Game 2 Preview: Penguins Host Flyers
Matt Bodenschatz | National Hockey League
May 11, 10:06 AM | Hype this story!
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Pittsburgh Penguins (2) vs. Philadelphia Flyers (6) Game 2
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Series Score: Penguins 1 – Flyers 0
Game Time: 7:30 EST
Location: Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh
Television: Versus, CBC, RDS
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Preview
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Two nights after a 4-2 romping of the Flyers that saw Evgeni Malkin highlight his talent, his temper and his toughness, the Penguins are looking to make it two in a row with yet another solid performance.
But the Penguins will have to do so against an angry and tougher Flyers roster.
“For us, being more physical, getting in front of [goaltender Marc-Andre] Fleury, getting in his face, it’s going to be important for us to play that Flyers style of hockey,” Flyers winger Scottie Upshall said to Shelly Anderson of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
The Penguins might also have to put up with Steve Downie, a player known for his agitating antics.
That won’t be of much concern to the Penguins, who outhit and (for the most part) outmuscled their supposedly tougher cross-state rivals.
To counter Downie, the Penguins have their own agitator in Jarkko Ruutu, and if the Flyers should decide to add enforcer Riley Cote to the mix, the Penguins have Georges Laraque to patrol.
Penguins forward Max Talbot, out since the middle of the second round with a broken foot is available to play tonight, though Michel Therrien said it will be a game time decision. With the team playing as well as it has, making room for Talbot could be a tough task — which only serves to prove the Penguins depth.
During and after the first game of the series, analysts gave their views of how the Flyers must play to beat the Penguins, and I countered with my view. Regardless of which method the Flyers decide to utilize, the Penguins’ game plan must remain the same:
1. Maintain the physicality, but not so much so that penalties are taken. Staying out of the box is crucial, despite the Penguins’ success on the penalty kill. If the Flyers are to win, make them do it at even strength.
2. Help Fleury at all costs. Both of the Flyers’ goals came from the immediate area in front of the goal crease. There is no question they know this and are ready to bring even more of it. The Flyers have no true “snipers” who can score from all over the ice, though they do have a slew of players who know how to find the back of the net from in close. Hal Gill and Brooks Orpik, this is your time to shine; Sergei Gonchar, Ryan Whitney and Rob Scuderi, this is your time to step it up a notch. Kris Letang, just keep on trucking.
3. Lastly, sustain the offensive pressure. It’s a cliche, I realize, but the best defense is a good offense. The longer the Penguins control the puck, the less time the Flyers have to score. Expose the older defensemen such as Derien Hatcher (21:38), Jason Smith (18:58) and Jaroslav Modry (17:01) who are seeing significant icetime. These guys aren’t as mobile as they used to be, and they certainly don’t have the stamina to play that much.
For a complete list of team leaders and statistics, click here.
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Injuries
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Penguins: Talbot, DTD (Broken Foot); Eaton, IR (Knee)
Rangers: Timonen, IR (Blot Clot); Gagne, IR (Concussion)
Comments
Tom
May 11, 04:22 PM
Jonathan, Well, the Pens seemed to dominate the Fleas in a rather defensive game. Since Mike Adams seems to be still indisposed, I shall take another stab at grading the game. So, here goes:
Offense A: The Pens’ top two lines made it look easy. Four goals through the vaunted Flea team and little great play from Biron. If this continues, Ron Cook may be right. The offensive play resulted from fine superstar play and slow aimless Fleas’ defense. The Pens would have scored far more had they not chosen to play the neutral zone trap after the fourth goal, which emphasizes defense and takes few chances to score.
Defense B: The defense was outstanding for most of the game. The first goal against resulted from failing to clear the crease (Gill), a failure to block the cross crease pass (Scuderi) and slow defense play (Gill and Scuderi) as well as a poorly played puck by Flower. The second goal was again a case of failure to clear the crease and surrounding area due to poor recovery speed and no backcheck. It turned out to be a jumble in front of the goal where Richards was allowed to stand and shoot. These two goals highlight the importance of speed and quickness on defense. Gill and Scuderi are both relatively slow. It works for the PP where two forwards lay back as well, cutting down their coverage space. It also works well in the neutral zone trap where there is limited coverage space. At any rate, after the fourth goal, the Pens dropped into the neutral zone trap, at which they are becoming very adept, a la Ducks and Devils (the ruiners of hockey). They stifled the Fleas from then on. Perhaps we ought to consider the trap as a third special team.
PP I: Since there was only one real PP opportunity, and nothing exciting happened, an “I” for incomplete.
PK A+: The Fleas didn’t score on three PP chances. Malkin got a shorty. Can’t do much better.
Goaltending B: Two stoppable goals, particularly the first one prevents an “A” even though Flower was a wall the rest of the game. Of course, he had the advantage of the trap for half the game.
Overall A: A good game against an inept opponent who are ready to unravel (e.g. Upshall’s reaction to Letang’s hip and shoulder check depriving him of the puck and a shot on goal. Nothing dirty or vicious, yet Upshall took a fit and crosschecked Letang in the back, fomenting a brawl. This is a typical Flea reaction. It will get worse – great restrain by Letang (Upshall may rue the day as I don’t think Letang forgets).
Individuals:
Malkin A+: Two goals, a helper and dynamite backchecking. Malkin is surely the most dynamic player in the NHL at this time. A great solution for his penalty shot woes, slap shot from close range.
Crosby A: Good redirection goal on Hossa pass. Active the entire game.
Sykora A: Great goal off Malone pass. Two more good shots but they were blocked. He is our best sniper.
Whitney A: From a former Whitney basher, this may seem strange, but Whitney has really improved his game since being paired with Letang. Great feed to Malkin for a helper.
The Genius A: Although he may have gone to the trap a bit early (after the fourth Pens goal), his pairings and game plan worked to perfection. You can’t argue with success.
Striped Buffoons F: This was a poorly called game. High sticking was permitted without any calls. I thought they had hurt Hossa. Tripping was not called repeatedly. Yet they made a tacky call against Orpik. Again it seems all right for the Pens’ opponents to put a hand on the the back of the Pens, but not so for Pens. The same tacky call was made against Letang in the Ranger series.
Upshall F: The proper response to having been out skated, out played and cleanly checked off the puck is to turn and attack Letang in the back where he cannot defend him self with a cross check. This jerk ought to get a suspension along with his fellow goons.
Little Debbie F: Briere was invisible during the game, but had the gall to accuse Malkin of cheating because he waited at the blue line for a pass, after he had been knocked down by Richards.
Outlook A+: If the Fleas continue to try to run with the Pens, they do not have the skill to mach them. If they decide to be goons, as I suspect they will, they will do even worse unless they succeed in intimidating the Pens, Which I doubt. They grew frustrated with the trap and demonstrated why their slow, old defensemen cannot compete. Ron Cook may not have been far off the mark in projecting a sweep.
Mike, come back soon as I thoroughly enjoy your grades for which the foregoing is a sorry substitute.
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