Faceoff Factor

Pens/Rangers Game 3 Grades

Mike Adams | Grade "A" Reviews

Apr 30, 10:19 AM | Hype this story!

They continue to amaze

Offense: B

The Pens made the most out of the limited opportunities they generated. They had only 14 even-strength shots, but scored on three of them. They just couldn’t get anything going most of the night, as the Rangers pretty much dominated the flow. But they got the huge goals when they needed them. First, Hossa made a great shot on a rebound from along the goal line just over a minute in to silence the crowd. Talk about huge! Now, THAT is why they got Marian Hossa. Then, after the Rangers tied it, they got a goal from the unlikeliest of sources—Big Georges. Skating with the Malkin line because Malone was in the box, he took a nice centering pass from Geno and made like Alex Kovalev. He just buried a twisted wrister past a stunned King Henry. That once again turned the tide in the Pens’ favor. Then, in the third, with the Rangers throwing everything and the kitchen sink at the Pens, Malkin cleanly won a draw to Sykora. He dropped it to Letang, whose beautiful shot/pass was deflected in by Malone. Just a perfect faceoff play. That gave the Pens some breathing room and enabled them to clamp down defensively the rest of the way. The offense wasn’t pretty, but it got the job done with timely scoring.

Defense: B

The defense wasn’t nearly as good as it had been the previous game. The Rangers pretty much dictated play from start to finish. They had trouble getting out of their own end at times, and there were a lot of mistakes. However, again, when it counted most, they came up huge. The Rangers had zero, count ‘em, zero shots in the final nine minutes. Now that’s the way to protect a lead. Fleury had bailed them out all night long, so the skaters decided it was time to return the favor. What an impressive showing. They just went into the passive 1-4 trap, and the Rangers simply could not solve it. The Pens forced giveaway after giveaway. It was a thing of beauty.

Power play: A

You can’t get much more efficient than two goals on two shots on only three power plays. They only time they didn’t score was the second half of the four-minute penalty when they had the second unit out much of the time. The top unit has it figured out. Just pass it around, move around, and let Geno fire away. It is a perfect strategery against King Henry. He plays very deep in his net, meaning he doesn’t cut down the angles and leaves a lot more room than the normal goalie. As long as they can get Geno (or somebody else) open for those one-timers with screens, they will have success against King Henry. Both goals last night came this way. It is really impressive to see how much movement they have on the PP right now. Nobody, save for maybe Malone in front, is stationary. You never know where anyone is going to be, but the Pens’ skill level allows them to easily read each other. I have been critical of Mike Yeo for the old “stagnant” power play, but he deserves full marks for this design.

Penalty kill: A

Like the PP, the penalty kill was incredible. Guys were giving up their bodies to block anything they could, exemplified by Scuderi playing probably 30 seconds on one leg after blocking a slapper. I think Talbot also took one off the foot, as I saw him limping to the bench too. They were just putting it all on the line when they took all those penalties in the second period. They killed 1:14 of 5-on-3, allowing the Rags only three shots on goal. Every guy who played the PK deserves credit, especially Gill, Scuderi, and Staal. Oh, and let’s not forget the superb goaltending of Flower. He just buckled down and gave them nothing on the two power plays after they had tied the game. The effort might well have clinched this series.

Goaltending: A-

No doubt about it, EFGT stole this game. The Rangers came at him fast and furious, but he never buckled. He doesn’t get the A because the Puff Nuts goal was a tad weak, but other than that, he was outstanding. He continues to erase the doubts about his ability to perform under pressure. Everything was going against him last night. The Striped Buffoons let the Rangers jam the crease with impunity. The crowd was going crazy. The Pens took way too many penalties. The Rangers were dominating. He bent, but simply would not break. This is the new, mature Marc-Andre Fleury. He just made one key save after another, and never let the Rangers take the lead. It was a dominating performance.

Overall: A

This was a special teams and goaltending victory. At even strength, the Rags were pretty dominant. They carried the play for long stretches. But whenever the Rangers seemed to have everything going their way, the Pens found that little something extra to deflate them and the crowd. The way they are playing right now is downright scary. They just seem to be able to do whatever they need to do to win hockey games. They have an indomitable spirit and will that never allows them to get too down. But they don’t get too up either, and always focus on the task at hand.

And now, the rest of the story…

Jordan Staal: A

I used the word “beast” to describe him the other day, and he was just that again last night, especially on the PK. One play that really stood out was where he took the puck in the defensive circle and on just sheer will, skated it out of the zone. It was as if he was not going to be denied.

Marian Hossa: A

He scored the huge opening goal and was all over the ice all night long. If he plays like this and scores, he is out of the doghouse real quick.

Geno: A

Oh, my, what can you say about him? He was disappointing in last year’s playoffs, but has been their best player this playoff run. His bullets on the power play are becoming legendary. And he’s even doing much better on faceoffs, too.

Rob Scuderi: A

What a gutsy effort on the PK after a shot dinged him. He and the USS Hal Gill do provide a tremendous penalty-killing tandem. He is now tied for second in playoff +/-, too.

Sidney Crosby: C

It certainly wasn’t his best game, but he did have that nifty deflection on goal early. He did end up with two assists, though, so it wasn’t all bad.

Pascal Dupuis: A

This guy is a far better hockey player than I ever gave him credit for. He made a beautiful pass to Sid on the first goal, and was another one of the penalty killers that stoned the Rangers.

The Genius: A

Great use of the timeout after the Rags got those two quick goals. It woke the Pens up, and they played much better the rest of the way. And credit also goes to his loaded power play, with which I admit I disagreed. It is now clicking at 27.8 percent in the playoffs. Hard to argue with that kind of success.

Miserable Human Being: F

He fired wide on two glorious opportunities early in the game. Nice choke job, MHB.

John Avery: F

Anybody notice him last night? I didn’t think so. This is what happens when you ignore him.

Icehole of the Game

I never thought it would happen, but we are taking it away from Avery for a night. The only question is, who to give it to? It was close, but I will give it to the guy that actually gets it for both teams—Ryan Hollweg. Yep, I think that’s the first time a guy has won it for both teams. He wins it for nailing Sykora into the boards from behind. Not only was it an Icehole move, but it also totally cost his own team. I’m sure his own fans think he’s an Icehole after that, too. The Rags had all the momentum at that point, having just scored twice to tie it. He does his stupid thing, the Pens score, and the Rags never see a tie again. Total moron. Runner-up is Tom Renney for dressing this clown. Exactly what did he think would happen? You have Peter Prucha available, yet you somehow think Ryan Hollweg will help you more? Good move, coach. Oh, by the way Ryan, nice porn stache.

Monk Moment

Brendan Shanahan, for continuing to be invisible.

Striped Buffoon Huh? Call of the Game

This one goes to the NHL, for continuing to assign Paul Devorski to playoff games. Remember, this is the clown who totally butchered Game 7 of Caps/Flyers. Yet on he goes, screwing up one game after another. His random penalty generator seemed only pointed at the Pens last night. Of course, the Rangers carried the play, so it makes sense that the Pens were forced into some penalties.

A Guide to the Grades can be found here