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

Niskanen out 2-4 weeks, #FreeBortuzzo

A little off the cuff, but here are some Bortuzzo and general defense thoughts in the wake of the Niskanen injury.  If you haven't heard, Matt Niskanen will be out 2-4 weeks with an ankle injury (whoops, I meant lower body injury).  Using a mix of math and calendars, Niskanen should return between February 12th and 26th and he'll miss roughly 8-16 games (16-33% of the season).

The Niskanen injury is certainly a blow to the defense, but for a team carrying 8 "NHL-ready" defensemen, no moves should be necessary to get through the next month.  Here are your pairs as they skated this morning:

Have you seen me?

Orpik-Martin
Letang-Despres
Engelland-Lovejoy
Bortuzzo

• Nothing has changed through 5 games with Orpik, Martin, Letang, or Engelland.
• Simon Despres has traveled from 1st/2nd pair, to 3rd pair, to healthy scratch to 1st/2nd pair with Niskanen's injury.
• Ben Lovejoy has traveled from healthy scratch, to 3rd pair, to staying on the 3rd pair with Niskanen's injury.
• Nothing has changed with Robert Bortuzzo, the only Penguin to not enter the lineup yet this season.

How does Simon Despres go from playing, to healthy scratched, to playing before Bortuzzo gets to crack the lineup?  By now, we realize Bortuzzo is the 8th defenseman since Lovejoy took the place of Despres for a couple games.  What is the organization doing with Bortuzzo though?

Theories:

• The Penguins have been sitting Bortuzzo as they try to showcase and trade off another defenseman.
• The team doesn't think Bortuzzo is NHL-ready yet, but didn't want to let him go for nothing (see: waivers, Brian Strait).
• Bortuzzo is a clear #8 on the depth chart and the Pens want to put out their best lineup possible, which doesn't include him.  He's just insurance right now.
• Bortuzzo slept with whoever Dustin Jeffrey slept with (maybe not a working theory, but possible).

NHL teams have generally opted to carry 2 extra forwards instead of 2 extra defensemen on the 23 man roster.  The Penguins, based on most assumptions, have carried 2 extra defensemen because Bortuzzo would have to pass through waivers (he won't make it) and they want Despres to get in some NHL time.  This process could turn into an inevitable mismanagement of resources at this rate.

For Despres to improve as a budding defensive prospect, he needs to play regularly.  That's the only way he will grow through his inconsistencies and develop his game.  One has to question if he should be in the NHL if he will be a healthy scratch.  Meanwhile, Bortuzzo hasn't cracked the lineup, which both limits his trade value with no opportunity to show off his abilities and also halts any development to his skills.

Are you telling me Bortuzzo can't do this?

With Niskanen out, having 7 defensemen is perfect.  Are the Penguins playing the right 6 out of 7 though?  I'm all for playing Despres or sending him down to the AHL, he should not be scratched though.  I'm also all for playing your positionally sound, 23 year old defenseman that had a very strong camp (in my opinion).  That would be Bortuzzo.  I don't fully understand why 28 year old Ben Lovejoy, who is a serviceable 3rd line defenseman when necessary, is getting the opportunity over the potential Bortuzzo has.  If Bortuzzo fails, give Lovejoy the spot. But give him the chance to fail first.

Personally, I felt Bortuzzo should have landed a Top 6 spot right out of training camp.  Now, 5 games in, with Despres and Lovejoy both getting their chances in the lineup and Niskanen hurt, we're overdue to see Bortuzzo get his chance.  I hope it happens before it becomes long overdue.

#FreeBortuzzo

Penguins Lose to Jets Despite Crosby's Two Goals

Main Storylines:

• This will be Sidney Crosby’s first visit to Winnipeg, where fans have always had his back with chants like “Crosby’s Better” to Ovechkin.
• Tomas Vokoun is starting.  Ben Lovejoy will play in his first game of the season as Simon Despres sits this game out.
• Per @PensRadioNet, the Pens are 15-2 in their last 17 against the Thrashers/Jets.  The only 2 losses have been 1 goal games on the road.

Result:

Crosby wowed the fans...but still lost.

Jets 4  Pens 2

Goals:  Crosby (2) from Kunitz, Letang

            Crosby (3) from Niskanen

ESPN Recap:   http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=400442529

Stats:

• Crosby moves into 4th place on the Pens all-time scoring leaders list with 614 points. (Passing Ron Francis)
• Evgeni Malkin led the team with 8 shots
• Crosby led the team with 4 hits
• Kris Letang was the ice time leader with 26:01.  Eric Tangradi was at the low end with 9:00.  Ben Lovejoy played 13:44 in his season debut
• Brandon Sutter was 3 for 13 on faceoffs

The Good:

Fleury knows not to worry when Vokoun is in

• Tyler Kennedy:  Give TK credit, he recorded 5 shots and drew a penalty (when he intercepted Neal’s pass to Malkin) on his 2nd line debut.  He looked comfortable with Malkin and Neal and had quite a few chances in the offensive zone.  It was a huge upgrade from Tangradi on Malkin’s wing.
• Tomas Vokoun:  Vokoun did not deserve a loss tonight even if his numbers weren't gaudy.  He made 28 saves on 31 shots and came up with clutch save after clutch save as the Penguins turned the puck over in the defensive zone.  His puck handling was a little bit of a mess on a couple occasions, but you should be used to that from your goalies by now.
• Matt Niskanen: Nisky started the play that led to the first Crosby goal and had the primary assist on Crosby’s second goal.  He played well on defense, mostly paired with Letang, and made strides in his play on the crease.  I noted him clearing the crease at least three times to help Vokoun and that has been a major deficit in the Pens’ defensive game.
• Sidney Crosby:  Crosby produced both goals to a loud chorus of boos and led the team in hits as he tried to lead by example.  My only complaint with Sid in this game is that he passed up a couple of shooting chances to set up others, but it’s hard to complain with 2 goals on 3 shots.  He also led the team with 2 blocked shots.

The Bad:

• Chris Kunitz:  Although he made a nice pass to Crosby to set up the first goal, Kunitz had a dismal night with turnovers again.  He looked smooth offensively with Sid and Dupuis, but had trouble clearing the puck from the defensive zone and provided poor support for the defense.  His puck management has been less than ideal this season.
• Matt Cooke:  Cooke also had problems clearing the zone and looked much less effective on the 3rd line with Sutter and Glass.  His failed clearing attempt early in the 2nd period led to Winnipeg’s first goal as he couldn’t cover the 3rd man in the play either.  He showed very little ability to forecheck or create tonight.

The Ugly:

Tangradi isn't in this section!!

• Evgeni Malkin:  Though Malkin led the team with 8 shots and was flat out robbed by Pavelec twice, his overall game left a lot to be desired.  He made some abysmal turnovers, including a direct pass to an opposing forward entering the Penguins zone again.  He also was visibly frustrated throughout the game, took an unnecessary hooking penalty that led to the 2nd goal against, and was slow/out of place on the 3rd goal against.  More on Malkin down below…
• Brandon Sutter:  Sutter had his worst game of his short Penguin career, getting crushed in the faceoff circle (3 for 13) and struggling with puck control all night.  He fanned on multiple prime scoring chances and, just like everyone else, turned the puck over quite a few times.  His defensive positioning was still solid, but his puck-handling was costly on a few shifts.
• Turnovers:  The official stats say the Pens had 9 giveaways and the Jets had 10 takeaways.  I’m pretty sure the Pens had over 30 giveaways in that game.  Puck management was simply awful up and down the lineup as players couldn’t clear their own zone, passed to no one in the neutral zone, or sent the puck right out of the offensive zone.  A win tonight would have been completely undeserved with how awful the Pens were with puck management.
• Overall Team Play:  As the turnovers increased, the Penguins did nothing to adjust or change what was happening.  There was no timeout as momentum and play shifted for the Jets.  There was no attempt to switch to a simpler style or just get pucks to the net.  The Penguins didn’t adjust at all as the Jets increased their forecheck, became more physical, and forced turnover after turnover.  The Penguins played a very strong first period and then simply let Winnipeg dictate the rest of the game.

+/- Assessment:

• 1st GF (Crosby): + for Niskanen (initial pass), Letang, Kunitz, Crosby
• 2nd GF (Crosby): + for Dupuis (clears space), Niskanen, Crosby
• 1st GA (Kane): - for Cooke (turnover), Crosby (lazy backcheck), Letang (doesn’t step up on Kane)
• 2nd GA (Byfuglien): - for Malkin (in the box), Orpik (doesn’t engage Antropov screen), Letang (doesn’t engage Antropov screen)
• 3rd GA (Ladd): - for Neal (bad outlet pass), Malkin (weak reach for the puck), Engelland (out of position), Lovejoy (doesn’t cover Ladd)
• 4th GA (Wheeler): - for Letang (doesn’t control puck)

Season +/-: http://www.crosbyftw.com/p/plusminus-spreadsheet.html

Thoughts:

Lovejoy's only real mistake was costly

• Defensive Pairs:  The first 2 pairs (Letang/Niskanen, Orpik/Martin) have proven themselves to be reliable and big TOI eaters early in the season.  The third pair…is frightening.  The Pens used Engelland and Lovejoy together tonight on their 3rd pair.  They played 13 minutes together and actually did not look horrible for most of the game.  Lovejoy actually contributed offensively with a couple of shots but everyone will remember his failure to cover Ladd on the 3rd goal.  In all fairness, the 3rd pair played fine for a 3rd pair tonight.  Malkin and Neal failed that pairing just as much as they failed themselves on that 3rd goal against.  However, I would still like to see Bortuzzo over either Engelland or Lovejoy because of how sound he is positionally.  The goal of the 3rd pair is not to add to the game, but to make sure they don’t subtract.  We haven’t found a 3rd pairing that can handle that quite yet.
• Malkin’s Struggle:  Through 4 games, it appears I completely underestimated how the KHL would alter Malkin’s game.  It’s not that he’s tired, or lazy, or anything like that.  Malkin’s problem right now is a COMPLETE difference in how much time/space he had in the KHL vs what he has now.  The KHL not only had a bigger ice surface, but the style of play lent itself to more time with the puck and more time to make decisions.  Malkin’s timing is now completely off as he has to make decisions much faster and that is clearly being shown with his turnovers and general frustration.  He’s probably in better shape than most players, but he now has the opposite problem of what I felt Sid had.  Sid had his brain at full speed, his skills lagging behind.  Malkin’s skills are at full speed, but his brain is lagging behind.  Give it a few games and he’ll be fine.
• New Lines:  The first line looked very solid overall tonight and it looks like Kunitz-Crosby-Dupuis are getting back onto the same page quickly.  The second line looked decent, with TK actually looking the best.  Malkin and Neal had an off game and will surely rebound nicely for that line.  The third line took a dive with the loss of Kennedy.  Cooke-Sutter-Glass never looked in sync as a cohesive unit  and poor individual games from Cooke and Sutter did not help.  The 4th line didn’t look bad, but didn’t have any cohesive jump to it either.  Vitale and Adams had some strong individual efforts, and even Tangradi had a couple nice plays, but it wasn’t a strong line that could control the puck down low.  The key in the Rangers game was the 3rd and 4th lines grinding the Rangers to death while the 1st and 2nd lines went to work with skill.  If the bottom two lines don’t do that, the top two lines won’t get the same opportunities either.  The jury is still out, but I think the TK line change hurts the team as a whole more than it helps the second line.
• Tangradi Thoughts:  Honestly, I thought Tangradi looked OKAY tonight.  He still looked a little lost and overskated some pucks, but he didn’t look as outmatched as in previous games.  Though I would rather see Jeffrey in the lineup, I can deal with another game of Tangradi to see if he can develop some chemistry with Vitale and Adams.
• Jets Crowd:  Finally, huge props to the Winnipeg fans for being amazing.  That crowd sounded playoff-ready and honestly made me feel like the Pens just lost a playoff game.  I hope Consol can one day sound like that during the regular season, but I don't expect it due to the sheer size of the building. Consol will probably never even match up to the igloo.  Maybe it's time we accept that and just stay jealous of Winnipeg.

Pens Record: 2-2-0, 4 pts

Next Game:  1/27 @ Ott, 5pm

Penguins Training Camp/Final Roster Thoughts

With a day off today and the final roster set, here are my final thoughts on Penguins training camp and the black and gold scrimmage last night.  Thoughts on the final roster at the end.

FORWARDS

Eric Tangradi

Will he "protect" Malkin and Neal at least?

Mon:  Tangradi looked quicker than in previous years, especially with his first step, but still looked unnatural on the 2^nd line next to James Neal and Evgeni Malkin.  It looked like the Neal and Malkin show with Tangradi tagging along hoping to be included.  That being said, I don’t fully blame Tangradi for that, it’s on his linemates as well.

Scrimmage:  Tangradi had the majority of time on Malkin's line with Neal and looked okay but wasn't exactly a great fit.  He did look stronger in front of the net, even taking down Bortuzzo cleanly at one point to screen Fleury, but he was unable to create or take advantage of anything there.

Beau Bennett

Tues:  Bennett looked very comfortable with Malkin and Neal.  He clearly has the skillset to play with them and I personally felt he had much more chemistry with the two than Tangradi.  

Scrimmage:  He had time with both Malkin and Crosby.  He showed some very nice creative abilities in his first few shifts but slowed down as the game went on.  He did score a goal but I discounted it as Samuelsson was clearly over-matched by Bennett and it was a bit of a weak goal by Fleury.

DEFENSE

Robert Bortuzzo

Mon:  Bortuzzo was very strong in 1 on 1s and had phenomenal positioning through Monday.  He was very aware of his surroundings in the defensive zone and always kept himself between forwards and the net.

If Bortuzzo holds his ground better, he will be very effective.

Scrimmage:  He had an awful start in the 1^st period.  He was weak on the puck and couldn’t hold his space in front of the net (getting knocked over by Tangradi ).  Bortuzzo improved drastically in the 2nd and 3rd periods though as he got comfortable with the speed of the game.

Brian Strait

Tues:  Strait had a very strong set of 2 on 1s on defense and showed great positioning and physicality at the same time.  He’s the least flashy of the defensive options, but the effort and work ethic are definitely there.  He can be quite a pest on defense.

Scrimmage:  Strait played serviceable defense and did nothing to really help or hurt his attempts to get a roster spot.

Simon Despres

Mon:  Despres was better than I was expecting from all of the AHL reports.  He was positioned well and kept up with the play.  He looked very awkward defending 1 on 1s (especially with his skating style), but was successful nonetheless.

Despres will be on for many goal celebrations...
just maybe for both teams.

Scrimmage:  Despres looked not ready for the NHL.  He showed better positioning and foot speed in last year’s playoffs.  He flat out looked lost at times during the scrimmage.  He spent most of the time paired with Kris Letang, and if they are that out of sort for a scrimmage against the 3rd and 4th line, I'd hate to see them paired against a top line.  Brandon Sutter also completely undressed him in embarrassing fashion in the 2nd period.

Ben Lovejoy

Mon:  Lovejoy was paired with Engelland for line rushes and the two looked flat out awful together.  They were bailed out multiple times by backchecking forwards and could not clear the zone on their own.

Scrimmage:  He showed a lack of defensive awareness at times, highlighted by a 2 on 1 at center that turned into a breakaway as he lost track of Riley Holzapfel sneaking past him.

Deryk Engelland

Mon:  Engelland had a rough day in my opinion.  Forwards kept taking him to the outside and skating around him during 1 on 1s with ease.  Also refer to the Lovejoy comment above.

Tues:  Engelland showed a drastic improvement from Monday to Tuesday, looking unbeatable on 2 on 1s and improving his 1 on 1s greatly.  He needs to be physical to look good, but had issues when forwards were a little further away from him.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Powerplay

Mon:  Formation - Neal at the left point, Letang at the right point, Kunitz on the crease, Crosby/Malkin splitting time at the right half boards and the right goal line.  There was a lot of movement with Neal and Letang both skating deep into the zone at times.

Tues:  Crosby carried the puck up from behind the net on every rush for the first line.  Kunitz crossed the ice at the offensive blue line to create space.  For the 2^nd line, Martin carried with Sutter crossing.  The first powerplay is based completely on movement.  It frequently shifts to one man on the point, usually Letang or Neal.  At times though, both players would dive into the zone and Malkin would leave the half boards or Kunitz even left the crease to cover at the point.  It’s clearly a powerplay that requires a lot of awareness to work.

Scrimmage:  The powerplay can definitely be effective when it gives players room to skate with the puck. The Pens had issues bringing the puck into the zone and setting up though.  Also, aggressive PK's are going to feast on it as the Pens sometimes take away their own passing lanes with too much movement.

Penalty Kill

Tues:  Sutter was dominant on the PK, intercepting a Crosby breakout pass and also causing turnovers in the defensive zone.

Scrimmage:  The PK sometimes looked passive, and sometimes looked aggressive.  Aggressive was far more effective than passive.

Final Roster

As we found out today. Jayson Megna and Beau Bennett have been sent down to WBS.  Brian Strait was placed on waivers.  That means Despres and Bortuzzo make the team (for now) as does Tangradi.

Between Tangradi and Bennett, I would have picked Bennett but it was clear the organization leaned towards Tangradi throughout camp.  It makes sense, Tangradi is running out of chances and Bennett is very young and is undoubtedly a future top 6 forward on this team.  My only issue with this is the Pens should be assembling the best team possible during Crosby and Malkin's prime years, and they are simply not doing that right now in my eyes.

Let's just try to avoid this situation.

Moving to defense, I would have ranked the back end of the defense as such:  Bortuzzo, Engelland, Strait, Lovejoy, Despres.  I don't believe Despres is ready to play a regular shift at the NHL level yet and don't see any point to him being a healthy scratch either.  One thing to consider is that Despres has been so complacent at the AHL level that it might be time to move him up just to continue his development...but...I think he has some learning and improving to do that could have been achieved with WBS.

I don't expect Strait to clear waivers because there are a lot of NHL teams looking for depth defensemen right now and Strait fits that role very well with his style of play.  I hope Shero finds a way to move Lovejoy, because he is running out of time with this team as well.  One plus with Lovejoy, I have no qualms about keeping him as a 7th defenseman to be scratched or used when necessary; development won't be an issue there.

New podcast tonight.  Full roster preview on Friday.  Season predictions on Saturday and GAME DAY.  LET'S GO PENS!!!