Benoit Pouliot #67 of the New York Rangers attempts to redirect an incoming shot on goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury #29 of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first period in Game Five of the Second Round of the 2014 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on May 9, 2014 at CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)
NEW YORK – When is a win more than just a mere win? When can one victory carry far greater significance, altering not only the course of a series but perhaps an organization?
The Penguins are soon to find out.
In Game 6 of their Eastern Conference semifinal, the Penguins will get the second of what could be three attempts at eliminating the New York Rangers. For the Penguins, who hold a 3-2 lead, it is crucial and that might be understating matters. This series is the demarcation between a successful season and abject failure. There is no middle ground here.
With a win, preferably Sunday at Madison Square Garden, the Penguins advance to the conference final for a second straight season. It would be just the third time in franchise history they would accomplish the feat and the first time since the halcyon days of 2008 and ‘09.
By almost any measure, that qualifies as a success and a victory for the status quo moving forward.
Lose this series, however, and the ramifications could be enormous for the Penguins from management down.
After four failed bids to recapture Stanley Cup glory, the Penguins had worked their way back into Pittsburgh’s good graces with a stirring, albeit tougher-than-necessary, first-round victory over Columbus. They followed that up with four straight solid performances against New York, playing sound, two-way playoff hockey — until Friday night’s uninspired 5-1 loss to the Rangers, that is.
Was Game 5 just a blip on the radar? Was Marc-Andre Fleury’s off night overdue given his workload in a condensed schedule or, worse, the sign of things to come?
For an organization — and its fan base – whose confidence has been both shaken and stirred over the last four years, the painful memories of Montreal, Tampa Bay, Philadelphia and Boston remain vivid.
If the Penguins were to lose this series and blow another 3-1 lead, as they did against Tampa Bay in 2011, and wholesale changes would almost certainly, and justifiably, be in order.
Could the Penguins bring Dan Bylsma back as coach after failing to close out a series on home ice for the fourth time or lose a possible Game 7 in Pittsburgh for a third?
Could the Penguins bring back Ray Shero as general manager after failing to provide Sidney Crosby, the best player in the world, with a more suitable linemate than Brian Gibbons or Lee Stempniak?
Could Fleury, no matter how good he’s been for all but two games this spring, return in goal next season after winning just one playoff round in five years?
One win over the next three nights puts all those fears to rest.
Getting that one win, however, won’t be easy. In an era where two 3-0 deficits have been eclipsed in the last five years, the Rangers’ 3-1 hole isn’t nearly as daunting.
How important does tonight’s Game 6 in New York become? Consider the Penguins’ track record in Game 7 at home. They are just 2-6 all-time, having not won there since 1995. In more recent years, they’ve lost winner-takes-all games at home against Montreal in 2010 and Tampa Bay the following year. Those losses came against Jaroslav Halak and Dwayne Roloson.
With respect to Messrs. Halak and Roloson, they are not Henrik Ludqvist.
The Rangers goalie and 2012 Vezina winner is no stranger to pressure situations. Lundqvist is 4-1 in five career Game 7s — including one just two weeks ago in the first round against Philadelphia — with a 1.00 GAA and a .963 save percentage with one shutout. Technically, the Penguins’ backs won’t be up against the wall tonight, but they might as well be. For all their regular-season success and fine play of late, it all goes for naught if they don’t emerge from this round.
No matter the opponent or the result in the conference final, against Boston in particular, only then can the Penguins’ season be judged a success. First, they must get there.
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