Penguins Blow Opportunities, Series

There is nothing more unpredictable in sports than a game seven in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Last year we watched in shock as the Montreal Canadiens took it to the Penguins on their home ice in a series where most thought Pittsburgh had the superior team. Last night we had to sit there in horror as the Penguins dominated puck possession, scoring chances and physical play but couldn’t get a single puck in the back of the net on their way to a 1-0 shutout loss. With or without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, anything can happen in a game seven. That is why it was so disappointing to see the Penguins blow chances in games five and six with a chance to close out Tampa Bay. Ultimately the series was lost by the Penguins inability to score goals, something I have been cautioning about for weeks now, as they scored only 14 goals in seven games. Looking back, however, it was the Penguins failed opportunities in games five and six and their failed opportunities on all but one of their 30 something power plays during the series that cost the Penguins a chance to move forward even without number 87 on the ice.

I predicted before the series that the Penguins would win in six. I thought they could get past the first round based on the goaltending match-up and their superior defense. I cautioned, however, that if this series went to seven that the Pens could be in trouble without a star to rely on. This is almost exactly what happened last night. Despite dominating the puck for most of the game and getting a solid, if not great, performance from Marc-Andre Fleury, the Penguins couldn’t get a single shot behind Lightning goaltender Dwayne Roloson. This year, without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, it was imperative for the Penguins to avoid a game seven against a team full of superstars like Martin St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier and Steven Stamkos, among others. Sure it was none of the Lightning stars who scored the only goal in game seven, rather it was grinder Sean Bergenheim, but it was the failure of the Penguins to produce a goal whether at even strength or on any of their five power plays. Needless to say, the Penguins could have used a guy they could have relied upon for offense.

The good news is that unlike most playoff losses that begin the “what happened” discussions and “what needs to be done for next year” questions, this one is pretty easy to explain and the pieces are already in place to make the Penguins one of the top Cup favorites for next year. Crosby and Malkin will be back and probably hungrier than ever. Fleury, Staal, Orpik, Letang, Neal, Martin, Michalek, Kunitz and Kennedy are all signed through next year and in most cases a couple of years beyond. Sure, General Manager Ray Shero has some decisions to make on role players such as Max Talbot and if he should trade Matt Cooke, but based on his track record we can expect Shero to make the best of those decisions. The Penguins fatal flaw this year was their inability to score goals. That is something that is pretty easily remedied by plugging two of the world’s best players back in the line-up. It is a sad day for Penguins fans, mostly because of the blown opportunities that the Penguins had in the series, but there is a lot to look forward to next year and beyond.