#Pens vs #BlueJackets Official Thread! #StanleyCupPlayoffs

[Aoki11]

How about this. You tell me why you consider him a bad coach. How you can grade him by his 1, I repeat one stint at the Olympic helm. How he continuously leads injured and limping rosters to the playoffs and plays quality teams (Boston, Philly you said it all before). Above all give me the reason why hes the problem. I'm just confused.

[theoneandonly]

They aren't coming home for the next 2 games.... playoff series are 2-2-1-1-1. They don't play tonight. You know what being "by far the more talented team gets you? Absolutely nothing. I don't care about the series being 2-2. I fully expect they will win tomorrow and on Monday and advance. Lets pat them on the back for winning a playoff series. With this team getting out of the first round isn't the accomplishment everyone is looking for. Again... do you honestly feel confident they can beat Montreal or Boston or NYR in a 7 game series?

So when you're in the Olympics and representing your country you can't get your team motivated to win a freakin' medal? I don't care if it was Gold or Purple. Give me a break.... They got dominated for 60 minutes by Canada and then didn't even show up against Finland. It's not all on Bylsma but he deserves the lions share of the blame. That was embarrassing to watch with a medal on the line. What right did he or the team have to be so arrogant that a 3rd place medal was worthless to them? I wasn't on the bench but I watched it... they played as if they didn't care and it showed.

I'm not turning anything into anything by asking for a rebuttal to your comments. You throw out something that I don't agree with and I provide my point of view. That's the point of this message board, isn't it? You're the one that seems to get hostile from time to time but that's neither here nor there.

[theoneandonly]

Do you not read my posts? I've given 309849308 reasons he isn't a good coach and you haven't give me one that shows why you think he is.

The Olympics isn't as big of a deal to me but again a team of his underachieved and got totally out-coached in a big game when it mattered most. It's a reoccurring theme with him so it is relevant.

Great... his teams make the playoffs. So do half the teams in the league. I'm sure Mario and Burkle love spending $65 mil a year to make the playoffs. Stop using the injury thing as a crutch... the only time I'll let it slide is against the TBL but they still managed to be up 3-1 and blow that lead. Even with injuries they still have more talent than half the teams in the NHL.The same thing happened the next year against Carey Price's Montreal team. How can you defend blowing back to back 3-1 series leads with home ice advantage? No comment on blowing 9!!!! 3rd period leads in the last 4 years? It's not that they lost to Boston last year that was disappointing.... it's how they lost. They scored 2 goals in 4 games and didn't try a dang thing change that. Just keep doing the same thing that doesn't work over and over and over and over and over.

Him and his system are the problem... BleacherBum said it perfect "the playoffs are a different animal". His system doesn't work in the playoffs. His players don't respect/fear him. There is no accountability within the locker room. Take 39843 penalties in the offensive zone in the third period of a one goal hockey game... nothing happens. He just stands there with his arms crossed. Someone has to be held accountable and in this case it's going to be him.

[HockeyGenie]

To say that Bylsma is going to be gone after this year is a little far fetched. He's led this team to the playoffs for 7 straight years an has a cup and a couple divisional championships to go along with it. But with all that being said, he is one of the biggest underachieving coaches in NHL history. Yes you can argue that his rosters have been crippled by injuries but who cares? You play with who you have an you don't whine about it. Making excuses seems to be the trend with this Pittsburgh team, but the truth of the matter is they have been shut down ever since their Stanley cup season. Somebody said that it is unrealistic for fans to expect them to have won from 2008 til now, unrealistic? Maybe a little. But unattainable? Not at all. Maybe if they set goals like that they wouldn't be being outplayed by a team who doesn't even deserve to be on the same ice as them.

As for comments on the play of malkin and Crosby, I will take an excerpt from something bylsma said to the associated press: "do they need to score goals? Do we need more? They're our best players. We neeed more from the whole team an we need more from them." I couldn't agree more, Crosby and Geno both need to pick it up. But I disagree totally that they have been playing bad and that they are the reason for this teams struggle. In terms of offensive production, everybody needs to pick it up.

Bylsma also commented on fleurys mistake: "unfortunately, a mistake with the bouncing puck there behind the cost us in the last 30 seconds of the game. But he was our best player in the game. He has to rebound from that now and so does our team." This is a great attitude moving forward. I think that fleury will not let his mistake destroy him in the rest of this series and the playoffs. They have the skill, and potential to go all the way now they just have to make it happen.

[konjo78]

Youre also forgetting the first round series against the flyers were DB gets out coached! The flyers had a lot less talent wise in that series and were pretty much a bunch of rookies where as the pens were expected to win the cup that year! What ended up happening was blysma was unable to get out of match ups that were killing his team and the pens lost the first 3 games and the series.

[Aoki11]

I just do not see him as the problem. I don't understand what all you guys expect from him.

[crfball]

Well you are a "complete idiot" because your prediction for "tonight's" game must be postponed until they play tomorrow

[theoneandonly]

To say that Bylsma is going to be gone after this year is a little far fetched.

Quite the contrary... Anything short of SCF or maybe a respectable showing in the ECF and he is gone. There are well documented rumors from the Burgh that Mario wanted to fire him after the Boston series but ultimately agreed to "one more chance" so to speak.

He's led this team to the playoffs for 7 straight years an has a cup and a couple divisional championships to go along with it.

Bylsma was hired in February of 2009. Pretty impressive he has been to the playoffs 7 times in 5 years.

I just do not see him as the problem. I don't understand what all you guys expect from him.

I've asked you like 3 times now to tell me why you think he is a good coach and all you come up with is "he makes the playoffs". What do I expect from him? To not get out coached, make in game/series adjustments, have a disciplined team, not blow 3rd period leads, win big games and hold his players accountable for their actions. Which one of those things has be done on a consistent basis?

[crfball]

I just skip Barry Mel...sorry Aoki posts

[HockeyGenie]

To say that Bylsma is going to be gone after this year is a little far fetched.

Quite the contrary... Anything short of SCF or maybe a respectable showing in the ECF and he is gone. There are well documented rumors from the Burgh that Mario wanted to fire him after the Boston series but ultimately agreed to "one more chance" so to speak.

That's interesting. I have heard rumors of his forced departure, but never that Mario himself would do it. Could you redirect me to a source or article where this rumor is displayed or could you tell me where you heard it? What do you think of Ray Sheros position if they don't have the showing? I personally think he is one of the most likely to get fired.