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PITTSBURGH – Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Michel Therrien had a difficult time explaining why he went with the rare decision of starting five fat guys (or wideloads) in their recent game against the Atlanta Thrashers.

Noting that he was going with “his gut", thinking that perhaps the manuever would catch the Thrashers by surprise, Therrien made the rare decision to start the 5 very large players.

Noted for their size, the fat guys are typically unstoppable forces. They can easily knock opposing players down without any effort, especially the really skinny ones. Get them the puck and things are going your way.

However, their weakness is speed. Thrashers’ head coach John Anderson quickly took notice of their speed issues and changed the gameplan to take advantage of it. It didn’t take long for Therrien’s large man squad to go down 3-0, only 5 minutes into the first period. The large players floated around the ice like manatees while the Thrashers moved the puck quickly up the ice. It was a complete mismatch.

When it appeared his plans were completely taken advantage of, Therrien sent on a couple skinny guys and a medium sized guy late in the first period, but there was little they could do to get the game within reach, already being down 9-0.