PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
PITTSBURGH - MAY 18: Sidney Crosby #68 of the Pittsburgh Penguins watches the puck go past goaltender Martin Biron #43 of the Philadelphia Flyers on a shot by teammate Ryan Malone #12 (not pictured) during the second period of game five of the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2008 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Mellon Arena on May 18, 2008 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
Three rounds into a playoff run that's been witnessed twice previously in franchise history, it's still a little bit difficult to determine exactly when it was that these Penguins bought wholeheartedly into the system-driven approach that's carried them to within four wins of the Stanley Cup.
They clearly still hadn't on Feb. 26, when they were outshot, 52-21, in a 4-2 victory over the New York Islanders.
Sometime thereafter, a light went on.
Now that it has, the Penguins are shining like never before in terms of playing the game with a passion for executing the system that's being matched only by an equally newfound maniacal devotion to detail.
Star power abounds, as it did back in the day.
But these days, that 12-2 record the Penguins have posted on the road to the Stanley Cup final is bigger than any one of the stars.
And the most compelling storyline doesn't revolve around whether Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin is the world's best player, Marian Hossa's mission to exorcise his personal postseason demons, Ryan Malone's emergence as an honest-to-God hometown hockey hero, Jordan Staal's emergence as a teenage two-way terror, or the way Marc-Andre Fleury has resurrected his season.
No, the most intriguing characteristic about this team is its ability to play as a team.
Individuals still finish and flourish, but it's been a collective dedication to making hustle plays, smart plays and plays the system dictates that's made these Penguins complete.
PITTSBURGH - MAY 18: Ryan Malone #12 of the Pittsburgh Penguins gets past goaltender Martin Biron #43 and Randy Jones #6 of the Philadelphia Flyers to score a power-play goal at 2:30 in the first period giving the Penguins a 1-0 lead in game five of the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2008 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Mellon Arena on May 18, 2008 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Sunday's series-clinching, 6-0 blasting of Philadelphia was a classic example of what can happen when a team becomes as locked in as the Penguins have been since the playoff opener against Ottawa:
First goal: A deflection off Malone's skate, made possible by Crosby winning a faceoff and Malone going to the net.
Second goal: Malkin makes an instinctive and unselfish play by heading to the half-board in an attempt to intercept a wrap-around clearing attempt by Flyers goaltender Martin Biron, and eventually gets rewarded via an opportunity from the doorstep.
Third goal: A goal-scorer's goal off the stick of Hossa, but one that was made possible initially by a back-check from Crosby.
Fourth goal: A power-play goal in its simplest form. Sergei Gonchar getting the puck on net from the point and Malone creating traffic in front of Biron.
Fifth goal: Textbook dump-and-chase banging by forwards Max Talbot and Adam Hall on defensemen Rich Parent and Kimmo Timonen sets the table for Staal.
Sixth goal: Pascal Dupuis makes a simple, safe pass entering the Flyers' end and then heads to the net for a screen, bounce, deflection or rebound.
Six goals, and not one of them resulting from the type of individual brilliance demonstrated when Mario Lemieux went through defensemen Neil Wilkinson and Shawn Chambers and then undressed goaltender Jon Casey way back when.
Those Penguins became system-driven only when desperate and played defense only when necessary.
These Penguins are driven to play the system with desperation, and embrace each game with a defense-matters approach.
Three rounds into the playoffs, that's made for an almost unbeatable combination.
Mike Prisuta is a columnist for the Tribune-Review. He can be reached at mprisuta@tribweb.com or 412-320-7923.
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