Pens/Sens Game 1 Grades
Mike Adams | Grade "A" Reviews
Apr 10, 09:09 AM | Hype this story!
What rust?
Offense: A
It was a tremendous offensive performance by the Pens. They were ready right from the opening faceoff, a complete reversal of last year’s series. I had said before the game that a great first period was essential against the struggling Sens, and the Penguins did not disappoint. The so-called fourth line got things started with a gritty, hard-working goal by none other than The Hockey God. He’s ba-a-a-a-ck. And what a beautiful way to return. He worked hard down below the goal line, eventually freeing the puck for Big Georges. He took control and threw a pass back out front for The Hockey God, who slid it past a stunned Martin (Not Brodeur, Not even Biron) Gerber. Just like that, the Pens had erased last year’s doubts. They kept good pressure on after that, then got a break when Mike Commodore made a bad pinch, and Malkin and Sykora were away on a 2-on-1. I yelled at Malkin to shoot, but he didn’t hear me and passed to Sykora, who whipped it home. Way to listen, Geno. The Pens were off and running. For most of the rest of the night, they had a solid forecheck and were very sound positionally. They maintained the 2-goal lead until midway through the third, when Malkin and Whitney executed a beautiful give-and-go. Whitney got it back to Malkin, who zinged it past Gerber to put the game out of reach. They kept playing their game, keyed by some great forechecking shifts by the fourth line. They kept the Sens bottled up for a minute at a time, and the Sens just couldn’t recover.
Defense: A-
Again, the Pens were very, very solid positionally. Yeah, the Sens had a few good looks, but not too many. Early on, I thought the Pens were backing in a bit too much, allowing the Senators easy access to the zone. But it sure didn’t cost them, as the Sens misfired on everything. The Gonchar/Orpik and Letang/Gill pairings were tremendous, but the Whitney/Scuderi tandem struggled a bit, especially in the first half of the game. Darryl Sydor was probably guessing which of them he would replace. But they got better as the game went on, with Whitney even ending up at +3. On those rare occasions when Fleury left a rebound, the defense was there to clear them. This was a complete 180 from last year’s playoffs. They moved the puck crisply out of their own end, never allowing the Senators to establish that vicious forecheck that ate them alive last year.
Power play: D
Well, there had to be SOMETHING that didn’t work, right? On this night, it was most certainly the power play. They had numerous chances to put this game on ice, but the power play couldn’t come through. Once again, they were overpassing and overthinking. They were moving around well, they even passed it well at times, but it rarely led to any quality chances. Every time they got a power play, the Senators killed it and then got a bit of momentum from it. Oh, they did get a rather meaningless goal late, but it was by the second unit. A pass in front deflected off the Hockey God and past Gerber to put some icing on the cake. You have to wonder how long Therrien will stick with this configuration that has, save for one game, looked bad.
Penalty kill: A
What an awesome job they did! They killed almost two full minutes of 5-on-3 with tremendous effort. They were blocking shots, blocking passing lanes, and getting great saves from Flower. The Sens did have a few good looks while up two men, but in general, the PK just did a fantastic job of keeping things to the outside and keeping track of Killer Heatley, who was next to invisible. The Senators really lack offensive depth without Mike Fisher and the Diving Whining Choking Dog, and it really showed on the power play.
Goaltending: A
Is this the same Flower who was so unsteady in Game 1 last year? I think not. Something clicked for him during the injury, and he has been a different goalie ever since. He played with total confidence last night. He was brilliant early on, when the game was still in doubt. He made one big save after another, especially on a 2-on-1 where he had to go side-to-side. He played perfect positional goalie, but used his athleticism on that play, when he had to. He appeared calm and under control all game long. Again, it was a perfect scenario for him to erase last year’s playoff demons. You just can’t say enough about the transformation in his game right now. I have never seen him play like this. He is playing at a level that is as good as any goalie in the league.
Overall: A
You hate to use the word “perfect,” but this was close. Other than the struggles on the power play, they couldn’t have asked for much more. They got the early goal they needed. They got the first period lead they needed. They got spectacular penalty killing. They got playoff-caliber goaltending. And they got the win they so desperately needed to eliminate any self-doubts they had as well as any confidence the Senators had. All in all, it really was as close to perfect as you can get.
And now, the rest of the story…
The Hockey God: A
Nothing like scoring a goal on your first shift of the game, against a team you have tormented through the years. He played his usual gritty, in-your-face game. I do question a bit why he hit that guy from behind at the end. You know, something about letting sleeping (choking) dogs lie. But it is so nice to have him back in the lineup and fresh, with no rust. Wow! Now I remember why they traded for him last year.
Big Georges Laraque: A
Here is another guy looking to atone for last year, and he was superb last night. He controlled shift after shift in the Senator zone with tremendous play below the goal line. And he didn’t make any blind passes that led to Ottawa chances, which is what got him banished last year.
Evgeni Malkin: A
He was dominant. He ended up with three points. His pass to Sykora on the 2-on-1 was perfecto, as was his shot that beat Gerber. He is a totally different player than last year.
Sergei Gonchar: A
He was invisible in his own end, which is a good thing. There were no gutless plays, unlike last year. Just smart, solid hockey.
Ryan Whitney: B+
He had a brutal giveaway early on that led to the Senators keeping it in the zone for a minute, then getting a power play. But he had a beautiful pass to Malkin for a goal, and was a +3, so all was not bad. And he also stepped in and pummeled Wade Redden when he took a shot at Crosby. You gotta love that.
Jordan Staal: C
Good defensively, but I doubt he will ever score another goal.
Marian Hossa: B
He looked good, but he has to bury some of those chances he’s getting.
The USS Hal Gill: A
Man, what a nice thing it is to have him out there killing penalties. You put him and Staal out there together, and there go the passing lanes.
Milk Cartons: A
I got one this morning and lo and behold, it had this on one side
and this on the other.
Striped Buffoon Huh? Call of the Game
Brad (Rulebook) Watson was at his finest. Well, at least he didn’t botch any rules last night. But I would really like an explanation of how Talbot came away with an extra penalty on the scrum that involved him, Martin LaPointe, and Fleury. I wouldn’t have as much problem with it if they had been consistent. The exact thing happened at the other end, where a Senator tackled a Penguin in a scrum, and he evened that one out. Had they called an extra one on the Sens, then I’m fine with the Talbot call.
Icehole of the Game
Bryan Murray, for his whining all week long about the Pens “tanking” so they could play the Sens. Gee, Bryan, after your team’s pitiful showing in Game 1, what team WOULDN’T have tanked so they could play your choking, soft, whiny, pot-smoking outfit?
A Guide to the Grades can be found here
Comments
Heath Condiotte
Apr 10, 09:26 AM
Good recap/grade, aside from the Staal rating. I would give him an A, as I thought he played an all around amazing game. He doesn’t need to score to play great, and his defensive play last night was absolutely stellar. I’ll take it night in and night out.
Ashley Gallant
Apr 10, 09:28 AM
As Eric commented in the recap post, I would love to ask Bryan Murray why he tanked last night’s game against the Penguins.
TIM
Apr 10, 09:33 AM
Solid read Mike and I agree with 100%. I only need a few less penalties by the Pens and then we are all set for game 2. I thought Whitney looked horrible in the first period, but he got a little better and did a nice job on Redden.
They interviewed MAF after the game on Versus and he looked really calm. Happy but not over excited or jittery. He seems to have mellowed out a lot and his confidence is through the roof. He is playing as well as everyone hoped he would. I am happy to see it he has a ton of potential.
Jonathan Farzalo
Apr 10, 10:10 AM
Sorry, I agree with the Staal grade. Until he either wins some draws (needed to be a defensive shutdown center) or scores some goals (needed to be an offensive center), he can’t have an A rating. He is in this twilight zone and can’t break out. He is monster on the puck up until it’s time to actually DO something with it, thenit rolls off his stick. He’ll be great defending, then lose almost every draw in his own end, esp. on the PK. It’s hard to watch sometimes. I’m hoping to see him come alive like he did last year…but, like many, we’ve been waiting ALL season for that.
Heath Condiotte
Apr 10, 10:21 AM
Agreed on the faceoffs, I wasn’t considering that. I’ll change my grade to a B+/A- due to the “faceoff factor” ;) At one point MT sent him out specifically for a draw in our own end. I turned to the guy who sits beside me and asked if MT was on drugs. When you’ve got the last change, and a draw in front of Fleury, there’s got to be a better option to take that faceoff.
Adam Jennings
Apr 10, 10:59 AM
If I’m not mistaken Staal was winning faceoffs last night. He was 10 for 17, which is about 59 percent.
Ben Schmidt
Apr 10, 11:03 AM
I’m not sure why people are knocking Staal for his faceoffs last night. He won 59% of his draws! In fact, he was the only Penguin over 50%.
Granted, his record against Spezza, specifically, was pretty poor, but Spezza was dominating the faceoff circle against everyone – Staal actually did the best against him among the Pens…
(Empirical data taken from: http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20072008/FC030121.HTM but this backs up what I was noticing from my seats in D6 last night reasonably enough for me to accept those numbers ;) ).
Jonathan Farzalo
Apr 10, 11:03 AM
It’s not how many he wins (though, let’s face it, he is usually bad), it’s WHEN and WHERE he wins or loses them…and it’s more often than not, that he will lose the draw on the PK in his own zone…
...i love the kid, great player, just not ready to take draws in those situations imo.
Head Coach Michel Therrien
Apr 10, 11:35 AM
So, we win.
Jordan play solid hockey.
He fills the role we need.
He has right attitude. He plays physical and smart hockey. Maybe take a bad penalty but our PK come through.
He win more draw than he lose but he is still not good enough?
I am confuse by this message board.
I hear all the time “I love Jordan or I love Ryan Whitney or Gary Roberts or Georges but they are not capable of dis or dat.” You people have ball the size of watermelon, no? You just witness an almost dominating performance by a nineteen year old and a forty-one year old and you complain?
What next? Where does the criticism of my player end? You can criticize me. I am coach. But you will not criticize my player. And not after a win. We play de game to win not to please the message board. Remember dis poster of faceoff of the factor message board.
Also, as I said earlier, Ryan Whitney could kick all of your ass just like he did to Redden. And Jordan could win hundred percent of his draw against any of you.
Please, just enjoy de game and the win,
Michel
Michael
Apr 10, 12:08 PM
I still can’t understand why Therrien won’t try Staal as Malkin’s left wing, while moving Malone to Crosby’s left wing.
Talbot should be the third-line center.
Why do they keep trying to “force” Staal to be a ‘third-line center’? It makes no sense .. especially after trying to force this for so long with little or no success.
Staal was so very productive as a left wing with Malkin last season, yet Therrien has refused to re-unite them.
Yes, Fleury has been__great__since he came back .. very, very stellar. And I was really, really glad to see him perform so well in a playoff game. I hope he keeps doing it in these playoffs!
Powerplay still messing around with the “Overload” mode. Just doesn’t work.
Yes .. too much passing, not enough shooting .. almost no traffic in front of the goalie. Just need to screen the goalie, go to the net, and shoot .. using two balanced PP units.
Now; concerning something in Mellon Arena at this game .. ..
There was a prominent sign on the facade of the North Section F Balcony ridiculing Bryan Murray’s speech impediment. I am wondering if Penguins’ management allowed that sign to remain there throughout the game .. (?) .. or not? I didn’t look up there after the game started. That was a mean-spirited sign. I found that to be quite offensive. Ridiculing anyone’s physical disability in a prominent public setting is way out of line and incredibly low-class. And I see Penguins-related Internet message boards actually condoning this, too .. which is shameful and just disgusting. {{But of course “swear words” are strictly banned. Hypocrisy abounds.}}
Other than that .. whew!! .. great game, and a great crowd!!
Head Coach Michel Therrien
Apr 10, 01:01 PM
Michael,
And you think Jordan has not been productive at center on de terd line?
We do not ask him to score de terdy goal. We have Sykora to do this.
We ask him to play a defensive, responsible game. This is what he does.
Staal is a center. We do not force him to be one.
You think Jordan does not want to take de draw? To play center?
Bugsy like to play with de Malkin and Sykora. He fit well der. Why break up line that produce. If I do that I get nothing but more question from message board poster about why I break up and juggle de line.
Talbot also play de role we ask and he does it well. Did the fort line not produce last game? Did you even pay attention to dat combination?
Again, de message board poster think dey have the solution for a problem that do not exist.
Please, enjoy de win. Enjoy de confidence dat come with victory. Enough criticism of de player.
Oh, and dat second post by “me” was not me. I do not appreciate de poster who take my handle and abuse. Bryan Murray is not soff, he is jus’ trying to motivate his team anyway he can. Some of the response from message board poster I read in here make me think we were the Senator last night.
Friday night I will be behind de bench. I will send out de best player for de situation and we play to win. De message board poster pay for de ticket or de cable or even de satelite package to watch and enjoy de success.
Criticism is easy to type on message board. All poster think de genius of hockey analysis. Only de Old 29er is genius of dat,
Michel
Rhiana
Apr 10, 01:04 PM
Mike, I agree with the Staal grade as well, and additionally, he deserves the C because of the penalties he took. Considering he is the teams best penalty killer, it is never good to have him in the penalty box.
Michael—Definitely do NOT want to mess with the Malone, Malkin, Sykora line. Malone has already said he likes playing with Malkin and has trouble playing with Crosby. You do not want to break up a line with that much chemistry.
Jesse Marshall
Apr 10, 01:07 PM
Can I just say it’s a pleasure to have Head Coach Michel Therrien on my website?
Head Coach Michel Therrien
Apr 10, 01:16 PM
Jesse,
De pleasure is all mine.
I find de faceoff of the factor is good for Penguin hockey.
It feel like home here sometime, you know? Where you kick back on de chair with de beer and a pack of cigarettes. But den der are de Michael who come and nag at you to take out de trash and get your dirty feet off de corner of de coffee table. And stop de smoking.
But I try to block it out. I try to have selective hearing but dis is hard sometime,
Michel
Jonathan Farzalo
Apr 10, 01:58 PM
Just have good work ethic….everything else will be fine after that….
Michael
Apr 10, 07:32 PM
I’m not going to respond to a bogus “Therrien”.
How cute. Be a bogus “Therrien” .. as a way to deflect and undermine any criticism. Be a bogus “Therrien” .. as a way to turn this “comments” section, here, into a total joke.
OK, “Faceoff Factor” .. you want to allow this “comments” section to degenerate into a stupid, silly joke .. ? Looks like that’s what you want.
Really cute .. allow this to be turned into a “theater-of-the-absurd” .. so you
don’t have to bother dealing with people who question the groupthink-du-jour.
So .. “Faceoff Factor” cops-out to theater-of-the-absurd in its “Comments” section. Ho-hum.
Matt Bodenschatz
Apr 10, 08:49 PM
Michael, get a grip. “Head Coach Michel Therrien” is having a little fun. If you can’t handle it, I suggest leaving. He has done nothing offensive and will not be banned for disagreeing with you. Again, I’ll say it: get a grip.
Ashley Gallant
Apr 10, 10:43 PM
HCMT provides a little comic relief, and sometimes we need a little of that around here and in life.
I, for one, do not see HCMT as making a ‘joke’ of FF. He merely questions some of the groupthink-du-jour – that is, those who question MT’s decisions with the team even though the team managed to finish the regular season 1st in the division, 2nd in the conference, and shutout the Sens in game 1.
Just sayin.
Eric
Apr 10, 11:16 PM
For once I agree with Michael.. I’ll mark it on my calender… Even though I loathe Bryan Murray (The new Ron Wilson of the East), I don’t think attacking a speech impediment is classy.
I digress, because that’s where the agreements stop. HCMT provides some good comic relief, as stated above. Anyone who takes it seriously would surely think the Penguins tanked the last game… oh.
I don’t agree with Staal’s rating. He played a solid game on defense, and is possibly one of the smartest young forwards in his own end. I think if he continues on the current pace the remainder of the playoffs, you can’t be disappointed in the kid.
What you see out there, and this goes for many of the young players, is a development stage of their careers. Which if you think about that, it’s mind-blowing. The logical incline of talent among young NHL usually puts skaters to hit their early prime in the 22-25 range. And for goalies, typically in the 27-29 range. Basically what I’m trying to say, is that most of these guys are ahead of the curve. And for them to be this good, this early – I can only smile. I’m not expecting the world from these kids. I’d like to, but know they’re not all at their prime yet. I can’t wait for that moment, though!
Off of that tangent, I can understand why people can be down on a player like Staal. I’m not. I’m taking it game by game, knowing that he’s not a C player. He might have a C game or two, but this kid deserves some more credit for what else he is doing in the games.
Also, thanks for the props Ashley in citing your source of Bryan Murray displeasure.
DaBich
Apr 11, 06:14 AM
Rhiana~good to see you here, girl =D I agree Staal has to find the net and not take dumb penalties. I also give him credit for his great defensive play. I said it before, maybe he should be a d-man?
Michael ~ just as I said, you are never happy. I WILL agree on the making fun of Murray – it isn’t cool to advertise it at the Arena. But it’s still funny.
Michel ~ keep coming back, I enjoy your posts, “coach”!
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