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Matt Vensel's Penguins chat: 01.14.22
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Matt Vensel
11:24
Happy Friday, Pens fans. Hope you're caffeinated and feeling good after a late one last night. Pumped to talk hockey with you guys again today. We'll get started around noon. But you can submit your questions now. Plan to go 30-40 minutes today. Talk to you in a bit.
LetsGoPens
12:03
Will the penguins rebound from their showing vs the Kings, or is the previous winning streak just a fluke.?
Matt Vensel
12:03
I definitely give more credence to the 10-game winning streak than one lopsided loss. Sometimes it's just not your night. I bet they will bounce back in San Jose.
Theo
12:05
Why can’t Sully just sit Ruhweedel. Bring in Friedman or Riikola.
Matt Vensel
12:07
The right side of the third pair is definitely an area the Pens can upgrade, with all due respect to Chad, who has mostly been steady. But I don't think either of those two guys are an answer. Friedman is all over the place and is definitely not the guy you want next to Mike Matheson, who is also all over the place. Juuso is who he is at this point. This is one spot that GM Ron Hextall could look to bolster before the trade deadline.
Guest
12:08
The Pens were pretty much outplayed the entire game last night, with 71, 42 and 58 being especially bad.  We talked about how great 71 played the first game, how about no excuses and calling it out the next.   What trades to you see the Pens making this year....42? 16?
Matt Vensel
12:10
Put the pitchforks away! The team is entitled to an off night here and there. Kris Letang has been exceptional the past two months. As for Geno, I'm not going to rip a guy for not having his A game in his second game back from a torn ACL, especially after he looked pretty good in the first one two nights earlier.
LetsGoPens
12:11
How big of an impact does Geno have on the lineup and where does his return force Carter to play in the long run?
Matt Vensel
12:13
You saw the impact Tuesday in Anaheim. The second line was rolling and the power play looked maybe as good as it has all season. Geno raises the ceiling of this team. There's no other way to put it. As for Carter, I think him playing left wing is a short-term thing. Sullivan is just trying to put his 12 best forwards on the ice. And with McGinn, Rust and ZAR out, Brian Boyle is one of them. And he's a center. So that bumped Carter to the wing. Carter should soon settle in as the third-line center.
Kapanen wants tots on it
12:15
If the Penguins do in fact go for a backup goalie, who are realistic targets and what are they willing to give up?
Matt Vensel
12:17
Marc-Andre Fleury would make a fine No. 2, no?
12:20
No, kidding about Fleury. That was a pipe dream this past offseason and it's definitely not happening now that Tristan Jarry is playing so well. I do think the Pens need to go get a better backup goalie if Casey DeSmith continues to struggle. It's still a little early in terms of determining which teams will become sellers and thus who will be available. But Jaroslav Halak makes a ton of sense. Joonas Korpisalo could be another good option.
Mountain Gus
12:20
The NHL got hosed in the ESPN/TNT deal.  There used to be a game viewable every night between the coverage of NBCSports and NHL Network.  Now it is barren.  I really noticed this with the west coast trip, because I can't make it that late (I used to love late games - no more).
Matt Vensel
12:23
Totally fair for fans to grumble. Both ESPN and TNT have partnerships with the NBA and the NBA takes precedence for them given its broader appeal. I guess the hope is that doing it this way would push more people to watching games online through ESPN+ but I don't know if that's happening. I do miss being able to put on NBC Sports Network at like 9:12 p.m. and know that I'd probably get to see a decent matchup. We'll see what the league and TNT and ESPN do as time goes on. Still early in those deals. I have enjoyed TNT's coverage overall.
Charlie
12:24
No Crosby in All Star game? NHL should show case their stars.
Matt Vensel
12:27
Agreed, Charlie. I had a mini-rant on Twitter about this last night. My take was if the best players in the world aren’t playing, especially when they’re scoring at a point-per-game pace, then you need a new system. I do like the 3-on-3 tournament when the guys try a little bit. So the NHL needs to either expand the rosters or get rid of the requirement that every team be represented. Most people, especially casual fans, watch that game to see the stars. How do you not invite the face of the league?
Dan the Man
12:29
I'm becoming a bit frustrated with Sid. He's always been extremely creative, but this season he seems to be forcing a ton of passes and committing turnovers. Do you think he should focus more on shooting like he did a few years back?
Matt Vensel
12:33
Dan, your point about the giveaways is valid. He is averaging 2.97 per 60 minutes this season. That's the highest rate of his career. One wonders if that is tied to his wrist surgery, whether it's directly due to the injury and procedure or just a matter of him still knocking all of the rust off. The production was still there for him prior to this road trip and he had a few dominant games. But, yeah, the giveaways are uncharacteristic for him.
Guest
12:34
who do u think is the improvemed player this year ? E-Rod or Marcus Petterson ? Enjoy the chats& your articles.
Matt Vensel
12:36
Thank you! It's Evan Rodrigues without a doubt. He went from being a healthy scratch in the playoffs to putting up All-Star production. Remarkable. I will also say that you're spot-on with Marcus Pettersson. I don't know that he's necessarily improved in any area skill-wise. Maybe his skating a little bit? But mostly he's playing within himself again after admittedly trying too hard last season to live up to his new contract. He's been so solid all season.
Matt Vensel
12:37
All right, folks. That's going to do it for today. Thank you for all the questions. We will do this again next Friday. In the meantime, don't hesitate to email me at mvensel@post-gazette.com or tweet at me if you've got something on your mind. Have a great weekend.
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