Losses aren't all bad

The panic has set in.  Already.  Apparently this town didn't learn anything from the Pens' first round win over the Islanders.  Going into last night's game 3 vs. the Ottawa Senators, the Pens held a 2-0 advantage in the best of 7 series.

The game was hard fought, and, in my opinion, the highest quality game of the playoffs so far.  Basically, here's how it went:  Both teams got a ridiculous amount of scoring chances, and both goaltenders stood on their heads to keep most of them out.  The only difference was, Ottawa goalie Craig Anderson allowed one goal, and Pittsburgh's Tomas Vokoun allowed two.  Neither goaltender deserved to lose.  That being said, Anderson did deserve to win more.  He was barraged all night, especially in both of the overtime periods, by quality scoring chances from the Penguins, who have some serious firepower.  It was a sight to behold, and Anderson turned in a performance you don't see often in the playoffs.

Late in the second overtime, it looked as though both goalies were brick walls.  Thoughts turned to the possibility of a third OT, and an even later Sunday night.  But then, after a shot from the point was stopped by Vokoun, Ottawa's speedy Colin Greening got to the rebound before a Penguins defenseman could, and backhanded home the game winner.  You can't fault Vokoun.  You can only feel sorry for him that his team couldn't do more with an incredible, 47 save performance.

So, heading into Wednesday's game 4 in Ottawa, I think the Penguins, and their fans, have no reason to be worried.  After all, we have a 2-1 series lead.  Experts and fans alike picked the Pens to win the series in five, six, or maybe seven games, so it is absurd to be too upset.  Because after all, you have two lose a game or two to win in five or six.  Nobody expected a sweep.

Here is why we shouldn't be too worried.

Last night's game was probably the Penguins' best performance of the playoffs so far.  Sometimes there are those nights, where you turn in an incredible performance as a team, and the other team slips away with the win.  You have to move on.  The Penguins generated scoring chance after scoring chance, tallying 49 shots over 4+ periods of play.  The first line, of Crosby, Kunitz, and Dupuis, was absolutely flying out there.  Evgeni Malkin looked like he was from another planet.  He looked like his old self again, last seen in 2012 and 2009.  He was flying through the neutral zone, and creating chaos in the zone with his puck movement, passes, and steals.  The fourth line generated some big pressure, which is a good bonus.  Anderson was having one of those nights.  He wouldn't be beaten

I also really liked the Pens' defense.  Ottawa was able to get a reasonable amount of offensive zone time, however, the Penguins seemed to be intercepting all of the cross ice passes and blocking most of the shots from the points.  We saw almost none of the carelessness we saw in round 1.

If they play like this on Wednesday, and beyond, things will be just fine.

Here's a video of Greening's game winner in 2OT:

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.

Equipped for Success

Last year, the Penguins were a favorite to win the Cup for much of the year, especially after Sidney Crosby made his second return in March.  As the the trade deadline approached and passed, the Pens' GM Ray Shero did something out of character: nothing.  He made no moves to strengthen the team in any way.  This proved to be a mistake, as Philadelphia would eliminate the Penguins from the playoffs in the first round, embarrassing them defensively.

This year was obviously different.  Shero did a lot to strengthen the team.  In fact, he did far more than any other NHL GM.  Here's a look at the Pens' 5 acquisitions (In chronological order), and how they can help them to a Stanley Cup win.

1. Tomas Vokoun One of the glaring problems in the Pens' playoff loss to Philadelphia was the goaltending.  Marc-Andre Fleury played very poorly (an understatement).  This was in part because of fatigue.  Backup goalie Brent Johnson played so poorly in 2011-12 that he couldn't be trusted to win a game, forcing Fleury to play over 20 games in a row.  He had nothing left by the time the playoffs came around.  So, Shero went out and got a reliable backup who could relieve some of the load.  Enter Vokoun.  While he won't see the ice during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, he will give Fleury the rest he needs to play well.

2.  Brenden Morrow Before this season started, in my New Year's Resolutions blog, I pointed out that the Penguins needed to regain their toughness.  The toughness they had in their 2009 Cup win, but totally lacked in 2011-2012.  The bottom line:  The Playoffs are not a scoring-fest, they are a defensive, hard-hitting battle.  The Pens got some of the toughness back with the veteran winger Morrow.  He will play on the third line instead of Tyler Kennedy, making that line more of a traditional third line (hard-hitting, good defensively, hard to play against in general).

3.  Douglas Murray In 2009, as the Penguins were gearing up to eventually win the Stanley Cup, Shero acquired defenseman Hal Gill.  Gill was a great shutdown defenseman, something infinitely valuable in the Playoffs.  Gill left for Montreal after that year.  The Penguins have lacked that solid, veteran presence ever since, especially after Sergei Gonchar left town.  The Pens regained some of that when they got Doug Murray.  He is probably the most underrated hitters in the league.  He adds to the Penguins' toughness and defense, which (not to sound like a broken record) is incredibly important to win a Stanley Cup.

4. Jarome Iginla  This is the one we're all excited about.  Last Wednesday, we all went to bed thinking Iginla went to the Bruins.  To the delight of Pens fans everywhere, Ray Shero swooped in at the last minute and grabbed him.  This is an obviously great addition to this team.  Iginla has a scoring touch which is always a plus, and he can also hit and even fight.  Another player in the "tough to play against" list.

5.  Jussi Jokinen Jokinen is a 3rd-line-at-best center.  He was acquired mainly because Crosby is injured for the time being, and we need depth at center.  Tyler Kennedy wasn't exactly cutting it as a No. 1 center, so Shero pulled the trigger (Jokinen came with a very, very low price tag).  Once Crosby returns, he will be slotted into the fourth line, which desperately needs a spark.  He is a whiz at faceoffs, which the Penguins have lacked this year, even during the 15 game win streak.

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.