Faceoff Factor

Pens Vs Lightning Grades

Mike Adams | Grade "A" Reviews

Mar 21, 08:31 AM | Hype this story!

Doing what they have to.

Offense: B

Good thing these grades aren’t done after two periods, or it would have been an F. The Pens scored two goals in the first two periods, but didn’t exactly look stellar in doing it. They were working pretty hard, but just not generating any shots on goal (12 through 40 minutes). The two goals were both the result of hard work. On the first, Gonchar pinched deep on the left side and got the puck to Talbot. He found a wide open Orpik at the center point. He fired one on net that Mike Smith stopped, but Ruutu was there to slam home the rebound. He got a bloody lip in the process, as Dan Boyle caught him with a stick. After the Lightning tied it early in the second, Geno gave them the lead for good. He tried a backhand cross-crease pass that was blocked, but it came back to him, and he roofed a backhander. This came at the end of an incredible shift where they bottled the Lightning up in their own end for an eternity. Other than that, there wasn’t much excitement through two periods. But that changed in the first minute of the third. First, the Offensively Inept Jordan Staal finally got a shot he could bury, at basically an empty net. And he did. Then, just 11 seconds later, Malkin fed Sykora for a one-timer from the slot that he buried. The goals awakened the Pens, who played an inspired third period. That they didn’t net another was only because of the brilliance of Mike Smith in net. I lost count of how many odd man rushes they had.

Defense: A

They made it easy for Fleury, who was rarely tested by a good offensive team. The Pens allowed only 13 even-strength shots all night, a brilliant performance against a tired team. They shut down Vinny Lecavalier and Marty St. Louis at even strength. The positioning and backchecking were much better than the previous game. They gave up maybe one rebound shot all night. It was just a tremendous performance after the debacle in New York.

Power play: F

Well, I guess we can put to rest the “Sid ruins the power play” theories. It is back to looking just as inept as before, this time with no Sid. This time, they failed to generate even a single shot on two full chances. I have noticed one thing. When Gonchar is hitting the net with his long shots, the power play is much better. Last night, he was once again way off the mark. And every time he missed the net, the puck was cleared. Yo, Sarge, how about taking a little off and trying to get it on the net?

Penalty kill: F

Let’s just say special teams weren’t the highlight last night. The PK was awful, allowing two goals on five chances. They allowed one pass through the box after another, making Fleury dizzy at times. Both goals were a result of this failing. On the first one, Tampa Bay passed it across the box down low not once, but twice, making Fleury go side to side to side. He finally gave out, and Lecavalier roofed it. Same thing happened on the second goal, with Filip Kuba putting it home. You just cannot allow that kind of thing to happen.

Goaltending: A

Fleury solidified his hold on the playoff job with yet another solid performance. The Pens played very well in front of him, except on the penalty kill. He made a couple big saves early on to keep it scoreless, but really wasn’t tested too severely. But once again, he didn’t allow any soft goals, unlike Conklin the other night.. There is little doubt right now who will be starting in the playoffs.

Overall: B

It certainly wasn’t their best performance, but they got the job done. They did allow what I thought would be a dispirited Lightning team to stick around longer than they should have. But they never let them get the lead and have hope. This was a game I had feared they’d have trouble getting up for, and that did prove out through two periods. They just weren’t real sharp or crisp in anything they did. The passes weren’t clicking. But in the third, they played the way they are capable of, and took home the win.

And now, the rest of the story…

Sergei Gonchar: B

You know how I love to pick on Sarge. But I thought of something last night while watching. He is playing with his third partner of the season. Every one of those guys has played their best when paired with him. He deserves credit for that. He must be an easy guy to play with. He moves the puck well, and his partner pretty much knows what to expect out of him. He is a smart player. “I’m Sergei Gonchar, Norris candidate, and I approved this message.”

Jarkko Ruutu: A

Great game by him. He scored a goal, got a cut lip in the process, was his usual agitating self, and even got to show off his futbol skills with a rush up the ice sans stick. Oh, he also had the obligatory stupid penalty.

Brooks Orpik: A

His time with Gonchar is good for him. He is playing perhaps the most solid hockey of his career. He had nine hits last night, but never went looking for one of them. He’s letting the play come to him.

Jordan Staal: C

Average together the A for effort and the F for finishing ability and you get a C. Man, he had so many chances before he finally scored that I just gave up hoping he would put one in. He really needs to do a Jagr and work on that shot in the offseason and after practice. I think I’m going to start calling him Jordan Stall, because he just causes the attack to break down when he gets the puck. Actually, my wife came up with that one.

Pascal Dupuis: F

He was awful. He bobbled the puck. He threw it away. He just couldn’t do anything right.

Vinny Lecavalier: D

Okay, he got a power play goal. But his incessant cherry-picking also cost his team one. This guy bolts the defensive zone at the drop of a hat. That’s why Geno is already a better player than him—at least he plays defense.

Ryan Whitney: A

He was much better than in the New York game. And he made a great pinch to keep the puck in, followed by a great keep at the blue line, that led to Malkin’s goal.

Hockey 101: A

Bibsy made a comparison between the 1991 Cup team and this one, pointing out all the similarities. By omission, he also pointed out a huge difference. That team had Badger Bob.

Icehole of the Game

Vinny Lecavalier, for kneeing Jordan Staal. Nice move by a supposed star player. Oh, and did I mention he’s a cherry picker? Last Fall, Pat Burns said Vinny is the best player in hockey. Still stand by that one, Pat?

Monk Moment

Easily, this one goes to Ruutu, who played soccer with the puck for about 100 feet after losing his stick. He not only kicked it all the way up ice as he skated, but he kicked it to Talbot for a great shot. One of the plays of the year.

Striped Buffoon Huh? Call of the Game

Well, it was Devorski and Jackson. There aren’t too many worse duos out there. They called virtually nothing all night, again raising the question of why the Garage League even pays refs. The most heinous missed call was when Vinny kneed Staal. Bu there were others. Malone was blatantly tripped on a rush. And Whitney high stuck a guy in trying to pickle stab a puck out of the zone.

A guide to the game grades can be found here.