Yeah, we posted about earlier when talking about Bergeron's retirement but I don't see how a known agitator who definitely crosses that line routinely can work as a captain...esp. if the refs are already usually more or less fed up with his antics.

 

Underwhelming first effort from Quick.

 

2 goals on 4 shots.... Thanks Quick.

 

He never was very good. Had an outstanding Kings team in front of him.

 

Always thought he was overrated, and he's old now

 

That generation is definitely getting up there in age. Not many left from that trifecta of domination between the Pens, Hawks, and Kings...

 

 

Yum you should fly out here for the opener. I'll even get you some Boston chowdah

 

Crosby vs Bedard tomorrow for the opener, of course the league and ESPN isn't advertising or hyping it up whatsoever

 

Perfect. You can fly him out for and go to a steel museum or some shit then he can come up here lol

 

Plenty hyped up here. Must-watch TV for me to see what the kid is all about in his official debut.

Expecting Hawks to get spanked but at least looking to see if Bedard truly belongs and is worth 1/10th of the hype...

 

You promise not to talk about the Shethlete that pretended to play football for the Pats?

 

I'll try to keep it to puck talk but no promises

Tom would've been great on the D-line

 

It's definitely much watch TV, but just amazing how the league sucks at self promotion, I'm in Pittsburgh and haven't even seen a commercial for the game or anything promoting the game, it's sad

(The Pens are promoting, but the league and ESPN are not)

 

Yeah, NFL, NBA are king in the US. All Canadian sports channels are advertising it...TSN, Sportsnet...

 

That speaks volumes, Canada is advertising it but not here in the US

 

K. I swear I did not see a Hawks victory...actually thought it would be a 5-1 loss to Pens.

A few take-aways:

- Bedard: Believe the hype. He notched 1 assist but he was everywhere and if there was just one wrinkle, he was not great in the face-off dot but in his defense, his idol and future HoFer was his opponent most of the evening at the dot. Other thing was he was fearless against physicality and went to high-traffic areas. Just 1 game but he impressed me.
- Hawks were scrappy and did not back down despite a freaking loaded Pens roster. I forgot they had Reilly Smith and Lars as depth players...yeesh.
- Pens just showed lack of desperation TBH and I think they thought Hawks with all their kids were going to roll over. Just 1 game and expect with that locker room, they'll be just fine and contend this year.

 

New personnel, same old Pens.... Jarry went to sleep in the third, Pens quit playing D in front of him in the third. Hawks fed off the energy from Bedard, and once they got the first goal it was a shooting gallery in our end. Props to the Hawks for not going away, sadly the Pens just reverted back to their lazy and uninspired play of the last 5 years

Agree that Bedard is fun to watch, kid has a rocket of a shot. He's rough around the edges at 18 years old, but he'll only get better the more games he played.

 

Pens are building overall such an old lineup. I just fear that it's going to end for them the way it did for the Bruins if they make the playoffs. Hopefully I am wrong.

 

My fear as well, I was pissed when Hextall brought in a bunch of over 30somethings at the trade deadline and made us older and although Dubas got rid of most of that baggage, he brought in his own over 30somethings on the bottom 6. They may be a bit younger or cheaper but I still worry about the overall age of this team. It needs an injection of youth more than any other team in the league yet we keep signing more and more 30+ year old dudes

 

 

 

The only wrinkle I have here is that the vets he brought in are pretty proven players and I don't see much slow-down overall. The game the other day against the Hawks was just one game...I think they'll be fine.

That said, do they have the speed to get past a quicker team like the Canes? Who knows but what they lack in that, they make up with experience and know-how. Those are not overrated qualities, IMO.






Now, you COULD be an Oilers fan and see their supposed Cup-winner get spanked 8-1 by the Nucks yesterday.....

 

Shit that game ended up 8-1

I was watching during the Avs intermission and turned it off at 3-0.

 

I hate ESPN owning the NHL

30 seconds before the game, it is unavailable

 

Wow! What an opener!

 

5-1 Igor's 100th!!!!!!!

 

The Bruins are still good at hawkey

 

Fixed.

 

 

Pens look awful, getting outplayed by goalies and all over the ice. I loved the changes that KD put into place, but this team is not coming together as expected. Curious if this continues if a big shakeup will be made

 

The thing I see with the Pens is that they are so stacked with grizzled vets, it's almost like the urgency in the regular season is not quite there at the moment and really, saved for the big games. So, I think let's see how they stack against the Avs -- which is a big game.

They aren't a trainwreck like the Oilers who lost again yesterday.

 

Yeah, they've had that lack of urgency for years in the regular season. But this year it's just no attention to detail, lazy passes, and just general laziness. Glad I dropped my season tickets though

 

Is it a big game though? I never really considered that much big game importance on cross conference play. It doesn't hold the same weight in the standings for one.

I only saw a little of the Pens last night during that Fronzen Frenzy gimmick since I had the Phillies game on and the Avs game on the TVs. That was not great hockey.

 

I would think so...Avs are a top team...Cup contender and so, measuring stick. Usually, teams wake up for match-ups against the elite squads.

 

Like, using my Hawks as an example, totally one thing for Pens to be asleep playing them...Chicago has seriously no one past Bedard and maybe Seth Jones.

 

Dont be mad at me just because Bedard cant score without cheating across the blue line!

 

That offside had nothing to do with the play and you know it.

 

 

Heck of a road trip so far, Quick was pretty good in his first Ranger SO.