EF: (1) Pittsburgh Penguins vs (4) Boston Bruins. (Bruins SWEEP Pittsburgh 4-0!!).

[JohnnyB]

Originally Posted by Dion

The Bruins did what they had to do and that was get under the skin of the Pens and in particular Cindy Crosby. If the Pens don't show more discipline it could be a short series

I don't think it was a case of the Bruins getting the Pens off their game at all. It was more a case of the Pens having a poor game plan. They came in to out hit the Bruins and play them tough when they should have been playing to draw penalties and score goals with their skill and special teams. They came in with a plan to make a stand and a statement, but it played to their weaknesses rather than their strengths.
Strange thinking and strange coaching.

[ricardodw]

The Cooke and Marchand hits have taken the spotlight off of the play of Iginla.

He looked as though it was October and he was still a Flame.

Of the UFA's playing yesterday - Bickell, Handzus,Stalberg,Rozsival Penner, Richardson,Scuderi, Horton, Dupuis, Iginla, Morrow, Jagr, Ferrence


Maybe Rozsival had a worse game than Iginla.

This sort of game was what the Penguins traded their 1st pick for and he didn't play well and didn't help Crosby and Malkin from melting down.

A scout that didn't know the backgrounds would not imagine that Iginla was the 3rd highest paid player on the ice in the boston/Pittsburgh game.


Horton would look great as a Flame as would Bickell and Dupuis and Richardson.

[killer_carlson]

Iginla did not have a good game, but almost scored and then set Malkin up on a gift in the first period. Still, he didn't look great - and I'm still an Iginla fan.

Anyone else think he may be hurt?

[ricardodw]

Originally Posted by killer_carlson

Iginla did not have a good game, but almost scored and then set Malkin up on a gift in the first period. Still, he didn't look great - and I'm still an Iginla fan.

Anyone else think he may be hurt?

He was not involved physically as much as I thought he would be.

Maybe he is hurt... He only had 14 minutes of ice time.... and he looked as though he was pacing himself. He is not used to being a secondary player.

On the third Boston goal he seemed lost (not quite a fully connected controller) as he drifted around not picking anyone up and not anticipating the play.

[Bertuzzied]

Iginla isn't hurt. he has regret he didn't choose Boston.

Boo. i wanted Chara to eat Crosby.

[Cleveland Steam Whistle]

Originally Posted by ricardodw

He was not involved physically as much as I thought he would be.

Maybe he is hurt... He only had 14 minutes of ice time.... and he looked as though he was pacing himself. He is not used to being a secondary player.

On the third Boston goal he seemed lost (not quite a fully connected controller) as he drifted around not picking anyone up and not anticipating the play.

Iginla looking lost and not picking up a man during an opposition goal isn't anything new, so I doubt its an indication he's hurt. His defensive zone coverage has been bad to non existent for years here in Calgary. Seems to me he got lazy with that part of his game years ago and is now struggling to break a bad habit that has become second nature to him.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by killer_carlson

Iginla did not have a good game, but almost scored and then set Malkin up on a gift in the first period. Still, he didn't look great - and I'm still an Iginla fan.

Anyone else think he may be hurt?

I don't think so as I saw him dish out a few hard checks in the first period. He's playing the same way he played with the Flames. Maybe it's because a lot of power forwards slow down quickly after 35 but he's just not the player he used to be and he would have been a lot better off today if he heeded Brent's advice a few years back and put more work in his two way game.

I will say bumping him to the 2nd powerplay unit is silly as powerplay is where he is most effective and the Penguins 1st unit was not very good yesterday. With him on the powerplay teams can't focus on his one-timer like they could in Calgary as it leaves Malkin open. Blysma isn't doing a great job of utilizing Iginla but it could be a case of him knowing his job may be on the line and wanting to go down with his own guys. Not sure but I don't think Iginla is being used properly.

That's a team that would look pretty good being coached by AV who would make them play more sound defensively while still letting the offensive players do their thing. They just aren't playing sound defense for whatever reason.

[Ark2]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I don't think so as I saw him dish out a few hard checks in the first period. He's playing the same way he played with the Flames. Maybe it's because a lot of power forwards slow down quickly after 35 but he's just not the player he used to be and he would have been a lot better off today if he heeded Brent's advice a few years back and put more work in his two way game.

I will say bumping him to the 2nd powerplay unit is silly as powerplay is where he is most effective and the Penguins 1st unit was not very good yesterday. With him on the powerplay teams can't focus on his one-timer like they could in Calgary as it leaves Malkin open. Blysma isn't doing a great job of utilizing Iginla but it could be a case of him knowing his job may be on the line and wanting to go down with his own guys. Not sure but I don't think Iginla is being used properly.

That's a team that would look pretty good being coached by AV who would make them play more sound defensively while still letting the offensive players do their thing. They just aren't playing sound defense for whatever reason.

Blysma is an overrated coach. The Pens defense is atrocious so I never understood the amount of praise that that man gets. AV would be a huge upgrade.

[gargamel]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I will say bumping him to the 2nd powerplay unit is silly as powerplay is where he is most effective and the Penguins 1st unit was not very good yesterday. With him on the powerplay teams can't focus on his one-timer like they could in Calgary as it leaves Malkin open. Blysma isn't doing a great job of utilizing Iginla but it could be a case of him knowing his job may be on the line and wanting to go down with his own guys. Not sure but I don't think Iginla is being used properly.

It would be one thing if the powerplay had looked bad with Iginla and they thought they needed to change it up, but the powerplay was as dangerous as any that I've seen in years when Iginla was on it and it went straight into the crapper when they took him off the first unit. There's no excuse to not have him out there.

As for the rest of his game, Iginla didn't look good last night after the first period, but you could say that about every forward on the Penguins and the majority of the forwards on the Bruins. Krejci and Rask may have been the only 2 players on the ice who had an above average game. If either team plays like they did last night and the other team plays to their potential, this series would be a blowout, but I except both teams to step it up and this to be a real battle.

[trackercowe]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

Moot.

Unless the point was silent?

Well it should be silent, but everyone keeps bringing up, like that's when the games result was decided.

Eventually the phrase "mute point" instead of "moot point" will be accepted anyway, so give that some time. When it does I'll be sure to come back and let you know.

[sa226]

I thought Iginla was quite good in the 1st period, he was skating and driving to the net. I don't know what happened after that, but he did not play very well at all in the 2nd and 3rd.

Because of the personnel, I understand why he is off the powerplay. But part of why he made it successful was that right shooting threat. Neal has a great shot, but on cross seam passes from the right side he is kind of handcuffed being left handed.

The way Bylsma rolls Malkin and Crosby some guys go for long stretches without any ice-time, its hard to stay in the game and keep a rythm when you are an offensive player and you sit for stretches.

I also thought Morrow was really good in the first.

I understand you win or lose with your top players, and Malkin and Crosby are two of the best, but from my inexperienced position as a armchair coach, Bylsma could have managed the bench better.

[fatso]

I don't think the Penguins looked as bad as some are making out. I thought that overall they outplayed the Bruins. The difference, of course, was that the Bruins capitalized on their few chances, while the Penguins missed each and every one of their many chances.

I thought Iginla looked pretty weak last night, but no more so than the other Penguins stars. They all seemed a little out-of-sync. There were an extraordinary number of barely missed passes, for example, to say nothing of the wide shots.

It is tough to see why Iginla isn't on the 1st PP unit. As others have said, it was very dangerous when he was on it. It is not clear to me why he got bumped, and now would be a good time to put him back on it.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by ricardodw

He was not involved physically as much as I thought he would be.

Maybe he is hurt... He only had 14 minutes of ice time.... and he looked as though he was pacing himself. He is not used to being a secondary player.

On the third Boston goal he seemed lost (not quite a fully connected controller) as he drifted around not picking anyone up and not anticipating the play.

4th among F's...right where he should be considering he isnt always 1st pp unit.

[ricardodw]

Originally Posted by transplant99

4th among F's...right where he should be considering he isnt always 1st pp unit.

crosby 24:21
Dupuis 19:10
Malkin 18:19
Neal 17:41
Kunitz 17:04
Iginla 13:53
Morrow 13:35

With Cooke Missing 2 periods. Iginla is closer to 4th line minutes than top line minutes.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by ricardodw

crosby 24:21
Dupuis 19:10
Malkin 18:19
Neal 17:41
Kunitz 17:04
Iginla 13:53
Morrow 13:35

With Cooke Missing 2 periods. Iginla is closer to 4th line minutes than top line minutes.

How is 6th in forward ice time closer to 4th than 1st line minutes?

[trackercowe]

Originally Posted by flameswin

How is 6th in forward ice time closer to 4th than 1st line minutes?

I think he's saying that Cooke generally plays more than 13:53 per game (14:41), so he might have played more if he didn't get thrown out of last nights game. Iginla has been pretty much relegated to a third line role with limited time on the powerplay.

He's averaging almost one and a half less minutes per game than 41 year old Jaromir Jagr, 30 seconds more than 36 year old Michael Handzus, and a minute less than 34 Dan Clearly averaged.

At least in Pittsburgh Iginla is proving to be less effective in the playoffs as they keep going. He was pretty good in the first round though, but has being going downhill since then.

He needs to sign somewhere else next year where he will be more depended upon for scoring, but still not the #1 or #2 guy on the team. A place like Detroit, Ottawa, or even Vancouver (ugh) are situations that should meet those needs.

[Iggy Snipe]

After the first period, the Pens were off their game. Crosby, Malkin, Neal, Kunitz, Iginla all played terrible- meaning they were passengers on a train that no one was driving.

If Pitt scores on any of their chances in the first period, then the game is completely different.

Next game is a fresh slate, hopefully Pitt can find a way to beat Rask and open the flood gates.

Just a comment. I like Iginla on the #1 PP. To be honest, Neal has a good shot but the guy shoots the puck blindy constantly, and it not a very dynamic powerplay. Iginla gives that one time option which teams have to respect.

Once Crosby came back, Iggy never saw a lot #1PP time and personally, I think it has struggled a little bit. I think Iginla should be out there instead of Neal, giving the Pens two great one time options.

Byslma is not using Iginla to his strengths. Play him on your PP dumby, its the only thing the guy is good at.

[Flash Walken]

You can't just be gifted #1 pp time when you have a team with Crosby, Malkin, Neal up front. He worked on the point with Letang but struggled defensively and with driving and maintaining possession, ultimately to the point of putting him on the second unit.

Crisp line changes, getting to your assignment and making economical plays with the puck earn icetime. This isn't Calgary and he's not 28, the Pens just aren't going to throw him out for 22 minutes a game and hope for the best.

Edit: Also, they were running more an umbrella with Iginla out there with Letang with crosby to try and break down the box. The Bruins play balls out periodically, pressuring high, and the pens have demonstrated that they are really vulnerable to short handed chances in that setup. They seemed more conservative last night trying to break down the bruins down low but it's a horrible exercise with their big defenders and competent centres. The play for the Pens really should be back to the point but the Bruins just aren't letting that happen, Marchand, Lucic, etc are just too much to handle in transition and it will only get worse the more confidence the Bruins forwards get and how hesitant the Penguins defenders become. The Bruins are just too strong on the boards in all three zones.

[Machiavelli]

Yeah I've gotta say I haven't enjoyed watching Iginla at all, points or not. He really needs to start forcing the issue and earning his ice time. I absolutely believe he is still capable of being a bull out there. He looks like he's holding back and it's disappointing to watch.

I don't know what he's thinking, but if he plans to coast to a Cup on the coattails of Crosby and Malkin, he'd better rethink that strategy.

[doctajones428]

Originally Posted by Bertuzzied

Iginla isn't hurt. he has regret he didn't choose Boston.

Boo. i wanted Chara to eat Crosby.

I really doubt he has any regret

MOD EDIT: No insults, please.