Pens/Caps Game 2 Grades
Mike Adams | Report Cards
May 5, 10:45 AM | Hype this story!
Ovechkin scored three
So, too, did Crosby
In secondary scoring,
Steckel one, Pens none
Offense: C
They again failed to establish a solid forecheck against the weak Capital defensemen and netted only one even-strength goal and 24 shots. The transition game was very good, as they had lots of odd-man breaks. But the Pens cannot play that style of game against this team. The Caps simply have too many offensive weapons to compete with in a run and gun game. Right now, the Caps are dictating the style of play, and it’s to the Pens’ detriment.
Defense: F
It was just one odd-man break after another. And there were breakdowns galore. They left Ovechkin all alone for the first goal, Steckel alone for the second, and then Gonchar screened Fleury on the last one.
Yeo play: B
I didn’t watch any of them so I can’t judge the specifics. But they went two for five and hade some excellent chances. But they are downgraded for not scoring on the 5-on-3 that would have put them up 2-0 and changed the game.
Penalty kill: B
They killed very well. Washington made lots of quick passes, but got few good chances. They finally scored one when Cooke was blatantly interfered with and was unable to get out to Ovechkin
Goaltending: B
Fleury really had little chance on any of the goals. You let Ovechkin take those kinds of shots and he’s going to eat you alive. And he had a few key saves.
Overall: D
The Pens are simply not as good as the Caps. This series might extend to six games, but it’s over. Washington has been just a bit better in every facet of the game. There is no way the Pens will win four out of five against this team. The Caps are rolling, having won 5 in a row and 6 of 7. The Pens are sputtering, failing to get anything even remotely resembling secondary scoring. Without that, they likely won’t win even one game, let alone four.
And now, the rest of the story…
Sid: A
Another dominant effort. He is leading by example, going to the dirty areas. Too bad none of his gutless teammates are willing to follow.
Geno: D
Pretty much invisible again. Maybe I need to include him in the Empty Sweater Brigade. And he committed the egregious tripping penalty that put the Caps ahead to stay. He certainly is proving that he isn’t in the same class as Sid or AO when the going gets tough.
Jordan Staal: F
He had his one little hot streak late in the season, but he’s now back in his fine Sod Brain form. He’s been pathetic in this series. Actually, he’s been totally unproductive all playoffs. He’s a sparkling –3 with one measly assist in eight games. And that’s with 20 minutes of ice time a night. I don’t expect a guy like him to lead the team in scoring, but a little offensive contribution here or there would be nice.
Bill Guerin: A
I thought he played well. He did all the little things right, like shooting when he had a chance, and dumping it in when he didn’t have a shot.
Sergei Gonchar: C
He was good offensively, but Ovechkin just abused him on the final Caps goal.
The Empty Sweater Brigade
Sykora: 1 A, -1
Fedotenko: -1
Guerin: has earned removal from the list
Kunitz: 1 A
Staal: See above
Kennedy: -1
Coach B.: C
How long do you stick with the second and third line combos? Maybe it’s time to quit saying, “but the third line is playing too well; we can’t break them up.” You are getting zero production out of these units, so a change is in order. Maybe switch Cooke and Fedotenko?
Faceoffs: F
They won an amazing 38 percent of the draws. Kinda hard to play a puck possession game when you start out without it all the time. It’s really terrible when you don’t trust your second line center to take faceoffs. He had only 5 all night long.
Alex Ovechkin: A
What can you say? He is fun to watch even though he’s on the opposition. Now, about that dive he took to draw a penalty on Kunitz??? And they say Sid is a diver…
Moose Memories: A
What Simeon Varlamov is doing reminds me so much of what Moose did to the caps in 2001. Here is this rookie goalie who had played only a handful of regular season games. And he came in and just played out of his mind against Washington. Varlamov is getting revenge for them this year. He is playing out of his mind, and it’s just one more reason I say this one is over. By the same token, other than Sid’s line, I see nobody trying to get in his face, nobody playing in front. As long as they keep making it easy for him, he will keep doing what he’s doing.
Mario Lemieux: A
Thankfully, somebody finally had the guts to tell Mike Yeo that as a power play coach, he’s clueless. Mario comes down, gives them a few pointers, and, voila, two power play goals.
Ranking the Russians
Ovechkin
Varlamov
Kozlov
Gonchar
Malkin
Fedorov
Semin
Striped Buffoon Huh? Call of the Game
This one’s easy. We saw what might have been one of the worst calls of the playoffs last night. A Capital (Steckel maybe?) had a partial breakaway. Letang dives at him and CLEARLY (not marginally, but clearly) hits the puck before tripping the Capital. Yet somehow, Kelly Sutherland deems this a trip. Has he been attending the Brad Watson School of officiating? Look, it’s one thing to miss a call; it’s another to not even know the rule.
Kunikaze
He nailed Bradley on the first shift.
Free Candy
Ditto. Bradley was apparently the designated piñata.
Monk Moment
The Pens power play actually scoring a goal.
A Guide to the Grades can be found here
Comments
Bryan
May 5, 10:53 AM
The Capitals held serve at home. That’s what good teams do. We’ll find out how good the Penguins are Wednesday. It’s not like we’re getting run out of the building, and 3/4 of the team isn’t doing ANYTHING.
Toe Blake
May 5, 10:55 AM
I just don’t understand why we are letting two players control us in this series. Let’s start with Varlomov, he is 21 years old and had about 5 starts in the NHL before the playoffs started. Don’t get me wrong he has played tremendous and will surely be a terrific goaltender. That all being said, why aren’t we in his head? The answer is traffic. We need to get into his “kitchen” and screen him, get on top of his crease to throw him off of his game. Malone would have done it, where are Cooke, Guerin, and Kunitz the net front presence.
The second player is Ovechkin, once again a tremendously gifted goal scorer and checker (but that’s it). Has the ability to change the game in the blink of an eye. We are letting him do it. What happen to the art of “shadowing” a player. I know we would be getting away from team play and the system, but this guy does not pass or even look to pass. He takes 1,000 shots a game. Guys like John Madden, Guy Carbonneau, and Michael Peca made a living shutting down the other team’s top line and in some cases top player. Wake up and put Kennedy or Staal on Ovechkin every single shift to be all over him and to frustrate him. Both can keep up with him.
All I am saying is that we have to quit letting two players beat us. The rest of the Caps team has been pretty invisible except for maybe Steckel and come on it’s Steckel.
Matt Bodenschatz
May 5, 11:21 AM
@Bryan, solid observation: “It’s not like we’re getting run out of the building, and 3/4 of the team isn’t doing ANYTHING.” I am typically an optimist, but I must say, losing these last two has got me worried. But your statement rings true. If the Penguins are losing by just one goal per game while the majority of the team is underachieving, that’s a good sign that, if guys show up, the Penguins can and likely will win a few.
@Toe, the recipe is easy, as you suggest. Get guys to the front of the net and move the puck quickly and spontaneously. Maybe, as Mike Adams suggests, Bylsma should switch some lines.
Why not try:
Satan-Crosby-Guerin
(Satan didn’t look bad in his return, and adding a scorer to the top line might prove valuable with Guerin’s crease-crashing ways)
Kunitz-Malkin-Sykora
(Kunitz seems to have lost his mojo on the top line. Putting him with Malkin and giving him the directive to crash the crease could do wonders for him and for Malkin/Sykora)
Fedotenko-Staal-Kennedy
(During the season, when Tank slumped, he always re-established himself when bumped down a line. He works well with Staal and Kennedy and might be what they need)
Cooke-Talbot-Dupuis
(As much as I liked what Adams brought in game one, I’m just not sure he’s added the same flare of late. This might also help to ignite Cooke, who has been relatively invisible this series)
Two Sheds
May 5, 12:08 PM
@Matt, I like your line changes. I barely remember Adams being in the game last night — the 4th line in general, actually. Another thought would be to move Talbot up to a wing and just double shift Crobsy or Malkin when the 4th line plays. Talbot would be more likely to bang away in front of the net than Satan would. The quick wrist shots aren’t having much luck so far.
Somehow I think they’re going to need to score at least 3 and maybe 4 goals to win these games — I don’t have much confidence that Fleury is going to be putting up any shutouts. The Pens’ style of play these days gives up a certain number of turnovers and the Capitals are excellent at taking advantage. While the Penguin goals are coming after extended periods in the Capitals’ end, the Capitals’ goals are coming very quickly, being created out of the moment. The Pens’ goals need to come from a grind-it-out, bang-it-home approach but the defense really has to play honest — giving the Capitals room, Ovechkin in particular — is giving them too many chances. They’re great in transition. The Penguins aren’t scoring in transition — all their good goals have been scored after working. This is different than what worked against the Flyers.
If the Pens win tomorrow the series is still pretty winable. And I think they will. It would be nice to somehow rattle Varlamov’s confidence, but it might not happen. It’s funny how none of the Capitals’ players will talk about him for fear of jinxing him. Including the coach.
I laughed when Mike Emerick said, while watching the Penguins pass the puck around the perimeter 14 times on the power play, “In Pittsburgh, they’re shouting ‘Shoot the puck!’”.
Pens1967
May 5, 01:01 PM
One advantage Bylsma should bring to the team is familiarity with Varlamov since he played for the Caps AHL team in Hershey. He should be able to give the Pens’ forwards at least a short “book” on Varlamov’s strength’s and weaknesses.
I guess we’ll see how Bylsma reacts to the first real serious adversity the team has faced since he took over.
Chris
May 5, 02:00 PM
@ Mike, last time I checked the NHL has 7 game series. This is far from over. The Pens should be expected to win both their home games which will make this a new series.
@ Matt, I like your line change suggestions but I would much rather see Guerin moved to Malkin’s line rather than Kunitz. Kunitz should still be given that “go to the net” directive though.
Albert
May 5, 10:14 PM
The “book” on Varlamov appears to be: go glove side.
But the Pens need to get him moving laterally more. His positioning has been excellent.
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