Column: Penguins’ Metro grade still a flat F

Great one again DK. A question though..
What is Johnston like with the players in the locker room? He seems to my untrained eye as not very passionate on the bench. Thanks again!

I only made it through the first part of this article because I read this, "an inspired Evgeni Malkin…" and had to go back and make sure I had clicked on the correct article. Malkin has been fantastic most of the season, but today was definitely not one of his finer performances.

Panic? Us? Hey, not a chance.

But we had better blister the Flyers.

They have been playing awful inside their own division this year, no doubt. They make the playoffs, it's one and done.

Blatantly obvious every team dumping to Scuds' side of ice and then chasing/pounding. And that's BEFORE the playoffs.

Went through same thing with Bylsma last year. Where's the rule that says a seasoned vet cannot sit? And a slow and rarely competent one to boot.

Kunitz has been playing awful. Wonder what we could get for him?

As long as Crosby and Fleury are here underachieving in meaningful games will be the norm

Get better players .
Rutherford got to see the writing is on the wall for some players.
I hope he got the Oilers on the speed dial.

Good summary as usual DK. If you see some of this stuff and most of the fans see some of this stuff, then why dont the Pens?

I'm tired of talking about the 4th line and Adams so lets look at what the Pens philosophy is with the D unit.
- You have Letang as the offensive dman who is taking the chances and out of position but lots of teams have this
- You have Martin and Ehrhoff who are the same type player and you dont need two of this type player especially when you have Letang
- You have Scuder who is supposed to be our stay at home dman who never takes the body, anywhere, anytime.
- Despres has played an all around good game but is still prone to mistakes and now Borts is playing awful and worse yet not hitting anybody.

Our dmen also constantly play in front of the forward who is in front of Fleury. This must be coached because they all do it all the time, especially when short handed. So my point is that I really dont understand what kind of D the Pens are trying to build because I cant really remember a really good team ever having a D with this type of makeup which is very, very soft and not really translating into the O or puck possession that I think we are trying to accomplish.

I think your last point, the demons, is the most critical at this point. I get the impression too much importance is being placed on games with these teams, and the team is playing tight, instead of just playing. Screw the demons, let 'em go, forget 'em & just play hockey

Hmm after the detailed outlining of all the various issues many of which point to a potential early playoff demise, the concluding Graf re the state of the team was....surprising.

Dejan,
Great article. Any notice of the constant cross-ice attempts? Almost 100% intercepted today. Painful to watch.

It looked to me as it was the Pens who had just played the last 3 days and not the Rangers. They were flat as DK mentioned. Like they were skating in slushy ice.

Kunitz to the 3rd line when Comeau and Hornqvist are back? I sure think so.

1. Bobby Farnham, > "Tiny" Archibald, Zack Sill. No excuse. The organization would rather be cute than gritty.

2. Scuderi and Adams can be sat. Time for it to happen.

3. Each game is focused on playoffs. Staal is still upright. No excuse they did not run him today. Send the message.

4. Failures to respond to TooToo, Suter and Staal for last year, show once again this team is not grittier.

5. 41 and 47 have decided to be cute instead of physical. Why?

6. Normally I would say rest MAF next game. But not this time. He needs to face Flyers and not be babied. He can rest vs Black Hawks.

7. Zero effort today. GMJR has work to do. A large physical winger for line four and 41 and 47 to either start hitting or find someone who will.

Good article, as usual.

Here are my top 5 priorities for the Pens in order of immediacy:

(1) Get their heads on straight - allowing a goal 27 seconds into a key divisional game following a loss is completely avoidable, as were a number of other gaffes that you pointed out. A more focused effort may not have yielded a win, but at least they keep it a little closer.

(2) Get Hornqvist and Comeau back -- this is really a bare minimum for the Pens to have any semblance of forward depth;

(3) Swap at least one of Martin, Ehrhoff, or Letang (gasp) for a reliable shut down defensemen with size -- having 3-4 undersized, aging, offensive defensemen in the lineup might work if you also have 2-3 defensive stalwarts to balance them out. Having 3-4 undersized, aging, offensive defensemen in the lineup will most certainly not work when your shutdown corps consists of Scuderi, Despres, and Bortuzzo/Harrington.

(4) Swap some combination of picks, D prospects and forwards to acquire a legitimate power forward -- By "power forward", I don't mean a 5'11, 190 pound winger with a lot of heart and anger issues. The Pens need a big, physical, Kevin Stevens/Ryan Malone/Bill Guerin net front presence to play in the top 9. Notice how effective the Rangers power-trio of Nash, Krieder, and Brassard (also Brian Boyle last season) are against the Penguins;

(5) waive or demote Scuderi and Adams, and drop Kunitz to the third line - I understand the desire to remain loyal to long-tenured veterans, but... come on.

Obviously all of these things may not happen, but right now they are headed for another early exit if they face the Rangers, Isles, Flyers, or Bruins.

All the blank avatars! It's a soul-crushing experience! Just click on the blue icon and make one! Do it!

DK, I believe Goc is a very capable 4th line center, and I believe farns can bring a lot more than sill and adams right now so why isn't he up here? I don't get why Adams is still up here, his battle levels are poor and he looks miserable out there. Why won't the organization make a change? Also, why is a physical defensemanlike bortz being scratched over scuds? I get he has a hefty salary and it would look bad to sit him but this isn't beer league. When everyone is compeltley healthy, the fourth line should be 26-57-17. Send sill and Adams down

Great point about Fleury being tired, but I really think the NY teams may be in his head. That does not bode well for the playoffs!

Good point about Fleury being tired, but more than that...are those NY teams in his head? That would not bode well for the playoffs!