a World Class Fraud but you’re a dishonest one to boot.
murray is now 7-2. not too bad. the last goal was a beatiful deflection. regardless griess>murray and the isles won
You would have and have crucified Fleury on tougher saves. Hypocrite!
The best part about this is going to be tomorrow when Yoda try to tell us how great Murray was because he never gave up the 4th goal and that’s why they won even though that’s completely the opposite of everything he ever told us in the past and completely disproves his deflate theory from a few days ago.
Just busted Sam giving the thumbs down votes again.
Hey Yoda once again pens will need minimum 4 goals to give the W for Murray
Malkin is such a power play specialist.
They are blowing the deflate again
What they could use at this point… a sestito type. The could use some deterring me thinks. That will win them the game
Or #Zak
Zak would have stopped that deflection… but only in game one of the playoffs, then we would credit him with the series even if he was shelled the next game
Gaydogg we need stats how many of pens losses this season have been against backup goalies. And how many of them Murray was in net when this happened
Well since they have only lost 1 game so far with Murray in net the answer to the 2nd question is either 0 or 1 and I didn’t even have to look that up.
#provingwhyyouarethedumbestpersonaliveeverytimeyouspeak
How many of pens losses have been vs backup goalies this season
Do they not have google in Montreal? Google and shampoo. Both banned. Weird.
I guess Same was right once again takes teams a while to know about a goalie weakness last year in playoffs he was new to teams now teams know his weakness mind u guys last playoffs teams bailed him out on numerous occasions when he was the leading soft goals allowing goalie. There is a reason why he is a 3rd round pick and fleury a first rounder. A first rounder gives u a good 15 years of hockey while 3rd rounders vanish in a few unless they are exceptions. Murray’s idol goalie was Alex Auld. So go figure
Once again? When was the first time you were right?
Guess you can’t remember either.
“Murray in net tonight, Pens will win 4-2” says Yoda. Is there any chance that he ever gets tired of constantly being wrong?
Time to pull him.
Murray. Another strong outing.
That’s a goofy string of penalties to take.
This team takes to many penalties
Especially since they’re awful at killing them.
Gaydogg we need stats how many times pens lost this year vs a back up goalie
Huge kill. Gives us a chance.
Teams deflated due to giving up he first goal… everyone knows this is the case all the time. Just like how you never poke check a guy if he’s in the top 6
Yoda help me out here. 2 goals on how many shots?
Timeout over Same?
Kind of late to the party as he just mAde like a half dozen saves lol
What a save.
Was just gonna say… all bs aside that was yuge!
What is .833, .900, .941, .909, .857, .972, .893? Yes folks that Murray’s sv% for the last 7 games, looks 4 bad games, 1 average game and 2 good games. Now let’s look at Fleury’s last 7 games, .833, .886, .970, .800, .930, .889, .905, looks like 4 bad games, 1 average game and 2 good games. I guess the divide isn’t quite as big as some would like it to be.
Murray really needs to pick it up because Fleury’s 8th game back was a .946 which is a good game so if Murray doesn’t rebound from another poor start he will fall 1 good game behind Fleury in their last 8 games.
It’s like Yogurts the complete opposite when Murray is in goal. He would be posting here and on DK’s site if Fleury gave up those 2 goals.
Or maybe he’s sampling multiple pee pees tonight.
Whatever he is doing he’s defrauding someone
If he is you know we’ll hear about it
Murray looks to be on his game. Yogurt?
Notice how conspicuously absent yogurt is from the board. Imagine how quickly that little fraud twat would have been here if Fleury had let that in.
That one all but guarantees the bitch won’t show up… Murray with an own goal lol
1st goal of the game on the 7th shot, who would have guessed?
“Does Murray need to stop that”
“I think so, I mean it was a poor angle and his stick was so far in the air he wasn’t gonna fool anyone”
I wouldn’t I was expecting on first 3 shots.
Greiss out playing Murray.
Yoda? Comments? Goal from the boards?! Guess I can watch something else. There’s no coming back from that
Deflated, let’s see if they can deflate properly this game
Huntington: “We need to solidify our 2027 roster, so we just want prospects for McCutchen while we bridge to then. Enjoy Derek Holland in the rotation.”
Once you’ve come to the obvious conclusion that they’re NOT going to re-sign him (because they clearly can’t afford ANYONE), what option do you have? You either lose with him here, paying him $17 million whilst missing the playoffs, or you try to get a haul for him. I actually think it’s the right move. The problem is, that’s hard to accept when this is literally EVERY FUCKING MOVE.
I don’t mind trading him at all, actually. But I don’t like the idea of some of the returns being guys who won’t be up for a few years. Especially with Huntington’s history of panicking then settling for a bad deal because he’s so dead-set on trading a guy (see, Walker for Niese).
I hope I’m wrong on this, and Huntington’s pulled rabbit’s out of his hat in the past. But the moves he’s made over the last year make me skeptical he’s going to get fair value.
No argument from me on any of those last two points.
I’m by no means saying I think this will happen but I like the idea of getting prospects for McCutchen because it will take prospects to upgrade the rotation. Contending teams, which will be the teams interested in McCutchen, aren’t going to part with players that can contribute in the majors now because they need those same players to compete. Trading Cutch for prospects then trading prospects to upgrade the rotation is the smartest move to make, they just need to make both moves.
I’m all for this if they can pull this off.
Don’t they need prospects to couple with josh Harrison in order to save dollars too?
scott wilson isn’t very good. who cares where he ends up.
So the retard that thinks the entire game is based on teh performance of one guy in a mask…is now going to tell us about the performance of others. Pure yogurt.
Like we needed more proof but it takes a unique kind of stupid to on one hand preach “blow it up” basically right up to the playoffs then yap about pissing assets away. Wilson my have been a product of a hype train after a solid 2016 but he still carries value. If he could be a piece to land another D man with an untapped ceiling then why give him away you twaat
Would Ron Francis approve that type of trade “the Pens want” or see it as a downpayment on the Hurricanes getting MAF later in exchange for something??
when it comes to st. marc fraudre, the pens should ship him for nothing. having the open cap space is a win enough.
You still gonna kill yourself when MAF is traded?