Heavy workload catches up to Fleury, Pens lose
by Hooks Orpik on Feb 22, 2009 7:24 PM EST
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PrintAfter dropping a disappointing game to the Avs on Friday, the Caps got chewed out and a hard practice before resting up for today's game. The Pens got a wild back and forth Saturday matinee against Philadelphia and then a train trip down to Washington to do it all again 24 hours later.
- Marc-Andre Fleury has simply been run into the ground. He wasn't good today, but he's been worked to the bone. 19 games in 2009. The Penguins need him to carry them, but he can't be the only option.
- The power play went 1 for 8. Worse than that, they looked mighty lackadaisical Not going to cut it, boys.
- Kris Letang sat for a third game in a row, but if you would not take into consideration the number on the back of the jersey and the salary he makes, Ryan Whitney's in the press box next game.
- Very physical game, Hal Gill and Brooks Orpik each were credited with seven hits for the Pens.
- A lot will be made about the back and forth battle (mainly through words) between Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin. Blah, blah, blah. Ovechkin is the darling of the media now, and with good reason, he's a very good offensive player. But other than individual awards, what has he won in the NHL? If AO is still great, why's he looking up in the stats to Crosby and Evgeni Malkin? In short, it's a great individual rivalry that's good for the league.
- The Caps had several quick strikes and did well to take advantage of their opportunities when they were presented with them. Good for them, that's what a good team does.
At the end, maybe three games in three cities in 64 hours caught up with the Penguins. They didn't have the jump to compete with a solid team. And although this was a golden opportunity to capture points in the standings, they still came out of a difficult stretch with four points in six games. Time to move on now, that's all we can do. The season isn't determined here, time to pick up the pieces and look forward to next game.
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Last week’s losses to the Islanders and Maple Leafs are starting to sting a bit more now…
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If AO is still great, why’s he looking up in the stats to Crosby and Evgeni Malkin?
A better question…if Crosby and Malkin are so great, why are the Penguins looking (way) up at the Caps in the standings?
You Caps fans are always good for a laugh. Even when you’re winning you’re sensitive. Thanks for that.
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Amen...
Whitney was noticeably lousy on several occasions today, and yesterday against the Flyers. Terrible offensive zone passes, bad defensive coverage. Where is this guy’s mind? And why isn’t Letang getting any playing time?
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We’re definitely in agreement on Whitney’s play; he’s been brutal lately. Yesterday was his 28th game too, but it very much doesn’t look like he’s “back to speed” for some reason.
Whitney’s holding call in the first period during the Penguins’ power play was all I needed to know. That killed me.
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You have 2 goalies on a team for a reason
and I’m pretty sure basically every coach in the league would put their back up goalie in for the 2nd game of 2 games in 2 nights.
I think that was the first mistake Bylsma made… and it possibly cost the Penguins a win. Garon played pretty good for the rest of the game after Fleury left and didn’t give up a goal(if I remember correctly). I’m not saying the Pens would have won 2-0 or anything, but you never know. You have to rest your goalie every once in a while, and back to back games is a great time to do it..
Now if Fleury had been lights out recently and you were afraid sitting him may end the good run… well, maybe play him. But honestly… Fleury hasn’t been that good. the last 2 wins the Pens have had he’s given up 4 goals… heck, he’s given up 4+ goals in 4 of the last 5 games… and yea, the Pens have pulled 5 points out, which is better than what they have been doing… but a 4.60 GAA that Fleury has had over the past 5 games is pathetic!!! 3+ GAA is BAD. 4.60 is an AHL goalie at best. I just checked NHL.com.. Fleury is ranked 34th in all goalies for GAA
Anyways.. tough loss today… 2 wins in a row and then a reality check.
I’m just getting sick of the passing instead of the shooting. That’s what’s drives me crazy about this team. I don’t understand what happened between the finals and this year. Losing Hossa and Malone changed the shoot first mentality. If the Penguins shot more, and had people who would stay by the net we would score alot more goals. Ugly goals are just as good as pretty ones.
On the bright side of things they still managed to put up 33 shots. But I’d say Washington obviously had some better looks and closer chances.
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A question.. (not being a Pens Fan)
What’s the overall impression of Garon? You guys seem awfully reluctant to sit Fleury even in a B2B against two top teams.
I remember watching Sabourin earlier in the year a few time and thinking he wasn’t bad as a backup. Why the need to dish him out only to bring in someone in which there appears to be no confidence of being able to fill in for an obviously tired MAF? Was it a cap space thing or something?
There’s no good answer for your questions. Garon was supposed to “push” Fleury because Sabu wasn’t good enough to threaten MAF’s playing time. Garon, however, fell apart in the only start he got since joining the team. I mean, it was just a downright brutal showing, and that was it for him until the Caps chased Fleury yesterday.
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This may have been the writing on the wall for Therrien
Sabourin was Therriens project. I think they would have held on to Conklin had the head coach not been pushing for Sabu. My only guess as to why Garon was brought in was because they saw something in his skill set that he could help MAF with.
Garon is a big letdown. Like JustinM said above, he was meant to push Fleury a bit. Now the Pens are stuck with two goalies that appear to have issues with their confidence.
Therrien coached Sabourin in juniors, so there’s no doubt he was on the Sabu-wagon. Unfortunately the way contracts worked out last season, keeping Sabourin in favor of Conklin (a UFA heading into the offseason) made the most sense in terms of finances and roster management.
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True, but that’s only in Pitt. Plus it’s highly unlikely he’ll be a Penguin next season at that price tag. He’s a UFA, I believe, come July.
If you factor in what Edmonton expected him to do last season then yeah, I guess that would help define the term “letdown.” But you’re right. In Pitt he’s hardly played enough to warrant a label.
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My thoughts exactly. He’s posting a solid season for WB/S. Solid chance for the young guy to get some big league experience.
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sometimes it's how you lose
For me, I was less bothered by a road loss to a top team than I was with “how” the loss played out. If your team has to lose a game, you’d prefer to see them battle and scrap anyway, rather than just going through the motions the way most of the Pens were yesterday. Back-to-backs are part of every team’s schedule; good teams show up to play even when they’re tired. As far as I could tell, the only Pens who showed up to play yesterday were Malkin and Crosby (and Sid, FYI, the Caps are TRYING to get under your skin; don’t let them).
P is for Latrobe.
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