News/views: Winnik revved up for Cup run ⁵⁰

Lets hope it's Adams. Can't wait to see Winnik with Sutter. Was hoping they'd give BB a shot with them. At this point whatever makes them tougher to play against.

Can't wait for tomorrow's game! Really excited to see Winnik on the ice. Much needed addition to the bottom 6. If I had to guess, Adams would be odd man out. I think scratching Spaling would be a mistake. Bennett is meh...can't figure him out.

Lapierre hasn't been the physical agitator that I thought he'd be. Will that kick in for the playoffs?

Against CBJ, my bet is Bennett's out. If he's a fourth-line option, Bennett is the weaker link.

Wow. Looks like Winnik's downside is that he has more goals this season than our entire fourth line. Happy to have him!

thank you DK!

Winnik seems like a great pro and playoff style bottom 6 player. He's not as "gritty" as most people are making him out to be...and we probably payed a steep price for a role player...but he will help the third line defensively (was a big problem) and become the new Dupuis of our PK

Yes, Daniel Winnik sounded professional.

However, he never mentioned "Penguins" or "Pittsburgh" or Crosby" or "Malkin" or playing with any combination of players. He only mentioned good to be traded to "a contending team."

Sounds like a guy who has played for 6 different teams in 8 NHL seasons.

I thought he sounded more like a surviver than a contender!
Here's hoping he has "difference-maker" in him.

Need to switch BB and Downie. Downie is a 4th liner.

K

If your 4th line is Lapierre, Spaling, and Bennett- your team is pretty deep.

*i don't hate adams... Meant to say

Bennett is in no way a 4th line player, however Craig Adams adds nothing to the team. At least Beau might score again someday.

Great intro to this new guy. DK it is hard at times to hear your questions in your interviews. Can hear the answers great but the questions asked not so good.

I like what Winnik said even if he didn't mention specifics (I think he was echoing Dejan's words). He gave great answers and showed poise.
He was actually the forward that I was hoping the pens would get. The salary was the best fit, the PK abilities (which are badly needed), and the fact that if he fits in he can be resigned (because his cap hit wouldn't be as much as some of the other available forwards) just made me feel he had the most upside. The comparisons to Duper didn't hurt either!
I can't wait to see how he fits in with the team.
I do feel like another Dman would really help. I know some people would prefer a top 6 winger but they have the scoring ability and very little cap room. They will end up making the same mistakes as the Bs if they do it. A Dman would help all the prospects by taking the pressure off them. I just don't know if all the prospects are ready for a deep playoff run at this point. Hopefully, GMJR can find someone.

Sounds like Winnik is a player the Pens need. A Craig Adams type only much, much better at what Adams is supposed to be doing.

We still need 3rd and 4th line scoring in the playoffs so if Winnik isn't a big scorer then all the more reason for Bennett to be playing in place of Adams

Pens have retooled the lineup like the rest of the East. Personally I don't see a rental player in the bunch.

I'm really impressed with the depth that Rutherford has given us at forward. Looking forward to seeing how it translates to the playoffs.

I believe someone may have already posted this but I just now stumbled on it
http://www.theplayerstribune.com/in-my-blood/

"My father had a rule about that when I was a kid: unless both of your legs are broken, you never lay on the ice. You skate off on the good one."
Duper

Hockey players, gotta love em.

Wondering if staff has Downie on 3rd line to keep him from himself.

Thinks a bit more O than D and possibly steers clear of few more penalties.

Plus/Minus for a penalty killer seems unfair. If he is great, he is still likely to give up a goal 1 in 5 penalties. The opposite is true for players on the power play. There should be a stat that corrects for penalties and only shows plus/minus at even strength

As DK notes plus/minus is generally meaningless
But some times it can indicate something ie:
Last season the great 8 was something like -26...but was right up near the top in goals/points. Did not play much D it would appear.

If they're this down on Sunshine, they should have spun him at the deadline. He was all Edzo could talk about on the national broadcast, even seeming bewildered at how Bennett didn't get power play time. Let's hope he doesn't become our next Marcus Naslund in another teams uniform.

If you pair Winnik with Sutter, then you need a third player that can finish. Sutter has some ability to finish, but Downie is probably the next-best option. His playoff numbers are heads and shoulders above the rest of the bottom six.