The Montreal Canadiens have forced a Game Seven. You have to give them credit. Once they got behind, facing elimination, they played their best hockey of the series. The Penguins were not able to create the same level of desperation. As Steigy once said, “You can’t play with desperation unless you’re desperate.” Now both teams will be playing with equal fear of elimination. This time the loser goes home.
For most of this series, the Canadiens have played exactly the way that they wanted to. Even with that being the case, the Penguins have dominated large portions of games. The reason that there is a Game Seven is that the Canadiens have capitalized on a higher percentage of their scoring opportunities. READ MORE »
Game Six at the Bell Center. The Penguins have a chance to close out another series on the road. One thing we know for sure — they’ve done it before. I predicted the Pens would win this series in five games. I really didnt’ think that Halak and the Canadiens could continue on this emotional high for so long. They have proved me wrong. Now the question is - do they have enough left to force another Game Seven? I don’t think that they do. It is really the same story that we have been talking about all series. Halak can’t be almost perfect forever, Crosby has to score. Can this Game Six be the one where these things finally take place? READ MORE »
With a chance to take a stranglehold in this series and 20 minutes to play in Game 4, the Penguins lost their way. A stat that is often looked at in the NHL is the team’s record when leading or trailing after the second period. Trailing after two, the Canadiens were 4-29 this season and 0-2 during the playoffs. Leading after two periods, the Penguins were 28-5 this year and 3-0 this post-season. (Another reason to be upset by the loss of this game.) It is highly unlikely that this will happen again. I know the only stat that matters is the series is now tied at two. The fact of the matter is, the Penguins, except for a few short lapses, have totally outplayed the Canadiens. After being outshot in Game One (a game the Pens also really dominated) and over the seven period span from period 2 in Game 2 until that fateful third period in Game 4, the Penguins had outshot the Canadiens 81-33. (In fact the second period totals for those games was 42-9.)
In my last post, I wrote about the positive nature of Coach Bylsma and his ability to keep his players focused and in a solid frame of mind. READ MORE »
The Penguins needed Gorges and Gill in the penalty box at the same time, a fresh sheet of ice, and a 5 on 4 man advantage to score a goal against Halak. Fortunately it was all that they needed to win their fourth straight playoff game in Canada and take a 2-1 series lead over the Canadiens.
Montreal played their best hockey of the series in the first period and they could still only manage seven shots on goal. Over the final 40 minutes they were only able to total eleven more. A couple of those shots in the third period were good scoring opportunities, but Fleury was equal to the task.
The Penguins now have the formula for success in this series. There a a few things that need to be done strategically. READ MORE »
Five home games into the 2010 playoffs and the Pens are 2-3 against inferior opponents. Hopefully this is a trend that will not continue. It took three wins in Ottawa to advance to the 2nd round. In order to advance to the conference finals, the Pens will now have to continue their excellent road play. In order to keep the series rom going the full seven games, they will have to win at least twice at the Bell Centre. In order to win the series at all they will have to win once there. It didn’t have to be that way.
The Penguins did not use the same approach to game 2 as they used in game 1. The best way to beat the Canadiens is to hit their defensemen every time they touch the puck. They accomplished this in game 1. Not as much in game 2.
Playoff success is often determined by the play of the special teams. The Penguins penalty killing, which was a strength all year, did not do well against Ottawa. The Senators were able to convert on 31.8% of their chances. That is much higher than the 15.9% success rate of opponents over the course of the regular season. The reason that this was not as much of a problem as it could have been was because the Penguins powerplay was more successful against Ottawa than it had been over the course of the season. The powerplay clicked at 25% as compared to a 17.2% conversion rate for the regular season. The powerplay was horrible the first half of the year. Many, including myself, questioned Mike Yeo’s qualifications and ability to coach a successful powerplay. Coach Bylsma tried to steer the blame away from Yeo when he said that the entire coaching staff was responsible for the design of the powerplay. This is where the powerplay story takes an interesting turn. READ MORE »
To win in the playoffs, all hands have to be on deck. With one series complete, the Pens have already used seven defensemen, 14 forwards, and one goalie. All 22 of these players had a role to play in the win over Ottawa. One player who does his job on a consistent basis, but is often overlooked, is Craig Adams. Adams is a Harvard grad and has had a solid career as a role player. His best offensive year was 05-06 with Carolina when he scored 10 goals and 11 assists as a part of the Hurricanes Stanley Cup Championship team. When Ray Shero picked him up on waivers from the Black Hawks, it was not front page news. Make no mistake about it, he has been a large part of the Penguins playoff success since his arrival. His name rarely appears on the scoresheet, but when you look at some of the other stats that helps win hockey games, this is where he excels. Hits, faceoffs, penalty killing minutes are a large part of his game. On a team with many stars and many leaders, his voice is the one often heard in the locker room. When people talk about the Penguins’ strength down the middle with their top three centers, I think Adams can be included in that strength as one of the more valuable fourth line centers in the game. He averages about 11 minutes of ice time per game, and was second in hits among all forwards in the Ottawa series. Kunitz led with 24 hits and Adams had 21, some of which were very punishing. Take a look at a hit he put on Alfredson in a regular season game this year –
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