Penguins Redux is almost enough to make me rethink my preseason Cup pick.
If a tree falls in the forest and there’s nobody around to hear it, does it make a sound?
I’ll go out on a limb and say yes.
If the Detroit Red Wings beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup final for the second consecutive year, did the 2008-09 season actually take place?
Hmm, that one is a little tougher.
I presume since I watched about 1,000 NHL games this year it actually did take place. So I guess the answer is yes. The thing is I don’t get the sense the Penguins are in a significant better position to beat the Red Wings this year than they were a year ago, assuming, of course, the Red Wings dispose of the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference final as expected.
The Penguins defence still isn’t good enough to stop the waves of scorers the Red Wings will thrust upon them and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury still needs to prove he can carry a team to glory. Fleury has shown signs of being the man, but consistency is still an issue. And yet I can’t escape the nagging feeling the Penguins have a serious chance of dethroning the champs, even though I am sticking with my preseason pick of the Red Wings to repeat.
A year ago Evgeni Malkin pulled a disappearing act in the final. He was pointless in the first four games of the final before scoring a goal and two assists in the final two games. This season he enters the final round tied for the postseason scoring race with teammate Sidney Crosby and has actually gotten better, with the exception of a few games in the Washington series, as the playoffs have progressed.
Malkin was held pointless Tuesday in the deciding game against the Carolina Hurricanes, but prior to that he had six multi-point games in row, during which he registered seven goals and nine assists for 16 points. I see no reason to suggest Malkin will not be a force for the Red Wings to contend with.
And then there’s Crosby.
Sid the Kid is playing the best hockey of his very young NHL career and looks like a man (er, boy?) on a mission. Spurned on, I suspect, by the fact he was not named a finalist for the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player even though he finished third in league scoring this season, Crosby has taken his game to the next level.
Crosby is also on a six-game points streak during which he has five goals and seven assists for 12 points. In fact, he has been held pointless in just two of Pittsburgh’s 17 games in the playoffs and his 28 points is one more than he scored in 20 postseason games a year ago.
One also gets the feeling Crosby would love for nothing more than to show up in Las Vegas for the NHL awards night with the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in hand. That would certainly trump the Rocket Richard Trophy Washington’s Alexander Ovechkin has already won and the Hart Trophy as MVP he is sure to win. Crosby’s 14 goals not only lead all goal-scorers in the playoffs, he has five more than he scored in his previous two playoff years (25) games combined.
The other big change for Pittsburgh is Dan Bylsma behind the bench. His presence seems to have had a calming effect on the Penguins, who seemed a little intimidated by his moody predecessor, Michel Therrien. Bylsma celebrated his 100th day on the job by coaching the Penguins to a sweep over the Hurricanes, but he will be up against a master in Mike Babcock in the final. It will be up to him to convince his players they don’t have to win four games against the Red Wings, they just have to win one game four times. Or something like that.
YOUNG AT HEART
Too old to coach in the NHL? I might have agreed with that sentiment about Pat Quinn, but not any more.
I think it was brilliant of Quinn to coach Canada’s under-18 team and then the under-20 squad, both of which won world titles, proving to the world he can relate to young players.
Quinn made no bones about the fact he wanted back behind the bench of an NHL team, having been let go by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2006, and now he has a chance with a young and coming team in Edmonton.
The Oilers were wise in also hiring Tom Renney, a good Xs and Os man, as associate coach. As sportsnet.ca colleague Mark Spector suggested today on Hockeycentral@Noon, it’s as though the Oilers hired two head coaches on the same day. Make no mistake about it, though, Quinn will call the shots.
Assuming the Oilers take care of their goaltending situation, I predict Edmonton will make the playoffs for the first time in three years.
A SAD DAY FOR HOCKEY
My condolences to the friends and family of Peter Zezel, who passed away Tuesday much too young at the age of 44. Although I didn’t know Peter well, he was always friendly when we’d bump into one another and I did have the privilege of covering his two years of junior with the Toronto Marlboros when he put up back-to-back years of 35 and 47 goals.
Based on what I have heard from others who knew him better, like Nick Kypreos and Rick Tocchet, Zezel was a great friend and teammate with a zest for life. And he loved to help others.
Peter Zezel will be missed.
