Hall of Fame defenceman Paul Coffey joined The Jeff Blair Show on Sportsnet 590 Thursday to talk Stanley Cup playoffs.
The four-time Stanley Cup champion and three-time Norris Trophy winner spoke to co-hosts Jeff Blair and Stephen Brunt about the Washington Capitals falling behind the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-1 in their best-of-seven series following an overtime loss Wednesday night.
The Presidents’ Trophy winners are on the ropes as the series is set to shift back to Washington for Game 5 Saturday. Coffey, who declared himself as a big Alex Ovechkin supporter, noted that regular season performance doesn’t matter in the playoffs.
LISTEN: Paul Coffey talks Stanley Cup Playoffs, Pittsburgh Penguins
“Nobody deserves to win the Stanley Cup. If everybody deserved to win one every great player would have one.
“It’s timing, it’s being on a great team…A lot of things gotta fall into place. Look at Pittsburgh. They made a coaching change and the rest is history.”
The Penguins fired Mike Johnston in December and named Mike Sullivan as his replacement behind the bench. Pittsburgh was 15-10-3, 28th in scoring, and sitting in fifth place in the Metropolitan Division at the time of Johnston’s dismissal. The club finished third in scoring under Sullivan and were one of the best teams in the league down the stretch.
Coffey was quick to credit Sullivan for the club’s significant shift in performance.
“Crosby looked for the first two months of the season like he’d never skated before,” said Coffey. “He looked so disinterested…Now they got a coach in there that allows the guys to play and have some fun…(Marc-Andre) Fleury went down, they got (Matt) Murray in net…(Kris) Letang didn’t play last night and this team doesn’t miss a beat, and that comes from the top on down. “
While Coffey was careful not to disparage Johnston, he noted that Sullivan’s way of doing things was clearly more conducive to success for the star-studded Penguins.
“You have to adapt,” Coffey said. “You can never take the game out of the players’ hands.
“You gotta have faith in them that they know what they’re doing. Hockey players, I was one of them, we’re just repetition guys that want to play, that want to be able to go out there. As soon as you put the reins on anybody, especially your real talented players, you get yourself in trouble. That whole Penguins team has been revitalized.
“They’re all having fun. Watching the Philly series and Phil Kessel got a goal in the blue paint. When have you ever seen Phil Kessel in there? He goes down the wing and shoots and his shift is over, he’s invigorated and he’s having fun right now.”
Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, along with Nick Bonino, are tied to the team lead in scoring with nine points apiece through nine post-season games. Kessel’s eight points have him tied with Patric Hornqvist for second in team scoring.
The Capitals host Pittsburgh Saturday night and the game can be seen live on CBC beginning at 7:15 p.m. ET.
