Killing Me Softly With Your Non-Calls

I'll be the first to admit that I like it better when the referees put their whistles away late in a playoff game. I'd rather that the players decide the outcome, especially if it's a close, hard-fought game. But this season, it's almost gone overboard. Too many penalties are either ignored, or the refs just aren't watching.

In fact, this is the least penalized final matchup in 64 years. And it's not like Detroit and Pittsburgh are penalty-free teams. In the regular season, Pittsburgh was 20th in PIM, Detroit 11th. In the playoffs, Detroit is 12th and Pittsburgh 14th. Even taking away the paltry minutes so far (in four games, the teams have combined for 62 penalty minutes...the bulk coming in the last 20 seconds of game two), both teams would be in the bottom half.

But there have been a lot of plays gone uncalled. Pittsburgh playing nearly 20 seconds with too many men on the ice in game three. Pucks cleared out of the defensive end and over the glass with no penalty called. Marian Hossa breaking Pascal Dupuis stick with a slash that was never called. I'm sure plenty of fans on both sides have more examples.

I get that the NHL loves for the action to continue and is always worried about people thinking the refs had a hand in deciding the game. But the rules are there for a reason. They do have to be enforced when broken. I don't care if it's a game in November between Florida and Columbus or game seven of the Stanley Cup final. And I'm talking the outrageous non-call stuff. I'm glad they put the whistle away for the crappy little stick check penalties. When you see a guy get cross-check viciously, and the refs are yelling to play on...well, that's not right. And it will ultimately hurt the game.

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Ruffling Feathers

The Pittsburgh Penguins are determined to make sure history does not repeat itself.

Despite being down 2-0 to the powerhouse Detroit Red Wings, the same result after two games in the Stanley Cup Final last season, the plucky Pens have fought back to tie the series at two and are showing their true colours once again in these playoffs. While there were some eerie similarities between this year’s finals and last, Sidney Crosby and company have changed all that after an impressive game four win.

Older, wiser, more mature. All words and phrases used to describe the 2009 Pittsburgh Penguins. If there was ever a time to prove it, it was in a Stanley Cup Finals rematch with the reigning champion Red Wings. After the first weekend, however, the Penguins found themselves in a familiar situation, down 2-0 and nothing going their way.

Young, inexperienced, nervous. These were the new buzz words surrounding the Penguins. Wait, new? No, these too were carryovers from last season. It felt like everything had changed and yet nothing truly had. You could see the frustration in the faces of Crosby, Staal, coach Dan Bylsma and many others in the Penguins organization.

Going back to Steel Town, it was fair to say that every fan of the flightless birds felt that sinking feeling in the pit of their stomach. This feels too familiar... Then the Pens won game three. Nobody really felt better. After all, it was 2-1 Wings after three games last year too. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that game four was going to be big.

They started well, seeing Evgeni Malkin pot his 14th goal of this post-season, but fell behind with two Red Wings’ goals less than three minutes apart spanning the end of the first and the beginning of the second periods. But something finally changed, the Penguins wouldn’t quit and they would finally show the Red Wings just what they are capable of. In a flurry, Malkin, Crosby and their partners in crime went to work. Jordan Staal barrels in on Osgood fighting off a defender and slides home the tying goal. Malkin and Crosby get the 2-on-1 and Crosby makes good on a nice second effort pass from Evgeni. Then to top it all off, Kennedy slams home the biscuit on one of the nicest passing plays of the postseason.

The Red Wings are in trouble, and they are well aware of it, even if they won’t say so. The series has dramatically shifted in Pittsburgh’s favour and they show no sign of slowing down. Detroit hasn’t been able to see almost any contribution from their big guns and Pavel Datsyuk hasn’t played a game in the series. Even if they get him back, the damage may be done.

Led by Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the Penguins are demonstrating the hunger and drive they showed in their run not only through the playoffs, but fighting back from near the bottom of the Eastern Conference barrel in the regular season just to make the postseason. They still have to win at least one game in Detroit to win the Cup, but their confidence is seemingly limitless.

The Cup will be in Pittsburgh on Tuesday night, but will it stay there or be on the move back to Detroit?

mitch.hart@gmail.com

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The Penguins Strike Back

In a playoff season that has delivered several great games, we were treated to another last night. Sidney Crosby finally gets on the board, helping set up the game winner, and the Penguins narrow Detroit's lead to 2-1.

The Penguins put forth their best effort of the series, despite being outshot 29-21. The most telling: the Penguins outshot the Wings 10-3 in the third period...probably one of the few third periods that Detroit has been dominated in.

Pittsburgh needed someone to step up, and Maxime Talbot finally answered the call, scoring twice. Kristopher Letang's powerplay goal late in the first period was crucial. With Detroit leading 2-1, the Penguins probably couldn't afford to go into the intermission thinking about being down again.

The Wings did look off-kilter all night, but that's how they looked in game three vs Chicago until they forced overtime, and we all know how that series ended. The thing for me is that despite looking sloppy, the Wings were never out of this game until the empty netter sealed it. I doubt they'll get worse. So if sloppy play is up to Pittsburgh's best effort so far, it's still Detroit's series to lose.

For game four, the Penguins will need a stronger defensive effort. Detroit adjusts well to the opponents arena, and they will come out hard. It's also possible that Pavel Datsyuk will be back in the lineup, considering the Wings could use a bit of a boost. If this series draws even, it's anybody's series. If Detroit goes up 3-1...again...well, I don't think that Pittsburgh will get another triple overtime win in game five.

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Conn Smythe Watch

The Detroit Red Wings are two wins away from once again hoisting Lord Stanley's Cup. In the process, they've kept perfect their record when leading after two periods intact (now 11-0). With the Finals close to being over, it's time to start looking at the potential playoff MVPs for both teams.


Detroit Red Wings

Favourite: Chris Osgood has been simply phenomenal. After his poorest regular season in a Red Wings jersey, Osgood has been unflappable. And with back to back one goal games in the Finals, he's been the best Wing on the ice.

Johan Franzen leads the team in goals scored and points in the playoffs. In the past 34 playoff games, he's scored 24 times, including the winner in game one and has been a constant presence every shift.

Henrik Zetterberg has been Detroit's most complete player. In two games so far, he's averaged 23 minutes of ice time while shadowing and shutting down Sidney Crosby...a big reason the Wings are up 2-0. He's also second on the team in goals (9) and points (19).

Noted: Niklas Lidstrom, Valterri Filppula

Pittsburgh Penguins

Favourite: Even though Sidney Crosby has been shut out in the first two games of the Finals (the first time this has happened since last year's final), he has been hands down the best Penguin on the ice. What's hurting him is the sudden lack of ice time and the constant attention from Detroit's top players.

Evgeni Malkin has had a hand in the only two goals that the Penguins have scored so far, and leads the league in playoff points with 30. He's been less of a focus of the Wings defensive coverage, and he could take more advantage of that.

Marc-Andre Fleury may not have the best numbers in the playoffs, but he's a big reason the Penguins are back in the Finals. Even with a couple of bad bounces, he needs to come up big (the Abdelkader goal in game two was just bad) for his team to get back in this.

Noted: Bill Guerin, Sergei Gonchar

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Detroit Takes Game One...Again

Game one is officially in the books, and the Detroit Red Wings have a 1-0 lead thanks to a strong team effort and a couple lucky bounces. The series quickly turns to game two tomorrow night. Will the quick turnaround favour the younger Penguins or will Detroit maintain home ice advantage?

Game Notes
Evgeni Malkin had a strong first period and scattered chances throughout but he was very soft on the puck, having it knocked off his stick several times and was seldom a factor in the third.

Detroit dominated the faceoff circle (39-16) and Pittsburgh will have to improve drastically if they are going to have any chance.

The referees did a fantastic job of managing the game. They maintained control without killing the flow of the game with endless penalties.

The best line of the night was Detroit’s fourth line, specifically Ville Leino and Justin Abdelkader, despite the low minutes played.

Even though he was shaky in the first period, Chris Osgood shook it off and turned in another solid performance, lowering his playoff GAA to 2.00 with a .928 save percentage.

Marian Hossa and Darren Helm used their speed to give the Penguins plenty of trouble. The Penguins attack is definitely missing Hossa.

Both teams combined for only three shots on three power plays. Whichever team that can correct their power play first will win this series.

Even though Pittsburgh outshot Detroit 32-30, Detroit put more shots at goal by a 62-53 margin.

The Wings are now 10-0 in the playoffs when leading after two periods.

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Mike's Take: NHL Combine

Featured on this week's edition of Mike's Take, the NHL Combine has begun for the top 100 prospects of the upcoming Entry Draft, and there's a few interesting tales to be told thus far. This is a detailed assessment of the tests and some of the results of the future NHLers who took part in the gauntlet.

Hello everyone, and welcome to a new edition of Mike's Take. This year's NHL Combine features the likes of OHL superstar John Tavares, and his counterpart, Victor Hedman, who looks to improve his ranking after the weekend's gauntlet. For those who are unsure what the combine is, it's essentially a legal way to drive these draft eligible players into a series of physical and stressful situations while interviewing them to get a good sense of their body capabilities and personality while under pressure.

The Tests:

- Psychological Evaluation

"It included a long series of questions about the prospect's personality (including mental toughness and coachability), and went on to a more grueling mental efficiency test, which measured spatial awareness, decision speed, decision accuracy, concentration, and rates of mental fatigue. The potential draftees took the supervised test in a quiet room set up exclusively for that purpose. An abbreviated version of the mental efficiency portion of the test was then given a second time to each prospect immediately after he completed his fitness testing. The scores under the two conditions were then compared to determine the how much the individual player's reactions decline under stress and fatigue" - Hockey's Future.

- Medical Evaluation

"The medical portion of the testing, which took about a half an hour, included the filling out of a medical form, questions and examination by doctors, photographs of the player, an eye test, and two hand/eye coordination tasks" - Hockey's Future.

- Fitness Testing

The fitness test is the most grueling segment of the entire combine. Each player goes through 18 tests in total, and one test that is considerably stressful on the players is called the "Windgate". What happens is the player has his feet taped to the pedals on a stationary bike. He is then told, in a loud/screaming sort of way, to pedal as fast as he can for 30 seconds. The computer then accurately reads and processes the information on the measurement of explosive speed and fatigue effects of the athlete. Many GMs gather around to watch the screen and record the stats.

Jordan Schroeder, ranked #5 for the draft, vomited right after performing this test. "Everyone will say the bikes are definitely the hardest. You're a little dizzy afterwards", said Schroeder. "A little bit came up - I have to admit, a little bit came up."

The most intense segment of the combine is always the last test for the athletes, and it's known as the VO2 Max test. "VO2 max, or maximal oxygen uptake, is one factor that can determine an athlete's capacity to perform sustained exercise and is linked to aerobic endurance. VO2 max refers to the maximum amount of oxygen that an individual can utilize during intense or maximal exercise. It is measured as milliliters of oxygen used in one minute per kilogram of body weight" - Sports Medicine. This is all performed on the bike.

While it is a draining exercise, all of the performers quickly regained their composure afterward. John Tavares, who did not do any upper-body tests due to a speculated shoulder injury, did very well on the cycling tests. Brayden Schenn is also believed to have an upper body injury.

Evander Kane, currently ranked #3 for the forwards, matched the day's high with 17 bench presses and 47 push-ups - which was far and away the highest total of the day.

Ryan Bourque, son of NHL hall of famer Ray Bourque, performed excellently on the agility tests in which the athletes jumped around a hexagonal mat.

Ryan Ellis showed up but then was granted permission to leave the testing due to unknown circumstances.

Victor Hedman showed up, and boy is he big. He measured in at 6'7", while Jared Cowen came in at 6'5", both are huge bodied individuals. Hedman was asked, "if you weren't a hockey player, what would you be?" He quickly responded "a pilot", much to the surprise of man around him.

"It's the last week to make an impression", said Hedman. "I'm looking forward to it...I've tried these tests before and I'm never going to quit." Something everyone wants to hear from a future prospect.

Brian Burke was met at the Combine and was asked of his desire to move up in the draft. "I got nowhere with it so far," said Burke. "I didn't think I would so early. There's no progress to report, but I'm not discouraged yet. So far I got nothing to report and no reason to feel positive or encouraged in any way, but that's how it is. The two times I've done this was on the floor. I'm not surprised there's no progress yet. We've got a month. If we have to stay and pick at seven we're content to do that. We're going to try to move up but we're not going to overpay to do it. We think we can get a good player at seven. We're going to try to hit it out of the park like we always do. The fact that we've put a few top prospects in the system doesn't change the desperation that I think you have to have when you go to the draft. Your mentality has to be we have to be successful here. The fact that we added Bozak, Christian … doesn't change that. It doesn't change that hunger you have to have gong into the draft. We have to get better today."

For more information of the process, read Central Scouting's NHL Combine Protocol.

Micheal A. Aldred
michealaldred@hotmail.com

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Conference Final Predictions

What an ending to the second round. Three game sevens, one amazing overtime, and Chicago getting some needed rest while Anaheim and Detroit finish a war.

So now the Conference Finals are set, and both matchups look like they will continue the stretch of intense action. On the line: a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Will the upstart Chicago Blackhawks make it all the way and win their first Cup since 1961? Will Carolina make it back to the Finals for the first time since winning in 2006 (the last two times they qualified for the playoffs, they’ve made it to the Finals)? Are we destined for a Detroit-Pittsburgh rematch?

Pittsburgh Penguins vs Carolina Hurricanes
The Penguins are coming off a highly charged series against the Washington Capitals. Sidney Crosby proved why he’s arguably the best player on the planet right now. Carolina had staked itself to a 3-1 series lead against the Boston Bruins, only to be forced to overtime in game seven when unlikely hero Scott Walker put the series away. Now Eric and Jordan Staal get to face each other.

The Penguins will need a lot more secondary scoring, especially from Kunitz, Satan and Staal. Crosby and Malkin can only do so much of the heavy lifting. Carolina needs bigger contributions from Brind’Amour and Cole. Sergei Samsonov showed up against his former team, but he needs to not disappear again.

Prediciton: Penguins in six.

Detroit Red Wings vs Chicago Blackhawks
The last time the Hawks were in the conference finals was 1994-95 where they lost to Detroit. This is the third straight trip for the Red Wings. Chicago comes in on a tear, winning the last three against the Vancouver Canucks to close them out in six games, while Detroit needed a weak goal given up by Jonas Hiller late in game seven to finish off the Anaheim Ducks.

Chicago needs to establish leads early in games, and not have to comeback against Detroit, as the Wings are one of the best at maintaining a lead. Nikolai Khabibulin is going to have to be stellar for the Hawks to have a chance. Detroit needs to stay out of penalty trouble as the Hawks have the best powerplay in the playoffs and the Wing’s biggest weakness has been on the penalty kill.

Prediction: Red Wings in six.

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Can Anything Top Penguins-Capitals?

It was the series everyone wanted...and it turned out to be more than everyone expected.

The seven game epic clash between Sidney Crosby's Pittsburgh Penguins and Alexander Ovechkin's Washington Capitals did not disappoint. Five one goal games. Three overtime games. Crosby and Ovechkin each scored eight goals.


In the end, the Capitals just ran out. Ovechkin averaged 23 minutes a game in the series (21 minutes for the 14 games Washington played in the playoffs). Simeon Varlamov, who was incredible during this run, didn't have anything left. The Penguins moved on because of their experience, talent, and the sheer will of Crosby.

But now the question becomes 'What can top this?' Is there a matchup for the Finals that can reach this high? The answer: A Detroit-Pittsburgh rematch.

Sure, the Chicago Blackhawks are an exciting young team, but it's that inexperience factor that makes them a longshot. An original six final between Detroit and Boston would be cool, but I don't think it would capture the viewers. Anaheim and Pittsburgh might be interesting, but again that might not be a ratings draw (the 2007 Final between Anaheim and Ottawa had dismal U.S. ratings).

But Detroit and Pittsburgh have history. The Penguins would want revenge on losing last year. Detroit would be out to prove that beyond a doubt, they're one of the best teams ever. Marc-Andre Fleury would love to have another go, considering the Cup winning goal last year.

Game six last year had a 4.4 share in the ratings, so you can be sure NBC and the NHL would both love this matchup as well.

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PENGUINS HEAD TO PHILLY UP 2-0

The Breakdown:

The Penguins were looking to extend their series lead to 2 games, while the Flyers hoped to close out the 2 game home stand in Pittsburgh with a split decision. It was a game that featured a ton of hitting, some questionable calls, and superb goaltending. If you missed this game, shame on you.



The Pittsburgh Penguins needed more than 60 minutes to pull out a thrilling 3-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers in Game #2 on Friday.

The Penguins trailed twice in the game, first being in the first period when Scott Hartnell scored on the power play with the helpers going to Matthew Carle and Braydon Coburn at 13:26. The Penguins would tie it up in the second period when Bill Guerin scored, assisting was Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby at 16:38.

Early in the third period Darroll Powe wristed a shot past goaltender, Marc-Andre Fleury, with Giroux and Coburn getting the assists at 2:09. The Flyers had a chance to make it a two goal game when Fleury robbed Jeff Carter from what looked like a for sure goal. That would be the momentum changer as a big late third-period power play goal by Evgeni Malkin to tie the game 2-2 at 16:23 in the third with the assists going to Kristopher Letang and Sergei Gonchar.

In overtime, the Flyers couldn’t capitalize on a power play opportunity when Hal Gill was sent off for cross checking at 15:26. This would prove costly as over a minute later Mike Knuble was called for a cross check on Brooks Orpik. Thirty seconds later, Claude Giroux was penalized for slashing. On the 5 on 3, Bill Guerin scored his second goal of the night when Gonchar faked a slap shot and found him open at the side of the net. Guerin then hesitated for a split second, forcing Marty Biron to second guess pinching the side of the net. He made the veteran net-minder believe he was going to try the cross crease pass. At that very instant, Guerin went five-hole with the shot. The overtime winner would give the Penguins a 2-0 lead in the best of seven series heading back to Philadelphia on Sunday.

My take on the first two games:

It is well known that Philadelphia was the most penalized team in the league. Game #1 proved that as they took twelve penalties giving one of the most dangerous teams with the man advantage a ton of chances to do some major damage. Luckily for the Flyers, the Penguins only managed to score once on the power play. In Game #2, I was surprised that Philadelphia only took three penalties through 60 minutes – a bit of an improved. Unfortunately, the last penalty they took proved costly as Malkin scored to tie the game up 2-2. If it weren’t for this powerplay, the Flyers could very well have found themselves in a tied series today instead of down by a couplet. In overtime, Philly was back to their usual selves. Three penalties in a row again became Philly’s Achilles’ heel. Pittsburgh is playing with much more grit this post-season, and the scary part is this team is only getting started. If Kunitz, Sykora, Talbot, and Staal can start to produce then this team could very well be in it for the long run this post-season. The post lock out game is about the special teams now and with the power play unit Pittsburgh has it will be hard to kill off every penalty that Philly takes. If Philly can stop Crosby and Malkin they might have a chance to get back into the series but the depth of the Pens has the potential to carry them throughout this series.

With the series now heading back to Philadelphia, the chances of Philly coming out strong and playing tough Sunday are very good; but if they come out and take a ton of penalties then Pittsburgh will quickly take full advantage of the power plays and win game #3, giving them the chance to close out the series in 4. Philadelphia has to find a way to stay out of the box and stop the stars from Pittsburgh in order to get back into the series. We will see what unravels as Game #3 shifts to Philadelphia. “The Battle of Pennsylvania” continues Sunday at 3:00pm on CBC.

Brad Maunder

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