The playoffs are upon us now. The first game in what we hope will be more than 20 that runs until mid June is Wednesday against the hated Philadelphia Flyers. This is probably the worst match up for Pittsburgh in some ways to start the playoffs, and the best in some ways too. It is the worst in that the series will likely be a bloodbath, and the Flyers have matched up well against Pittsburgh this year, and it is the best for actually the same reasons. In this tournament of 16 teams that will run for two months, anything short of the Stanley Cup will be viewed by many as failure. Though it will be failure in that the objective is always to win the Cup, let's relfect on what has been a tremendous season for the Penguins. The Penguins finished with a 51-25-6 record, while playing in a division that sent 4 of its 5 teams to the playoffs, and while leading the league in man games lost(359)! That gave the Penguins 108 points, the second most in franchise history, behind only the 1992-93 Penguims with 119. Only the New York Rangers had more points in the Eastern Conference, with 109, and only Vancouver with 111 and ST. Louis with 109 had more points than Pittsburgh in the Western Conference. Despite the fact that the Penguins were supposedly short on top 6 talent, and the fact that Crosby only played 22 games, and Staal and Letang missed long stretches of the season, the Penguins were first overall in the league in scoring, getting 3.3 goals per game, while playoff opponent, Philadelphia was second at 3.17 goals per game. The Penguins also were near the top of the league in special teams as well. Their power play at 19.7% was tied for fourth in the league behind Nashville, San Jose, and Vancouver. That would mean that the Penguins power play was tied for best in the East with Philadelphia. The Penguins penalty kill spent chunks of the season as the top PK unit in the league, and finished third overall at 87.8% behind New Jersey and Montreal. It is no surprise that the Penguins were a top team, when both of their special teams units were top 5 in the league! This is an area where Pittsburgh had a superior season to the Flyers, whose PK was 81.8%. Hopefully, an area Pittsburgh can exploit in the playoffs. The team was a closer all year long, finishing with a record of 32-0-3 when leading after two periods!
The Penguins were a team full of individual stories as well. The top story has to be Geno this season. After enduring two seasons that were way off the mark in terms of his usual production, and coming off of major knee surgery, Malkin dedicated himself to his conditioning to a much greater degree than he had before, and man did the results show!! After a slow start, and some missed games due to tweaking his knee, Malkin blew away the field, winning the Art Ross trophy with 109 points (50 goals and 59 assists), winning the award by 12 points over second place finisher Steven Stamkos! Geno led the league in points per game, points, even strength goals, and shots! He was second in goals with 50, making him the 6th Russian to ever hit that plateau, and he was third in the league in assists. He also had 31 multi-point games this season. Add to that, a much improved presence in the defensive zone, great improvement in the faceoff circle, and many leadership duties in the absence of Crosby, and you can see why Malkin is the front runner for the Hart Memorial Trophy. Thanks Geno for a great year, full of memories!
Think about this for a minute when you think of the Penguins the past two seasons. Malkin was far and away the most dynamic player this year, and until the concussion in the Winter Classic, Crosby was THE dominant force in the NHL with 32G and 34A in only 41 games prior to his injury last season. He was runing away with the Art Ross before the Steckel hit, so we have been blessed to watch two different players be the dominant force in the league over the past two seasons. Malkin's Art Ross is the 14th in the past 24 years, and without the injury, Crosby surely would have made it 15. If you take the last 63 games Crosby has played( half of last year and his game this year), he would have had 40 goals and 63 assists for a total of 103 points, and that is not nearly a full season. We are truly blessed if we can get this two headed monster back on the ice together for a long playoff run! Adding Crosby back to the team gives them three very capable lines that can put the puck in the net, and infinite line combinations to deal with.
Some would say now that the two headed monster grew a third head, and that this part of the beast is named James Neal! Neal is a big bodied winger who plays with a relentless forecheck and a nasty release that makes him a threat to score everytime he gets the puck. After a rough start in a Penguins uniform after the trade deadline last season, Neal scored the first goal of the year in the opener in Vancouver, and really never stopped. Nealer finished the season with 40 goals and 41 assists, for a total of 81 points. He was also first in the league with 18 power play goals, second to Malkin in shots, 4th in goals, and 7th overall in points. James Neal is a big reason the Penguins have had the success on the power play this year, and his importance to the this team cannot be overstated Neal also showed leadership and grit, playing through the pain of a fractured foot during a time when the team needed it most. Ray Shero rewarded Neal AND PENS FANS by giving James a 5 year ,25million dollar extension to remain a part of this core for a long, long time. Thanks James!
What about Jordan Staal, a center who would be at least a second liner on almost any other team. Staalsy, who played in only 62 games, still beat his career high in points (49) by having a 25 goal and 25 assist season, while remaing a key cog in the league's third best penalty kill. Staal is also strong for Pittsburgh in the faceoff circle, and really showed some flashes of offensive prowess throughout his injury shortened campaign. When asked to deliver more offense in the absence of Crosby, Staal delivered. With Crosy's return, Staal's role has changed a bit, and he embraces it and delivers. Congratulations to Jordan Staal, a sometimes undervalued piece of the young core of this team.
When you think of the young core of the team, another player that is just a key element to the success of the franchise is Kris Letang. Tanger missed large stretches of this season due to head injury, playing in only 51 games. During those 51 games, Letang managed to score 42 points or .83 points per game. His points per game was second for defensemen in the NHL behind only Erik Karlsson. Letang's blazing speed allows him to make breathtaking plays in all three zones, and the physical nature of his play is under estimated. Letang is a guy with Norris Trophy caliber skills and statistics projected over a full season, really giving the Penguins an embarrassment of riches in its young core.
Any team that expects long term success better be strong between the pipes, and the Penguins have one of the best in the business tending their net in Marc Andre Fleury. Fleury sometimes gets lost in the shuffle as his GAA and save percentage are not necessarilyi at the top of the league. This year his GAA at 2.36 was 9th in the league if you take goaltenders with 40 or more starts and his save percentage of .913 was 21st. However, Fleury was 42-17-4-3, accounting for all but 9 of Pittsburgh's wins on the year. Even more important, Fleury kept the Penguins in games all season long, except for a short blip at the end of the season. With two trips to the Finals, a Stanley Cup ring, and a 42 win season, Fleury has earned the right to be considered a top netminder in this league. Fleury is one of the key components of this team, and we are glad he is a Penguin.
The above referenced hits some highlights from the young core deemed "untouchables" by team officials. If you follow hockey, you know that it takes far more than stars to win a cup in the NHL. The Penguins are full of other key contributors like Chris Kunitz. Kunitz is a key component on the top line in the NHL, but his total value is not reflected in his numbers, which are good enough to begin with. The Honey Badger posted a career high of 61 points with 26 goals and 35 assists and a plus 16 rating. If that were not good enough, both James Neal and Evgeni Malkin point to Kunitz as a big reason for their overall success. Kunitz is a tenacious forechecker with the speed and the guts to set the tone for the Penguins forecheck, and watch him win the battles in the corners and along the wall that gives the top line the puck possession and zone time necessary to do their damage. He is a perfect fit for Malkin and Neal, as he was the perfect fit for Crosby and Duper last year. Kuni has been the common denominator in the top lines in the NHL over the past two seasons.
While we are on the subject of unsung heroes, how can you not look at Pascal Dupuis? I wrote a post early last season in response to local fans complaining about Duper's lack of hands, and the fact that Crosby was "stuck" with a grinder type on his line. In that post, I called Pascal the best value dollar for dollar in the NHL, and Duper is that and then some. Pascal finished the season on a league high 17 game point streak, and had a career year in scoring, netting 25 goals and 34 assists for a total of 59 points and a plus 18. Pascal contributed mightily to the penalty kill uint as usual, and can play on any line from the top line with Crosby or Malkin to the fourth line, and fit in. His speed makes him a threat on the PK, and his grit is under rated. Out of Dupuis' 59 points, 55 of them came at even strength, good for 11th in the league. He had 8 game winning goals, second only to Geno on the Penguins. Could you ask for more from a guy that SOME viewed as a throw in to the Hossa deal? I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed watching Duper get rewarded for his hard work on the scoresheet this year.
How about Matt Cooke folks? After getting hammered with a season ending 10 game plus one round of the playoffs suspension last year, many thought Cooke's days were numbered with Pittsburgh, and maybe even the league. NHL pundits were over the top blaming Cooke for everything under the sun, all the while the man was going through a great personal crisis, almost losing his wife. When the season started, some were saying that Cooke had been "defanged"and that he would create the "James Harrison affect" on the Penguins from the officials, so maybe he should be traded. Well, Cookie showed them all delivering a career high 19 goals, along with 19 assists, while getting only 44 PIMs all season long. His penalty minute totals were the lowest in a full season for Cooke in his carerr, his goals were the most, and his total points the most since he got 42 points with Vancouver during the 2002-03 season. Cooke is a tremendous penalty killer for the Penguins, and he managed to slowly add some edge back to his game without going overboard. Cooke's 19 goals matched the production of a much more hyped Jaromir Jagr this year. Finally, do not underestimate how well suited for the playoffs Cooke's game is. Way to go Cookie!! Look for 24 to be a pain in the ass for the Flyers!
Steve Sullivan was a free agent pick up in the offseason that many including myself questioned. I thought the Penguins needed some size up front, and consistent scoring. Despite Sullivan's skills, I thought he was too small, too old, and too injury prone to make a big difference for the Penguins. All Sully did was dress in 79 games, score 17 goals and 31 assists, while helping to make the power play a weapon again for the Penguins with his ability to slow the play down and calmly distribute the puck to the big guns. Another Shero beauty! This post is getting long, but I want to mention two more blue liners that I thought made a difference this year. First, Deryk Engelland. After a long term career in the minors, Engo made the big team last year, due mostly to his ability to be a physical player and from time to time elite level enforcer. He was a healthy scratch during the Tampa series of the playoffs, indicative of the fact that he was not viewed as being reliable enough for the big games. This year, Engo has been a very stable force on the blue line, while remaining a very physical element that the Penguins lack on the blue line. He has not had to drop the gloves much, but he did contribute 4 goals, and 13 assists with a plus 10 rating, while playing a much more consistent game. He is one of the Penguins most improved players, and his physicality will be necessary for the Penguins to go deep in the playoffs this year. Finally, how about Matt Niskanen? He looked like a salary dump element to the Neal/Goligoski trade during his tenure here last spring. This year, he is competing with Engo as the most improved Penguins player, adding 4 goals, and 17 assists along with a plus 9 rating, and a very consistent overall game. Nisky has top 4 potential in my opinion. My last shoutout is to the 4th line of Adams, Vitale and Asham. They will make a difference as they have all year long in the post season. Whatever the outcome of the playoffs, these Penguins have given us all a lot to cheer about this year! Thanks and Lets Go Pens!
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