Sunday, April 17, 2011

Discipline and Power Play will be big factors tomorrow night



With the Penguins power play 0 for 13 in this series, and 6 for their past 79 it is time to do something different to make this thing work. First, the Penguins are not able to win the battles down low for the pucks with Kovalev playing there, and Letang has been awful on the point for quite some time now. So, to me, I would move Kovalev to center point, and introduce Chris Kunitz down low to win some puck battles and get some pucks to the front of the net. On that note, it is time to remove Jordan Staal from the number one unit, and replace him for a game with Mike Rupp. Staal is a big body, but he has not played the power play as if he wants anything to do with the net front banging we need to get traffic in front of Roloson. Rupp will do that. The power play should not be this complicated. If the Lightning are stacking the blue line with five players, then get the puck behind them, but have someone like Kunitz, not Kovalev down low to fight for it and GET it. Have Rupp and Neal banging the front of the cage, and tell Kovy and Michalek to get pucks low and to the net. Nothing fancy there, get the puck behind the defense, win the battles to get it, and get it to the net with TRAFFIC! By the way, it may be time to realize that staying out of the box will also help their cause a lot. And it is also time for big time players like Staal, Letang, Neal, Kunitz, Martin to deliver some scoring. Finally, when Fleury has his act together, you rarely see two soft games in a row, so tomorrow night will tell a lot about our Team MVP and his state of mind. Since the 2008 playoffs, Fleury is 11-4 in games following a postseason loss. The Pens have been strong on the road this season, so I feel good about it! Time to send the message now boys.

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