Record Crowd at Consol Still Waiting for Penguins to Show Up vs. Isles

This is a long one, sorry in advance, thanks for reading!!

Main Storylines:

It's okay Lovejoy, I'm sure you can keep up with Grabner.

• Matt Niskanen will be out 2-4 weeks with an ankle injury.  Simon Despres will take his place in the lineup for now. #FreeBortuzzo
• Last time we saw the Islanders, they won 5-3 in back to back games against the Pens and proliferated a defensive slide that derailed the Pens season and postseason.
• Brian Strait will make his return to Pittsburgh after leaving the team on waivers

Result:

Islanders 4  Pens 1

Goals:  Dupuis (2) from Kunitz, Crosby

ESPN Recap:  http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=400442557

Stats:

TK's 4 shots may have come with 4 different lines.

• All 4 Penguins’ centers (Crosby, Malkin, Sutter, Vitale) were above 50% on faceoffs
• TOI leader – Kris Letang with 23:46, least for Craig Adams with 8:12
• James Neal was one of two players to record no shots (Vitale was the other)
• Ben Lovejoy, Tyler Kennedy, and Sidney Crosby led the team with 4 shots each
• Lovejoy and Letang led with 3 blocked shots each
• Simon Despres led the team with 4 hits
• The team had 11 recorded giveaways and 4 takeaways (Isles had 2 and 6 respectively)
• The Pens went 0% on the PK and 0% on the PP, converse to the Isles 100% on each.
• Pittsburgh failed to score first for the first time this season

The Good:

• Simon Despres:  The kid deserves credit – after being a healthy scratch for 2 games he re-entered the lineup with a very solid effort. He had strong shots on net and played a good (not great) positional and physical game.  Despres will easily stay in the lineup if he can continue to play like that.
• Craig Adams:  Despite playing on 3 or 4 different line combinations (including filling in at the point for a significant portion of a shift), Adams had his strongest 5 on 5 game of the season. He added a very strong forecheck and was smart with the puck when he had it.  For his strong shifts, he was rewarded with only 8 minutes of playing time though.

The Bad:

Gotta be a little quicker Fleury, not that you had help.

• Marc-Andre Fleury:  While I don’t think the loss was on Fleury at all, his awareness was awful compared to usual.  He was slow to extend his leg on the wraparound goal and actually missed the post when trying to get his skate to it initially.  Additionally, he dove in the wrong direction on the 2nd powerplay goal, leaving him out of position on the left side when the puck was never on that side.  It was just a little bump in the road for Fleury.

The Ugly:

• Forwards:  Don’t let the Penguins’ 38 shots fool you, they were pass happy, showed poor puck control, and couldn’t break into the offensive zone for the life of them.  19 of those 38 came in the 3rd period when the Isles safely had the game and backed into a shell.  The forwards as a whole look dismal and flat-footed next to the Islanders.  Here are a few of my issues with the group as a whole right now:
• Breakout support.  The forwards are not coming back into their own end at all to give defenders or a rushing forward help to break out of the zone.  When a turnover occurs, it’s a mad scramble because forwards are already too far up.
• Turnovers. Players are not taking the safe play the majority of the time. There are too many cross ice passes instead of just banking a puck up the boards.  Also, there seems to be a lack of saucer passes or at least getting air under passes to avoid opposing sticks.
• Decision making. Wide open shooting lanes are ignored, passes are forced, and players simply aren’t protecting the puck.  After a morning when Sidney Crosby was interviewed and told reporters the team was “forcing the issue” too much, I counted at least 5 turnovers in the first 2 periods by Crosby alone for trying to force passes.  Sometimes the simple play is the best, but the Pens certainly won’t use it.  I called out Malkin a couple games ago for having issues with quick decisions after his KHL stint…what’s everyone else’s excuse? (Don't tell me a short camp, last I checked, all 30 teams had those.)
• Puck Management:  It’s alluded to above with the forwards, but the Penguins as a team are demonstrating 0 anticipation and foresight in their passing and shooting decisions.  Instead of taking what they see ahead of them, they appear to have a specific play or outcome in mind and will do anything to complete it.  Guess what, they aren't completing it.  The team can’t keep pushing their style on teams that are set up perfectly for it, there needs to be adjustments by the individual players to make the right decision.
• Powerplay:  The first powerplay looked indecisive and lost.  For the third straight game, a team utilized a very aggressive PK strategy and it crushed the Pens PP.  The 1st line focuses on player movement and puck movement. They were successful against NYR, who played a passive PK and let them do their thing.  Aggressive PKs are dictating where the Pens can move and who they can pass to though.  Forced passes turn into turnovers, quick decisions go awry, the 1st PP line is not mentally prepared/able to handle playing this style when they can’t set up like they want to.  The perfect example last night was a one-time pass from Malkin at the right boards to Neal at the point.  The problem was, Neal was no longer at the point because he skated into the zone as the puck was getting to Malkin.  Meanwhile, Malkin had to make the one-time pass because he was already being pursued.
• Conversely, the 2nd powerplay is very stationary, simple, and looks more effective.  The problem is they simply lack the firepower of the first PP and will always be less effective.  Over the past two games though, the 2nd PP has looked much more in control of their game than the 1st.  More on this in the thoughts.
• Penalty Kill:  The last time I saw a PK as passive as the Pens last night, it was NYR’s when the Pens PP torched them.  The forwards are playing fine, they stretch to the points but they don’t full out attack; I’m comfortable with that.  The defensemen are too passive for my liking through.  No jostling in front of the net, opposing forwards get to screen Fleury as they wish and have room to operate if the puck ends up near them.  The complete lack of contact at all bothers me.
• Line Changes:  How many different line combinations did we see last night, 80 or 90?  For all of those different combinations (including Neal-Vitale-Jeffrey, what?), I don’t believe we really saw Kunitz-Malkin-Neal reunited either.  For a team that demonstrates passing and turnover problems, I’m not sure juggling the lines every shift is going to help exactly.  Sutter and Cooke have looked dismal since Kennedy left their line. So what happens to TK?  He starts on the 2nd line and then gets dropped to the 4th, bypassing a line that looked good opening weekend.  Having a short camp causes all kinds of problems that every team is dealing with already, juggling every single line every shift is going to hurt more than help right now.

+/- Assessment:

Fleury, never turn that way.  Orpik, do something.

• 1st GA (Cizikas): - for Martin (failed clear/turnover), Orpik (leaves position for covered guy)…Fleury should get one too for the delayed reaction
• 2nd GA (Granber) - for Engelland (can’t keep puck), Lovejoy (not supporting Engelland, not aware of who Grabner is)
• 3rd GA (Tavares) - for Neal (penalty), Martin (slid too far to a harmless player)
• 4th GA (Moulson) - for Kennedy (penalty), Cooke (peels off puck retrieval), Orpik (slides off guy on crease)…Fleury should get one here as well for his awkward dive the wrong way
• 1st GF (Dupuis) + for Engelland (dump in), Martin (pass down into zone), Crosby (pass), Kunitz (initial shot), Dupuis (goal)
• Season +/-: http://www.crosbyftw.com/p/plusminus-spreadsheet.html

Thoughts:

Brian Strait wins Round 1.

• Team Mentality:  The Penguins were outworked, outhustled, and unprepared for last night’s game.  It’s slightly alarming to see them play up to Phi, NYR, Ott, and look lost against Tor, Wpg, NYI.  The opposite would be much more acceptable.  Are the players taking these teams lightly?  Is the staff?  I don’t know what the issue here is, but the team certainly lacks focus and awareness in these losses.
• Isles Coaching:  Give Jack Capuano a lot of credit, after the two 5-3 victories to end the season series last year, he knew what to do in this game again.  He clearly scouted out both powerplay lines and had a different method employed to defend each one.  His PK aggressively attacked the top PP unit and sat back in a passive box against the 2nd unit.  I can't recall the last time I saw an opposing PK play such opposite strategies against different lines.  Give credit to Brian Strait too.  Not only did he play a great game, especially keeping up with Malkin in 1 on 1 situations, but I’m sure he was also a great help to Capuano in dissecting the Penguins.  No one will question who the more talented team was last night, but Capuano and his team put together the perfect method and adjustments to attack and destroy the Pens.
• Bortuzzo/Lovejoy:  Lovejoy didn’t play an *awful* game, but showed a disappointing lack of awareness and support on the Grabner breakaway.  He should have been closer to center to protect Engelland defensively and ideally I’d like him to know that one of the fastest players in hockey is out on the points looking for a turnover.  I’m still waiting for Bortuzzo to get his chance as I wrote about yesterday. It’s overdue.  Based on my +/- system for this season, Lovejoy is averaging a goal against that’s at least partially his fault per game.  #FreeBortuzzo.
• Tangradi/Jeffrey:  I was surprised to see this move after Tangradi played a solid 4th liner game against Ottawa.  I thought that was his best game of the season and I’m sure it didn’t help his confidence to get scratched after that.  Jeffrey was okay last night, much better in the defensive zone than offensive zone in my opinion.  I have no problem with Jeffrey playing, but that was an odd time to make this switch and I’m sure it hurts Tangradi’s progress with the timing.  If you’re going to give Tangradi the best chance to succeed, scratching him last night was the worst way to go about it.
• Adjustments I Would Make:  Personally, playing Wednesday afternoon coach from my desk, here is how I would trot the team out. 
• Forwards: Kunitz-Crosby-Dupuis, Glass-Malkin-Neal, Cooke-Sutter-Kennedy, Tangradi-Vitale-Adams.  
• I would fully consider Jeffrey on the 2nd, Glass on the 4th, with Tangardi as a scratch as well.  Also wouldn’t mind trying Jeffrey on the 1st, Kunitz on the 2nd, and Glass on the 4th.  The third line would be unbreakable though.  
• On defense: Letang-Despres, Orpik-Martin, Engelland-Bortuzzo.  
• Despres played well, it's time to give Bortuzzo a chance.
• Fleury in net for you crazy psychos that want to hate him.
• My top powerplay would be Kunitz in front, Neal hovering left boards to slot, Malkin on the right boards, Letang and Despres on the points.  My 2nd PP line would be Tangradi (if in the lineup) in front, otherwise Dupuis in front, Kennedy hovering left boards to slot, Crosby on the right boards, Martin and Bortuzzo on the points (til Niskanen is back of course).  Yes, I say split the two centers up, give them one minute each, and keep everyone in a comfortable position.  A powerplay should never have a player in a situation he’s uncomfortable with, that removes the advantage of having an extra man to begin with.
• I would keep the penalty kill lines the same, though consider a shift to a diamond formation and have the defenseman on the crease actually clear out the crease instead of standing next to guys (looking at you Orpik).
• Bylsma on the Hot Seat?:  Of course, a 3-3 start for a team expected to compete for the Cup will bring out the #FireBylsma sentiment.  I’m not there yet, I’ll give him 16 games this season before I judge.  I do think he needs to adjust to the talent he has on this roster though and he has to accept change when certain things he wants to accomplish aren’t working.  If the team isn’t succeeding with stretch passes, the system doesn’t need to change, but perhaps a period of focusing on short passes and strong puck support would be good.  My biggest disappointment with this team right now is not the 3-3 record.  It’s losing the exact same ways they lost down the stretch last season.  The team doesn’t look like it has learned muchfrom last year and that is a red flag.  Not a reason to fire Bylsma yet, but certainly a red flag.  It’s cliché to say the next 10 games will be important, but I do think they determine how much longer Bylsma gets in Pittsburgh.
• If I had to replace him, who would I replace him with?  After watching Magnitogorsk for 4 months, I’d be stupid not to say Paul Maurice.  But let’s not go there quite yet.
• Finally, food for thought:  

• "Any call-up I had the last couple of years, I was playing sparingly -- 12 minutes, 10 minutes ... I'm getting a good opportunity here ... It's nice when you have a coaching staff that shows trust in you. It was a different situation the last couple of years, only playing for 10 minutes and not knowing if I was going to go back out for another shift after I made a mistake." - Brian Strait from the PG (credit to @HF_Steve for that)

Pens Record: 3-3-0, 6 pts

Next Game:  1/31 @ NYR, 7pm