The Hockey News: Adam Proteau's Blog: THN.com Playoff Blog: Pens' confidence key to success

THN.com Playoff Blog: Pens' confidence key to success

Marian Hossa scored the overtime winner to send the Penguins to the East final. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/NHLI via Getty Images)

Adam Proteau
2008-05-04 18:01:39

• To their credit, the New York Rangers did not fall to the ground and beg for mercy at any point in their second round playoff series against the Penguins. Unfortunately, as was proved again Sunday during Pittsburgh’s 3-2 overtime victory – one that also gave them a five-game series win and a conference final date against the Flyers – the Rangers’ veterans were no match for their youthful opponents on the Pens.

Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist was fantastic, but Pittsburgh’s Marc-Andre Fleury was even better. New York captain Jaromir Jagr was stupendous, but Evgeni Malkin was at least his equal. And, ultimately, the Penguins’ mixture of physical talent, youthful speed and veteran know-how was far superior to that of a Rangers team that still needs some tweaking (especially on the blueline) before it can be considered a bona fide Stanley Cup favorite.

The Rangers showed an admirable ability to rebound from deficits, but simply couldn’t close games out. The Penguins have also been able to rebound from in-game collapses, but they’ve leaned on a strong sense of self-assuredness to pull themselves back from the brink of total disaster.

That confidence – and not just one particular on-ice aspect of the Pens’ gameplan – is what’s gotten them where they are now: eight wins away from the whole enchilada.

• Once again, the referees managed to misplace their whistles in the third period – either that, or they both suffered from simultaneous asthma attacks – and provided more material for conspiracy theorists.

Not a single penalty was called in the third period – that is, until Chris Drury landed himself a double minor for cutting open Ryan Malone on a high stick with 1:18 left in regulation.

There was a feeling of unmistakable irony after Drury was penalized, because in the second period, Drury himself was cut open badly after being high-sticked – by Malone! –but no penalty was called by the refs.

I think the Hockey Gods are trying to call you out, Stephen Walkom. There can be no possible rationalization for your officials continuously putting their hands in their pockets in third periods of games.

Related Links

I’m normally one of your biggest defenders, but what’s going on is casting everything – the officials, the players, and the game itself – in a not-so-positive light.

• Finally narrowed down my choices as to who Sidney Crosby resembles with what he alleges to be a “moustache.” It’s either Mandy Patinkin in The Princess Bride, or Kevin Kline in Sophie’s Choice. Or Hollywood director John Waters. Or perhaps all-time baseball great Ryne Sandberg.

Okay, I still need to keep narrowing it down.

THN.com's Playoff Blogs, featuring analysis and opinion on the action from the night before, with insight on what happened and what it all means going forward, will appear daily throughout the NHL playoffs. Read more entries HERE.

Adam Proteau is The Hockey News' online columnist and a regular contributor to THN.com. His blog appears Mondays and Wednesdays, his Ask Adam feature appears Tuesdays and Fridays, and his column, Screen Shots, appears Thursdays.

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COMMENTS (24)

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Ron Duguay Posted
(2009-04-30 06:16:54)

I have been watching hockey for 35 years and have had the good fortune of seeing the great Canadiens, Islanders and Oiler teams of the past. Teams filled with stars and class that made watching this great game an absolute pleasure. My problem is this: to even think that Crosby and Malkin will be the best the NHL will offer over the next 10 years is an insult to the game....2 supposed stars who resort to slewfooting, diving, crying and whining is absolutely disgusting....think Lafleur, Trottier, Bossy, Messier, Gretzky. Even worse, they have the full backing of the unspeakable Bettman.... I weep for our game if this is as good as it gets. I hope the Flyers take these wimps out quickly.

Fred Bartsch Posted
(2009-04-30 06:16:36)

First- Congratulations to the Penguins and their fans, as a life long Rangers fan, we were beat by a younger, heavier, more talented team. It will be interesting to see how this youth of yours will hold up against the Philadelphia Flyers, or the other (2) Western Teams. Anyway again congratulations! Oh Yes, Admit it The NHL Officiating this whole entire season has been the WORST I have ever seen!

Matthew Carulli Posted
(2009-04-30 06:16:35)

I hope that most of you can read this post and see that there is some reason and objectivity involved with it. As a Pens fan I'll admit there were some blatantly bad calls. The high sticking on Malone obviously. There's a few things to recognize though as well. There were missed calls against the Rangers as well. Rangers fans would be remiss to mention the interference not called on Straka against Kennedy. It goes both ways, that's the nature of the game. As far as the generalizing of Pens fans, let's be realistic. If this series was a complete 360, and the Rangers won 4 out of 5 close games, and got some questionable calls in their favor, Rangers fans would be acting exactly the same as the Pens fans. They would chalk up the victory to the Rangers goaltending, their veterans, and they're talent. No hockey game is won solely on a team's talent. Stuff will happen and the officials, like it or not, may influence some things that happen in the game. But the playoffs use seven game series for a reason. The fact that the Pens could close out 4 games is worth something. Why don't the Rangers fans mention how their team blew a 3 goal lead in game 1? All they want to mention about that game is a penalty late on Straka, in which the only legitimate complaint is that it should not have been called because of the time on the clock. As far as diving, it happens on both sides. I still love Jagr (even being a Pens fan myself) but he tried to embellish Ruutu's push in game 5. All players do it to some extent. The only reason it's an issue now is because the Rangers were using gamesmanship of their own to put the idea in everyone's head before the series even started. Bottom line, if a team can close out 4 close games out of 5, they do deserve to move on. As stated earlier, the Rangers PP didn't look like it would've scored on a 4 minute power play had the malone call been correct, and the 4 minute PP given to the Pens for Drury's high stick didn't even result in a goal. The Pens were able to score goals when they needed it; the Rangers could not. The Pens stars stepped up, and the Rangers' didnt. The one game Jagr really stepped up, the Rangers won. Had Gomez shown up for this series, it would've been at least 6 games, and the Rangers would've had a shot.

Mr. William Posted
(2009-04-30 06:16:29)

I thought the officiating in the 3rd was great. It had to be the most exciting period all year. By not calling the cheap stuff they did in the second it made for a very fast paced end to end game. In contrast the 2nd period had to be one of the worst I had seen all year. They missed that obvious high stick and then proceded to call penalties that looked more like good defensive plays (are you not allowed to lift a stick anymore?). I don't think there was a stretch of longer than two minutes without a whistle which makes it pretty hard to get into the game. Actually I'll blame the Pens as much as I'll blame the refs. Their diving was disgusing. I'm thinking that in the 2nd intermission the refs watched the game tape and realized they were being embarassed. This resulted in them putting the whistles away which I was very thankful for.

jan Posted
(2009-04-30 06:16:29)

Pittsburgh was the better team this series-- they all showed up to play. Where were some of the Rangers??? I'd like to see the refs call penalties throughout the whole game; stop putting their whistles in their pockets during the 3rd period. I'm still amazed that, with 2 refs out there, both of them can miss calls.

Shawn Daly Posted
(2009-04-30 06:16:27)

Questions on the Rangers blue-line? ouch. Give them three years to answer those.. it's a young blue-line and guys like Girardi and Staal will only get better. Better question --> where was Gomez while Jagr carried this team on his back? The Penguins proved themselves the better team.. but they should realize how close they came to allowing a second Rangers win. And Malkin is a scumbag. just thought i'd get that one out of my system.

TH Posted
(2009-04-30 06:16:26)

I'm a huge Pens fan, and I'll admit Malone should have been called for a high stick, but the referee wasn't looking (on the replay you could see him looking at the puck). YOU CANNOT CALL SOMETHING YOU DON'T SEE!!! And any way, the Rangers PP was pathetic all series, even a 4:00 penalty woulldnt help them. And the Pens didn't score on their 4 min PP. Also, there were missed calls on both sides (Straka interfering with Kennedy in 1st). Side note: On the NBC broadcast, didn't it seem like Millbury was rooting for the Rangers? Every time Doc and/or Eddie O mentioned a missed call agaunst PIT, he was silent.But against the Rangers, he was almost whining, and he even kept bring them up later in the game.

MJB Posted
(2009-04-30 06:16:25)

New York Rangers credit card: Free Agent centre from Buffalo - $7,100,000 Free Agent centre from New Jersey - $10,000,000 Embarrassing pain in the @$$ who won't be playing for a ring (or teaching English as a second language) anytime soon - PRICELESS!!!!! BTW Jim, I seem to recall Fleury hitting a rough spot earlier this year, with many fans in Pittsburgh wanting to run him out of town. Price is only 20, and has a near-perfect resume.

Steve Posted
(2009-04-30 06:16:25)

Can't claim inconsistency in officiating and cite as evidence a non-call on Hal Gill interfering with Jagr. Hal Gill interfering with Jagr has been a consistent, apparently-legal play for ten years, which is part of the reason Pittsburgh traded for him. Other consistent, player-specific non-calls include Derian Hatcher's apparently-legal (late) elbows to the head and Chris Pronger's apparently-legal (and constant) slashes and spears. Ranger fans and media have one or two legitimate beefs with officiating in this series (most notably the Malone high-stick, though, having seen Roszival play a few hundred games, I wouldn't be surprised if the officials wrongly assumed that Michal, in typical bonehead fashion, high-sticked his own teammate), but lose all credibility in officiating complaints by (1) not already knowing about the Gill, Hatcher and Pronger exceptions, (2) complaining about Malkin's penalty shot without foundation, (3) complaining about a missed offside call that is, upon freeze-framing the picture, not offside at all, (4) complaining about a quick whistle on a crease play as if it was something new, instead of something that happens, leaguewide, five times per-week in the RS. Officiating or no, the Rangers lost this series because Pittsburgh played to win and NY played to tie.

Jim Reinecke Posted
(2009-04-30 06:16:23)

Oh, Please! Are the Ranger fans going to whine all summer about the officiating? Trust me, living in St. Louis and following the Blues I get enough of that rubbish on their radio broadcasts from former goon Kelly Chase who can't let a period go by without pointing a finger at the zebras. (This is what happens when you put a retired cement-head in the broadcast booth.) But the Penguins earned it, folks. It's that simple. Ray Shero's trade deadline pickup of Hossa has certainly paid dividends for his team. Now the battle of Pennsylvania starts. . .and Flyer fans, your orange and black clad Philistines are going to hear the clock strike Midnight on their Cinderella run. Fleury won't look like a gaping sieve in the manner of Carey Price, who as Mike Milbury pointed out, made R.J. Umberger look like the second coming of Reggie Leach (that's quite a feat, if you think about it.) The Habs still need to look for a goaltender. Price couldn't have stopped Dakota Fanning Saturday night. And if your Dave Schultz wanna-bes try any rough stuff, remember. . .George Laraque, the heavyweight champ of the NHL, has been dressed throughout the playoffs. I'd love to see some of your brainless bruisers go with him. . .Haw! Haw! Penguins in five.

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