I am kind of known as the local Pens freak at my gym, at my office, on my street, and well just about everywhere. As such, I cannot tell you how many people ask me daily when the Pens should put Flower back in over Vokoun. Their facial expressions are priceless when I say, "Either next year, after TWO bad games by Vokoun, or never." It makes my day. I know, I am kind of an asshole, but nonetheless, it makes my day. I get a lot of heated replies ranging from he is a great goalie, to a great guy, to the Pens would not be here without him, to maybe he is just struggling with adjusting to being a new dad. Is he a great goalie? Well he has been to the Finals twice and won the Stanley Cup in 2009, so I would say he is at least an excellent goalie. Is he a great guy? I got the chance to bowl with him one night for Make a Wish, and I can confirm from that night and all other accounts Fleury is a GREAT guy. Would the Pens be here without him? Well, he sure has been a BIG part of the Penguins's recent successes, and when you look at other teams who have great personnel, but not won a Cup or been to the Finals in recent memory, I would say that it is true that the Pens as a franchise would not be here without the contributions of Marc Andre Fleury. Is he possibly struggling adjusting to being a new father? He would not be human if he were not. The thing is people.....THAT NONE OF THAT IS RELEVANT TO THE CURRENT SITUATION. We are not in kindygarten guys and dolls. We are not part of the pussification of America when speaking of big time sports in America. (Thanks Matt Walker) . We are not in Little League letting you bat until you hit. Jordan Staal scored a SHG in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals that likely turned the tide from another 6 game loss at the hands of the Wings, to a glorious third Stanley Cup for the good guys. When he turned down a great offer from King Ray, he found himself in Carolina, while the Pens got Brandon Sutter, cap relief and two top notch blueliners in return. All of that is being stated so I can get to my main points. The first is most of the people caterwauling over Flower sitting while Vokoun has gone 6-1 would be the first to use the phrase, "In Shero we trust." Well, put your money where your mouth is people. Remember early June last year, after the hated Flyers destroyed the Penguins, and Fleury posted his third straight sub .900 save percentage post season? That same Ray Shero went out and pryed an undervalued Vokoun away from the Caps for a seventh round draft pick to do two things for the Pens. First, to give Fleury some rest during the regular season, as many believed that his post season meltdowns had a lot to do with being over played during the regular season. Well, Vokoun played in 20 of the team's 48 games, while Fleury played in 33 of those games. Vokoun was 13-4-0-3 with a 2.45 GAA and .919 save percentage, while Fleury was 23-8-0-1 with a 2.39 GAA and .916 save percentage. So, Vokoun accomplished goal number one of allowing Fleury to stay fresh for the post season. Then, after pitching a shutout in game one of the Islanders series, Fleury was pulled in favor of Vokoun for Game 5. Fleury went 2-2, posting a .834 save percentage and a very bloated 4.63 GAA while looking bewildered at times. Since then Vokoun has gone 6-1, the Penguins have rather easily handled the Islanders and Senators, while Vokoun is 3rd in GAA at 1.85 and 2nd in save percentage at .941. What's more is he was 29 seconds and a series of boneheaded plays by his mates away from being 7-0 before losing to Ottawa in double overtime 2-1 in Game 3 of that series. It is safe to say that thus far, Vokoun has more than delivered on the second part of the reason for his presence, in a BIG way. So, tell me again what Vokoun has done to deserve a benching in favor of Fleury? Oh yeah, the pedigree of Fleury some say....well ladies, Vokoun has appeared in 700 regular season NHL games posting a .917 save percentage and a 2.55 GAA, while Fleury has appeared in 467 regular season NHL games posting a .910 save percentage and a 2.66 GAA. These numbers are very comparable to Vokoun's but Vokoun's are BETTER. Well, look at his post season pedigree compared to Vokoun's. Fleury has played in far more post season games, 79 to be exact, and he has a .904 save percentage and a 2.72 GAA. Conversely, Vokoun has only played in 18 post season games, but he does have a .930 save percentage and 2.22 GAA. Yes, Fleury has more playoff experience, yes he has two trips to the Finals and a Stanley Cup, Vokoun, until now never got a sniff at either, with his prior post season experience in net being with Nashville, perennial one and done playoff fodder. But, Fleury's last four post seasons netted him .891, .899, .834, and .891. His GAA's during that stretch? 2.78, 2.52, 4.63, and 3.40! Hence the presence of Vokoun in the first place, whose 2M salary, combined with Fleury's 5M salary has the Pens at 7M invested in the net. That will tell you how important two dummies like Ray Shero and Mario Lemieux thought it was to have a safety net behind Fleury.
Folks, again, I really do like the Flower, and his athleticism and ability to make unreal saves is well........ unreal. That said, as the statistics above would suggest, he also has an ability to let in too many goals that he should stop, especially in the post season. Vokoun, on the other hand, is not as athletic, but for the most part, stays in position and makes the saves he should make. And on the rare occasion where he has looked a little shaky in this post season, he has shook it off to stand tall when the team needed him to. They are to classy to say it, so we will never know for sure, but the eye test suggests that this team is calmer and plays a more steady game with Vokoun's veteran presence in the net. So, despite all of the postives about Fleury as a player and as a human, I do not see why the Penguins would give the job back to Fleury when a veteran goaltender with slightly better numbers lifetime, has been a calming influence. One who should be 7-0 in this year's post season, and is among the top players in net statistically while Fleury is usually middle of the pack. And by the way, it is a BUSINESS!!! I made the case that despite my deep admiration for Fleury, that this job belongs to Vokoun right now, but let me part with another shot. This decision is bigger than Vokoun v Fleury folks. There are twenty eight players who dressed for the Penguins this year who want their name on Lord Stanley's Cup. There is a coaching and scouting staff with many hours of their time and skin in the game. Hell, Disco's job was likely in jeopardy if there was another first round exit, as well as those of his staff. There are stitches, bruises, broken bones, jaws, lost teeth, hours of practice,travel, and film watching devoted to the singular pursuit of the Stanley Cup. Crosby rushed back with a decimated jaw bone to win the Cup. Jarome Iginla and Brenden Morrow waived no trade clauses for a chance to win the Cup, and Iginla pretty much strong armed his way here to pursue that lifelong dream. So, whomever people like Shero, Bylsma, and 66 think gives the Penguins the best chance of accomplishing that goal should be in net, despite how nice they might be, or their past accomplishments. And, lest I forget, we fans have skin in the game too. Do yinz realize how fortunate yinz are to see the second golden age of Penguins hockey? Do you realize that this ownership group spends to the Cap every year, in order to give us the best possible product? Did you know that each home playoff game generates seven figures of direct revenues to the Penguins organization? That deep playoff runs add more dollars in souvenir sales? If you saw the commerce being done in countless bars you would see how much tax revenues and income for bar owners, staff, and arena workers is generated based on this team making a deep playoff run v golfing after round one. Do you think that more home games would mean it is more likely that these owners can keep spending to the cap so that we continue to enjoy excellent hockey, as well as provide income to thousands of local Pittsburghers? Yeah, I love Fleury too, but I did not lose my mind. Play the guy most suited to keep this run alive, and you can love them both. They are BOTH OUR guys! Go Pens!
PS: I forgot to touch on the "where does that leave him for next year" mantra. Well, let's deal with that next year. The cap is falling, the sky is not.....The body of work that will determine who the Penguins want to keep and who they can keep is still incomplete until this playoff run is over. The demands of the free agents are as yet unknown, the availability via trade of other players is unknown. He may yet wind up in the nets and get that monkey off his back, or he may not, but there are too many other variables to worry about next year, when you are 8 wins away from winning the toughest trophy in all of sports. We are in the equivalent of the Final Four except the one that takes huge balls to be in! As the Ole 29'er would say......Buckle Up Baby Are You Kidding Me!!
Ok my fellow yinzers, our beloved flightless birds have now won two playoff series, and await what is likely to be the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Confernce Finals unless the Rags can pull off a miracle. Here is to hoping they at least extend the series a game or two. I don't know about you, but the Penguins early exits in recent post seasons has me out of practice for this marathon. Is it me, or does it feel like they were in two tough back and forth battes? In reality, they are 8-2, and were never in any real danger of elimination. Maybe recent history played a part in that feeling, or the fact that Marc Andre Fleury was chased seven games ago, but man, I am not sure I could live through a six or seven game series, or one where we fell behind, though in 2009, I very much believed in the Penguins in both the Caps and Red Wings series' even when they fell behind two games to none. I hope to get that swagger back for this playoff run, my life may depend on it! Instead of blowing up my Facebook page with all of the ramblings in my head, I figured I would take our halfway point in the March to the Cup to put most of my thoughts in one place. First and foremost, Ray Shero, you are the best GM in all of sports. All of the late season acquisitions have performed pretty much as expected in this post season. I know, some are a bit disappointed in Morrow, but he has done okay, and has been coming on late in this series. He will be very valuable in the Bruins series in my opinion. Murray has been the shot blocking monster he is supposed to be, Iginla has more than a point per game, and Juicy has added depth and versatility to a lineup that is tough to crack, but he has delivered when called upon. Now to give a recap of the statistical performance of the Penguins that I find interesting. First, if you look at playoff points leaders, after David Krejci of Boston who has 17 points to lead the league, the Penguins fill out the remaining positions of the top 5 with Malkin, Letang, Crosby, and Iginla in that order having 16, 16, 15, and 12 points. The Pens boast 4 of the top 5 scorers in the post season. Crosby and Dupuis are tied for the league lead in goals with 7, and James Neal is coming on like a freight train right behind with 6 goals, giving Pittsburgh 3 of the top 5 goal scorers in the playoffs. Neal in fact has 5 goals and 2 assists in his past TWO games after a rather sluggish start to his post season. As far as netminding, despite not starting the first 3 games, Tomas Vokoun is second in wins in the NHL after a three way tie for first between Lundqvist, Rask, and Quick. If not for a mind numbing display of stupidity by the Malkin, Kunitz, Letang, and frankly Byslma in the waning seconds of game 4, Vokoun would be tied for first in wins despite playing 3 less games than the leaders. He also boasts a 1.85 goals against and a .941 save percentage putting him in the top 3 in both categories amongst playoff goaltenders. I would say Shero's move there is paying the proper dividends no? Kris Letang leads the NHL in assists in the playoffs with 13, while Geno is right behind him with 12 assists. Letang also leads the NHL in plus/minus at a plus 7. That is truly amazing given the number of goals he has been on the ice for, and speaks volumes about his ability to just take over games when he is on. For example, he looked pitiful in the first period plus of game four, directly contributing to both Ottawa goals scored early. Then he took over the game, getting 4 assists, followed by a goal and 2 assists last night. So in the last five periods of play, Letang has added 7 points, while also playing sound defense.
Daniel Alfredsson took a lot of heat for referring to the thought that his Sens would have a tough time recovering for their 3-1 deficit in the series due to the depth and skill of the Penguins. Well, the Penguins have five players who have MORE than a point per game in these playoffs including Malkin, Letang, Crosby, Iginla, and Neal. Also Dupuis, Kunitz, and Martin are flirting with a point per game. Umm, that would be what they call scoring balance! As for team statistics, the Penguins still have the most goals per game of the remaining playoff teams at 4.27 goals per game, and the worst goals against per game at 2.54. I am hopeful that the Pens can work a bit on the goals against, but when you score more than 4 and allow less than 3, it is still a pretty good goal differential. Special teams have been a positive for Pittsburgh, with the power play tops in the league, clicking at 28.3% and the Penalty Kill second only to Chicago at 89.7%. That is a combination of special teams stats that could net you the Cup. One caution about the stunning special teams play is that the Penguins have also given up 3 short handed goals, the most in the league for the playoffs. That is an area that needs to be locked down going forward.
Another note to consider going forward is that Pittsburgh is 8-1 in their past nine games against both Boston and New York, so they have been a bit of match up nightmare for both clubs. What does that all mean? Probably nothing, as each series is a different animal, and the playoffs are FAR different than regular season games. That said, it seems as if the Penguins are taking advantage of the depth they can bring to a series to eventually wear an opponent down. Vokoun is making the saves he needs to make, and even after a softie or two in the middle of this series, he always made the saves he needed to make. What's more is the fact the Penguins also have guys like Brandon Sutter, Brendan Morrow, and Tyler Kennedy who may not always show up on the score sheet, but tend to do so with BIG goals when they do. The Pens will most likely face Boston in the Conference Finals next week, and the Bruins sure do look like a handful right now. I was wavering on the Penguins chances against Boston, but I need to remember how a seven game SERIES can unfold with a cumulative effect of a team who can roll out the kind of depth of scoring and toughness that Pittsburgh can. I am warming to the idea of Pittsburgh returning to the Stanley Cup Finals after a tough 6 game series with Boston.
Okay three games in, and it is already a roller coaster ride for us Pens fans. After a 5-0 blowout win in the opener, the Penguins blew a 3-1 lead to the Isles at home in Game 2 to lose 4-3 and also give the Islanders some real confidence that they could win this series. Scary to me, was the fact that it was looking like a movie I had seen before in Game 2, between giving up the lead, taking penalties, making poor puck management decisions, really bad defensive zone structure, and Fleury giving up a couple of questionable goals, despite being stellar early in the game. Instead of a commanding lead in the series going to Long Island, the Pens had let the Islanders off the mat, and now they really believed they could win this series. Then in game 3, the Pens fell behind 2-0 early in period one, then came roaring back to go into the second period ahead 3-2. When Douglas Murray scored late in the second period to put the Penguins up 4-2 going into the third, it really seemed like the Pens had grabbed control of the game, and hopefully the series. But no, flashbacks again to last year's debacle, and the Pens get outshot 13-3 in the third, give up a shorthanded goal, and another two goal lead to send the game into OT. Thankfully, Brian Strait took a penalty in OT, and Chris Kunitz scored his second goal of the game off of a beautiful feed from Sidney Crosby to win this game, despite the sloppy play. Crosby's assist was his third of the game, giving him 2 goals and 3 assists in just two playoff appearances this season. The Penguins dodged a bullet and now have a 2-1 lead in the series, though it feels a bit shaky to me. The Penguins got through today's game by going 3 for 5 on the power play, while getting badly outplayed 5 on 5. They also gave up their second two goal lead in as many games, though this time they overcame that problem to win the game. The Islanders now really believe they can win this series, and despite being a much less talented team, they are giving the Penguins all they want. In fact, outside of game one, they have looked like the more composed team for the most part. That said, Pittsburgh, with a win on Tuesday can take a stranglehold on the series. Some things I think I think:
Despite the fact that Tomas Vokoun was brought in to be an option should Fleury struggle, and Fleury has had a couple of games where he has let in some questionable goals, he also has a .923 save percentage overall, and has made some huge saves while being let out to dry by his defense. The issue is that this has been his issue in recent post season play. Great play getting nullified by morale sapping bad goals at key moments. That said, I think Fleury should start the next game and his play in that game would dictate if it is Vokoun time.
Evgeni Malkin leads the NHL in playoff points with one goal and five assists, while Jarome Iginla has a goal and four assists. The damage has mostly been done on the power play, while the five on five play of the Malkin-Iginla-Bennett line has been pretty quiet. If it were me, I would put Kunitz with Malkin and Iginla with Crosby to try to get better 5 on 5 production, but I sure would not mess with the power play.
Pascal Dupuis leads the NHL in playoff goals with three, and Paul Martin has three assists from the blueline for the Penguins.
I was feeling pretty good about my smarts when Deryk Engelland looked out of place in game two and Simon Despres was in his place. Then Despres was beaten badly in the first period, leading directly to the first two Islanders goals, and I remembered that I am not that smart.
The Penguins have 12 goals in three games, and nine players scored those goals.
There are too many parts of the Pens game that look just like the Flyers series last year to make me a little uneasy, but I still think that the depth of the Pens will ultimately will make it tough on NYI to win this thing.
Ok, so I may be a little sarcastic here.....I LOVED the game played by the Penguins last night in their 5-0 drubbing of the Islanders in Game One of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Penguins chased Evgeni Nabokov, they got physical with John Tavares, their achilles heel, the PK delivered going 4-4, and the power play went 2-4, including a beauty by rookie Beau Bennett. The world turned upside down, as the Penguins even got a goal from Tanner Glass! But, yinzers I spoke with everywhere today were convinced that the showing last night likely meant a sweep of the Isles, and a run right to the 4th Cup. I am more with the Penguins players who correctly enjoyed the moment, then immediately began to put their focus on Game Two Friday night. 10-0 or 2-1, it is only one game of the four necessary to win the series. Lest you think I am just a hockey Scrooge, in two of the past three first round exits, our flightless Birds handled Montreal 6-3 in game one, chasing Jaroslav Halak in the 2010 first round series, which they ultimately lost in 7 games. In 2011, the Pens shut out the Lightning 3-0 in Game One, then lost the series, which they led at one point 3-1, in seven games. I suspect that those experiences, plus the additions of Morrow and Iginla will keep the Pens focused on the task at hand, and I do expect that they will prevail, but calm down folks. If the Isles storm back and take Game Two, we have a best of five series with both teams even. Friday night is a big night for Pittsburgh to make a statement about their overall depth and talent being too much for New York. A New York rebound win, and people, you may have a dog fight to contend with. After presenting my cautionary tale, let me get back to things that I liked about Pittsburgh last night:
Marc Andre Fleury came out and played a very strong game, hopefully setting up the frame of mind he will need to put recent post season failure behind him;
Pascal Dupuis continues to show the hockey world what kind of player he is, putting home two goals, including the dirty second goal of the game which seemed to deflate the Isles a bit;
Iginla and Jokkinen both continued their hot streaks adding 2 assists each to the scoresheet, while Iggy played a physical game all night long, physical, tough, straight line hockey;
Kris Letang was simply in beast mode, nuff said;
Mark Eaton played a very steady defensive game, and blocked 8 shots;
Crankshaft showed the element missing from the past three playoff disasters by his physicality in front of the net, sending Islanders flying like bowling pins;
Beau Bennett, the "scared" rookie took a Martin to Malkin tip on the boards and roared in on Nabokov and tucked a power play goal in a small space over his shoulder and played tough and smart all night long;
As noted, the Pens won the special team battle with a 4-4 PK effort and a 2-4 PP effort to control the game from the drop of the puck;
Brenden Morrow, though not on the score sheet, played the kind of relentless physical hockey that over the course of the series will take its toll;
Matt Cooke is already under the skin of the NYI, and drawing the early penalty from Brian Strait, put the Pens on the PP which led to the Bennett goal.
Evgeni Malkin to me had a mixed night. He had two assists, and those cannot be discounted, but he also played some pretty uninspired hockey at times, mixed with rushes where he tried to beat four Islanders and turned the puck over. You may think I am too hard on Geno, but he earns what Sid earns, wears an A, and after admitting to the fact that he did not deliver in the regular season, turned in an up and down night in my opinion. Other than the psychological damage it may do to strip it, I can think of several more deserving Penguins in terms of the A. A step in the right direction, but still not what Geno is capable of. The other downer are more injuries to both James Neal and Juicy. With Orpik still day to day and Crosby still out, I would prefer not to keep testing the depth of the team this early in the post season. I LOVED the game played by Pittsburgh, and love the fact that they quickly deflected the love they were thrown for the win, and turned the attention immediately to Game Two. Love the focus and physicality, but unlike many others here, I would prefer to take this run game by game. LETS GO PENS!
