random Pens notes

From this post at Pensburgh, by LGP_netwolf

October 31st, Penguins Hotline
Rob Rossi asked Johnston if there was anything about Marc-Andre Fleury’s game that surprised him or stood out. Johnston mentioned his lateral speed, calling him "one of the best in the league" in that regard, adding "I thought his puck handling is starting to improve. I like his decision making because it takes hits away from our defense. We want him to handle the puck. We want him to handle it at the right time, make good decisions with it. I think the more he gets comfortable with the options we’re giving him, that he’ll be better at it."

Johnston brought up Fleury’s puck handling unprompted. It’s common for a coach to be complimentary of a player, but to call this out as a plus without being specifically asked about it is a little different. I don’t ever remember anyone talking about working on that with him before. Good to hear; hope it continues.

First, you kinda gotta go, seriously, surely someone has addressed Flower's puck handling in the nine years he's been in the league. It's by far his biggest technical weakness, and despite that he keeps trying to make plays he doesn't have the skill to make (because, I'm convinced, he still wants to be Martin Brodeur).

In any case, however it's been addressed before, I'm glad to hear it's being addressed now. "Getting comfortable with the options we're giving him" makes it sound like Flower, too, is still working out some kinks in the new system, and I'm fine with that.

In general, I continue to be very pleased with the kinds of things Johnston is saying - related to focusing on puck possession, taking more shots, shortening shifts, and a lot of other things.

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Hey hey, we've played the same 12 forwards and 6 dmen for 10 games in a row. When was the last time that happened? *knocks on wood* Even though the streak will be broken as of tomorrow, with Olli Maatta being out for surgery.

Speaking of Olli,

Yeah, there’s the impressive 1 goal, 5 assists month from the 20 year old who’s playing 20 minutes a night and has been promoted to the top PK unit and #2 PP unit. And that’s not bad for a guy who didn’t have much of a preseason due to shoulder surgery that he was able to rehab for in time for opening night. Put all of that on top of the diagnosis he received about his thyroid condition that will soon sideline him, and it’s remarkable. What a human being.

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WTF are the Pens doing with Jayson Megna and Scott Harrington? They call them up from WBS, sit them, and send them back down without ever having them dress for a game. The most popular answer seems to be something something cap management, which is not very satisfying. :\

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In other news, the Pens now do yoga a couple of times a month. I am unduly pleased by this and the mental images it produces. :D

Crossposted from Dreamwidth. Comment here or there. ( DW replies)

comics reviews by other people

Over at CBR, Brian Cronin has a pair of reviews for Copperhead #1 and #2. He praises the art, which I also adore, and the worldbuilding happening in the background. I've quite liked the first two issues of this book and am looking forward to more, so I'm really pleased to see someone else giving it some attention.

Meanwhile, Rachel Edidin of Rachel and Miles X-Plain the X-Men reviews Storm #4. I agree that the plotty aspect of #4 is weak and disappointing, but also that the character work in the first half is great, and that Ibanez' art continues to be fantastic. Specifically (emphasis author's):

There’s a tendency in comics–superhero comics in particular–for artists to make female characters pretty instead of interesting. That’s not to say a character can’t be both–but there are serious limits to what you can do with facial expressions and body language if you’re not willing to let women look anything other than model-perfect; on top of which the adherence to specific and narrow cultural standards for beauty have contributed to the significant problem of whitewashing in superhero books.

Ibañez’s Storm is beautiful, but above that, she’s expressive. Distinctive. Her face–and this is a tremendous and frustrating rarity for Storm–isn’t anglicized. Her anger and anguish and joy are raw and believable. Her face and body are narrative. Ibañez is a strong if not particularly standout artist in other areas–layouts, action–but his character art? This is our Storm.

Edidin includes screencaps that illustrates what she means; you should definitely take a gander and read the whole review.

Crossposted from Dreamwidth. Comment here or there. ( DW replies)

buffyversetop5!

This is just to say that buffyversetop5 is doing is annual classic recs round, so if you want to get in and rec some pre-2014 fics or fanwork, now is your chance. Or if you just want to browse, there are oodles of goodies.

I'm not reccing because I think I've recced all the categories I can think of to rec, but if you're curious, you can go to the comm and click the little "Filter" icon at the top and filter on my username. (This works on other comms, too. I was probably on LJ six years before I noticed that feature.)

Crossposted from Dreamwidth. Comment here or there. ( DW replies)