NHL Playoff 2016

Nov 24, 2002
27,860
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#62
I always liked Chris Letang, the guy is underrated if you ask me. Reason is Canada has too many great defensemen that he can't even make final squad for Olympic but his match up against Hedman is just joy to watch. The guy is not big but play it so smart, always stick in right place and no need to talk about his offensive game. He is one of the reason why Pens are doing so well so far.

I kind of followed him and his good buddy Luc Bourdon from their draft year(who was also hell of D but sadly passed away couple years after his draft by Nucks due to motorcycle accident), both very solid, Letang had more offense upside but Bourdon was more complete player.
 
Apr 15, 2016
1,481
1
Suisse
#63
What a fantastic game it was yesterday. That was my second session until 5 o'clock in the morning but it was worth it. Pens are such a machine when they focus on their game and stay out of the box. Nearly unstoppable. They won the game 4-2 but if it wasnt for Vasilevskiy, the Bolts would have taken a real beating in front of their own crowd. NHL playoffs are completely overshadowing the NBA playoffs this year. At least for me. The games are all great and i am happy that i have recorded every single Pens game in the playoffs in HD quality as its been one of the best playoffs in the last 15 to 20 years.
 
Apr 15, 2016
1,481
1
Suisse
#64
I always liked Chris Letang, the guy is underrated if you ask me. Reason is Canada has too many great defensemen that he can't even make final squad for Olympic but his match up against Hedman is just joy to watch. The guy is not big but play it so smart, always stick in right place and no need to talk about his offensive game. He is one of the reason why Pens are doing so well so far.

I kind of followed him and his good buddy Luc Bourdon from their draft year(who was also hell of D but sadly passed away couple years after his draft by Nucks due to motorcycle accident), both very solid, Letang had more offense upside but Bourdon was more complete player.
I love Letang. This guy is the heart and soul of a Pens defense that is working well without big names. The biggest name is Trevor Daley who came over from Dallas and he himself is not that big of a name. Letang btw is one of the fastest defense man in the NHL, his speed and hockey IQ makes more than up for his lack of size.
 
Apr 15, 2016
1,481
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Suisse
#66
Pens generally reloaded just fine. They brought in a whole lot of players starting in 2014 and they proved to have a fantastic nose for players who could help them. The only guy that didnt do well was Perron who got traded away to Anaheim for another quality player Carl Hagelin. People like Sheary, Kessel, Hagelin, Lovejoy, Bonino, Cole, Kühnhackl, Rust, Daley, Fehr, Hornquist....and they all are producing. Fantastic job by the Penguins to reload like this instead of rebuilding which would have taken them many many years.
 
Nov 24, 2002
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#68
Again another great game, Bolt and Pens. Pens made a good come back and scored 3 but wasn't enough. So who will play next game in front of net, Flower or Murray?

lol, i just praised Letang and he kind of was responsible for today's Pens defeat, his issue is he lose it so fast when the team is behind and as leader you need to control your emotion. Teams game plan is always try to go after opponent's best players and Letang was easy target today. He did same thing in 2010 when Habs beat them in conference final.
 
Apr 15, 2016
1,481
1
Suisse
#69
It was the first game that they deserved to lose because they once again couldnt stay out of the box and mostly for no good reason at all. They gave the Bolt momentum as they twice went to the box early in the game and thats always a bad thing. You always try to prevent going to the box early in the game because you can easily get into a hole that once you get in, you often lose your rhythm and cant dig yourself out of it and it was such a game.
 
Apr 15, 2016
1,481
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Suisse
#71
Terrible decision by Sullivan who otherwise has done all the right things from day one in Pittsburgh. Terrible...really, it was not the right time to replace Murray with Fleury. Murray is even the overall better goalie although vs the Bolts, he was not as sharp as he has been against the Rangers and Capitals. Now Sullivan has no other choice than to go back to Murray and nobody knows how much confidence he has lost by getting benched in favor of a rusty and unproven Fleury in such an important game. This is Sullivans ship to right now and its not gonna be easy with the Pens facing elimination by a team that is actually doing nothing than to wait for the Pens to do mistakes. They were outshot again and the Penguins were in total control over much of the game but Fleury.....man terrible, its sad...:(
 
Apr 15, 2016
1,481
1
Suisse
#74
Yeah but its interesting to know that some of the best led, managed and successful NHL teams are from those deserts. LA, Dallas, Tampa, San Jose, Florida...they all are doing a lot better than some of the established teams from the north who right now are all about nostalgic talk of their successful past while teams from sunshine states and deserts are actually winning games.
 
Nov 24, 2002
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#75
Yes indeed time changed. LA, SJ, TB, Stars, FLA and few others are in much better situation than 90% of Canadian teams with all their fan base. Actually Toronto will be Ok, they will get this summer their franchise center in draft, Babcock is a great coach and Lou doesn't tolerate country club, so my feeling is in 2-3 years they will be a team to watch . They have LOTS of draft picks. Either you get them players or trade for something, those are all nice assets that will help you to build a team just like how Chicago, TB, LA, FLA did.
 
Apr 15, 2016
1,481
1
Suisse
#76
Love it! Had another late session till 5 in the morning but it was worth it. Penguins beat the Bolts in Tampa with 5-2 and send it back to Pittsburgh for the final countdown. Great to have Murray back and great to have the team not making so many mistakes again. For the first time in this series the Bolts dominated at least a period and it was the third otherwise, even in this one the Penguins were skating and skating around the Bolts for 2 periods and they just couldnt keep up.
 
Feb 4, 2005
25,247
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#77
I agree with Babr on Toronto. They had almost all the right pieces (Coach, manager, execs.) in place and with winning the draft they now have a chance to build a team that can go far. Back to playoff, Pens played great last night and now have the home ice advantage to finish the deal but this Bolt team will not be easy to beat. Gotta be an interesting one to watch.
 
Nov 24, 2002
27,860
1,466
#78
SJS to Cup final. What did i say from day one?☺
They will win it all no matter opponent

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Nov 24, 2002
27,860
1,466
#80
Probably like anyone else you weren't capable of speaking and carry your messages via screaming and crying as all other babies do on day one
hahaha, dude i watched some of Sharks games before even playoff starts, i knew this team is for real and half series against Kings i was convinced they will go all the way this time.