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.
Matt Martin
The Isles' left winger has led the league in hits the past two seasons, and was credited with 10 hits in Game 1, in only 13 minutes of ice time (he was also a minus-2). It's clear that the Isles rely on Martin to respond to the other team's physical play, and with Tavares being tossed around like a rag doll by the Pens, he was looking to make a statement. It's also clear that Martin is a severely limited player, and doesn't play a very smart brand of hockey. The Penguins cannot let Martin get under their skin or in their heads; they need to stay physical and focus on shutting down Tavares, Moulson, et al. They also need to be aware when #17 is on the ice and keep their heads up.
Jussi Jokinen and Brandon Sutter
The Pens' forgotten centers are both capable of affecting the game while flying under the radar. Jokinen managed to pot another two points last night, bringing his totals to 13 points in 11 games with the Penguins. You could discount the points as cheapies, given that one was a second assist, and the other was on Tanner Glass' fluky goal, but the tape tells a different story. Watch everything he does here to set up Dupuis' second goal:
All Juicy does here is win the offensive zone face off cleanly, and then play a perfect two man game with Eaton. After the face-off, he seems to be well-covered, with two Isles on on his hip:
As Eaton dumps the puck softly into the corner, however, one defender peels off Juicy to cover Dupuis as he drives to the net, leaving John Tavares to defend Jokinen. This, er, doesn't go very well for Tavares...or should I say, "MVP Candidate John Tavares." Juicy easily beats Tavares to the puck, and as he approaches it, he subtly fakes like he's going to cycle the puck behind the net. Tavares bites and ends up on the wrong side of Jokinen, buying Juicy some room to operate in the corner.
Tavares tries to recover and get his stick around on Jokinen, but the veteran quite simply burns the youngster. Juicy stays strong on the puck around the board, using his body as a shield against Tavares stick and putting even more distance between them. By the time Juicy reaches the half-boards, he's got Tavares so beat that the man covering Mark Eaton's point has to come over to help.
As you can see in the shot above, Juicy waits until Eaton's man overcommits, then gives up his body to dish the puck to a now wide-open Eats. Tavares, who gave up on defending Juicy after a weak attempt at a stick check, can't get to the point in time to cover for his teammate, leaving Eats with a passing lane the size of a landing strip:
The result is an easy goal in front for Dupes, but Jokinen's work against Tavares is what sets the table.
The above play was beautifully orchestrated to force the Islanders to overload one side of the ice and get a man open in front of the net. Tanner Glass' goal to put a cap on the night's scoring was, on the other hand, an ugly goal that no goalie should ever let in. But the fact that it was a fluke doesn't mean that the Pens didn't earn it. Again, it was Juicy doing all the little things to create an opportunity out of nothing.
The play begins with ex-Pens' defenseman Brian Strait attempting to clear the puck, while absorbing a big check from Craig Adams. Jokinen throws his body against the board, and make a nifty soccer maneuver to keep the puck in.
Once he gets the puck, he immediately has three Islanders converge on him, but rather than panic and try to throw the puck in front of the net (which was vacated when the puck seemed headed out of the zone), Juicy slips a hit along the boards and keeps chipping the puck forward, away from the Islanders.
As you can see above, Jokinen is focused on the puck, and he's going to do whatever it takes to either keep possession, or, failing that, to get the puck in deep. Brian Strait steps up to hit Jokinen, who keeps the puck moving and is now engaging two defenders, leaving Glass free to swoop in for the puck, get around the defenseman, and get a bad-angle shot on net that beats whoever the Islanders' back-up goalie is.
Here is the play in real-time (warning: it's not pretty):
You can chalk this one up to an Islanders team that was beaten-down and just wanting to get off the ice, but let's give credit to Juicy and the Pens' fourth line for manufacturing a goal here - for Tanner freaking Glass, for crying out loud! Jokinen is full of heady moves that seem minor, but which consistently tilts the ice in the Penguins' favor. Keep an eye on him and you'll start to notice them.
As for Sutter, there's no video highlight for him, and no stats that stand out, except this one: ZERO shots for John Tavares. Morrow and Cooke are making the big hits, but Sutter is going to be responsible for haunting Tavares, at even strength as well as on the penalty kill. The Penguins website has a nice little article about it. I think Sutter will score some big goals this offseason, but it will be his defensive play on opposing stars that really grows the Legend of Sutter.
BREAKING NEWS: Crosby is in the lineup for Game 2
Forget what I said, let's just watch him.
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