Power play more like power outage

Sunday, June 01, 2008
By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



Peter Diana/Post-Gazette
A two-man advantage proves to be no advantage at all for Evgeni Malkin and the Penguins.

It's hard to be too critical of the Penguins this morning. They have given us such a wonderful playoff ride this spring. But that doesn't ease the sting of their 2-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings last night at Mellon Arena. They had a chance to make a real series of the Stanley Cup final but couldn't get it done in what likely was their final home game of a magical season.

After coming so close and failing in Game 4, it's almost impossible to imagine the Penguins extending the series tomorrow night by winning at Detroit's Joe Louis Arena, where they were beaten handily in the first two games, 4-0 and 3-0.

The Red Wings -- a terrific club in just about every way -- seem destined to lift Lord Stanley's Cup.

"Obviously, we're in a tough situation," Penguins winger Marian Hossa said. "But they still have to win one more game. We're going to make it really miserable for them."

That was the general theme in a disappointed Penguins dressing room. No one wanted to talk about having to win three consecutive games, two on the road. "We just have to win one," defenseman Brooks Orpik said. "If you worry about winning three games, it can get a little overwhelming."

A little?

Hey, there's no shame in losing to a great team, a better team. The Penguins didn't want to hear that, of course. They were buoyed by their 3-2 win in Game 3 Wednesday night and believed they could take down the Red Wings again at home where they had won 17 consecutive games. Who knows? If they could have turned it into a best-of-three series, the pressure might just have gotten to the Detroit bunch.

If ...

A goal by Detroit center Jiri Hudler at 2:26 of the third period went down as the winner. But that's not what beat the Penguins.

The Penguins' power play beat the Penguins.

Everybody is talking today about the 5-on-3 advantage the Penguins had for 1:26 midway through the third period, an advantage they thoroughly wasted. Detroit's Henrik Zetterberg -- of all players -- had the best scoring chance. The Penguins didn't even come close to getting a goal.

If Detroit does go on to win the Cup, that 86-second span will be remembered as the time when the series ended.

"In those situations, the pressure of the playoffs and the situation helps the penalty kill," Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. "The pressure makes it harder for them to execute."

Hossa seconded that motion.

"I think we played the 5-on-3 uptight," he said.

But it wasn't just that 5-on-3 that doomed the Penguins. Their power play went 1 for 6 in the game and is 2 for 17 for the series.

That's just not good enough for a unit loaded with world-class players.



Peter Diana/Post-Gazette
Detroit goalie Chris Osgood makes a save against Evgeni Malkin as he did so often last night in helping the Red Wings stifle the Penguins in Game 4 at Mellon Arena.

Much of the blame goes on Evgeni Malkin, who failed to get a point for the fourth consecutive game. No one is talking about him as the Conn Smythe Trophy winner or the best player in the world these days.

Malkin was fairly inconsolable after the game.

"Obviously, you guys put a lot of pressure on him," teammate and road roommate Max Talbot said. "I think he's feeling it."

"Nothing is happening for him," Penguins coach Michel Therrien said.

True, all true.

But the Penguins' power-play problems go deeper than just Malkin. "To be honest, I don't think anybody's really creating that much out there," said the captain, Sidney Crosby.

The Detroit penalty kill deserves a lot of credit for that. So does goaltender Chris Osgood, who was the best player on the ice last night if Zetterberg wasn't. Zetterberg appeared to be everywhere when the Penguins had the man advantage.

"They are good, but we still have to figure out a way to score against them," Hossa said.

One suggestion for Therrien for Game 5:

How about a little less power-play time for Gary Roberts? The fans love him, sure. He's a physical guy, an energy guy. But, at this stage of his career, he shouldn't get more time on the power play than Jordan Staal or even Petr Sykora, who also has had a rotten series.

Roberts had 3:48 on the power play last night. Staal had 1:12, Sykora 1:46.

That just doesn't make sense.

Ron Cook can be reached at rcook@post-gazette.com.
First published on June 1, 2008 at 12:00 am