What Stands In The Way Of A Fourth Stanley Cup For The Penguins?

   As many supporters of the team have grown accustomed to over the past four years, the Penguins are once again near the top of the list of teams that are believed to be legitimate contenders for the Stanley Cup.  After all, they have possibly the top two players in the world, in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, on their roster.  Those two, complemented by dynamic scorers Chris Kunitz and James Neal, make for a dangerous offense. If the “defense wins championships” theory is a concern, the Pens have former Norris Trophy (for the NHL’s best defenseman) finalist Kris Letang, along with shutdown defensemen Paul Martin and Rob Scuderi.  Goaltender Marc Andre Fleury currently leads the NHL in wins, with twenty-nine, and ranks in the top ten in average goals-against (2.26). 

All of this combines to form one massive expectation: the Penguins will be playing games into early June.  That has been the expectation every year since 2008. While they reached the finals and lost to Detroit in ’08, and then won the Cup in 2009, the expectation hasn’t been met lately.  The Pens have lost in the first or second round in three of the past four years, and haven’t recorded a win past round two since that Cup run in ’09.  The Penguins should be building a dynasty with multiple Cups, like Chicago has been doing.  Instead, the team has been haunted by the likes of Jaroslav Halak, Claude Giroux, Marty St. Louis, and, most recently, Tuukka Rask.  While all signs point to the Pens having a great chance to erase that this spring by bringing home the big prize, there are a few reasons to be wary of another disappointment.

The first is a lack of secondary scoring.  While Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, James Neal, and Chris Kunitz have been filling the net, the team has received very little production from the rest of the offense.  Players like Brandon Sutter, Chuck Kobasew, and Craig Adams have been all but nonexistent on the score sheet. While it is expected that the top six forwards will carry the majority of the offensive load, a Stanley Cup-winning team needs the occasional big goal contribution from the bottom six, too.  Part of this will be resolved over time.  Chris Conner, Joe Vitale, and Beau Bennett all should return from injury well before the time the playoffs roll around.  Another possibility is making a trade, perhaps shipping one of the team’s many defensive prospects away in return for a winger.  If nothing is done to address this problem, this would be a serious concern as we head towards April. 

Another worry is defense.  The Penguins have a wealth of talent on defense. As stated above, they have a solid top three of Kris Letang, Paul Martin, and Rob Scuderi.  They are well complemented by the heavy hitting Brooks Orpik, and the dynamic pairing of Matt Niskanen and rookie Olli Maatta.  Sometimes, however, the way the defense operates is more important than the talent itself.  Kris Letang, for instance, has the talent to be one of the best two-way defensemen the league has ever seen.  However, instead of being smart with the puck, he is often creating turnovers or making poor choices. Another problem is a lack of defensive responsibility, or “paying attention to the little things”.  The Cup-winning Penguins of ’09 prided themselves on their attention to detail. Their miniscule number of mistakes meant they allowed far fewer goals, which meant they won more games in spite of not having the explosive offense that the 2014 team has.  If the defense becomes more responsible—which we have seen, at some points this season, that they can do—then this concern isn’t really a factor.

Another potential problem is injury.  It is a fact of life that has plagued the Penguins seemingly forever.  Old people will remember how Mario Lemieux’s career was hindered by his back problems.  In recent memory, Sidney Crosby was sidelined for nine months with a concussion, and Evgeni Malkin had to have reconstructive knee surgery.  This season alone, the Penguins were without Evgeni Malkin, James Neal, Kris Letang, Paul Martin, Rob Scuderi, Brooks Orpik, and Deryk Engelland all at the same time!  While they found ways to operate and get by for the time being, such a rash of injuries would certainly spell the team’s demise in the playoffs.  A rational proposition would be that the Penguins need Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, James Neal, Chris Kunitz, Kris Letang, Paul Martin, Rob Scuderi, Brooks Orpik, and Marc Andre Fleury to stay healthy 100% of the playoffs in order to reach their goal.  Not much can be done to prevent injuries from happening.  However, we’ve seen it ruin a team’s chances before. For instance, the 2011 Penguins entered the playoffs without the services of Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin, and they were eliminated in the first round.

The Penguins, as they stand, are one of the top five contenders in the NHL.  Obviously, being top five doesn’t necessarily get you the Cup. The Pens are interested, and only interested, in being number one. To do that, their bottom-six forwards need to start chipping in some goals (or GM Ray Shero needs to trade for a better one(s)), the defensemen need to play soundly and responsibly, and they need to stay healthy. 

In 2011, the abundance of injuries to forwards left them with little finishing capability, allowing Lightning goalie Dwayne Roloson to put up a forcefield in game 7:

In 2012, a lack of defensive responsibility allowed Flyers forward Claude Giroux to fill the net, an lead the Flyers to victory: 

In their Cup run in 2009, the Pens played well defensively and received goals from secondary forwards, which led them to victory in games like this: 

Why The Pens Will Pull It Out

Penguins 2, Islanders 2.  In the aftermath of a disappointing game 4, I sit here writing this.  A game 4 that saw the Penguins take a 3-2 lead, and later a 4-3 lead.  The final score was 6-4, Islanders.  What happened?

First, the Pens continued to play stupid.  The Islanders tied it at 4 in the third period off of a silly turnover by Evgeni Malkin.  The game was filled with other similar mistakes.  But in this one, all eyes are on Marc Andre Fleury.  I am somebody who is usually the biggest Fleury defender.

Not tonight.

Three of the Islanders' six goals were inexcusable.  One was scored from behind the net, banking off of Fleury's leg.  Another was scored in the final two minutes of play, sliding past him so slow you could read the label on the puck.

So, the series is tied at two, with the Pens heading home to play game 5 on Thursday at Consol Energy Center.  I seriously think that the Pens pull this one out.  And not because I'm a homer, or a fan (I am both of those things, but they didn't have any influence over this post).  Here's why.

The Pens are a flat out better team.  When they play smart, they kill the Islanders.  The problem so far is that they haven't been playing smart.  I feel that the Penguins are better equipped to lock in for an impressive game 5/6 than the Islanders.  This is because the Islanders are so inexperienced.  Their star players, John Tavares, Matt Moulson, Kyle Okposo, have never been in the playoffs before.  They don't know the intensity of a game 5, or game 6.  The Penguins have people like Crosby, Malkin, and Letang who have been in deep playoff runs.  They know what it's like, they know what it takes.

That's why I think the Pens will take this one.  If, AND ONLY IF, the Pens can reach down, and focus.  If they can go into a mindset of 2008 or 2009.  If they can regain their Cup winning mentality, they can take two of the next three.  The Pens are by far the better team.  It's all mental.

The same goes for Marc Andre Fleury.  If he can't do that, I'm all for giving Tomas Vokoun the start for game 5.

Clean It Up, Pens

The first three games of the Stanley Cup Playoffs are in the books.  On paper, the Penguins appear to be in good shape.  You see a 5-0 blowout win in game one, a tight 4-3 loss in game two, and a 5-4 overtime win in the third game.  On paper, it appears that we not only took a series lead, but demoralized the Islanders.  They fought back so hard towards the end of the game to force overtime.  After all that, Crosby set up Kunitz for the winner in OT, making it look easy.  All in front of a wild crowd at the ancient Nassau Coliseum, a building that hadn't seen a playoff game in six years.

Sure, the Penguins are in a good position going forward in the series.  But if they hope to get close to a Stanley Cup, or even to get out of this series, things need to change.  The Pens are stocked with talent, we all know that.  The trouble is putting it to good use.  The Penguins need to play smart.  In Sunday's 5-4 win, there were two players who played smart:  Sidney Crosby and Douglas Murray.  Everybody else astounded with their dumb decisions.  Matt Niskanen had two turnovers, both of them costing the Pens a goal. Letang turned the puck over uncharacteristically.  Countless others did the same.  The bottom line is that none of the players need to play as well as Crosby, but they all need to play as smart is him.

They need to stop making blind passes.  They need to stop forcing passes to star players.  They need to stop slinging the puck 80 feet up ice, hoping it will connect with someone (this almost always ends up being a turnover).  They need to stop trying to outskill the Islanders' defense.  Instead of trying to walk right into the offensive zone, try dumping it in and using that fore-checking thing that worked so well in game one.

The Pens had a 15 game win streak this season.  They didn't accomplish that by speeding up the ice, beating the entire team and scoring 10 goals per game.  The played a tough, defensively sound game.  They hit their opponents hard, and lock it down in front of Marc Andre Fleury.  They waited for the other team to give them opportunities to score.  What they are doing now is essentially trying to force goals, and in the process, giving the Islanders opportunities to score.

This needs to stop.

9 wins, 9 reasons

The Penguins have established themselves as the team to beat in the Eastern Conference, with 44 points.  Somehow, they have just one less win than the miraculous Chicago Blackhawks (and their streak of 24 games without a loss-in-regulation).  The Pens sit atop the Atlantic Division, and to every Pens fan's delight, Philadelphia sits at the bottom.  That's right, the Flyers are below the Islanders.  Anyhow, the Penguins currently sit atop a 9 game winning streak, which could be accredited to the following 9 reasons:

1. Sidney Crosby "Sid will never be the same".  "He's one big hit away from retirement".  Those are two quotes thrown around a lot over the past year.  Amusingly enough, such rumors were entirely started and continued by fans.  Not team doctors, not team officials, not team coaches, not other players, and certainly not Sid himself.  I have no basis for saying this, but I'd be willing to bet that anybody who said that had no formal medical training whatsoever.  Sid The Kid is back to stay, and better than ever.  Teammate Brooks Orpik, who has played with Crosby for his entire career, says this is the best he's ever seen him, even better than his pre-concussion tear.  He leads the league in points by a mile.  He piles up the assists at an insane rate, and the scoring touch seems to be picking up by the day.  Its no coincidence that the Penguins are winning.

2. Goaltending The Pens goaltending was more or less a question mark for the beginning of this year.  Backup Tomas Vokoun had three or four bad performances, and Marc-Andre Fleury showed vulnerability. On this winning streak, save for a couple exceptions, the goaltending has been more than strong.

3. Penalty Kill In the first part of the season (most noticeably on the Pens' mini losing streak which preceded the winning streak) the team's penalty kill was very weak.  This was a stark contrast to the past two seasons, in which the Penguins took the 1st and 4th rankings respectively.  On this winning streak, for the most part, the PK has looked back like its old self.  They are pressuring the puck more, which forces opponents to make quick (and bad) decisions.

4. No Excuses Remember 2011, when Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin sat out the final four months of the season?  Remember how the Penguins made the playoffs (with home--ice advantage) that year?  Its because they (led by coach Dan Bylsma) NEVER use injuries as excuses.  Over the course of this winning streak, the Pens have been without Evgeni Malkin for most of the time.  One could hardly notice.

5. Persistence Pays Off Many have labeled the 2013 Penguins as the "comeback kids"(similar to the '08-'09 team).  The team has made late, dramatic comebacks a bit of a habit.  Notable ones include a 2-goal comeback vs. Philly in the 3rd period, a 2-goal comeback vs. Boston in the 3rd, a 3 goal comeback @ Florida in the 2nd and 3rd periods, and a 3 goal comeback @ Philly.  The persistence has provided several empowering victories, and has given them the look of a playoff team.

6. Home Ice Another rumor thats been flying around: Consol Energy Center is too quiet.  I simply don't understand this one.  I mean, any arena would be quiet with its team down 4-1 to the Islanders.  Even in a normal circumstance, no fan base screams during play relentlessly (save for the insane MTS Centre in Winnipeg).  During big moments towards the end of the game, Consol is as loud as anywhere in the NHL.  You have to think this affects the players in a positive way.

7. Welcome to Pittsburgh, Sutter Brandon Sutter started his career with the Penguins extremely quietly.  He wasn't necessarily bad, he just wasn't scoring much.  He played terrific defensive hockey. Now, all of a sudden, he has become a source of dramatic, game-changing goals.  With a late goal to complete a huge comeback vs. the Flyers, and two goals in the final five minutes of an astonishing comeback win vs. Boston, Sutter certainly has carved a place in this team.

8. Depth The Penguins depth is unbelievable, from top to bottom.  First off, any claims that Sidney Crosby should get some better wingers are absolutely absurd.  On one side, you have Chris Kunitz, who is second in the league in points (only to Crosby.  Kunitz also has two hat tricks on the season).  Third line center Brandon Sutter is thriving, as I said above.  James Neal is continuing to be the 40-goal man of last year.  Dustin Jeffrey is ably filling in for injured Malkin.  Newbie Beau Bennett is already making waves, as a second line winger.  It even goes down to the fourth line in Joe Vitale, who leads the way in face-offs.

9. Discipline Something the Penguins lacked in a big way before this streak is discipline.  Taking too many penalties.  One way or another, they have simply stopped doing that, which obviously results in less chances for opponents to score.

It's Time To Pray

The Penguins enjoyed a solid victory over the Florida Panthers Friday night.  They saw a brilliant performance from Marc-Andre Fleury.  They got a tough, game-tying goal from Chris Kunitz.  They got third period goals from Matt Niskanen and Dustin Jeffrey.  But all of that is out the window, and all eyes are on Evgeni Malkin and his apparent injury.

At around the four minute mark of the third period, Malkin slid into the boards back-first.  That caused his neck to snap back and his head to hit the boards.  Uh oh.  Of all the players, it had to be Malkin.  Just imagine the riots that would have ensued if it had been Crosby.

He doesn't officially have a concussion, but will be re-evaluated on Saturday.  This would be a huge blow to the team.  It would force Brandon Sutter to center a line with James Neal.  James Neal has no chemistry with Sutter, which would probably severely damage Neal's production, which we saw in the 2011 season.

It's time to pray.

Here's a video of the incident