Stanley Cup Recap

PITTSBURGH – With the Stanley Cup staying in Pittsburgh with the Penguins for one more year, we wanted to break down some the reasons for the Pens’ win the Nashville Predators’ loss.

Photo By: Brianna O’Mara

Why Penguins Won

1. Sidney Crosby. Crosby is the best player in hockey. He put the Pittsburgh Penguins on his back in the Final and carried them to the promise land. Sid was on another level for even him in games five and six of the Final. Sid could have had at least ten more points if his line-mates finished their chances. Crosby is pushing his way onto hockey’s Mt. Rushmore. In the last twelve months Crosby has won two Stanley Cups, two Conn Smythes, a World Cup and a World Cup MVP.

2. Evgeni Malkin. This was Malkin’s best, most complete season as a pro and he’s already won a Conn Smythe trophy and a Hart trophy. Crosby said he would have given Malkin the Conn Smythe this year. Malkin’s performance in game four of Washington series, with Crosby out, was tremendous. Malkin lead the playoffs in points and penalty minutes. The last man to do that was Maurice (Rocket) Richard.

3. The combo of Matt Murray and Marc Andre Fleury would have won the Conn Smythe if it was done by one goaltender. Fleury won the first two series, including a game seven shutout of the President’s trophy winning Washington Capitals. Murray took over for Fleury in the Ottawa series in game four. The Penguins were down two to one He beat Ottawa in seven. Murray shut the Predators out in games five and six.

4. Old Guys. Matt Cullen, Chris Kunitz, Nick Bonino. Matt Cullen won his third Stanley Cup and played more minutes than Sidney Crosby in the Final game six. Chris Kunitz earned Cup number four by playing on all four lines and every situation, Kunitz also scored the double overtime winner in game seven vs Ottawa. Nick Bonino did all the little things including finishing a game on a broken leg.
   

   Photo By: Brianna O’Mara

5. The Kids. Jake Guentzal, Conor Sheary, Bryan Rust. Rookie Jake Guentzel assaulted the rookie playoff record book. trailing only Dino Ciccarelli in history. Two year vets Sheary and Rust used their speed and tenacity to overwhelm some of the league’s top defensemen. Sheary was inconsistent but ended strong. Rust got injured but came back. Both scored big goals. Rust’s nickname is Mr. Elimination.

6. The D. Justin Schultz, Ollie Maata, Ian Cole, Brian Dumoulin, Trevor Daley, Ron Hainsey. Many said this group could not win without Kris Letang. They were physical enough and got the puck out of their zone. Albeit by all means necessary. They didn’t win on style points. They won on blood, guts and guile. Each guy had his moment of doubt but his partner or the goaltender bailed him out. The Penguins defense even added a little offense. The days off in the Final let them regain their tired legs. Tap of the stick to Assistant coach Jacque Martin for managing their ice time.

7. Rutherford’s Guys. Phil Kessel, Patric Hornqvist Carl Hagelin. GM Jim Rutherford brought these guys in and they won him two Cups. Kessel was third in playoff scoring. Hornqvist brought his usual lunch pail work ethic. Hornqvist scored the Cup winning goal with 1:35 left in regulation of game six. Hagelin battling injuries used his jet packed legs and sealed the Cup with an empty net goal.

8. Head Coach Mike Sullivan. Mike Sullivan is 8-0 in playoffs series. He and the legend Toe Blake are the only coaches to win two Stanley Cups in their first two years with a team. Sullivan literally doesn’t make a mistake. Either setting lineups, picking a goaltender or making a line changes Sullivan is infallible.

9. GM Jim Rutherford. Rutherford has made mistakes. Not many and he rectifies them. He fired miscast former Pens coach Mike Johnston and hired Sullivan. His first trade was getting rid of selfish James Neal for Hornqvist. This year he brought in Ron Hainsey who had never played a playoff game. Hainsey ended up winning sixteen playoff games this year.

10. The Owners. Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle. Lemieux knows what it takes to win and Burkle has the money to make it happen. They have combined to make Pittsburgh a first class championship organization.

 Why Predators Lost

1. Pekka Rinne did not have a good series. He’s was pulled in two games. He stole game four but needed to play better in games one and two. Matt Murray was the better goaltender in game six in Nashville, where Rinne was supposedly invisible. For Nashville to win this series Rinne had to be Nashville’s best player in the series. he wasn’t.

2. The Penguins learned to avoid letting Pekka Rinne play the puck. The Penguins either carried the puck into the zone or dumped it where Rinne couldn’t control the puck. Rinne couldn’t make the quick first pass to start Nashville’s breakout. The Nashville offense sputtered. The Predator’s defense got worn down from having to come back and take hits.
   

   Photo By: Brianna O’Mara

3. The Nashville defense got worn down. The Predators spent too much time in their own zone enabling the Penguin’s forecheck to bang them around. The fact Nashville mainly played one four defensemen is another. Roman Josi, P K Subban, Mattias Ekholm and Ryan Ellis are great but they became fatigued. Starting further back in their own end Nashville’s defense were less likely to jump into the play. Nashville’s offense relies on their defense jumping into the play. The Predator’s defense jumped in the play less in the Final than in any other series.

4. The Predators missed their number one center Ryan Johansen. He became a star in this year’s playoffs. Even with Johansen the Predators were overmatched at center, without him they had no chance.

5. Filip Forsberg was a no show. He was missing his center but he was missing himself for most of this series. He was poised to become a superstar after this series if he played great, he didn’t.

6. Kevin Fiala’s injury caught up to the Predators. Forsberg’s struggles meant the Predators only had one winger who could bury the puck, Viktor Arvidsson.

7. The Predators didn’t have any heroes after game four. Frederick Gaudreau was amazing in the first four games but disappeared in the final two games. Underdog teams need players to step up and become folk heroes. Nobody did for the Predators.
   

   Photo By: Brianna O’Mara

8. The Predators backed off the physical play in the series. Bruisers Cody McLeod and Vernon Fiddler were scratched. The fourth line got less ice time as the series went on. The Penguins don’t get intimidated but they were wearing out before the Predators backed off the physicality

9. P K Subban became a distraction. Subban’s comedy with Sidney Crosby was not funny. It made Subban look like a clown. All it did was motivate Crosby even more. Subban even poked the Russian bear Evgeni Malkin. He should have worried about hockey not comedy.

10. The disallowed goal did not cost the Predators the Cup. When the referee can’t see the puck, he blows the whistle. It was a horrible call. It happens many times during a season. It was an inopportune time for it to happen to the Predators. BUT, the Predators still had a period and a half to play. They had four power plays. They had a five on three. The Penguins did not get a single power play. Championship teams overcome adversity. Other than injuries it was the only adversity the Predators faced this post season. They didn’t overcome it. The Stanley Cup is not a participation trophy. You have to earn it. When you get shut out for two straight games you’re not earning it. In the end, catfish couldn’t swim in the deep water of the Stanley Cup Final. Â