No way.
That was the sentiment that, with different meaning and increasing force, kept accompanying the play where Brandon Dubinsky nearly pulled the Blue Jackets even in the waning seconds of Monday night’s tilt between Columbus and Pittsburgh. When the Blue Jackets centre hit the Penguins blueline with five ticks left on the clock, the rational line of thinking went, “No way can Dubinsky do anything here,” especially with both Pens defenders back and on high alert. Then he pulled out a toe drag that started in Kentucky, sucked back to Cleveland and left Pens’ defenceman Paul Martin looking lost in central Ohio. As Dubinsky danced toward the Pittsburgh net like James Brown at the Apollo, everyone in the rink—with opposite implications—must have been struck with that same, “No way—this is happening!” thought.
And then it didn’t. The puck rolled off Dubinsky’s stick as he moved to the backhand, just out of the reach of teammate Ryan Johansen. The siren sounded. The Pens patted helmets and wore weary smiles. At a time of year when the bottom line matters most, Pittsburgh had a win. But given how the game—including those hairy dying moments—unfolded, it’s impossible not to wonder how much progress the Penguins have actually made.
Neither the Pens nor the Jackets can be overly tickled with how the first three games of this series—now led 2-1 by Pittsburgh—have transpired. Two-goal leads on both sides have carried no currency, as was again the case in game three when the Penguins fired three third-period goals in just over two minutes to turn a 3-1 deficit into the 4-3 advantage that (just barely) held up.
Both teams, no doubt, will be striving for more even play the rest of the way, but it’s especially critical for a Pens club trying to distance itself from recent defensive failures in the playoffs. Has anything happened thus far to make anyone believe those troubles are forgotten? After three games, Marc-Andre Fleury’s save percentage is .899. In game three, the Blue Jackets seized a 2-0 lead just 3:18 into the contest when Fleury, in what’s become a bizarre theme in recent post-seasons, couldn’t handle a seemingly innocuous puck that was directed at him from behind the goal line, allowing Jack Johnson to bury a juicy rebound.
And ugly as that save percentage is, Fleury has actually bailed out the Pens at times. He made an unbelievable save on Matt Calvert in overtime of game two, but with nobody within shouting distance to either cover Calvert or clear the rebound, the Jackets left winger had time to double-check his tax return before depositing the puck into the open cage.
The Penguins responded to overwhelmingly win the possession battle in game three, but they were no doubt aided by being a desperate team trying to dig themselves out of an early hole. And then there was the final heart-stopping dash. No slight to Dubinsky’s hands, but a player should never get to the net like that when all a defenceman has to do is keep him to the outside and let the final seconds tick off.
In a different context, holding a team’s skates to the fire after they’ve claimed a playoff victory would be nitpicking of the highest order. But this is a Penguins club in danger of becoming the new Washington Capitals. Because we’re all looking for signs of change in Pittsburgh, it does matter how they win. Sure, they can overcome some hiccups against an upstart Columbus team in round one, but will they get any further without more acute attention defensive detail?
No way.