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

[Machiavelli]

2 spots late in the first round means jack squat to me as a fan.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by fotze

If LA wins? 27th?

Yes if the Hawks and Penguins both lose in this round because the Hawks finished higher than the Penguins in the regular season rankings.

[trackercowe]

Eh no matter where we end up picking, whether it be 27th or 30th surely Flames management will find a way to screw it up. Gotta put all our eggs in that #6 pick since even the Flames shouldn't be able to have a way to make a mistake picking that early.

[Milt Schmidt]

Originally Posted by trackercowe

Eh no matter where we end up picking, whether it be 27th or 30th surely Flames management will find a way to screw it up. Gotta put all our eggs in that #6 pick since even the Flames shouldn't be able to have a way to make a mistake picking that early.

Daniel Tkaczuk and Rico Fata say hi

Milt

[davidbjordan]

it does seem that bylsma's only coaching card is to put crosby and malkin on a line to gain momentum...

On a curious side note, since i can't pinpoint it, which year was it that Iggy stopped playing a hardnosed style and started "gaining the line to stop and turnover the puck" style?

i do think though a Morrow-jokinen-iginla line would have better chemistry and play at more the same speed but wouldn't see any ice time

[Milt Schmidt]

I hope the Pens keep trying to play tough against the Bruins, it's working out really well for Boston.

Milt

[FireFly]

The Penguins need to stop trying to play Boston's brand of hockey and play their own. They're awful right now.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by davidbjordan

it does seem that bylsma's only coaching card is to put crosby and malkin on a line to gain momentum...

On a curious side note, since i can't pinpoint it, which year was it that Iggy stopped playing a hardnosed style and started "gaining the line to stop and turnover the puck" style?

i do think though a Morrow-jokinen-iginla line would have better chemistry and play at more the same speed but wouldn't see any ice time

I noticed it starkly in Turin, but that first season with Keenan was the beginning of the end.

[Stay Golden]

The problem for the Pens is they are trying to intimidate a team that isn't intimidated and it all starts with how the Bruins were built. Lucic's attitude is so key to this team and it just is spread outward and they don't care if they ice the puck or deflect the puck out in their own end because with Bergeron and Krejci they are confident to win the draws.

[jeffman]

Originally Posted by Machiavelli

2 spots late in the first round means jack squat to me as a fan.

Exactly this , I think that the chances of picking up a star player at 25 is pretty much the same as 30

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Machiavelli

2 spots late in the first round means jack squat to me as a fan.

It should...

2003 NHL Draft:
28: Corey Perry
30: Shawn Belle

2004:
28: Mark Fistric
30: Andy Rodgers

2005:
28: Matt Niskanen
30: Vladimir Mikhalik

2006:
28:Nick Foligno
30: Matt Corrente

Looking through history there actually is a much larger success rate at 28 then their is at 30.

[Cleveland Steam Whistle]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

I noticed it starkly in Turin, but that first season with Keenan was the beginning of the end.

For sure, it's totally Keenan's fault Iginla started to age. Stupid Keenan, he ruined everything!!!

[gargamel]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

I doubt Iginla is on Malkin's wing for the start of next game. Malkin looked visibly frustrated playing with him.

You may be right, but the Malkin-Neal line has never looked worse than it did in the 3rd period last night without Iginla on it. They were scored on twice and didn't create a single scoring chance. With Iginla, they were at least getting chances, though maybe that's not much better since they couldn't convert on any of them anyway.

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

I said it after game 1 but it's even more true now. Gotta go back to the lineup that won 15 games in a row or whatever. Malkin loves playing with Bennet on LW. Iginla, Morrow and Jokinen can't possibly be any better than him and Tyler Kennedy at this point.

If Crosby is going to keep playing like he has in games 1 and 2, the Penguins would be better off going with the lineup that had won 9 of 11 before Crosby's return in game 2 against the Islanders. With as much as the whole team defers to Crosby when he's in the lineup, if he's not going to play like the best player in the world that he is or at least like an All Star, they're not going anywhere.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

It should...

2003 NHL Draft:
27: Jeff Tambellini
28: Corey Perry
30: Shawn Belle

2004:
27: Jeff Schultz
28: Mark Fistric
29: Mike Green
30: Andy Rodgers

2005:
27: Joe Finley
28: Matt Niskanen
29: Steve Downie
30: Vladimir Mikhalik

2006:
27: Ivan Vishnevski
28:Nick Foligno
29: Chris Summers
30: Matt Corrente

Looking through history there actually is a much larger success rate at 28 then their is at 30.

If you look at the last 4 picks of any draft, there is usually a player or two available to be picked. It's the scouting that determines it, not really the pick.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

Looking through history there actually is a much larger success rate at 28 then their is at 30.

If the Flames are astute with their scouting I don't think history is going to play a big role of success picking 28 or 30.

[Ark2]

Originally Posted by doctajones428

Iginla didn't jerk the team around, he didn't piss on the Bruins, he changed his mind. He wanted to play with Crosby and Malkin. If he went to Boston instead at the last second you guys would be trashing him and Bruins just the same

He was asked to leave

Green text? Telling a GM that there are 4-5 teams that you will waive your NTC for, and then refusing to waive your NTC after the GM has spent time and resources negotiating a trade to one of those specific teams is the very essence of jerking a team around. I'm not sure how it can be viewed any other way. I get that Iginla built up a lot of credit with the fanbase over his career, so many people are willing to let it slide, but you are essentially taking one thing and calling it something else. Iginla jerked the Flames and Bruins around, and he jerked them around good. Right or wrong, that is what happened.

[DuffMan]

I think the Pens should've focused more on getting an elite goaltender instead of Iginla and Morrow.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by gargamel

You may be right, but the Malkin-Neal line has never looked worse than it did in the 3rd period last night without Iginla on it. They were scored on twice and didn't create a single scoring chance. With Iginla, they were at least getting chances, though maybe that's not much better since they couldn't convert on any of them anyway.

Yeah, I thought Iginla played decently, and he came out in the first period with some jump and a nose for the net. However, he bobbled or misplayed more passes and setups from his linemates than he created for them, and his hustle and awareness were pretty bad. Who the heck is he supposed to be checking out there on the Krejci goal? Just brutal. Boston's top line is eating them alive, and that appears to be the matchup Julien wants.

If Crosby is going to keep playing like he has in games 1 and 2, the Penguins would be better off going with the lineup that had won 9 of 11 before Crosby's return in game 2 against the Islanders. With as much as the whole team defers to Crosby when he's in the lineup, if he's not going to play like the best player in the world that he is or at least like an All Star, they're not going anywhere.

I think this is all coaching. Bylsma is letting Crosby take shifts that are too long, isn't reeling him in with the refs and seems to be promoting this self-implosion by Crosby by letting him run wild out there. He's completely off his game and the coach keeps throwing him out there and hoping something positive happens.

It's the coaches job to manage Crosby's icetime and he's doing a terrible job of it.

[hwy19man]

Post game links.

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/game/1325562/recap/

http://www.nhl.com/ice/recap.htm?id=2012030312&navid=sb:recap

[sun]

Originally Posted by Pointman

Some fans also care a lot about the way players left Calgary. There was a huge Doug Gilmour hate campaign and Gilmour, unlike Iginla, was a difference-maker in Game 6 SCF. There's nothing new about hating a player, no matter how great he was, for the way he left.

wow