The Pittsburgh Penguins, particularly their whiz kids led by Sidney Crosby, learned last season what it took to win in the regular season, and this year, they learned a hard lesson of what it takes to win in the playoffs.
Yes, I predicted the Penguins to upset the Senators. They had such an impressive second half, and despite their average-at-best defensive game, proved on more than one occasion that no lead was safe against them.
Talent and youthful exuberance carried them to respectability this season, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a seasoned team with defensive depth like the Ottawa Senators.
This early post-season exit for the Penguins is disappointing for them and their fans, but it’s only one signpost on the road to greatness for this team.
Crosby proved he could play well in the playoffs, and goalie Marc-Andre Fleury showed he was capable of overcoming a shaky start to a playoff series to cope with the intense pressure a goaltender faces in the post-season. 18-year-old Jordan Staal also gave a good account of himself in his first playoff series. These three will only get better as time goes by.
Other Penguins, like Evgeni Malkin, Ryan Whitney and Colby Armstrong, didn’t fare as well, but after the dust has settled from this series they’ll have learned how to step up their game in the post-season.
Many observers, myself included, compared this year’s young Penguins to the Wayne Gretzky-led Edmonton Oilers kiddie corps of the early 1980s.
As one hockey pundit noted, those Oilers didn’t win the Stanley Cup in their first playoff year, so it was obviously unrealistic to expect the Penguins to pull off that feat.
That young Oilers team took four long years of learning sometimes painful lessons in the playoffs, often against more experienced teams, before they finally won the Stanley Cup.
That young Oilers team was also eliminated in the first round of their first playoff series.
Like those Oilers, the Crosby-led Penguins will lick their wounds and take away the necessary information needed to perform better in future playoffs.
They were taught a valuable lesson this year on the kind of defensive game required to win in the playoffs.
It’s a lesson no one on the Penguins, from owner to GM to coach to Crosby to whichever young prospect should join them down the road, will ever forget.
Good post. I hope fans, real Pens' fans, that is, keep the faith. They weren't picked to finish even close to the middle, were they? I wrote a small post to this effect. If they can continue at the level and tweak some, they will be in the hunt for the Cup next season. Fuzz
That depends on how much the Pens wish to spend. Crosby will be expensive to resign but they'll get it done. Fleury, Staal and Malkin less expensive than Crosby but costly nonetheless. Still, it can be done, provided the Pens are willing to spend to do it. The cap could be close to $50 million next summer. If the Pens spend up to $45 million, they can keep their young core together.
Where it'll become a problem will be when these kids reach their mid-to-late twenties. Thankfully, however, the Pens will have another four years to keep their core together to allow them to grow into a champion.
Plus, I heard crosby would take a little bit of a pay cut to stay in Pittsburgh and keep the team intact. The problem that the Pens will have is when these guys are restricted they will have GM's trying to sign them to offer sheets. If Pitts is offering Malkin 5-6 and another team comes in and tell Malkin will give you 8, what do you do.
Offer sheets are possible but I'm not so sure we're going to see them become an issue. There was a huge uproar when the Flyers made that offer to Vancouver's Kesler, and the Canucks willingness to match seems to demonstrate that teams, regardless of how tight they are against the cap, will still match offers. If the Pens have plenty of cap space, they'll easily match any offer.
Fair enough. I just thought after what Booby Clarke offered to Kessler, that there has to be some GM waiting to throw money at some of the leagues young stars
Yes, it certainly was a disapointing end to the season, but what a season it was for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
New areana! Two new phenoms (Staal & Malkin)! And, major improvements from some other hot prospects (Whitney & Fluery).
All in all it's a good time to be a Penguins fan. I look forward to my playoff beard being much longer in the coming seasons.
And, as I mentioned to someone else...they have to wait until everyone's old enough to drink before they can enjoy drinking champagne from the Stanely Cup.
This team won't win anything unless it improves drastically along the blue-line. It was so obvious what was going wrong with the Pens that even Therrien called them out in the middle of the series.
Not to mention, as I stated in my predictions, depth is the key to playoff success in the new NHL. Just as it was last season, it is proving so again this season. This series is the perfect example. Third and fourth line productions from both teams: 10 points for the Senators(5 goals) and 2 points from the Penguins(0 goals).
The Pens need some secondary talent to compliment their core and some guys who move the puck at the blue-line. A lot still to go.
Yes, they still need work, but getting that defensive depth and secondary talent shouldn't be difficult. The Pens success this season and their young superstars could make them an enticing destination to UFA players.
Spector: you're right, I was just about to point out how Pittsburgh is going to be one of the premier places for UFA's this summer, especially blueliners.
a. they'll have a great chance of starting
b. they'll have a good chance of getting to the postseason.
These are both things that Pittsburgh hasnt had in a while, and therefore had to take the leavings or overpay for FA's.
Look for this team to perhaps trade one of those stud forwards and/or Fluery for a starting veteran netminder. If they do that and gain a goalie who has proven what he can do in the playoffs, the confidence boost alone would be worth it. Fleury could still be the guy, but he'll have to prove next season that he's grown and will be able to handle the playoffs.
Fluery isn't going anywhere. He's the guy. He was VERY good in this series. (Don't look at the numbers, they're inflated because of the first game where nobody showed up). With some upgrades on the blue line, Fluery will be just fine.
Pittsburgh is the same as Oilers of old. Yeah right! I'll give you the Gretzky and Crosby are the same kind of player but Malkin, Staal aren't exactly Messier and Kurri. Whitney could turn into a Coffee type of player but the Oilers won because they played like a team which was lead by some top notch coaching. After watching Malkin play for 5 games in these playoff, I say he is more likely to turn into a Yashin type of player and fade into oblivion. He is afraid to get hit or to dish out some hits. I think what will destroy this team is the salary cap. Crosby will make the league maximum (or close to it) in his next contract and we all know Malkin will command a big raise (or else he's back in Russia) and Staal is another 5 millions dollars man in the making. the same can be said about Whitney. Add another 6 millions for Fleury and your already close to 30 millions spend on 5 guys. I'm sorry but the window of oppertunity inthe NHL is slim (very slim) for this team. If they can't win it in the next 4 years, they won't win anything with this cast of players.
Man this team has potential. Unfortunatley, it will never be fully realized since they will lose either Staal, Malkin or both a some point. The offer sheets from other teams will be too much for the Pens (and any other team for that matter) and good FA's will further the $$$ problems. They can't keep everyone and sign great productive FA's all at once. The other shoe is going to have to drop sometime. I can only see Crosby, Fluery, and maybe Whitney staying once the contracts are up. This team still has $$$ issues regardless of a new stadium or not.
Exactly what I'm thinking, not sure if you can even consider Crosby as good as Gretzky yet. I'll wait tell he gets 70+ goals and 200+ points in a season to even consider that. Completing agree with your point on Malkin.As for Fleury I don't see him making that kind of money until he proves that he can play without allowing 4+ goals night after night.
As a Pens fan, i can assure you we dont need to be told we will be losing top end talent in the future. It's inevitable.
SensFanCC, apparently you have only seen Malkin during this series. No, he didnt play well, but he does hit people from time to time and takes hits. Dont judge on five games. I can take five playoff games Alfredsson did nothing and conclude he is a terrible player but that wouldnt be true would it? To compare him to Yashin is pretty off base. And people are saying the Pens remind them of the Oilers, not that they are.
Ryan7878, doubtful anyone will do that again. Defenseman and goalies now are better than when Gretzky played not to mention 80's hockey was as offensive as it will ever be. Two different era's.
Pueblo, Mario has already stated they will spend money to keep the team together. A new arena will take away those money issues, which is what they've been saying for years.
And in answer to your question: Matthew Ryder writes End to End on Spectors site. He also loves to take jabs at Crosby every chance he gets which I find kind of pathetic.
As for Fleury, you could put Roy, Fuhr, Brodeur or whoever you want in that net, but when you have Josef Melichar and Rob Scuderi playing in front of you, the puck is going in. A goalie can only do so much without help from his defense. Dont let his GAA fool you, he is definitely better than it suggests.
Last edited by 2ManAdvantage on April 20th at 11:10 AM.
It's funny how some folks will judge a player based on that player's first-ever NHL post-season appearance and write them off so blithely.
And nobody was making direct comparisons of Malkin and Staal and Whitney to Messier, Kurri and Coffey (or should that be "Messy-eh, Curry and Coffee"?). The comparison is that the Penguins are filled with promising young talent, just like the Oilers of over 25 years ago, and have the potential to become a great team, like the Oilers eventually became.
Crosby, Malkin, Staal and Whitney (and Fleury, for that matter) will become their own players and leave their own marks, just as Gretzky, Messier et al did. But to directly compare them is ridiculous.
I disagree. Hasek was an elite goaltender, but he has his weaknesses too. Field a great defense, and any goalie looks better than they are. Don't believe me? Remember that moment you hate talking about, when the Stars won the Cup? Belfour was on the decline. He had guys like Zubov and Sydor in front of him. Elite defense. Made him look like a superstar. Of course, flashing a high-end save every once in a while helps the image, right?
You can have one without the other, but it's a lot harder to keep pucks out of the net with only half the equasion. Their defensive game was the Pens' undoing.
Chaas-I agree that Belfour had great talent in front of him. I'm talking about Hasek who had pretty much no talent in front of him.
Without Hasek that was a basement dwelling team.
With Hasek they were a potential Cup winning team. In their primes, I can't see any goalie even touching his pads.
Like you said, Roy, Broduer, et al, they all had tremendous talent in front of them. Hasek never did until he went to Detroit. Buffalo had a few good players, that was it.
Well I don't think that the Penguins fans have anything to be dissapointed about. Their team did much more than what was expected of them this year. A lot of people didn't even think they were going to make the playoffs. Anyhow the best thing that happened for them is that their three most important players showed that they can deliver come playoff time.
Sidney Crosby was a star. Was there to put the puck in the net.
Fleury showed that he's the real deal. He was shaky at first, but in the end settled down and showed that he's not a goalie who'll give you a good regular season and then flop in come playoff time.
Staal scored a short handed goal even in the playoffs. I can't believe this guy. Looks like he's going to be a hell o####oal scorer and one of the best penalty killers in the league.
Ok ok and as for this Malkin turning into a Yashin thing... Sensfan just that Yashin pulled a ... well... Yashin doesnt mean that Malkin is going to pull a Yashin as well. I will admit that it makes me laugh when reading a few retards compare him to Messier... because Malkin isn't going to grow a Mark Messier Mean streak and that's what made Mark Messier Mark Messier.
As for ragging on teenagers who've never played a playoff game, you're obviously someone who's been watching hockey for a week or two, because pretty much every player has to go through a learning curve in the playoffs through a failure of some sort. Some players learn the first time, and some take a few years to catch on.
Being an Oilers fan, I'd like it if you guys wouldn't talk to highly of Paul Coffee. My Dad and I used to call him Paul Coughup. He was a defensive disaster waiting to happen in the 80's.
And Hasek? I must be going blind beacause I don't get that one. Brodeur and Fur are the two best clutch goalies of my time period. Game 7 overtime those are the guys you want in net because pressure just made them even better.
Thadd you must be blind because Hasek in his prime was better than both, combined. No ifs, ands or buts about it. The guy could win with no talent on his team. Seriously, no talent and he took a team to the Stanely Cup Finals.
Tell me when Broduer or Fuhr did that?? Oh thats right, they've always had guys there to bail them out if they've had a bad game.
I do beleive that Pittsburgh will bounce back next season. They got beat by a better team and the difference was obviously in nets (just think of game 4). Emery emerged this year (thanks to Gerber!) and with his size and quickness he was simply better than Fleury. The kids up front gained some "experience" and they will be smarter going into next year's playoffs. Future looks great but they'll have to hurry to go all the way.
If they could sign a guy like Andrei Markov it would really help but i hope he'll stay in Montreal.
The Penguins definitely look like a perennial playoff team for the next few years, but the comparisons to the Oilers of the 80s after just one season in the playoffs are premature to say the least. Sure, the Penguins are very talented, but a lot of teams have had talent with nothing to show for it (the mid to late 90s Flyers come to mind as an example). My point is, only time will tell if this team is the real deal or just another good team but not great enough to win the cup. Let's not rush to call this team the next Oilers or Islanders. There are 29 other teams unwilling to hand the Cup to the Pens these next few years. Factor in the Salary Cap, Free Agency, and the fact that this team just doesn't have all it needs to win yet, and it's clear that nothing is guaranteed.
LGB---wow that's some harshness. But I wanna point out Hasek coulcn't win a cup till he was on a team with a TON of firepower and all stars. When Marty won his first, he had a team of role players. The Devils have never been about stars. As a matter of fact, many guys who became big, diva type stars (Sheldon Souray comes to mind) were jettisoned from the Devils despite their talent. Comparing Hasek to Marty is ####!!!! Hasek WAS a great goalie. He's still good. But what Marty has done has already supassed Hasek. So stop man
and for the record....Congrats to the Pens on a great season. I know i was uber critical and can't say I'm sad to see them knocked out, but they had a hell of a season and gave my devs a hella of a run for the division...amazing for such a young team
Spector, I hope Crosby is luckier than Lindros as far as health is concerned. The Flyers may have been a bad example, but they're the team I know best. My point was that there are talented teams that just don't get over the hump for whatever reason. The Penguins will be interesting to watch the next few years, because the foundation is there and now they need to build the rest.
LGB, you're calling me blind? I've never known you to be so harsh. Really, if Hasek was so great that he didn't need talen behind him then he should've won a bunch more cups by now, but he hasn't.
Brodeur... you can't compare Hasek to Brodeur because Brodeur is going to make and break pretty much every record that exists for a goalie. History will remember Brodeur for being THE best goalie of all time. Hasek can't and wont be remembered like that unless he starts playing even better and plays till he's 50.
LGB: This is why Hasek isn't the best goalie of all time. He's a diver. I've never seen Brodeur do this. Hasek has cost his team goals on many occasions over the years by trying to sell penalties that aren't there. If he hadn't done that Detroit might've gone on to win the game and then the Flames would be out of the playoffs now.
Saying that the "difference" in the Pens/Sens series was in the nets is crazy. The difference was the ferocious forechecking and unrelenting pressure that the Sens (forwards especially) applied. The Sens were so tough along the boards on both ends of the ice. Also, their penalty killing was outstanding. The Pens had one of the best PP in the league this season and the Sens made them look less than ordinary. The Sens applied so much pressure that the Pens were lucky to even get set up most of the time. If the Pens were able to score some PP goals (a handful of 5 on 3's come to mind) this series might still be going on.
Emery was not a difference maker at all. He didn't have to be. He faced an average of 22 shots per game from the Pens. They couldn't generate any shots to even put pressure on Emery. Emery didn't do anything noteworthy in this series but prove that he could be a competent goalie in the playoffs. And after the first game Fleury proved the same thing to the Penguins fans and the front office.
Last edited by BlackGoldPenguin21 on April 21st at 11:11 PM.
My hat is off the the Senators. They dispelled their first-round demons of the past, and then some. They played a high energy forechecking that forced the Penguins into making blind passes and spoon-feeding turnovers to the Sens almost the entire series. They played like a team on a mission, that knew what it was doing.
Hopefully, this playoff exit will help teach the Pens so that they know what to "do" next time. I am still proud of my Pens. Crosby averaged around a point a game, even with a broken foot. And Stall was a 30 year old in an 18 year old body. Malkin didn't have a great series, but he still had 4 points in 5 games and was only a minus 1. That's not too shabby for a first year player in his first playoffs. Saying that Malkin will be another Yashin is a joke. Come on.
BTW - For those of you keeping score Yashin has 0 points in 5 games this post-season.
Last edited by BlackGoldPenguin21 on April 21st at 11:18 PM.
Thadd-Are you really trying to say that Brodeur doesn't flop??? Come on man. Anyone that touches him and he literally dives like he's Greg Louganis.
As for how many Cups Hasek has won, he might have won 2 by now if the NHL hadn't blown a call in the Stanley Cup Finals when he was first there.
Broduer can have all the records. Put Hasek on Brodeurs teams and we are talking about Hasek in Brodeurs place. Brodeur has had a consistently better team around him than Hasek, almost every year. Thats why those records and statistics are misleading.
The proof is in the pudding. Look at both when they were in their prime and you tell me who you would rather have on your team in a Game 7.
As for the blind comment, you said you must be going blind so I said you were. I dind't mean for you to take it so harshly. I apologize if I hurt your feelings.
Last edited by LetsGoBuffalo on April 22nd at 6:50 AM.
I'm Lyle Richardson, also known as Spector, Foxsports.com 's "Prince of Pucks".,which is based on the fact I live in Prince Edward Island, Canada and I couldn't think of a better byline. I've been an NHL hockey commentator since 1998 on my website, Spector's Hockey, and I'm a contributing writer for Foxsports.com , The Hockey News and Eishockey News. I'm also a regular on The Faceoff Hockey Show and a frequent guest on "The Late Crew" on The Team 1200 Ottawa.
