I meant to write this yesterday but didn’t have the heart for it. Losing is okay; half the teams in any game lose. Showing up would have been nice. The effort the Pens expended in Wednesday night’s Game 7 wouldn’t have taxed a squirrel in a rusty exercise wheel. With the exception of Jordan Staal, the “core” of the team—Crosby, Malkin, Gonchar, Fleury—mailed it in.
All credit goes to the Canadiens. They had a plan, they bought into it, and they made the sacrifices necessary to execute it to near perfection. (Aside from blocking just under three million shots, Hal Gill played Game 7 with 40 stitches and staples in a cut left hamstring.) If they continue this run, Jaroslav Halak will join Ken Dryden and Patrick Roy in the Habs’ pantheon, and deservedly so. That doesn’t mean he did it alone.
Pittsburgh would liked to have kept Gill when he became a free agent after last year’s Cup run; the Canadiens had more cap room. Gill has now played two consecutive series this year that, along with last year’s excellence, make one wonder if he isn’t the most underrated defensive defenseman in the NHL.
He had company. Josh Gorges and rookie sensation P.K. Subban were excellent throughout. Jaroslav Spacek returned from an illness to play key minutes in the final games after Andrey Markov went down with an injury. Forwards Mike Cammalleri, Scott Gomez, and little teeny Brian Gionta came up big time after time. Coach Jacques Martin’s lifetime playoff resume is less than impressive, but he’s been Toe Blake, Herb Brooks, and Scotty Bowman all rolled into one this year.
The Pens problems started at the top and worked their way down. Dan Bylsma was badly out-coached. He had no answers for the Canadiens’ match-ups, even when getting the last change for home games. What are little mistakes at the time can always be second-guessed in the aftermath of a Game 7 debacle, but this isn’t really second-guessing; I hollered “time out” at the screen after Montreal’s second goal. The game was already getting away from them. Fleury should have been pulled after Goal Three.
Crosby was mostly invisible, except for the horrible boarding call at 0:10 of the first period. How he could be surprised at that call may have shown more insight into the Pens’ problems than anyone cares to admit. They played like they were owed this one.
Crosby can’t be expected to play every series like he played against Ottawa. Montreal sold out to stop his line, and it worked. Pittsburgh has another superstar center, and Evgeny Malkin didn’t score any more than Sid did. This was the type of series where he needed to step up. Had his line produced, Martin may have been forced to reconsider his strategy on Crosby, Kunitz, and Guerin; Malkin and his line mates never put him on the spot.
Sergei Gonchar may be the league’s leading example of a heads-up offensive defenseman, but his defensive lapses were glaring at times this season, especially late in the year. The playoffs were no better, and his turnstile impression that led to the fourth goal when Travis Moen would have been content to kill some time was a backbreaker.
That gets us to Fleury. I’m not a Fleury basher. Hell, I own his tee shirt. I thought his play during last year’s Cup run should have silenced his critics for at least a year, but there were too many soft goals to make excuses for. There were plenty of defensive lapses in front of him this year, but an elite goalie makes more saves then he did in those situations. That’s what makes them elite, allowing their mates to take some chances in front of them, knowing they’ll be backstopped.
The Pens have played a lot of hockey the past three years: two trips to the Finals, and, for several, the Olympics. I bought the Center Ice package last fall, so I saw every game but one, and it was money well spent. I’ll re-up this year, ready to see the next version of the Penguins. The taste of Game 7 will be gone well before that.
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