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Pens are getting healthy at the right time. Murray has been a backstop in front of the net lately. Defense has improved. I believe they can make a deep run, maybe all the way to 16.

223113 wrote:Pens are getting healthy at the right time. Murray has been a backstop in front of the net lately. Defense has improved. I believe they can make a deep run, maybe all the way to 16.

They'll be hitting the golf course by Wednesday .

Right or wrong, I think Sullivan is gone if they lose this series.

Who are they going to get thats any better? The problem isn't with the coaching or the on again, off again, offensive production- it's the DEFENSE, stupid. Or lack thereof.

They, ...inexplicably,... look....inept.
When they lost 9 of 10 games in a stretch early in the season, they didn't look as bad as they have thru most of the past 3 games. The only bright spot has been the penalty kill. But, that's probably been helped by the fact that NYI has been one of the worst teams on the power play.

I'm the eternal optimist. Gotta win 1 faceoff at a time, 1 battle for the puck at a time, win 1 period, win 1 game.

Then, do it 3 more times.
Unlikely? Yes.
Impossible? No.
If you've seen them when they're playing well, then you know it is "possible".

Mission: Impossible was a pretty good series on TV in the 60's, and a suspenseful series of movies this decade.

Manfred wrote:Mission: Impossible was a pretty good series on TV in the 60's, and a suspenseful series of movies this decade.

True story.
Here's another true story.
In 1975, Pens were up 3-0 vs NYI, and lost 4-3.
Payback time?
It can happen. Not impossible.

Who in their right mind thinks there is any chance or any discussion of Mike Sullivan losing his job?  Even if they lose this series, he would be 9-2 in playoff series as the Penguins head coach.  The beauty of the Stanley Cup playoffs is it is unpredictable every single year.  2 years ago the Senators lost a ECF game 7 in overtime for goodness sake.   They were garbage for a half dozen years before and the 2 years since.  The Vegas Golden Knights made the finals as a expansion team. The Lightning are the best team in possibly NHL history.  They tied the NHL regular season wins record WHILE PLAYING IN THE SALARY CAP ERA and yet are down 3-0 to an 8 seed.   Mike Sullivan is not losing his job because of this series.   He could go out and miss the playoffs next year and I still think his job is safe.    I love how the region suddenly hates this Penguins core. They got old! They look slow! Matt Murray was a fluke! Maybe, just maybe, hockey isn't a sport that it is easy to make a deep playoff run every year.  Heck last year everyone acted as a though they disappointed and they made it to game 6 of the second round against the team that eventually ran away with the Cup.  The Penguins may get knocked out tonight or they may extend it a few more games but the fact of the matter is they are a good team either way.  They will go into next season as a handful of teams that has a Stanley Cup capable core.  Crosby scored 100 points this year in 75 games. Murray will only be entering his 3rd season as a pro. McCann, Guentzel, Bjugstad, Aston-Reese, and Rust are all quality young forward depth to go along with Sid and Geno.  Kessel will produce if he is still on the team and if not they will get something of quality in return. Dumoulin, Gudbranson, Shultz, Pettersson, and Maata will all be 29 or younger with a lot of NHL experience.  Let's not forget Letang was a top 5 defensemen in the league this year.  Jack Johnson probably isn't a long term answer.
Here is my opinion on where the Penguins are right now.  The core is still there and still has a 3-5 year window.  Will Crosby, Malkin, Letang, and Kessel have the same numbers in a few years as they averaged so far in their career?  Probably not.  But they will still be very good, experienced veteran players.  I think management realized they needed to hit a reset button to get one last run out of this group.  They needed to infuse a new set of players to shift the style of play to a more defensive version, responsible version of hockey.  By going out and getting McCann and Bjugstad they got defensive oriented centers/wingers to go along with the best young defensive core in hockey.  Maatta is still only 24, most 24 year old defensemen are just getting to the NHL.   Shultz and Dumoulin will be the leaders of the d-core they are entering their late 20s. They will also have Petterson and Gudbranson to grow along side them.  Letang will still be in the mix but he is not reliably healthy. The "next phase" of the Penguins will be a strong defensive system in front of a great young goaltender in Murray. The veteran forwards in Sid, Geno, and company will be relied upon to play a more defense first of a game but mix in enough scoring to win a bunch of 3-2 hockey games.  Will it work?  We will find out.  I just think this year was a transition year for management and the team.

Sometimes you get the bear, and sometimes......

Oh well, at least the Pirates won tonight.

I'm confused, how many years was this thread to cover to get to the 16 wins?