Second Round Predictions: 2012 Conference Semifinals

Well, after going 2 for 8 in the first round, you can probably just guess the opposite of my picks and do quite well.  I was right with the Rangers in 7 and the Devils winning in the first round.  Despite my awful first round record, I shall continue on and try to predict the second round just in hopes that I can accidentally look smart to everyone!  Weird fact going into the second round: there is one of each seed, 1-8, left in the playoffs.  Neat.

*PS – Though I am posting these after the Conference Semis are already underway, I’m sticking with the picks I made before the first game started…which is also why I look even more stupid now as I picked the Preds in 5.

#2 St. Louis Blues vs. #8 Los Angeles Kings

Offense:  In the regular season, the Blues finished 21^st in scoring and the Kings finished 29^th.  In the playoffs, the Blues are currently 4^th and the Kings are 8^th.  Despite the difference in rankings, I am going to give the edge to the Kings on potential.  They added Jeff Carter late in the season and faced a tougher goalie in the first round.  If Carter can get on the scoreboard, the Kings will boast more scoring depth than the Blues.  Edge – Los Angeles 

Defense:  Both teams have strong defensive systems and great young defenders.  The Blues are led by youngsters Alex Pietrangelo and Kevin Shattenkirk.  Meanwhile, the Kings have a strong mix of young stars like Drew Doughty and playoff veterans like Rob Scuderi.  The Blues finished 1^st in defense in the regular season and are currently 1^st in the playoffs.  The Kings finished 2^nd in the regular season and are currently tied for 1^st in the playoffs.  The Blues forwards generally show more defensive prowess though.  Edge – St. Louis

Goaltending:  Brian Elliott has a 1.37 GAA and .949 Save % , while Jonathan Quick has a 1.59 GAA and .953 Save % in the playoffs.  Both goalies finished in the Top 5 for most stats in the regular season as well.  Quick is a Vezina candidate, and Elliott probably would have been if he had more games played.  The longer history of success for Quick is really the only difference maker in this matchup.  Edge – Los Angeles

Special Teams:  Both teams have great penalty kills due to their defensive prowess, but LA struggles on the PP while St. Louis was clicking at over 30% in the first round.  That difference could be huge in this series when goals are hard to come by.  Edge – St. Louis

Coaching:  Ken Hitchcock has a Stanley Cup ring.  Darryl Sutter has quite a few first round exits, making this abnormal territory for him.  Edge – St. Louis

Result:  Kings in 6.  I can’t pick against Jonathan Quick basically.  It’s that simple.

#3 Phoenix Coyotes vs. #4 Nashville Predators

Offense:  Nashville quietly had a Top 10 offense this season and is currently 5^th in the playoffs.  Phoenix’s offense struggled in the bottom half of the league all season, but looked quite capable against the Blackhawks in the 1^st round as they finished the round ranked 3^rd.  Both teams get by without “big name” scorers in their lineup.  The Preds benefit greatly from having more offensive help from their blue line though.  Edge - Nashville

Defense:  Both teams were in the top 10 in defense this season (Nashville 10^th, Phoenix 5^th).  Nashville tends to depend more on their big defensive guys in Shea Weber and Ryan Suter while Phoenix focuses more on a team defensive system.  Both teams also shut down high powered offenses in Detroit and Chicago respectively in the first round.  I can’t go against Shea Weber’s beard out of fear.  Edge - Nashville

Goaltending:  Pekka Rinne vs. Mike Smith.  Both goalies are Top 10 in pretty much every stat, they had similar stats in the playoffs, and they both made arguments for a Vezina nomination (which Rinne received and Smith did not.)  Smith was the hotter goalie going into the playoffs while Rinne looked shaky at times, so that’s the kicker to me.  Edge - Phoenix

Special Teams:  The teams were close on the PK, with Nashville 8^th and Phoenix 10^th.  The big decisive factor is that Nashville was 1^st on the PP in the regular season while Phoenix was 29^th.  First round numbers don’t matter for that kind of a difference.  Edge - Nashville

Coaching:  Nashville’s Barry Trotz and Phoenix’s Dave Tippett are both amazing coaches when it comes to getting the most out of their teams through discipline and hard work.  Neither has been all that successful in the playoffs until this year though.  I believe Tippett is working with less talent and has taken his team just as far as Nashville, so I favor him ever so slightly in this matchup.  Edge - Phoenix

Result:  Preds in 5.  Nashville has already exorcized a demon in getting past Detroit in stunning fashion.  The Preds have built their team up specifically for this playoff run, and Phoenix just won’t have the depth to handle it.

#1 New York Rangers vs. #7 Washington Capitals

Offense:  Both teams had very similar offensive performances in both the regular season and the playoffs so far.  The Rangers may have a stronger set of 4 lines that can put the puck in the net, but the biggest raw talent on either team belongs to Washington with Ovechkin.  Edge - Washington

Defense:  The Capitals have finally learned how to play playoff hockey with a defense-first system that the whole team has committed to, even Alexander Semin.  The Rangers have always played a very strong defensive system, with an emphasis on shot blocking and protecting Henrik Lundqvist.  The Rangers defense is strong through all 3 pairings, while the Caps don’t necessarily have a standout defensive defenseman right now.  Edge – New York

Goaltending:  Henrik Lundqvist earned nominations for the Vezina and Hart trophies this week for his fantastic regular season play.  Meanwhile, Braden Holtby, still wet behind the ears, has entered the playoff fray as a young unknown who has come out of nowhere to take the league by storm.  While hot goalies are great in the playoffs, they fizzle out eventually.  Edge – New York

Special Teams:  Neither team had a strong PP in the regular season, but the Rangers at least sent out the 5^th best PK unit in the league, led by their defense.  Meanwhile, the Caps have the 2^nd best PK in the playoffs, though it should be discounted based on the fact that their 1^st round opponent, Boston, has been awful on the powerplay in recent playoff history.  All in all, there’s no real winner in this matchup.  Edge - Even

Coaching:  Dale Hunter has had a ton of success in the OHL, limited success in his playoff runs as a player, and is coaching in the NHL for the first time.  John Tortorella has already won a Stanley Cup and knows how to press the buttons of his team quite well by now.  Experience is a big factor in the playoffs.  Edge – New York

Result:  Rangers in 6.  Defense wins championships, and while the Caps have shown a strong new commitment to defense, they don’t have the personnel to handle it quite like the Rangers do.  Defensive depth wins this low scoring series.

#5 Philadelphia Flyers vs. #6 New Jersey Devils

Offense:  The Flyers ranked 2^nd in offense in the regular season and had a monster 1^st round, crushing Pittsburgh with their offensive depth.  It doesn’t even matter what New Jersey can do (average offense if you are curious).  Edge - Philadelphia

Defense:  Philadelphia’s defense was nothing special in the first round.  Meanwhile New Jersey’s was a bit better, but not spectacular either.  There was a big difference in the regular season between these two however, as New Jersey had a top 10 defense and Philadelphia was in the bottom 10.   Edge – New Jersey

Goaltending:  In recent history, neither Bryzgalov nor Brodeur has looked sharp in the playoffs.  Beyond recent history, Brodeur has had just a little bit of playoff success (multiple Stanley Cups are impressive I guess).  Bryzgalov can’t be trusted as he didn’t look strong in the Pittsburgh series either.  Edge – New Jersey

Special Teams:  Philadelphia had a top 5 powerplay in the regular season and absolutely destroyed Pittsburgh (who had the 3^rd ranked PK in the regular season) in the 1^st round, scoring on over half of their chances.  New Jersey had the best PK in the regular season, but only killed at a 69% rate in the playoffs.  With PK’s suffering in the playoffs, Philadelphia’s powerplay gets a huge advantage.  Edge - Philadelphia

Coaching:  Peter Laviolette pretty much crushed Dan Bylsma in coaching strategy and adjustments in the first round.  He has gone deep in the playoffs before and has a Stanley Cup ring from his time with the Hurricanes.  Peter DeBoer is currently on his first ever playoff run in the NHL as a head coach, after coaching the team he just beat (Florida) to 3 playoff-less seasons.  Edge - Philadelphia

Result:  Devils in 7.  Despite Philadelphia having a majority of the advantages, which will win them some games, I would put my money on Brodeur making a strong push in what could possibly be his last year in the NHL.  Bryzgalov just isn’t trustworthy enough for me.

2012 Pens Playoff Performance in Review.

Now that the team has had their final meetings and press conference, including the all-important “injuries that we hid from the world” disclosure, it’s time to take a look back at the playoffs, and eventually the season, and what’s that?  Half of you have already traded away some combination of Staal, Malkin, Crosby, Shero, and Bylsma for the 1976 Soviet team?  AND FOR SHEA WEBER’S BEARD???  Brilliant trade proposal, but anyways, let’s take some time to mourn the team as is and take a look back at the ever so short playoff run that ended on Sunday.

The long uncertain stares of a team that knows its fate. 

#4 Penguins vs. #5 Flyers: Brief Summary

Game 1:  4-3 (OT) Loss.  The Pens roared out to an incredible 3-0 lead before backing into a defensive shell that forgot to include defense.  The Flyers scored their 1^st goal on an offside play and the Pens showed the defensive fortitude of “Alex” Kovalev the rest of the way.  Fleury kept the team alive, but OT doesn’t get you a point in the playoffs as a wide open “Jake” Voracek gave the Flyers the win and a series lead they would not relinquish.

Game 2:  8-5 Loss.  The Pens came out strong again, posting up a 3-1 lead after the first period which even saw a Paul Martin goal!  But yet again, the defense failed, as did the special teams.  The powerplay allowed 2 short-handed goals and the penalty kill allowed a powerplay goal as both Claude Giroux and Sean Couturier recorded hat tricks.  The Pens simply could not keep momentum for longer than a minute and the Flyers took advantage every single time.

Talbot was a big key to Laviolette winning the coaching matchup.

Game 3:  8-3 Loss:  A trip to Philly turned the series into an ugly disgrace that was embarrassing to the concept of hockey.  The Pens played the role of sore-losers as Crosby dropped the gloves with Giroux and then tried to fight Brayden Schenn and/or Scott Hartnell.  Arron Asham cross-checked Schenn and then punched his face into the ice.  Craig Adams had to jump into a fight with Hartnell as 3^rd man in, which also cost Bylsma $10k, to protect Sid.  James Neal started head-hunting Giroux after crushing Couturier.  This was not a hockey game; this was a display of immaturity and a lack of common sense.

Game 4:  10-3 Win: The Pens finally brought their puck possession game, scoring 5 goals a piece on Bryzgalov and Bobrovsky and demonstrating just how dominant they could be when they did not turn the puck over and take massive amounts of needless penalties.  Jordan Staal led the way with a hat trick and the powerplay scored 4 goals in what looked to be a beautiful potential series-turning game.

Half of Pens nation had traded him away before
he came out with his first playoff hat trick.

Game 5:  3-2 Win:  Coming back home to a raucous home crowd, filled with belief, the team put together their closest attempt at a full 60 minute game all series, capped off by Fleury’s refusal to be beat in the 3^rd period.  There were still ample amounts of stupid penalties, but Fleury’s magnificent play towards the end and another brilliant game by the Staal line kept the Pens in the series.

Game 6:  5-1 Loss, End of Series:  It apparently took all of 2 wins for the Pens to fall back into awful habits.  They were outworked in the final loss, showing a lack of discipline again, and just a lack of will in the defensive zone.  The biggest stat to this game was the 40 blocked shots by the Flyers vs. the 18 by the Pens.  The Flyers simply wanted to earn it more (note what I said, not wanted it more, but wanted to earn it more), and that’s what they did as they shook hands with the Pens and said au revoir.

From fighting in Game 3, to a handshake after Game 6.
The sport of hockey and its traditions always deserve respect.

  

Top Penguins of the Series:

Jordan Staal – Though he couldn’t help the PK all that much in this series, he was easily the best 5 on 5 forward for the Penguins, scoring 6 goals on just 12 shots and leading the team with 9 points.  He played on different lines throughout the series, but seemed to have an impact every time he was on the ice, regardless of position or linemates.

Tyler Kennedy – Likely lost in the first round upset was the play of Tyler Kennedy, who had disappointed everyone through most of the regular season.  Kennedy was tied for second on the team with 3 goals and led the team in takeaways with 6.  I encourage you to read that again, KENNEDY LED THE TEAM IN TAKEAWAYS.  I doubt you’ll hear about it anywhere else, but TK played up to his potential in the series.

Say it with me, Tyler Kennedy played well.

Worst Penguins of the Series:

Brooks Orpik – While offense isn’t Orpik’s game, defense is supposed to be.  Those numbers didn’t work out very well as Orpik was on for only 5 goals for, and 14 goals against (7 during PKs).  The team leader in hits and reliable shut down defense during the regular season was a no-show for the playoffs, getting dominated in front of the net and taking some bad penalties around the crease.  What’s sad is Orpik wasn’t even called as much as he should have been, as he draped himself on JVR for 20 seconds without getting a penalty and committed numerous other infractions out of desperation (which usually didn’t work.)  It was a forgettable series for Orpik.

Textbook defense for a player getting owned all series.

Chris Kunitz – Expected to be an energy player that can mesh with any top line combination, all Kunitz did was take stupid penalty after stupid penalty in his best attempts to cost the Pens the series.  He was a momentum killer throughout the series and though he threw the body a lot, couldn’t find a way to energize his team via forechecking and hitting.  He led the team with 4 minor penalties in this series.

Evgeni Malkin – Before you start freaking out that I’m a Crosby fanboy, he’s coming up in the next section.  Malkin makes it here for his lackluster player and his inability to stay focused.  He led the team with 8 giveaways and 18 missed shots as 19 year old Sean Couturier shut him down.  Much of this was of Malkin’s own making, as he insisted on skating through multiple Flyers instead of dishing the puck off or adapting to their form of defense. 

Noteable Absentee Penguins of the Series:

Sidney Crosby – Sid was pretty much an absentee captain through much of the series.  He had nice goals to start Games 1 and 2, but tailed off as the games progressed.  I was encouraged by his fight with Giroux in Game 3 to spark the team, but then he acted like a child for the rest of the game trying to pick a fight.  He pretty much disappeared in Game 6 when the team needed him most.  He wasn’t awful..he just wasn’t there.  One big salvaging factor for Crosby was his 54.8% faceoff number, and he was flat out dominant in defensive zone faceoffs, even going 9 for 11 in one game.

Where was this fire in Game 6?

Kris Letang – Letang was going to be amongst my worst, but I’ll give him a little bit of a pass since he has been nursing a hip injury as we found out today.  His playing style was a cause for concern in the series though as he was solid offensively but nowhere to be found in the defensive zone.  He was also a turnover machine throughout the series.  The fight in Game 3, along with the Talbot shhhing maneuver, demonstrated great immaturity from the team’s best defenseman. 

Marc-Andre Fleury - He was solid in Game 1, good enough in Game 4, brilliant in Game 5, but not very helpful in Games 2, 3, and especially 6.  The defense did not help him out by any means, but elite goalies need to make timely saves to keep a team alive.  Fleury just couldn't consistently come up with the big saves that he made throughout the regular season.  Perhaps it was fatigue, perhaps it was a lack of confidence in the defense, perhaps he simply just didn't have it, but regardless, the team needed more out of Fleury to survive.

Interesting Individual Stats:

- Staal, Dupuis, and Orpik were all on for 7 PPGs against.  Staal and Orpik were on for 14g against, Dupuis for 13.

- Eric Tangradi was on for 2 goals for, 0 against.  Simon Despres was on for 4 goals for, 0 against.

- On the other side, Joe Vitale was on for 0 goals for, 4 against.

- Zbynek Michalek was on for 5 goals for, and only 6 against (only 3 while PKing), much better numbers than many would expect from him.

Michalek does more than you probably realize.

  

Interesting Team Stats:

- The Pens will finish the first round with close to the most missed shots in the league (84)

- They were almost dead last in takeaways (27), and almost the worst with giveaways (53).  The complete lack of puck possession and a huge negative turnover ratio cost the team greatly.

*I keep saying almost since the first round isn’t over yet.

- The powerplay finished with a 31% success rate, which is wonderful, but they also allowed 3 short-handed goals.

- The penalty kill finished with a 47.8% rate.  I don’t have words for how truly awful that is.

- Goals by Period: 1^st – 13, 2^nd – 11, 3^rd – 2.  That is the opposite of clutch.

Pictured: The Penalty Kill.

Key Unknown Injuries

- James Neal had a thumb injury

- Kris Letang had a hip injury

- Steve Sullivan had a foot injury

- Matt Niskanen had a shoulder injury

- Paul Martin had concussion-like symptoms (insert joke here)

So there ya have it, it’s not hard to see why the Pens lost with some of those ugly numbers.  Team Eulogy (not meant to be humorous, or anything like Puck Daddy), and Season recap (player by player) coming in the next few days.  Thanks for reading.

Pens End Their Season with a Whimper and Elimination

Quick Notes:

- Well, now you understand why I hated #PensIn7 so much.

- I’ll just recap the game here.  Series recap on Monday probably.  Season Eulogy shortly thereafter.  Eventually an offseason outlook.  However, I will be shifting more to Kings coverage at thehockeywriters.com too.

Result:

Flyers  5  Pens  1

Goals:  Malkin (3) (PP), unassisted

               

Interesting Stats:

- The Flyers blocked 40 shots.  That right there is a commitment to team defense and doing everything to win a game.  The Pens had that back in 2009.  They had nothing near that in this series.  It’s an attitude and a mindset; it has nothing to do with talent.

- Sidney Crosby and Brooks Orpik, arguably the 2 biggest leaders on this team, came up with a -3 each in this game.

- Kris Letang played almost 32 minutes in this game, including over 13 minutes in the 3^rd period.  He did not play those 32 minutes well.

The Good:

- Some players were good in spurts: Malkin at times, Neal, Staal, but no one was good enough throughout the game to get into this slot.

He showed more effort, but the Flyers D definitely won the battle.

The Bad:

- Well, Pens season is over, and it’s not because they weren’t the more talented team.  The Pens lost this series because the Flyers showed more focus, more preparation, and more discipline than the Pens.  That is simply unacceptable from top to bottom in the organization, and it is a VERY important lesson to a team of young stars that clearly thought they could win through anything, even a lack of work and willpower.  It is a lesson that they should have learned without this defeat though.

- Bylsma clicked the panic button almost immediately after the Flyers scored, pairing Malkin and Crosby together and changing up the lines constantly.  It was a pretty good sign right then that he didn’t know what to do and the Flyers were going to win this game.  The strength of having 3 amazing centers is that you have to force 3 different lines to play against them.  Pairing Crosby and Malkin together and then putting Staal on the 2^nd line hurt Bylsma’s depth at forward by his own doing.  Also, taking apart the team’s hottest line (Cooke-Staal-Kennedy) was a bad idea to begin with after the series they had.

This team realized their destiny quickly.

Steve Sullivan – I have praised Sullivan all series for his great effort and work ethic, but he didn’t show up in a big way today.  He gave up the puck to Giroux that led to the Flyers’ first goal 32 seconds into the game.  He also committed multiple turnovers at the blue line on the powerplay and made no impact in the offensive zone.  In a series where the average play was turnovers and disappointment from the Penguins, Sullivan reverted to the mean in Game 6.

Kris Letang – I have no clue what is going on with Kris Letang, but I hope he takes the offseason to relax and get back to normal.  He had trouble keeping pucks in at the points and his shot choices were flat out terrible.  I can recall at least 5 times where Letang shot it directly into the shins of a Flyers defender.  He also lost a foot race to Max Talbot, which is very unexpected for Letang’s skating skills.  Letang never really came through in this series as the Penguins needed him.

Sidney Crosby – Sidney?  Captain?  Where are you?  Crosby was quiet all game after getting rocked by Giroux on the very first shift.  He often looked tentative and lacked the grit he usually plays with.  I felt this was the worst game of his series and it looked like his least passionate.  Now I know Crosby cares and I’m sure he tried, but he went quiet at the wrong time for his team.  Captains can’t afford to do that.

Giroux was the clear cut winner in this battle.

The Ugly:

- The reffing was, well, inconsistent as usual, but the Pens put themselves in bad situations on their own. A Caps blog had a perfect bullet point for all your reffing qualms: “Everyone seems to want to talk about the refs rather than the hockey in this series, so this bullet is reserved for complaints about the officiating. Please choose one answer from each bracketed section and you'll have some fine boxed whine. "The [a) call; b) non-call] against [a) my team; b) their team] when [insert player name] committed [insert infraction] was [a) unconscionable; b) proof that Gary Bettman has a conspiracy against my team; c) responsible for all of the problems in Africa]. Until the NHL can get some refs that are [a) good; b) consistent; c) Vulcans], the league will always be relegated to [a) niche; b) garage; c) bush; d) Mickey Mouse] league status."”
(Credit to: Rob Parker on Jasper’s Rink: http://www.japersrink.com/2012/4/22/2967119/recap-bruins-4-capitals-3-overtime)

- Reffing aside, it was another game of bad penalties.  Cooke’s interference was simply stupid as he put himself in a bad position on the blue line where Kunitz had gotten called earlier in the series.  The Flyers scored on the ensuing PP to make it a 2-0 lead, which apparently was insurmountable today.  Niskanen also took a stupid slashing penalty late in the game, and honestly could have gotten a few more with the way he was whacking people.  The discipline and hockey IQ on this team were not impressive through this series

Marc-Andre Fleury – I am frequently the one defending Fleury, but this Game 6 reminded me so much of Game 7 vs. Montreal 2 years ago.  The first goal was a tough shot, but savable for a goalie of Fleury’s caliber who can come up with big saves.  He then had a couple of weak goals from pucks bouncing around the crease area and also a horrible shot from the blue line that he let in.  Yeah, the shot was deflected by Michalek’s stick, but it was so far out that Fleury is capable of reacting to it in time.  The defense may not have helped him, but he didn’t help himself either.

This picture...well it says a lot. 

Thoughts:

- I can simply say, I expected a stronger, harder, and more furious start from the Pens, but they didn’t play with any urgency until it was too late.

- I was amazed that Neal a) forearmed Jagr in the back of the head at the end of the 1^st period and b) got away with it.  Shining example of players not learning anything from a 1 game suspension.  I expect better conduct out of him.

- The Pens wasted a wonderful opportunity by displaying an amazing amount of immaturity early in the series.  The problem with going down 3-0 is that, no matter how talented you are, you need 4 perfect games to move on.  The Pens had 2 wonderful games, but stringing together 4 was asking for too much.  This playoff team simply did not act like the team that put up 50+ wins in the regular season, but I’ll cover that more in the series recap and season recaps later this week.

- Also, give the Flyers a lot of credit in many facets. Laviolette coached brilliantly, Giroux showed up to play his best in the biggest game of the series, and their powerplay made a joke of the Pens penalty kill.  They outplayed the Pens, no matter how much we all hate it.  They earned the right to move on.  It’s on the Penguins for not earning that right themselves.

Pens season is over.

Flyers win the series 4-2 and move on to the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals.

Home Ice Advantage Isn't a Myth, Pens Win Game 5

Quick Notes:

- I think it’s hilarious that the most popular hashtags lately are PensIn7 and RememberTheIgloo.  If the Pens took that attitude, they would be out by now; it’s gotta be one game at a time - no looking ahead.  Also, the Pens couldn’t win a cup in the igloo and had some difficulty there aside from 2008 and 2009, but that’s what we push?  I realize they are just in fun, I just find them amusing for different reasons.

- Five games, Five times the team that scored first lost the game.  Who’s excited for the inevitable 0-0 game going to OT as neither team wants to score?

- #PensInGame6 now.

Result:

Pens  3  Flyers  2

Goals:  Sullivan (2) (PP) from Letang, Neal

            Staal (6) from Kennedy, Letang

            Kennedy (3) from Cooke, Staal

TK's been working on his vertical.

               

Interesting Stats:

- Crosby went a staggering 16 for 22 in the faceoff circle.  Despite this, Jordan Staal took the last 2 faceoffs of the game in the D zone against Giroux.  I have no clue what Bylsma was thinking on that (Staal lost both faceoffs).

- The Flyers haven’t scored a 5 on 5 goal since midway through Game 3.  The Pens should perhaps adjust to that and keep it 5 on 5 a little more.

The Good:

- Start with the easy one yet again, PENS SEASON ISN’T OVER!!!  Half way to a series win, but still a ways to go.

- This was finally a playoff type game with a playoff atmosphere in the arena.  Both teams were much better in terms of fundamentals and pace which made a huge difference in overall gameplay, as reflected in the score.

Marc-Andre Fleury – You had to assume Fleury would need to steal at least a game for the Pens to comeback in this series and he certainly put in his work in this one.  The last 3 PKs that the Pens dealt with were full of beautiful saves by Fleury.  He looked strong all game, proving that the end of Game 4 wasn’t just a fluke because of the score.  Two biggest changes in his game compared to the start of the series: 1) He challenged shooters much more and was at the top of his crease for most shots, cutting down the angles completely and 2) he allowed his athletic ability and reaction time do the work rather than overthinking and overplaying pucks.  His confidence will only go up after that game, so that is a great sign for the Pens.

What are the odds Staal is yelling "WOO!"?

Jordan Staal (with Cooke and Kennedy) – Staal put together another wonderful game, scoring on his only shot and making an impact on almost every shift he took.  Staal and the rest of the 3^rd line were by far the most successful group when it came to stretching the ice and powering through the neutral zone.  They gave the Flyers’ defensemen fits deep in the zone, which is what led to TK’s goal as all 5 Flyers dropped down to Staal and Cooke on the crease.  This line is in 2009 Cup Finals form, where they became the huge difference makers for the Pens.

Steve Sullivan – Sullivan only played 11:52 in this game, and less than 8 minutes were at even strength, but I was very impressed yet again with his defensive zone coverage when he was on the ice.  He is leading by example with just how badly he wants this playoff run to continue and how hard the team needs to work to keep it going.  His goal was of course a nice touch as he continues to help the powerplay click, but his general awareness of what is going on around him on the ice is what impresses me the most about his game right now.

Sullivan looks so tiny in Neal's arms.

Other notable performances: Despres, Niskanen, and Michalek played very very well, especially with Michalek on the PK.  It was nice to see Kunitz go a game without taking a horrendous penalty.  Dupuis had another great game in the defensive zone.

The Bad:

- The Pens REALLY need to eliminate the stupid/unnecessary/pointless penalties they are taking.  Engelland got called for a roughing penalty, mostly because he gave Briere an extra unnecessary shove down while Briere was already going down.  Malkin’s penalty on Schenn was after the play and absolutely needless.  The team knows that penalties will be called tight, so they need to adapt for how poorly the PK is playing.  Some claim Schenn dove, but in my opinion, it’s pretty hard to dive sideways when your skates are perpendicular to where you are being hit from.  He was off-balance, so it looked worse, but that was hardly a dive.  Finally, TK took an awful retaliation penalty as he broke his stick on a slash.  The team needs to show more discipline to survive right now.

Hitting? okay.  Driving him into the ice?  Probably a penalty.

Kris Letang – Letang did have 2 assists and has looked pretty good in the offensive zone, but his defensive zone coverage and especially his puck movement has been off.  His pass up to Staal was simply brilliant to set Staal on a 2 on 1 which he scored on.  For that one play though, Letang countered it with at least 3 or 4 turnovers and bad plays in his own zone.  Letang is smarter and better than he is playing right now; we’re all just waiting to see it.

Evgeni Malkin – Malkin simply played one of his worst games of the series and the season.  He took 2 completely unnecessary penalties and had an astounding 5 giveaways.  To put that into perspective, most box scores have players with at most 2 or 3 giveaways.  I already discussed how the Schenn hit was needless; his second penalty was after he lost the puck and interfered with Couturier.  Everything Malkin did in Game 4 he did not follow up on in Game 5.  He went back to selfish puck possession and trying to skate through 2 or 3 guys.  He needs to give the puck up more to earn more space from the Flyers D if he wants to keep playing this style.  The stupid penalties just have to stop.  Also, it'd be awesome if he didn't steamroll Crosby, whoops.  More on Malkin later as well.

The Ugly:

- The penalty kill needs to stop leaning on Fleury completely to survive.  He was brilliant at the end of the game, which was necessary because the PK was pretty much useless.  The first goal that the PK allowed was because of nice Dupuis screen which had Fleury leaning the wrong way.  The second one came during a 5 on 3, where Orpik was essentially caught on a 2 on 1 at the crease and the Flyers made some nice plays to score there.  The Pens still look a little too passive on the PK (5 on 3 aside) and really need to start challenging the points as hard as the Flyers have done to the Pens PP.  No matter how bad anyone is playing, this kill rate is pathetic.  This is all with the PK actually improving in this game to stopping 3 out of 5 instead of the usual 2 out of 5.   

Help this man!!!

Thoughts:

- Don’t expect the lineup to change at all.  Bylsma will stick to what’s working as long as it works, he hates changing his lineups during winning streaks.  So it’s pretty safe to say 7 D, Tangradi still in (and he has earned it) for Game 6.

- Both goalies played much better in Game 5, but Bryzgalov can still be beaten more than he was in Game 5.  He looked very shaky with his rebounds and the Pens didn’t test him as much going side to side in this game.  I was rather disappointed with the low shot total for the Pens, the need to attack Bryz harder with his rebound control as shaky as it is right now.

- The reffing was inconsistent as usual.  But my problem with it was actually how the Flyers were screwed over.  Brooks Orpik held JVR for a solid 20 seconds late in the 3^rd period in front of the net, and then knocked him over from behind.  Easily could have been one, if not 2 penalties.  When JVR was knocked over, he ended up hitting Letang in front of him and people clamored that Letang showed great restraint.  Letang showed great restraint?  JVR should have attacked everyone for the abuse he took on that play.  I have no clue how Orpik got away without being called for all kinds of penalties on that shift.

Orpik was getting away with murder on the crease all night.

- Though the Malkin hit on Couturier was clean, the Flyers are still quite upset about his elbow on Grossmann and many people started talking about Malkin’s track record.  If you have been reading these posts, you probably know my thoughts, if not, check out Game 2’s recap.  Malkin isn’t the cleanest player by a longshot, he is very sneaky about getting hits in and tends to do a lot behind the play.  He’s a brilliant player, but he’s very emotional and that’s going to catch up with him eventually.  I think it’s safe to say that the league will be watching for it right now, so he needs to be careful moving forward and tone it down a bit.  He’s probably overdue for supplemental discipline already.

- That brings me to the Torres suspension.  25 games is quite a bit, but I honestly don’t care about this suspension one way or another.  The key will be how the next 2-3 suspensions turn out.  If the next few are 1 game apiece, then players won’t learn anything.  The NHL’s inconsistencies in this department make the next few rulings incredibly important in regards to taking them seriously.

- Finally, so glad that Hartnell scored and we didn’t lose – making me both right from my last game recap and happy that it didn’t hurt us.

Keep quiet...

Keys to Game 6:

- Fleury is looking sharp, so the team simply has to help him out by taking fewer stupid penalties and strengthening up the PK.  It’s time for the special teams to actually take over a game on both sides because it’s damn tough to win a series while losing the special teams battle.  The PK MUST pull its weight to survive Game 6 in Philly.

Flyers lead series 3-2.  Next Game: 4/22 @ Phi, 12pm, NBC

Podcast #4: Recapping Game 4 and Looking Around the NHL

We talk about Cooke, Rinaldo and some other pertinent parts of Game 4.  Additionally, a brief look around the rest of the playoff matchups, including that lovely Raffi Torres hit.  Feedback is encouraged!!  Sorry if it's a bit long (50 mins).

http://chirb.it/0NOIJ6

Sweep Averted, Work to be Done as Pens Win 10-3

Quick Notes:

- I just created a facebook page for this site and other random hockey stuff if that’s more your style: https://www.facebook.com/CrosbyFTW

- Okay, not to burst everyone’s bubbles, but that was not a statement game; that was just 1 win.  If that was a statement game, then the Flyers have already made 3, so they are leading the statement game battle, 3-1.  One game at a time…but let’s move on to the happiness!!!

- Finally, this is the weirdest effing playoff series I’ve ever seen in any sport.

a) props to Pens fan there. b) lol @ porky pig sign.

Result:

Pens  10  Flyers 3

Goals:  Malkin (1) from Dupuis, Park

            Niskanen (1) (PP) from Crosby, Sullivan

            Crosby (3) from Niskanen, Malkin

            Staal (3) from Tangradi, Cooke

            Letang (1) (PP) from Crosby, Sullivan

            Staal (4) (PP) from Kennedy, Cooke

            Sullivan (1) (PP) from Fleury

            Dupuis (2) from Kunitz

            Staal (5) from Engelland

            Malkin (2) from Kunitz, Kennedy

               

Interesting Stats:

- 45 goals through the 1^st 4 games of a series is a new NHL record

- The 10 goals scored tonight set a new road playoff record and ties the overall playoff record for Pittsburgh

- Matt Cooke finally accumulated his first PIMs of the series, getting 2 for high-sticking, 2 for holding the stick, and then a 10 minute misconduct for being attacked (?)

How dare you get cross-checked 3 times!? Go to the locker room!

- Joe Vitale played only 7 minutes despite only 11 forwards dressing.  Meanwhile, Jordan Staal led the forwards with 23 minutes.  Anyone spreading rumors of him being unhappy with his role should probably go reconsider their line of work (more on that at the end).

The Good:

- Let’s start with the easy one, PENS SEASON ISN’T OVER!!! With their backs against the wall, the Pens came out with a very dominant win after a shaky start.  Their reward: another must-win on Friday.

- The powerplay came to play in this one and it was very clear that adjustments had been made with the 2 days off.  The Pens moved the puck quicker on the PP in this game than I have seen them try all season.  That was huge because the Flyers PK is one of the more aggressive units in the league, and their players could not shift fast enough to catch a big break or go the other way unhampered.  Also, for much of the PP, Crosby went back to his natural position on the half boards / rover.  This is no slight to Geno, but with Crosby scoring and Geno cold going into the game, I’m glad the adjustment was made.  It seems to have worked for both.  Finally with the PP: Niskanen was a stud on the point both in puck control and making quick decisions.  No complaints about the unit as a whole in this one.

- Malkin finally got on the board with 2 goals (and also an assist).  His first goal was pure will as he stormed to the net from the penalty box, gave the puck up to Dupuis and went to the net to pick up the rebound and score.  His second goal was also because he went to the net without the puck.  This is a big difference from the first 3 games where he wanted full control of the puck crossing the blue line every time.  The Flyers D clearly was not ready for it and stayed tight on him at the blue line, giving other players plenty of room with the puck and Malkin a chance to burst past clueless defensemen.  Great adjustment by Geno.

- The team finally provided support to players who were beaten by the Flyers puck carriers.  In the first 3 games, if one of the Pens was beaten on a play, there was no support and no chance of help.  In this game, there was always a second and sometimes a third man ready to shift into position.  The Pens played as a team tonight rather than as 18 talented individuals.

Puck support to the max.

Jordan Staal – Have to start with Staal, who backed up a very mature Game 3 with an explosive Game 4.  He scored his 1^st career postseason hat trick, on 3 shots.  He also led the forwards in ice time with almost 23 minutes, 2^nd on the team to Letang.  Another big part of his game was in the faceoff circle where he went 15 for 23 (66%).  He pretty much played a strong all-around game and made every shift count with every different set of linemates.  Everyone looks to Geno and Sid, but after his attitude in Game 3 and afterwards, plus his Game 4 performance, we may be watching Staal mature into that 3^rd franchise center and leader right now.

Steve Sullivan – Having Sullivan on the point for the powerplay clearly makes a world of difference for the team.  His poise and passing ability works great from the point as he (cliché) QB’s the first powerplay line.  His goal was a giant middle finger to the Flyers too, since they clearly did not respect his speed or slapshot which he just blasted past Bobrovsky.  All of this aside, I have Sullivan here for what he did defensively though.  On the PP, he made sure he stayed back and didn’t get caught in the offensive zone in a situation he couldn’t recover from.  At even strength, he was frequently the first forward back and was always there to cover the 3^rd Flyers forward coming in.  He showed great attention to detail in making sure every Flyer was covered, and that’s exactly what the Pens needed.

I'll be honest, didn't think Sulli could shoot like that.

Pascal Dupuis – Sullivan was only outshined by one forward in the defensive zone and that was Dupuis.  While Dupuis did add a goal and an assist on the scoresheet, I made many notes of the amount of times he covered a forward on Fleury’s crease or hustled back to cover the slot.  His defensive positioning was perfect all game and it was a big boost to the Pens defense and Fleury. He also tipped away at least 3 cross-ice passes in the defensive zone, doing a great job of keeping his stick in passing lanes.  While the defense has been crapped on all series, note that these forwards have a significant ability to make a difference in the defensive end. 

Commitment to defense, check.

The Bad:

- The refereeing performance was just ridiculous at times.  They started by calling every little detail, to the point that things that were almost a penalty actually became a penalty.  They then shifted to calling just regular penalties.  Then they let players play a little bit.  Then once the game was clearly out of hand, they went back to overreacting (though probably best for the sake of both teams).  It would be nice to see a full 60 minutes called the same way for the sake of, I don’t know, consistency?

- I know people are clamoring about Fleury’s play and the defense, but I’m still not sold on either one yet.  Fleury only faced 25 shots, about half of which were during the 1^st period when he did not look good.  The 1^st goal was partially his fault as he was scrambling and left his 5-hole open.  The second goal was all on him as it was a shot from the point that beat him 5-hole. Most of his shots after that were when the game was getting lopsided and as a goalie, it’s much easier to act confident when you have a big cushion to work with.  That being said, he did make some nice saves down the stretch, so the key will be if he can bring that confidence to the start of Game 5.  As for the defense, they received a lot of forward help and also benefitted greatly from having 7 defensemen in the lineup.  Everyone looked fresh throughout the game, though I personally believe the forwards (their forechecking and backchecking) are the reason that the Flyers only got 25 shots and pretty much rolled over by the end.  Let’s just say I’m cautiously optimistic about the D right now.

Kris Letang – Per usual, people will likely kill me for this, but Letang is off of his defensive game.  I counted 3 blatant giveaways from him in the defensive zone and his positioning wasn’t the best.  On the first Flyers goal, he followed Engelland into his opposite side corner unnecessarily, which left Giroux alone to beat Fleury for the 1^st goal on the PP.  He needs to be much smarter than that on the PK when defending the crease is imperative.  He did score on the PP, but honestly I discount that as a weak goal on Bryzgalov, who did not slide into his position with any sort of speed and was pulled immediately after.  Letang is not playing to Norris trophy form right now, and we all know he is capable of it, so it would be nice to see it when the games are do or die.

Stay in position and this won't happen, Kris.

Chris Kunitz – Kunitz is on here simply because he continues to take idiotic penalties every game.  Maybe the Flyers bought the interference call on him, but even if they did, he knew the game was being called tight and he put himself into that position to be called for it by skating into a player he could have easily avoided.  With the PK being absolutely horrendous, he needs to stop doing this immediately.  It was a big momentum shifter in Game 3 and he should have learned his lesson then.

The Ugly:

- If nothing else, you can say the penalty killing unit is consistent.  They entered the game killing just 4 out of 10 penalties, and then killed only 2 out of 5 in this one.  The 2^nd goal was on Fleury, but the 1^st and 3^rd ones were definitely on the penalty killers.  Both defensemen were out of position for the 1^st one.  The 3^rd one was the same Voracek play that I have complained about in every recap since Game 1.  Voracek is always looking for the puck from the backside and does not leave that area, but no one even looks at him as they all watch the puck.  This is inexcusable on so many levels since it has happened numerous times now.  The Pens apparently cannot take a penalty or their PK will inevitably finish their season off on their own.

Thoughts:

- So the sweep has been averted, but as we all know, only 3 teams have come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a series.  The 2010 Flyers are amongst that small group.  Is this a good thing or a bad thing for them though?  On one hand, they are aware it’s possible, so they will be vigilant in keeping the Pens from doing it.  On the other, they are aware it’s possible, so they know that the Pens are capable of it and it plants a seed of doubt in their head.  Which is it?  I’ll tell you in a week.

- Expect Bryzgalov to start on Friday unless he has re-injured his foot.  He looked very slow to pick up the play last night and had difficulties controlling rebounds.  His side to side was slow as well.  I’m not sure if his foot injury would cause anything but the 3^rd one, but the Flyers certainly lost their Ace in the hole when Bobrovsky came in and got lit up for 5 goals still.  The goaltending battle has now turned into a war of attrition and a contest to see who can make just one or 2 big saves in a game.

Bryzgalov played his best this year when he wasn't talking the media.
Whoops.

- It will be interesting to see if the Pens go with 7 defensemen again on Friday.  As of now, Despres is still with the team and practicing today, but it’s also an optional skate.  Unlike everyone with pitch forks and torches, I have no problem putting Martin back into the lineup.  The whole D has been bad, not just him, so there is no point in blaming him for more than his share.  Personally, I’d love to see him in the lineup but only getting about 12-13 minutes of ice time.  Note, I’d sit Strait, not Despres.  Despres is a wonderful defenseman fundamentally and I see no point to ever sending him down again personally.

- Neal and Adams will be eligible to play in Game 5, so what does that mean for the lineup?  The PP operated fine without Neal, which is a lineup question in itself.  Neal obviously re-enters the lineup, but at whose expense?  Strait to even up the lines?  Tangradi, Vitale, or Park?  Vitale only played 7 minutes, easily the least on the team, so I would not be surprised to see him get scratched and Neal to step in with 7 defensemen still in place.  Bylsma loves to stick with what’s working, so 11 forwards might be his calling card.  Also, I would expect Adams to come back in for Park to sure up the PK…not that it has made any difference all series anyways.

One of the more unique box scores I've looked through.

- One caveat to Game 5: Hartnell has yet to make an impact on this series.  Look for him to go crazy on Friday, whether it be scoring on the Pens or physically attacking them and giving the Pens PPs.  He is the Flyer to watch on Friday.  Also, James Van Riemsdyk is a near lock to return to the lineup, giving the Flyers another skilled forward to work with.  The D will have its hands full.

- Finally, a note on Twitter, Re: Staal trade rumors.  Before you go crazy and start spreading rumors you hear or react to what people are suggesting, consider the original source and what they actually said.  No one ever said Staal is unhappy in his current role; I dare you to find that original quote.  The reporter’s quote was that “Staal would be unhappy (if kept in his current role).”  WOULD BE.  Meaning it’s speculation, and hypothetical, which is a proper analysis but has absolutely no bearing on this team right now or how Staal feels right now.  The simple nuances of a sentence can vastly change the meaning, so take the time to look into it before losing your mind.

Would Staal hold TK like he was the king of the world if
Jordan didn't want to be here?

Keys to Game 5:

- DEFENSE AND PENALTY KILL.  Also, ADJUSTMENTS.  The defense still needs to be sharper and keep their heads on a swivel, and this needs to extend to the penalty kill in the worst way.  Expect Laviolette to come back to Pittsburgh making some major adjustments against the Pens style, and Bylsma needs to be ready to adjust on the fly for it.  Fleury is still going to have to steal a game at some point in this series.  My gut feeling is that Friday is going to be that game as the Flyers want to crush any momentum the Pens can possibly build.

And remember...one game at a time.  Focus on game 5.

Flyers lead series 3-1.  Next Game: 4/20 vs Phi, 7:30pm, Root Sports / NBCSports

PS - Podcast Discussing Game 4 and Previewing Game 5 will be up tonight

Dear Playoff Beard,

Happy Birthday my dear playoff beard!  It was just one week ago today, on 4/11/2012 that you came into existence.  You came into this world quiet and shy, hardly wanting to be seen, but you were excited for the playoffs and could hardly wait to grow up and earn some attention for yourself.  But alas, playoff beard, though young as you are, we have experienced some horrible and rough times together.  On the day of your birth, we experienced great joys – a first period of the playoffs that was like no other!  But that very same day brought us great sadness as well, a comeback that could not be foreseen and some early hardships for your life, even a moment of questioning whether your existence was worth it! 

You were young and resilient though and we continued towards Game 2, excited by our first chance to guarantee you a longer life!  We enjoyed great highs again, another great 1^st period, and EVEN PAUL MARTIN SCORED!!!  But yet again, young playoff beard, you and I were disappointed by another comeback and a rather humiliating loss in the end.  At the age of just 3 days old, you were forced to witness 2 hat tricks against the home team, a feat that very few playoff beards in history have ever had to deal with, let alone one at your age. 

Things were looking bad, but you continued to grow and mature as the team hit the road.  You had your first experience of watching the game on tv instead of at the arena.  Had I known what would happen, perhaps you would not have had that experience, for a playoff beard as young as yourself should never have been exposed to such humiliating and embarrassing displays of “hockey.”  That experience changed you.  You grew from scruff into grizzled beard overnight as you were forced to handle the rigors of disappointing, and frankly, disgusting performances.  I could quickly tell that you became tougher and had grown thicker from the experience.

Now, on your one week birthday, we get ready for another game on tv, and perhaps the last chance to extend your life. We must cherish this time together, playoff beard.  Unlike most of your predecessors, who had at least 2 weeks to blossom and grow (and quite often much more time than that), it does not appear that you and I will get the same opportunity to fully bond.  No one knows for sure, and I certainly hope we spend many more weeks together, but I must prepare you just in case.  I want you to know, playoff beard, that this was not your fault.  You have done nothing wrong over the course of this week and I have enjoyed our time together just like I enjoyed my time with all of your predecessors.  In this unfortunate world of unprepared and poorly executing teams, there are often casualties amongst the bystanders and fans.  Sadly, this means you, playoff beard.

It is my greatest hope that we spend this wonderful day together celebrating your first playoff win, and that you can learn to grow through happy experiences after all of the disappointment this series.  So far, you have dealt with higher expectations and less success than any playoff beard I have ever had, and you have done it with more dignity and pride than the sport for which you came into existence.  If things do go awry tonight though, I hope you will go out with that same dignity and pride, and not the lack of such shown by the team in Game 3.  I hope you accept a razor’s fate, and go out proudly.  With any luck, this will not be an issue, and I promise to spill some beer into you to celebrate if we get that magical first win tonight.

So good luck playoff beard, and have a wonderful day, for it is a great day for hockey.  Just remember, if our run together ends tonight, it was not your fault.  It was due to the inability of a team to adjust, prepare, and execute against their fiercest rival.  This is a hard lesson to learn, but sometimes, the team you put your faith in just doesn’t perform.  I hope that you get the chance to see them perform at their best, just once, because they can be pretty amazing when they play up to their talent.  And after all, every playoff beard deserves a chance to see greatness at least once in their lives.

Podcast #3: Discussing the Mess that was Game 3

One day I'll find a better way to do this rather than wasting posts.  But until then, here's the link (30 mins)!

http://chirb.it/mOdgNm

Pens Disgraceful in Embarrassing Game 3 Loss

Quick Notes:

- Dan Bylsma has now coached more Pens games in playoff history than anyone else (47, passing Eddie Johnston)

- Niskanen came in for Lovejoy and Park in for Vitale.  Vitale had 0 hits and only took 2 faceoffs last game, so he became expendable.

Just a bad sign to start with.

Result:

Flyers  8  Pens  4

Goals:  Staal (1) from Kunitz, Michalek

            Neal (1) from Niskanen, Malkin

            Neal (2) (PP) from Malkin, Crosby

            Staal (2) from Neal, Kunitz          

Interesting Stats:

- 5 Pens with 10 or more penalty minutes: Asham, Engelland, Neal, Letang, Adams

- Dupuis finally didn’t get on the scoreboard and was a -2 with 2 giveaways.  Also didn’t get on the PP even with Crosby and Sullivan were in the box, which baffles me.

- Matt Cooke had 0 penalty minutes.  In this mess, he deserves all the praise in the world for staying true to his reform.  Very impressive.

- The Pens have lost 6 playoff games in a row for the first time in franchise history.  They have also set a new record for goals allowed in the 1st 3 games of a series (20).  They have also allowed 8 goals in 3 of their last 6 playoff games dating back to last year.

The Good:

- Well, Matt Cooke played a clean game.  The powerplay went 1 for 5, so that isn’t bad.  No one died.

Jordan Staal – Going through the Pens roster, Staal is literally the only player I did not mark down in my notes as having an awful play and he added 2 goals on top of it.  The bar was set very low in this game for what is classified as “good”, but Staal put in work offensively and managed to not get into any ridiculous scrums or throw any controversial hits.  I’m glad one of our players showed some character AND playing ability at the same time today.

Perhaps the most mature player on the ice today.

The Bad:

- The goaltending was bad on both sides, but of course, it hurt the Pens more.  Bryzgalov had a bad game for Philly, but his team made it so no one will remember it.  Fleury did not have the solid game he needed, letting up 2 very soft goals on the 1^st and 4^th Flyers goals (Talbot shorthanded on misplay of puck and Read 5-hole alone in front).  He also had no help on the rest of the goals, which included a few cross-crease passes and a breakaway, but the point is, he wasn’t able to come up big when the team needed him most.  Brent Johnson couldn’t change anything in the 3^rd period either as he let up a goal 27 seconds into the period with no help from his defense.  I tend to wonder if the goalies have so little confidence in the D right now that they can’t do the little things right because they are worried about 2 steps ahead every play.  Just one part of a very bad team collapse.

James Neal – Neal was on my good list for 90% of the game and was the Pens top player with 2 goals, an assist, and some nice hits.  Then came the ugly Couturier hit, completely unnecessary as the puck was not there.  Then he chased after Giroux and went for his head it looked like but Giroux ducked.  Just awful tactics by Neal and the type of stuff I would NEVER expect from a clean, hard-working player.  I don’t know if Neal just lost his mind after taking some big hits (Grossmann did go knee to knee on him), but I expect more from Neal.  The only reason I don’t harp on this more is because this is not in his character, but it was bad regardless.  I would not be surprised if he got fined (suspended is probably too much based on Shanahan’s recent rulings). 

Sidney Crosby – I have no problem with Sid fighting Giroux, or chirping and asking Schenn to fight.  However, hitting Voracek’s glove away was childish and immature.  I admit, I laughed at the time, but in retrospect it was stupid and pointless, why are you firing up a team that is dominating you and what does that say to your team?  Also, he put Craig Adams in a horrible situation late in the game when he got into it with Hartnell, who clearly did not want to fight him.  Adams was forced to jump in because that’s his job and may be sitting out a game because of it since he was 3^rd man in and got an instigator with less than 5 minutes left.  That also could get Bylsma a fine too.  Sid is supposed to lead by example, which he did early in Games 1 and 2.  I thought the Giroux fight was a great spark, though him fighting with his concussion history is stupid (Giroux is stupid as well for doing it with his history too).  The rest of it was nonsense though, Sid is smarter and better than that.

This image will cause nightmares for Shero, Holmgren, Bettman,
the NHL, etc. for many many years...2 stars risking their careers.

Evgeni Malkin – Where art thou 50 goal scorer Geno?  I don’t know what to say, he just seems off.  His shots are off, his passing is off, his puck control and movement is off.  I have to wonder if just a quiet game 1 and a bad game 2 have gotten into his head so much that he’s just frustrated and unsure what to do.  He hasn’t done anything so awful that I have noted him for it, but he just hasn’t done all that much positive either for his usual enigmatic playing style.  Geno is in a weird position this series, nothing is going wrong but nothing is going right.  I suppose that’s good compared to most of the team right now.

The Ugly:

- Michael Therrien would call this defense worse than the one he had back in 2006 when he accused them of trying to be the worst defensive team in the league.  No one pays attention to anything in the defensive zone.  I can’t harp on it enough, no one watches the back side of the play, ever.  Go back and watch the replays and every Penguin is staring at the puck and the puck carrier for at least 3 of the goals.  Which of course, leaves the breakaway goals and goaltending gaffes as the rest.  This defense is the worst I have seen in a very long time in the NHL right now; I’m not even exaggerating.  The players don’t trust themselves, each other, or anyone; they don’t work as a team; and they have no defensive awareness at all.  They even stopped putting their sticks in passing lanes to stop cross crease passes or passes through the slot.  This defense is fundamentally a joke and they could learn a thing or 2 from a high school team right now.

"Good luck Fleury, I'll watch from here."

- Piggy-backing off of the defense issue is how horrible the PK has been.  The Flyers went 4 for 7 on the powerplay today and are 6 for 10 on the series.  This was a top 5 PK all season.  There is simply no excuse for how bad they have been this series.  They might be better off laying in front of Fleury at this rate.  It’s pretty much every problem with the defense compounded by the fact there are only 4 guys out.

- The refs had 0 control of this game, yet again.  That’s the only reason all of this chaos occurred.  The NHL needs to address that ASAP.  That’s all on that topic, everyone agrees on it, the refs are horrendous at keeping control.

Chris Kunitz – Kunitz had a decent offensive day but took two STUPID penalties that were completely needless.  This isn’t all that surprising as he has taken quite a few stupid penalties all season, but they were huge turning points in this game.  The first one was a slash in the offensive zone as Malkin was buzzing around with the puck.  It was a completely pointless and needless slash and it killed momentum for the Pens.  The second was backchecking as he lost a Flyers’ forward and then leaned into him to take him down.  With how bad the PK has been, those were brutal penalties to take.   And of course, the Flyers scored on both chances.

Kris Letang – Letang hasn’t played well defensively to begin with.  Then he took a stupid cross-checking penalty for no reason out of frustration.  He then followed that up by a fight with Kimmo Timonen which got both players thrown out of the game.  If Letang wants to act like the best defenseman on the team, he needs to a) play defense and b) not put himself in stupid situations like that which hurt the team immeasurably.  On top of it, not that it made a difference to the game, Letang tried Talbot’s “shhhh” maneuver on his way off the ice.  How arrogant and embarrassing.  It was a pathetic copycat move and just made the team look even more stupid.  Thanks for nothing in this game, Letang.

It was spontaneous and pure when Talbot did it.
Who are you kidding Kris?

Arron Asham – Asham’s display was simply a disgrace to hockey.  His final line was 3 shifts, 42 seconds, -1, 10 PIM, match penalty for intent to injure.  He was thrown out of the game after cross-checking Schenn in the throat.  While Schenn went down, clearly in pain, Asham punched the back of his head into the ice.  If Laviolette wants to call something gutless, that was the definition there.  It was an embarrassment to hockey and Asham should and likely will be suspended for it.  I don’t expect to see Asham in a Pens jersey ever again, and good riddance after that play.  The Beagle fight looked bad as is earlier this season, this definitely crossed the line.

A year ago, this was Cooke's normal look.  He changed.
Asham likely won't get the chance to with this team.

Thoughts:

- I don’t think it’s time to fire Bylsma but I wouldn’t be doing a good job if I didn’t talk about his future with this team.  This will probably be the 3^rd straight early exit for the Pens.  Montreal knocked the Pens out 2 years ago by appearing to be much better prepared in vital situations.  The Pens squandered a 3-1 lead in the series last year to Tampa Bay as their special teams could not adjust.  And now you have this year.  Bylsma seems to do much better with teams that are underdogs or have less skill on them, but he is having issues with how to handle his fully healthy team.  It is certainly not cause for his head yet, but it’s okay to be concerned.  His leash will shorten considerably next year as the prime years of this team and core aren’t being capitalized on.

His job isn't in jeopardy yet...but it's time to scrutinize.

- I know this won’t happen, but after the Islanders debacle last year and Lemieux coming out to call out the NHL, its refs, and the Isles; I would love to see Lemieux come out into the press and call out his own team for such a disgraceful display of fighting and dirty hits.  The Pens proved everyone right about everything in Game 3 by acting arrogant, dirty, and disrespectful throughout the whole game.  It was an embarrassment to the sport of hockey as a whole.  Lemieux is doing a disservice to the organization that he owns if he doesn’t come down hard on the team and say something.

- I never thought I would be saying this.  But give some of the Flyers credit for being classy in this game. Crosby asked Schenn to fight, said he was okay to fight, and Schenn was clearly hesitant and shook him off.  Thank you for not ruining our franchise captain, Schenn.  I’m glad he at least had sense when Crosby didn’t.  The second one goes to *gulp* Hartnell.  Hartnell also had the chance to fight Crosby, Sid was going after him pretty hard and Hartnell resisted and shook him off.  Eventually Adams came over and Hartnell finally gave in to a fight.  Both Schenn and Hartnell could have easily gone with Sid and landed potentially career crushing blows.  Appreciate the fact that they didn’t.

- Bylsma said Fleury starts the next 4 games…which we shall all hope means all the way through Game 7.  The chances look bleak for this team, not because of the 3-0 deficit as much as how they got to a 3-0 deficit.  However, somewhere in that locker room is the same team we have seen throughout the regular season that could come back from absolutely anything.  So I still have hope, and I still believe that team can show up.  Whether they do is a completely different question, but we won’t know until the end of Game 4.

Keys to Game 4:

- Defense. Play it.  Look around for guys in the defensive zone.  Sticks in passing lanes.  Keep track of coverages.  Just, defense.  Win 1 game and work from there.

Flyers lead series 3-0.  Next Game: 4/18 @ Phi, 7:30pm, Root Sports / NBCSports