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***Official 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs thread : Pens raise the cup for 4th time in franchise history*** (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Doctor Detroit
- Start date
Capella
Footballguy
Stamkos: "We're going to have to learn from this and come back stronger." #TBLightning ?
Drouin was also asked after the game if he's coming back and he said definitely. He's 21, Vasy is 22, Kuch is 22...I guess the positives are they should be around for a while still.
That said, ####.
Drouin was also asked after the game if he's coming back and he said definitely. He's 21, Vasy is 22, Kuch is 22...I guess the positives are they should be around for a while still.
That said, ####.
Wingnut
Footballguy
chet
Footballguy
Yankee23Fan
Fair Tax!
No kidding. As a Sharks fan though, I don't mind people jumping on to join us to rid the NHL of the Penguins this year.
fred_1_15301
Footballguy
I know most people hate the Pens because of Crosby, Malkin, Letang and the fans but there are a lot of guys that I think would be easy to root for if they were in a different uniform.
. But I know I'm biased.
Doctor Detroit
Please remove your headgear
thread title updated.
Im gonna root for the Sharks but I hope Thornton is so bad he's a healthy scratch for the last two games, and has to take the cup in "Pink" jogging pants.
Im gonna root for the Sharks but I hope Thornton is so bad he's a healthy scratch for the last two games, and has to take the cup in "Pink" jogging pants.
Insein
Footballguy
Tom Servo
Nittany Beavers
pats3in4
Footballguy
Here's my fan-goggled breakdown of the Sharks entering the SCF...
Forward lines:
1. Hertl - Thornton (A) - Pavelski (C): Pavs is the heart and soul of this team and DeBoer making him captain was something McLellan should have done years ago. One of the league's best at getting off a shot quickly before the D and G can get in position. Fearless in going to the net. Excellent at faceoffs and a very good defensive forward. Pavs is everything you want in a hockey player. Hertl entered the league as a promising goal scorer, but has settled into a corner grinder who picks his spots offensively. His scoring is elevated by playing on this top line, as would anybody's who plays with Thornton feeding them the puck. Hertl's defense is adequate...nothing stellar, but not deficient. Thornton's play the last several years has taken a turn from an assist machine to a very defensive minded forward...until this year, and particularly the post-season, where he suddenly added back his puck handling mastery while still maintaining his defensive prowess. It's amazing he's doing this at his age. He's probably at his all-around best ever in his career right now.
2. Marleau - Couture (A) - Donskoi: Overshadowed by his linemates, Donskoi is a huge reason the Sharks are where they are. He's arguably the 2nd best puck handler on the team after Thornton and really pushes that 2nd line's scoring punch to almost a co-first line. He's aggressive in the corners and hustles back on D. I'm looking forward to his career. Marleau still has his wheels at his age which puts defenders at major risk should they pinch and fail. He has been a very good defender for years now (defending the point on the PK). Marleau is probably content not having to be "the guy", but rather an important piece to the puzzle. Couture's maturation process over the last few years has really paid dividends this postseason. Like Pavelski, he does everything well and is the natural successor to wear the C should Pavelski hang up the skates.
3. Karlsson - Tierney - Ward: A grinder line with scoring punch. None of these guys are going to scare anyone with passing skill, but Ward has been a revelation as a finisher. Ward spent a lot of time in Marleau's spot on the #2 line and sometimes when these lines change, the Marleau/Ward switch may be delayed slightly if the puck is in the offensive zone. Tierney has been a pleasant surprise as an opportunistic scorer, but his game is primarily cycle and smash. Karlsson's game is definitely cycle and smash as he can definitely wear down the opponents in the corners. All three are decent defenders and will be put out against any line.
4. Zubris - Spaling - Wingels: A very functional 4th line, particularly in the offensive end. They are 4th liners for a reason, so they won't scare anyone offensively, but much like the 3rd line, they can cycle very well. Wingels has the most awareness to throw the puck on net and every now and then can sneak one past the G. DeBoer has shown a lot of confidence in this line in both ends, so the Sharks have been very successful in rolling all 4 lines this postseason.
Wildcard: Matt Nieto got injured against Nashville, prompting the addition of Zubris into the lineup. Nieto has speed so if he makes it back for the SCF, I suspect he'll bump Karlsson to the 4th line and DeBoer will scratch either Zubris or Wingels.
Defensive pairings:
1. Burns - Martin: Can't say enough about Burns. He's finally playing like the guy they thought they were getting when they got him from the Wild years ago...a Norris-caliber defenseman. For whatever reason, his career under McLellan got temporarily derailed as he transitioned to forward for a bit (awesome winger for Thornton), but DeBoer put him back on D and figured out how to get the most out of him. His offense is well ahead of his defense, but his defense is closing the gap. He still can make some ugly turnovers in his end which I'm sure Pittsburgh will be looking to exploit, but the other 4 skaters usually cover well for him. Martin is a solid compliment to him. Good defender, smart enough on offense to get the puck to his more skilled teammates and let them run the show.
2. Vlasic - Braun: This is the designated defensive pairing against the opponent's top line. Vlasic plays the body very well with great puck awareness. He has a knack for poke-checking the puck away from a threat, right to a teammate. If playing a zone in front of his net, he sometimes is late picking up guys skating to the middle from the sideboards (Nashville was effective at this), so we'll see if Pittsburgh can take advantage of this. While nowhere the scoring threat that Burns is, Vlasic is an opportunisitc shooter and unafraid to rush to the net...definitely their 2nd best offensive D-man. Braun has matured into a solid defender who, much like Vlasic, will take his fair share of chances joining the attack towards the net. Otherwise, he's not much of an offensive threat.
3. Dillon - Polack: The third pairing is also solid on D as DeBoer has a ton of confidence in them. Not excellent by any means, but they aren't liabilities...except when Polack blows his top. I think it was at the conclusion of Game 5 vs. Nashville when he swatted at a linesman, making contact, but was spared any discipline. And of course he completely lost his feces in Game 5 vs. St. Louis, leading to a power play goal. Sharks fans are hoping he keeps it together vs. Pittsburgh and doesn't give them any bonus power plays. These two don't contribute anything on offense.
Goal:
Jones is great at playing the angles, taking away the bottom of the net and other aspects of the mechanics of sound goaltending. He is not one of these guys who is going to steal a game. He relies heavily on his teammates cleaning up the action in front of him, particularly rebounds which he can be prone to giving up...although he has improved in rebound control as the postseason progressed. The Sharks block a lot of shots, so the shot totals don't rack up against him. Those back-to-back shutouts against St. Louis were more of a team effort than Jones standing on his head. With the way the 20 guys in front of him have been playing this spring, though, solid rather than spectacular may all the Sharks need from him.
(neglecting my kids...will do special teams and coaching later)
Forward lines:
1. Hertl - Thornton (A) - Pavelski (C): Pavs is the heart and soul of this team and DeBoer making him captain was something McLellan should have done years ago. One of the league's best at getting off a shot quickly before the D and G can get in position. Fearless in going to the net. Excellent at faceoffs and a very good defensive forward. Pavs is everything you want in a hockey player. Hertl entered the league as a promising goal scorer, but has settled into a corner grinder who picks his spots offensively. His scoring is elevated by playing on this top line, as would anybody's who plays with Thornton feeding them the puck. Hertl's defense is adequate...nothing stellar, but not deficient. Thornton's play the last several years has taken a turn from an assist machine to a very defensive minded forward...until this year, and particularly the post-season, where he suddenly added back his puck handling mastery while still maintaining his defensive prowess. It's amazing he's doing this at his age. He's probably at his all-around best ever in his career right now.
2. Marleau - Couture (A) - Donskoi: Overshadowed by his linemates, Donskoi is a huge reason the Sharks are where they are. He's arguably the 2nd best puck handler on the team after Thornton and really pushes that 2nd line's scoring punch to almost a co-first line. He's aggressive in the corners and hustles back on D. I'm looking forward to his career. Marleau still has his wheels at his age which puts defenders at major risk should they pinch and fail. He has been a very good defender for years now (defending the point on the PK). Marleau is probably content not having to be "the guy", but rather an important piece to the puzzle. Couture's maturation process over the last few years has really paid dividends this postseason. Like Pavelski, he does everything well and is the natural successor to wear the C should Pavelski hang up the skates.
3. Karlsson - Tierney - Ward: A grinder line with scoring punch. None of these guys are going to scare anyone with passing skill, but Ward has been a revelation as a finisher. Ward spent a lot of time in Marleau's spot on the #2 line and sometimes when these lines change, the Marleau/Ward switch may be delayed slightly if the puck is in the offensive zone. Tierney has been a pleasant surprise as an opportunistic scorer, but his game is primarily cycle and smash. Karlsson's game is definitely cycle and smash as he can definitely wear down the opponents in the corners. All three are decent defenders and will be put out against any line.
4. Zubris - Spaling - Wingels: A very functional 4th line, particularly in the offensive end. They are 4th liners for a reason, so they won't scare anyone offensively, but much like the 3rd line, they can cycle very well. Wingels has the most awareness to throw the puck on net and every now and then can sneak one past the G. DeBoer has shown a lot of confidence in this line in both ends, so the Sharks have been very successful in rolling all 4 lines this postseason.
Wildcard: Matt Nieto got injured against Nashville, prompting the addition of Zubris into the lineup. Nieto has speed so if he makes it back for the SCF, I suspect he'll bump Karlsson to the 4th line and DeBoer will scratch either Zubris or Wingels.
Defensive pairings:
1. Burns - Martin: Can't say enough about Burns. He's finally playing like the guy they thought they were getting when they got him from the Wild years ago...a Norris-caliber defenseman. For whatever reason, his career under McLellan got temporarily derailed as he transitioned to forward for a bit (awesome winger for Thornton), but DeBoer put him back on D and figured out how to get the most out of him. His offense is well ahead of his defense, but his defense is closing the gap. He still can make some ugly turnovers in his end which I'm sure Pittsburgh will be looking to exploit, but the other 4 skaters usually cover well for him. Martin is a solid compliment to him. Good defender, smart enough on offense to get the puck to his more skilled teammates and let them run the show.
2. Vlasic - Braun: This is the designated defensive pairing against the opponent's top line. Vlasic plays the body very well with great puck awareness. He has a knack for poke-checking the puck away from a threat, right to a teammate. If playing a zone in front of his net, he sometimes is late picking up guys skating to the middle from the sideboards (Nashville was effective at this), so we'll see if Pittsburgh can take advantage of this. While nowhere the scoring threat that Burns is, Vlasic is an opportunisitc shooter and unafraid to rush to the net...definitely their 2nd best offensive D-man. Braun has matured into a solid defender who, much like Vlasic, will take his fair share of chances joining the attack towards the net. Otherwise, he's not much of an offensive threat.
3. Dillon - Polack: The third pairing is also solid on D as DeBoer has a ton of confidence in them. Not excellent by any means, but they aren't liabilities...except when Polack blows his top. I think it was at the conclusion of Game 5 vs. Nashville when he swatted at a linesman, making contact, but was spared any discipline. And of course he completely lost his feces in Game 5 vs. St. Louis, leading to a power play goal. Sharks fans are hoping he keeps it together vs. Pittsburgh and doesn't give them any bonus power plays. These two don't contribute anything on offense.
Goal:
Jones is great at playing the angles, taking away the bottom of the net and other aspects of the mechanics of sound goaltending. He is not one of these guys who is going to steal a game. He relies heavily on his teammates cleaning up the action in front of him, particularly rebounds which he can be prone to giving up...although he has improved in rebound control as the postseason progressed. The Sharks block a lot of shots, so the shot totals don't rack up against him. Those back-to-back shutouts against St. Louis were more of a team effort than Jones standing on his head. With the way the 20 guys in front of him have been playing this spring, though, solid rather than spectacular may all the Sharks need from him.
(neglecting my kids...will do special teams and coaching later)
Yankee23Fan
Fair Tax!
I take offense at that. I watch Jaws every Saturday. My kids only play with shark toys. I've been bleeding....... (checks colors)...... some kinda fairy blue blood for this team for ages.FYP, bandwagoner.
Or is it green? I'm not good and girl shades of colors.
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Yankee23Fan
Fair Tax!
bicycle_seat_sniffer
Smells like chicken
#### the pens. Go sharks
fred_1_15301
Footballguy
Yeah you made my point. You hate the players because of the jersey they wear. Anyways who cares--I'm going to enjoy the next couple weeks. I'm not sure if you will.
Insein
Footballguy
Almost as bad as the Cowboys.
But I have no skin in the game. I'll just watch to watch. I did say the Pens would win the cup back in March though. Too damn good this year on defense. Frustrating as hell.
fred_1_15301
Footballguy
fred_1_15301
Footballguy
For the record I've hated the Flyers more than any team in sports since I first started watching hockey in the late 80s. Admittedly a lot of that is due to the complete ownage of the Flyers over the Pensin that era. Was it like 50 straight wins against the Pens at the Spectrum?
Capella
Footballguy
Insein
Footballguy
Watching them at the end of the season, every puck in seemed like it was out in a second. Plus they wouldn't retaliate like they did in years past against the Flyers. Disciplined and playing well. Scary good.
pats3in4
Footballguy
Power Play:
I haven't seen a Sharks power play move the puck this well in...ever. Thornton is the designated puck handler primarily from the sideboards. This is nothing new from previous years and in the past teams would diffuse the PP by challenging him and force him to get rid of the puck. The big difference this year is Burns' accuracy from the point. Any defender who leaves the middle of the ice to challenge Thornton opens up Burns' shooting lane after a quick pass from Jumbo Joe. Of course a team will slide their backside defender over to fill that shooting lane, but then Burns continues to reverse the puck to the open side where (usually) Couture has tons of room to bring the puck down into the circle. All the while, Marleau is usually camped behind the net and Pavelski is busy trying to find an open slot in the middle. Save for Burns' threat from the point, the other four often switch roles/positions as they are all capable passers. Even on the PP chances they don't score, they usually get off one or two great shots and the are denied by great goaltending. Their primary weakness is sometimes they get too cocky and get caught pinching, leading to 2-on-1s the other way (St. Louis exploited this). The 2nd unit of Ward/Hertl/Donskoi with Vlasic and Martin on the point is more of a traditional "get bodies in front of the net and take shots, looking for screens and rebounds" PP, but has seen some results.
Penalty Kill:
Aside from Vlasic/Braun backstopping the D on the primary PK unit, the rest is a tossup. DeBoer has a ton of confidence in so many of his forwards that I cannot pinpoint a surefire pattern usage. I've seen forwards from all 4 lines out there, although it's usually the 2nd and third line forwards that see the lion's share. They are good at clogging shooting lanes and keeping the front of the net clear, so they matched up well vs. St. Louis. They had trouble with Nashville's better puck movement so this will probably be an issue vs. a good puck moving team like Pittsburgh.
Coaching:
DeBoer is the best coach the Sharks have ever had. Period. In the Thornton era (the team's most talent-laden era), the Sharks went from an offensive-minded coach (Ron Wilson) to a defensive-minded coach (Todd McLellan), neither of which had any idea how either swing the offensive/defense pendulum the other way or to make effective adjustments when in a dogfight of a series. McLellan in particular always went down with his system's ship, even when it was obvious the opponent solved his system. DeBoer makes game-to-game changes and even changes within a game like no Sharks coach previously and it's beautiful. In one game the Sharks may spend the whole game carrying the puck into the offensive zone and in the next game may spend it dumping it in and aggressively forechecking. He'll push all the right buttons like switching Marleau and Ward on the 2nd/3rd lines (great adjustment this postseason) or scratching Wingels for Zubris to spark the 4th line. He'll stay the course when he knows staying the course is the right thing to do (see Game 4 vs. Game 5 against St. Louis). His defensive scheme of quick puck movement, smart breakout passing and sending forwards up ice for quick 3-on-2 or 2-on-1 counters for anticipated turnovers is clearly taking advantage of the passing talent and speed of this team. Even his preseason decisions of making Pavelski captain and making Thornton an alternate (Thornton getting stripped of the C under McLellan got ugly) was a preview of how DeBoer really had a handle on the pulse of this team. Should Pittsburgh win the Cup, I will be very surprised if it's DeBoer's decisions (or lack of adjustments) that play a role.
Billy Bats
Footballguy
Should be a fun series.
Sharks in 6.
Sharks in 6.
Yankee23Fan
Fair Tax!
Not good
derek245583
Footballguy
Is nbc choppy for anyone else? Every other channel is fine. Feels like I am havin a seizure watching this game.
Yankee23Fan
Fair Tax!
Ugh.
irish eyes
Footballguy
Wow pens overwhelming sharks with pure speed, they just keep turning & chasing
ffldrew
Footballguy
Capella
Footballguy
game 7 on
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Billy Bats
Footballguy
Marleau still getting it done, sweet wrap around.
irish eyes
Footballguy
Horrendous 2nd period & horrendous power play continues..and really, another wrap around goal un@@@@@g real
irish eyes
Footballguy
If you're playing the pens down 2 or 3 goals, you have them right where you want them
fantasycurse42
Footballguy Jr.
Hockey just so much more exciting to watch than NBA
fred_1_15301
Footballguy
What an awesome play by Letang
Great game. Should be a really fun series.
fred_1_15301
Footballguy
Pens didn't miss a beat tonight. They played a great all around game. Huge win!
irish eyes
Footballguy
Bonino again, clutch
Tom Servo
Nittany Beavers
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