With everyone in local and league circles ready for what is probably the most anticipated first round series in the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Penguins and hated Flyers, I couldn't help but think back to a quote made famous in Pittsburgh parts just about 3 months ago, in mid-to-late January, 2009.
"It would be a big deal if it was a scrimmage".
That, folks, was Pittsburgh Steeler coach Mike Tomlin talking about the hype surrounding his AFC Conference championship matchup with the Steelers' arch-rival Baltimore Ravens.
The theory is equally applicable here.
In this series, the Penguins will be looking to break recent history and become just the 2nd team in the last 12 years to lose a Stanley Cup Final and win a single playoff round the following season. Half the teams who have gone the distance and lost one year don't even make it to the dance the next.
The 2001-02 Dallas Stars are the only team to win one round the next season after losing the Cup Final the year before, and they got bounced in round 2.
It will be a challenge for Pittsburgh, but they're certainly capable. Like any other series, it will be good for them if they get a great start tonight at home.
The Flyers do come into this series as the underdog (even if they may not think so), and with serious questions surrounding their goaltending. They've only played .500 hockey in their last 25 games or so. Even their own writers are picking the Penguins to win. To wit:
http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=20652
If the Penguins are able to get up on the Flyers early and rattle Martin Biron, it could go a long way towards potentially making this a quick series like the Eastern Conference Finals were last season.
Penguins' interim coach Dan Bylsma will have some interesting lineup decisions to make tonight and throughout this series.
It looks as if he's going to open things by dressing RW Eric Godard, rather than mucker Craig Adams, and I'm not sure that's the right move.
There's no question that the series will be physical, but you rarely need an enforcer come the post-season. When things get edgy in the playoffs, its more about team toughness, rather than any individual pugilism.
I believe that Adams is more likely to make an impact in the series than Godard is, whether it be making a key defensive play, killing a penalty, or scoring a goal (even if that's not terribly likely). But Godard can't really give you any of those things.
What I don't expect to see Bylsma do is dress W Miroslav Satan tonight, who was recalled from Wilkes-Barre last week and successfully put through re-entry waivers.
As most recall, Satan and his 3.5 million dollar salary were demoted in February right before the trade deadline because the Penguins didn't expect to have the cap space to keep him. Sure enough, after acquiring RW Bill Guerin, there was no room for Satan's salary. Because nobody claimed him, the Penguins had no choice but to send him down to the Baby Penguins, where they would still pay his salary, but it wouldn't count against the cap. The Penguins promised at the time to recall him for the post-season when the cap wouldn't count.
True to their word, the Penguins brought him back.
If I were Bylsma, I'd scratch Satan and keep him handy in case things start badly in this series. Then, he can insert Satan in the lineup and potentially look for a little boost from him.
Aside from all that, the skilled forwards have meshed very well together, so why tinker with things?
I also don't expect to see Philippe Boucher in the lineup tonight either. Despite looking good in the last few games, I think Bylsma is going to start with the six horses who played so well for him in the final 27 games, and that includes Mark Eaton, who sat for Boucher on the final night of the regular season against the Montreal Canadiens.
It's going to be a great series tonight. There's always so much energy for the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which is why first round series' are always among the most contested and most intense. The fact that the Penguins and Flyers are kicking things off will only make it better.
Personally, I can't wait to see Sidney Crosby and Mike Richards match up. Playing head-to-head against Richards will easily get Crosby going.
One final thing before I go ....
Here's hoping the Penguins goad Flyers' knucklehead Scott Hartnell into some stupid penalties.
I can't STAND Hartnell.
Hartnell is a cheap player who tends to run around and take late shots at your players. Even though he's tallied 30 markers this year -- thanks to playing with the Flyers' stable of skilled centermen -- he's still susceptible to dumb infractions, so I'm hoping the Penguins are able to get him off his game and get him in the box, then score on the power play.
Detailed recap tomorrow morning.
Let's Go Pens!
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Penguins v. Flyers: Round 1 Breakdown/Analysis
Welcome to the Jungle, Part II.
Teams that meet in the Stanley Cup Playoffs always talk about developing a healthy dislike for the other opponent.
How, after a few games against the same squad, emotion tends to build up.
How, after battling the same players for the same square inch of ice day after day, hostilities tend to emerge.
If all that is true -- and it undoubtedly is -- how is a series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers likely to go??
These two teams, former longtime Patrick Division rivals, haven't liked each other since their inception into the league in the 1967-68 season, and the list of memorable moments these two teams have shared when matching up against one another goes back decades.
There was the game in the 1988-89 playoffs where former Penguin player and current Penguin owner Mario Lemieux scored five goals and 8 points. That was the series Ron Hextall chased Rob Brown around the then-Civic Arena ice, before ultimately giving way to Ken Wregget's defeat of the Penguins in game 7.
There were the games in the 1990's when Lemieux played a game in Philadelphia the same day he received a final cancer treatment. That was probably the first and only time an opposing player ever recieved or will receive a standing ovation from fans of a city who have booed Sanata Claus and who consistently are known as the most obnoxious and disrespectful in sports.
Of course, who can forget the seismic and thundering check that former Penguin defenseman Darius Kasparaitis put on former Flyer center and big man Eric Lindros in, I believe, the 1997-98 season? I know I can't -- I was at that game. I don't know that I've heard a more raucous response to an opponent being injured. That hit started the end of Lindros' career in the league.
More recently, Penguins' Captain Sidney Crosby has gotten most of the attention. Nobody will forget the game he played in Philadelphia a few years ago when he was high-sticked by Flyers' rearguard Darian Hatcher, lost 2 teeth, then game back to score the game-winning goal on a breakaway.
Then last year, the Penguins defeated the Flyers for the first time in post-season history, dominating them in 5 games on the way to the Stanley Cup final.
Of course, those are just a few memories.
More, obviously, will be made in this series.
So without further delay, let's break the series down and see how the teams match up. After the position breakdowns, read further for my 3 players-to-watch from each team, how each team can win the series, and prediction.
FORWARDS
Both the Penguins and Flyers finished tied for 4th in the league in goals scored, which suggests this series could have more offensive fireworks than a 4th of July celebration at the Point.
The Penguins boast six 20-goal scorers, and have 11 forwards who have reached double figures in goals, led by NHL scoring leader Evgeni Malkin's 35 goals and Crosby's 33 tallies. LW Chris Kunitz, RW Petr Sykora, C Jordan Staal and RW Bill Guerin all provide solid complementary scoring to those 2, although Sykora has slumped somewhat towards the end of the season. The Penguins' lead support players are LW Ruslan Fedotenko, LW Matt Cooke, C Max Talbot and LW Pascal Dupuis. Fedotenko, a notable playoff performer, has been hot lately with 10 points in his last 7 games. And don't forget Tyler Kennedy. He fills out a well-rounded Penguins' 3rd line with Staal and Cooke that is fast, physical and can score.
The Penguins' play a new, up-tempo. aggressive skating system under interim coach Dan Bylsma. That system puts pressure on the opposition in their defensive zone with the goal of committing turnovers and then capitalizing on those chances. The Penguins pressure on the forecheck with their forwards and both pinch in and step up with their defenseman to do this. It obviously works well for the Penguins. They have the speed up front to use this system to their advantage and the Penguins' near 4-goal-per-game-average clip down the stretch of the season proves they can be extremely dangerous offensively. And it never hurts to have 2 of the 3 best players in the league as gamebreakers, either.
Meanwhile, the Flyers boast a fine stable of guns up-front as well. They are led by C Jeff Carter, who finished 2nd in the league in goals with 47. LW Simon Gagne -- who missed last year's playoff series against Pittsburgh due to post-concussion symptoms -- returned this year to the tune of 34 goals. C Mike Richards and LW Scott Hartnell chipped in with 30 and RW's Mike Knuble and Joffrey Lupul were not far behind with 27 and 25, respectively. In short, this team's top end up front is loaded.
The Flyers' depth drops off a little bit after those guys, but they still have dangerous 3rd line players in C and rookie Claude Giroux, who has 27 points in 42 games with the big club and, of course, Daniel Briere, who has battled injuries all year, but has been getting in gear for the playoffs recently. Remember, the Flyers pay Briere 8 million dollars per year and they don't do that for nothing. He's nearly a point-per-game player.
ADVANTAGE: Even
DEFENSEMEN
Just as the Penguins and Flyers have scored the same number of goals this year, they let up nearly the same number, with the Penguins surrendering 238, while the Flyers surrendered 239. The difference is that the Penguins' numbers defensively have improved recently under Bylsma, while the Flyers have shown a penchant for turning the puck over and giving up an inordinate number of goals against at various times all season long.
The Penguins' top pairing of Sergei Gonchar and Brooks Orpik is one of the better two-way tandems in the game, while Hal Gill and Rob Scuderi form a relatively solid defensive pairing. Scuderi, in particular, is one of the better defensive defenseman in the game, and he is able to cover up for Gill when Gill is overmatched by quicker forwards -- something the Penguins will have to watch out for in this series. Mark Eaton and Kris Letang are fairly well-rounded on the third pair. Letang, in particular, could be the wild card. With 10 goals this year, it's no secret that Letang has high-end skill. However, his ability defensively is often understated. While he still has the occasional lapse, he can be fairly effective -- and physical, for a generally undersized player -- in his own zone. The Penguins also have Phillipe Boucher as their #7 defenseman, and he is a veteran who is capable of stepping into the lineup and playing well at any time. He recently returned from foot surgery and has looked relatively good, all things considered, including in his own zone where he's blocked a lot of shots.
The Flyers will obviously benefit from having 2 defenseman in their playoff lineup this year that were missing for most of last season's Conference Final matchup against Pittsburgh -- Kimmo Timonen and Brandon Coburn. Timonen developed a blood clot in his leg right before last year's series was to begin, and then Coburn was hit with a puck early in the series and, after missing a few games, was not the same thereafter. These two played together last year, but it doesn't look like that's the case this season. Philadelphia likes to put Timonen with Ryan Parent, and pair Coburn with Matt Carle. Parent is a decent young defenseman, but he has been battling a bit of a groin problem recently and this could limit the strength in his game -- mobility. Carle is a guy with some offensive talent. Andrew Alberts and Randy Jones round out the top 6. Jones is capable, and Alberts is, too -- capable of being beaten down low around the net. And that's probably the area where the Flyers are weakest on the backend. They are not overly physical, and with the forwards the Penguins have, Philadelphia can be exploited here.
ADVANTAGE: Penguins
POWER PLAY
The Flyers have one of the better power plays in the game, thanks to their well-rounded group of top-end talent. They finished 6th on the man-advantage at 22.5% this year for a reason. They control the puck well, have people who can finish, and Knuble always gives other teams (especially the Penguins) fits in front of the net. Carter is the guy you really need to watch on the man-advantage for Philadelphia, although Timonen does a great job carrying the puck up the ice and orchestrating things from the point.
The Penguins' have similar talent up front, and may be starting to hit their groove on the man-advantage. They struggled in this area a lot of the season, although that undoubtedly had to do with the fact that they missed power-play quarterback Sergei Gonchar most of the season while he was recovering from a shoulder inury. Since he has returned, however, and since Bylsma took over, the Penguins are clicking at near 20%. Since the Flyers are the most penalized team in the league, they need to be careful about sending out the Penguins' man advantage. And again, giving 2 of the world's best players additional ice is always particularly dangerous.
ADVANTAGE: Flyers
PENALTY KILLING
Under Bylsma, the Penguins have killed penalties off at a near 88% rate, which would be just about at the top of the league over the course of a whole season. They finished 9th overall on the PK. The Penguins have great role players at forward (Talbot, Dupuis) and on defense (Scuderi, Gill) to kill off man-advantage chances. 20-year old forward Staal is also a force on the kill for Pittsburgh.
The Flyers also get good marks on their penalty kill. They finished 8th overall and are particularly dangerous shorthanded. Richards led the league with 7 shorties this year, while Gagne and Carter each had 4. The Penguins' point men need to be particularly careful out there because shorthanded goals are big momentum changers -- especially in the post-season.
ADVANTAGE: Even
GOALTENDING
The Flyers have had goaltending questions for about 2 decades now, ever since Hextall was patrolling the Philadelphia crease. That's because they can't get consistently good netminding when they need it, and the play they got from their starter, Martin Biron, this year has been more of the same. Biron finished 29-19-5 with a 2.76 GAA and a .915 SV% this season. He can play well for stretches, before lapsing into a bad outing or two. He's susceptible up high and doesn't handle traffic well. Most observers would say Biron is where the Flyers are weakest, and I wouldn't disagree. He will need to play extremely well in this series for Philadelphia to win.
Meanwhile, Penguins' goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury has been one of the best goaltenders in the league down the stretch for the 3rd straight season. Fleury finished 35-18-7, with a 2.67 GAA and a .912 sv%. He has lost only 3 games since dating back to February and generally looks like he's ready to recapture the form that helped him be a Conn Smythe Trophy candidate as playoff MVP last year during Pittsburgh's run to the Stanley Cup Finals. If Fleury maintains his play, and watches his rebound control (where he is most likely to slip), the Penguins will have a clear advantage in net in this series.
ADVANTAGE: Penguins
COACHING
This playoff round will be Bylsma's baptism in the playoffs, and even though he has been a resounding success so far, only time will tell how he handles the pressure of the post-season. He has been a good X & O's coach, and a good motivator. In the playoffs, though, the decision-making intensifies. A big thing to watch will be how he matches his lines and defensive pairings, since winning just a single one-on-one matchup can make the difference. Bylsma has to strike a balance between doing what has gotten him this far and adjusting enough to give his team an edge at the right time.
Flyers' coach John Stevens isn't a bad coach, and he clearly has the experience edge in this series, so look for him to try and use that to his advantage. His biggest challenge will be keeping the Flyers focused. His players can be mistake-prone at times, and he's had trouble getting his team to avoid making errors unnecessarily. Also, what will he do if Biron falters early in this series? Will he feel the pressure and go to backup Nittymaki?
ADVANTAGE: Flyers
INTANGIBLES
As I mentioned, the Penguins had never beaten the Flyers in a playoff series until last season, so this year will determine whether there's a new trend, or whether last year was merely an aberration. The big intangible factor in this series -- one common in a series pitting teams very evenly matched overall -- could very well be the home-ice advantage. While both teams have shown they are capable of winning in the other team's building, and while the Penguins have been slightly better than .500 in Philadelphia in the Crosby era, history tells us that, for the most part, the home team in this series has a general advantage. Edge goes to the Penguins there. The Penguins' won 4 of the 6 games against Philadelphia this year, and considering last year's 5-game playoff beating, and the fact that the Penguins' swept the Flyers by winning all 8 games against them in the regular season 2 years ago, the Penguins certainly won't have a lack of confidence against their cross-state rivals.
ADVANTAGE: Penguins
PLAYERS TO WATCH
PHILADELPHIA:
1) Mike Richards, C: Richards is an outstanding player, and one of the best two-way players in the game today. There's a reason why he's the Flyers Captain and why many liken him to former Philadelphia Captain Bobby Clarke. He can score, play defense and is not afraid to be physical. He likely will be matched up against Sidney Crosby a lot in this series and that will probably be one of the best things to watch in the matchup of these clubs.
2) Daniel Briere, C: I mentioned above that Briere isn't getting a lot of attention. Well, I hope the Penguins pay attention to him because if they don't, he'll hurt them. Briere, who will likely play RW on a 3rd line centered by Giroux, will probably be more dangerous on the power play than he will at even strength, but he's talented enough to tip the balance in this series between the fairly evenly matched forward units of the 2 teams.
3) Martin Biron, G: Here's the tough part for Martin Biron in this series: If he plays poorly, the Flyers surely lose. If he plays well, the Flyers only have a chance of winning. The same can't be said of his counterpart in the Pittsburgh crease, Marc-Andre Fleury. Sure, if Fleury plays poorly, the Penguins probably lose this series. But if he doesn't, the Penguins can still win. Why? Because of Biron at the other end.
PITTSBURGH:
1) Chris Kunitz, LW: This will be Kunitz's first taste of the bitter Penguins'/Flyers rivalry, but there's little question that he has the jam -- and skill -- in his game to be an impact player in a series like this. During last season's playoff run, Crosby had Hossa finishing his passes. Even though Kunitz is no Hossa, that doesn't mean the Penguins can't win, and how Kunitz does in that role this year will go a long way towards determining if the Penguins advance past Phliladelphia.
2) Jordan Staal, C: In his first 2 playoff seasons, Staal has shown the ability to ratchet up his game. Moreover, he's been playing some of the best hockey of his career under Bylsma, and on a team deep up front like Philadelphia, the Penguins need him to be an impact player. If he plays up to par, he can take advantage of Giroux on the Flyers third line. He has the edge there offensively and physically. He'll also need to be good on the penalty kill for the Penguins to snuff out the Flyers' dangerous man-advantage.
3) Kris Letang, D: I think Letang matches up real well against the Flyers. The physical nature of the rivalry between these two teams will force him to be on his toes defensively, but Philadelphia is no defensive juggernaut, and Letang should get his offensive chances by pinching in the zone. If he buries those opportunites, Biron might be seeing him in his sleep.
HOW THE FLYERS CAN WIN
If the Flyers get really strong goaltending, don't take too many bad penalties, and produce on the power play, they'll stand a decent chance of avenging last year's embarrasment in the Conference Finals.
HOW THE PENGUINS CAN WIN
If the Penguins are able to successfully pressure the Flyers into turnovers and capitalize on those chances, and stay strong on the penalty kill, they'll send the Flyers back to Philadelphia losers for a second straight post-season.
PREDICTION
Last year, I said goaltending would be the difference in the Eastern Conference Finals. While there were other factors which conspired to the Flyers' demise last season in that series -- injuries being key among them -- the fact is that Biron didn't hold up. The Flyers are healthier now, but their goaltender still wears number 43. That will be the difference in this series.
Penguins in 6.
Teams that meet in the Stanley Cup Playoffs always talk about developing a healthy dislike for the other opponent.
How, after a few games against the same squad, emotion tends to build up.
How, after battling the same players for the same square inch of ice day after day, hostilities tend to emerge.
If all that is true -- and it undoubtedly is -- how is a series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers likely to go??
These two teams, former longtime Patrick Division rivals, haven't liked each other since their inception into the league in the 1967-68 season, and the list of memorable moments these two teams have shared when matching up against one another goes back decades.
There was the game in the 1988-89 playoffs where former Penguin player and current Penguin owner Mario Lemieux scored five goals and 8 points. That was the series Ron Hextall chased Rob Brown around the then-Civic Arena ice, before ultimately giving way to Ken Wregget's defeat of the Penguins in game 7.
There were the games in the 1990's when Lemieux played a game in Philadelphia the same day he received a final cancer treatment. That was probably the first and only time an opposing player ever recieved or will receive a standing ovation from fans of a city who have booed Sanata Claus and who consistently are known as the most obnoxious and disrespectful in sports.
Of course, who can forget the seismic and thundering check that former Penguin defenseman Darius Kasparaitis put on former Flyer center and big man Eric Lindros in, I believe, the 1997-98 season? I know I can't -- I was at that game. I don't know that I've heard a more raucous response to an opponent being injured. That hit started the end of Lindros' career in the league.
More recently, Penguins' Captain Sidney Crosby has gotten most of the attention. Nobody will forget the game he played in Philadelphia a few years ago when he was high-sticked by Flyers' rearguard Darian Hatcher, lost 2 teeth, then game back to score the game-winning goal on a breakaway.
Then last year, the Penguins defeated the Flyers for the first time in post-season history, dominating them in 5 games on the way to the Stanley Cup final.
Of course, those are just a few memories.
More, obviously, will be made in this series.
So without further delay, let's break the series down and see how the teams match up. After the position breakdowns, read further for my 3 players-to-watch from each team, how each team can win the series, and prediction.
FORWARDS
Both the Penguins and Flyers finished tied for 4th in the league in goals scored, which suggests this series could have more offensive fireworks than a 4th of July celebration at the Point.
The Penguins boast six 20-goal scorers, and have 11 forwards who have reached double figures in goals, led by NHL scoring leader Evgeni Malkin's 35 goals and Crosby's 33 tallies. LW Chris Kunitz, RW Petr Sykora, C Jordan Staal and RW Bill Guerin all provide solid complementary scoring to those 2, although Sykora has slumped somewhat towards the end of the season. The Penguins' lead support players are LW Ruslan Fedotenko, LW Matt Cooke, C Max Talbot and LW Pascal Dupuis. Fedotenko, a notable playoff performer, has been hot lately with 10 points in his last 7 games. And don't forget Tyler Kennedy. He fills out a well-rounded Penguins' 3rd line with Staal and Cooke that is fast, physical and can score.
The Penguins' play a new, up-tempo. aggressive skating system under interim coach Dan Bylsma. That system puts pressure on the opposition in their defensive zone with the goal of committing turnovers and then capitalizing on those chances. The Penguins pressure on the forecheck with their forwards and both pinch in and step up with their defenseman to do this. It obviously works well for the Penguins. They have the speed up front to use this system to their advantage and the Penguins' near 4-goal-per-game-average clip down the stretch of the season proves they can be extremely dangerous offensively. And it never hurts to have 2 of the 3 best players in the league as gamebreakers, either.
Meanwhile, the Flyers boast a fine stable of guns up-front as well. They are led by C Jeff Carter, who finished 2nd in the league in goals with 47. LW Simon Gagne -- who missed last year's playoff series against Pittsburgh due to post-concussion symptoms -- returned this year to the tune of 34 goals. C Mike Richards and LW Scott Hartnell chipped in with 30 and RW's Mike Knuble and Joffrey Lupul were not far behind with 27 and 25, respectively. In short, this team's top end up front is loaded.
The Flyers' depth drops off a little bit after those guys, but they still have dangerous 3rd line players in C and rookie Claude Giroux, who has 27 points in 42 games with the big club and, of course, Daniel Briere, who has battled injuries all year, but has been getting in gear for the playoffs recently. Remember, the Flyers pay Briere 8 million dollars per year and they don't do that for nothing. He's nearly a point-per-game player.
ADVANTAGE: Even
DEFENSEMEN
Just as the Penguins and Flyers have scored the same number of goals this year, they let up nearly the same number, with the Penguins surrendering 238, while the Flyers surrendered 239. The difference is that the Penguins' numbers defensively have improved recently under Bylsma, while the Flyers have shown a penchant for turning the puck over and giving up an inordinate number of goals against at various times all season long.
The Penguins' top pairing of Sergei Gonchar and Brooks Orpik is one of the better two-way tandems in the game, while Hal Gill and Rob Scuderi form a relatively solid defensive pairing. Scuderi, in particular, is one of the better defensive defenseman in the game, and he is able to cover up for Gill when Gill is overmatched by quicker forwards -- something the Penguins will have to watch out for in this series. Mark Eaton and Kris Letang are fairly well-rounded on the third pair. Letang, in particular, could be the wild card. With 10 goals this year, it's no secret that Letang has high-end skill. However, his ability defensively is often understated. While he still has the occasional lapse, he can be fairly effective -- and physical, for a generally undersized player -- in his own zone. The Penguins also have Phillipe Boucher as their #7 defenseman, and he is a veteran who is capable of stepping into the lineup and playing well at any time. He recently returned from foot surgery and has looked relatively good, all things considered, including in his own zone where he's blocked a lot of shots.
The Flyers will obviously benefit from having 2 defenseman in their playoff lineup this year that were missing for most of last season's Conference Final matchup against Pittsburgh -- Kimmo Timonen and Brandon Coburn. Timonen developed a blood clot in his leg right before last year's series was to begin, and then Coburn was hit with a puck early in the series and, after missing a few games, was not the same thereafter. These two played together last year, but it doesn't look like that's the case this season. Philadelphia likes to put Timonen with Ryan Parent, and pair Coburn with Matt Carle. Parent is a decent young defenseman, but he has been battling a bit of a groin problem recently and this could limit the strength in his game -- mobility. Carle is a guy with some offensive talent. Andrew Alberts and Randy Jones round out the top 6. Jones is capable, and Alberts is, too -- capable of being beaten down low around the net. And that's probably the area where the Flyers are weakest on the backend. They are not overly physical, and with the forwards the Penguins have, Philadelphia can be exploited here.
ADVANTAGE: Penguins
POWER PLAY
The Flyers have one of the better power plays in the game, thanks to their well-rounded group of top-end talent. They finished 6th on the man-advantage at 22.5% this year for a reason. They control the puck well, have people who can finish, and Knuble always gives other teams (especially the Penguins) fits in front of the net. Carter is the guy you really need to watch on the man-advantage for Philadelphia, although Timonen does a great job carrying the puck up the ice and orchestrating things from the point.
The Penguins' have similar talent up front, and may be starting to hit their groove on the man-advantage. They struggled in this area a lot of the season, although that undoubtedly had to do with the fact that they missed power-play quarterback Sergei Gonchar most of the season while he was recovering from a shoulder inury. Since he has returned, however, and since Bylsma took over, the Penguins are clicking at near 20%. Since the Flyers are the most penalized team in the league, they need to be careful about sending out the Penguins' man advantage. And again, giving 2 of the world's best players additional ice is always particularly dangerous.
ADVANTAGE: Flyers
PENALTY KILLING
Under Bylsma, the Penguins have killed penalties off at a near 88% rate, which would be just about at the top of the league over the course of a whole season. They finished 9th overall on the PK. The Penguins have great role players at forward (Talbot, Dupuis) and on defense (Scuderi, Gill) to kill off man-advantage chances. 20-year old forward Staal is also a force on the kill for Pittsburgh.
The Flyers also get good marks on their penalty kill. They finished 8th overall and are particularly dangerous shorthanded. Richards led the league with 7 shorties this year, while Gagne and Carter each had 4. The Penguins' point men need to be particularly careful out there because shorthanded goals are big momentum changers -- especially in the post-season.
ADVANTAGE: Even
GOALTENDING
The Flyers have had goaltending questions for about 2 decades now, ever since Hextall was patrolling the Philadelphia crease. That's because they can't get consistently good netminding when they need it, and the play they got from their starter, Martin Biron, this year has been more of the same. Biron finished 29-19-5 with a 2.76 GAA and a .915 SV% this season. He can play well for stretches, before lapsing into a bad outing or two. He's susceptible up high and doesn't handle traffic well. Most observers would say Biron is where the Flyers are weakest, and I wouldn't disagree. He will need to play extremely well in this series for Philadelphia to win.
Meanwhile, Penguins' goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury has been one of the best goaltenders in the league down the stretch for the 3rd straight season. Fleury finished 35-18-7, with a 2.67 GAA and a .912 sv%. He has lost only 3 games since dating back to February and generally looks like he's ready to recapture the form that helped him be a Conn Smythe Trophy candidate as playoff MVP last year during Pittsburgh's run to the Stanley Cup Finals. If Fleury maintains his play, and watches his rebound control (where he is most likely to slip), the Penguins will have a clear advantage in net in this series.
ADVANTAGE: Penguins
COACHING
This playoff round will be Bylsma's baptism in the playoffs, and even though he has been a resounding success so far, only time will tell how he handles the pressure of the post-season. He has been a good X & O's coach, and a good motivator. In the playoffs, though, the decision-making intensifies. A big thing to watch will be how he matches his lines and defensive pairings, since winning just a single one-on-one matchup can make the difference. Bylsma has to strike a balance between doing what has gotten him this far and adjusting enough to give his team an edge at the right time.
Flyers' coach John Stevens isn't a bad coach, and he clearly has the experience edge in this series, so look for him to try and use that to his advantage. His biggest challenge will be keeping the Flyers focused. His players can be mistake-prone at times, and he's had trouble getting his team to avoid making errors unnecessarily. Also, what will he do if Biron falters early in this series? Will he feel the pressure and go to backup Nittymaki?
ADVANTAGE: Flyers
INTANGIBLES
As I mentioned, the Penguins had never beaten the Flyers in a playoff series until last season, so this year will determine whether there's a new trend, or whether last year was merely an aberration. The big intangible factor in this series -- one common in a series pitting teams very evenly matched overall -- could very well be the home-ice advantage. While both teams have shown they are capable of winning in the other team's building, and while the Penguins have been slightly better than .500 in Philadelphia in the Crosby era, history tells us that, for the most part, the home team in this series has a general advantage. Edge goes to the Penguins there. The Penguins' won 4 of the 6 games against Philadelphia this year, and considering last year's 5-game playoff beating, and the fact that the Penguins' swept the Flyers by winning all 8 games against them in the regular season 2 years ago, the Penguins certainly won't have a lack of confidence against their cross-state rivals.
ADVANTAGE: Penguins
PLAYERS TO WATCH
PHILADELPHIA:
1) Mike Richards, C: Richards is an outstanding player, and one of the best two-way players in the game today. There's a reason why he's the Flyers Captain and why many liken him to former Philadelphia Captain Bobby Clarke. He can score, play defense and is not afraid to be physical. He likely will be matched up against Sidney Crosby a lot in this series and that will probably be one of the best things to watch in the matchup of these clubs.
2) Daniel Briere, C: I mentioned above that Briere isn't getting a lot of attention. Well, I hope the Penguins pay attention to him because if they don't, he'll hurt them. Briere, who will likely play RW on a 3rd line centered by Giroux, will probably be more dangerous on the power play than he will at even strength, but he's talented enough to tip the balance in this series between the fairly evenly matched forward units of the 2 teams.
3) Martin Biron, G: Here's the tough part for Martin Biron in this series: If he plays poorly, the Flyers surely lose. If he plays well, the Flyers only have a chance of winning. The same can't be said of his counterpart in the Pittsburgh crease, Marc-Andre Fleury. Sure, if Fleury plays poorly, the Penguins probably lose this series. But if he doesn't, the Penguins can still win. Why? Because of Biron at the other end.
PITTSBURGH:
1) Chris Kunitz, LW: This will be Kunitz's first taste of the bitter Penguins'/Flyers rivalry, but there's little question that he has the jam -- and skill -- in his game to be an impact player in a series like this. During last season's playoff run, Crosby had Hossa finishing his passes. Even though Kunitz is no Hossa, that doesn't mean the Penguins can't win, and how Kunitz does in that role this year will go a long way towards determining if the Penguins advance past Phliladelphia.
2) Jordan Staal, C: In his first 2 playoff seasons, Staal has shown the ability to ratchet up his game. Moreover, he's been playing some of the best hockey of his career under Bylsma, and on a team deep up front like Philadelphia, the Penguins need him to be an impact player. If he plays up to par, he can take advantage of Giroux on the Flyers third line. He has the edge there offensively and physically. He'll also need to be good on the penalty kill for the Penguins to snuff out the Flyers' dangerous man-advantage.
3) Kris Letang, D: I think Letang matches up real well against the Flyers. The physical nature of the rivalry between these two teams will force him to be on his toes defensively, but Philadelphia is no defensive juggernaut, and Letang should get his offensive chances by pinching in the zone. If he buries those opportunites, Biron might be seeing him in his sleep.
HOW THE FLYERS CAN WIN
If the Flyers get really strong goaltending, don't take too many bad penalties, and produce on the power play, they'll stand a decent chance of avenging last year's embarrasment in the Conference Finals.
HOW THE PENGUINS CAN WIN
If the Penguins are able to successfully pressure the Flyers into turnovers and capitalize on those chances, and stay strong on the penalty kill, they'll send the Flyers back to Philadelphia losers for a second straight post-season.
PREDICTION
Last year, I said goaltending would be the difference in the Eastern Conference Finals. While there were other factors which conspired to the Flyers' demise last season in that series -- injuries being key among them -- the fact is that Biron didn't hold up. The Flyers are healthier now, but their goaltender still wears number 43. That will be the difference in this series.
Penguins in 6.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Penguins Beat Habs, 3-1; Draw Matchup With Flyers -- And Home Ice -- In First Round
The rise from the depths is now complete.
From 10th place in the Eastern Conference to 4th place and home-ice advantage in the first round.
From playoff outsiders to the team nobody wants to face.
Pittsburgh Penguins -- say hello to the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Penguins completed the unlikely over the weekend. With their 3-1 win on Saturday night over the Montreal Canadiens, and the New York Rangers' come-from-behind 4-3 road victory over the Philadelphia Flyers yesterday, the Penguins sewed up 4th place in the Eastern Conference playoff field and a first round matchup against those hated Flyers beginning Wednesday, April 15 at Mellon Arena.
The Penguins dominated most of the contest on Saturday night against Montreal, running up a 34-10 shot advantage at one point, and then taking over the game in the 3rd period.
Evgeni Malkin scored in the first period to give the Penguins a 1-1 lead, but Canadiens' defenseman Roman Hamrlik scored on a point shot that deflected off defenseman Hal Gill and past Pittsburgh netminder Marc-Andre Fleury to tie the score.
It stayed that way into the third thanks to Montreal goalie Cary Price literally standing on his head.
Price made several great stops in the first 2 frames, none better than a glove save on Penguins' LW Matt Cooke, who was unable to finish a 2-on-1. Price stopped Penguins' RW Bill Guerin on a similar play just a few minutes later.
The Penguins also missed several other great scoring chances in the game --- one by Sergei Gonchar when he basically missed an open net on a slapshot that went wide on a power play, and another when Pascal Dupuis and Max Talbot were not able to convert a near 2-on-0 while killing a penalty early in the 3rd period.
When Montreal again went on the power play later in the final frame thanks to a lame, phantom "cross checking" penalty on Penguins' defenseman Brooks Orpik (he actually just gave former Penguin George Laraque a little shove, who went into the boards headfirst and bought the call when he looked up at the official), it looked like Price might have put his team in a position to steal a game they had no business being in.
But Talbot and Dupuis -- again out killing the penalty -- got another near 2-on-0 opportunity and this time made no mistake, with Dupuis setting up Talbot to finish the play to give the Penguins a 2-1 lead.
Then, while killing the same penalty, Kris Letang drilled a bullet past Price on the short side from the far boards after crusing into the zone with no help and just deciding to unleash on the net.
That goal gave the Penguins a 3-1 lead and completely deflated the Bell Center.
Fleury closed the door the rest of the way to finish with 29 saves on 30 shots, and the Penguins finished the year 45-28-9, for 99 points -- only 3 less than last season when they finished with 102.
By the way, 102 points this season would have gotten them the same spot in the East they are currently in -- 4th.
Malkin, with his goal (and Ovechkin only adding 2 points to his total in the Capitals' 7-4 loss to the Florida Panthers Saturday night), wrapped up his first Art Ross trophy as the NHL's leading scorer.
Malkin finished with 113 points; Ovechkin had 110.
The Art Ross Trophy is the Penguins' 13th in the last 21 seasons -- just a remarkable figure. No other team since the Penguins came into the league in 1967-68 has had more Art Ross trophies than the Penguins and nobody has had as many different players win it (Lemieux -- 6 times; Jagr -- 5 times; Crosby -- 1 time; Malkin -- 1 time).
Under "interim" head coach Dan Bylsma, the Penguins finished 18-3-4 in the their final 27 games. They finished 20 in the league on the power play and had a near 20% success rate under his tenure. They finished 8th in the league on the penalty kill, at a near 88% kill rate since he arrived.
Only 3 teams in the league scored more goals than the Penguins this year -- the Boston Bruins, the San Jose Sharks and the Washington Capitals. The Penguins tied for 4th with the Flyers and the Chicago Blackhawks.
Other notable statistical achievements for the Penguins' this season include having six 20-goal scorers and 12 players reach double-digits in goal scoring. With the exception of defenseman Kris Letang -- who was the only rearguard to do it -- that's just about every one of the Penguins' forwards reaching at least 10 goals. Not many teams have depth like that.
The Penguins also had the top 2 assist men in the league this year -- Malkin and Crosby, with 78 and 70 helpers respectively.
Pittsburgh also had the numbers 2, 5 and 16 hitters in the game this season. Orpik finished 2nd with 309. Matt Cooke was 5th with 262. LW Chris Kunitz was 16th with 207.
The Penguins first round matchup with the Flyers will begin on Wednesday night at 7 PM at Mellon Arena, and go every other day, without exception, for as long as the series lasts. Game 3 is a nationally televised game Sunday at 3 PM, while game 6, if necessary, will also be televised on Saturday, April 25 at 3 PM.
The series will follow the traditional 2-2-1-1-1 format, with games 1, 2 and, if necessary, 5 and 7 being at Mellon, while games 3, 4 and, if necessary, 6 being at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia.
I'll post a more detailed round 1 preview here tomorrow, but for now I'll say that home ice for the Penguins cannot be understated in round one, as the Penguins and Flyers will probably engage in a much more competitive series this year than the 5-game victory Pittsburgh had over their hated rivals in the Eastern Conference Finals last season. First round series' are almost always among the most physically intense and this one should be no exception. It's bad enough that these 2 teams hate each other so much. A first round matchup between them should be that much more physical.
It's going to be a heck of a series.
Let's Go Pens!
Friday, April 10, 2009
Penguins Finish Home Slate, Maroon Islanders, 6-1
With the Pittsburgh Penguins having already clinched a playoff berth, they entered last night's "Shirts-Off-Our-Backs" home finale against the New York Islanders already looking ahead to the post-season and wanting to make sure they fine-tune their game.
The New York Islanders, obviously, just want their season to be over.
After being embarrassed by the Carolina Hurricanes to the tune of 9-0 on Tuesday night, the Islanders followed that up last night by getting marooned by the Penguins, 6-1, at Mellon Arena.
While Islander forward Frans Nielsen scored a power play goal to give New York a 1-0 lead about 5 minutes into the game, it was all Pittsburgh after that.
The Penguins tied the game later in the first when defenseman Philippe Boucher -- playing his first game after coming off IR about 10 days ago following foot surgery -- picked up a loose puck in the slot and roofed it top corner over Islanders' netminder Joey McDonald.
Pascal Dupuis and Matt Cooke added tallies in the 2nd for the Penguins and, on each one, McDonald looked lost.
In the final frame, Bill Guerin rapped a quick one-timer past McDonald from about 5 feet after Sidney Crosby stole the puck from an Islanders' defenseman on the far boards, walked into the corner and found him alone in front of the New York goaltender.
At that point the game was over, but Crosby and Tyler Kennedy added some icing for the Penguins later in the 3rd to put the Islanders out of their misery.
Evgeni Malkin tallied 2 assists on the evening. With Alexander Ovechkin coming up empty in Washington's 4-2 win over Tampa Bay, Malkin now has a 4 point lead on Ovechkin going into each team's season finale on Saturday. The Capitals visit Florida in their last contest.
Mathieu Garon started for the Penguins in place of Marc-Andre Fleury last night and finished with 28 saves. I guess he was solid enough, but I thought there were too many plays out there where Garon didn't know where the puck was. Watching him play makes me a little uneasy -- not unlike watching former Penguin goaltender Dany Sabourin at times. Sure, Garon hasn't played a lot. But I won't lie -- it'd be nice to see him be a little stronger in there. At least in my opinion.
Penguin fans definitely have to hope Fleury stays healthy in the post-season.
After the game, the Penguins put on a nice show for their fans in the team's 107th consecutive sellout, and 2nd straight complete sellout of all their regular season games. In addition to giving selected fans their game-worn jerseys, they tossed t-shirts and sticks into the crowd. They also autographed a lot of other items for fans.
The Penguin players also revealed they all were wearing t-shirts under their jerseys to honor the 3 Pittsburgh police officers that were killed in the line of duty on Saturday morning, completing a solemn April 9 in the city after a day-long ceremony honoring and putting those brave officers to rest.
Although it looked going into last night that the Penguins' were settling into 6th place in the East, they got some help last night.
The red-hot Carolina Hurricanes were smoked, at home, 5-1 by the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres were fighting to keep their playoff hopes alive in that one, but that effort came up empty when the New York Rangers also gave the Penguins some additional help by beating the Philadelphia Flyers, 2-1, in regulation.
With the losses by the Hurricanes and Flyers, those 2 teams and the Penguins are now tied with 97 points. Carolina finishes the season Saturday afternoon in New Jersey, while the Flyers still have 2 games to go -- Saturday in Long Island and Sunday at home against the Rangers.
Carolina owns the victories tiebreaker over the Penguins, so if the Penguins are to have any hope of finishing above them, they need to get more points out of their game on the road against the Montreal Canadiens Saturday night than the Hurricanes will have gotten against the Devils that afternoon. If Carolina wins, the Penguins will know going into their game against the Habs that they can finish no higher than 5th.
The Penguins have tiebreakers over the Flyers, so if the Penguins' defeat Montreal, the Flyers will need 3 points out of 4 in their last 2 contests to finish higher than Pittsburgh in the standings. The Flyers' game on Saturday against the Islanders is also in the afternoon so we'll all have a better feel for things by the time the Penguins face-off that night.
I still think odds are better than not that the Penguins finish in 6th. It's hard to think the Flyers won't beat the Islanders, but what happens in their game Sunday against the Rangers and whether Carolina is able to beat New Jersey on the road Saturday afternoon remains to be seen.
It's still possible that the Penguins and Hurricanes may finish 4/5 in the standings and, really, that's something the Penguins' should probably look to avoid. It's not easy playing the hot team in the opening round of the playoffs and no team is on more of a roll going into the post-season than Carolina.
The ideal scenarios for Pittsburgh are to slot 6th or, if not that, hope for a 4/5 matchup against the Flyers.
There are no relevant games tonight so everything is going to come down to this weekend.
More then. Plus, my round 1 playoff preview is coming next week. All we need to do is see who the Penguins draw.
Let's Go Pens.
The New York Islanders, obviously, just want their season to be over.
After being embarrassed by the Carolina Hurricanes to the tune of 9-0 on Tuesday night, the Islanders followed that up last night by getting marooned by the Penguins, 6-1, at Mellon Arena.
While Islander forward Frans Nielsen scored a power play goal to give New York a 1-0 lead about 5 minutes into the game, it was all Pittsburgh after that.
The Penguins tied the game later in the first when defenseman Philippe Boucher -- playing his first game after coming off IR about 10 days ago following foot surgery -- picked up a loose puck in the slot and roofed it top corner over Islanders' netminder Joey McDonald.
Pascal Dupuis and Matt Cooke added tallies in the 2nd for the Penguins and, on each one, McDonald looked lost.
In the final frame, Bill Guerin rapped a quick one-timer past McDonald from about 5 feet after Sidney Crosby stole the puck from an Islanders' defenseman on the far boards, walked into the corner and found him alone in front of the New York goaltender.
At that point the game was over, but Crosby and Tyler Kennedy added some icing for the Penguins later in the 3rd to put the Islanders out of their misery.
Evgeni Malkin tallied 2 assists on the evening. With Alexander Ovechkin coming up empty in Washington's 4-2 win over Tampa Bay, Malkin now has a 4 point lead on Ovechkin going into each team's season finale on Saturday. The Capitals visit Florida in their last contest.
Mathieu Garon started for the Penguins in place of Marc-Andre Fleury last night and finished with 28 saves. I guess he was solid enough, but I thought there were too many plays out there where Garon didn't know where the puck was. Watching him play makes me a little uneasy -- not unlike watching former Penguin goaltender Dany Sabourin at times. Sure, Garon hasn't played a lot. But I won't lie -- it'd be nice to see him be a little stronger in there. At least in my opinion.
Penguin fans definitely have to hope Fleury stays healthy in the post-season.
After the game, the Penguins put on a nice show for their fans in the team's 107th consecutive sellout, and 2nd straight complete sellout of all their regular season games. In addition to giving selected fans their game-worn jerseys, they tossed t-shirts and sticks into the crowd. They also autographed a lot of other items for fans.
The Penguin players also revealed they all were wearing t-shirts under their jerseys to honor the 3 Pittsburgh police officers that were killed in the line of duty on Saturday morning, completing a solemn April 9 in the city after a day-long ceremony honoring and putting those brave officers to rest.
Although it looked going into last night that the Penguins' were settling into 6th place in the East, they got some help last night.
The red-hot Carolina Hurricanes were smoked, at home, 5-1 by the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres were fighting to keep their playoff hopes alive in that one, but that effort came up empty when the New York Rangers also gave the Penguins some additional help by beating the Philadelphia Flyers, 2-1, in regulation.
With the losses by the Hurricanes and Flyers, those 2 teams and the Penguins are now tied with 97 points. Carolina finishes the season Saturday afternoon in New Jersey, while the Flyers still have 2 games to go -- Saturday in Long Island and Sunday at home against the Rangers.
Carolina owns the victories tiebreaker over the Penguins, so if the Penguins are to have any hope of finishing above them, they need to get more points out of their game on the road against the Montreal Canadiens Saturday night than the Hurricanes will have gotten against the Devils that afternoon. If Carolina wins, the Penguins will know going into their game against the Habs that they can finish no higher than 5th.
The Penguins have tiebreakers over the Flyers, so if the Penguins' defeat Montreal, the Flyers will need 3 points out of 4 in their last 2 contests to finish higher than Pittsburgh in the standings. The Flyers' game on Saturday against the Islanders is also in the afternoon so we'll all have a better feel for things by the time the Penguins face-off that night.
I still think odds are better than not that the Penguins finish in 6th. It's hard to think the Flyers won't beat the Islanders, but what happens in their game Sunday against the Rangers and whether Carolina is able to beat New Jersey on the road Saturday afternoon remains to be seen.
It's still possible that the Penguins and Hurricanes may finish 4/5 in the standings and, really, that's something the Penguins' should probably look to avoid. It's not easy playing the hot team in the opening round of the playoffs and no team is on more of a roll going into the post-season than Carolina.
The ideal scenarios for Pittsburgh are to slot 6th or, if not that, hope for a 4/5 matchup against the Flyers.
There are no relevant games tonight so everything is going to come down to this weekend.
More then. Plus, my round 1 playoff preview is coming next week. All we need to do is see who the Penguins draw.
Let's Go Pens.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Penguins Thunder Into 2009 Playoffs With 6-4 Win Over Lightning
In late December, January and early February, the focus for the Penguins wasn't getting into the 2009 playoffs.
It wasn't on getting a chance to play in the Stanley Cup Finals again.
It was, quite simply, on stopping the bleeding.
Restoring their equilibrium.
From mid-February on, when Penguins' GM Ray Shero fired former bench-boss Michel Therrein and replaced him with current interim head coach Dan Bylsma, the team hasn't looked back.
After last night's 6-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, the Penguins clinched that playoff spot in the 2009 Stanley Cup field.
They will, indeed, look to defend their Eastern Conference crown.
And, if their body of work over the last near-2 months is any indication, the Penguins can only be considered a favorite to do that.
With the win last night, the Penguins moved to 16-3-4 under Bylsma, and got back on track following the bump they encountered over the weekend in losing back-to-back games to the Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers.
The Penguins have clinched a spot no lower than 7th in the East, and can only move higher in the standings.
For the first 45 minutes or so against the Lightning last night, the only question surrouding the Penguins was how high their lead would go.
They staked a 4-0 lead up to that point before things got pretty interesting the rest of the way.
After a scoreless first period, Ruslan Fedotenko got the Penguins on the board by completing a nice passing play with his linemates. Tyler Kennedy did some nice work down low to keep the puck, spin around and find center Jordan Staal along the near boards close to the corner. 2 Lightning players quickly approached Staal and he wasted no time finding Fedotenko screaming down the slot. #26 took it in strike, made a quick move to the backhand, and even more quickly deposited the puck behind Lightning netminder Kari Ramo at the 5 minute mark of the second.
Then, after previously failing to capitalize on a 90 second 5-on-3 power play, the Penguins had a second crack at an extended 5-on-3 thanks to a few more stupid penalties by the woeful Lightning.
This time, the Penguins made them pay on the man-advantage.
Twice.
Sidney crosby got both goals, first burying a cross-ice pass from Evgeni Malkin to up the Penguins' lead to 2-0 on the 5-on-3, then taking a great feed in open space from LW Chris Kunitz and breaking in alone on Ramo before beating him stick side to up the lead to 3-0 on the 5-on-4.
When Matt Cooke scored early in the 3rd period after another great set-up by Staal, the Penguins took their foot off the gas, and that allowed Tampa Bay to get back in the game.
Jeff Halpern, Martin St. Louis and Paul Szczechura all scored in the next 5 minutes to bring the Lightning within 1. While St. Louis' goal was a nice finish off a perfectly executed 2-on-1 by him and Tampa rookie Steven Stamkos, the Lightning got a break on Szczechura's goal because one of the Lightning players clearly pushed Penguins' defenseman Hal Gill into goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury right before Szczechura scored, and Fleury had no chance.
There was no call on the play.
But what goes around comes around.
And quickly.
Petr Sykora scored just 2 minutes later for Pittsburgh to up their lead again, this time to 5-3, after Fedotenko sped down the left side on a near-breakaway, only to have Ramo stop the shot but leave a juicy rebound which Sykora -- trailing the play -- picked up and deposited into the empty cage easily while Fedotenko's stick was caught up with Ramo.
The Lighting argued the non-call but to no avail.
It was Sykora's 300th career goal and first in 8 games.
By the way -- how great was it to see him get off the snide? The Penguins need him going into the postseason.
After Jeff Halpern scored again with about 40 seconds left, Staal sealed it with an empty netter to send the Penguins into the playoffs officially.
After wins by the Carolina Hurricanes, Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Capitals last night, it's looking more and more like the Penguins' will play the New Jersey devils in round 1. There are, of course, 2 games left for every other relevant team in the Eastern race (except for Philadelphia, who has 3 games), so things aren't official, but that's where its leaning right now.
More after tomorrow night's shirt-off-their-backs home finale against the New York Islanders. Let's hope the Penguins can paste them to the tune of 9-0, just like the Hurricanes did last night.
NOTES
With 2 assists against the Lightning, Malkin now has 110 points on the season and remains 2 points ahead of Alexander Ovechkin -- who had a goal and an assist last night -- for the Art Ross Trophy.
Crosby scored his 30th and 31st goals last night, which also were his 100th and 101st points of the year, making he and Malkin the first Penguins to both get 100 points in the same season in 13 years. The last time it was done was in 1995-96 when Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr turned the trick.
The Penguins also now have had 30 100-point seasons in their franchise -- most in the history of the NHL.
Crosby's 100 point season is his 3rd in 4 years in the league. Last season, when he missed nearly 30 games because of his ankle injury was the only year he did not reach the century mark.
It wasn't on getting a chance to play in the Stanley Cup Finals again.
It was, quite simply, on stopping the bleeding.
Restoring their equilibrium.
From mid-February on, when Penguins' GM Ray Shero fired former bench-boss Michel Therrein and replaced him with current interim head coach Dan Bylsma, the team hasn't looked back.
After last night's 6-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, the Penguins clinched that playoff spot in the 2009 Stanley Cup field.
They will, indeed, look to defend their Eastern Conference crown.
And, if their body of work over the last near-2 months is any indication, the Penguins can only be considered a favorite to do that.
With the win last night, the Penguins moved to 16-3-4 under Bylsma, and got back on track following the bump they encountered over the weekend in losing back-to-back games to the Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers.
The Penguins have clinched a spot no lower than 7th in the East, and can only move higher in the standings.
For the first 45 minutes or so against the Lightning last night, the only question surrouding the Penguins was how high their lead would go.
They staked a 4-0 lead up to that point before things got pretty interesting the rest of the way.
After a scoreless first period, Ruslan Fedotenko got the Penguins on the board by completing a nice passing play with his linemates. Tyler Kennedy did some nice work down low to keep the puck, spin around and find center Jordan Staal along the near boards close to the corner. 2 Lightning players quickly approached Staal and he wasted no time finding Fedotenko screaming down the slot. #26 took it in strike, made a quick move to the backhand, and even more quickly deposited the puck behind Lightning netminder Kari Ramo at the 5 minute mark of the second.
Then, after previously failing to capitalize on a 90 second 5-on-3 power play, the Penguins had a second crack at an extended 5-on-3 thanks to a few more stupid penalties by the woeful Lightning.
This time, the Penguins made them pay on the man-advantage.
Twice.
Sidney crosby got both goals, first burying a cross-ice pass from Evgeni Malkin to up the Penguins' lead to 2-0 on the 5-on-3, then taking a great feed in open space from LW Chris Kunitz and breaking in alone on Ramo before beating him stick side to up the lead to 3-0 on the 5-on-4.
When Matt Cooke scored early in the 3rd period after another great set-up by Staal, the Penguins took their foot off the gas, and that allowed Tampa Bay to get back in the game.
Jeff Halpern, Martin St. Louis and Paul Szczechura all scored in the next 5 minutes to bring the Lightning within 1. While St. Louis' goal was a nice finish off a perfectly executed 2-on-1 by him and Tampa rookie Steven Stamkos, the Lightning got a break on Szczechura's goal because one of the Lightning players clearly pushed Penguins' defenseman Hal Gill into goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury right before Szczechura scored, and Fleury had no chance.
There was no call on the play.
But what goes around comes around.
And quickly.
Petr Sykora scored just 2 minutes later for Pittsburgh to up their lead again, this time to 5-3, after Fedotenko sped down the left side on a near-breakaway, only to have Ramo stop the shot but leave a juicy rebound which Sykora -- trailing the play -- picked up and deposited into the empty cage easily while Fedotenko's stick was caught up with Ramo.
The Lighting argued the non-call but to no avail.
It was Sykora's 300th career goal and first in 8 games.
By the way -- how great was it to see him get off the snide? The Penguins need him going into the postseason.
After Jeff Halpern scored again with about 40 seconds left, Staal sealed it with an empty netter to send the Penguins into the playoffs officially.
After wins by the Carolina Hurricanes, Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Capitals last night, it's looking more and more like the Penguins' will play the New Jersey devils in round 1. There are, of course, 2 games left for every other relevant team in the Eastern race (except for Philadelphia, who has 3 games), so things aren't official, but that's where its leaning right now.
More after tomorrow night's shirt-off-their-backs home finale against the New York Islanders. Let's hope the Penguins can paste them to the tune of 9-0, just like the Hurricanes did last night.
NOTES
With 2 assists against the Lightning, Malkin now has 110 points on the season and remains 2 points ahead of Alexander Ovechkin -- who had a goal and an assist last night -- for the Art Ross Trophy.
Crosby scored his 30th and 31st goals last night, which also were his 100th and 101st points of the year, making he and Malkin the first Penguins to both get 100 points in the same season in 13 years. The last time it was done was in 1995-96 when Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr turned the trick.
The Penguins also now have had 30 100-point seasons in their franchise -- most in the history of the NHL.
Crosby's 100 point season is his 3rd in 4 years in the league. Last season, when he missed nearly 30 games because of his ankle injury was the only year he did not reach the century mark.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Penguins Burned By Panthers, 4-2
The Penguins had a chance to clinch a playoff spot to defend their Eastern Conference championship on the road against the Florida Panthers last night.
To squash any bad karma from their previous, emotional loss the night before in their showdown against the Carolina Hurricanes.
To keep the playoff race from getting too interesting for their taste during the final week of the season.
Instead, all they got for their efforts in a 4-2 loss to the Panthers was more suspense about how all three of those things will bear out.
With last night's defeat, the Penguins remain stuck in 6th place in the East. The 7th place Montreal Canadiens have one game in hand, and host the Ottawa Senators tonight with a chance to leapfrog the Penguins.
The New York Rangers hold onto the 8th spot, 4 points behind Pittsburgh and now tied with Florida but above them in the standings because they have one more victory.
The Penguins also are still 2 points behind the Philadelphia Flyers and Carolina Hurricanes for 4th and 5th place.
Yesterday's game started ominously for Pittsburgh when Rotislav Olesz managed to corral a puck in the high slot that Penguins' defenseman Hal Gill could not, slip behind him, and then beat Penguins' goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury -- starting again on back-to-back days -- high to the glove side to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead.
LW Pascal Dupuis tied the game for Pittsburgh later in the period, whacking a puck right off the stick of a Panthers' defenseman in the slot and past Florida goalie Thomas Vokoun to tie the score.
Unfortunately, the Panthers got a break when defenseman Bryan McCabe shot one from the point that caromed past Fleury 20 seconds before the intermission to give Florida a 2-1 lead.
Despite their deficit, the Penguins played well for most of the entire first period, outshooting Florida 19-7 in that frame and making Vokoun work for nearly every save.
The most notable sequence of the game also occurred late in the first period when Panthers' defenseman Keith Ballard flipped Evgeni Malkin with a borderline dangerous hip check on the near boards with about 2 minutes left in the frame.
Penguins' Captain Sidney Crosby, out on the ice with Malkin at the time, immediately came to Malkin's aid and dropped the gloves with Ballard.
The two exchanged a few brief punches, but mostly wrestled before Crosby took Ballard down.
In my opinion, the hit was borderline. Ballard did get a little low on Malkin with the hip -- catching him near the knees. You do see plays like that, though. Former Penguin defenseman Darius Kasparaitis was famous for them. Fortunately, Malkin was okay, and Ballard was not given a penalty for the hit.
In the 2nd period, the Penguins had deja vu. It was at the near the end of the frame when, already on a power play and then also another delayed penalty on Pittsburgh, the Panthers managed to get the puck to a wide-open David Booth to Fleury's left, who buried the puck into an empty cage to up Florida's lead to 3-1.
The Penguins were upset on the play beacuse they felt they had sufficient possession of the biscuit to get a whistle after defenseman Rob Scuderi blocked a shot. Unfortunately, though, play wasn't stopped and the Panthers managed to get the puck to Booth right after that.
The Penguins may have had a point, but that's a judgment call for the officials. 50% of the time there, play will probably stop, while the other 50% of the time, it's going to continue. Either way, you have to play until you hear the beep.
The Penguins didn't wilt in the 3rd period, however. Mark Eaton got a power play goal on the 2nd minor of a 4 minute penalty assessed to Radek Devorak for high-sticking defenseman Kris Letang. That made the game 3-2 with about 6 minutes to go.
Any momentum the Penguins got from that goal, however, evaporated when Panthers' LW Ville Peltonen scored about 2 minutes later, somehow coming out from behind the goal directly into the slot, and stuffing the puck by Fleury low on the ice far side.
That's one Fleury has to stop in that situation.
With that, the Penguins lost 2 games in a row for just the 2nd time under interim head coach Dan Bylsma. They don't want to make it 3 when they finish their road trip on Tuesday night in what is now just a huge game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Even though the Penguins still control their own destiny and can still clinch a playoff berth with a win in that game, they need to be sure they stop any minor bleeding from the last 2 losses as much as anything else. They don't want to go into the postseason on a down note.
NOTES:
With yesterday's loss, the Penguins will not be able to reach a 3rd straight 100 point season. They have 93 points with 3 games to go. The most points they can get is 99, if they win out.
Malkin went scoreless yesterday for the 2nd straight game. Meanwhile, with 2 points yesterday and now 15 in his last 7 games, Alexander Ovechkin is now only 2 points behind Malkin for the league-lead in points. Malkin has 108. Ovechkin has 106, and also holds the tie-breaker -- goals -- in the event the two finish with the same number of points when the season is over.
Bylsma reconfigured all of his lines almost all-game long yesterday, either in an effort to keep the Penguins sharp or get more scoring out of everyone, or both. That was the first time we've seen anything like that from Bylsma since he went behind the bench.
RW Petr Sykora went scoreless again yesterday for the 8th straight game.
To squash any bad karma from their previous, emotional loss the night before in their showdown against the Carolina Hurricanes.
To keep the playoff race from getting too interesting for their taste during the final week of the season.
Instead, all they got for their efforts in a 4-2 loss to the Panthers was more suspense about how all three of those things will bear out.
With last night's defeat, the Penguins remain stuck in 6th place in the East. The 7th place Montreal Canadiens have one game in hand, and host the Ottawa Senators tonight with a chance to leapfrog the Penguins.
The New York Rangers hold onto the 8th spot, 4 points behind Pittsburgh and now tied with Florida but above them in the standings because they have one more victory.
The Penguins also are still 2 points behind the Philadelphia Flyers and Carolina Hurricanes for 4th and 5th place.
Yesterday's game started ominously for Pittsburgh when Rotislav Olesz managed to corral a puck in the high slot that Penguins' defenseman Hal Gill could not, slip behind him, and then beat Penguins' goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury -- starting again on back-to-back days -- high to the glove side to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead.
LW Pascal Dupuis tied the game for Pittsburgh later in the period, whacking a puck right off the stick of a Panthers' defenseman in the slot and past Florida goalie Thomas Vokoun to tie the score.
Unfortunately, the Panthers got a break when defenseman Bryan McCabe shot one from the point that caromed past Fleury 20 seconds before the intermission to give Florida a 2-1 lead.
Despite their deficit, the Penguins played well for most of the entire first period, outshooting Florida 19-7 in that frame and making Vokoun work for nearly every save.
The most notable sequence of the game also occurred late in the first period when Panthers' defenseman Keith Ballard flipped Evgeni Malkin with a borderline dangerous hip check on the near boards with about 2 minutes left in the frame.
Penguins' Captain Sidney Crosby, out on the ice with Malkin at the time, immediately came to Malkin's aid and dropped the gloves with Ballard.
The two exchanged a few brief punches, but mostly wrestled before Crosby took Ballard down.
In my opinion, the hit was borderline. Ballard did get a little low on Malkin with the hip -- catching him near the knees. You do see plays like that, though. Former Penguin defenseman Darius Kasparaitis was famous for them. Fortunately, Malkin was okay, and Ballard was not given a penalty for the hit.
In the 2nd period, the Penguins had deja vu. It was at the near the end of the frame when, already on a power play and then also another delayed penalty on Pittsburgh, the Panthers managed to get the puck to a wide-open David Booth to Fleury's left, who buried the puck into an empty cage to up Florida's lead to 3-1.
The Penguins were upset on the play beacuse they felt they had sufficient possession of the biscuit to get a whistle after defenseman Rob Scuderi blocked a shot. Unfortunately, though, play wasn't stopped and the Panthers managed to get the puck to Booth right after that.
The Penguins may have had a point, but that's a judgment call for the officials. 50% of the time there, play will probably stop, while the other 50% of the time, it's going to continue. Either way, you have to play until you hear the beep.
The Penguins didn't wilt in the 3rd period, however. Mark Eaton got a power play goal on the 2nd minor of a 4 minute penalty assessed to Radek Devorak for high-sticking defenseman Kris Letang. That made the game 3-2 with about 6 minutes to go.
Any momentum the Penguins got from that goal, however, evaporated when Panthers' LW Ville Peltonen scored about 2 minutes later, somehow coming out from behind the goal directly into the slot, and stuffing the puck by Fleury low on the ice far side.
That's one Fleury has to stop in that situation.
With that, the Penguins lost 2 games in a row for just the 2nd time under interim head coach Dan Bylsma. They don't want to make it 3 when they finish their road trip on Tuesday night in what is now just a huge game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Even though the Penguins still control their own destiny and can still clinch a playoff berth with a win in that game, they need to be sure they stop any minor bleeding from the last 2 losses as much as anything else. They don't want to go into the postseason on a down note.
NOTES:
With yesterday's loss, the Penguins will not be able to reach a 3rd straight 100 point season. They have 93 points with 3 games to go. The most points they can get is 99, if they win out.
Malkin went scoreless yesterday for the 2nd straight game. Meanwhile, with 2 points yesterday and now 15 in his last 7 games, Alexander Ovechkin is now only 2 points behind Malkin for the league-lead in points. Malkin has 108. Ovechkin has 106, and also holds the tie-breaker -- goals -- in the event the two finish with the same number of points when the season is over.
Bylsma reconfigured all of his lines almost all-game long yesterday, either in an effort to keep the Penguins sharp or get more scoring out of everyone, or both. That was the first time we've seen anything like that from Bylsma since he went behind the bench.
RW Petr Sykora went scoreless again yesterday for the 8th straight game.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Hurricanes Squeak By Penguins in OT, 3-2
The Penguins deserved a better fate.
They rang up 35 shots against the Carolina Hurricanes and goaltender Cam Ward last night and carried the better of the play for a majority of the game, but were beaten in overtime when Carolina defenseman Anton Babchuk managed to catch Penguins' goalie Marc-Andre Fleury slightly off his angle and hammer a slapshot past him in overtime to give Carolina the extra point.
Up to about 2 minutes left in the 3rd period, when Penguins' RW Bill Guerin got called for a unfortunate rather than malicious tripping call, Pittsburgh had the game right there for the taking.
They staked an early 1-0 lead in the first period on a great individual effort from RW Tyler Kennedy, who stripped Carolina's best defensive forward, Rod Brind 'Amour, of the puck, walked out from the corner, and had the mojo to hold onto the puck for longer than most players would have in that situation, buying himself enough time to get Ward to drop to the ice before roofing a backhander by him.
Outstanding play by TK there. It was his 14th goal. He had one of his best games of the season overall for the Penguins last night.
A quick defensive lapse by the Penguins left Eric Staal alone in front to rap in the tying goal later in the first period, and Chad Larose scored a nice goal near side and high on Fleury when he beat him off the rush in the 2nd period.
The Penguins had a goal disallowed in the 2nd when Guerin beat Ward on a surprise wrist shot from the near boards, but right as that was happening, one of the officials was calling a tripping penalty on Chris Kunitz.
Tough call, but probably the right one.
However, the Penguins didn't wilt. In fact, even though they didn't get one there, they did what they do best in the 3rd period, and that's comeback. Jordan Staal ripped a slapshot by Ward about 4 minutes into the period to tie the score. The puck was definitely tipped -- perhaps by Ruslan Fedotenko -- but the play was all about Tyler Kennedy again.
Kennedy made a nice move along the boards to get by a Carolina defenseman who tried to pinch up on him, then curled and found a trailing Staal in his wheelhouse.
That tie score set the table for Guerin's penalty, then the overtime goal by Babchuck.
Babchuk's goal wasn't a power play marker. In fact, it came about 20-25 seconds after the penalty expired, but the Penguins were never able to get out of their defensive zone following the remaining 12 seconds on the man-advantage Carolina had in the extra period.
They also were the victim of the referree failing to stop play when the puck landed on the mesh behind Fleury and Penguins' defenseman Brooks Orpik slowed down for a second thinking that play would be stopped. It didn't, and Carolina was able to dig the puck out of the net and keep things alive.
The Penguins had their chances to really take over this game in regulation, but a combination of them failing to score and Ward's strong play kept Carolina in it.
Among other key moments were a Sidney Crosby breakaway for 120 feet that Ward stopped rather easily, and a penalty shot by Evgeni Malkin in the 3rd period that Ward also shut down rather effortlessly.
Personally, I would rather have taken a power play than have Malkin -- who is not good at penalty shots -- get his opportunity there.
Maybe that will be a rule change in coming years. There is some talk about that at the league level.
The current standings have the Penguins, with last night's point, in 6th place, 2 behind Carolina with a game in hand, and 2 behind the the Philadelphia Flyers (who also lost last night to the Ottawa Senators, but gained a point for falling in OT). The Montreal Canadiens are 1 point behind Pittsburgh in 7th, while the New York Rangers are 4 behind in 8th place.
The Penguins can clinch a playoff spot tonight by beating the Florida Panthers in regulation. Face off there is at 5 PM. The Penguins are currently 6 points up on Florida and the Panthers have 4 to play, including tonight's contest.
The Panthers won't be eliminated from the race altogether if they lose, but there's obviously more at stake for them in this one than there is for the Penguins.
That said, now isn't the time for the Penguins to get a little losing streak going, so it's important they come out strong tonight. Florida is not likely to be happy after losing to the Atlanta Thrashers, 3-1, on Friday night.
Recap tomorrow.
NOTES:
No word from Penguins' interim head coach Dan Bylmsa whether Fleury will start in goal this afternoon, or whether Matheiu Garon is going to play.
Petr Sykora went scoreless again last night. I believe that's 6 straight games for him now. He only has 4 points in his last 22 games. He may still be battling a shoulder problem, but is really struggling out there. The Penguins need his contributions if they are going to get in the playoffs and stay there. Personally, I'd put Sykora on the power play to try and get him started.
They rang up 35 shots against the Carolina Hurricanes and goaltender Cam Ward last night and carried the better of the play for a majority of the game, but were beaten in overtime when Carolina defenseman Anton Babchuk managed to catch Penguins' goalie Marc-Andre Fleury slightly off his angle and hammer a slapshot past him in overtime to give Carolina the extra point.
Up to about 2 minutes left in the 3rd period, when Penguins' RW Bill Guerin got called for a unfortunate rather than malicious tripping call, Pittsburgh had the game right there for the taking.
They staked an early 1-0 lead in the first period on a great individual effort from RW Tyler Kennedy, who stripped Carolina's best defensive forward, Rod Brind 'Amour, of the puck, walked out from the corner, and had the mojo to hold onto the puck for longer than most players would have in that situation, buying himself enough time to get Ward to drop to the ice before roofing a backhander by him.
Outstanding play by TK there. It was his 14th goal. He had one of his best games of the season overall for the Penguins last night.
A quick defensive lapse by the Penguins left Eric Staal alone in front to rap in the tying goal later in the first period, and Chad Larose scored a nice goal near side and high on Fleury when he beat him off the rush in the 2nd period.
The Penguins had a goal disallowed in the 2nd when Guerin beat Ward on a surprise wrist shot from the near boards, but right as that was happening, one of the officials was calling a tripping penalty on Chris Kunitz.
Tough call, but probably the right one.
However, the Penguins didn't wilt. In fact, even though they didn't get one there, they did what they do best in the 3rd period, and that's comeback. Jordan Staal ripped a slapshot by Ward about 4 minutes into the period to tie the score. The puck was definitely tipped -- perhaps by Ruslan Fedotenko -- but the play was all about Tyler Kennedy again.
Kennedy made a nice move along the boards to get by a Carolina defenseman who tried to pinch up on him, then curled and found a trailing Staal in his wheelhouse.
That tie score set the table for Guerin's penalty, then the overtime goal by Babchuck.
Babchuk's goal wasn't a power play marker. In fact, it came about 20-25 seconds after the penalty expired, but the Penguins were never able to get out of their defensive zone following the remaining 12 seconds on the man-advantage Carolina had in the extra period.
They also were the victim of the referree failing to stop play when the puck landed on the mesh behind Fleury and Penguins' defenseman Brooks Orpik slowed down for a second thinking that play would be stopped. It didn't, and Carolina was able to dig the puck out of the net and keep things alive.
The Penguins had their chances to really take over this game in regulation, but a combination of them failing to score and Ward's strong play kept Carolina in it.
Among other key moments were a Sidney Crosby breakaway for 120 feet that Ward stopped rather easily, and a penalty shot by Evgeni Malkin in the 3rd period that Ward also shut down rather effortlessly.
Personally, I would rather have taken a power play than have Malkin -- who is not good at penalty shots -- get his opportunity there.
Maybe that will be a rule change in coming years. There is some talk about that at the league level.
The current standings have the Penguins, with last night's point, in 6th place, 2 behind Carolina with a game in hand, and 2 behind the the Philadelphia Flyers (who also lost last night to the Ottawa Senators, but gained a point for falling in OT). The Montreal Canadiens are 1 point behind Pittsburgh in 7th, while the New York Rangers are 4 behind in 8th place.
The Penguins can clinch a playoff spot tonight by beating the Florida Panthers in regulation. Face off there is at 5 PM. The Penguins are currently 6 points up on Florida and the Panthers have 4 to play, including tonight's contest.
The Panthers won't be eliminated from the race altogether if they lose, but there's obviously more at stake for them in this one than there is for the Penguins.
That said, now isn't the time for the Penguins to get a little losing streak going, so it's important they come out strong tonight. Florida is not likely to be happy after losing to the Atlanta Thrashers, 3-1, on Friday night.
Recap tomorrow.
NOTES:
No word from Penguins' interim head coach Dan Bylmsa whether Fleury will start in goal this afternoon, or whether Matheiu Garon is going to play.
Petr Sykora went scoreless again last night. I believe that's 6 straight games for him now. He only has 4 points in his last 22 games. He may still be battling a shoulder problem, but is really struggling out there. The Penguins need his contributions if they are going to get in the playoffs and stay there. Personally, I'd put Sykora on the power play to try and get him started.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Penguins Meet Carolina In Saturday Night Showdown
Last summer, when the NHL schedule was released, I bet the Penguins didn't circle an April 4, 2009 date with the Carolina Hurricanes.
I know I didn't.
But tonight at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, the Penguins have a showdown with Carolina that is has recently developed into one of the more anticipated games on the Penguins' schedule.
As we know, the Penguins have been sizzling, at 15-2-3 in their last 20.
There's only been one other team playing as well as they have the last 6 weeks or so.
And that's Carolina.
The Hurricanes finished March with a 10-1-2 record, just like the Penguins.
They have won 7 in a row overall and 10 straight at home, outscoring teams 39-15 at the RBC Center during the latter stretch.
Carolina has been getting great goaltending from Cam Ward lately, and are a diverse group up front.
They are led by the usual suspects most Penguin fans are probably familiar with -- Ray Whitney, Jordan Staal's brother Eric, and Rod Brind 'Amour.
They also have gotten good contributions from other forwards, too, including centers Matt Cullen and Chad LaRose, with 22 and 18 goals respectively, and new addition (and former Hurricane) Eric Cole.
Maybe Cole will get some free candy tonight because, after all, the Penguins are no slouches coming into this game. They have been getting good contributions from just as many players and -- maybe you've heard -- have a few game breakers named Crosby and Malkin that the Hurricanes don't have.
If the Penguins win tonight, they'll hurdle Carolina -- currently 1 point above them in the Eastern Conference standings -- and also move ahead of Philadelphia on the strength of one more win. The Flyers won last night, 8-5, over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Philadelphia has one game in hand on Pittsburgh, while the Penguins have one game in hand on Carolina.
Speaking of the standings, the Atlanta Thrashers did the Penguins a favor last night, dispatching the Florida Panthers, 3-1, reducing the Penguins magic number to clinch a playoff berth to 4 points.
That will potentialy be on the line when the Penguins will play the Panthers tomorrow afternoon at 5 PM, depending on what happens in tonight's showdown in Raleigh.
Recap tomorrow.
NOTES:
LW Ruslan Fedotenko, who missed the 3rd period of the Penguin's 6-1 win over the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday with an apparent shoulder injury and sat out practice on Thursday, suited up yesterday and went through a workout with his teammates. He'll probably be sore for a few games, but proclaimed himself well and is probable for tonight.
The Penguins failed in their bid to land Denver University Pioneer center Tyler Bozak, who signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs. They did, however, sign 2 other college players -- both from Northeastern University.
Goaltender Brad Theissen, signed a 2-year entry level contract. Theissen was 25-12-4 with a 2.12 GAA and .931 save percentage. He's a top-3 finalist for the Hobey Baker award for college hockey's best player.
Forward Joe Vitale, the Penguins' 7th round pick in 2005, also signed an entry level deal. Vitale had 7 goals and 20 assists for 27 points and was named the Hockey East's best defensive forward this year.
Theissen gives the team more goaltending depth, and while Vitale isn't going to be a top-six forward, he could give the team support on the 3rd and 4th lines, which is something the Penguins are going to need more of in the coming years -- particularly if the salary cap goes down and they have to fill those spots with some cheaper players.
Both Theissen and Vitale reported to Wilkes-Barre Scranton of the American Hockey League for the Baby Penguins' playoff run.
The Penguins still expect to sign Boston University Defenseman and draft pick Brian Strait after his season, and hope he is able to convince defense partner and free agent Matt Gilroy -- one of the more sought after college free agents who I mentioned in this space earlier this week -- to sign with Pittsburgh as well.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Why Penguins' GM Ray Shero Should Take The Interim Tag Off Coach Dan Bylsma
There is, to be sure, work to be done by the Penguins this season.
They have yet to clinch a playoff berth officially, and how they fare in the Stanley Cup playoffs if they do make it obviously remains to be seen.
Despite those uncertainties, one thing should be crystal clear in the Penguins' future.
Dan Bylsma should be their head coach next season.
At this point, Bylsma's tenure in Pittsburgh has been an unqualified success. Since he took over from the departed former coach Michel Therrein in mid-February, the team has only lost two games in regulation time.
They are 15-2-3 in that span.
They are scoring nearly three-quarters (.75) more goals per game, and at a pace which would easily lead the league if maintained for an entire season.
They have shaved nearly 1 and a half goals per game off their team goals against average.
Their power play and penalty killing have improved -- notably in the latter's case.
And, just as important as anything else, Bylsma has helped restore both the confidence and chemistry of the players on and off the ice.
Undoubtedly, things had become stale in Pittsburgh under Therrein. Therrein's strict style and defense-first system was wearing on the players. There had been talk for months before Therrein was fired that he may have lost the room.
Whether true or false, it's hard to deny that the players simply weren't responding to his message any longer.
Bylsma, in contrast, brought the perfect attitude to this club.
Earlier this week, one of the players talked about how meaningful it was to see the door to the coach's office propped open after his first day with the team.
That's just an example of what the Penguins needed more of -- and really, it's no surprise given the relative youth of most of their core players.
Bylsma and his staff, including the not-to-be-overlooked impact of new Assistant Coach Tom Fitzgerald, have done such a good job that the only real question mark surrounding them at this point is what they will do when the Penguins hit a rough patch.
Although it's hard to see that happening now, it surely will happen at some point.
Still, that's far from a reason to hold out a verdict on Bylsma's work so far.
His aggressive, skating system has fit the talents and skills of the Penguin players, and he has proven that if they do what they are shown, they'll see results.
And I think that's perhaps the biggest reason why the interim tag should be removed from Bylsma's title.
He's done a fantastic job putting the players in the best position to succeed, which is all you can really ask of a coach.
Coach's coach. Player's play. In the end, the players need to get it done on the ice. And sure, the Penguins' players deserve credit for the team's turnaround, too.
But without Bylsma helping put them in that position, who knows what might have happened.
I, for one, was surprised that Bylsma was called on to succeed Therrein.
Regardless of how well the Baby Penguins were doing, he didn't have a lot of coaching experience, and even though you heard this after he was promoted, I don't recall hearing a lot of talk in NHL circles before Bylsma was brought up that he was a bright, head-coaching prospect.
But he's made a believer out of me.
Regardless of how the remainder of the season plays out, Bylsma has shown that he deserves to man the Penguins' bench next season.
They have yet to clinch a playoff berth officially, and how they fare in the Stanley Cup playoffs if they do make it obviously remains to be seen.
Despite those uncertainties, one thing should be crystal clear in the Penguins' future.
Dan Bylsma should be their head coach next season.
At this point, Bylsma's tenure in Pittsburgh has been an unqualified success. Since he took over from the departed former coach Michel Therrein in mid-February, the team has only lost two games in regulation time.
They are 15-2-3 in that span.
They are scoring nearly three-quarters (.75) more goals per game, and at a pace which would easily lead the league if maintained for an entire season.
They have shaved nearly 1 and a half goals per game off their team goals against average.
Their power play and penalty killing have improved -- notably in the latter's case.
And, just as important as anything else, Bylsma has helped restore both the confidence and chemistry of the players on and off the ice.
Undoubtedly, things had become stale in Pittsburgh under Therrein. Therrein's strict style and defense-first system was wearing on the players. There had been talk for months before Therrein was fired that he may have lost the room.
Whether true or false, it's hard to deny that the players simply weren't responding to his message any longer.
Bylsma, in contrast, brought the perfect attitude to this club.
Earlier this week, one of the players talked about how meaningful it was to see the door to the coach's office propped open after his first day with the team.
That's just an example of what the Penguins needed more of -- and really, it's no surprise given the relative youth of most of their core players.
Bylsma and his staff, including the not-to-be-overlooked impact of new Assistant Coach Tom Fitzgerald, have done such a good job that the only real question mark surrounding them at this point is what they will do when the Penguins hit a rough patch.
Although it's hard to see that happening now, it surely will happen at some point.
Still, that's far from a reason to hold out a verdict on Bylsma's work so far.
His aggressive, skating system has fit the talents and skills of the Penguin players, and he has proven that if they do what they are shown, they'll see results.
And I think that's perhaps the biggest reason why the interim tag should be removed from Bylsma's title.
He's done a fantastic job putting the players in the best position to succeed, which is all you can really ask of a coach.
Coach's coach. Player's play. In the end, the players need to get it done on the ice. And sure, the Penguins' players deserve credit for the team's turnaround, too.
But without Bylsma helping put them in that position, who knows what might have happened.
I, for one, was surprised that Bylsma was called on to succeed Therrein.
Regardless of how well the Baby Penguins were doing, he didn't have a lot of coaching experience, and even though you heard this after he was promoted, I don't recall hearing a lot of talk in NHL circles before Bylsma was brought up that he was a bright, head-coaching prospect.
But he's made a believer out of me.
Regardless of how the remainder of the season plays out, Bylsma has shown that he deserves to man the Penguins' bench next season.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Penguins Finish Homestand 6-1-1 By Hammering Brodeur, New Jersey, 6-1
The New Jersey Devils came into last night's game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Mellon Arena leading the Atlantic Division with 98 points, but winless in their last 5 games.
They had a tongue lashing from their coach, Brent Sutter, the day before after he watched them come out lifeless in New York against the Rangers on Monday and leave the building shutout, 3-0.
Everybody expected Martin Brodeur and the Devils to come out strong against Pittsburgh.
They went back to New Jersey abused worse than Rihanna after a car ride with Chris Brown.
The Penguins dominated the Devils last night in beating them 6-1. They owned New Jersey from the drop of the puck and sent the Devils back home licking their wounds even worse than when they arrived in Pittsburgh.
Matt Cooke got the Penguins rolling about 5 minutes into the game, sweeping a loose puck through a screened Brodeur from about 10 feet after Max Talbot came from behind the net with the puck and tried to jam it past Brodeur, but lost it on the way.
Bill Guerin scored his 20th of the season 36 seconds later, beating Brodeur on a wrister to give the Penguins a 2-0 lead.
With Guerin's score, the Penguins matched the Philadelphia Flyers for the team with the most 20-goal scorers -- 6 (Malkin, Crosby, Sykora, Kunitz, Staal and Guerin).
Brian Gionta got the Devils on the board about halfway through the first period, but Evgeni Malkin scored a power play goal before the period expired, beating Brodeur under the arm from the right circle to give the Pens' a 3-1 lead at the intermission.
Pittsburgh poured it on in the 2nd, with Sidney Crosby scoring his 30th -- also on the power play -- when a shot from defenseman Kris Letang at the point went off his skate and in.
The officials reviewed the goal but determined, correctly, that Crosby did not use a distinct kicking motion to deposit the puck in the net.
11 seconds after Crosby's goal, Pittsburgh went up 5-1 when Jordan Staal buried a juicy rebound off a Ruslan Fedotenko shot.
Fedotenko's low slapper off Brodeur's pads is exactly the kind of thing Penguins' interim head coach Dan Bylmsa has been preaching -- shoot the puck off the goaltender's pads specifically to try and generate rebounds. It worked to a charm on that play. The puck couldn't have come into Staal's wheelhouse any better.
LW Chris Kunitz closed out the scoring in the 3rd period, tossing a turnaround backhander past Brodeur far side to finish things off at 6-1.
Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 24 of 25 shots in the win.
With the victory, the Penguins moved up to 92 points in the standings, matching the Flyers' total. They were helped by Philadelphia's 3-2 regulation loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs last night.
Although the standings may list the Penguins as still in 5th because the Flyers continue to have one game in hand on Pittsburgh, the Penguins have more wins than Philadelphia, 42-41, which would be the first tiebreaker. I have them in 4th for that reason.
The Penguins moved 1 point ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes as well, and put the 9th place Florida Panthers 5 points back again.
Pittsburgh has 2 huge games on back-to-back nights against both of those clubs away from home this weekend. First up is Carolina on Saturday and then the Panthers in an unusual 5 PM late afternoon tilt on Sunday.
The Penguins are now a remarkable 15-2-3 under Bylmsa. After finishing their franchise-record 8 game home stand 6-1-1, they continue to look like a team nobody will want to face in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Penguins also are only 6 points back of New Jersey and, with the Devils slumping, I don't think one can completely rule out the Penguins maybe -- MAYBE -- catching them with 5 to play. What happens this weekend will go a long way towards determining whether Pittsburgh has a realistic shot at that.
More tomorrow.
They had a tongue lashing from their coach, Brent Sutter, the day before after he watched them come out lifeless in New York against the Rangers on Monday and leave the building shutout, 3-0.
Everybody expected Martin Brodeur and the Devils to come out strong against Pittsburgh.
They went back to New Jersey abused worse than Rihanna after a car ride with Chris Brown.
The Penguins dominated the Devils last night in beating them 6-1. They owned New Jersey from the drop of the puck and sent the Devils back home licking their wounds even worse than when they arrived in Pittsburgh.
Matt Cooke got the Penguins rolling about 5 minutes into the game, sweeping a loose puck through a screened Brodeur from about 10 feet after Max Talbot came from behind the net with the puck and tried to jam it past Brodeur, but lost it on the way.
Bill Guerin scored his 20th of the season 36 seconds later, beating Brodeur on a wrister to give the Penguins a 2-0 lead.
With Guerin's score, the Penguins matched the Philadelphia Flyers for the team with the most 20-goal scorers -- 6 (Malkin, Crosby, Sykora, Kunitz, Staal and Guerin).
Brian Gionta got the Devils on the board about halfway through the first period, but Evgeni Malkin scored a power play goal before the period expired, beating Brodeur under the arm from the right circle to give the Pens' a 3-1 lead at the intermission.
Pittsburgh poured it on in the 2nd, with Sidney Crosby scoring his 30th -- also on the power play -- when a shot from defenseman Kris Letang at the point went off his skate and in.
The officials reviewed the goal but determined, correctly, that Crosby did not use a distinct kicking motion to deposit the puck in the net.
11 seconds after Crosby's goal, Pittsburgh went up 5-1 when Jordan Staal buried a juicy rebound off a Ruslan Fedotenko shot.
Fedotenko's low slapper off Brodeur's pads is exactly the kind of thing Penguins' interim head coach Dan Bylmsa has been preaching -- shoot the puck off the goaltender's pads specifically to try and generate rebounds. It worked to a charm on that play. The puck couldn't have come into Staal's wheelhouse any better.
LW Chris Kunitz closed out the scoring in the 3rd period, tossing a turnaround backhander past Brodeur far side to finish things off at 6-1.
Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 24 of 25 shots in the win.
With the victory, the Penguins moved up to 92 points in the standings, matching the Flyers' total. They were helped by Philadelphia's 3-2 regulation loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs last night.
Although the standings may list the Penguins as still in 5th because the Flyers continue to have one game in hand on Pittsburgh, the Penguins have more wins than Philadelphia, 42-41, which would be the first tiebreaker. I have them in 4th for that reason.
The Penguins moved 1 point ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes as well, and put the 9th place Florida Panthers 5 points back again.
Pittsburgh has 2 huge games on back-to-back nights against both of those clubs away from home this weekend. First up is Carolina on Saturday and then the Panthers in an unusual 5 PM late afternoon tilt on Sunday.
The Penguins are now a remarkable 15-2-3 under Bylmsa. After finishing their franchise-record 8 game home stand 6-1-1, they continue to look like a team nobody will want to face in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Penguins also are only 6 points back of New Jersey and, with the Devils slumping, I don't think one can completely rule out the Penguins maybe -- MAYBE -- catching them with 5 to play. What happens this weekend will go a long way towards determining whether Pittsburgh has a realistic shot at that.
More tomorrow.
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