Pens/Caps Game 6 Grades
Mike Adams | Report Cards
May 12, 11:55 AM | Hype this story!
Pens gag it away
Lack killer instinct
The season, down to one game
It’s winner take all
Offense: B
They played well except for the second period, when they seemed to just fall asleep. They peppered Antimoose in the first period, but could only get one puck past him. They only got two past him at even strength all night. Just not good enough.
Defense: F
It was their worst defensive performance of the playoffs. The four goals they gave up were pretty much all defensive breakdowns. Kozlov—wide-open wrister. Gill knocks Fleury down, leading to Kozlov’s second goal. They don’t cover Steckel off the OT faceoff, bang, game over.
Yeo play: B+
The power play came through, but… They scored twice while up a man, with one tying the game and the other giving them the lead. They really were firing the puck when they had a chance. And now, the “but.” They had a two-man advantage for a minute in the first, with a chance to go up 2-0. While they exerted some pressure, they were unable to convert. Then they got a gift call late in the game, and were again unable to make anything happen.
Penalty kill: B
They did a good job for the most part, allowing only one goal on four chances. But that was a crucial one, as it let the Caps take the momentum and tie the game just after the Pens had taken the lead.
Goaltending: C
I, along with many pundits, said that goaltending would be the difference in this series. I, along with many, assumed it would be because Fleury would outplay Antimoose. How wrong we were. It has been the exact opposite. Fleury has been no better than adequate the entire series, while Antimoose continues to steal the show. It happened again last night. The Pens dominated most of the action, but ended up losing. Not because Fleury was terrible, but because his counterpart was better. The offseason starts tomorrow unless Fleury somehow turns it around and plays his best game of the series.
Overall: C-
They played well in the first and third periods, but disappeared in the second. It’s hard to win a playoff game when you don’t play 60 minutes. They stayed in the game all night, but in the end, it was the Caps’ turn to get a lucky overtime bounce.
And now, the rest of the story…
Sid: A
He came through again, with the tying goal late.
Geno: A-
Somehow he got three assists without being particularly noticeable.
Jordan Staal: F
He returned to his sod brain ways last night. It seemed like every decision he made went awry.
Mark Eaton: A
Imagine that, another goal for him. It took him 1000 days to score his first four goals for the Pens. It took him 36 days to score his next four.
Hal Gill: F
I have no idea what he was thinking in trying to go behind Fleury on the second Kozlov goal. But he ended up impeding the goalie, and it left Kozlov with a wide-open net. How long you been playing this game, you big putz?
*Faceoffs: F
They got schooled again. And this time, it cost them a hockey game when Talbot lost a draw in his own end and the puck ended up in the net.
Composite Sticks: F
Max’s stick broke on the aforementioned draw, and he was unable to adequately defend Steckel.
Ranking the Russians
Kozlov
Varlamov
Malkin
Semin
Fedorov
Ovechkin
That’s right, I thought Ovechickensh#t was pretty invisible most of the night. He had maybe one good scoring chance. It’s a bad omen that the Pens kept him quiet and still lost.
Striped Buffoon Huh? Call of the Game
Why on God’s green earth do you mar an important playoff game like this with perhaps the two biggest stooges still calling games in Devorski and Larue? It just makes no sense at all. At times, it was “let ‘em play.” Then, for no reason, out of nowhere, they would call a ticky tack penalty. There was no rhyme or reason to anything they called. They let Semin get away with two total dives that drew calls. But if you want one most heinous call, I’m going with the slash on Laich with two minutes to go. Yeah, he knocked the stick out of Kunitz’s hands, but it wasn’t in a dangerous area. And they had let far worse than that go all night long. If I was a Caps fan, I’d have been outraged.
Monk Moment
Hal Gill deciding that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, not caring whether that line took him behind his goalie and cost them a goal.
Minard Moment
Matt Cooke got the puck in the slot in front of Antimoose while killing a penalty, and instead of shooting it, he passed it out to center ice. Odd.
A Guide to the Grades can be found here http://www.faceoff-factor.com/grading-the-pens/979/a-guide-to-the-game-grades
Comments
Jon
May 12, 12:00 PM
I’ve never been a big Fleury fan. Every one says he’s young and give him time to develop etc, etc. But he hasn’t really gotten any better at all. In my mind, he’s cost the Pens two games in this series. Yes, D hasn’t been great at times. But a great goalie makes the important saves. Fleury hasn’t.
Shlim
May 12, 12:17 PM
HAL GILL COST US THAT GAME.
Maybe not entirely, but when he got in Fleury’s way, I almost blew a gasket.
Game 7, do or die, go Pens!!!
Pens1967
May 12, 12:54 PM
Oh come on, the USS Hal Gill has been sinking his own battleships all season. :)
Michael
May 12, 01:34 PM
If Hal Gill had stayed out of the crease and Fleury couldn’t make it back in time to make the save, all we would be hearing today is that Gill was standing around instead of trying to help his out-of-position goalie.
Mike Adams
May 12, 03:20 PM
@ Michael
Not from me. I might have blamed Fleury for being out of position, or the defenseman on the other side (Scuderi) for not taking Kozlov. But the fact is, Gill couldn’t have done anything anyway. He might as well stay put and make sure Kozlov didn’t make a backdoor pass. Or, at the very least, try to get to the front IN FRONT OF Fleury.
Ray aka WildcatRay
May 12, 03:56 PM
@JON,
A bit harsh on The Flower?
What matters is wins. Fleury wins games including 5 & 1 in playoff OT. Will he be considered elite if he does not win a Cup? Perhaps not, but there simply are not many better goalies in this league than Marc-Andre.
Besides the GWG was tipped by Stechel a matter of a few feet in front of him. If he stops it, we’d be hailing it as a potential game-saving miracle stop.
@MIKE,
I’m with you on the officiating. Perhaps as poor and perplexing as any game I have ever seen. Not being a skater nor having played ice hockey, watching the replay on SportsCenter, it sure looked like Semin dropped straight to the ice when he felt Orpik’s stick on his hip, right leg extended back, of course. Indeed, it sure looked like Orpik gave Semin a piece of his mind like rating his dive a “2” for style, an “8” for drawing the call.
I could have looked past it if they had called tripping on Washington shortly there after. That was so much a legit penalty yet all the official in the corner did was a double underhand wave of his hands as if he was saying, “Nothing to see here. Move on.”
I actually screamed at the TV over the Laich slashing call. Words to the effect of “How could you? Do you know that was the Capitols you called that penalty on? They’re the chosen ones or didn’t you get the memo?”
On the ensuing PP, I thought the Pens played like they did not realize they had a lot more time than they thought they did. They had plenty of time to look up and assess the play at the moment. Instead, they too quickly tried wild blind passes that too often went awry and forced them to exit and then reenter the offensive zone. They ended up tiring themselves out rather than the Caps.
But, what may have been the most infuriating thing was Ovechkin shooshing the crowd as he skated off the ice. He goes around headhunting without being penalized and then has the nerve to do that! Too bad Darius Kasparitis is now retired. I think he’d find a way to line ol’ Ovie up and send in clear to next Tuesday.
Jon
May 12, 04:15 PM
Yes, Fleury has one two OT games. But he’s also blown at least two for the Pens this series. 5 goals on 24 shots? When your team really needed a win to close it out? An elite goalie rises to the occasion. The Flower wilted.
Shlim
May 12, 05:54 PM
Screened(understatement) for one, blocked by Gil for another… there’s 2 MAF could have had back. Talbots stick doesn’t break, perhaps the game goes to 5 OT’s. :)
Ray aka WildcatRay
May 13, 10:27 AM
I’m having a very hard time finding any real fault with Fleury’s play in this series. I cannot think of any so-called “weak” goals like, for example, the two “weak” ones he allowed in Game 6 of last year’s Stanley Cup Final.
Also, look at Roberto Luongo, perhaps the best goalie in this round of the playoffs. He gives up 7 goals to lose the series to Chicago in 6 games. Fleury’s got the Pens to Game 7 with some very poor support at times from his teammates as well as suspect officiating.
So, yes, JON, I think your assessment of Marc-Andre is a bit harsh.
Danny
May 13, 12:17 PM
I must admit, I thought the lack of a powerplay would be the demise of the Pens.
Never thought that the flower would be outplayed and outclassed by this rookie from Russia. To have your team totaly out work and out hussel the competition and still loose, that does not make for a confidant team.
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