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Jordan Staal: Coming of Age

September 10, 2009, marked for Jordan Staal more than that coveted “legal” age of 21. He got to tour the White House in Washington, D.C., meeting the President as part of the Stanley Cup trimmings. Fittingly, Sunday’s last pre-season game for the Penguins was against the Detroit Red Wings in Detroit, and while the Pens lost, something was markedly different about the young Mr. Staal.

Watching him for 60 minutes in this game, he carried himself more confidently. Maybe it’s the “A” on his sweater. Maybe it’s the Stanley Cup win under his belt in a series where many hockey experts attribute Pittsburgh’s success to Staal’s tide-changing play. Maybe it’s the peace of mind in knowing that he starts that long, official contract.

As the first line center in this game with Crosby and Malkin both out, he didn’t look nervous. He commanded the ice. He led the team. He succeeded in firing off 10 shots: 5 on goal, 3 attempts blocked, and 2 that missed their mark. This kind of shot production is promising. He managed break-aways and stood strong on the face-off dot, leading his team by winning 61% of his draws. He seemed to be everywhere on the ice, logging the most ice time at 24:31, and he didn’t look tired.

There’s a lot to like about a young guy who still has not reached his prime as a hockey player. When one looks at what he has accomplished in three full years in the NHL, where he will be as a player in the next three years seems limitless and maybe a little unimaginable. He’s become a premiere shut-down center, pitted against top lines across the league. He’s proven to be his own steel curtain on the penalty kill with his smart positional play and an endlessly long reach–and he seems to really like the short-handed break-aways. In watching the game Sunday, the notably strong 6′4″ Staal looked even stronger as he fended off and fairly manhandled Detroit’s defensemen to keep play in the Red Wings’ end as long as possible.

Not long after Dan Bylsma’s entrance, there were early signs after the coaching change late last season that showed Staal was starting to flourish under his new coach’s style. This is the year that the question: “Imagine what a full year under Dan Bylsma could do?” will be answered. Early indications are showing that the development of Jordan Staal will really be something to watch.

Never Say Die

It was do or die for the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the Detroit Red Wings, and the Penguins, rebounding from a 5-0 blasting in Detroit on Saturday, live to fight one more day.

After Game 5 and in the two days leading up to Game 6, the Penguins absorbed Detroit’s onslaught, as well as criticism and faltering faith by the media and fair-weather fans. They still believed. They took responsibility for their poor performance and moved on, preparing for the game that would determine their fate.

Detroit brought their “A” game in spurts and at times for nerve-wracking duration in the Pens’ defensive zone, only to be stymied by the stellar play of Marc-Andre Fleury, including toe saves, repelling point-blank shots on break-aways, and incredible grace under the pressure of a post bounce and a sliding puck that ended up neatly on the front side of Fleury, trapped between his padded legs.

Taking Fleury’s early Game 5 exit personally, every player in front of him in Game 6 gave him the kind of help he needed and then some. Forwards back-checked hard. Defensemen fought in front of the net to keep Fleury’s vision clear. Strong penalty-killing and puck clearing, including the ever-effective Murphy Dump and strong forechecking added to Fleury’s confidence. The ultimate gesture of all-for-one-and-one-for-all came in the final minute of play. A crazy scramble in front of the Penguins’ net found Fleury down and helpless to the left of his post. An ever-vigilant Rob Scuderi as legal tender sprawled in front of the net to make at least three monumental saves in blinding and furious traffic.

From the start, this game was expected to be a close one, easily one goal to separate the victor from the vanquished. The second period has proven to be a rough one for the Penguins, particularly in Game 5, but they came out determined to make it a strong period. Sure enough, with :51 left in the period, Jordan Staal found his second momentum-changing goal of the series as he wisely chose to shoot instead of pass on a 2-on-1 breakaway with a distracting Matt Cooke flanking to his left. Wings goalie Chris Osgood made the initial stop, but the deflection found the quick stick of Staal who hit his own rebound behind Osgood glove-side as Staal’s own momentum was carrying him quickly past the net.

 A two-goal cushion is always preferable, and Staal’s regular linemate, Tyler Kennedy, came through  at 5:35 in the third period. It would prove to be gold as the Wings answered almost two and a half minutes later off a Kris Draper shot. The scoring ended there and was enough to bring the series to a 3-3 tie and force a Game 7 on Friday in Detroit. The Keeper of the Cup had to put away his polishing rag and pack it in because the Cup was not making the rounds just yet.

Additional Notables

• Pens back to breaking through 30 shots on net (31). Bill Guerin and Tyler Kennedy led the team with 6 shots each; followed by Jordan Staal and Ruslan Fedotenko with 3 shots each.
• 35 hits by 13 Penguins versus Detroit’s 26, and they were bone-jarring. Chris Kunitz and Matt Cooke as the Bash Brothers led the team with 5 hits each followed closely behind by Fedotenko, Brooks Orpik, and Sergei Gonchar with 4 each.
• 11 takeaways versus Detroit’s 5.
• Early dictation of the pace of play as well as puck-possession.
• Disciplined play–keeping to only 2 penalties, both questionable calls.
• Dead even with Detroit, winning 50% of their face-offs.
• Strong play by the Staal line.
• Inspired steals by Evgeni Malkin.
• Even strength goals–something that had been of concern for the talking heads.
• Zetterberg, Franzen, Datsyuk, Holmstrom, and Hossa were not only kept scoreless, they were kept pointless.

There’s a lot of debate among coaches, players, and pundits about momentum shifts at this stage in the season, but if the momentum has not shifted even slightly in the Penguins’ favor heading into Detroit, at the very least this win has given the Red Wings pause. The Penguins show time and again that they can take the hardest of hard knocks and come back more resilient than ever. They have now gone past last year’s benchmark. This is uncharted territory “fer sure” but they’re not trepidatious. They are boldly going where they haven’t gone before, and they’re loving it.

Race to 4 in High Gear

A Penguin win in Game 4 of the Stanley Cups Finals Thursday night changes the complexion of the series. The fourth game in six nights seemed to take its toll on the Detroit Red Wings, but it could be argued that the Wings were beginning to feel the effects back in the latter part of Game 3.

Game 3 was not the Penguins’ best game and lacked consistency. They will tell you this, but they got what they needed: a solid effort by netminder Marc-Andre Fleury who weathered a barrage of 14 Wings shots on net in yet another troubling second period, holding their opponent scoreless.

Game 3 Notables–while a bit ugly, a win is a win, and it had elements in it that showed the character of the team as well as their depth:

• Hits–a staggering 36 hits executed by Penguins on Red Wings. Chris Kunitz led the way with a Herculean personal effort, laying 11 hits on the opponent. Both Matt Cooke and Brooks Orpik chipped in for 5 hits each, and while these three guys had the lion’s share of it, they were by no means the only ones. No less than 14 of the 18 players had at least one hit.
• Blocked Shots–Penguins had a total of 18 blocked shots; Jordan Staal led the way with 3 and 13 other team mates had at least 1 blocked shot, showing their total commitment to protecting Fleury.
• Second Line Gellin’–Something about Mad Max Talbot has ignited linemates Evgeni Malkin and Ruslan Fedotenko. Talbot managed 2 goals, and he keeps the line loose. As Geno congenially noted about Max in the press conference, teasing: ”little bit bad hands…missed lots of chances…has summer to learn,” but the big Russian center gave his recent winger high praise for his energy and work ethic. Clearly, this line is clicking.

On to Game 4

Thursday night’s second home game of the series for the Pens picked up where the previous game left off as the Penguins scored yet another power play goal. Play was much more consistent from first period to last with surges by the Red Wings, particularly when they managed a late first period goal to draw even, and then opened the second period with a go-ahead goal. That was the last time they led in the game.

Notables

• Special Teams #1 (Power Play)–The one special teams element that had been plaguing this crew all season long and early in the playoff run has awakened, and that’s dangerous for the Red Wings who fall in the middle of the NHL pack on penalty killing. So far in this series, the Penguins power play is humming along at 45.5%.
• Special Teams #2 (Penalty Kill)–Not to be outdone was the Pens’ penalty kill unit. After the Wings had gone up 2-1, Malkin rallied the troops with a short-handed break-away that Chris Osgood managed to turn back, but that was only the first wave. The Penguins’ PK continued to battle hard and both Talbot and Staal broke loose. Talbot laid a perfect pass to Staal who took off, drew even with Wings’ defenseman,  Brian Rafalski, turned on the jets with his characteristic left-handed power move and drew Osgood off his line, deking him for a great short-handed goal that pulled the Penguins even at 2 and turned the tide.
• A Flurry of Fleury, Part II–Marc-Andre Fleury hit his stride in this game, turning in an even more spectacular performance as he turned away 39 shots, broken down by period: 19/9/11. His stick handling around the back of the net was less nerve-wracking and more sure, and his team gave up the body on 15 shots led by defensemen Brooks Orpik and Rob Scuderi who stopped 3 each.
• Hits, Hits, and More Hits–The Penguins’ hit total stayed in the 30s (32), and the Wings pulled themselves up and matched the Penguins’ physicality with 33 hits for a game total of 65 hits. Thus far, these two teams have exchanged 267 hits, averaging 33 per game, and yet, the Pens continue to look fresh and ready to lay on more with mustard.
• Tic-Tac-Toe–The cherry on top, as if the previous three Penguins’ goals could not be bested, was the textbook tape to tape (to tape) passing from Chris Kunitz, across to Sidney Crosby, and back again to Tyler Kennedy who buried a one-timer blocker side before Osgood had a chance to finish tracking Kunitz’ pass.

Prior to tonight, Marian Hossa had consistently scored 2 goals in Game 4 of each round of this season’s playoffs. The Penguins got the memo, keeping Hossa pointless on 6 shots. It is noticeable that Hossa does not have the same first-step quickness he possessed in the first two games.

As a whole, where the Wings looked gassed at the end of Game 3, they were showing signs of not being able to sustain surges for very long, starting after their early second period goal. These surges became fewer and for shorter duration as the game wore on. It was very apparent in the last part of the third period as the Penguins imposed their will, wearing down the clock and making Detroit come the full 200 feet with the puck.

Game 4 is an encouraging sign that the Pens are for real and real serious. The fact that they are heading into Detroit’s house on Saturday seems less of a factor than it did in the first two games. It is as if the team, like Jordan Staal according to Coach Dan Bylsma, needed to get a feel for the style of the Wings’ play after coming off seven games against the Caps’ style. It seems they have acclimated.

Keeping the Faith–Who’s Giving Up?

 

Anyone disheartened by the 2 games to none deficit that the Penguins face has a pretty short memory and needs to take heart: Remember the Caps. For a little perspective, compare not only how close both teams were on the superstats sheets. Compare the stats of the Caps versus those of Detroit in their respective opening home-ice playoff series games, and what is revealed is just how many notches have been kicked up.

Games 1 & 2 Comparisons

While it is a bit tricky to look at stats textually, it is worth the effort because upon careful review, there are reasons to remain as confident as the Penguins are:

• Shots–Pens (72) vs. Caps (59) TO Pens (64) vs. Wings (56)–only 8 shots less over two games compared to the Caps series.
• Missed Shots–Pens (31) vs. Caps (23) TO Pens (18) vs. Wings (27)–Pens have brought down their missed shots total significantly (by 13) while the opponents they faced were in the mid- to high 20s.
• Hits–Pens (40) vs. Caps (51) TO Pens (72) vs. Wings (77)–While the Caps series appeared to be pretty heavy-hitting and physical, when compard to the Wings series, this is a huge statistic and speaks to the heightened physicality of this series. It also shows that the Pens are holding their own and giving as good as they are getting.
• Giveaways–Pens (16) vs. Caps (38) TO Pens (25) vs. Wings (41)–While the Pens have increased slightly in the number of giveaways, the Wings, surprisingly have given up the puck 16 more times, showing that the Pens are applying decent pressure and forcing turnovers.
• Takeaways–Pens (10) vs. Caps (24) TO Pens (17) vs. Wings (20)–Pens have improved on their takeaways in the Detroit series, up by 7 from the Caps series. Also, Detroit has managed four fewer than the Caps could against the Pens.
• Blocked Shots–Pens (37) vs. Caps (40) TO Pens (24) vs. Wings (21)–hard to tell from these numbers, but one possible reason for fewer blocked shots is that more shots may be coming beyond potential blockers where a defender is clearly beaten.
• Faceoff Percentage–Out of 121 draws, Pens (55 for 45%) vs. Caps (66 for 55%) TO out of 106 draws, Pens (43 for 41%) vs. Wings (63 for 59%)–There is room for improvement on the faceoffs; however, in Game 1 to Game 2 comparisons in each series, the Pens actually got worse in the Caps series going from 53% to 38%. In the Detroit series, the Pens improved considerably from Game 1 to Game 2, going from 29% to 53%.

What is Working and What Needs Improvement (Pros ‘n’ Cons)

1. Shots are staying above 30. More couldn’t hurt, but play needs to be smart. If Crosby and Malkin (and Bill Guerin and Jordan Staal lately) are drawing two and sometimes three guys to them like bees to honey, that means their linemates and even a pinching point man are wide open on the weak side of Osgood. Plays like the Crosby to Guerin goal in Game 1 and the Fedotenko goal off a Malkin shot strong side that rebounded wide weak side are what’s called for. In the latter case, Feds didn’t sit and watch the beauty of Malkin’s shot. He took off for Osgood’s blind side and buried a weak but juicy rebound. This is what beat Washington’s Varlamov and Carolina’s Ward. This is what was starting to have Osgood look over his left shoulder on more than a few occasions in the latter half of Game 2. Good news for the Pens and something they can capitalize on.
2. Hits are high. It does not matter how big a guy is, an older body taking those kinds of hits night after night in intense playoff finals mode is going to show the ill effects. The Pens need to keep pummeling; however, they need to get to the high side of their opponent to keep him from clearing the puck into the neutral zone for a rush the other way. Instead, they need to position checks in a way that forces Detroit to have to push the puck deeper in the ends of the rink whether in the offensive or defensive zone. The Pens started to make that adjustment in the 3rd period. They are also learning to elude hits, particularly the Pens defensemen when they go into their own end for the puck. They smartly let the Wings go in just ahead of them and then pin them to the boards and fight for the puck. Open ice hits–love ‘em when they are legal. Hossa and Zetterberg could stand to be on the receiving end of several more.
3. Powerplay–Well…hard to do much when penalties are not being called. The bright side is that the one man-advantage situation the Pens had resulted in a goal, putting them at 100% for the game, which is a 100% improvement from Game 1.
4. Penalties–Without delving too deeply into the debate over the refs swallowing their whistles as much as they have, the one thing the Pens need to do is to just play to the whistle regardless if they think the ref should have called something. Case in point: the Hossa slash on Pascal Dupuis. While appalling, Dupuis needed to play on and quickly because his delay and that of his fellow team mates gave the Wings an opportunity they capitalized on. Which brings up…
5. Goaltending–The higher the stakes, the more it comes down to goaltending, especially in games (series) where all else is fairly equal and hotly contested. Something has got to give, and usually it is the goalie–who blinks first. Like Varlamov, Osgood is winning the battle between the pipes against his counterpart at the other end, Marc-Andre Fleury. However, like Varlamov (and Ward), he is human, and he can be shaken, rattled, and rolled–and beaten. He is starting to second-guess his saves. In Game 1, he was standing up confidently, absorbing shots, and deflecting any rebounds to the corner and out of danger. In Game 2, as the game progressed, he was letting more rebounds get away from him, and he was starting to flop and flail. This is good. Fleury needs to get back up to the low 90s in save percentage. The good news is that his record for consecutively poor games usually does not venture above two, and when he rallies back, he does so with a vengeance. That would be Game 3.

To think this Stanley Cup Final would be over in the Penguins’ favor in five games might be a little naive. However, in six is not out of the realm of possibility, but given how this series is so similar to the Caps series, one should not be surprised that this will go the full seven games. If that’s the case, which team does that favor? The longer the series, the more it plays to the Penguins.

A Date with Destiny

Hearken back…

Stanley Cup Finals (2008)…

The Pittsburgh Penguins found themselves like Cinderella at the ball, in the Stanley Cup Finals facing the storied and formidable Detroit Red Wings. For me, it might as well have been USA versus USSR in the 1980 Olympics, it was that gut-wrenching.

We all felt the overwhelming crush of the first game and then the second when our boys found themselves slapped around the ice much like they were in the first round against the Senators the previous season. We stood behind them, willing them to fight to stay alive, and out of sheer will they scratched and clawed to make it a brave game.

We stayed up through the multiple overtime sets when Petr Sykora joked during an intermission that he’d score the sudden-death game-winner–and did.

Maybe, like me, you were one of the ones who got an interesting e-mail the next day from a friend with a doctored photo of Babe Ruth calling his shot superimposed by Petr Sykora at the plate, signaling with  his hockey stick. It was inspiring.

Our boys had a chance.

Back in the ‘burgh, home ice, for Game 6 and a chance to even the series at 3 apiece. I never felt sicker than when that final horn blared the death knell of one hell of a season. It was hard to watch them, stunned, drained, shredded, slumped on the ice, backs against the boards. An epic denouement. Lord Stanley’s Cup was in our house but not in our hands. The photo of Evgeni Malkin standing alone near the Stanley Cup Finals ice stamp was a haunting and compelling image. The scene as all those whited-out Penguins faithful, with class, stayed and stood for the victor as the Red Wings relished in holding the Cup. We felt the sting as if we had been in those skates and sweaters, too.

And we vowed we’d be back.

Stanley Cup Finals (2009)

The path this year began in a high-powered, promising way with one of the best starts in franchise history, and then like that, the bottom fell out. Through 82 games of soul-searching, fumbling, struggling, but never saying die, they pulled themselves up by their skate laces. If nothing else can be said about this team (from the first to last guy), it is one seriously cohesive unit.

In the face of critics and nay-sayers and hand-wringers, they have managed to let it all roll off of broad, matured shoulders. Old souls in young bodies.

They had to earn their way into a playoff spot–unlike last season where they shot to second seed in the conference and home ice.

They had to fight and rally through two physically demanding rounds–unlike last season where they sailed through the first three rounds.

They have progressed steadily but quickly under Dan Bylsma who has shown his ability to read his players individually and collectively, leaving them confident and well-prepared–unlike last season when they didn’t really know any better and really hadn’t an idea just what THAT level of hockey was all about. Detroit was only too happy to initiate them and maybe to their own present and future peril.

At last season’s end, fans and pundits worried out loud about the loss of Hossa, Roberts, and Malone, but as Mark Madden pointed out in his radio talk show on Friday, if Hossa stayed, we might be looking at key players with much shorter contracts and the possibility of Malkin going to another team.

Instead, the loss has paid dividends thanks to Ray Shero’s shrewd dealing:

• To join Sidney Crosby (who when his contract was due took less to make room to keep others in the future), contracts of 4 or more years for Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, and Marc-Andre Fleury completed the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, giving the Pens a solid corps, and defensive insurance in Brooks Orpik.
• Add to that the late season acquisitions of Bill Guerin, Chris Kunitz, and Craig Adams.
• What you find is depth from 1st line to last, especially as the prodigal son Miroslav Satan arose from AHL purgatory to show some of his best work all season in the playoffs.

Let’s not forget that every guy who played this year contributed mightily whether for every game or for a short stint.

• When Gonchar was down, Goligosky answered the bell. Philippe Boucher continues to sniper with a Howitzer.
• Cooke and Kennedy meshed with Jordan Staal to become one of the best shut-down third lines that could generate a spark with their grinding cycle work.
• Max Talbot and Pascal Depuis played anywhere they could be of service, getting time on every one of the four lines and contributing mightily in penalty-kill situations. An unfortunate injury sidelined Mike Zogomanis, but when healthy, he is one of the deadliest in the face-off circle.
• Eric Goddard and Paul Bissonnette enforced when it was needed, but they made skilled contributions as well.
• Ruslan Fedotenko has come on to be a force to be reckoned with in the playoffs and worked throughout the season to try to keep the team sparked and competitive.
• Kris Letang has grown in confidence and skill. He is fearless, and not to be outdone is Mark Eaton whose defensive skill has also morphed into an offensive threat.
• Rob Scuderi and Hal Gill have developed into a strong defensive pairing, facing the likes of Ovechkin and Eric Staal with little difficulty.

It’s scary just how calm and loose this year’s Pittsburgh Penguins team really is. And maybe it’s a little maddening for the reporters who try to get some juicy tidbit out of them in interviews. In the hopes of a spark, they ask about the re-match, feelings about Hossa, the adversity, back-to-back games or too much time between games, and always, they are left a little diappointed. 

These players are even keeled, unflappable, and take it all in stride. It’s good to get back to the Stanley Cup Finals. They don’t think too much about the rivalry or how Hossa left. The adversity has made them stronger, and they know what they can do and the kind of character that’s in the locker room. Each knows he has a specific role to play and plays it with 110% intensity, stressing time and again the need to “play the right way.” Back-to-backs are the nature of the beast. They faced many during the regular season, faced them in the playoffs already. Not a big deal. And too much time? They’re glad it’s not a 10-day lay-off because, well, they’d rather be playing hockey.

They are a better, healthier, and more psychologically ready team than the Penguins of 2008, but they needed the early play-off spanking in 2007 to prepare them for the 2008 run, and they needed the 2008 finals defeat to prepare them for this run.

Yeah, that’s still hard to say (as a fan), but if we are going to be honest with ourselves as the Penguins have been with themselves, then we have to agree. This is going to be one hell of a series.

Manhandled!! Pens Sweep Series 4-0

The Pittsburgh Penguins did it differently this year in many ways, including allowing themselves to touch the Prince of Wales Cup.

So did Mario Lemieux all those years ago–twice–and they went on to win the big one–Lord Stanley’s Cup.

The Penguins bought into a system and a new coach’s philosophy and with each win, that buy-in rooted deeper into the soul of the team. The Carolina Hurricanes played with a lot of heart and a lot of tenacity, but the Penguins also kept coming like any one of the Terminator movies. It was at once an awesome and frightening thing to behold.

Tuesday night’s game in Raleigh, NC showed the almost bottomless depth of the Penguins and their newfound love of the road, destroying the spirit of opponents on their ice. Malkin and Crosby were double- and at times triple-teamed, and still, scoring came in the forms of Ruslan Fedotenko, Maxime Talbot, Bill Guerin, and Craig Adams. Talbot and Adams both proved that no goal is an ugly goal, and every shot is an opportunity to score. This particular game was frenetic in its pace and bone-crunching in its physicality end to end.

Series Notables that Will Serve Well in the Stanley Cup Finals

• Solid goal-tending–Netminder Marc-Andre Fleury played his most complete game in this series, making the key saves he needed to make, managing the puck well, and staying sharp in his positioning in front of the net. However, he came up big in each of the four games.
• Scoring from 10 of their 18 position players (sans goalies)–Goal contributions came from Malkin (6); Crosby (4); Guerin, Fedotenko, Talbot, and Adams (2 each); and Kunitz, Kennedy, Satan, and Boucher (1 each). It’s hard to account for so many potential scorers, and while the defensive scoring was not as high as it was in earlier series, it exists and could rear up again in the finals.
• Defensemen in on the offense–Pens’ blueliners accounted for 24% of the shots on net, led by Kris Letang who had 11, followed by Hall Gill (6), and Sergei Gonchar and Brooks Orpik (5 shots each).
• Defense with the reflexes–Like a well-oiled machine, the Pens’ blueliners have become sharper and quicker with their feet and with their sticks. None has shined better in the latter category than Rob Scuderi whose poke-checking has been like a hot poker, serving to frustrate rushes into the Pens’ defensive zone. Whether it’s six defensemen or seven in the line-up, these guys work so fluidly in tandem that one would swear they are psychic. This kind of teamwork in the defensive zone makes for a very secure and composed Marc-Andre Fleury, and such sympatico will be critical in the final series.

Brothers’ Keeper: The Staal Tracker

Despite Eric Staal’s best efforts, “little” brother Jordan (all 6′4″, 220 pounds of him) was equally a man possessed, matching Eric’s intensity and surpassing it, attempting to hit everything in sight with a Hurricane logo. Jordan was not without his own scoring opportunities, having had two good chances and a handful of scrums in front of a nervous Cam Ward–just to keep it interesting. Eric was fast and wily, managing the Hurricanes’ lone goal early on a thread-the-needle kind of stuff of the puck between Fleury’s skate and the post on a wrap-around.

For the final time of the season, here’s how the Brothers Staal shaped up in Game 4:

• Goals/Assists/Points–Jordan (0/0/0), Eric (1/0/1)
• Plus/Minus–Jordan (even), Eric (-1)
• Total Ice Time–Jordan (19:33), Eric (22:30)
• Shifts–Jordan (24), Eric (30)
• Average–Jordan (:48 per shift), Eric (:45 per shift)
• Shots–Jordan (2), Eric (5)
• Hits–Jordan (5), Eric (0)–Jordan combined with Chris Kunitz (5 hits) and Brooks Orpik (4) hits for a total of 14 of the team’s 25 hits on the night (56%).
• Giveaways–Jordan (0), Eric (0)
• Takeaways–Jordan (1), Eric (1)
• Blocked Shots–Jordan (1), Eric (0)
• Faceoffs Won/Lost/%–Jordan (6/6/50%), Eric (13/10/57%)

Rumor has it that if the Chicago Blackhawks go gentle into that good night on Wednesday against the Detroit Red Wings, the Stanley Cup Finals Game 1 could start as early as Saturday, May 30.

The “Date with Destiny” draws closer.

Band of Brothers: Pens 3-Caps 2 OT

“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;/For he to-day that sheds his blood with me,/Shall be my brother…”–King Henry before the battle of Agincourt, Henry V by William Shakespeare.

While many hockey fans might not be familiar with this quote from one of William Shakespeare’s plays, it marks a great speech made by a young English king to an army that had all the odds going against it, in a word–adversity.

They were tested.

Landing in France with 12,000 men, by the time they reached the day at Agincourt, a field barely the size of a modern-day football field, they had dwindled to 5,900 mostly due to disease. On the day of battle, the English were outnumbered nearly 4:1 by the French army that stood between 20,000 and 30,000 strong.  At the end of the day, the English were victorious, having lost only 112 men to France’s losses of between 7,000 and 10,000.

How did they do it? They played to their strengths and they kept it simple. To learn more, one need only go read the play or Google the battle, but fast-forward about 600 or so years to Wednesday night’s game against the Washington Capitals at Mellon Arena.

The opening minutes of the game did not look good for the Penguins as one of the most bizarre chain of events led to a stinging goal past the de-weaponed Marc-Andre Fleury by the dreaded Alex Ovechkin. The faces of the white-clad fans drained of enough blood to match their shirts and towels. It could have been the beginning of the end. The Penguins had been there before, last season, two weeks ago, all year…name the time.

But these were the Penguins, the Cardiac Kids who last year didn’t seem to know that they weren’t supposed to make it to the Stanley Cup finals, two games shy of the coveted cup of Lord Stanley, their grail. They sailed through the rounds until they hit adversity in the form of the Detroit Red Wings.

This year, they struggled through a lack-lustre season, but refused to give up, somehow found a way to keep themselves within reach though the odds were stacked against them (maybe 4:1). They entered the playoff standings better than bottom of the barrel and met adversity early in the form of the Philadelphia Flyers.

And they banded together under their newly-crowned Henry V. They kept it simple. They played to their strengths and tried to minimize and improve upon their weaknesses. The Caps came out swinging, and they hung with them in games that could have gone either way.

They were a little wounded with players like Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, Ruslan Fedotenko, Tyler Kennedy, Pascal Depuis, and Chris Kunitz struggling to score, but they still fought to have an impact, to make a contribution, any contribution to help the team win. It paid off for Malkin spurred on by an inspired Maxime Talbot. The rest, encouraged,  continue to persevere.

Their time will come.

If any team represents the spirit of sport, of the concept of team, of the sheer will to never quit no matter how bad it is or how dire it seems, it is the Pittsburgh Penguins. Time and again, unsung heroes have stepped up and made the difference. In this game, it was Ruslan Fedotenko and Kris Letang. Leaders have led and coaches have marshalled their troops to keep morale high and desire strong. They have carried themselves in a way that would make any parent of a young athlete proud to point to these players as role models, ambassadors of the game.

In listening to the interviews of the various Penguins players over the past several days, one thing is glaringly evident: there is a calm (not cocky) confidence. There is a belief in the words they are saying, something that is not usually the hallmark of the general interview where all the right catch-phrases are used in all the right places in a well-rehearsed tone.

But look on the bench. Their heads are up. They are alert, attentive, engaged, focused. Even when a player’s performance seems underwhelming to the average fan, it pays to look at the entire picture. From stars to 4th liners, they encourage each other and bolster each other. They back each other up, and they stand up for each other. They don’t shout at each other on the bench for not getting the puck enough. They don’t pull faces of taunting buffoonery, full of disrespect.

The entire picture shows what’s beyond the stats and what makes the stats possible–the players who struggle to score racing for pucks, trying again and again, getting physical, playing defense, working hard, fighting to win draws and clear pucks. The reward is that eventual goal or the helper that got them the win. Game 3 was as much a team win from a band of brothers who have grown together, struggled together and emerged all the stronger for it.

That’s what the Pittsburgh Penguins have.

That’s what gets Lord Stanley’s Cup.

The “Shhhh” of Death

For all those Christopher Walken fans who remember him as the angel of death in Prophecy, watching Penguin Mad Max Talbot put an index finger to his lips, with a little knowing smile to the Philly fans as he said “shhhhhhh” was the the kiss of death for the Flyers.

On the heels of a fight with Flyers’ tough guy, Dan Carcillo, Talbot’s atonement for a goal-costing mistake earlier in the game proved to be the wake-up call for a team that had played hard, but found themselves down 3-0 barely five minutes into the 2nd period. Coach Dan Bylsma said of the fight, “I think Max Talbot really changed the momentum with that,” referring to the fact that the Philly fans were really into the game and extemely loud. Defenseman Sergei Gonchar concurred, “Yeah, it’s one of those things. Fight starts and things start going your way.”

Entering the first intermission, the Penguins were down 2-0 and having to start the 2nd period on the penalty kill. Danny Briere found the back of the Penguin net as Evgeni Malkin looked on from the sin bin to make it 3-0. Enough was enough. If Penguins fans were scanning their team’s bench looking for a hero, Mad Max might not have been their first choice, but here’s a guy who has a lot of heart, a lot of drive, and he lays it out, all out, on the ice every game in any way he can. Carcillo was due anyway. He was the one who received the 1-game suspension earlier in the series on a shot to Talbot’s head in the final seconds of that game.

When asked about the timing of the fight, Talbot replied, “I think it was the right time. The crowd was into it. Sometimes it’s gonna work. Sometimes you lose momentum. This time it gave it a little bit of momentum.” The momentum started with Ruslan Fedotenko breaking out of his 5-year playoff goal-scoring slump with his net presence on some hard work by linemate Malkin.

Not to be outdone, just a shade under two minutes later, Mark Eaton scored on a screamer of a shot through a collectively strong shift, joining the rush with linemates of the moment Tyler Kennedy and Fedotenko during a 4-on-4 situation that happened as a result of the earlier goal and a melee in front of Biron’s net. The crowd was no longer into it. All the energy was coming from the Penguins bench, and they were cyphoning it off the Flyers bench.

Captain Sidney Crosby evened it up, and it was clear that the Penguins were steam-rolling. Coach Bylsma’s mantra to his team throughout the game was an admonishment of patience, “Keep playing the right way. Stay focused for 60 minutes.” For Sergei Gonchar, he got the monkey off his back, scoring what would end up being the game-winner, his first goal in 29 playoff games. The collective sigh of relief could be felt on the Penguins bench comingled with the rejuvenation of the team.

Crosby’s empty-netter after Philly pulled Biron to add the extra attacker was a thing of beauty. His first attempt did not go as he was in hot pursuit by a back-checking Flyer, but the puck bounced his way as he buzzed around the net and laid it in on the second chance, leaving 28 seconds on the clock.

The biggest element–character. That’s according to Max Talbot, “a lot of character.” It’s no surprise to Penguins fans, particularly in the last two seasons. Last year, they battled through an unbelievable number of injuries, including lengthy ones to Crosby and Fleury around mid-season. The talking heads said the team would be lucky if they could manage to stay around.500. In Malkin’s mind, that was unacceptable because he literally took the team on his shoulders, and his drive was infectious. The team pulled together and put themselves high in the playoff rankings. And then they battled the Giant Detroit Red Wings. No one expected them to be there.

The character of that group of guys, their never-say-die attitude even when things look bad is a testament to their heart. There’s no quit in them. Certainly not in Philadelphia on Saturday as they came roaring back with 5 unanswered goals. Coach Bylsma said of this series and of his team, “Huge test. Huge character for our team. Down 3-0 in this building. I think that says a lot about our group…When the team plays the right way, it gives different guys an opportunity to score.”

What worked:

1. The right fight at the right time. Something like that in a high-stakes game is always a gamble, but for those supporters of taking fighting out of the game, if they are honest in their assessment of how the game subsequently unfolded, they would be hard-pressed to disagree with it.
2. The Staal line. While their offensive numbers are not earth-shattering in this series (2G, 4A collectively), they have become a forechecking nightmare. Consistently throughout this series, with the exception of Game 3, they have kept the Flyers in their end for seemingly interminable chunks of time, wearing players down. These three have accounted for 58 shots (29% of the team’s shots) and 33 hits (20% of the team’s hits). Jordan Staal remains strong on the face-off averaging 57% in this series, ranging from 50%-79% for five of the six games. More consistently than the other lines, they have been able to start and sustain cycles. On special teams, Cooke and Staal have been solid on the primary penalty kill, and Staal is overdue for a few short-handed goals.
3. Other intangibles that boost a team. Gonchar and Fedotenko breaking out of their slump. Rob Scuderi’s gutsy continued play on a PK with what at first looked like a useless left arm, later determined to be a shot taken to the body with the left arm protecting. Goals from two defensemen. A power play that had a pulse and some chances on the net.
4. Defensive Corps. Really, with a few exceptions in this series, the Penguins defensive corps of Brooks Orpik, Sergei Gonchar, Hal Gill, Rob Scuderi, Mark Eaton, and Kris Letang has been about as solid, unit for unit, as they have been all year. They have improved greatly from early to mid-season play when they looked slow, out of sync, and at times, uninterested. Orpik has always been a solid hitter, but he’s found another gear and the “pounding” per square inch is well nigh incalculable. Scuderi thinks nothing of giving up the body to block a shot, and the others have followed suit, particularly Letang and Eaton. Scuderi also shines as the lone defenseman in 5-on-3 situations. Gill has shown more speed and is gaining offensive confidence.

What Still Needs to Happen–Lessons for Round 2:

1. Consistency. 60 minutes of focused play that “sticks to the plan.”
2. Score First and Score Often. The Penguins do themselves no favors by getting behind in a game even if they are one of the top teams in the number of come-from-behind wins. Those kinds of games are psychologically as well as physically draining. The Flyers proved to be tough to beat when they get a lead, and other teams in the playoffs will be just as tough if not tougher. With a lead, teams will lock down in their zone with very agressive “outriders” in the neutral zone as the Flyers showed in this series. The Penguins need to keep the pedal to the metal no matter how many goals they score. They themselves proved that no lead is safe.
3. Keep the Hits Coming. The Penguins are as physical a team as any when they decide to be, and when they knock bodies off the puck, they do so effectively, winning the majority of the battles on the boards. Another thing they started to do in the playoffs but got away from again are good, clean, crunching open-ice hits. They are not known for it, but they are good at it. If the opportunity presents itself, they should take it. Hits are just as exhausting to receive as they are to give, and the receiver usually finds himself hesitating a little too long, expecting a hit to come. Hits get in a guy’s head. This provides the perfect opportunity to win the puck and further punish the opponent through extended cycles.
4. Drop-pass Sparingly. The Penguins became too predictable with the drop-pass. It wouldn’t hurt to fake a drop and then deke around a defender, and the Penguins have enough stick-skill to do this. Not only should the drop-pass be used sparingly, but it can’t happen high, dead-center inside the offensive blue line because it’s off to the races for the other team. If it has to happen there, the forward dropping the pass needs to linger on angle just long enough to screen without interfering, thus deterring a pick-off.
5. More Net Presence. Of course, this requires someone to shoot on net in order to be effective. Net presence should come in any combination of standing up and screening the goalie, to buzzing around the net, to criss-crossing in front of it, all of this with shots, shots, shots.
6. Power Play, Please. If the power-play does not improve, the Penguins will not get far. Given their strong cycling at even strength, it would be interesting to see what Jordan Staal and Tyler Kennedy could do with Geno, or even Guerin or Kunitz coming out as the first unit. This would give a different look and throw teams off. Keep the defensive pairing of Gonchar and Letang. Bring Crosby out with Kunitz and either Talbot, who can manage a winger spot, or Satan, who looked better in Game 6.

Finally, a word needs to be said about the Philadelphia Flyers. While Pittsburgh and Philadelphia fans love to hate each other and their respective teams, it cannot be disputed that any time these teams match up, people will get their money’s worth. Biron is a tough customer between the pipes. The likes of Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, the up-and-coming Claude Giroux, and tough guys Scott Hartnell and Dan Carcillo provide a gritty, hard-hitting force to be reckoned with. They should be commended for giving the Penguins early adversity, something they did not have to face in last year’s playoffs until the finals, showing that they truly are one of the top teams in the East.

Game 6: “Coach” Chaiwoman’s Pre-game Talk

Gentlemen, it’s a race to 4, and reaching that magic number today means extra time to rest up, heal up, and get our minds right for the next level. If you want the next level, if you still remember what it was like, that taste in your mouth when Detroit came into OUR house and held that cup up, then you take that feeling and you turn it into something you can use on the ice today because that road is long, and we still have to get off this one.

Those guys in the other locker room, in their house, think they have us, think they can take this series from us. We’re here today to prove them wrong, to steal another win from under their noses in their house because we have the talent and we have the experience and we have the memory.

It’s gut-check time, boys. What do we need to do to win this?

1. FOCUS–60 minutes of pure, unadulterated focus. Focus on the puck, focus on your man.
2. Protect the net–backcheck hard and clear the puck smartly, with authority up the boards. North-South, North-South. Do not let them play with the puck in our zone. If you can’t get it out in under 10 seconds, it’s in there too long. Get it. Clear it. Clear it hard.
3. Face-offs–win them, especially in our defensive end. Draw them back and the off wing go hard to the puck, and you’d better clear it up the boards with force to your guys waiting there for the outlet.
4. Score first–it will make it easier on us because they will be forced to have to match us and keep the game moving. If they score first, they will go into protect mode, clogging the neutral zone and backing en masse into their defensive zone to make it harder for us to get at Biron, which is what they did in the 2nd and 3rd periods of Game 5. To break that, we have to Murphy dump and forecheck hard, and I don’t mean once or twice, I mean every time until they back off. Then, and only then, can you venture to carry the puck in. Beat your man to the puck and win the scrums on the boards and in the corners.
5. Shoot–I don’t care if it’s 5-on-5 or 5-on-4. Move the puck, move your feet, force them to have to work you. If you have the shot, I don’t want you to chance another pretty pass to get a perfect goal. I want the shots at the net from all angles. If they can zip it across Marc-Andre’s shoulders from the goal line, we can do the same. Off guys crash the net and take a man. Ugly is gorgeous if it puts points on the board, and we have the talent of a whole benchload of guys to make that happen.
6. Physical play–take a body every chance you get, but don’t be stupid. Watch the stick work. I want you to separate them from the puck and make a play. Make them tired. Make them sore, but don’t get sucked into retaliation. Skate away after the whistle no matter what they say or do. Give ‘em a grin and file it away for later when you hit  them legally. That’s your payback.
7. Penalty-kill–keep moving, keep forcing them to the outside. If you get the break, take it, and continue to be smart in knowing where your help is. Get a shot off if you can. Beat them on the boards in their end and grind out the clock so that they do not have a chance to set up and get going in ours.
8. Power-play–no more than 3 passes. I want the puck on the net from all angles, and I’m not talking slap shots, either. We take too much time on the wind up for a slapper that they just slide into position to block it. The puck ricochets off their shins and past our defensemen. And then we’re forced to have to go back and reset because they are sending one and sometimes two guys to challenge us agressively in the neutral zone as time ticks away. Make them have to fight for and secure the puck in the corners. Make them have to work to clear it. Shoot, shoot, shoot, crash the net, and pick up the garbage. Make Biron have to break a sweat, have to second-guess what we are going to do. We want him edgy. We want him nervous.
9. Have fun–feed off the hatred in those stands. Feed off the desperation against you on the ice. The Flyers have to prove to their fans today that they can stay alive. The burden is on them. Nothing would be sweeter than telling them no, in their house, on this day. Kill a crowd, kill a team–the way you know how. Do it with a smile. Do it with relish. Do it for 60 solid minutes. Taste it, smell it. That’s their fear. That’s their desperation. That’s our victory.

Jordan Staal Reigns God-Like as Pens Stun Red Wings in OT

It promised to be a great rematch between last season’s Stanley Cup finalists, and for Jordan Staal and the Pittsburgh Penguins it turned into a personal and team statement about resilience!  After falling behind 5-2, the Pittsburgh Penguins posted one of the most significant comebacks in recent years against the seemingly invincible team that bested them for Lord Stanley’s prize in June.  Long overdue for a breakout, it was Jordan Staal who put the team on his back in the 3rd period and carried them to an improbable overtime frame by scoring 3 consecutive goals for the hat trick.  But he wasn’t done there.  In the overtime frame, Staal stunned the Stanley Cup champions by stealing the puck from Pavel Datsyuk to force a turnover and then threading a cross-ice  pass to Ruslan Fedotenko who buried the puck in the net to win the game.  The 7-6 victory powered the Penguins to their 4th straight win and improved their record to 9-3-2. 

In the 1st period, the Penguins jumped out to a quick lead on a goal by Sidney Crosby to make it 1-0 at 4:34.  Tenaciously chasing the Red Wings into their own zone, Max Talbot stripped the puck away and passed it back to Miroslav Satan coming across the blueline.  Satan fed the puck to Crosby at the net, where he backhanded it through the pads of Chris Osgood.  At 13:21, the Red Wings bounced back on a goal by Darren Mccarty, his first of the season, off from a chip pass by Kirk Maltby.  Then at 13:43, Mike Zigomanis took a tripping call to set up the league’s best powerplay unit.  At 15:19, with Ziggy in the box, Tomas Holmstrom tipped in a shot by Niklas Lidstrom to make it 2-1.  Marian Hossa also picked up an assist.  With 32 seconds left in the period, Alex Goligoski (holding) took the Penguins 3rd penalty which would carry over into the 2nd.  The Penguins were outshot 14-5 in the 1st, were 2-for-3 on the penalty kill, and 0-for-1 on the powerplay. 

In the 2nd period, the Red Wings scored with 19-seconds left on the 1st period carryover penalty to Alex Goligoski.  Mikael Samuelsson attempted a cross ice pass that got caught up in Brooks Orpik’s skates, before Jiri Hudler collected it and placed it on the blade of a wide open Johan Franzen who beat Marc-Andre Fleury to make it 3-1.  At 4:14, however, the Penguins drew within a goal as Petr Sykora threw a puck on net that deflected off from Max Talbot’s skate and across the goal line.  Sidney Crosby and Petr Sykora were credited with assists on Talbot’s goal.  But with under 2-minutes left to play in the period, Pavel Datsyuk let a hard one-timer rip from the point that eluded a screened Marc-Andre Fleury to make it 4-2.  Marian Hossa and Niklas Lidstrom were credited with the assists.

In the 3rd period, it looked as if the Red Wings were going to finish off the Penguins as they built a 3-goal lead on a powerplay goal at 5:03 while Sidney Crosby sat for interference.  Henrik Zetterberg took a cross ice feed and placed the backhander into the open side of the net to beat Fleury and extend the lead to 5-2.  The Red Wings then got into penalty trouble as Johan Franzen and Vilttari Filpulla each took hooking calls 5-seconds apart to give the Penguins an extended 5-on-3 opportunity.  After some early frustration, the Penguins took their timeout to regroup and discuss a change-up in their set play.  They then came back out and executed a pass play to perfection that moved the puck to the side of the net first, before moving it back out to Evgeni Malkin at the point for the one-timer.  The play turned the Red Wings defense around and got Osgood out of position as Malkin’s shot blistered into the far side of the net to make it 5-3.  Miroslav Satan and Sidney Crosby picked up the assists on the goal.  Then a little over a minute later, the Penguins drew to within a goal as Jordan Staal chipped a backhander into the net at 8:09.  Matt Cooke and Mike Zigomanis were credited with the assists on Staal’s goal.  At 10:14, however, the Red Wings got a goal back as Jiri Hudler launched a big blast that trickled behind Fleury and into the net just out of the reach of a scrambling Kris Letang.   With just over 4-minutes left in the game and trailing 6-4, Jordan Staal collected a rebound in traffic and beat Chris Osgood to make it interesting as the Penguins trailed by just one goal again.  Matt Cooke and Kris Letang got the assists.  Then with just 23-seconds left in the game and Marc-Andre Fleury at the bench for the extra attacker, Jordan Staal collected another rebound in traffic and fired it into the net for the hat trick and the improbable game tying goal.  Evgeni Malkin and Alex Goligoski were credited with the assists.  With just 4-seconds left in regulation, Brian Rafalski took a hooking penalty that would carry over 1:56 seconds into the overtime period.  The Penguins finished the 3rd period by outshooting the Red Wings 16-8.

In the overtime period, the Penguins were unable to score on the 4-on-3 but managed 3-shots on net.  After the penalty expired, Pavel Datsyuk was attempting to carry the puck out of his zone with Jordan Staal approaching from behind on the backcheck.  Staal lifted Datsyuk’s stick and stripped him of the puck and turned it back into the Red Wing’s zone.  Staal then placed a perfect cross ice pass onto the stick of a streaking Ruslan Fedotenko who one-timed it past Chris Osgood to win the game 7-6 with 1:11 left in the overtime.

• VIDEO:  Game Highlights
• PHOTOS:  In-Game Photos
• Game Rosters
• Game Summary
• Game Boxscore
• Shots Summary
• Faceoff Summary

Jordan Staal had 4-points (3G, 1A).  Sidney Crosby had 3-points (1G, 2A) and led the team with 6-shots on net.  Evegeni Malkin had 2-points (1G, 1A) to keep his NHL leading points streak alive at 11-games.  He also leads the NHL in points (24) and assists (19).  Miroslave Satan (2A) and Matt Cooke (2A) each picked up 2-points.  Defenseman Rob Scuderi left the game with an ankle injury after blocking a hard-shot in the 1st period.  He returned briefly, but then left the game in the 2nd period and didn’t return. 

The Penguins return to the Mellon Arena where they will face the cross state rival Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night.

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