Faceoff Factor

Pens/Wings Game 4 Grades

Mike Adams | Report Cards

Jun 1, 11:58 AM | Hype this story!

It’s all over but the shouting

Offense: D

They actually generated some chances against Flopsgood last night, but the Detroit goalie picked this night to have the first good game of his career. Even so, they still put only 15 even-strength shots on the luckiest man on the face of the earth. They had a good forecheck at times, especially early, and it seemed to fluster the veteran Detroit defensemen. But as the game went along, and especially after the Wings got the lead, that pretty much disappeared. Despite their desperate situation, they were only able to muster six shots in the third period. That just isn’t enough to get it done. It is now quite obvious that they have no answers for Detroit’s defensive pressure.

Defense: C

They once again made Flower keep them in the game with some loose defensive play. They continue to allow way too many opportunities. Detroit got in on a forecheck at times, and the Pens continue to turn the puck over before hitting the zone. They basically allowed only one even-strength goal, but it was a crusher. Orpik failed twice to get the puck out, and the Wings found Jiri Hudler (remember him? The Pens drafted the amazing Ondrej Nemec ahead of him in 2002.) alone in the right circle and he backhanded it past Flower for what might as well have been the series clincher.

Power play: D

They did score a huge power play goal early, but when the postmortem on this series is written, nothing will stand out more than the botched 5-on-3 in the third period. For a minute and a half, the Pens flailed away, failing to generate even a single shot on goal. It was just hideous. The puck kept finding Geno, and he kept giving it away or missing the net. It was an absolute embarrassment that should be laid right at the feet of The Genius. The goal they scored earlier was huge, and Hossa made a great play to turn the puck over and bounce it off Flopsgood. But the rest of the night, the PP did absolutely squat.

Penalty kill: C

The first goal was essentially a power play goal, right after a Dupuis penalty had expired. Nick Lidstrom fired from the center point area, and Gonchar provided a perfect screen in his attempt to move Cleary from the front of the net. Flower never had a chance. The Pens efficiently killed the other two penalties against them.

Goaltending: D

Okay, the other postmortem on this series will be the incredibly weak goal allowed by Flower that gave Detroit the game. In fairness, he was brilliant all night long against this superior opponent. But that goal, at that time, simply cannot, cannot go in. It was just a pathetic weak backhander by Hudler that somehow found its way through him. Can’t happen, plain and simple. Flower has been great all series long, but that one was a killer. It gave the Wings the lead and let them sit back and play defense, which they do brilliantly. Flower erased a great night of work with that one misplay.

Overall: C-

The Pens played a fairly strong game, but fairly strong isn’t good enough against a machine like Detroit. It is clear now that the Wings are the superior team, and they will likely clinch it tomorrow night. The Pens are basically a one-line team right now, as the Crosby unit seems like the only threesome even remotely capable of scoring. And you can’t beat Detroit that way.

And now, the rest of the story…

The Genius: F

Can someone please explain to me why Evgeni Malkin is anywhere near the top power play unit right now. Every time the puck comes to him, Detroit ends up with it. Is The Genius just too damn stupid to realize how much Malkin is hurting them? Or is he too worried about the poor boy’s fragile psyche? Whatever the reason, their season pretty much went down the drain with his choice to employ Malkin for the entire botched 5-on-3. Just idiotic, no other word for it. Oh, and if someone can explain to me how Malkin ended up with a minute more ice time with the season on the line, I am all ears.

Evgeni Malkin: F

If he’s hurt take him out and admit he’s hurt. If he’s not take him out and tell him he stinks out loud. Either way, remove this precancerous growth from the lineup before it grows and destroys the whole tam.

Marian Hossa: A

He was strong again, and did what big-game players are supposed to do—score a key goal.

Claude Lemieux: A

Yeah, you read that right. He had the right idea years back when he tried to rearrange Kris Draper’s ugly mug with a hit from behind. Somebody needs to do follow-up work on the guy’s face now. He is nothing but a yapping whining Chihuahua.

Cha-ching: A

That sound you hear is Marc-Andre Fleury’s wallet getting fatter by the game. Same with Marian Hossa.

Cha-clunk: F

That sound is the shrinking of Malkin and Malone’s next contracts.

Pierre McGuire: A

Just for dissing Milbury with his comment about why the Bruin and Islander players hated him so much. Classic.

WMTV Channel 15 in Madison: F

I have long thought them to be the most incompetent TV station I have ever seen, and they proved it once again last night. There was a tornado warning three counties away (almost 100 miles). They put a huge map showing it in the corner of the screen, blocking out play. Even worse, apparently these incompetent boobs don’t have the ability to do this in HD, so they switched to standard definition the whole time the warning was out. Look, as a meteorologist, I fully understand the need to display warnings. I have no problem with it. But when I look at the other stations and they are just scrolling the info instead of taking up a quarter of the screen, then I get annoyed. Needless to say, I will be contacting their incompetent staff today.

Pascual Dupuis: F

Yes, I know what his name is. But if Edzo can call him this, so can I. Anyway, good riddance. Guys like him are a dime a dozen, and he is flat killing the top line with his inability to finish anything.

Striped Buffoon Huh? Call of the Game

We have two tonight. First, Sid breaks his stick and leaves it on the ice. Then Draper shoots the broken stick at Sid while he has the puck. Yet no call. Later, they call Staal for interference, a good call. But in the moments after this, Detroit did the exact same thing and it wasn’t called. So much for consistency.

Monk Moment

Malkin’s disappearing act.

A guide to the game grades can be found here.