Faceoff Factor

Where is Daniel Briere?

Jesse Marshall | Pittsburgh Penguins

May 12, 11:43 AM | Hype this story!

In 40:41 of play through two games in the Eastern Conference final, Daniel Briere is a -3, with 2 shots and 2 minutes in the box.

Not exactly daunting statistics for a $6.5 million dollar center.

Which begs the question: where are you, Danny boy?

The answer is simple. His play through the neutral zone has been Staal’d.

The case has been made since partway through his rookie year that Jordan Staal would be a future Selke candidate in the NHL. While his offensive prowess suffered a bit through the regular season this year, his defensive zone play continued to be stellar. And Staal has kept at it into the post-season.

More often than not, when the puck hits the stick of Daniel Briere in the neutral zone, Jordan Staal is right next to him.

However, Staal isn’t the only center that’s creating havoc in the neutral zone. We’re seeing some vindication for Michel Therrien through the way the entire team has bought into what he’s selling.

The Flyers as a whole are having trouble clearing the neutral zone with any type of effectiveness.

Of course, the losses of Timonen for the series and Coburn for Game 2 hurt the Flyers ability to make breakout passes, but their forwards haven’t taken up the slack in finding a way to beat the Penguins tenacious play at center ice.

While the defense has changed, the offense hasn’t. It’s been stagnant. Last night, the Flyers goals came off a gross turnover by Evgeni Malkin at the point and a defensive miscue by Hal Gill whilst shorthanded. Neither of which were really a product of the Flyers down-low system as much as they were gifts from the Pens.

The bottom line is that all 4 of the Penguins centers have played solid shutdown hockey. Sidney Crosby is the next in line as far as defensive play is concerned. When Staal isn’t on the ice against Briere, the onus has been on Crosby to shut-down that line and he’s been equally as effective.

So, the tables turn in Philadelphia. I said before the series that the biggest advantage the Penguins had was behind the bench. Let’s see how Stevens & Co. do on getting Briere out there with the 2nd change.

One problem for Stevens, however, is that the Penguins are so deep at center, that there really isn’t a favorable matchup.

Whatever the case, Daniel Briere is heading back to Philly down 2-0, and fans, both of the Penguins and Flyers, are about to learn how much of that $6.5 million he’s really worth.