Dynamite reactions from the fans along the boards. Kudos to Beard Kid and Pointing Lady.
Saturday night's game gave us a taste of what the Pens are in for in this series: they won't be shut out in every game, but they will have to work for every inch of ice and every scoring chance, game after game. We knew that the Bruins were no joke, and now we've seen how hard it will be to play against them. It's not likely to be a very fun series, but let's not jump to conclusions and liken this to Pens-Flyers last year, as I heard a few people do. The Bruins weren't in the Penguins' heads, and the Pens didn't unravel; they were outplayed by an elite team, showed some frustration, and tonight we'll see how they respond. Some notes and observations from Game 1 after the jump.
Gee, it seems like only a month ago that the Penguins were dispatching the Ottawa Senators. I hope you all made as good use of your eight-day layoff as I did - I got engaged, so you probably didn't, but that's okay - and are well-rested headed into the Conference Finals. The only thing standing between the Pens and a shot at the Cup are the Boston Bruins, a match up that just seems right. You've got Jarome Iginla facing the team he spurned at the trade deadline, and you've got Jaromir Jagr hoping to torment his former team, but - beyond the tale of two Jaroms - you've got the cream of the Eastern Conference going head to head. There will be no Cinderella story this year (like last year's Devils), only two heavyweights sizing the other up.
After the jump, my three questions and three statements for the Pens-Bruins series, and my predictions for the series.
A few thoughts on a Pens-Sens series that has started to get interesting:
It's weird to say this, seeing as it was a fairly heartbreaking loss, but Game 3 might have been my favorite game of the playoffs thus far. The Pens played an outstanding game, the terrible lapse on the Alfredsson goal in the final minute of regulation notwithstanding, and for the first time we got to see a true goaltending duel. Vokoun was great, and Craig Anderson was better. We knew that Anderson would likely steal at least one game, and the Pens deserve some kudos for almost stealing that one from the thief, Ocean's Twelve style. These games happen in the playoffs - in fact, they're what make the playoffs so great - and this is the kind of loss that you just pray won't shift the tides in the series. Certainly the Sens will get a little confidence boost, but the Pens shouldn't be hanging their heads. We'll see tonight if that extreeeeeemely long two days off stems the momentum that Ottawa might have seized.
Speaking of that Alfredsson goal, it's been picked apart all over the internet, but boy, was it hard to watch the team play such a strong defensive game for 59-plus minutes, only to flush it down the toilet. I don't mean to pile on, and it's easy to criticize in retrospect, but it was hard to look at Bylsma's choice of line to protect a one-goal lead and not feel befuddled: Sutter (okay), Kunitz (um), and Malkin (zuh?). Pascal Dupuis, for one, simply needs to be out there.
Malkin has shouldered much of the blame for the breakdown on that goal, but that should in no way overshadow the game he played. We shouldn't need reminding at this point, but when Geno is on his game, it is absolutely majestic. In a game like Sunday's, you notice early on that Geno is dancing, and you just sit back and appreciate. His double move in overtime was one of the most jaw-dropping I've ever seen, and the fact that he did it in overtime of a playoff game, while making it look effortless, only enhances the effect. Props to Anderson for making a huge save, because if he had scored on this play, I would have gone out myself and carved a statue of it:
Another standout player in Sunday's game, and throughout the playoffs, has been Paul Martin. He received a lot of attention for his bounceback regular season, but I'm guessing I wasn't alone in feeling just a little bit nervous that he would falter in the playoffs. Exactly the opposite has happened, as Martin has been the best Pens defenseman, bar none. He is a completely different player than we saw last year, playing a completely different game. He's been full of surprises: just when you expect him to try and carry the puck past a forechecker, risking a pokecheck and a chance the other way, he breaks out a gorgeous spin move that puts him out of harm's way, and leaves his man checking air. Times last year where he would have forced an early, and dangerous, cross-ice pass to his partner in the defensive zone, he's now holding onto the puck, skating to open ice, and scanning the rink for the best pass. He's scoring a point a game and logging 27 minutes a game - including power play and penalty kill - against the best of the opposition. He's pulling a Gonchar, basically.
The above paragraph is why we need to be throwing garlands at Ray Shero's feet. It's been overshadowed by his big trades but his decision before this season to keep Paul Martin (and instead trade Zbynek Michalek) was probably his ballsiest move to date. Pens fans were calling for Martin's head on a platter, and when the Michalek trade was announced, it was widely assumed that Shero had been forced to give Z away for next to nothing because Martin was untradeable. Instead, we learned that Shero had asked Martin if he wanted to be traded, and when Martin said no, Shero redoubled his investment in Martin - now he's reaping the reward. Meanwhile, we might never hear from Zibby ever again. Shero is one of the best GMs in the league not for the easy decisions he's made, like trading for Jarome Iginla, but for the unpopular ones.
Word is that Jussi Jokinen will be back in the lineup tonight, which I think is good news for the Pens. Juice can be very useful against a team like the Senators: we need his help in the faceoff circle and on the power play especially. The Penguins struggled in Game 3 on the man advantage, not because they weren't generating quality chances, but because the Senators - and Craig Anderson in particular - seemed to know what was coming. Jokinen likely won't get much PP time skating with the second unit, but he's a creative playmaker who brings something different to the power play from the center position. Methinks he'll have us feeling kinda....
Methinks also that the Pens bounce back and get a win tonight. The Sens simply haven't been able to produce offense consistently, and as I forecast in my series preview, the Penguins look absolutely comfortable playing this team. The defense - especially the top four of Letang, Martin, Orpik, and Niskanen - has been outstanding, and the collective seizure they seemed to have against the Isles has subsided in the face of a slower, more predictable opponent. And methinks that Crosby and Malkin methodically manhandle Methot en route to victory. And yes, I've been itching to make Methot puns all series long.
The Pens survived a tougher-than-expected series against the Islanders thanks to a gritty performance by backup goalie Tomas Vokoun and timely goals from surprising sources: Paul Martin, Doug Murray, Tyler Kennedy, and of course Brooks Orpik, whose Game 6 OT winner was the best playoff moment Pittsburgh has known since Crosby lifted the Cup. The Islanders series will ultimately fade from memory, but it was important test of the team's mettle, and that the Pens were able to hold on by the skin of their collective teeth is either a good thing or a bad thing, depending on who you ask.
For the glass-half-full crowd (myself included), the series was a much-needed gut check, a necessary spot of adversity that will keep the Penguins humble and committed to improving. And hey, a playoff series win can never be taken for granted - we've learned that the last three seasons, when our playoffs were ended by teams we were "supposed to beat." The pessimists among the Pittsburgh fan base, which seems to comprise ever single person I talk to, are concerned that the Pens showed a litany of weaknesses that just didn't seem to be there in the regular season. The Islanders series should have been an ass-whupping to announce the team's championship intentions, and instead they showed their vulnerability and lack of composure. To these minds, any positive things that were accomplished in this series were outweighed by turnovers, mental mistakes, and an inability to close the door. These people are also very concerned about what we'll do with Marc-Andre Fleury, what's wrong with Evgeni Malkin, and whether Dan Byslma's the right man for the job.
The second round series between the Pens and Sens, beginning tonight at Consol, will likely exacerbate these concerns and add new ones to the pile. I've got three statements and three questions going into Game 1, as well as predictions at the end of this post.
This week, two major events shocked the city of Pittsburgh: the Penguins decided to bench their highly-paid starting goalie, Marc-Andre Fleury, in favor of backup Tomas Vokoun, and the film Jack Reacher (2012) was released on Blu-ray and DVD. What a coincidence that these two seemingly-unrelated things would happen so close to one another.
Or is it?
Let's look at the facts: Jack Reacher is set, and was shot entirely, in Pittsburgh, and stars Tom Cruise. Tonight's Game 5 between the Penguins and Islanders will also take place in Pittsburgh, and will star Tomas Vokoun. TOM Cruise? TOMas Vokoun? Come on.
Digging a little deeper, we find that Tom Cruise's birthday is July 3. Tomas Vokoun's birthday? July 2. Oh, and what's that famous Tom Cruise film? Born on the Fourth of July. Is this sinking in?
Tom Cruise has long been associated with the Church of Scientology, a recently-created religion based in Florida that boasts hundreds of thousands of followers, but which remains veiled in mystery to the general public. Vokoun was long associated with the Panthers, a recently-created hockey team based in Florida that boasts tens of dozens of followers, but which remains veiled in mystery to the general public.
Of course, Vokoun is from the Czech Republic, and Tom Cruise is as American as apple pie pizza, so it looks like my theory falls apart. UNTIL you realize that the first Mission Impossible film, which Cruise produced and starred in, used Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic as a location - and whose idea was it? Just guess. According to the New York Times:
Mr. Cruise, whose movie is the first big Hollywood production to come here...wanted to to use Prague as contemporary Prague, an idea he thought would appeal to the Czechs, too. His fancy was caught by the Lichtenstein Palace, a newly renovated froth of curlicues and ornaments with a phalanx of elegant windows.
Suuuuure - the Lichtenstein Palace caught Tom's fancy, not a 6-foot goaltending prospect who had just been drafted to the NHL a year prior.
According to the same article, Cruise was furious when Czech bureaucrats tried to gauge the production unit by jacking up location costs at the last minute. Rumor has it he vowed never to return after that experience. So imagine my surprise when the fourth installment of the Mission Impossible franchise, Ghost Protocol, featured scenes shot in none other than Prague. What an amazing change of heart! It's almost like Cruise had a reason to go back to the Czech Republic. Maybe to confer with a certain netminder?
Could the Mission Impossible films be a front for the covert machinations of a Tom Cruise-NHL partnerships? No, I'm sure they keeping making them because the public just keeps clamoring for a new Mission Impossible film.
But back to Jack Reacher (out now on Blu-ray and DVD). Here's the plot description, courtesy IMDb:
In an innocent heartland city, five are shot dead by an expert sniper. The police quickly identify and arrest the culprit, and build a slam-dunk case. But the accused man claims he's innocent and says "Get Jack Reacher." Reacher himself sees the news report and turns up in the city. The defense is immensely relieved, but Reacher has come to bury the guy. Shocked at the accused's request, Reacher sets out to confirm for himself the absolute certainty of the man's guilt, but comes up with more than he bargained for.
Hmmm..."five are shot dead by an expert sniper." That one's pretty easy: the expert sniper is John Tavares, who scored the game-winning goal for the Islanders (the team's fifth) on Tuesday - his shot basically leaving the Pens for dead. The police (Pens fans and media) quickly identfy a culprit (Fleury), but Jack Reacher (Vokoun, natch) is called in to right the situation. But not only that, he came to "bury the guy" - that's right, Vokoun is "gunning" (action movie term) for Fleury's job! You couldn't script it any better - unless, of course, someone did script it.
According to the description, Reacher gets "more than he bargained for." I haven't personally seen the film, so I can't guess what that entails. But for Vokoun, couldn't more than he bargained for mean a contract extension? That would probably only happened if he somehow usurped Fleury's role in net and led the Penguins to a deep playoff run. I know what you're saying: that's the kind of thing that only happens in a Hollywood movie. My point EXACTLY.
Jack Reacher's budget was estimated around $60 million dollars - right around the Pittsburgh Penguins' payroll this year. The film grossed over $216 million worldwide. Seems like a lot of money, but for Cruise, it was something of a bomb, one of his lowest grossing films of the last decade. Four months after Jack Reacher's disappointing opening weekend - just enough time not to raise any eyebrows - the Penguins traded for Vokoun. A good way for a movie to boost its receipts is to launch a successful home video campaign. A good way to do that is to have a tie-in with another story that catches the public's interest. And a good way to do that is to orchestrate a complicated goaltender controversy on one of the NHL's most visible teams, pretty much guaranteeing a successful crossover into that most coveted of demographics in Hollywood: American hockey fans. "But Old Top," you whine, "to pull off something so convoluted and nefarious you'd need to have unlimited resources!" Oh, like the kind of resources available to the world's highest paid movie star, who also happens to have the support of a religion estimated to have become a multi-billion dollar industry? THOSE kinds of resources?
When Tomas Vokoun joined the Penguins, he switched his number from 29 to 92. He claimed it was because Fleury had already claimed 29, and he decided to reverse the number. What he didn't mention is that 1992 is his favorite Tom Cruise movie, A Few Good Men, came out in theaters. You can call me a conspiracy theorist all you want, but maybe it's YOU who CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!
I'm buying the Jack Reacher DVD today, and synching it up with Mike Lange's call for Game 5, just to see what kind of hidden messages I can find. And to you, the American public, I recommend that, after watching Vokoun's inspiratoinal performance in net tonight, you go out and buy Jack Reacher on Blu-Ray or DVD.
Game 4 was the sum of all fears for the Penguins and their fans. A team that looked bulletproof in the regular season, and, after a dominating performance in Game 1, ready to shake off the playoff flame-outs that have afflicted them the past few years, is now looking extremely vulnerable. Pens fans are having uncomfortable flashbacks to last season's Flyers series, which we all vowed had hardened us; no more overconfidence, no more taking anything for granted, and above all, no more living and dying with each up-and-down playoff game. We were going to be as calm and determined as our battle-tested, veteran team.
All of that has gone out the window, as the Penguins seem hell-bent on forcing us to relive the Philly series we so desperately want to forget. Each game since the first has been a track meet, with the Pens' take-a-penny-give-a-penny approach to scoring resulting in blown leads in every game (including two last night) and a total of 14 goals against. With a chance to take a stranglehold on the series last night, the Pens instead played like had learned nothing from the previous two games, like there were no improvements that needed to be made, like the team that we watched all year was some carefully-orchestrated mirage designed to piss off Pittsburgh residents. Well, it worked, and today, fingers are being pointed every which-a-way.
So, ignoring the fact the the Pens are now engaged in a best-of-three against a team that they are still expected to defeat, let's talk about who is to blame for reminding us why liking sports sucks.
While all eyes will be on the usual suspects tonight - Crosby (I think he comes back), Malkin (always threatening to do something breathtaking), Fleury (how will he fare once the Isles start getting comfortable playoff hockey?), Tavares (will he have a mental breakdown before this series is over?) - here are some people to watch in tonight's game.
Mark Eaton
Eats plays such an understated style that it is almost impossible to find photos of him in game action. While Douglas Murray's hits and Kris Letang's offense were grabbing all the attention, Eaton put up the following line: 1 assist, plus-2, 3:44 of shorthanded TOI (second only to Martin), and 8 blocked shots in 19 minutes of ice time (third among defensemen behind Letang and Martin). A sporadic healthy scratch since his return to Pittsburgh, Eaton showed on Wednesday night why he will be one of our most relied-upon defensemen in the payoffs. With Orpik's injury and the lack of playoff experience among our lower-pairing D-men, Eaton's steadiness and patience are much needed, and he should be given a lot of credit for limiting the number of tough saves that Fleury is forced to make. Eight blocked shots is nothing to sneeze at, and let's not discount the fact that Eaton has a pretty firm grasp on the Islanders' offensive tendencies, having played on the Isles the past two seasons. Take a moment from watching Malkin's Superman act to appreciate the Penguins' Clark Kent.
If you're like me, you probably woke up this morning before your alarm went off, sat up in bed, and smiled to yourself. You went through your morning ablutions abstractedly, finally lathering up and giving yourself a clean shave, your face like a freshly zambonied sheet of ice, hopefully for the last time in a long while. You gave meaningful looks to everyone you saw in Penguins gear on your way to work, visited the other Pens fans in your office to wish them a happy Hockey Christmas, sat down at your desk, and started looking for Crosby updates before even glancing at your work emails.
It's here. Let it sink in. The Pens open up the postseason against the team that most represents playoff failure and disappointment to us, the New York Islanders. It's a poetical chance to exorcise some franchise demons, but the fact is that these teams haven't met in the playoffs in two decades, and the Isles haven't played anyone in the playoffs in six years. The Penguins are not up against history; they only need to focus on beating this squad, and Dave Volek and Glenn Healy ain't walking through that door.
Here are three questions and three statements about this series, as well as my prediction:
Well THAT went quickly. The 2012-13 regular season is in the books, and let's face it, it was the most enjoyable season for Pens fans since 1992-93. And we all know how THAT turned out. So, while we all try to temper our expectations for the playoffs - while simultaneously telling ourselves that it is ridiculous and superstitious to think that something that happened twenty years ago (exactly) has any bearing on this season - let's look back on an extremely memorable season. The Fan Favorite Power Rankings are meant to be a barometer for the attitude of the fan base at large for the individuals on the team. I judged each player in six categories, giving a score from 1-5 based not just on how I felt, but (and this is important) based on public opinion in and around Pittsburgh - as perceived by me. My criteria are:
Quality of Play: This metric is meant to be relative to the player's expected level of play; for instance, giving Brandon Sutter a rating of 4 and Evgeni Malkin a 3.5 does not mean I think Sutter outplayed Geno. He didn't. But he performed better than expected, while Geno didn't play at his usual MVP level. Personality: Basically, is the guy a beloved character, a badass, or a cardboard cutout? Most hockey players are pretty boring, so I'm giving some a boost for on-ice personality (read: fist-pumps). Toughness: This skews the scales unfairly in favor of defensemen and grinders, but the peoples loves their smash-ems. Intangibles: COULD BE ANYTHING!!! Nickname: Fans will have a hard time liking you if there isn't something affectionate that they can scream at you. The cuter the better. Jersey-buyability: A real word that measures how cool I think a player's jersey is, based on completely biased aesthetic convictions. Agree? Disagree? Tell me what you think in the comments!
Well, shit. I take a little break from the blog and everything else to go on vacation down Mexico way, thinking I'd get back in time to catch the trade deadline excitement, and during my week abroad EVERYTHING happens. The Pens' winning streak reached an incredible 15 games. Sidney Crosby and Paul Martin sustained terrible injuries. And, of course, Ray Shero made huge trade after huge trade, culminating in his jaw-dropping pilfering of Jarome Iginla from the Calgary Flames.
I followed all of this from afar, feeling big things but unable to blog those feelings. I'm sure every sports blogger knows the awful sensation of this creative blue-balling, having opinions to vent and no outlet for them. And with today's 24/7/365 sportsmediascape, waiting even a day to respond to the most recent event makes you old news. Well I say balls to that. Balls! My feelings remain valid, and I'm going to share them, no matter how far past their expiration date they may be.
Last night, the Pens extended their winning streak to nine games with an impressive win over the Bruins. Captain Crosby set the tone, but it was Joe Vitale, as unlikely a source as any, who potted the game-winner at the end of the first period. Vitale carried the puck into the Bruins zone, dropped the puck to Craig Adams and set a nice little pick, giving Adams room to line up a wrister. Tuukka Raska made the initial save, but left a juicy rebound sitting to his left. Vitale saw the rebound and in his excitement launched himself into the air, simultaneously lifting the puck over Rask's shoulder. It was a clutch play that must have felt very familiar to any Bruins fan watching the game:
I love Chicago. I lived there almost eight years and enjoyed just about every moment of it. I graduated from college, met the love of my life and discovered sandwiches made with fried plantains instead of bread in Chicago. So any time I have an excuse to visit Chicago, I will. This week, my excuse is the annual conference of the Society for Cinema and Media Studies, really just a bunch of cool dudes givin' some cool talks and just bein' cool in general. It also didn't hurt that my man Brian, sole proprietor of the spectacularly named, regrettably fallow P.V. Glob's Bog Blog, was able to get tickets to the Blackhawks-Avalanche game. You all can imagine my excitement that this trip was now going to be in service of my day job (as film nerd) and my moonlighty gig (as a professional Hockey Blogger).
I was rewarded for my decision with an exciting game that ended with a last-minute goal to stretch the Blackhawks' unbeaten-in-regulation streak to the halfway point of their season. Pretty incredible. Some notes from a Pens fan in a strange land:
Easily the coolest part of a Blackhawks game is their tradition of cheering like crazy throughout the singing of the national anthem. Apparently, this practice is somewhat controversial, because I guess nothing is more disrespectful than cheering. I mean, Jesus, let's lighten up a little. I understand that the national anthem is meant to bring about silent reflection about 'Merica and sacrifice and whatnot, but hearing twenty thousand people go crazy as Jim Cornelison belts out the anthem is exciting and inspiring and pretty damn patriotical if you think about it. And anyway, Hawks fans can scream all they want, they're still not going to drown out this dude (clip's a fake, but still: pipes):
The United Center's Jumbotron game is pretty tight as well: before the game, an intro video shows the Blackhawk logo being woven behind images of great players from the team's history. And it's not just Mikita and Hull and Toews, either; there was a healthy serving of Steve Larmer, and even Eric Daze popped up at one point. I'd like to see the Pens do more of this - we should be seeing Kehoe and Mario and Jags, but also Bryan Smolinski and Shawn McEachern and Stu Barnes. The more obscure the better.
On the other hand, they also showed another, less good video where current players look at the camera and say, "I stand for Chicago," "I stand for the fans at the Madhouse on Madison," and etc. All well and good until one player announces, "I stand for the Indian head." Come on, dude. Native American head. It's not hard.
One thing that was noticeably absent from the Jumbotron was the endless pump-up videos and Loud-o-Meters that the Consol staff shoves down our throats each game. Somehow, the fans just knew when to cheer. They must be some kinda geniuses.
On to the actual team: they're good. I mean, they're really good. I wouldn't say they looked unbeatable; they started Daniel Carcillo on Toews' wing fer chrissakes (and yes, I know Carcillo scored the game winning goal, but that doesn't change the fact that he is Daniel Carcillo). But the Hawks, and the fans, never really seemed in doubt that the team would pull out the win, even with the Avalanche leading by a goal and Semyon Varlamov playing out of his mind.
It's pretty impressive that the Hawks could beat an Avalanche team that was going all-out to end the streak, especially with Marian Hossa a late scratch, and Patrick Kane uncoincidentally looking invisible for most of the night. That was the biggest disappointment of the night: missing out on watching Hossa play. In fact, I was all ready to write this entire post on Hossa, and the joy of watching him play. While Toews is the team's unquestioned leader, and Kane their most terrifying player, I still get the feeling that Hossa is the most important guy on the team (he also has the best goal celebrations - his fist pumps register on the Richter Scale). He seems to score every big goal for them, he plays great on both ends of the ice, and he never takes a game off. I admit that I spent a couple of seasons hating him for leaving Pittsburgh because he thought he had a better chance of winning with Detroit, and I took a great amount of pleasure in the poetic justice of the Penguins' vanquishing the Red Wings in the subsequent Finals showdown. But I've grown up, readers, and now I can let go of these petty feelings and just appreciate Hossa for the player he is. He was humbled by his loss in Detroit, redeemed himself by winning the Cup in Chicago the next year (yeah, three Cup finals in three years with three different teams is pretty good when you take a step back), and now he's a crucial piece to a team that is gunning to win it all again this year. At this point, not only do I not resent Hossa for leaving Pittsburgh, I actually encourage him to change teams every year, until every fan base in the league has had the pleasure of cheering him on.
I'm not sure if this is a function of Hossa being out, but I was fascinated by the Blackhawks' power play lineups: Coach Quenneville basically kept his stars separate, flanking Toews with Andrew Shaw and Brandon Saad, and playing Kane with Patrick Sharp and some other dude on the other (can't really call it the second) unit. If this were Bylsma, there's no doubt he'd be rolling with Keith-Seabrook-Kane-Toews-Sharp (substitute Hossa for Seabrook when he's back) for 1:30 of the power play. Toews' unit looked great and created a goal on their first PP opportunity, while the Kane unit sputtered in the other two chances. It would be interesting to see how different the Pens' power play would be if they kept Malkin's and Crosby's lines intact for the power play and gave them both half of the penalty to do work, with some overlap to get 71 and 87 out there together. Having watched our second power play unit at "work," I think a more even talent dispersal might be a good thing.
Toews is an impressive guy. When the Blackhwaks needed a goal, he gave them one, an incredible shorthanded power drive that I can only imagine had Pierre McGuire creaming his little suit pants. That's the mark of a superstar, though: Toews rose to the occasion, and everyone in the crowd could feel it coming. Watch the goal, and listen to how the crowd's roar builds as soon as Toews touches the puck, coming with speed down the right side boards. It's impossible not to get excited when you watch a player kick it up a notch like Toews does here:
This was a thrilling game and a great experience to share with a great bunch of fans, but what I noticed most was how damn fast the whole thing went. It's not that the game was played at a frantic pace, because it wasn't. It was, I assume, due to the fact that I'm used to watching Penguins games, where I live and die with each shift, I'm constantly aware of who is on the ice, opposing power plays seem to drag on and on, etc. Watching a game in which I only had the most casual of rooting interests, everything seemed less weighty, and penalties expired after what seemed like a few seconds. I hardly glanced at the game clock, and was surprised when a period would end before I was half way through my $8 Budweiser. It was a fun way to enjoy an amazing game.
Oh, but their post-goal song is still extremely dumb. Dur dur dur durrr dur dur durr...
After last night's 5-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Penguins are now officially nineteen forty-eighths of the way through the season, which makes this as good a time as any to step back and look at the team's progress thus far. The Pens, it's safe to say, are where they want to be, sitting in the catbird seat at the top of their division and the top of the conference, but no one is above reproach, so let's get to nit-picking!
GOOD: Stars
At this point, we have a pretty good sense of what we can expect from our top guys. Crosby continues to heat up, and he now sits one point behind Steven Stamkos on the leaderboard after the two went blow-for-blow last night. The scary thing is, it seems like he still has another gear. We've seen him pass up shots all season looking for the perfect pass, but with Malkin sidelined, he'll need to start calling his own number, like he did a minute the first period last night, when he froze Anders Lindback before depositing the puck above his right shoulder.
Before going down on Friday night, Malkin was likewise playing well, and he and Neal have become one of the most dangerous tandems in the lead, particularly on the power play, where both use the one-timer threat to keep the defense honest. Neal is showing that last year was not a fluke, once again pacing the leauge in power play goals and near the top in total goals.
Chris Kunitz has earned the right to be counted among the Penguins' star players. He's scoring more than a point a game, he's one of the best two or three forecheckers on the team, and he always seems to come up with timely goals from his spot in front of the net.
Letang continues to do things every game that stand out, whether with his stick, his skates, or his glove. Last night, he chased down a puck at the blue line to keep alive a 5-on-3 power play, which seems like a standard enough play, but in person it was breathtaking.
With the puck's momentum driving it out of the zone, and a Lightning penalty killer in close pursuit, the math (which I didn't do) is against Letang arriving in time to keep the puck in, much less doing anything with it. But he crosses the ice in two strides and meets the puck just as it touches the blue. He gathers the puck and, in one motion, turns away from the Lightning net and launches a blind cross-ice pass onto the tape of Crosby's stick, leading moments thereafter to Beau Bennett's first career (and game-winning) goal. Watch the play in real time and name me three other defensemen who can make this play:
BAD: Injuries to the Stars
As mentioned above, Geno was injured in an ugly spill in Friday's game against the Panthers and was ruled out of yesterday's game, as well as this week's road trip. We first were told that Malkin was suffering from severe headaches and concussion-like symptoms, then that he was not, and now that he did indeed suffer a concussion. According to Bylsma:
"After the hit Evgeni suffered some short-term memory loss and therefore was
diagnosed with a concussion...He’s had no other symptoms. He’s
feeling fine and his memory is returning."
This is obviously terrible news for the team, but more terrible because Geno is a wonderful guy and I don't want him losing his short term memory. I hope he'll recover soon and start making new memories.
News from the Penguins is that Geno has been placed on Injured Reserve retroactive to Feb. 22, when the injury occurred, which mean we won't see him again until March at the earliest. Losing a player of Malkin's caliber is always a crushing blow, but even more so in a shortened season. It will be crucial for Crosby nd co. to step up in Geno's absence if he misses a considerable amount of time (which this season means "any time at all").
GOOD: The New Guys
The newest additions to the roster have overcome some growing pains to fill their roles on the team. Mr. Glass, after a slow start, has started to show his talent as a big hitter and a good penalty killer, as well as our default secondary enforcer. He's shown good chemistry with Joe Vitale and Craig Adams on a defensive-minded, pesky fourth line. Mr. Glass, as his name suggests does not have soft hands, and we're still waiting for his first point. His closest call came last night on a redirection off a feed from Joe Vitale, which Garon was able to get in front of. You keep at it, Mr. Glass!
Brandon Sutter has stepped up admirably in the void left by Jordan Staal. Sutter also had a quiet start to his tenure here, but has come on strong of late, most notably with his spectacular tying goal in the final minutes of the Flyers game last Wednesday. He's a good skater and stickhandler, and his game is deceptively laid-back; he doesn't waste a lot of energy skating all over the ice, but he tends to get to the right place in all three zones.
Sadly, just as the Legend of Sutter was born with his goal against Philly, Vokoun put it back to bed by letting in a terrible goal - the sixth of the game - moments later, turning an inspiring comeback into an crappy crapfest. As I left the CEC that night, I heard a fan proclaim, to no one in particular, "Vokoun is done. He is DONE!" Which is hard to argue with because, hey, Vokoun knew the deal when he signed here: NO BAD GAMES, or you are done. Seriously, though, Vokoun has done everything we've asked of him, and I really believe he's helped keep Fleury as sharp as he's been.
As for the rooks, congrats to Beau Bennett for scoring his first NHL goal last night, and also congratulations on being very adorable. He and Despres and Bortuzzo are works in progress, so let's exercise some patience and let them grow up.
BAD: The Malkin-Neal Winger
To date, Bylsma has experimented with, by my count, SEVEN different wingers to join Geno and Neal on the first/second line: Eric Tangradi (traded), Mr. Glass (haha), Dustin Jeffrey (couldn't stick), Tyler Kennedy (seems to be stuck in a Speed-meets-Sudden Death scenario where if his shot hits the net, the arena will explode), Zach Boychuk (remember him?), Matt Cooke (sigh), and Beau Bennett (no pressure, kid). It's getting embarrassing. There's no point in lingering on this, but I am already looking forward to April, by which time I can only assume Ray Shero will have traded for a legit top-6 winger (IGGY) or figured out a way to clone Kunitz.
GOOD: Special Teams
The Pens power play ranks third in the league at an impressive 28 percent, and they've scored PP goals in eleven straight games, which is very good. Although Bylsma continues to tinker with the first unit, it's clear that the top guys are clicking. There's a lot of movement, generating a lot of good scoring chances. With Malkin shelved, I imagine we're going to see Martin-Letang-Neal-Crosby-Kunitz out there every time, which is not so shabby. I'd say I want to see the second unit create more goals, but they are basically never out there for more than 20 seconds. Sorry, guys.
The penalty kill has slipped from years past, and the Pens sit at an ugly 17th, killing 82.2 percent of the penalties they take. I considered putting this in the BAD section, but I think that the PK has looked pretty good so far. Adams has been solid as a rock all year, and Matt Cooke is getting better with each game, while Dupuis, Sutter, Glass, and even Crosby are putting in good minutes on the kill. I'm hopeful that their percentage will improve as the newcomers get more comfortable, and more importantly as the team starts showing more discipline. The refs are calling absolutely everything this year, and the Pens have put themselves in a lot of holes by ignoring the tighter interpretation of the boarding and interference rules.
BAD: Home-Ice (Dis)Advantage
Have a look at the Pens' home/away splits so far this year: 5-4 at CEC, 8-2 on the road. I'm not going to go on a screed about how Consol has priced out "real fans" and created an atmosphere more appropriate for a museum (or a mausoleum), because the team has been very good at home the past couple years. But so far, the home-cooking doesn't seem to be doing much good; they've suffered some embarrassing losses, getting whupped by the Leafs and the Isles in their first two home stands, and given up a lot of leads (not that that's anything new). Granted, it's early yet, and we just won two in a row at CEC, but the Pens will host 10(!) games in March alone, and they need to take advantage of those games. Also, it's quiet in there.
GOOD: Paul effing MARTIN!!
P-Mart has been written up all over the internet, but DAMN GINA! it is worth repeating. Martin's been incredible on both ends of the ice - and even in those instances where he's been caught standing around in his own (and, make no mistake, there have been a few), he's made up for it with huge offense. He's fourth in the league in D-man scoring, and his goal last night against the Lightning, where he led a 3-on-1 break, made a smart pass to Cooke, and then drove to the net to put in the rebound was something we've never seen before from him. Hell, we wouldn't have even known how to process that play last season, he was so bad. There's going to be some semi-serious discussion of Martin as a Norris trophy candidate, which is nice but not very likely, but I will say this: it's a damn shame that the lockout cancelled the All-Star Game this year, because Martin would have to be on the team, right? We would have been happy with an average campaign from him, a Mark Eaton (welcome back, Eats!) type season, and we're getting All-Star level play. Let's celebrate!
BAD: Tyler Kennedy
As you can see in the photo above, Kennedy's instinct is to close his eyes and whip the puck in the direction of the net, as far as he can guess. TK's inability to hit the net has gone from a quaint shortcoming that he's bound to overcome to a congenital defect. How he managed to score 21 goals two years ago is a mystery, and it's one that the organization paying for to the tune of $2 million a season. And his crappiness is put into relief by the strong play of Joe Vitale, who is the same size as Kennedy and whose number (46) looks exactly like Kennedy's (48). So every time I see Kennedy do something good, it turns out to be Joe Vitale, which makes sense, because Kennedy doesn't do much good. Last night, Dustin Jeffrey fought in the corner against two Lightning, came out with the puck, and dished it to Kennedy, who was all alone in front of Lindback. So excited to have the puck with no one in front of him (not that that would stop him), Kennedy immediately stepped into his hardest snap shot, which he aimed in the vicinity of the top shelf, but which of course was destined for 3-5 inches wide of the net. Lindback got a blocker on it, so it looked like a good save, but it happened right in front of me, and there is no chance of that puck going in the net. Such is the way of Tyler Kennedy. Here's the play, which is hard to really see because CORNER CAM!
Of course, as soon as you criticize Kennedy, he scores some clutch goal to make you look stupid, like at the end of the Flyer game, when I wondered aloud, "Why is Kennedy out there on Crosby's line?" moments before he scored the goal that got us back in the game. So...prove me wrong, Pig Boy. Prove me wrong.
Last night's win over an injury-depleted Ottawa Senators team was one of the year's most complete efforts for the suddenly un-depleted Penguins. While most of the attention after the game has focused on Matt Cooke's did-he-or-didn't-he-mean-to stomp on Erik Karlsson's ankle, a more interesting subplot was the Penguins' handling of Kris Letang's reintegration into a power play unit that had played well in his absence. Paul Martin took over Letang's spot at the point during the three games that Letang sat due to injury, and filled in admirably, exhibiting composure in high pressure situations and contributing to a power play that went a healthy 5-for-13.
With Letang returning to the lineup, it was unclear whether Martin would be bumped back down to the second unit, or if Bylsma would pair the two. As it turns out, Bylsma stuck with Martin as the sole defenseman at the beginning of the power play, then subbed in Letang for Kunitz about a minute in, resulting in a Letang-Martin-Neal-Crosby-Malkin look that was moving the puck, creating scoring chances, and capitalizing.
I've been arguing against playing forwards at the point for a while now, but even I have to admit that the thought of Martin quarterbacking our power play would have given me the shakes before the season began. For all the credit that Martin has garnered for his improved defensive play, it was his offensive instincts that worried me most last season. Though he could make a decent breakout pass, he showed a serious tone-deafness when it came to pinching, jumping into the action just as the puck was being turned over, or already heading in the other direction.
Last night, however, we saw a completely different story. Let's start with the Pens' first (and, technically, only) power play goal, which knotted the game at 2-2. As you can see here, the Penguins set up with three men (Martin, Letang, Malkin) up high, and Crosby and Neal down low. Malkin makes a cross-ice pass to Martin, who prepares to set up Letang for a one-timer from the blue line.
Martin's man hustles to cut off the pass between Martin and Letang, but overplays it, opening up a ton of room around the right faceoff circle, like so:
Martin recognizes the situation and pushes the puck past his man, skating hard toward the net before finding Crosby behind the goal line. At the same time, James Neal drifts in the opposite direction, crossing from the left post to the right circle, and sits there waiting for the puck.
Rather than fading back to his point, Martin continues toward the net, eventually ending up behind the goaltender. He crosses in front of Sergei Gonchar, who is fronting Crosby, causing just enough of a distraction to clear a passing lane for Sid. Crosby finds Neal, who is just about automatic from the hash marks, especially with such a clear path in front of him.
Martin's aggressiveness sets the tone here; his pinch is well timed, catching the Sens out of position, creating space and - hey! - encouraging some much-needed movement on the power play.
Perhaps emboldened by this success, Martin is even more aggressive on the Pens' fourth goal, which comes moments after a Sens penalty expires. Malkin has the puck at the half boards, and three of the four Senators on the ice shade toward the right side of the ice.
Malkin and Crosby criss-cross in the corner and Martin, noticing that the left side of the ice has been effectively evacuated, drives to the net. With Chris Phillips about to step out of the penalty box, Martin's pinch is something of a risk, but it's a calculated one: all four penalty killers are down low, Letang is back to defend the pass up ice to Phillips, and, of course, Malkin is extremely hard to knock off the puck.
Malkin stops behind the net, and Martin and Neal both open up at opposite sides of the goal. As you can see below, both Senators forwards are caught in no-man's-land, defending nobody in particular, and the front of the net is wide open:
Malkin passes across the grain to Neal, who one-touches it across an empty crease to Martin, who redirects the puck right back to the crease, where Crosby has taken up position for an easy goal. Compare the image below with the one above and one thing stands out: the Pens are moving around, and the Sens are standing in the exact same place.
In real time, it's a beautiful tic-tac-toe play, and it doesn't happen without Paul Martin putting pressure on the defense:
It's worth noting that if Letang wasn't on the ice here, Neal would likely be covering the right point, and Martin would be much less likely to pinch. Letang's presence serves as a security blanket for Martin, who can take an offensive posture here with Letang's speed and sound defensive play as insurance.
I think, and I hope, that we'll get to see Martin and Letang together on the power play moving forward; according to Bylsma, the plan currently is for Letang to take the first player off the ice from the first power play unit, most likely Kunitz. Bylsma might be stubbornly clinging to his dream of a four-forward power play unit to the detriment of the team, but I can see his reasoning: with such a drop off between our first and second power play teams, it makes sense to stagger the line changes. Crosby and Malkin tend to stay on ice for a minute and a half anyway, so switching out a tired Kunitz for a fresh Letang breathes life into our most potent lineup, takes advantage of a potentially gassed penalty kill, and puts us in a good position to recover defensively in the event of a turnover.
If Paul Martin can keep up this level of play, he has the potential (as we saw last night) to make our power play that much more versatile, and to help fill the void left by Gonchar, which is what he was brought in to do in the first place.
It's Super Sunday over here at BOSC. We call it Super Sunday because that's when they play the Super Bowl. Thank God for us that the Pens are playing the Caps at 12:30 to spare us at least a few hours of inane pregame football chatter. While our chili simmers on the stovetop, tempers on the ice will be bubbling over between these fierce rivals. Timely metaphor, right guys?
To be honest, the Pens-Caps rivalry feels less relevant now than it has since the pre-Ovechkin/Crosby years. The Capitals, who were always thisclose to being a championship team, have been in a backslide since last season, and their identity as the Southeast team with the dominant scorers that no one wants to play looks to have been usurped by the Tampa Bay Lightning. Of course, no one has been more emblematic of the Caps' regression to the pack than Ovie, who has had one of the most inexplicable falls from grace that I've seen from an NHL superstar. Once clearly a top two player in the league, he is now dangerously close to "enigmatic Russian scorer" territory, and there's no clear reason why. The Caps are on their third coach in as many years, and Adam Oates has led them to a disappointing 2-5-1 record thus far, maybe because he's instructed his players to pass the puck at every chance, and only to shoot if there is absolutely no other option. (***ADAM OATES HUMOR***)
From Right to Left: Adam Oates, DAN LACOUTURE, Jaromir Jagr.
Regardless of their place in the standings, we fully expect the Caps to bring their best to the table tonight. We expect Ovechkin to land a big hit at some point, and to spend every power play skating around the top of the left circle with his stick half-cocked, waiting for a one-timer feed to hammer past Fleury. We expect Mike Green to make a couple nice offsenive plays and more than a couple embarrassing defensive lapses. We expect the ghost of Mike Knuble to tip in some ugly, tide-turning goal.
The Penguins enter the game riding high off of consecutive division wins against the Rangers and Devils in which we outscored our opponents by a combined score of 8-1. Here are some trends to keep track of this afternoon and moving on:
Crosby showed up yesterday against New Jersey in a huge way. His snipe job on a 2-on-1 with Dupuis was incredible, but I preferred his assist on the Pens' final goal, where he muscled Krys Barch (cool name spelling, bro) of the puck behind the net and sent a perfect no-look pass to the point for Robert Bortuzzo's first NHL goal. Sid loves playing against the Caps, and here's hoping he's locked in and ready to start climbing the league leaders board
The platoon situation is paying early dividends. After a rough showing from Fleury against the Islanders, Vokoun righted the shift with a near-flawless performance against the Rangers. He was a black hole, sucking in every puck sent his way and giving up no rebounds. Fleury was strong yesterday when he needed to be (which wasn't often), and the only goal he gave up was the result of his defense (in the person of, for some reason, Malkin) leaving him out to dry. Vokoun will be between the pipes against his old team, and let's all agree to put the goaltending controversy to bed for a while and just enjoy the wonderful sensation of having an elite backup.
The defense has been in flux, but seems to be taking form. The entire corps looked great yesterday, allowing only 16 shots on net and blocking 14 in all. By now, we know what we're getting from our top guys, especially Orpik (who has been blocking everything in sight) and Letang (who continues to outskate everyone on the ice), but it looks like it's going to be impossible to stem the youth movement encroaching on the sixth d-man spot, with Despres and Bortuzzo making strong claims to what was once (it seems so long ago now) Ben Lovejoy's spot in the lineup. Both are huge (they're listed as an identical 6'4" and 215 pounds) and strong with the puck, and have made enough good plays to compensate for their to-be-expected rookie miscues. More importantly, both seem to be at that point in their development where they need exposure at the NHL level more than anything else. If one or both of them are going to be regular contributors to the Pens this year, it's out-of-the-pan-into-the-fire time. If there's a silver lining to the Niskanen injury, it's that it has forced Bylsma's hand, pressing the young fellas into extended duty earlier than perhaps expected.
Hey, speaking of, I wonder if either of these young fellas could man the point on the power play. After Malkin's non-effort on the Devils' short-handed goal yesterday, I think the need for two defensemen at the point is unavoidable. Bortuzzo's slapshot looked pretty healthy, or at least healthy enough to get through Marty Brodeur, and let's not discount. The most glaring hole on the team - yes, more glaring than the need for a couple of top-six forwards - is the lack of a guy who can put a hard slapshot on the net. This is kind of a useful thing to have on the power play, especially when you've got Kunitz screening the goalie, and Crosby and Neal fishing for rebounds. If we can add this weapon to our arsenal simply by promoting one of our rookies into a quarterback role, the team will become much more dangerous. It's certainly worth kicking the tires. If not, something tells me we could talk the Isles into dumping Lubomir Visnosky on us. Lu-bo-mir! Lu-bo-mir!
This jersey that I spotted at the game last night just about sums up my feelings. It was a brutal loss that brought the boo-birds out in our second home game. The forecheck yet again was nonexistent, we saw dozens of lazy passes, and the power play . . . LORD the power play. The first unit couldn't generate anything - no open looks, no unexpected passes, no sustained possession - aside from a whole mess of supergreat SHOOOOOOOOT cheers from the fans (spoiler alert, when they did shoooooooot, it got blocked). The second unit features Tyler Kennedy as the primary playmaker, so you go ahead and guess how that turned out.
The Penguins' woes with the man-advantage were exacerbated by the Islanders' own power play, which basically set up a couch, a coffee table, and a couple of Barcaloungers in the Pens' zone and made themselves at home. The Penguins penalty kill, ever the gracious host, welcomed them in with open arms and stationary legs. And this:
That's John Tavares in the circle, by far the Islanders' most dangerous scorer. Somehow, he was open for this shot at least three times over the course of two second-period power plays, both of which resulted in goals. And when I say open, I mean, there isn't a Penguin on his side of the ice. And I used my Photoshop diagramming skills to illustrate that he had approximately 85% of the net to shoot at. In this case, Tavares chose to rocket a one-timer directly at Marc-Andre Fleury's face, and Fleury ducked the hell out the way.
Apparently the boos that rained down as the Penguins steadfastly refused to take advantage of a five-minute major penalty to Colin MacDonald (who was handed a two game suspension today) did not fall on deaf ears. Word out of Penguins practice today is that Byslma will be moving Malkin to the point and shifting Neal down low, which is all well and good except for the fact that it takes our best scorer (Malkin) away from his favorite spot (on the right half-boards). I guess we'll have to hope that Malkin will be able to create space at the point and eventually fade toward his spot, and that we won't just give up infinite short-handed goals.
Problematizing things even further is the fact that Matt Niskanen is out for 2-4 weeks with a "lower body injury," eliminating one of our top offensive defensemen from the power play discussion. While I'm on it, the whole vague, cheeky "lower/upper body injury" thing is truly frustrating. The fans would like to know what is actually ailing injured players, but coaches find it strategically beneficial to give out the bare minimum, only disclosing where the injury occured vis-a-vis some imaginary bodily equator. Why? Because if they said "so-and-so has a fractured ankle," they fear that opposing players will target those areas. In which case, what is wrong with us? Don't get me wrong, I love hockey, but when coaches have to withhold information for fear that other players will use that information to willfully reinjure another human being? Yikes.
Perhaps the most worrisome thing to take from the Islanders game is the Penguins' inability to bounce back. After struggling to find a rhythm and falling behind, the game quickly devolved into "Geno or Sid need to save the team, let's have them try to bust into the zone 1-on-2 and do something magical." Sure, sometimes they are going to do something magical and score an unbelievable goal, but the majority of the time the puck is going to drift harmlessly into the corner boards, and the Pens wingers won't be close enough to put pressure on the opposing defense. The flip side of Sid and Geno putting the scoring burden on their own shoulders is the feeling that, if those two can't create a goal, no one will. That's what we call in the blogging world a self-fulfilling prophecy. We need to go back to generating scoring by attrition, by sending forecheckers in waves and wearing down the opposition. Until that happens, we're a two-headed monster without a leg to stand on.
Anyway, long story short, this game sucked. The Penguins have a lot to work on, and Pens fans will just have to keep on hoping that this is all due to "lockout rust," as opposed to "systemic flaws in the make up of the team."
A few bright spots from last night: Dustin Jeffrey, who my girlfriend's dad told me played really well in Croatia (above), was finally active, and got a lot of run on the wing with Malkin and Neal. He's going to get the chance to stick on that line, especially if he keeps playing like he did last night. He made a lot of solid plays, and no jaw-droppingly bad plays (which can't be said about, for instance, Malkin and Crosby), and overall looked good - ZAGREB good.
Kris Letang was the team's most dynamic player. He looks good. This is an ongoing theme.
I - and the rest of the ticketholders who stuck around for the final horn - appreciated the urgency the Penguins showed to spoil Nabokov's shutout. Dupuis' put back was a hollow goal par excellence, but it was nice to cheer for something. This is what we've been reduced to.
Dynamite reactions from the fans along the boards. Kudos to Beard Kid and Pointing Lady.
