Bleacher Report - Articles by Matt Trevors

Pens vs Caps: What's The Dilly Yo?

Matt Trevors — Fri, 01 May 2009 00:12:46 -0400

In my previous article “If I Could Pick Our Second Round Opponent”, I briefly laid out my reasoning for picking the Caps as the Pens Conference semi-final opponent. Readers did not agree unfortunately, picking the Canes & Devils as their choice of opponents.

Now, that the match-up has been set, we will see if I was spot on, or if I completely missed the mark.

First and foremost, I am sticking to my guns; Malkin and Crosby can definitely outgun Ovechkin and Semin. And Fleury, of course, has the goods to outlast NHL rookie goaltender Simeon Varlamov as well.

Varlamov stole the series from the Rangers after Theodore was relieved of duty early in the series. With numbers like a .952 save percentage and a ridiculous 1.17 goals against average, any religious hockey fan knows those types of numbers, and well, they’re almost impossible to maintain long term.

Look for the Pens to overload the young net minder early in the series in an attempt to rattle his cage.

Other than coaching, which may factor into the outcome of a single game in the series, will ultimately come down to the supporting cast of players. Kunitz, Guerin, Staal, and others need to elevate their game, taking at least some of the pressure off superstars Malkin and Crosby.

The Caps supporting cast, including Backstrom, Poti, and Green, have done a slightly better job than their Penguins counterparts. If the Penguins cannot narrow the gap in this category, this may turn into a long, drawn out series.

If there is a proverbial chink in the Penguins armor, it is undoubtedly their power play. After Bylsma was handed the reins to the team, they’ve slid back into mediocrity going 4 for 32 in the series against the Flyers. Unfortunately for the Pens, the Caps penalty kill, with an 87.1% success rate and just slightly better than the Pens at 86.7%, is going to be hard to overcome.

The Penguins do have a leg up on the Caps in one very important category; playoff experience.

The Caps, as an organization, are sorely lacking in this category; not making it past the first round since 1998. That year, they managed to make it all the way to the finals, before being defeated by the Wings in four games. I’m sure the Penguins remember what that feels like.

GO PENS!!

Rocco DeMaro: My Cup of Tea

Matt Trevors — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 16:17:31 -0400

One bright, sunny afternoon I was driving home from a miserable hockey practice and was furious at my iPod for running out of juice.

The failure of said trusted piece of technology was the catalyst for a life-changing discovery. I turned the radio dial to 104.7 FM, hoping to catch a weekend recap of The War Room With Quinn & Rose, or something mildly entertaining.

What I found is now my favorite sports talk personality, Rocco DeMaro.

DeMaro is one of the most entertaining personalities on WPGB’s illustrious lineup of radio hosts that include local favorites Jim Quinn, "Radio Rose," and of course Ellis Cannon, otherwise known as “E."

DeMaro's on-air persona is, for lack of a better term, my cup of tea.

His light-hearted antics with segments such as the Super Mario-themed “Kickers,” and my favorite segment, “Celebrating the Average with Lord Percy Smithington,” always manage to entertain.

Unfortunately, Lord Percy is on sabbatical, somewhere near Tangiers, according to Rocco. I’m hoping he returns soon.

DeMaro can also bring the heat when it comes to his baseball knowledge—it is obvious he loves the game, and his statistical knowledge is top-notch. His fun and informative baseball season gig, Extra Innings can be heard on WPGB following every Pirates game.

His banter with guests is always well-researched, and he is not afraid to call a spade a spade after a disappointing guest.

Rocco’s other show, Weekend Sportsline, has been known to scratch the surface of less popular sports such as soccer, and even cricket. Yes, I said cricket.

Although he finds time for these sports, the majority of time is spent on sports and teams that interest his Pittsburgh audience—namely the Pirates, Steelers, Penguins, and Panthers.

Unfortunately for Rocco, WPGB has one of the best sports talk hosts in the country, Ellis Cannon. Cannon, a former attorney, also has a great rapport with his audience, and I think Rocco will be his Conan O’Brien for years to come (you know, Conan waited for Jay Leno to move on—OK it’s a stretch, but it’s all I’ve got)

As I run out of nice things to say about Mr. DeMaro, I’d like to end with this:

Rocco gains the trust and admiration of his listeners through his passionate and light-hearted commentary. It’s often hard to tell which sport is his favorite, as he gives them all his best effort.

I hope DeMaro sticks around and is given the opportunity to host the nightly sports show on WPGB. He most certainly has earned it.

Keep it up Rocco, keep it up!

Penguins Anoint Bylsma Head Coach

Matt Trevors — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 15:33:53 -0400

The Pittsburgh Penguins have just removed the Interim label from bench-boss Dan Bylsma by awarding him a multi-year contract. Bylsma has done a terrific job in the last part of the season, leading the Pens to a fourth place finish in the Eastern Conference; not to mention a six game series victory over the HATED Philadelphia Flyers.

Although he has done a great job, I do not think a multi-year contract was necessary at this point in time (unless of coarse, Dan demanded it). How short our memory is. Former head coach Michel Therrien did an equally impressive job with the Pens last year taking the Cinderella team all the way to the finals.

But alas, this year, even with their best start in a dog’s age, they simply laid an egg. Their fade from glory could be attributed to a significant change in personnel, and unfortunately, that may happen to Bylsma in this offseason. It’s no secret, I am not a big Ray Shero fan, and I think this is another misstep.

Yes, Coach Bylsma has certainly earned himself a full year behind the bench. He deserves the chance to show the Penguins faithful that he is the right man for the job.

I just do not think we should anoint him the chosen one just yet. One would think, in such a tough economy, the Penguins would be a little more thrifty with their treasury.

If I Could Pick Our Second Round Opponent

Matt Trevors — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 00:40:54 -0400

The Pens looked like both the best and the worst team to make the playoffs throughout the six game series with the HATED Philadelphia Flyers. At times goal-tending, defense, offense, and power play looked out of place, but thankfully, the players stuck together enough to push through the first round. The players now have a a few days off to wait around for their conference semi-final match-up.

If I could pick the perfect opponent for the Pens in the second round, I’d go with the Caps. I know the Caps won the season series in convincing fashion, 3-1; however, the record improves to 1–1 if you only count the games with the “new look” Pens under interim head coach Dan Bylsma.

Like the Penguins, the majority of the Caps points are generated by a dynamic duo. No, not Batman and Robin, but rather a pair of Alex's: Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Semin. I still remember Semin shooting his mouth off about Sid early in the season; now would be a perfect time to show him what’s so special about Sid. In the points department, Malkin and Crosby have a slight edge with 17; (the Alex's have 14). One also might argue the Pens played a tougher opponent in the Flyers. King Henrik has certainly not played like a top tier goaltender in his last two starts; and overall, the Rangers look like they're itching to improve their golf handicap, rather than moving on to the next round.

Next, the goal-tending. Sure, Valamov has played like a stud, posting a stingy 1.21 GAA in the first five playoff games of his career. Unfortunately for the Caps, he’s a largely untested goaltender playing in his first NHL season. Look for the Pens to rattle his cage early with a plethora of shots. As many NHL rookies find out, the playoffs are an all new season, where mistakes are amplified and only those with a strong mental game successfully maneuver the wreckage. The Snowman, Marc-Andre Fleury (I cannot call him the Flower, that nickname is reserved for the great Guy Lafleur) is a proven playoff veteran, helping the Pens all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals last year. Granted, he has stumbled in this year’s playoffs, but he will only get better as they go deeper into the playoffs.

Other potential opponents for the Pens include: the Hurricanes, Devils, and the Bruins. For various reasons I don’t like our chances as much against these three opponents, mainly due to goal-tending. If the Hurricanes manage to squeak past the Devils, it’ll be as a result of Ward staying on top of his game, which will be problematic for any team matched up against them in the second round. The Devils have Brodeur, and he’s equally as competent between the pipes, with a long, distinguished playoff career. Also, the Devils have a history of picking up their game in the playoffs and I’d rather not mess with their lineup. And lastly, the Bruins. Let’s face it, nobody wants to play the Bruins. Some will say “you have to beat them sometime,” which may be true. But, I’d like to keep that until the conference finals if I could.

Michel Therrien Fired by Pittsburgh Penguins: What Took So Long?

Matt Trevors — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 14:59:21 -0500

Well, the ink has been dry on my first article “What’s wrong with the Pittsburgh Penguins” for about five weeks now, and the Penguins front office has finally answered the poll question by firing Therrien.

In that poll, I listed three options for getting the Penguins back on track—fire Therrien, stop juggling lines, or have the boys skate for a full 60 minutes.

Of the people that answered the poll firing Therrien and skating a full sixty tied for first; I guess Shero had the tie-breaking vote by following through with the firing of the head coach.

I can’t say I disagree with the decision, but I think the timing is atrocious. Firing a coach with twenty five games left in the season and five points out of the playoffs says one thing to me—the Penguins head office had absolutely no faith in Therrien leading the Penguins into the playoffs.

According to the Penguins radio broadcast team they have changed coaches midseason eight times prior; making playoff appearances in four of those eight occasions. Only one time have they made a change later in the season and they went three games under five hundred for the remainder of said season.

I think we can all agree, three games under five hundred is not going to result in a playoff berth for this year’s Pittsburgh Penguins.

In the past five weeks the Pens have had some pretty stellar wins (2-1 shootout win over the Sharks, come-from-behind win vs. the Lightning) and some pretty blood-boiling losses (the 6–2 loss to the Leafs comes to mind) along the way and I can’t help but ask:

What the heck took so long?

I’ve seen no change in the Penguins consistency, they certainly are not skating a full sixty minutes game in and game out, and basically every time Therrien got in trouble, he switched up the lines. So what’s different between now and then? What was the straw that broke Shero’s back?

I can’t see inside Shero’s mind, but I think a 6-2 trouncing by a sub five hundred team will get any GM’s blood pressure up.

Maybe we’ll never know for sure, but I know one thing—Shero should officially start worrying about his job. After all, he just offered Therrien a three-year extension, and he was accredited with the Hossa trade. Obviously both decisions did not pan out.

As I put the finishing touches on this article the Pens are trailing the NHL’s basement dwelling NY Islanders 1-0—not exactly how the new head coach, Dan Bylsma, pictured his debut unfolding.

All-Star Balloting: What’s the Big Deal?

Matt Trevors — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 13:28:18 -0500

For at least four weeks before the end of All-Star balloting I was encouraged to vote often for the Pens on the ballot. I had no problem complying, it was so easy; all I had to do is pull my iPhone out of its pouch, punch in the short code, and type either “Fleury”, “Crosby”, or “Malkin”. I believe I sent at least one hundred votes in for our Pens.

All I hear in the media is that All-Star voting needs to be changed, it’s destroying the game, blah, blah, blah. I’ve racked my brain trying to figure out a way to appease the masses, and I finally asked myself the ultimate question: Why?

Let’s be honest, we’re voting for players to start the game, not the full roster. The ballots are created by the NHL in the summer, before any of the players step on the ice for preseason; that’s a tall order for anyone to try and determine who’s going to excel, who’s not going to get hurt, let alone trying to please ever NHL fan.

This year’s Eastern conference ballot was saturated with Montreal Canadiens, enough to fill the entire Eastern Conference starting lineup—in full disclosure, there was almost as many Penguins. Now, normally I would have a problem with this, but, the game is in Montreal, and we’re celebrating one hundred years of Montreal hockey history. I would’ve loved to see them have Roy, Carbonneau, Murphy, Lafleur, Chelios, and Lemieux start the game. Now that’d be a Canadiens All-Star lineup.

We’ll never please everyon , so all we can do is our best. I have no problem with the current method of selecting the All-Star lineup. Maybe they could limit the ballot to contain no more than two players from a single team so we prevent one or two teams from dominating the starting lineup.

All I know for sure is I will enjoy All-Star weekend.

What's Wrong With The Pittsburgh Penguins?

Matt Trevors — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 13:44:00 -0500

Like any optimistic Pens fan I expected the boys to start the 08-09 campaign like they were shot out of a cannon; which, for the most part, they did. Even with Gonch and Whitney on the side line we were able to count on young defensemen like LeTang and Goligoski to chip in and contribute night after night.

Through November, and the plethora of injuries, the Pens weathered the proverbial storm. It was not until mid-to-late December that the chinks in the armour reveal themselves. The Pens have been in a downward spiral dropping games to subpar teams such as Florida and Nashville in embarassing style. It's hard to pinpoint the genesis of this years slump but I believe there are a few ways to get us back on track.

Play 60 minutes of hockey
Stop messing with the lines
Someone needs to become the motivational leader of this team

It should be blatently apparent to any astout hockey fan that our Pittsburgh Penguins do not play a full sixty minutes of hockey night in and night out. Actually, I would challenge you to show me a single game during the season when they've played a full sixty.

Early in the season the boys were fortunate enough to get by on twenty or forty minutes of hockey, but, it seems to have caught up with them. If the coaching staff can get the youngsters to play a full sixty I'm sure we'll start seeing more "W"s than "L"s.

Coach Therrien is notorious for his stubborness; but, I've always felt that even he knew when to say uncle. I don't believe in running a team by public opinion but enough is enough. I was recently listening to XM 204 when Phil Esposito asked Jordan Staal, who had recently just inked a four year, 16 million dollar deal, who he was playing with (on a line).

His response, although well thought out was a dead giveaway. Before he even uttered a word Jordan giggled and then proceeded to tell Espo of the different linemates he had from the previous night, followed by another giggle. Now, we all know that Therrien mixed up the lines last year and we got to the Cup finals.

Unfortunately, that was a different year, and a different team. This leads directly into my third point.

When we lost Armstrong and Malone last year I had a funny feeling that we were losing grit and heart. Neither player is ever going to be a franchise player, heck, they really aren't even first line material on a serious contender.

But, you could sure as heck count on them doing their job, whether it was standing in front of the net, banging in the corner, or protecting a line mate, those two were always there. One of the biggest problem with this years team is the lack of camaraderie.

When you have strong camaraderie you can mix and match players like Therrien does because they're all comfortable with one another; lose that "glue" and well, you get what we have this year.

I think the Pens will eventually wake up and realize skating a full sixty minutes yields better results. Unfortunatley for Therrien I think he's going to stick it out with his mix n' match mentality until he's eventually fired.

Last, but not least, I think the boys are just going to have to find a way to get along and play as a team, rather than to try and reignite the kinships that were obvious on last years team.

GO PENS!!