2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Day 7 Update
I work 5/7 days a week, hence why I'm not posting everyday. Instead, I'll just start posting updates at about each week mark.
I'm going to start with this: I have no freaking clue how the Penguins went from a super dominant team in the regular season to the...mess they're now. They're NOTHING like the team that they were just a week ago, winning against Boston and the Rangers. I know that the Flyers has been their kryponite for 2 seasons now and quite honestly, I had a really bad feeling when we knew for sure that the Penguins were going to play the Flyers in the 1st round. I just wasn't confident that the Penguins could do it anymore because the Flyers have just been THAT good this season against them...and the 3-0 series lead for the Flyers certainly speaks to that.
What I am thoroughly annoyed with is the finger pointing. Seriously? We're going down the armchair GM route again? All these experts coming out of the woods to start calling out certain players for not playing in ____ way. Or calling for Bylsma's job. Or demanding that we trade Fleury/Malkin/Staal. Or remove Crosby's captaincy (haven't seen it yet, but if heaven forbid the worst occurs, this is bound to come up). It's almost comical how every time the Penguins don't play well, all the "experts" come out and start making completely asinine suggestions. So, where were you when the Penguins were playing well again? Right, shush you.
I have to admit that pretty much the entire team is at fault here. No one's playing as well as they should. The Penguins' top line isn't producing and you simply cannot rely on 1-2 players to do all the scoring in a series and expect good results. That and Sidney Crosby really does need to learn to turn it down a notch. I know the playoffs are an emotional time but letting your emotions cloud your judgement and change the way you play isn't exactly helping your team to win either. And I honestly don't know how the defense has suddenly forgotten how to defend, often times leaving Fleury out to dry, which isn't helping when the guy isn't play well either. Ugh, so many things are wrong with the Penguins and I can't even imagine the horrors that will come if their season ends prematurely. All the "experts" are going to demand that they blow it up because what they have "clearly isn't working". Right...
As for the rest of the series...
- Vancouver is on the brink of elimination after going down 3-0 to LA. The only good thing is that the Canucks haven't been losing their games by margins of something like 8-4. The bad news is that they were the team to beat before the start of the playoffs. Oh, and the does the President's Trophy curse live on?
- St. Louis is currently leading 2-1 in their series against the Sharks
- Phoenix and Chicago are tied at 1 a piece
- Nashville leads their series against the Red Wings 2-1 (and don't tell me you expected that to happen)
- the Rangers lead the Alfredsson-less Senators 2-1
- Boston leads their series 2-1 over Washington
- New Jersey and Florida are tied at 1 each (and I guarantee that no one saw that one coming because, well, it's FLORIDA)
Also, Shanaban has been busy:
- Andrew Shaw of Chicago has just been suspended 3 games
- but for some reason, Shea Weber of Nashville wasn't for a completely (almost identical) hit
- Zetterberg of Detroit and Toews of Chicago have both "called out" the league on their inconsistent supplementary discipline rulings
- the Penguins face 2 more suspensions after the automatic 1-game suspension for Craig Adams (instigator within last 5 minutes of play)
In completely related news: Sidney Crosby is fiesty and is suddenly unafraid to speak his mind. Something changed in him after his 2nd layoff from concussion-like symptoms. He's answering media questions a little differently, and it's not unwelcomed. It's almost as if he's suddenly more comfortable with the media and has finally decided to ditch the canned, politically-correct, media training guide answers for more honest, what he really thinks answers. Of course, it's not exactly coming at the greatest time, in their series against Philly, but hey, at least he's FINALLY being honest.
I'm tired. And really worried about the Penguins but I also know that there really isn't much I could possibly do for them. At all. Which sucks.
I'm going to start with this: I have no freaking clue how the Penguins went from a super dominant team in the regular season to the...mess they're now. They're NOTHING like the team that they were just a week ago, winning against Boston and the Rangers. I know that the Flyers has been their kryponite for 2 seasons now and quite honestly, I had a really bad feeling when we knew for sure that the Penguins were going to play the Flyers in the 1st round. I just wasn't confident that the Penguins could do it anymore because the Flyers have just been THAT good this season against them...and the 3-0 series lead for the Flyers certainly speaks to that.
What I am thoroughly annoyed with is the finger pointing. Seriously? We're going down the armchair GM route again? All these experts coming out of the woods to start calling out certain players for not playing in ____ way. Or calling for Bylsma's job. Or demanding that we trade Fleury/Malkin/Staal. Or remove Crosby's captaincy (haven't seen it yet, but if heaven forbid the worst occurs, this is bound to come up). It's almost comical how every time the Penguins don't play well, all the "experts" come out and start making completely asinine suggestions. So, where were you when the Penguins were playing well again? Right, shush you.
I have to admit that pretty much the entire team is at fault here. No one's playing as well as they should. The Penguins' top line isn't producing and you simply cannot rely on 1-2 players to do all the scoring in a series and expect good results. That and Sidney Crosby really does need to learn to turn it down a notch. I know the playoffs are an emotional time but letting your emotions cloud your judgement and change the way you play isn't exactly helping your team to win either. And I honestly don't know how the defense has suddenly forgotten how to defend, often times leaving Fleury out to dry, which isn't helping when the guy isn't play well either. Ugh, so many things are wrong with the Penguins and I can't even imagine the horrors that will come if their season ends prematurely. All the "experts" are going to demand that they blow it up because what they have "clearly isn't working". Right...
As for the rest of the series...
- Vancouver is on the brink of elimination after going down 3-0 to LA. The only good thing is that the Canucks haven't been losing their games by margins of something like 8-4. The bad news is that they were the team to beat before the start of the playoffs. Oh, and the does the President's Trophy curse live on?
- St. Louis is currently leading 2-1 in their series against the Sharks
- Phoenix and Chicago are tied at 1 a piece
- Nashville leads their series against the Red Wings 2-1 (and don't tell me you expected that to happen)
- the Rangers lead the Alfredsson-less Senators 2-1
- Boston leads their series 2-1 over Washington
- New Jersey and Florida are tied at 1 each (and I guarantee that no one saw that one coming because, well, it's FLORIDA)
Also, Shanaban has been busy:
- Andrew Shaw of Chicago has just been suspended 3 games
- but for some reason, Shea Weber of Nashville wasn't for a completely (almost identical) hit
- Zetterberg of Detroit and Toews of Chicago have both "called out" the league on their inconsistent supplementary discipline rulings
- the Penguins face 2 more suspensions after the automatic 1-game suspension for Craig Adams (instigator within last 5 minutes of play)
In completely related news: Sidney Crosby is fiesty and is suddenly unafraid to speak his mind. Something changed in him after his 2nd layoff from concussion-like symptoms. He's answering media questions a little differently, and it's not unwelcomed. It's almost as if he's suddenly more comfortable with the media and has finally decided to ditch the canned, politically-correct, media training guide answers for more honest, what he really thinks answers. Of course, it's not exactly coming at the greatest time, in their series against Philly, but hey, at least he's FINALLY being honest.
I'm tired. And really worried about the Penguins but I also know that there really isn't much I could possibly do for them. At all. Which sucks.