Pens Suck

[Chadd 916]

I got out of my ref clinic early today and decided to hit up the Pens - Caps pre-season game at the last minute. Pittsburgh SCRATCHED the following players:

Mario

Crosby

Recchi

Palfy

Leclair

Gonchar

Malone

Koltsov

Thibault

While I never expected them to put their entire roster on the ice, especially for a road game, it's incredibly low-class to bench your top nine players just because they aren't your "home" fans. I was actually looking forward to seeing the last three number one overall picks on the ice at the same time.

Ovechkin did play and was electric. Every time he touched the puck he created a scoring opportunity. He wasn't able to stick handle through everyone on every shift and will learn to pick his spots a little better, but the kid has some skills.

[all-star 0]

haha thats shitty.

[Chadd 916]

Of course all of those guys played the day before in Wilkes-Barre, home of their AHL affiliate. I've been to a lot of neutral site NHL games and this is the second time the Pens have not dressed most of their top players. Every other team has dressed at least half of their top guys, and you can't really ask for much more than that.

[freq019 0]

It was common knowledge that they were going to scratch those guys for this game. I think this game was more about finalizing cuts rather than putting a show on for what 7k fans? They only had 4k to their prior game at the MCI center. You did get to see Fleury and from what I heard he looked pretty good.

[MDE3 0]

Of course all of those guys played the day before in Wilkes-Barre, home of their AHL affiliate. I've been to a lot of neutral site NHL games and this is the second time the Pens have not dressed most of their top players. Every other team has dressed at least half of their top guys, and you can't really ask for much more than that.

I saw the game in WB where most of them were playing..they got stomped....Crosby looked good and was a dominant force whenever he had the puck..made his linemates look good too. Pens were bad defensively overall...not just the defensemen....It looked like they were using Lemieux as a "role model" for defensive play.....Goaltending was also an issue....probably at least 3 weak ones of the six scored....Thibeau was in net for at least one of the periods(second where no goals were allowed)..was not sure if he played all three though..could not tell as I was at the opposite end....For more complete description of that game see my comments under "Crosby" in a response to one of Theo's posts.

[Chadd 916]

It was common knowledge that they were going to scratch those guys for this game. I think this game was more about finalizing cuts rather than putting a show on for what 7k fans? They only had 4k to their prior game at the MCI center. You did get to see Fleury and from what I heard he looked pretty good.

Actually, they had stated they would play "some" of their top players. I'm sure they will all be back on the ice tomorrow in Pittsburgh. Most of the fans there were rooting for the Pens and a lot of them were pissed when none of their top guys were on the ice.

Fleurry really wasn't tested too much but looked ok for the most part. It was essentially an AHL game with a couple of NHLers thrown in so it wasn't a great test. He had a great poke check on Ovechkin in the shootout. A-O needs to learn to stop playing with it so much and be a bit more assertive with the puck. He has great skill but the toughness part is still open for debate.

[freq019 0]

Of course all of those guys played the day before in Wilkes-Barre, home of their AHL affiliate. I've been to a lot of neutral site NHL games and this is the second time the Pens have not dressed most of their top players. Every other team has dressed at least half of their top guys, and you can't really ask for much more than that.

I saw the game in WB where most of them were playing..they got stomped....Crosby looked good and was a dominant force whenever he had the puck..made his linemates look good too. Pens were bad defensively overall...not just the defensemen....It looked like they were using Lemieux as a "role model" for defensive play.....Goaltending was also an issue....probably at least 3 weak ones of the six scored....Thibeau was in net for at least one of the periods(second where no goals were allowed)..was not sure if he played all three though..could not tell as I was at the opposite end....For more complete description of that game see my comments under "Crosby" in a response to one of Theo's posts.

T-bo played the entire game, Eddie isn't a fan of swapping guys out half way. I guess he wants them either to find a rhythm or suffer trying.

[Edge 0]

That is crappy that they scratched all those players...coyotes did the same thing at a HOME game...no Hull and even gretzky wasn't on the bench.

When i saw the thread name i thought you actually meant they sucked as in not very good at hockey. :o

[Chadd 916]

That is crappy that they scratched all those players...coyotes did the same thing at a HOME game...no Hull and even gretzky wasn't on the bench.

When i saw the thread name i thought you actually meant they sucked as in not very good at hockey. :o

The team that was left got outshot by the caps 40-25 or something like that and the Caps don't have a star-studded lineup.

[Chadd 916]

Boy Chadd, Talk about missing out. ;)

Most of the big guns in the lineup at first glance from NHL.com and Mario with 4 pts thus far.

It's a home game, big surprise there.

[Chadd 916]

I forgot about this part of the evening

Penguins forward Andre Roy has been suspended by the NHL for the first two games of the regular season for directing repeated inappropriate gestures toward Robin Gomez of the Washington Capitals in an exhibition game.

Roy was suspended for his actions in the Capitals' 3-2 win over Pittsburgh at Hershey, Pa., on Sept. 25.

He will miss games against New Jersey on Oct. 5 and Carolina on Oct. 7. Based on the annual average value of his contract, Roy forfeits $10,204.08 in salary. The money goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.

After fighting for the second time, Roy made a throat slashing gesture about 5 or 6 times.

[chippa13 1844]

I got out of my ref clinic early today and decided to hit up the Pens - Caps pre-season game at the last minute. Pittsburgh SCRATCHED the following players:

Mario

Crosby

Recchi

Palfy

Leclair

Gonchar

Malone

Koltsov

Thibault

While I never expected them to put their entire roster on the ice, especially for a road game, it's incredibly low-class to bench your top nine players just because they aren't your "home" fans. I was actually looking forward to seeing the last three number one overall picks on the ice at the same time.

Ovechkin did play and was electric. Every time he touched the puck he created a scoring opportunity. He wasn't able to stick handle through everyone on every shift and will learn to pick his spots a little better, but the kid has some skills.

Welcome to the preseason. Guys almost never play back to back, especially if they have to travel. The preseason is more to get your stars a few games to get into game mode and find out if your bubble guys are ready for the NHL. No team is going to risk injury or wearing out their stars by playing them back to back.

[Chadd 916]

I got out of my ref clinic early today and decided to hit up the Pens - Caps pre-season game at the last minute. Pittsburgh SCRATCHED the following players:

Mario

Crosby

Recchi

Palfy

Leclair

Gonchar

Malone

Koltsov

Thibault

While I never expected them to put their entire roster on the ice, especially for a road game, it's incredibly low-class to bench your top nine players just because they aren't your "home" fans.  I was actually looking forward to seeing the last three number one overall picks on the ice at the same time.

Ovechkin did play and was electric. Every time he touched the puck he created a scoring opportunity. He wasn't able to stick handle through everyone on every shift and will learn to pick his spots a little better, but the kid has some skills.

Welcome to the preseason. Guys almost never play back to back, especially if they have to travel. The preseason is more to get your stars a few games to get into game mode and find out if your bubble guys are ready for the NHL. No team is going to risk injury or wearing out their stars by playing them back to back.

No kidding, I've been to dozens of preseason games over the years. Never has any team benched the top half of their roster. Most teams have a little class and play some of their better guys in every game.

[chippa13 1844]

I got out of my ref clinic early today and decided to hit up the Pens - Caps pre-season game at the last minute. Pittsburgh SCRATCHED the following players:

Mario

Crosby

Recchi

Palfy

Leclair

Gonchar

Malone

Koltsov

Thibault

While I never expected them to put their entire roster on the ice, especially for a road game, it's incredibly low-class to bench your top nine players just because they aren't your "home" fans.  I was actually looking forward to seeing the last three number one overall picks on the ice at the same time.

Ovechkin did play and was electric. Every time he touched the puck he created a scoring opportunity. He wasn't able to stick handle through everyone on every shift and will learn to pick his spots a little better, but the kid has some skills.

Welcome to the preseason. Guys almost never play back to back, especially if they have to travel. The preseason is more to get your stars a few games to get into game mode and find out if your bubble guys are ready for the NHL. No team is going to risk injury or wearing out their stars by playing them back to back.

No kidding, I've been to dozens of preseason games over the years. Never has any team benched the top half of their roster. Most teams have a little class and play some of their better guys in every game.

Then you must really hate preseason football where starters will play as little as one series in a game. Every team in the NHL does it, not to treat their home fans but to avoid travel fatigue for their top players. It also gives bubble guys a chance to get pp and pk time against a real team to see how they fare in those roles, chances they wouldn't get if stars were dressed.

[Chadd 916]

Then you must really hate preseason football where starters will play as little as one series in a game. Every team in the NHL does it, not to treat their home fans but to avoid travel fatigue for their top players. It also gives bubble guys a chance to get pp and pk time against a real team to see how they fare in those roles, chances they wouldn't get if stars were dressed.

I don't watch much football and never watch the preseason. I've seen Washington, Philly , Colorado, Islanders, Boston and Chicago preseason games and they always dressed at least a few recognizable names. When Dick Tjarnstrom and Rico Fata are the top players dressed, it's pretty cheesy.

[freq019 0]

Then you must really hate preseason football where starters will play as little as one series in a game.  Every team in the NHL does it, not to treat their home fans but to avoid travel fatigue for their top players.  It also gives bubble guys a chance to get pp and pk time against a real team to see how they fare in those roles, chances they wouldn't get if stars were dressed.

I don't watch much football and never watch the preseason. I've seen Washington, Philly , Colorado, Islanders, Boston and Chicago preseason games and they always dressed at least a few recognizable names. When Dick Tjarnstrom and Rico Fata are the top players dressed, it's pretty cheesy.

Sadly that was the team last year :o