Since winning the Stanley Cup in 2009, the Penguins have been the top seeded team in every playoff series they’ve played, securing home ice advantage, yet their 4-4 record is average at best. In the four post-seasons since winning the Cup they have only made it to the Conference Final once and have never made it back to the Stanley Cup Final. A pretty abysmal record when you consider that they have two of the best active players on their roster. It’s also not as though they have don’t have experience; they still have nine players from the winning team on their roster, seven of whom will be suiting up for the Penguins tonight (Pascal Dupuis and Brooks Orpik have been sidelined with injuries). I mean heck Rob Scuderi even went to Los Angeles and won a cup in 2012 before returning to the Penguins during the offseason last year. They should have the pedigree of a winning team, yet they seem to choke every spring when it really matters and Penguins fans are left heartbroken, confused and wondering how to fix it.
The last few seasons weak goaltending has been the main storyline. After winning the Cup in game 7 against Detroit at the Joe Louis Arena, Marc Andre Fleury has seemed to crumble in the post-season. He finished the 2009-2010 playoffs with a 7-6 record and a .891 save percentage. He was slightly better in 2010-2011, finishing with a 3-4 record a .899 save percentage before imploding in 2011-2012 finishing with a 2-4 record a career low .834 save percentage. In 2012-2013 he didn’t even make it through a series, he was replaced by Tomas Vokoun in game 5 of the first round against the Islanders after going 2-2 in the first four games with finishing with a .883 save percentage. This year, after the Penguins promoted Mike Bales to goaltending coach, Marc Andre Fleury seems to once again have things under control. So far he has a 7-5 record and a .916 save percentage, a career high for him in the playoffs. Fleury also created Penguins history with back to back shutouts in games 2 and 3 and going 145 minutes without allowing a goal. Goaltending might have been the story in the past, but it seems to be working this year.
In last year’s Conference Final against Boston goaltending definitely wasn’t the issue, Tomas Vokoun posted a .936 save percentage over three of his four games. In fact, game 2 was the only game where the team was down and out, Vokoun was pulled in favour Fleury after allowing three goals and he would finish with a .750 save percentage for the night. What the Penguins were missing in the series was scoring; they had two goals in four games and never once held a lead.
For the most part that has been rectified this year as well. With the exception of the last two games, when the majority of the Penguins seemed to show no interest in playing, they have been competing, scoring and at times overwhelming the competition. Malkin has really shown up to play this year; he leads the Penguins in points and is tied for first in goals with 13 and 6 respectively. His monster game 6 in the first round against Columbus wherein he second career playoff hat trick is the reason the Penguins are still playing. Sidney Crosby, on the other hand, is getting a lot of flak for his “poor play”. I don’t know if I would go so far as to say his point production has been disappointing this post-season, nine points in 12 games is still respectable for most players, but it is low for Crosby. Lack of scoring does not mean that Crosby hasn’t been effective though, he has matched up against some of the other teams’ greatest players, and Marc Staal has hit his head more than he has hit the puck this series, and yet Crosby’s advanced stats still show that he has possession of the puck more often than not when he is on the ice. He might not be scoring for the Penguins, but, his play is still giving them a chance to win. What Crosby can’t afford to do it let his emotions get in the way of his game the way he did in game 6. If the Penguins want to succeed tonight, Crosby, Malkin and all their other stars will need to be focused on scoring and playing between the whistles.
What the Penguins seem to be missing this year is that key player who steps up his game in the playoffs. There are a ton of these players in the NHL, Brian Bickell for the Chicago Blackhawks is a great example, the last couple of years he has almost doubled his point production in the playoffs and he provides the Hawks with clutch secondary scoring. The Penguins had this player in 2009 in the form of Max Talbot. He was a high energetic player who showed up when his team needed him the most. Whether it was game 6 of the first round against the Flyers when he fought Dan Carcillo to shift momentum or scoring the only two goals in game 7 to give his team the 2-1 win over the defending Stanley Cup Champions the Detroit Red Wings. Max “the Gamer” Talbot stepped up big when his team needed him to, and with him off the roster, that position is up for someone else to grab. Matt Niskanen and Brandon Sutter have been key at various times during these playoffs, perhaps tonight one of them will be the hero.
Tonight feels bigger than just a game 7. It’s definitely do or die for the season, lose tonight and golf tomorrow; but it’s also so much more than that, lose tonight and the team as I know it, the team that I have been cheering for all season, will likely be gone. Lose and its unlikely Dan Bylsma will be back behind the bench. Younger defencemen will likely take over for veterans like Brooks Orpik. Tanner Glass has been a healthy scratch much of these playoffs so he is likely gone. There may even be some big names in play like James Neal who has been suspended numerous times since joining the Penguins in 2011 and who has 7 more penalties this playoffs than he does points. A loss tonight would be a team wide disappointment, another letdown in a series of letdowns and this team can’t recover from that, they’ve been too disappointing for too long. A loss tonight means losing teammates tomorrow.
The Rangers are 4-0 in game 7s since losing 2-1 to the Washington Capitals in 2009, but are 0-16 when trying to come back from a 3-1 series deficit. One of these records is about to fall, and as I watch the game through my fingers while pacing around my apartment, I can only hope it will my Pittsburgh Penguins who come out on top.
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