Pens/Wings Game 6 Grades
Mike Adams | Report Cards
Jun 10, 10:26 AM | Hype this story!
It’s down to one game
Yep, winner take all
It’s Fleury versus Osbad,
Who will hoist the Cup?
Offense: C
The big guns were silent last night, but the cap guns came through. The third line notched both goals.
Defense: A-
The defense was stifling through two periods, allowing only 12 shots. The Wings came at them in the third but they held firm. Well, except for the Cleary breakaway with a minute and a half to go. How does that happen?
Yeo play: F
Nothing doing. They only got two chances, about par for the course in this Final. But they really didn’t generate much.
Penalty kill: A
They killed both penalties the refs called while in their “keep the game close” mode in the third period.
Goaltending: A
The home Flower was in action. He was brilliant throughout, but never moreso than on the breakaway by Cleary. Talk about a season-saver. If that one goes in, who knows what would have happened in overtime? Somehow, some way, he needs to bring this version of himself to Detroit. He has not had a good game there since Game 5 last year. Maybe he’s due.
Overall: A-
They played at the top of their game. They shook off the embarrassing Game 5 performance. My only quibble on this performance is the game was a lot closer than it should have been because they were once again unable to bury chances behind Osbad. They’re making this guy look like the modern day Georges Vezina.
And now, the rest of the story…
Sid: D
He didn’t show up on the scoresheet and he wasn’t much more visible on the ice. And he lost at least two draws on the power play. Not a good effort.
Geno: D
Pretty much ditto, except for the faceoff part.
Jordan Staal: A
Monster game by him. That line was really clicking last night. He made a great play to score the first goal when he banged in his own rebound. That’s the kind of secondary scoring you need when your top guys are getting shut down.
Bill Guerin: A
He gets it. In this type of game, shoot the puck whenever you get the chance. He did it six times last night.
Mr. Kennedy…Kennedy: A
What a huge goal he scored to make it a two-goal cushion.
Rob Scuderi: A
The Piece might also have saved the Pens’ season with a brilliant kick save behind Fleury, who had gone for a swim. Who knows how many times he actually stopped the puck, but it was at least two. He kept it out just long enough for Fleury to come back and cover it.
Sergei Gonchar: F
Has the knee finally caught up to him? He has been pretty invisible this series. And his misplay in the final two minutes led to the Cleary breakaway that simply cannot happen at that point in the game.
Character: A
The Pens have it in spades. They don’t have the talent or depth of Detroit, yet they have taken this series to the limit. A lesser bunch would have quit after being humiliated Saturday, but not the Pens. They came out from the start trying to prove that Game 5 had been a fluke. And they did just that.
Striped Buffoon Huh? Call of the Game
I guess I have adjusted to the “let ‘em play” mentality, as I really didn’t notice much.
Free Cookie
There were five
Free Candy
Four of ‘em..
A Guide to the Grades can be found here
Comments
SprJudd
Jun 10, 10:52 AM
So a co-worker of mine who is a Red Wings fan was just in my office bemoaning all of these missed elbows and head shots the Penguins were getting away with last night. I’d like to think I’ve done a good job of taking off my black&gold glasses for this series and recognizing all sorts of stuff both sides are getting away with, but I did not see any of that stuff going on from the Penguins last night. Am I wrong? I just told him to stop whining and crying, and if he really believed in his team he wouldn’t have to make excuses this early before Game 7. But am I missing head shots and elbows from the Pens?
Matt Bodenschatz
Jun 10, 11:13 AM
@Sprjudd, I would say there were a few…but no more than were dished out by Detroit. It’s the Cup Finals. Teams will do anything/everything they can to win. It should be a battle, and it has been. The officiating could have been/could be much better, but they’ve consistently “let them play,” which is at least better than being inconsistent with calls.
TheOneAndOnlySurge
Jun 10, 11:16 AM
Headshots and elbows as well as cross checks and holds are going on all the time in this series. Oh yeah don’t forget the blatent punches to the faces. Detroit has been much worse at this dirty game than Pittsburgh but neither is innocent. The Malkin penalty was the best, on a night where guys were getting cross checked left and right and when guys were getting drilled into the board on the numbers, they call that Malkin cross check. This is about the biggest joke of a series as there has ever been, when it comes to officiating. Basically the rule book is out and the new rules are let em play unless I want to give one team the edge. The Malkin penalty was clearly one of those lets give Detroit the edge. I mean if they want to call infractions then do so on the dangerous ones like when Scuderi got sent into the boards on a hit from behind. That is as dangerous as it gets. Luckly he wasn’t hurt and it made him mad enough to decide to challenge Fleury for his job so it won’t happen again.
Mike, Striped Buffoon Huh? Call of the Game, easily is the Malkin penalty. You can’t let them play all night and then call that ticky tacky play. Also I gotta disagree on Sids grade. He made some very good smart hockey plays and they just didn’t pan out. He did however make those smart plays, not too fancy just make the smart play. I will take that Sid anyday of the week and twice on Sundays. If you want to watch an explosive player that may win you games and could lose you games, go watch AO. If you want the guy that gives you the best chance of winning every night, continue to watch the Crosby show.
TheOneAndOnlySurge
Jun 10, 11:21 AM
Forgot to mention that I didn’t agree with Malkins grade either. On a night when Staal was carring the offense, Malkin switched rules and carried the D. He made several brilliant plays in the defensive zone that broke up a chance for a scoring opportunity. It didn’t matter who was out there with him, he made sure the puck got out quickly.
To add one player: Eaton: F He isn’t skating and instead he just stands infront of the net. This forces his partner and the center to run all around and get tired even quicker.
Moq
Jun 10, 12:15 PM
I like the fact that we got a “goal hook” back. A couple of overdue penalty shots wouldn’t be bad in game seven. And we even have our own secondary goalkeeping in Scuderi.
Kidding aside, it’ll be difficult in Detroit, but I’m optimistic about our chances. You can’t lose forever in Detroit, unless you live there.
SprJudd
Jun 10, 12:23 PM
@ Matt: I know there’s been some of that, but my co-worker was speaking specifically of last night and made it sound as though it was by divine intervention that Red Wings players didn’t die on the ice. I know Franzen and Holmstrom are flop-artists so it wouldn’t surprise me if he just meant hits to those guys, but my co-worker was talking as though the Pens only looked to win as secondary to injuring Red Wings with cheap shots. I didn’t see any of that, but rather the same poor “let ‘em play” officiating that’s been going on all series.
Steve
Jun 10, 12:27 PM
Gotta disagree with the grade for Sid and Geno. Instead of being one dimensional players, they both were great backchecking, probably the best backchecking game I’ve seen from them all year. My only knock on the Pens was Crosby getting only about 17:00 in ice time. He should be at about 24:00 in game 7.
Two Sheds
Jun 10, 01:17 PM
Do the three shots that Scuderi saved get counted as shots on goal and saves by Fleury? That doesn’t seem right somehow. In an empty net situation if there is a shot on goal and someone standing in front of the goal keeps it out, is that a shot on goal and save by the not-present goalie?
I’m sure someone knows this.
DigitalGypsy66
Jun 10, 01:34 PM
I wonder if that Cleary breakaway was a set play off the faceoff? Like they lost the faceoff on purpose and pushed it towards the Pens’ zone and got to the puck before the D could contain it? Just a thought.
Thanks Mike!
Devin Uric
Jun 10, 01:45 PM
glad to see your back to gonchar bashing, no way he deserved an F for last night, he had a solid game and made some hits
Zack Dawson
Jun 10, 09:09 PM
In regards to Gonchar, I believe it was Orpik who mishandled the puck that led to the break, not Gonch. Just wanted to clarify that if no one else has thus far…
And I agree with Surge on both Crosby and Malkin – they both made smart plays in their own zone and found ways to generate a bit of offense. The game was dictated and won in the boards last night and on the back check. Malkin was exceptional back checking, and Sid won a number of one-on-one battles. They play a simple but effective game. And it worked towards a win.
relantel
Jun 11, 06:10 PM
The only thing I could fault Crosby for was his faceoff loss that ended up leading to Detroit’s only goal. It seemed they were chasing around and out of position, which led to Draper being free for the rebound. In the end, a minor blemish since they won, but that type of mistake at an inopportune time could kill them in game 7. (Moral: score early and often so one goal against doesn’t make you sweat)
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