Faceoff Factor

Let's Face It - 04/21/09

Jonathan Farzalo | Pittsburgh Penguins

Apr 21, 11:59 AM | Hype this story!

Let’s Face It...The Penguins dominated Game 1.

Let’s Face It...The Penguins and Flyers were pretty even in Game 2.

Let’s Face It...The Penguins were dominated in Game 3.

Let’s Face It...Game 4 is a turning point in the series. Either the Penguins almost wrap it all up OR the Flyers even it up and make it a best-of-three affair.

Let’s Face It...Petr Sykora has been useless. I called him out in this column a few weeks ago, and I am doing it again. He doesn’t hit, doesn’t make a great pass, doesn’t back check well, and worst of all he ISN’T scoring. All those other glaring weaknesses can be overlooked when he is finding the back of the net, however when he is cold, and right now he is ICE cold, those downsides are gapping holes.

Let’s Face It...It’s called the playoffs. It’s not supposed to be easy. The Pens will lose games; other teams will lose and win games. It’s meant to be hard and nail-biting.

Let’s Face It...The Calgary/Chicago series must be like déjà vu for the Flames…seeing Nikolai Khabibulin at the other end of the ice; being the guy who ripped the Stanley Cup from their grasp only a few years ago.

Let’s Face It...St. Louis is outmatched…the Blues are like the ugly girl that was asked to the dance; she is just happy to be there.

Let’s Face It...Speaking about being outmatched, anyone care to alert authorities that the Columbus Blue Jackets have gone missing. Nobody really expected them to beat Detroit, but perhaps they could make it entertaining at the very least.

Let’s Face It...The San Jose Sharks, their fans, and their management have to be wondering if they are ever going to do anything in the post season. They just won the Presidents trophy for the best record in the regular season and are now behind two games to none to the 8th seed Anaheim Ducks.

Let’s Face It...All those fans who said they ‘wanted’ to play New Jersey in the first round as opposed to the Flyers…take a look at the Devils now. They may have had a tough go-round at the end of the regular season, but really they have handled Carolina well, and with Brodeur between the pipes it’s never a lost case.

Let’s Face It...The Boston Bruins are stream-rolling the Canadiens, have a 3-0 series lead, and have plowed over both net minders Montreal has stuck between the pipes. Perhaps it’s not the goalie, but the team in front of them…

Let’s Face It...Simeon Varlamov, the Washington Captials rookie starting in his second playoff game, was never really tested by the Rangers, something that they can’t be too pleased with. This is a young kid who can not be all that comfortable being thrown to the wolves when Theodore faltered.