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Matt Vensel's Penguins chat: 02.21.25
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Matt Vensel
8:41
Good morning, Penguins fans. What a game last night. Lots to talk about around the Pens, too. We have an early start today. 10 a.m.
10:04
Let's do this. Gonna need more questions or this will be a quick one.
RJ
10:05
Hello Matt, 25 games remains and out of the playoff by 6 points. Matt what 1 thing do the Pens need to do on the offensive and defensive ends to  make the play offs. Thank You.
Matt Vensel
10:07
Hey, RJ. They need to do a lot more than just one thing on each end of the ice to get in. It's true that they are "only" six points out. But they have to leap over six other teams to get in. Mathematically speaking, the odds of that happening are pretty slim. The Penguins may need to win something like 18-20 of their next 25 games to get in. I will say this in response to your question: They need to bring it every night defensively and have playoff-level puck management if they are to go on a run here.
Joe
10:07
Matt, we have no chance to make the playoffs. So what is Dubas waiting for? Trade some vets off this roster and bring up some of our young guys and let’s get a look at them. He can return them for the WBS playoffs
Matt Vensel
10:08
Joe, good question. And I totally get why you feel that way. You will want to read my Sunday column this week. I chatted with assistant GM Jason Spezza and he was really good at articulating why the Penguins have been patient with their prospects. To summarize quickly, they want them to be ready to stay in the NHL when they're called up.
GH
10:10
Is Geno upset that the Russians didn’t participate in the 4 Nations tournament?
Matt Vensel
10:12
I would say disappointed is the word. The local media chatted with Geno on Wednesday and he talked about a lot of things, including the 4 Nations and also that a couple of years ago he did not think Ovi would get Gretzky's record. Those comments probably got lost in the shuffle after the unfortunate passing of Mike Lange, but the article is still up high on the Penguins page on the PG site.
Jeff M
10:12
Malkin really seems to want to represent his country in to 26 Olympics. If Russa is allowed to compete would Geno still be good enough to make the team?
Matt Vensel
10:13
Fair question. I think he would be on the team, even if he was simply a legacy pick. But it's not like Russia is as deep as the U.S. for Canada. Do they have four centers who are better than Malkin at the moment?
Kris Peterinelli
10:13
So they kept talking about Sid and his injured elbow last night.  Do you think there is a good chance he has to sit out now for a period of time to recover?  And what are your thoughts on all the injuries from this tournament.  Yes it was exciting but if my team was in the playoff chase and now I lose a key player for a while, I'm not real happy even if I'm canadian.
Matt Vensel
10:15
Hey, Kris. While I am not 100% sure about the severity of his injury and whether surgery or just rest will be required for him to get back to full strength, I expect Crosby to play for the Penguins this weekend and try to get the team into the playoffs. If the Penguins don't gain ground over the next 2-3 weeks and the injury is still nagging Crosby, I do wonder if the decision will be made to shut him down.
DXF
10:15
Hi Matt. I just wanted to take a second to thank for your email reply to my question from last week regarding the penguins defensive scheme. It was a very well thought out, articulate, informative, and easily to understand answer.  I never expected such an excellent detailed response to my email question to you. I do appreciate it. It was article worthy. Thanks
Matt Vensel
10:16
No sweat! Happy to answer reader questions via email, too, especially ones that require a little more time and thought. I try to keep these chats moving along. Email: mvensel@post-gazette.com
Arnold Slick
10:17
How good did Guentzel look at 4Nations?  Miss him
Matt Vensel
10:17
Jake was rock solid, as expected. Last night, he made a great play to set up Auston Matthews in OT but Jordan Binnington kept Canada alive.
Tom
10:18
Do you think Sullivan's head nearly exploded when players on his team planned to play with toughness and grit, not just speed? Was he secretly hoping the penalty box door would break so the Tkachuk brothers would have been stuck in there forever?
Matt Vensel
10:22
Tom, I know this question is meant to be a dig at Sullivan, but I have a couple thoughts here. One, now is not the time to question his credentials as a coach. He just did an excellent job preparing the U.S. team for this tournament. We can quibble about whether he is the right coach for the Penguins as they continue this rebuild, but he reminded everyone at the 4 Nations that he is a pretty damn good coach when he has the players. Two, you do realize there are only a handful of players in the NHL who can combine speed, skill, scoring, size, toughness and swagger like the Tkachuk brothers do? Every single NHL team, including Sullivan and the Penguins, wish they had a player or two like that on their roster. And if you actually watched this tournament closely, you would have seen that Sullivan trusted those two in a ton of critical situations. And, boy, they usually delivered.
Another Joe
10:23
Matt, what do you think the “rebuild” will focus one.  Depth in D first followed by young, quick skaters or will Dubas starting with big and fast up front, etc?  Any thoughts?
Matt Vensel
10:28
We already have two years of transactions to go on here. So far, the Penguins under Kyle Dubas have tried to bring in prospects who are competitive with hockey sense and skill. Obviously, they don't want a bunch of small, slow players. But those attributes have not been prioritized as much. Ville Koivunen, the player they coveted most in the Jake Guentzel trade, is a good example. He's not the biggest guy and they want him to get stronger and improve his pace. But he's very smart and skilled, which is why he is among the AHL's top scorers among rookies. The Pens have 29 picks over the next three years, so they will bring in a variety of shapes and sizes and player archetypes. They understand you need different types of players to win the Cup.
10:31
That will do it for this week's chat. Have a great weekend, everyone.
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