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Man “Dis-”advantage?

 

During the holiday season, how could anyone look little Virginia in the eye and say, “Yes, there is a Santa Claus” when all we really, really, really wanted for Christmas was a power play, and he didn’t deliver? I don’t know about anyone else, but I wanted it just as badly as that bespectacled little boy in A Christmas Story craved, yearned, longed for that Red Rider BB gun.

Recent History…

I have had my share of frustration watching the Penguins’ power play over the past few seasons, but it finally reached the precipice of the point of no return on my sanity during the Sunday 5PM game against the Florida Panthers, when the Pens drew a juicy 4-minute penalty from Cory Stillman that would tick out the finish of the game. The Pens were down 4-2 at that point, but no worries, dude! We’ve seen it before with barely 2-minutes left when they work their collective magic to force an OT and increase their chances of a win or at least a coveted point for the effort.

I was hopeful. I was energized. Tons of time. Scads of time. If they got one in the first 2 minutes, there would still be the other 2 minutes to contend with and tie-up the game…at the very least. Am I right? Am I right?!! Like Charlie Brown, I believed that Lucy would not pull that blasted ball away at the last second and send me on my head for the umpteenth painful and humiliating time.

Lucy, you are a cold, cruel child.

Pop culture references aside, on the eve of the Calgary Flames game on Wednesday night, I no longer found it funny anymore. The Pittsburgh Penguins are a Stanley Cup-winning team with not only 2 “elite” players in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, but a coveted 3-line deep and not too shabby 4th line team of solid players as well as two strong goaltenders. Yet they sat a befuddling 29th out of 30 (above only the Ottawa Senators) on the power play.

Here are some notable stats revealing that position prior to their road trip to western Canada:

• In 47 games, the Pens earned 196 power play opportunities, tied with the Dallas Stars who to that point played one less game than the Pens.
• In those 196 opportunities, they scored only 28 goals (14.3%).
• At home, they earned 98 opportunities over 23 games they hosted, scoring 18 goals (18.4%).
• On the road, they earned the other 98 opportunities over 24 games, scoring 10 goals (10.2%).

Maddening, isn’t it? With Crosby and Malkin in the points race, with Bill Guerin and Jordan Staal putting in improved and consistent offensive performances, these things beg the question of how? How is this possible?

It begins with a simple truth: in order to score, one must shoot.

Translation: The only chance of getting a puck in the goal is to send it in the direction of the goal.

That’s for starters, at the most basic level. The purpose of the power play is to score more easily because the team on the power play has the extra man. That’s the consequence of taking a penalty. Break a rule, commit an infraction, and the offender goes into the “sin bin” to serve his punishment, quaking in his skates, praying to the hockey gods that his transgression does not cost his team a goal.

As with fighting in hockey, power plays (at least successful ones) are designed as a deterrent, to control the nonsense because to commit a crime in the face of a team with an effective power play means there is  certainty of a high price to pay. There are consequences.

Conversely, an ineffective power play is no different than the parent who keeps threatening a consequence but never delivers. The result is an unruly child. There is no longer fear of committing penalties, of taking runs at guys, of chancing dirty and dangerous play because the chances are the offending team will be no worse off at the end of it. No one is shaking in his skates.

Teams awarded a power play are supposed to relish it, jump on it, put on their own form of additional punishment by taking it to the four poor slobs who drew first-watch guard duty in front of their stalwart netminder. These four guys are supposed to be run into the ice, rendered dead on their feet by the relentless barrage of shots as they bravely stand up under the seige. Moreso, this should be felt when staring across the ice at the likes of Malkin, Crosby, and Gonchar.

In short, the power play is not meant to be synonymous with a Saturday afternoon cotillion, and yet, the way the Pens have executed their power play for the better part of the last two seasons–a power play that four septagenarians on double-blades with walkers could defend, it seemed they were hell bent to fall on their own sword.

So, let’s look at the set-up.

The lead power play unit generally consists of Crosby, Malkin, and Gonchar as staples. Either Alex Goligoski or Kris Letang works opposite Gonchar, and Guerin generally serves as the third forward. But of late, the power play has comprised replacing Goligoski/Letang with Malkin on the left point, bringing Chris Kunitz (when healthy) or Matt Cooke up front. Gonchar runs the point, as he should. Crosby sets up on the right halfwall/circle opposite Malkin. Guerin trolls the front of the net with Cooke. The effect is an “umbrella” across the top near the blue line where Crosby, Gonchar, and Malkin connect the dots with passes.

It might work if the passes are quicker because again, the idea of shifting a puck laterally at speed forces the penalty-killers to have to shift back and forth, not unlike a squeeze play in baseball where a runner is trapped between bases, and the two field players toss quickly back and forth as the guy in the middle tries to find a way to either advance or get back to base. The effect of speed passing in alternately opposite directions on a power play is that after a while, the defenders get tired and no longer sync up with the passers, creating an opening for a shot. But if the passes are lackadaisical, PKers can follow it in sync all day long…and have.

The second problem is utilizing the slap shot too much. A slap shot requires a wind up. A wind up takes time and gives time to the defender to get in the shooting lane to block the shot. Snap shots require less wind up, but can deliver a pretty forceful shot, and there’s nothing wrong with a wrist-shot.

The third problem is with entering the zone. It’s a tricky thing because the forwards still have to time it with the puck-carrier so that they enter the zone with speed but do not commit an off-sides infraction. Still, the set-up and carry through neutral ice is entirely too slow. This was most starkly seen in the recent Penguins-Flyers game, and as painful as it is for me to admit that Philadelphia does anything better than Pittsburgh, they are the No. 1 power play in the league, and that bears some respect and some careful notetaking. Their set up and entry is fast, hard, and efficient on the stick of all people: the dreaded Scott Hartnell. If they lose the puck out of the attacking zone, they go get it, and they do so with controlled urgency.

So what’s this team to do? Let me revisit two arguments I’ve made since last season:

1. Get Sid down on the goal line and off the right half wall! A guy with his speed and his hands in tight spaces is the perfect person to madden goalies and literally take out the trash on nearly every shot on net. Miles of footage exist where he has managed some amazing stick work in close, showing his almost superhuman hand-eye coordination. He’s an explosive player who can get the biscuit in the basket in the middle of a scrum before a goalie can bat one eye. Putting Sid on the right circle wastes his talent. It also causes him to fall into this semi-quarterback role where he will slow that puck down to a crawl and look everything over, thinking pass ahead of shot. That’s not his forte’. Additionally, while Malkin has improved as Gonchar’s other half on the point, he is not comfortable on the left side and cannot set-up for that killer one-timer that he can bury from the right side.
2. The Penguins have most arguably the toughest, shut-down 3rd line that manages a bucketload of points, especially this season. They run a sustained cycle in the offensive zone better than anybody while peppering the opposing goalie. This would serve a power play well in two ways. First, they still manage to get off several shots, which is sorely needed on the power play, AND, probably even more importantly, when they shoot, they still manage to be first on the puck to keep it in the offensive zone, rarely letting a puck take off past the Pens’ blueliners for a break the other way. Short-handed goals against the power play this year have become embarrassing. Utilizing the 3rd line this way would curtail that.

Of course, this second suggestion begs the question of what to do with Crosby and Malkin. Have them follow as the second unit. It’s not a demotion; it’s a brutally effective strategy, sending them in for the mercy-killing. If the Staal line manages to wear down a PK unit, a quick change bringing the Crosby-Malkin-Guerin line on has an excellent chance of resulting in a goal. Even strength, last season, the Staal line was followed by Crosby with Malkin and did result in goals against tired legs.

Do these suggestions bear out? YES! Guess what?

• In the game against the Calgary Flames, the Malkin-Crosby-Guerin line was out with Gonchar and Goligoski on the blue line. Both Guerin and Crosby were buzzing the goal line, driving Flames goalie Miika Kiprosoff to distraction. Gonchar took his characteristic slap shot and Guerin guided it in as both he and Crosby stood in front of the net. Perfect.
• In the game against the Edmonton Oilers, it was the second power play unit that got the job done, and that unit was 2/3 of the Staal line, comprising Staal and Cooke (who got the goal off Staal’s helper) and Ruslan Fedotenko (instead of Tyler Kennedy), supported by Kris Letang and Mark Eaton. They ran the cycle and broke down penalty killers and the goalie.
• In the recent game against the Islanders, the Pens scored their first 5-on-3 goal of the season with Malkin firing a one-timer from the right circle as Staal screened the goalie. In the same game, Bill Guerin scored a man-advantage goal with a new, but effective wrinkle: Crosby set up in the “box” area between the circles. He drew people to him when he got the puck, faked a close shot on his forehand, which froze the goalie, and flipped a quick backhand pass to Guerin, resulting in Guerin’s backhand goal in the open net behind Dwayne Roloson.

The good news seems to be that the Pens are coming around to these kinds of configurations, utilizing the strengths and talents of their players. What is worrisome is that it seems they are loathe to stick with it for very long. In one of their recent games, the Pens were ending a second period in the power play that would extend into the first 40 seconds or so of the third period. The first 1:20 at the end of the second period was strong with the Malkin-Crosby-Guerin scenario as the latter two ran the goal line and Gonch and Malkin alternated teeing up shots from their comfort zones. It was refreshing. Then the third period started, revealing Crosby on the right circle up high and Malkin on the left side. GEEZ OH MAN, BOYS, WHY?! And it went right back to that lazy, hazy, summer-breeze day.

The Penguins coaching staff needs to settle on the new formats and stick to them until they don’t work anymore. They have worked, and without a working power play, this team will be hard pressed to get far in the play offs, and that’s not acceptable for a team with the kind of individual talent and collective chemistry that this great bunch of hockey players has. They do seem to be working on it and getting comfortable with a few different looks, and as of their last win in which they scored on a power play, the Pens are 22-2 when they score at least one power play goal. All of this  gives the fans something to smile hopefully about.

Opening Salvos

The Pittsburgh Penguins opened their 2009-10 season with their first back-to-back set of games, and their double-dose of New York opponents were chomping at the bit to get at the Kings of the Hill.

A home-opener of cosmic proportions ensued with the raising of the Stanley Cup banner for the last time in the Igloo. It was electrifying. It was nostalgic. And there were many “snapshots” one could call memorable:

• the roar of the crowd when Max Talbot came on the ice, the Game 7 hero;
• the look of sheer pride on Mario’s face;
• the ovations for Crosby, Malkin, Staal, and Fleury;
• the table holding up under the weight of the many coveted trophies earned through blood, sweat, perhaps some tears, and a whole lot of heart, bruises, and teamwork, or
• maybe it was watching that banner make its slow ascent to the rafters.

It was all good. Then the games began…

Quick Recap…
It was time for the teams to start lining up, a la the 2009-10 schedule, to see who could be the first to hand a loss to the Penguins. In their 3-2 win over the New York Rangers, despite some early jitters, the team settled down and got to work, and it promised to be a physical game with the Pens recording 41 hits, 10 more than the Rangers, but the most memorable “hits” came from a beauty of a fight between heavy-weights Donald Brashear and Eric Godard. The standard had been set.

In the second game, closing the first of 16 scheduled back-to-back games in the Pens’ schedule, the New York Islanders came out like they meant business, and it was a slug-fest to the bitter shoot-out end with the Pens prevailing. Everything was rocking and rolling.

Maybe it was the distraction of the Phoenix Coyotes’ administrative problems. Maybe it was the Coyotes’ well-executed neutral zone trap that took away the boards off of which the Pens love to race. Maybe, it was just a hiccup. The bright spot in the Pens’ first unceremonious 3-0 home loss was Jordan Staal’s face-off prowess, winning an impressive 12 of 13 draws (92%). That was about all that Coach Dan Bylsma had to smile about, except he wasn’t smiling. On the bench, as Evgeni Malkin slammed his stick and Jordan Staal looked to the heavens for answers from the hockey gods, Bylsma stood behind the duo surveying the ice with a look of ultimate disapproval.

Whatever was said in the space of time between the end of that game and the start of the next, the team regrouped to take on the hated Philadelphia Flyers. The game did not disappoint…ok…well…maybe it disappointed the Flyers’ fans as the Pens emerged victorious, but the Pens were back on track,…except for this nasty new habit of committing a ton of penalties.

The game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, who looked like a stronger team in the pre-season, displayed some of the Penguins’ abilities including a red-hot power play that notched 3 goals in their 5-2 win.

The Ottawa Senators were up next, and they exhibited signs of being a serious contender as Milan Michalek and Bill Guerin exchanged goals at the end of the 1st period within less than a minute of each other. That is until, Tyler Kennedy blazed 2 more goals past netminder Pascal Leclaire, and linemate Jordan Staal stuck the dagger in for his 3rd goal in 3 games, giving Pittsburgh a 4-1 win.

The latest game against the Carolina Hurricanes promised to be a dogfight as these teams met for the first time since the playoffs when the Pens swept the ‘Canes. The stats looked about as even as they could be in just about every category through 2 periods of play. But Eric Staal did not seem himself on the ice. The ‘Canes tried the Coyotes’ trick of putting on the neutral zone trap and stacking bodies across their defensive blueline, but the Pens, better prepared than before, stuck to the plan and chipped away to force a shoot-out win. Ray Whitney was a force to be reckoned with, and Cam Ward put on just as much of goalie clinic at his end as Marc-Andre Fleury did at the other, denying Bill Guerin’s sure goal from what looked like inches.

What Needs to Change…
The biggest, most glaring anomaly emanating from the Penguins team that fans have come to know and love is the profusion of penalties. In the first 4 games alone, the Penguins committed 36 penalties for 92 minutes, which translates into over 4 periods of riding the sinner’s pine. Forty minutes consisted of 7 fighting majors (5 minutes) from Eric Godard, Craig Adams, Mike Rupp, and Jay McKee as well as 2 misconduct penalties of 10 minutes each for Jay McKee and Chris Kunitz. Those guys aside, Evgeni Malkin surprisingly led the way with the most penalties (6), followed by Sidney Crosby and Brooks Orpik, each with 4 apiece. This hardly showed the disciplined play for which the team had become known.

The Good News…
There’s a lot more on the positive side even at this early stage in the season. Continuing with the penalty situation, in the last 3 games, the Pens have whittled down their wreckless infractions by more than half with 17 penalties for a total of 43 minutes. Only 3 fighting majors (5 minutes each) committed by Godard, Adams, and Rupp. Malkin managed only one trip to the sin bin as did Crosby, and Orpik avoided it altogether. 

Face-offs–Clearly, the art of the draw has been discussed and worked on to the extent it can be in a non-real-game situation. Some set plays on the face-off have been incorporated, and with the vast improvement of the centers on the dot, puck wins have led to puck-possession and either some very good chances in the offensive zone or the ability to clear or transition out of the defensive zone. Of particular note among those taking the most draws:

• Sidney Crosby has won 88 out of 142 attempts (62.0%). He leads the league in the number of face-offs taken. His highest percentage so far came in the game against the Flyers where he won 21 of 24 (88%).
• Jordan Staal has won 53 out of 106 attempts (50.0%). His highest percentage came in the loss to Phoenix where he won 12 of 13 (92%).
• Craig Adams has won 37 of 70 for 52.8%.

Power Play–Really, the team is off to a decent start, picking up from where they left off in the playoffs. The Pens’ home power play conversion is 14.3% (2 home games), and their away conversion rate is 19.0% (5 games). Noticeably, they are moving the puck more swiftly, taking good shots, multiple shots, and getting one and sometimes two men in front of the net. Bill Guerin and Jordan Staal have both shared duties as the guy to set up on the netminder’s doorstep. Having Sergei Gonchar in the line-up from the get-go doesn’t hurt either, and he and Kris Letang continue to mesh from the blue line.

Penalty Kill–The Penguins have gotten off to a decent start with a respectable 84.6% kill percentage at home and 82.6% on someone else’s ice. As they reduce their time in the box, these stats should improve and break 90%. Bylsma continues to encourage the aggressive short-handed style with the likes of Staal and Cooke, Adams, Depuis, and even Crosby getting in on the fun.

Board Domination–In just seven games, the Penguins have notched 190 hits on opponents with a game high total so far of 41 hits at the expense of the New York Rangers. In the wrecking crew department, the team is averaging 27 hits a game from an average of 12 players per game. Chris Kunitz, Brooks Orpik, and Matt Cooke lead the way on a regular basis. And while hits are exciting to watch, the Pens are making a point of taking the body to separate man from puck and ultimately gain back possession. They are improving on that technique.

Protecting the Netminder–In blocked shots, the Pens are no less impressive. Through 7 games, they have blocked 127 shots, led by Jay McKee with 21 blocks and Brooks Orpik with 14. The team is averaging 18 blocked shots per game from an average of 9 players an outing. Speaking of netminding, Fleury looks like he only took a week off from the play-off form he was in this past spring. Already, he has made some spectacular point-blank robberies from opposing snipers. Most notably, he has improved on his puck movement. In the ‘Canes game, he looked extremely comfortable coming out of the safety of the crease to redirect play up ice, shortening the distance for his teammates, which saves legs. Particularly in this game, his play was reminiscent of Tom Barrasso during the Mario years, and that’s a very good thing.

Final Musings–The new acquisitions of McKee and Rupp have been good ones as they have clearly meshed quickly and easily into the Penguins’ system. They’ve chipped in with contributions in most areas of the game, making this team very deep and versatile through four lines of offense and three lines of defense. The scary thing about the Penguins is that they continue to get goal production from a wide range of players, not just from Malkin and Crosby. When this happens, it makes it very difficult for teams to strategize against them because literally every player on this team has to be considered a potential goal-scorer. So far, it’s been very exciting, especially with the team’s new record of 5 consecutive road wins. That kind of momentum is a confidence-booster, especially given the fact that they have a West Coast road trip coming up.

The Russian Nightmare: Pens 7 – ‘Canes 4

First it was Crosby, then it was LaRose. Then it was Malkin. Then it was Jokinen. Then Pittsburgh blinked, and it was Seidenberg. And that was just the 1st period. Yes, it was going to be one of those nights. Both teams were playing fast and loose, with loose being the operative word. Neither Marc-Andre Fleury nor his counterpart at the other end, Cam Ward, was getting much help from the defense. Traffic jams kept clogging up the view in front of the net only to end in sudden explosions that set loose breaks to the opposite end like it was the Autobahn.

The 2nd period settled in. Defense on both sides got back to the plan, and the flow was less frenetic though the hits kept coming. It was nice to see Max Talbot reap a reward for all his diligent toiling in the traces as he picked up the Pens’ game-tying goal at 3:11 by showing, yet again, the strength of the Penguins early in periods. It wasn’t until :08 were left in the period before Chris Kunitz broke his long 19-game drought with the go-ahead goal.

In the 3rd, Patrick Eaves did his version of early-period scoring, pulling the ‘Canes even at four goals apiece. The Hurricanes were feeling pretty good about their prospects at this point, but they failed to take into account one small thing.

Evgeni Malkin was not finished.

Scoring two more goals on the night to notch the Penguins’ second hat trick of the playoffs, the Russian Nightmare lit up the Igloo sending a shiver down the spines of the ‘Canes and their fans. Malkin scores, he sets up goals, he shreds defenders from one end of the ice to the other like a pinball wizard, and the boy can not only hit but take hits, though his preference is to artfully dodge them, leaving his opponent at odd angles in the air or in a heap.

This is a proud opponent though, and the ‘Canes continued to battle and do what has brought them to this point. However, late in the 3rd period, with Cam Ward pulled and a 6th attacker on the ice, miscues sprung the Penguins’ Staal unit. A weak clear of the puck in the Hurricanes’ vulnerable defensive zone caught the very end of Jordan Staal’s stick as he managed to get it toward teammate Tyler Kennedy for the empty-netter, sealing the deal at 18:11.

So Much to Like–Take Your Pick

• Any one of Malkin’s goals which heightened in spectacular-ness with each notch.
• A blistering 42 shots (by period: 12/16/14) on net versus 28 (by period: 14/6/8).
• Even hits (again) at 29 apiece, but bone-crunching, brain-rattling and memorable on both sides.
• Kunitz finally getting that goal.
• Satan picking up a 5-minute FIGHTING major as he came to the aid of Kris Letang who suffered a head-hunting elbow by Ryan Bayda as Letang touched up for an icing call.
• 4th line effectiveness and multi-faceted impact versus the ‘Canes 4th line that saw little ice time.
• The Staal line accounting for 6 points (Cooke-3 assists, Kennedy-1 goal & 1 assist, Staal-1 assist).

Despite some sloppy play at times that will continue to be addressed and shored up by the vigilant Dan Bylsma and company, the Pens played a better 2nd period, weathered a couple of storms of the Hurricanes’ own, and came out on top in a way that is eerily reminiscent of that Game 7 against the Caps. It showed on the ‘Canes faces as the minutes waned.

Brothers’ Keeper: The Staal Tracker

• Goals/Assists/Points: Jordan (0/1/1), Eric (0/1/1)
• Plus/Minus: Jordan (+1), Eric (-2)–Jordan is gaining confidence. Eric shows frustration.
• Total Minutes: Jordan (18:43), Eric (23:30)–’Canes coach, Paul Maurice was turning over the top units rapidly with the 4th unit seeing limited time.
• Shifts & Average Shift Time: Jordan (25 at :44), Eric (29 at :48)
• Shots on Goal: Jordan (2), Eric (3)
• Hits: Jordan (1), Eric (0)
• Giveaways: Jordan (1), Eric (0)
• Takeaways: Jordan (1), Eric (1)
• Blocked Shots: Jordan (0), Eric (1)
• Faceoffs Won: Jordan (9), Eric (8)
• Faceoffs Lost: Jordan (6), Eric (15)
• Faceoff Percentage: Jordan (60%), Eric (35%)–Complete flip-flop from Game 1 and more in Jordan’s usual range.

With Malkin awakened and on a tear for which the Hurricanes seem to have no answer as of yet, this series could get a out of hand quickly. Still, Game 3 back at Carolina’s stomping ground with the home team down 0-2, recalls the Philly series in a mirror situation. A stung team coming home to an expectant and passionate crowd makes for the height of desperation. The chippiness of Game 2 will carry over though it may take a more measured and controlled form.

Will Eric Staal catch fire? Will Cam Ward right his ship? Will Malkin increase to an F5? Will Penguins from all lines and the defensive corps continue to contribute in waves of oceanic proportions only seen on the angry Bering Sea? Saturday at 7:30 will unfold to reveal some of those answers.

One in the Can: Pens 3 – ‘Canes 2

Game 1 in a playoff series is always a little surreal. Both teams come out  sizing each other up, testing the waters, getting a feel for how they will set the tempo they want to set and executing. Given the hellfire and brimstone of Pittsburgh’s first two series versus the Flyers and Capitals respectively, Monday night’s game against the Hurricanes seemed a little tame by comparison.

This is not a complaint, and knowing how the ‘Canes got to this point, they are masters of illusion. As long as the Pens do not become mesmerized, they can dominate and succeed.

What Went Right

• Goaltending–First and foremost, Marc-Andre Fleury made it known early (and more often than some would like) that he was on his game and not to be trifled with. When the players in front of him were on assignment, he saw the puck and made the saves from any distance or lack thereof. There’s a lot of highlight reel footage.
• Keeping the puck north-south–Play moved swiftly up the boards and into the offensive zone. Dump-ins were controlled and forechecks were strong.
• Spreading it around: a winger, a center, and a blueliner–Right off the bat, the Penguins got goals from a diverse group. Miroslav Satan, whose play has continued to improve since about Game 4 of the last series, brought his game up to another level with a goal and some very active play. Evgeni Malkin continued to roll with a goal of his own, and defenseman Philippe Boucher joined in by contributing the team’s only powerplay goal. This is a good omen.
• Separation–All Pens players were on a mission to separate a ‘Canes body from the puck. When the Penguins did this, they won the puck, made the necessary transition up ice (from their defensive zone) or made a play to the net (in their offensive zone) with speed. While the hits were dead even between the Pens and ‘Canes, those of the home team were more memorable and jaw-jarring with the exception of Eric Cole’s longtime-coming payback hit on Brooks Orpik.
• Controlling the neutral zone–Penguins dominated the neutral zone, forcing the ‘Canes to slow down and try to break through into their own offensive end. When the Pens played a tightly controlled game, they virtually shut the the ‘Canes down. Their 12 shots in the first period were cut in half for the entire second period, and they were relegated to 7 shots in the third.
• The power play–After a dismal season and early playoff series on the power play, who would have thought that coming into this game, the Penguins’ power play would be a shade over a blistering 30%? After this game, with the help of blueliner Philippe Boucher, the Pens have registered a power play goal in each of the last seven playoff games. At this point, it is better to encourage it rather than to question it. They have weathered this particular storm at a time where the power play is crucial for a successful run deep into the playoffs.

 

 

Room for Improvement

Coming out with the win is key, and now the Pens have two days to look at the film and make adjustments. They might find that they are, in many ways, looking at mirror images of themselves. A few times, there were breakdowns where ‘Canes forwards were able to get behind the defense and buzz the net. They like to bring bunches to the front of the net, so Pens defensemen need to keep the path clear for Fleury.

The Penguins need to play smarter to decrease the number of giveaways–they had 9 tonight versus Carolina’s 2–and to increase takeaways–Pens and ‘Canes were nearly even at 2 and 3 respectively. Faceoffs could have been better, particularly in the defensive end, though the stat sheet shows both teams even at 50% apiece.

Lastly, the Penguins cannot let the Hurricanes hang out for long periods of time in their defensive end. Five-on-five and on the power play, the Hurricanes pass quickly and look for odd bounces anywhere in the zone, not just in tight to the net. If they are not alert, the Penguins could get burned on this, and because of this style of play, it is even more imperative that Fleury have a clear line of sight at all times. Communication and gap control are crucial.

Brothers’ Keeper: The Staal Tracker

The big story line in this series so far aside from Cam Ward versus Marc-Andre Fleury is that of the Brothers Staal, Jordan and Eric, literally squaring off against each other in this series. Again, Game 1 may have shown some nerves, but in looking at the entire game, Eric appeared to have been neutralized by the Penguins, and Jordan appeared to continue to be his dominating defensive self, anchoring the ever-consistent 3rd line. While of the same gene pool, Eric and Jordan have decidedly different styles, but it is still interesting to check in on the match-up during this series and compare how they fared in their previous series.

• Goals/Assists/Points: Jordan (0/0/0), Eric (0/0/0)–In their previous series, Jordan had 2 goals and 2 assists for 4 points while Eric had 4 goals and 2 assists for 6 points. They are just getting warmed up. The Pens did a good job keeping Eric away from the net, and the one time he got close, he was robbed by Fleury literally on the doorstep. For Jordan’s part, in the series against Washington, he was getting some decent numbers in the shots category, registering 3-4 shots on net. The ‘Canes kept him away from the net as well.
• Plus/Minus: Jordan (even), Eric (-1)–In their previous series, both were in the minus with Jordan at a -5 as his line was regularly matched up against Ovechkin who still managed to get on the board. If Eric is kept in check by Jordan’s line, then Jordan’s numbers should remain even or better.
• Penalties: Jordan (0), Eric (1, 2-minutes)–In the previous series, the numbers were reversed.
• Total Ice Time: Jordan (18:39), Eric (22:42)
• Shifts/Average Shift Time: Jordan (24 at :46), Eric : (25 at :54)–In the previous series, Jordan averaged about 25 shifts with a shade more ice time, and Eric averaged 29 shifts.
• Shots on Goal: Jordan (0), Eric : (3)
• Hits: Jordan (2), Eric (2)
• Giveaways: Jordan (1), Eric (0)
• Takeaways: Jordan (0), Eric (1)
• Blocked Shots: Jordan (1), Eric (1)
• Faceoffs Won: Jordan (6), Eric (14)–It was interesting to note that Jordan was getting kicked out of the faceoff circle regularly in this game when he was set to draw against his brother.
• Faceoffs Lost: Jordan (8), Eric (8)
• Faceoff Percentage: Jordan (43%), Eric (64%)–In general Jordan is usually pretty strong on the faceoff, averaging 47%  in the last series with a number of games over 50%. His average of 43% in this game is one of his lowest. He will settle in and get to know the styles of those he draws against, so his percentage should bounce back up again. Conversely, Eric averaged 43% in his last series, and this game’s 64% is his highest.

All in all, the Penguins are off to a good start. With continued tweaking and shoring up, they are in good shape to take the series. The Hurricanes are a tenacious, proud team who remember hoisting the Stanley Cup three seasons ago. In the last two seasons, they missed the playoffs entirely, so to be here again, they, too, can smell the shiny metal of the final round. This series will heat up, starting with Game 2 Thursday night. Stay tuned.

Get One for the Sarge

On a high-intesity drama scale, the Eastern Conference Semifinals series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals continues to thrill. Game 4 saw a determined Penguins team once again at the mercy of  the cruel humor of the Hockey Gods as another weird development put a Caps goal in the net only :36 into the game.

But the Pens seem to like it that way as goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury joked carefully afterward that that was the plan. One hates to put too much focus on the stat for trivia enthusiasts that in this series, the team that scores first loses, but that’s how it’s shaped up so far. It’s that kind of self-deprecating humor that keeps the mood light and the guys loose, and then it’s back to business.

In this game it was not a case of dueling hat-tricks between Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby. Instead, it was a checklist of contributions from goals to helpers in a well-balanced effort. Guys like Pens defenseman Sergei Gonchar, Bill Guerin, Ruslan Fedotenko, and Max Talbot all scored goals. Others like Jordan Staal, Miroslav Satan, Chris Kunitz, and defenseman Rob Scuderi assisted to make it all happen.

Serious Stuff

The jury is still out on the knee-to-knee hit Alex Ovechkin took on Sergei Gonchar that put “Sarge” out of the game. The Penguins are not saying much on the subject–in interviews they said they had only seen the replay of it once, and many of them prefer to leave it up to the league and the refs. As Bill Guerin noted, it’s not up to him. The Capitals, on the other hand, saw it very differently.

In the post-game press conference, a clearly uncomfortable Ovechkin tried to explain it (several times) that the hit was an accident. His coach, Bruce Boudreau, cavalierly and unabashedly stated that if anyone (implying “with a brain”) looked at the tape, they would clearly see that Ovi led with the shoulder, and, in professorial fashion he proceeded with the physics lesson for the “rubes”: where the shoulder goes, the knee will follow. It was a good hit. Still, one would have loved to have been a Russian fly on the wall as Evgeni Malkin’s father was seen in animated conversation with Ovi after the game.

The league and the refs will ultimately decide, but as Jay Caufield from FSN-Pittsburgh pointed out, using the Donald Brashear 6-game suspension for his hit on Blair Betts as an example, it’s got to be consistent.

Taking his argument further, one need only go back to the Philadelphia series when Daniel Carcillo was suspended for a game after hitting Maxime Talbot in the back of the head with the butt end of his stick on a face-off. The Ovechkin hit on Gonchar clearly falls between these two incidents in terms of severity. The hit on Betts caused a concussion and broke occipital bones. The hit on Talbot did not cause injury but was a situation that could have gone badly. In the case of Gonchar, it is not known yet the degree of his injury, but the term ACL has been bandied about.

The Pens were a bit dazed upon that incident, but they played through it and maybe in spite of it–those band of brothers rallied so that Gonch’s loss would not be in vain. Tonight could easily be a carry-over of that spirit because it’s events like that which can galvanize a team, particularly one that seems to be improving and gathering strength with each period of play in this series. Game 4 was crucial and pivotal. The Caps are on their heels, and Varlamov may have spent Friday night sleeplessly replaying his performance on his second loss in a row.

Penguin Notables

• Coaching–There are many theories floating around about the idea of coaching face-offs. They are hard to accurately emulate in practice, so often, it is not something that is worked on to any major degree. However, Pens coach Dan Bylsma was seen working with Crosby in face-off style scenarios, giving Sid an idea of how to approach an opponent’s stance and positioning. The biggest difference between Michel Therrien and Dan Bylsma behind the bench is communication. Bylsma stays engaged with his players individually but not intrusively. One of the most maddening things about Therrien was that during times when he should have been in the ear of players, he was standing back, arms crossed, gazing out over the ice like a first row season ticket-holder. Bylsma has a talent for teaching on multiple levels.
• Face-offs–To piggy back on the previous comment about face-offs, in game 4 it was not always about winning the face-off. In one draw that Evgeni Malkin took, he intentionally deferred the win to his Caps opponent in favor of exploding past him to follow the puck, which he successfully gathered up after some jostling in the corner. This an excellent stratgey, showing once again that there is more than one way (the conventional way) to skin a cat even if it means sacrificing a stat. Whether this was an idea derived from a coach, a player, or both, it shows that these guys are becoming advanced students of the game–they are thinking out of the box and getting positive results.
• Hitting–When the Penguins control puck possession, whether in their defensive end or in the offensive zone, it all starts with physical play. The more Pens who hit a Cap off the puck, the more pucks come into the Pens’ possession. They have proven it time and again. This style of play disrupts the Caps’ flow and makes for tired, frustrated bodies. As soon as the Pens lay off the hits, the Caps come back and reset their speed game.
• Defensive Play–Given the way these guys played for much of the first 3/4 of the season, if anyone said that Rob Scuderi, Mark Eaton, and Hal Gill would be forces to be reckoned with this year, it would not have been believed. Their often sloppy and lacklustre play during that time was hard to watch, but these guys to a man have dug deep within themselves and found new life–in a huge way. Scuderi and Gill have been tasked with accoutning for Ovechkin, and Game 4’s performance showed that they are equal to the challenge, holding Ovi to only 2 shots in the entire game. To cap it off, Scuderi also figured in the scoring with 2 assists. The 3rd line looked more like themselves, and it is only a matter of time before they get on the scoreboard. Staal chipped in on the Fedotenko goal with some hard jabbing on the boards to break the puck free in the right direction. Marc-Andre proved solid once he got the fluke goal out of the way early in the game.

Keys to Game

It’s simple. Keep the pressure on. keep the hits legal but keep them coming hard and fast. The Caps are starting to hear big steps behind them every time they go to the boards for the puck. Keep up not only the profusion of shots, but follow on for the rebounds. Varlamov is brilliant up to two whacks at the puck, but as the numbers climb to three and four hits at it, he breaks down. Keep drawing strength from each other and take care of individual assignments. Basically, do the things that have translated into success, and do it for 60 minutes.

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.

Lucky Number 13

Fridays and the number 13 are traditionally viewed as a very unlucky combination, but it was a Friday night, and it was Number 13, Bill Guerin, who brought the luck to the team in game 2 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals match-up against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Game 2 had a decidedly different feel to it than Game 1, which saw the Penguins dominate their opponent in every aspect of the game, making it look easy.  The Flyers recovered in the off-day, made adjustments, and were bound and determined to prove that they, too, could be a disciplined team.  And for a while, it seemed to be working.  The Flyers drew first blood barely seven seconds into their power play against the second PK unit of Maxime Talbot and Pascal Dupuis on a weird tip in from a shot at the blue line.  In the first period, the Broad Street Bullies de jour only had one offender in the sin bin versus two from the Pens.  This was a vast improvement from game 1, which saw four Flyers caught for penalties in the first period.

The Penguins continued a steady pace though, and Marc-Andre Fleury did his part to keep the game close, facing a total of 14 shots in the first frame.  His team was rewarded as #13 Bill Guerin hitched a ride on a shift with the original 2-Headed Monster of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.  Even strength at 16:38 in the second period, a 3-on-2 rush initiated by a great Gonchar poke-check in their defensive end sent the puck to a waiting Malkin on the right boards, and they were off.  A smart and sassy wrister from Guerin notched the equalizer.

The newly minted, disciplined Flyers team started to tarnish a little as the third period saw them taking the only penalty in the period on a Jeff Carter hook, and it would prove costly.  Guerin quarterbacked a play from the left side of Martin Biron who had to be mindful of Malkin behind him in the trapezoid.  Crosby was perched in the right circle.  Guerin surveyed the scene and made a shift a little higher in the left circle.  Crosby shifted up as well, allowing Guerin to send him a crisp pass across the front of the goal.  Crosby quickly turned the puck to Sergei Gonchar, who sent it back left again to Kris Letang cheating in on the left circle.  As this was happening, both Guerin and Malkin converged, and Letang’s slapper was fed into the net by Malkin.

That was with 3:47 left in regulation.  The Penguins had life, and the Flyers were seething.  OT was spectacular as Fleury turned away 10 shots and Biron faced 11.  The Flyers slung off their sheep’s clothing starting at 16:55 when the first wolf Mike Knuble reared his ugly head on a cross-checking penalty, which had him and an already-penalized Hal Gill for the Pens hanging out in the sin bin as their teams moved through a 4-on-4 situation.  Twenty-five seconds later at 17:25, one second before Gill was to be let loose, a second wolf emerged as Claude Giroux of the Flyers took a 2-minute slashing penalty and went to join his teammate, Knuble.

This created the perfect 5-on-3 the Pens needed.  Coach Dan Bylsma elected to insert Chris Kunitz in the power play this time, which slid Malkin to the right point with Gonchar on the left.  Guerin and Crosby took the left and right circles.  As Malkin shifted the puck along the blue line to Gonchar, the Sarge made for what looked like a slap shot that instead was slap-passed to a waiting Guerin perched just to Biron’s right off the left post.  The goal was the nail in the Flyers’ coffin as all discipline was thrown out the door, ending with a frustrated Kimmo Timonen taking a 10-minute misconduct penalty.

So what is it about Bill Guerin?  Last season, the cult of Gary Roberts applauded his role as the veteran in the locker room who could guide a young captain in Crosby and a young team in the Penguins to victory.  With Roberts, though, you never knew what you were going to get.  The cold look of a crocodile and the hit of a freight train, Roberts commanded notice.  He scored some key goals, but was seen more as an enigma–something simultaneously awed and feared.

Bill Guerin, by stark contrast, appears to be one of those veterans who fits the category of “still waters run deep.”  He’s not flashy, but he’s reliable.  He doesn’t do anything to command notice in the ways Roberts did, but that makes Guerin even more dangerous than Roberts.  Guerin skillfully flies under the radar of opposing teams, and by the time his presence is realized, it’s too late–kind of like a Stealth bomber.  His body of work in game 2 is a classic example of this.  He only posted two hits and a blocked shot, but he had his finger on the trigger for 8 shots on net, two of which were fatal blows to the Flyers.

From watching interviews, Guerin possesses the same kind of quiet, even-keeled, contemplative personality that Sidney Crosby does, and in that, Sid has a perfect mentor.  Unlike Roberts, Guerin is also one of those two puzzle pieces the Pens have been looking for to complete the Crosby line and end the saga of “Who Can Play with Sid?”  Marian Hossa was not the solution either, truth be told.

It is doubtful that there will be any WWBGD?  like the WWGRD? (What Would Gary Roberts Do?) slogans that seemed to show up everywhere in Pittsburgh last year.  It’s not necessary.  Guerin, now and in the long run, is a better suited veteran (and Crosby linemate) for the Penguins in terms of his poise and his skill.  The Pens are lucky to have Number 13.

Penguins Roll Over Flyers 4-1, Lead Series 1-0

The Pittsburgh Penguins kept their late season momentum rolling into the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs as they beat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-1 in game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals on Wednesday night.  In a nearly textbook win, the Penguins flat outplayed the Flyers who looked as if they were still disoriented from the unexpected loss to the New York Rangers at the end of the regular season that squandered their home ice advantage.  The Penguins, on the other hand, clearly came out prepared to play and took it to the Flyers for nearly 60-minutes, particularly in the first and third periods.  Although game stats indicate that the Penguins were outhit by the Flyers 37-30, Pittsburgh appeared to have the more punishing physical presence.  It started on the very first shift as Chris Kunitz lined up and pummelled Kimmo Timonen.  Timonen, rattled by the hit, exhibited the after-effects throughout the remainder of the game and didn’t look 100% .  The hits continued with Matt Cooke reaking havoc in the corners and Jordan Staal even getting into the act and making his imposing presence felt. 

Pittsburgh overwhelmed the Flyers defense by maintaining constant pressure and good puck possession that slowly wore down the seemingly demoralized Flyers.  Philadelphia didn’t help their cause any by taking far too many penalties.  The Penguins had 6 man-advantages before going 5-on-3 for the final 19-seconds of the game.  The Penguins only converted on 1 powerplay, otherwise the score would have been much more lopsided.  The Penguins got goals from Sidney Crosby, Tyler Kennedy, Evgeni Malkin and….yes, Mark Eaton!  Both Crosby and Malkin had 2-points with a goal and assist each.  Sergei Gonchar, Jordan Staal and Kris Letang all picked up assists as well.  The lone Flyers goal came on a Philadelphia power play after Marc-Andre Fleury was called for tripping.  The Penguins outshot the Flyers 33-27 and crushed them in the faceoff circle by winning 64% of the draws. 

Jordan Staal played an amazing game at both ends of the ice.  Leading all Penguins’ forwards in ice time with 20:36, he stepped up his physical play and was an absolute defensive juggernaut against the Flyers.  Mark Eaton made the defensive play of the game by eliminating a two-on-one opportunity in the first period to protect the Penguins 1-0 lead.  With Mike Richards and Scott Hartnell breaking in on net, Eaton dropped to the ice and diverted Richard’s attempted pass to neutralize one of the the Flyers’ best scoring chances of the game.  Evgeni Malkin got the game’s only unassisted goal as he corraled an errant pass and backhanded it past a sprawling Martin Biron before raising his arms into the air like Philly’s Rocky Balboa.  

Dan Bylsma captured his first career post-season win as a head coach.  After the game he noted “”One of our goals was to set the tone and certainly after the first period …
I think the whole period long we forced them to play in the defensive zone a lot, which is one of the situations we want to keep replicating.”  Whatever Dan Bylsma is doing to lead, coach and inspire this young team, let’s hope he can keep it up!  Tonight’s game was a thing of beauty for a Penguins fan!

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