Happy Hockey Christmas!

Photo: Getty Images

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:

Question: Will Crosby return in the series, and when?

Obviously the most pressing questoin mark on this team is the captain.  The Penguins have shown that they can win games without their stars, and they have the depth and talent to win this series without Sid, but do we really believe that  one of the most insanely competetive athletes on the planet is going to let a little broken face keep him out of the playoffs?  We've been told that Crosby is awaiting clearance from his doctors, and in the meantime is practicing on a line with Dustin Jeffrey and Joe Vitale, and sitting out power play drills.  The team is playing its cards close to the vest here, but you really have to wonder if they're pulling a little rope-a-dope with the Isles, waiting until the last moment to announce that he's active.  (BREAKING: he's announced that he's not playing tonight)My guess is that he'll play before the weekend - he'll line up for the opening faceoff and the atmosphere will be insane.  Not sure how the Islanders counter that.

Statement: If Crosby plays, he'll play well.

Duh.  Don't waste time wringing your hands about bringing Crosby back too soon, about rust and chemistry issues and residual face pain.  Crosby has shown time and again that he won't play at any level but his best, so if he feels ready (and he has said that he does), put him in and step aside. 

Question: How will the Penguins penalty kill fare?

Yes, this is a semi-veiled question about Marc-Andre Fleury, who needs to be the team's best penalty killer.  Our PK has been subpar all season long, despite solid play from Adams, Dupuis, Cooke, Murray, Martin, et al.  Simply put, the Penguins can not let the Islanders get momentum on the power play.  They will need to assign a man to shadow Tavares and deny the pass across the slot from the left post.  The Islanders' power play, like the Capitals' with Ovechkin, is designed to get Tavares looks at that one-timer.  To shut him down, we'll have to live with their other scorers - Moulson, Grabner, Okposo, Streit - having some chances.  And in the end, it will be on Fleury to shut the door.

Statement: The Penguins will set the tone physically.

Hitting in the playoffs is a completely different animal than in the regular season.  Guys who were playing two-hand touch on the forecheck in Game 48 are going to be looking to drive their man through the boards in Game One of Season Two.  The Penguins know this very well, and the Islanders are about to learn.  Any and every time their defenseman touch the puck in their own zone, they are going to get hammered by Kunitz, Morrow, Cooke, Neal, Dupuis, Iginla, and co.  This is going to tire them out, make them jumpy, screw with their timing, and cause turnovers.  It's also going to incite the home crowd and spark the entire team.

And the Islanders' high-flying young scorers are going to find out that the rink gets smaller in the playoffs.  Seams that were open all season long are suddenly going to be filled by guys like Brooks Orpik and Douglas Murray.  Holy hell, we might see Douglas Murray kill someone this series.  A playoff series is a war of attrition, and the Penguins' best chance of winning is physically cowing a much younger Islanders squad.  Attrition, thy name is Crankshaft.

Question: What will Iginla say to the team?

Iggy is an all-time great, looking to win the Stanley Cup that everyone wants him to win before he hangs up his skates.  He might be the most respected leader in the game, and even though his quest-for-the-Cup story will probably be beaten into the ground before long, there is no doubt that we are playing for a greater cause this year.  Every year we say it's Cup or bust, but this season, there is a serious, don't-fuck-around, now-or-never atmosphere surrounding the team.  The word I keep coming back to is solemn - we have a solemn duty to earn Iginal this final honor, or we've let him down.  I just wish I could be in the room (hey, maybe it will be on an episode of "In the Room") when Iggy gives his pregame talk to the team.  I mean, he has to give them the motivational speech to end all motivational speeches, right?  If he can get his teammates ready to lay their body on the lines for his sake, that momentum will make roadkill out of the Isles.  If the rest of the team can't get inspired by Iggy...I don't know what to tell you.

Statement: If the Penguins win, it will be largely because of new guys.

This isn't just about adding depth and skill, though it's about that too.  It's about the character that Shero injected into the lineup with his acquisitions.  Iginla and Morrow will be able to tell the rest of the Pens, most of whom were spoiled by a Cup win four years ago, what it means to be desperate for a championship.  They're going to be playing their guts out, and the first linemate who doesn't do the same is going to be in for a rude awakening.  Any head-hanging, lazy play, or other nonsense from the back end is going to be met with a death stare from Murray.  And Tomas Vokoun can skate up to Fleury during warm-ups and whisper to him in his best Czech assassin sotto voce: "You let a cheap goal behind you and mark my words, I will forcibly remove you from the net.  Understand this: I spent my prime playing with the Nashville Predators and Florida Panthers.  The Panthers!  You are NOT screwing up this up for me." 

We've lauded Shero for putting together an all-star type lineup, but his real coup was adding the kind of guys who can challenge and motivate the team's core.  The Pens come in with the weight of expectations on their shoulders, but they're also stocked with warriors with chips on their shoulders.

Prediction: Pens in 4

The Isles might steal one, but I don't think they're ready for the big stage just yet, and I think it will become apparent very early on.  I think the Pens will be all business, and no Isles lead will feel safe. 

Series MVP: Jarome Iginla

He's got destiny on his side.  Time to put this team on his back.  Seeing something like a 4-3-7 line this series.