Fleury's play limits options

Thursday, April 23, 2009
By Gene Collier, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/

PHILADELPHIA - APRIL 21: Marc-Andre Fleury #29 of the Pittsburgh Penguins defends his net against the Philadelphia Flyers during Game Four of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal Round of the 2009 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Wachovia Center on April 21, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Penguins defeated the Flyers 3-1 to take a three games to one lead in the series. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

For the optional Penguins practice before tonight's Game 5, the options for characterizing the impact of Marc-Andre Fleury on these throbbing Eastern Conference quarterfinals were again constricted by the English language and, more suffocatingly, by hockey convention itself.
Here are just a couple of options: Reader's choice.

Is Fleury's brilliance in frustrating the snot out of the Flyers better described as a miracle of elastic athleticism, or a celebration of athletic elasticism, and shouldn't that second one be elasticity, as elasticism is more likely one of the thousands of ancient Eastern religions?

Happily, what Fleury did to the Flyers in a South Philadelphia cauldron called Game 4 -- stopping 34 shots in the final two periods, 16 of them on the power play, some via whirling, spinning, impossible reactions only he can imagine -- always emerges in the hockey glossary in one of only two spots.

Again, you have the option.

Was it a case where "he stood on his head?" Or was he simply "unconscious?"

For help with this option, you may refer to this rough transcript of our conversation yesterday, starting with your reliably annoying columnist.

"Can you stand on your head?"

Fleury: "I could try."

"No, I mean the way they always say about the goalie, 'He stood on his head.' "

Fleury: "I've never done it, but I've heard that a lot."

"Me too. But could you actually do it?"

Fleury: "Just my head? No."

"If you use your hands?"

Fleury: "Oh, sure."

"Could you do it with your equipment on?"

Fleury: "I've done cartwheels [in equipment], so yeah."

Sidney Crosby congratulates goalie Marc-Andre Fleury after the Penguins defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 3-1 in Game 4 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff game Tuesday, April 21, 2009, in Philadelphia. (AP)

There was no need to ask him about being unconscious, as we've all experienced some success with that tactic, but for me, in terms of goalie performance, I'll take one who's standing on his head any day. Unconscious goalies generally end up along the ice surface and are clearly vulnerable top shelf.

The only instance in which the Penguins goaltender was left vulnerable in Game 4 arose from the kinetic collision of teammate Brooks Orpik and Philadelphia's Joffrey Lupul, which occurred in Fleury's lap and left him in the back of the net like a dazed tuna.

"A couple times I was on my bum in the back of the net," Fleury said. "They were coming pretty hard. They had more power plays [eight] than you'd like, but our guys still battled hard in front of me."

True enough, but don't let the infallibly humble Fleury complicate anything for you. The 3-1 series lead these Penguins will smuggle into Game 5 would be fully inverted if it weren't for No. 29, the smiling netminder with the chocolate Tootsie Pop eyes and grifter's nerve. Students of Fleury's career, who have followed him long before he was the first player chosen in the 2003 draft, struggled yesterday with where to slide his Game 4 performance along the mantel of his career. Even with that, Fleury was glad to help.

"It wasn't overtime; it wasn't in the finals," Fleury said, preserving for his private rankings the night of June 2, 2008, when all he did was stop 55 Detroit shots to win the fifth-longest game in the history of the Stanley Cup final. "But it was a good feeling. I'm just very happy about it. It was such a tight game. It's always great to be able to win a game in Philly."

The object from Fleury's perspective is not to have to do it again Saturday afternoon, a prospect the Penguins will avoid if they can win tonight, when Fleury will presumably give them every opportunity. Again.

"That was definitely up there," Bill Guerin was saying yesterday about the goalkeeper's contribution to the Penguins' third win in this series. "You rely on everyone at one point or another in any playoff series, but last night was Flower's night. But that's what you need from your goalie sometimes in the playoffs."

You need it especially on those occasions when just about everyone else is getting outplayed certainly, but for the Penguins, that has only been the case in Games 2, 3 and 4. Shots in Tuesday night's last two periods were 34-13 in the Flyers' favor, and shots in the past two games, 77-55, on the same slant. It's a testament to the Penguins' resilience and playoff temperament that they were able to withstand the final eight minutes after the Flyers sliced their lead in half the other night, but to pretend they'd still be comfortably ahead in this series without an otherworldly performance by Fleury is delusion.

If things don't go Fleury's way tonight, don't count on seeing anything resembling the Martin Brodeur stick throw. He's not wired for it. He plays like a superstar and credits everyone else. Thanks his defensemen, goaltending coach Gilles Meloche, his father, the Zamboni driver, the nacho chef, the butcher, the baker ... yeah.

Any available option.

Gene Collier can be reached at gcollier@post-gazette.com. More articles by this author
First published on April 23, 2009 at 12:00 am

Crosby again shuts up Flyers, fans

Wednesday, April 22, 2009
By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/

PHILADELPHIA - APRIL 21: Sidney Crosby #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins celebrates his second period goal against the Philadelphia Flyers during Game Four of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal Round of the 2009 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Wachovia Center on April 21, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

PHILADELPHIA -- You have to feel for Philadelphia's kind, decent, mature hockey fans, don't you?

You know the ones I'm talking about. They don't seem to care all that much about the Flyers-Penguins games. They pay big money to get into the Wachovia Center for the sheer enjoyment of chanting "Crosby stinks!" or some such hospitable thing.

Really, what are those good people going to do to pass time during the long summer if the Penguins end the Flyers' season tomorrow night at Mellon Arena?

I'm sure your heart is breaking for 'em.

Or maybe not.

Maybe you're just too darned happy that the Penguins beat the Flyers, 3-1, last night in Game 4 of their in-state Stanley Cup playoff series. They have a three games to one lead and now have the chance to finish off the Flyers in Pittsburgh.

"It feels unbelievable walking out of this place with a win, playoff or regular season," defenseman Rob Scuderi said.

It sure seemed right that Sidney Crosby played a big part in spoiling the fun here and pushing the Flyers and their genteel fans hard toward the offseason. He had the all-important first goal, the result of simply charging hard to the net. Teammates Tyler Kennedy and Max Talbot added goals and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury made them stand up with 45 saves in an awesome performance.

Funny thing about those refined fans ...

Nary a peep was heard from them as they left the building and headed into the stormy Philadelphia night.

And Crosby? He had to be so high after shutting up nearly 20,000 of sports' most honorable fans that he didn't even need the Penguins' chartered flight to get back to Pittsburgh.

Or maybe not.

"It's just great to be able to steal one here," Crosby said, ever-stoic as always.

You might buy that story, that this win didn't mean more than any other. I'm not. Crosby's teammates weren't buying, either.

"It feels pretty good in my shoes walking out of here. I can only imagine how good it feels in Sid's shoes," Scuderi said.

"I'm sure Sid takes it personally," Talbot added. "He has to. They hate him here so much."

This isn't the first time Crosby has done this sort of thing. He has two goals and four assists in these four playoff games and had two goals and five helpers in the Penguins' five-game playoff smackdown of the Flyers last spring. In 26 regular-season games against the Flyers, the numbers are 20 goals and 26 assists.

Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, with his facemask at his feet after it was knocked off during a collision with Philadelphia Flyers left wing Darroll Powe, left, looks for the loose puck late in the third period in Game 4 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff game Tuesday, April 21, 2009, in Philadelphia. The Penguins won 3-1. (AP)

Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

That maybe the abuse really doesn't have much impact on Crosby?

"It's been going on for so long that I honestly don't hear it anymore. It's just crowd noise now," he said.

Only when pressed did he add, "It probably pushes me to sharpen my focus that much more."

Crosby's goal early in the second period was the product of nothing more than hard work. Teammate Matt Cooke, just out of the penalty box after serving an interference infraction, jumped on the puck and got it up ice to winger Chris Kunitz. His centering pass arrived at the Flyers' net at the same time Crosby was charging down the slot. He appeared to get a piece of the puck with his stick before carrying it into the net with his body.

Flyers goaltender Marty Biron had no chance.

"I thought it was a good goal all along," Crosby said. "I know I didn't get it with my skate."

You might imagine the pleasant crowd's reaction.

Yes, they chanted a little louder and with a little more venom.

"If 20,000 people spend all night chanting that you [stink], you must be pretty good," Scuderi said.

"That's the ultimate compliment, if you ask me. Rangers fans still are chanting [Denis] Potvin [stinks], and he's been retired for 20 years.
"All that means is that you're really, really good."

Obviously, Crosby is.

One day, the wise Philadelphia hockey fans will realize that.

Or maybe not.

Ron Cook can be reached at rcook@post-gazette.com. More articles by this author
First published on April 22, 2009 at 12:00 am

Penguins ruining 'rivalry' with Flyers

By Joe Starkey, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Wednesday, April 22, 2009

PHILADELPHIA - APRIL 21: Marc-Andre Fleury #29 of the Pittsburgh Penguins defends his net against the Philadelphia Flyers during Game Four of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal Round of the 2009 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Wachovia Center on April 21, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Penguins defeated the Flyers 3-1 to take a three games to one lead in the series. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

PHILADELPHIA — On the morning of Game 4, Daniel Briere wondered if this Penguins-Flyers thing might become a rite of spring, given the array of young talent on both teams.

Briere, a Flyers forward, went so far as to compare the matchup to the vicious Colorado-Detroit rivalry of 1996-2002.

"It seems like this is going like that," Briere said. "I started my career out West, and it seemed like those teams had to go through each other every year to have a chance at the Cup. This is probably going to be the same thing. Maybe you throw Washington into that mix with us and Pittsburgh."

Here's the problem with that concept: It can't be a true rivalry unless both teams do some winning — and the Penguins appear to have no intention of letting that happen.

A year after dispatching the Flyers in five games, they are on the precipice of doing so again after a 3-1 victory Tuesday night at Wachovia Center.

This was, indisputably, the Penguins' worst effort of the series, but goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury stole the game, making 45 saves on a night when his team was outshot, 46-25.

A fierce penalty-killing unit did its part, as well (Jordan Staal played 7:58 short-handed), snuffing all eight Flyers' power plays. Sidney Crosby, Tyler Kennedy and Max Talbot scored the goals. Talbot's was an empty-netter with 51.3 seconds left.

The outcome left the Flyers utterly befuddled.

"I think we deserved a better fate," said center Jeff Carter, whom Fleury stopped five times. "Their goalie won them that game; that's for sure."

The series shifts to Mellon Arena for Game 5 on Thursday, when the Penguins could capitalize on the precious chance to end a series early and thus preserve valuable energy resources.

Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby slides into the net with the puck past Philadelphia Flyers goalie Martin Biron and left wing Simon Gagne in the second period of Game 4 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff game Tuesday, April 21, 2009, in Philadelphia. (AP)

The Flyers' theme after a 6-3 victory in Game 3 was that they could easily be ahead and had improved each game. They thought they'd found a chink in Fleury's armor.

Not so.

Fleury made a half-dozen Grade-A saves in the second period alone, including four on hard one-timers from the slot and one on Arron Asham alone at the side of the net.

Philly's theme now is that if it just keeps playing this way, well, good things will happen.

"It's a deep hole, yes," said center Mike Richards, who saw Fleury somehow stop his one-time attempt on a third-period power play. "We also started the season 0-6 (0-3-3, technically). Pretty big hole there, too. I have confidence if we play like we did tonight, this series could be a long way from being over."

OK, but here's the thing: The Penguins have the better goaltender, and that is the most important position on the ice.

Crosby scored the game's first goal at 3:19 of the second period when he drove hard to the net and took a Chris Kunitz pass. The puck banked off Crosby's stick, then his body. That marked the first even-strength goal of the series for a Penguins player on the top two lines not named Evgeni Malkin.

Fleury continued his incredible play in the third period, turning back prime chance after prime chance before ex-Penguins farmhand Daniel Carcillo finally got the Flyers on the board — on their 39th shot — at 11:44, just as the crowd had begun to turn on its team.

Carcillo proceeded to implore the crowd as he sat on the bench.

"The building was shaking," said Penguins coach Dan Bylsma. "I'm confident it was shaking, literally. It was a moment where the momentum was with the Flyers."

Fleury held on, helping the Penguins improve to 7-2 in nine playoff games against the Flyers over the past year.

Sure, this has been a much more entertaining series than last year's. Much more intense, too. It won't end with a 6-0 humiliation, like last year's series did.

But unless the Flyers find a way to crack the code, it'll end at precisely the same point.

Five games.

What kind of rivalry is that?

Power-play success a downer

Monday, April 20, 2009
By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/penguins/


Tom Mihalek/Associated Press

The Flyers' Simon Gagne reacts after he scored a short-handed goal in the second period against the Penguins yesterday.

PHILADELPHIA -- So you couldn't believe that killer short-handed goal by the Philadelphia Flyers' Simon Gagne yesterday?

You should have been on the Penguins' bench. Disbelief doesn't even begin to describe the feeling there. One moment, the boys were watching their alleged dynamite power play in the Flyers' zone, looking for a tying goal midway through the second period. The next moment, they saw their goaltender, Marc-Andre Fleury, fishing the puck out of his net, Gagne's goal extending the Flyers' lead and sending them on their way to a series-saving 6-3 victory in Game 3 of the suddenly interesting in-state Stanley Cup hostilities.

"A downer," Penguins defenseman Rob Scuderi called the Gagne goal.
Also quite appropriate on this rotten afternoon at the Wachovia Center.

"Special teams were to their advantage tonight," Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said.

No!

Let's get something straight right here: The Penguins still are in fine shape, still have a two-games-to-one lead in the series, still have the better team with the better goaltender and still should turn out the lights on the Flyers' season in the next week.

But, really, would it hurt the power play to actually, you know, do something to help the cause?

It's not so much Gagne's short-handed goal that was troubling, although the timing couldn't have been much worse for the Penguins. That's going to happen occasionally against a penalty-kill as aggressive and dangerous as the Flyers' unit. They didn't lead the NHL with 16 short-handed goals during the season by accident.

Much harder to take was the Penguins' power play going 1 for 7, a goal by Evgeni Malkin coming midway through the third period after the game's outcome was all but decided. They managed just five shots on those seven chances.

That's awful.

Not to be critical.

"With all of our talent, we should be able to get two or three scoring chances every power play," said defenseman Kris Letang, who mans a point on the top unit.

Wouldn't you settle for even one at this point?

A bad trend is developing here: The Flyers keep taking foolish penalty after foolish penalty and the Penguins keep letting them get away with it.

Yes, Sidney Crosby made the Flyers pay for Arron Asham's hooking penalty early in the Penguins' 4-1 win in Game 1. But the power play shot blanks the rest of the way, wasting seven more opportunities, although two came in the final 19 seconds when the Flyers got really silly with their ridiculous mayhem.

It's also true Bill Guerin scored the overtime winner on the power play in the Penguins' 3-2 win in Game 2. But that was a gimme. Almost unbelievably, the Flyers' Mike Knuble and Claude Giroux took penalties within 30 seconds of each other to put their hockey club in a five-on-three jackpot.

The goals by Crosby and Guerin were wonderful, but they don't change the bottom line this morning: The Penguins' power play isn't living up to its world-class talent.

"Probably not today," Crosby acknowledged after the loss.

That was unfortunate because the series could be all but over. "We were right there five on five. We were aggressive. We were in their face all night," Letang said, disgustedly.

The good news is the Penguins' power play figures to get plenty more chances in Game 4 tomorrow night at Wachovia Center. The Flyers have taken a staggering 29 penalties for 85 minutes in the first three games.
Buoyed by their win and the effectiveness of their penalty-kill, they'll continue to take liberties without the slightest fear of repercussions. And why not? They know the referees can't call every infraction; if they did, the games would last five hours. And even if they do call a few, well, so what?

"They're a good penalty-kill, but that's no excuse," Crosby said. "We've got to take advantage of our chances. We've got to make them pay."

The Penguins could take a lesson from the Boston Bruins, who hold a 2-0 edge in their series against the Montreal Canadiens. Through the first two games of these playoffs, only the Canadiens were penalized more than the Flyers. The Bruins responded by scoring four power plays in nine chances.

That's how you end the foolishness.

That's how you win a series.

Ron Cook can be reached at rcook@post-gazette.com. More articles by this author
First published on April 20, 2009 at 12:00 am

Voices: Mazeroski's wall lands in foul territory at new PNC Park spot

Voices is an occasional column in which Post-Gazette reporters share what's on their minds.

Sunday, April 19, 2009
By Robert Dvorchak, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/pirates/


Peter Diana/Post-Gazette

Pirates fan Josh Barnhart stands in front of the Mazeroski wall on the River Walk at PNC Park.

With this year being the 100th anniversary of the opening of Forbes Field, the old ballyard still brings back memories.

It had crossed my mind that only in Pittsburgh would people remember something that's been gone almost four decades. But any baby boomer with an interest in baseball considered Forbes Field a special place, even if the steel beams obstructed the views and cigar smoke was one of the better aromas.

The House of Thrills, as The Gunner called it, had many moments. One of the greatest was Bill Mazeroski's home run sailing over Yogi Berra's head and the red brick wall at the 406-foot mark. If a coal miner's son with a different sounding last name could hit a home run to beat the Yankees in the 1960 World Series, why, all of us could dream.

When Forbes Field gave way to Three Rivers Stadium, the portion of the wall that the home run cleared was preserved and relocated to the Allegheny Club. After Three Rivers gave way to PNC Park, the wall was entangled not in ivy but in a messy bankruptcy. While lawyers dug in, the wall was moved to the SportsWorks of the Carnegie Science Center for display and storage.

Ownership ultimately reverted to the Pirates, and when a team is breaking historic ground with 16 consecutive losing seasons, any victory should be savored. So when the wall reappeared this year along the Riverwalk at PNC Park, it was time for a pilgrimage to this baseball shrine.

It can't be seen from the seating area, so more than one person passed by it without a second glance at the home opener. The Pirates plan to mount a plaque, but, for now, there is no sign explaining the significance of this red-brick wall 29 bricks high -- just over 6 feet.

The Pirates deserve credit for preserving it, but frankly, there are some circumstances best described as off the wall.

For one thing, the left field wall is now in right center. History can't be reversed, but instead of the wall facing home plate, the 406 mark looks out on the Allegheny River. So if you picture an imaginary batter's box, Maz would be sinking in water, which could stand as a metaphor for the past 16 seasons. If the monuments in Yankee Stadium had their backs to home plate, their fans would erupt in a New York minute.

There's more. The wall is adjacent to the All You Can Eat section. And the bricks are flanked by two blue doors -- the men's room on one side, the women's room on the other. Yep, the wall that witnessed the greatest moment in Pittsburgh sports history, as voted by the Dapper Dan, is sandwiched between two restrooms.

Herb Soltman of Green Tree, who coordinates the anniversary of the home run every Oct. 13 at another preserved section of the wall in Oakland, visited the Riverwalk on opening day.

"I'm glad they got it up," he said. "But my first impression? I guess if you need to use the restroom, just look for the 406 mark."

The next thing they put up at PNC Park should be a Wailing Wall.


Robert Dvorchak can be reached at bdvorchak@post-gazette.com.
First published on April 19, 2009 at 12:00 am

Monroe a power source

Sunday, April 19, 2009
By Gene Collier, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/pirates/


Peter Diana/Post-Gazette

Craig Monroe follows through on the second of his two three-run homers in yesterday's 10-0 rout of the Braves at PNC Park.

So wait, the Pirates slip below .500 on Thursday against the awful Houston Astros, possibly for good, but pop up with a winning record again 48 hours later in a baseball season already two weeks old?

Is that legal?

On an afternoon when John Russell's team lumber-companied the Atlanta Braves 10-0, mashing nine extra base hits and even drawing three intentional walks, it began to emerge that certain presumptions about the 2009 Pirates are at least subject to review.

It was a given that this team would pitch better, mostly because it was nearly impossible to pitch worse than it did a year ago, but the even more common analysis was that the Pirates were not going to score a ton of runs over the next six months, the evidence being all over Russell's lineup for yesterday's rare Saturday matinee with the Braves.

More than half the Pittsburgh batting order was hitting .211 or lower, evaporating any mystery over how the Pirates had managed to score three runs or fewer in six of their first 10 games. But the next 10 might be different. The next 151 might not produce the bleak offensive numbers in every forecast.

"Gritty," was the term Russell chose to describe his club's offensive potential for the long term. "We'll have games like [Friday night's 3-0 victory] where we'll have to pitch to win, but we have offensive capabilities. We can hit homers, but we don't rely on them. We'll have to pitch and play defensive to win, but we do have good hitters and I think we can score in many different ways."

It was instructive in a rather pointed way that while the Braves were cooling Nyjer Morgan down to .333, Craig Monroe used only his second start in right field to put on a thumping demonstration of what he can do for your offense given the right set of opportunities. Monroe launched twin three-run homers into the bullpen in the sixth and seventh innings for the first six-RBI performance around here in nearly three years, then took a richly appreciative curtain call from some 20,755 assembled.

"That was my welcome," Monroe beamed in the Pirates clubhouse. "I felt really good about that out there today."

He didn't feel very good last summer in Minnesota, where his at-bats were too infrequent for his tastes, and where his approach to hitting off the bench suffered as a result. He had only one hit in his first 10 at-bats as a Pirate, but those two bombs yesterday had to re-clarify what could be an issue for Russell. On a team that finished ninth in the National League in runs scored after losing reliable producers Jason Bay and Xavier Nady, Monroe might have too much bang for the Pirates' dugout.

With Eric Hinske coming off the bench with a double in the eighth yesterday, the people who might prefer a Hinske-Monroe platoon or a Moss-Monroe platoon at one of the corner outfield spots instead of Morgan have renewed commitment even as Morgan carries on with his stunning impersonation of Pete Rose at the top of this lineup.

In any event, the various offensive elements at Russell's disposal have outscored the opposition 51-33 through 11 games, 51 runs that project to 751 for the season, 16 more than last year and likely into the top half of the league.

"We don't pay too much attention to what people's impressions are about us," said Ryan Doumit, who celebrated his bobblehead day with three doubles that yanked his batting average from .211 to .262. "We have guys on this team who have produced, who can be major offensive forces."

Part of that identity, to whatever extent it applies, is the ability to drive pitches that deserve to be crushed, like the one freshly-called-up Atlanta starter Jo Jo Reyes threw to Monroe in the sixth, and the one reliever Buddy Carlyle served him in the seventh, both belt-high presentations that virtually screamed, "Maul me!"

"I got some pitches that I could drive," Monroe said. "And good for me that I didn't miss them."

Monroe can turn out to be good for the Pirates in a number of ways, as so far his presence in the clubhouse has been appreciated for his encouragement and perspective.

"I told these guys in the spring that in '03, I was on a [Detroit] team that lost 119 games, and three years later we were in the World Series," Monroe said.

"At some point, you have to start feeling different about yourself and go out there every day like you're going to win."

He didn't mention that he hit 28 homers for those 2006 Tigers, or that he might do something similar if presented the right opportunity. Can the Pirates afford not to give it to him?

Gene Collier can be reached at gcollier@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1283. More articles by this author
First published on April 19, 2009 at 12:00 am

Penguins get victory they truly deserved

Saturday, April 18, 2009
Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/penguins/


Matt Freed/Post-Gazette

Bill Guerin scores the winning goal against the Flyers in overtime.

More often than not, there is justice in the Stanley Cup playoffs. The teams in any series usually deserve what they get in each game. So it was for the Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers in Game 2 last night at Mellon Arena. The Penguins were the better team with the better goaltender. It only seemed right that they were rewarded with a 3-2 overtime win when Bill Guerin scored on a 5-on-3 power play to send Elvis out of the old building at precisely 10:23 p.m.

That puts the Penguins up in the series in a big way, two games to none, with the hostilities due to resume in Game 3 tomorrow afternoon in Philadelphia. Although it's too soon to write off the Flyers -- they aren't the same lame bunch that was badly overmatched against the Penguins in the playoffs last season without injured defensemen Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn -- there is no real reason to think they'll be able to climb back into the series. Desperate to avoid digging themselves that 0-2 hole, they took their best shot last night, and it wasn't quite good enough, even though they led, 2-1, with fewer than four minutes to play in regulation. That hurtful realization should hit them hard today, if it hasn't already.

Good luck dealing with that.

But the Flyers have a lot more to worry about than their emotional damage. To win four of five games against the Penguins in the days ahead, they're going to have to figure out a way to beat goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.

To repeat:

Good luck with that.

Going into the series, the consensus was that the Penguins had a significant edge in goal with Fleury over Flyers netminder Marty Biron. Two games in, that advantage is even more apparent.

Guerin got the richly deserved, loud ovation for getting the winning goal -- his second of the game -- and Evgeni Malkin was hailed as a hero when he scored the tying goal on a deflection off his right leg with 3:37 left in regulation, but Fleury was the real star. His spectacular saves -- three of 'em by my unofficial count against Jeff Carter, Arron Asham and Carter again -- allowed the Penguins to hang around long enough to win.

The best of Fleury's 38 stops was his second one robbing Carter with 8Â 1/2 minutes left in regulation and the Penguins down, 2-1. Carter -- a 46-goal man during the season -- pounced on a rebound and appeared to have an open net before Fleury somehow stuck out his right skate to deflect the shot wide.

A goal there and the series is tied, 1-1.


Peter Diana/Post-Gazette

Kris Letang, right, congratulates Bill Guerin's game winner.

"I happened to see that save looking up on the Jumbotron," Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said. "It looked like a for-sure goal. Somehow, he got his skate or his pad out there to stop it. It was a remarkable save and it kept the game within reach at that point."

Added equally impressed Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik, "It kind of reminded me of his toe save on the two-on-one against [Detroit's Mikael Samuelsson] in the finals last year. His feet are just so quick. He's able to come out of nowhere to stop the puck."

Everybody knows how huge it is to have a world-class goaltender at playoff time when the goals are so hard to come by. But Orpik put it into words as well as anyone ever has.

"You play a whole different style when your goaltender is making those saves. You play to make plays instead of playing not to make mistakes. You're just so confident that, if you do make a mistake, he's going to be there to bail you out."

Biron, for his part, just wasn't quite as good. That's why it would have been a crying shame if the Penguins had somehow lost, 2-1. It's not so much that Malkin and Sidney Crosby hit posts early in the game and that Ruslan Fedotenko nearly leaked in a second-period goal off Biron's glove. And it's not as if Biron can be blamed for Malkin's tying goal.

But Guerin's winner wasn't the best of goals from a goaltender's perspective, even though the Flyers were down two skaters because of a couple of undisciplined penalties by Mike Knuble and Claude Giroux during a 30-second span in the final three-plus minutes of overtime. Guerin took a pass from defenseman Sergei Gonchar to Biron's right and somehow beat him with a wrist shot to the short side, even though Biron appeared to square up against him.

A goaltender has to play the post in that spot, right?

While the Penguins celebrated a win, by rights, they had coming, the Flyers were left to talk a brave game before they headed into the night for their flight to Philadelphia.

"If nothing else, we showed we can play with these guys," coach John Stevens said.

Play with the Penguins, yes.

Beat them, no.

Ron Cook can be reached at rcook@post-gazette.com.
First published on April 18, 2009 at 12:00 am

Brawn, brains boost Pens

By Joe Starkey, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Thursday, April 16, 2009

PITTSBURGH - APRIL 15: Joffrey Lupul #15 of the Philadelphia Flyers is stood up by Hal Gill #2 of the Pittsburgh Penguins during the 2009 Eastern Conference quarterfinal game at Mellon Arena. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)


The "race to four," as Penguins coach Dan Bylsma termed this first-round series against the Philadelphia Flyers, started with a bang Wednesday night at Mellon Arena.

Fifteen seconds in, Chris Kunitz clipped Flyers defenseman Kimmo Timonen, who limped to the bench.

There would be a slew of big hits -- such as Brooks Orpik making Flyers winger Scott Hartnell eat glass near the end of the first period -- but the Penguins' 4-1 victory was as much about brains as it was about brawn.

Bylsma spoke early in the day about the need to manage the puck wisely. The Flyers jump on mistakes the way James Harrison jumps on quarterbacks, so it was incumbent upon the Penguins to stay away from the fancy stuff.

Drop passes near the opposing blue line? Bad.

Dumping the puck and torturing the Flyers' defense? Good.

Games of tic-tac-toe on the power play? Bad.

Crashing the net? Very, very good.

One stat leapt off the official scoresheet: The Penguins had only one giveaway.

Come to think of it, they looked an awful lot like the playoff Penguins of 2008, the way they grabbed an early lead and proceeded to stifle the Flyers and their talented forwards.

"I thought, for the most part, especially in the first period, we did a good job of going north with the puck, making their defense turn," Bylsma said. "When we didn't have something, we put it in behind them and got to the offensive zone.

"One of our goals was to set the tone for the game, and certainly after the first period, we had accomplished that."

Penguins defensemen pinched at just the right times to keep pucks in the Flyers' zone. On the rare occasion the Flyers' generated a chance off the rush, somebody was there to make a play. (OK, sometimes it was the goal post; he played well, too.)

Exhibit A: Mark Eaton diving to break up a 2-on-1 with 2:33 left in the first period.

Orpik blocked eight shots and dished out five hits.

PITTSBURGH - APRIL 15: Darroll Powe #36 of the Philadelphia Flyers is upended after Rob Scuderi #4 of the Pittsburgh Penguins hip checked him during the 2009 Eastern Conference quarterfinal game at Mellon Arena. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

The Flyers generated little sustained pressure and precious few second chances against a razor-sharp Marc-Andre Fleury.

At the other end, the Penguins were intent on crashing the crease from the get-go.

Kunitz was staking his space in front of Flyers goalie Martin Biron on a power play when Sidney Crosby swooped in to score the game's first goal, at 4:41 of the first period.

The puck hit the post, then banked off Biron's skate and across the line before the net became dislodged.

It said something about the Penguins' mind-set that the net again became dislodged four minutes later, when Jordan Staal - a beast all night - came barreling down the slot.

Bill Guerin was standing directly in front of Biron on Eaton's third-period goal, which made it 4-0.

"That's just part of playoff hockey, getting to the net and scoring ugly goals," Guerin said. "Those are big issues in playoff hockey."

If Staal wasn't the best player on the ice, Crosby was. The two combined to win 23 of 30 faceoffs, as the Penguins crushed the Flyers in that facet of the game, winning 64 percent of the draws.

The Penguins' power play wasn't brilliant, but the other guys get paid, too - and sometimes it's more about when you score a power-play goal than about how many you score.

Less than five minutes into the playoff opener qualifies as a pretty good time to score one.

Somebody asked Bylsma before the game about how he was approaching the first playoff series of his NHL coaching career, which still is only 26 games old.

First, he said, he doesn't view it as a best-of-seven but rather as a "race to four." When he was a player, Bylsma heard his coach in Anaheim, current Red Wings coach Mike Babcock, use that phrase.

"Best thing I ever heard about the playoffs," Bylsma said. "I said, 'That's one I'll use again.'"

The Penguins should be saying the same thing about their approach to Game 1.

Confident Fleury slams the door shut on Flyers

Thursday, April 16, 2009
By Gene Collier, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/


Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury makes a third-period save on a shot by Philadelphia Flyers' Jeff Carter (17) in a first-round NHL hockey playoff game in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, April 15, 2009. The Penguins won 4-1.(AP)


Even in the pregame antics for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals, fans were still reminded for their own safety that pucks may be propelled into the spectator area, but the standard Mellon Arena sellout might have been more at ease had the Penguins simply announced that no pucks could be propelled into the net behind Marc-Andre Fleury.

At least that was the reality until only 4:35 remained on the game clock, when Simon Gagne flicked in a meaningless rebound a few hours after the issue had been decided.

Fleury might not be the only difference between these similarly profiled teams, but he'll do until the playoff personalities of the Penguins and the Philadelphia Flyers are fully developed. Judging from the almost desultory nature of Game 1, we are a long way from that.

The National Hockey League, for official bookkeeping purposes, identifies this best-of-seven turnpike summit as "Series D."

Is that for desultory?

Probably not.

Do they know something we don't?

Not terribly likely.

But in a playoff game memorable for little except perhaps for tying the postseason record for Most Total Syllables in the Names of the Referees -- Mike Hasenfratz and Don VanMassenhoven -- the separation between the confidence levels of Fleury and the guy in the other net was totally decisive.

Fleury stopped 26 of the Flyers' 27 shots and was the image of total self-assuredness; Philadelphia's highly suspect Martin Biron projected little but imminent panic. When Mark Eaton's 50-foot floater somehow wound up in the Flyers' net halfway through the third period, the Penguins' audience had little recourse but to serenade Biron with rich chants of "Marrrty, Marrrty!"

PITTSBURGH - APRIL 15: Sidney Crosby #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins taps the puck past goaltender Martin Biron #43 of the Philadelphia Flyers on the power play during the 2009 Eastern Conference quarterfinal game at Mellon Arena on April 15, 2009 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

If Eaton's goal, the one that made it 4-0 Penguins, was a little on the soft side, the Evgeni Malkin goal right before it was a 12-pack of Charmin double rolls. Unable to control an errant pass at the right of his cage, Biron let the biscuit leak to Malkin not 10 feet in front of him, and the NHL's leading scorer swept it into the cage with an elegant, looping backhand.

Of course, the Flyers were already in plenty of trouble by the time the third period started, mostly because Sidney Crosby and Tyler Kennedy had lifted the Penguins into a 2-0 lead in the first 40 minutes. When the Flyers trail after two periods, they're 4-23.

"We were able to get to the offensive zone and play the game we wanted to play," said Penguins coach Dan Bylsma, explaining the rather stunning difference between last night and the last time the Flyers were here, a suffocating 3-1 Philadelphia victory. "In that game, they got a power-play goal to go up 1-0 and then another power-play goal. When you do that, you get comfortable in what you're doing, and we just didn't allow that tonight. We got the momentum and we kept it."

Philadelphia got something and kept it, too. The Flyers brought the same inexplicable indifference to the postseason that they spilled all over the ice in the regular season choke-off Sunday against the New York Rangers, the one that cost them home-ice advantage for this series and sent them over the Alleghenies in the first place.

"I think the intensity of the playoffs and this game [was supposed to] go up a little bit," said Flyers coach John Stevens. "I don't think we went with it, at least not early."

The Flyers, most directly, were not very physical, not very precise, not even all that organized. Most nights -- mid-April or mid-January -- that will get you beat, and the Penguins were happy to oblige.

"We're pretty happy with our performance," said Eaton, emphasizing "pretty," and then he did it again. "It was a pretty well-played game. All around it was solid. We just capitalized a couple more times than they did."

That was my impression as well. It was pretty much OK, but it wasn't anything close to pretty. If you'd walked into it from a coma in mid-January, you'd have thought only that the playoffs must be months away. In spite of all that, the Penguins lifted themselves into position to grab this thing by the lapels tomorrow night in Game 2.

PITTSBURGH - APRIL 15: Matt Carle #25, Mike Knuble #22 and goaltender Martin Biron #43, all of the Philadelphia Flyers, can only watch as Evgeni Malkin #71 of the Pittsburgh Penguins scores a goal in the third period during the 2009 Eastern Conference quarterfinal Game One at Mellon Arena.(Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

"It's still hard to say what will happen," said Fleury, who likely cost himself a shutout when his tripping penalty left the Penguins short-handed for Gagne's goal. "I felt good, but, in the second period, I didn't see many shots [six]. We know that they're going to come back hard."

We do?

What we know most urgently might be that Fleury is now 16-6 lifetime against Philadelphia, and that if he's going to play like this and Biron is going to play like that, then we're going to see a repeat of last spring's Eastern Conference semifinal, won by the Penguins in five games in which the Flyers managed nine goals.

That's unless something develops. Maybe that's what they mean by Series D.

Gene Collier can be reached at gcollier@post-gazette.com. More articles by this author
First published on April 16, 2009 at 12:00 am

Losing memories might be Pens' advantage

By Rob Rossi, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Marc-Andre Fleury (left) and Sidney Crosby open the NHL playoffs tonight at home against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Getty Images

In their BB — Before Bylsma — dark period, when the Penguins went 12-19-1 to fall into 10th place in the Eastern Conference, defenseman Rob Scuderi occasionally thought of his final collegiate season at Boston College.

"There were times when we weren't playing very good, but nobody got down because of our experience — so, there's something to be said for having it, absolutely," Scuderi said of that 2000-01 campaign, which Boston College capped with an NCAA title after losing championship games the previous two seasons.

"That experience was the biggest difference when we finally won. We had more guys that had been there, knew how to handle it and do the right things at crunch time."

Crunch time for the Penguins starts tonight at Mellon Arena, when they open a best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarterfinal playoff series against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Center Max Talbot described the Penguins' third consecutive Stanley Cup playoffs appearance as "a chance to prove a lot of people wrong."

See, before they played their first regular-season game in October — beforeearning 34 of 50 points to start the season, the two-month freefall that cost former coach Michel Therrien his job, and an 18-3-4 finish under interim coach Dan Bylsma — the Penguins already had been told they could not return to the Stanley Cup final, let alone win the franchise's third title.

Of the past 11 losing Cup finalists, only one won a playoff series the next season. No team has lost the final and followed with a Cup win since the 1984 Edmonton Oilers. After losing last year to the Detroit Red Wings, the Penguins will try to break that streak.

"Those are just facts people talk about a lot," Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury said. "Maybe we'll be the team that gets people talking about something else, something better.

"I think we're going to be better in the playoffs this year because we lost last year in the final. We saw what it takes to finish the job."

If realizing what it takes to morph from contender to champion is the final step a hockey team can take, the experience of losing with the Cup in clear view is a great advantage, New Jersey Devils goalie and three-time Cup winner Martin Brodeur said.

Brodeur's Devils wasted a 3-2 series lead in the 1994 East final, which the New York Rangers won with a double-overtime Game 7 goal. The Devils won the Stanley Cup the next season.

"I'm not saying it's important to lose to learn how to win, but you have to take some positives out of it," Brodeur said earlier this month. "Sometimes, you know, a team is just better than yours, and you have to learn how come they are.

"We were right there in 1994, and we couldn't get it done. When we came back the next year, we just knew what it would take to win the Cup. After you lose late in the playoffs, you just know how to win."

Penguins left wing Chris Kunitz believes a 2006 Western Conference final loss by his former club, the Anaheim Ducks, in which they lost three home games to eighth-seeded Edmonton, played a significant role in their 2007 Cup victory.

"We lost fairly handedly," Kunitz said. "It was humbling, and everybody on that team that came back thought a lot about it that offseason. There was this feeling and guys talked about it, 'God, we let one slip away from us.'

"After a while, the disappointment and heartache became full-blown hatred. I think that was the missing piece for us. You don't want to say we had to lose, but, really, we had to learn to hate losing in order to win it all."

Hate losing — yeah, Penguins center Jordan Staal knows exactly what Kunitz means.

"I still think about that Cup final, and it bugs me more every time that I do - it's almost impossible to describe," Staal said. "The part I can't shake is how quickly it just ended in Game 6. Just like that, our season was over, everybody's dream was done. That was when I realized why it's called sudden death, not sudden victory.

"In a way, though, I wonder if we needed to experience that kind of disappointment for us to be truly great. I guess we'll find out."


Heartbreak healing

Tales of clubs overcoming deflating playoff defeats to win the Stanley Cup are plentiful in recent NHL history:

2008 Red Wings

Previous season: Lost to Anaheim in a six-game Western final; dropped Games 2 and 5 at Detroit in OT

2007 Ducks

Previous season: Lost to Edmonton in five-game Western final; dropped Games 1, 3 and 5 at Anaheim

1999 Stars

Previous season: Lost to Detroit in six-game Western final; Stars had won President's Trophy

1997 Red Wings

Previous season: Lost to Colorado in six-game Western final; Red Wings had set league record with 131 points

1995 Devils

Previous season: Lost to Rangers in seven-game Eastern final; up, 3-2, Devils lost Game 6 at home

Source: 2009 Total Stanley Cup guide

Improved health elevates Sanchez's play

By Rob Biertempfel, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Wednesday, April 15, 2009

For the first time in a couple of years, Pirates second baseman Freddy Sanchez was healthy enough to throw himself into the start of the season.

Sanchez was hobbled by a sprained knee throughout spring training in 2007. Last spring, Sanchez had shoulder problems which lingered into the regular season.

So far this year, Sanchez is back to being his old self.

"I think (being healthy has) rejuvenated him a little bit," manager John Russell said.

Sanchez said his preparation this past offseason was key.

"I tried to get into the best shape I could," he said. "I got stronger. I came in with a new attitude, a clean slate. I'm trying to keep it going every day."

Sanchez went 3 for 5 with two runs scored in Monday's 7-0 home-opener victory over the Houston Astros. He had three doubles, one shy of the franchise's single-game record set in 1932 by Hall of Famer Paul Waner. He is tied with the New York Mets' Ryan Church with an NL-leading six doubles.

"Freddy looks like he's poised to go out and have a very good year," general manager Neal Huntington said. "He is an aggressive hitter. He can put bad balls in play very well. His pivot at second base has gotten better. He's moving better."

Through seven games, Sanchez is batting .375. His on-base plus slugging percentage is 1.031.

Through the first seven games last season, Sanchez was batting .208 with two RBI and had a .286 on-base percentage.

Sanchez was even more of a wreck in the field a year ago. With his shoulder still weak after offseason surgery, Sanchez could barely toss the ball to first base.

"There were things last year that I couldn't do, defensively," Sanchez said. "I felt like I had to field ground balls differently. I couldn't just go on reaction. It was always in the back of my mind: How's it going to feel when I throw?

"It's different now. I feel like I can go out there and make the plays that I know I should."

That was apparent during Sunday's game in Cincinnati, when Sanchez participated in two defensive gems.

In the sixth inning, the Reds had a runner at first base with one out. Ramon Hernandez hit a sharp grounder up the middle, which shortstop Jack Wilson speared.

Flat on his stomach, Wilson flipped the ball out of his glove to Sanchez.

"Freddy's very athletic, so I can kind of put the ball anywhere I want and know he'll get it," Wilson said.

Sanchez caught it, pivoted smoothly and went airborne to complete the double play.

"It's instinct and reaction," Sanchez said. "Jack made a great play. It all happened so quick."

In the eighth, the Reds had runners at first and second with none out. Edwin Encarnacion hit a blooper, which Wilson caught. That set off a 6-4-3 triple play: Wilson to Sanchez to first baseman Adam LaRoche.

"Freddy and I looked at each other like, 'Was there nobody out? Either we just looked like idiots and turned three when there already was one out or we just did something special,' " Wilson said. "It was special, so that's good. We didn't look like idiots."

Steelers see five prime-time games on slate

Open date is later than usual

Wednesday, April 15, 2009
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/

The Steelers of 2009 will get a heavy dose of prime-time exposure again as the NFL has scheduled them for the maximum of five night games for the third consecutive season.

The reigning Super Bowl champions will play three of those on the road, all after their Nov. 1 off week. It's their latest off week since they had off Nov. 11, 1990, the first season in which each team had one weekend off during the season.

The NFL released its entire schedule early last night.

As announced last month, the Steelers will kick off the 2009 season at 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 10, in Heinz Field against Tennessee, the traditional opener for the Super Bowl champion.

The NFL also gave them a small break by scheduling their game at Miami Jan. 3 rather than early in the season as the league has done so often in the past. Three of the Steelers' previous four games in Miami were played in September.

The league acceded to the request of the Baltimore Ravens and did not schedule them for a night game in Heinz Field. The Ravens complained that three of their past four regular-season games in Pittsburgh were at night (not counting the AFC title game in January, also at night), while the Steelers had not played a night game in Baltimore since 2003.

That changes this year. Baltimore will have a 1 p.m. kickoff Dec. 27 at Heinz Field while the Steelers play at 8:20 p.m. Nov. 29 at Baltimore. It is possible, however, that the Dec. 27 game could be moved to prime time because it is within the NFL late-season flex schedule.

The Steelers' 2009 schedule is a balanced one. Twice they have consecutive road games and twice they have two in a row at home.

Although they have those five night games, they have fewer late-afternoon games scheduled than they did last season. The Steelers had only two 1 p.m. games scheduled outside the flex schedule last season. This year, they have four. Only two games are scheduled for 4:15 p.m., one in Chicago and one at home.

Elsewhere

The Dallas Cowboys will open their new $1.1 billion stadium in a nationally televised Sunday night game against the New York Giants Sept. 20. The always-popular Cowboys lead all teams with six scheduled nationally televised games, even without Terrell Owens.

The NFC champion Arizona Cardinals, who were edged by the Steelers in the Super Bowl, are scheduled for three national TV prime-time games: Sept. 27 at home against Indianapolis; Oct. 25 at the Giants; and Dec. 14 at San Francisco.

On Oct. 11, the New England Patriots take on Denver and former offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, now the Broncos' coach. New England renews its rivalry with the Indianapolis Colts Nov. 15.

The first Monday night game features the Patriots -- in what they hope is Tom Brady's return -- against the Bills, in Owens' debut. Also that night, the Chargers are at Oakland as the league pays tribute to the American Football League, which would have been 50 years old in 2010. All four of those teams are original AFL franchises. New England also plays Tampa Bay in London on Oct. 25, with the Buccaneers as the host team.

Steelers' Harrison spins new deal into incentive to do better

Wednesday, April 15, 2009
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/


Matt Freed/Post-Gazette

James Harrison is optimistic he'll be a Steeler for the entire six years of his new $51.75 million contract.


The first time the Steelers signed James Harrison, they got him for a $5,000 signing bonus. Then they cut him, then cut him again, then cut him again.

Baltimore, another NFL team known for its great linebacker play, did not want to be outdone, so they too signed and cut him.

Yesterday, Harrison wore a dark brown suit that would have cut heavily into his first signing bonus. That's more like tip money for him now as the Steelers formally announced his six-year contract (he counts $6.2 million against their salary cap this year) that will pay him a signing bonus of $10 million, or 2,000 times his first as a pro.

And he intends to collect on the full $51,175,000 of the six-year contract, even though he will be 37 at its conclusion.

"I think I can play all six, maybe a little more," Harrison said.

And maybe play a little better, if that's possible. He made the Pro Bowl his first season as a starter at right outside linebacker in 2007. He was NFL defensive player of the year in '08 and was voted by his teammates as their MVP for a second consecutive year. Along the way, he set the team's sack record with 16, then turned in what has been called the best defensive play in Super Bowl history when he returned an interception 100 yards for the longest touchdown in the game's 43 years.

Bill Parise, his agent from the Beaver County township of Rochester, admitted that Harrison's play the past two seasons helped to offset his age. As Parise put it, "If you look at history ... the Steelers do not sign 30-year-old linebackers, certainly not to an unprecedented agreement. It was a major factor, and I think James' performance was the overshadowing criteria that helped us succeed."

The Steelers could have forced Harrison to play the final year of his old contract at $1.4 million, then made him the franchise player for 2010, keeping him until he turned 33. And it was not so much a reward for playing at such a high level for relatively low pay the past two years, but the Steelers' belief he can continue to do so.

"I don't feel like I have totally peaked," Harrison said. "I feel like I can get better at some things that I have seen on tape that I did last year that I feel I can do better this year."

Harrison has been driven in part by the rejections that began when he was not drafted out of Kent State in 2002 and signed with the Steelers as an undersized, 6-foot linebacker. That size now is seen as an asset as he gains leverage on taller tackles.

So, how will he perform now that he has what his agent termed the largest contract over five years of any NFL linebacker?

"There is not anything that I think I will approach differently," Harrison said. "I will just be a little more reckless on the field because I don't have to worry about too much anymore."

He smiled after that last tongue-in-cheek comment. It's hard to imagine Harrison playing the game in a more reckless manner.

"I want to make them proud and not let them down," he said of the Steelers. "I don't want them to feel like they gave me this money and now I'm going to go out and not perform. That is what is going to drive me."


NOTES -- Center Max Unger of Oregon, cornerback Vontae Davis of Illinois, defensive tackles Dorell Scott of Clemson and Sammie Lee Hill of Stillman, and guard Louis Vasquez of Texas Tech visited the Steelers yesterday as draft preparations continued.

Ed Bouchette can be reached at ebouchette@post-gazette.com.
First published on April 15, 2009 at 12:00 am

Gem from Duke adds to special day at PNC

Tuesday, April 14, 2009
By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/

Peter Diana/Post-Gazette

Zach Duke celebrates his complete-game shutout of the Astros on opening day at PNC Park yesterday.

You have no idea how meaningful Zach Duke's jewel of a start was yesterday at PNC Park. He didn't just pitch the Pirates to a 7-0 win against the Houston Astros with a complete-game, four-hitter that thrilled a big opening-day crowd on an afternoon when the home franchise had a beautiful ceremony honoring Pittsburgh's three fallen police heroes. He took a big step toward erasing one of the more dismal records in team history.

Do you believe that the forgettable Josh Fogg still is the winningest pitcher on the gorgeous North Side lawn, now in its ninth year of service?

With all of 20 victories?

Well, Duke inched closer by getting his 19th win at the park, matching teammate Paul Maholm for second place on the dubious list.

The way Duke and Maholm are pitching, Fogg should have plenty of company by sundown Sunday.

Maholm's two solid starts this season came as no surprise, but Duke's two?
Big surprise. The man looked like a batting-practice pitcher the past three seasons but looked like John Candelaria yesterday. You might remember it was Candy -- one of the great left-handers in Pirates history -- who threw the team's most recent home-opener shutout, 31 long years ago.

"You can tell it's all coming together for him," Pirates manager John Russell said of Duke, who will turn 26 on Sunday.

"A man on a mission," shortstop Jack Wilson added.

Sometimes, it's hard to decipher the excitable Wilson. It seemed like a good time to ask Duke for his interpretation of Wilson's observation.

"Jack's kind of been challenging me to not accept mediocrity," Duke said.
"He wants me to strive for perfection each time out. He's tired of losing, as we all are. He knows that winning starts with each of us looking in the mirror and doing our jobs better."

So Duke is.

He was very good Wednesday in St. Louis, pitching 61/3 strong innings to get a win that seemed especially significant considering he went 1-6, 2-5 and 1-11 on the road in the previous three seasons. Then, he was lights-out yesterday.

"In and out, up and down, kept 'em off balance all day," Wilson gushed.

The Astros' only hit in the first six innings was Miguel Tejada's first-inning double, which bounced off center fielder Nate McLouth's glove. There were three hits late, but you never felt as if the Astros were going to score.
Russell had no problem sending Duke back out for the ninth to finish his fourth complete game and third shutout.

"None," Duke said, obviously pleased with that show of support from the skipper.

Fourteen of the 27 outs Duke recorded were ground balls -- "That's when you know he's really on," Wilson said -- including his most impressive of the game. After the Pirates scored five times in the third inning to build a 6-0 lead, he went to 3-0 on the first guy he faced in the fourth, first baseman Lance Berkman. The last thing a pitcher wants to do there is walk someone.
But Duke came back to get Berkman -- the Astros' best hitter -- on a bouncer to second baseman Freddy Sanchez. It was the only time Berkman put the ball in play; he struck out three times.

No wonder the sellout crowd of 38,411 was chanting "Duuuuuke" in the late innings.

Lake Fong/Post-Gazette

Led by manager John Russell, Pirates players observe a moment of silence in memory of three fallen police officers during Opening Day ceremonies yesterday at PNC Park.


"A special day for the city," Duke said, referring mostly to the moving pregame ceremony for the three Pittsburgh policemen -- Eric Kelly, Stephen Mayhle and Paul Sciullo II -- who were killed in the line of duty April 4.

"To be able to win on a day like this, it's a great thing. To play as crisp, sharp and clean as we did in front of this kind of crowd ... I'm just glad people could see how we play. It's a good brand of baseball."

Especially the starting pitching.

This Duke start made it six good ones out of seven. The only bad one was Ian Snell's in St. Louis a week ago, and he bounced back with a nice performance in a tough 2-0 loss Sunday at Cincinnati. The Pirates probably deserve to be a little better than 4-3.

That must be some mirror in the clubhouse.

"Isn't it amazing how good we look when we pitch good?" Wilson asked.

The Pirates insist they aren't surprised, least of all by Duke's starts.

"He's a competitor," catcher Ryan Doumit said. "He has a little of that confidence, that cockiness, that you need. Look, we all know he's better than he's been the last two years."

Duke has been a lot better, actually.

So have the Pirates, so far.

There still are 155 games to go, but it's hard to imagine a better first week of the season.

Ron Cook can be reached at rcook@post-gazette.com. More articles by this author
First published on April 14, 2009 at 12:00 am

Pirates' start encouraging

By Joe Starkey, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Unlike the previous day, the Pirates did not record a triple play.

But there were some mighty rare sights Monday afternoon in a chilly home opener at PNC Park.

Among them:

• Bumper-to-bumper traffic before the 7-0 victory over the Houston Astros.

• A second consecutive Zach Duke win (not to mention a Zach Duke double, although, come to think of it, that is becoming a regular occurrence).

• A complete-game shutout in a home opener (hadn't happened since John Candelaria turned the trick 31 years earlier).

• A three-hit April game for Adam LaRoche (hadn't happened since 2006, when LaRoche played for the Atlanta Braves).

• Three doubles by the same player (Freddy Sanchez, who might have tied Paul Waner's 77-year-old team record if his drive to right-center hadn't been flagged down in the seventh).

• A resounding victory in a home opener (the Pirates had been outscored, 30-11, over their previous four).

On a day when Steelers linebacker James Harrison signed a contract worth more than the entire Pirates' payroll — $51.75 million for Harrison; $48.69 million for the Pirates — there were plenty of reasons for the 10th-largest crowd in PNC Park history (38,411) to feel good.

Let's start with Duke, who hadn't won back-to-back starts since June. His four-hit, five-strikeout masterpiece piggy-backed off an excellent spring and a victory over St. Louis five days earlier.

It also marked the Pirates' sixth quality start in seven games.

Duke is making people miss again. That element of his game had been missing for large chunks of the past three seasons.

"He's got bite on his slider, he's got bite on his curveball, and he's got really good arm action on his changeup," said catcher Ryan Doumit. "The guy's been phenomenal."

Astros slugger Lance Berkman could vouch for that. Berkman struck out three times, twice swinging. That included a first-inning whiff with one out and a man on second, when Duke got him to fish for a low, outside curveball.

Duke threw 119 pitches, a fairly high count, but said there was very little discussion of him coming out before the ninth.

"(Pitching coach) Joe (Kerrigan) just asked me how I felt," said Duke, who was inspired by an emotional pregame ceremony honoring Pittsburgh's three fallen policemen. "I said I felt good. That was the end of it."

Upon the final out, a ground ball to shortstop Jack Wilson, Duke pumped his fist and exchanged a hardy hug with Doumit.

"It was great, in front of a crowd like this, to have a good performance as a whole team, to play as crisply and sharply as we did," Duke said. "I'm just happy they can see the type of baseball we're playing. It's a good brand of baseball."

Asked to identify the difference he sees in Duke, who was 18-37 over the previous three seasons, manager John Russell said: "A sense of purpose."

For one thing, Duke appears to have taken a cue from staff ace Paul Maholm and improved his conditioning. His arm strength, obviously, is good.

A little offensive support never hurts, either.

The Pirates sent 10 men to the plate in a five-run third, highlighted by LaRoche's two-run homer. Leadoff man Nyjer Morgan — who has added a serious shot of athleticism/enthusiasm to the lineup - drove in two runs, as did Doumit, who delivered a two-run blast in the eighth.

Of course, it's hard to say whether this 4-3 start and all these encouraging signs represent legitimate hope or false hope.

But either one beats the heck out of no hope.

Steelers: James Harrison re-signs for six years

LB's contract worth $51 million

Tuesday, April 14, 2009
By Ed Bouchette and Colin Dunlap, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/


Peter Diana / Post-Gazette

James Harrison

The Steelers have signed linebacker James Harrison to a new contract that will pay him $51,175,000 over the next six years.

Harrison, the NFL's 2008 defensive player of the year, will receive $20 million in bonus money.

An official announcement will be made today at a news conference.

Harrison would have been going into the final year of a contract.

"We are quite happy, as you can imagine," said Bill Parise, Harrison's Beaver County-based agent.

"We are happy that James will remain in Pittsburgh, and this contract is certainly representative of a great marriage between a great franchise and a great football player."

Harrison, who will turn 31 May 4, has had quite a spike in his career since signing with the Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2002. He was cut a few times by the Steelers, briefly signed by the Baltimore Ravens and spent time in NFL Europe before settling in with the Steelers, becoming a regular contributor toward the end of the 2004 season.

In Super Bowl XLIII in February, Harrison turned in the longest play in Super Bowl history, returning an interception 100 yards for a touchdown on the final play of the first half in what would become a 27-23 victory against the Cardinals.

"The play in the Super Bowl just let other people, who might not see it all the time, realize what James Harrison has been doing all along since getting his chance," Parise said.

Ed Bouchette can be reached at ebouchette@post-gazette.com. Colin Dunlap can be reached at cdunlap@post-gazette.com.
First published on April 14, 2009 at 12:00 am


Harrison, Steelers agree to $51 million deal

By Scott Brown, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Tuesday, April 14, 2009

James Harrison, the only undrafted free agent ever to win the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award, broke new ground again Monday.

And the record contract he agreed to with the Steelers all but ensures that the All-Pro outside linebacker will finish his career in Pittsburgh.

The six-year deal could be worth as much as $51.175 million, and it includes $20 million in guaranteed money. It's the largest contract the Steelers have given to a defensive player.

Only the eight-year, $102 million deal that quarterback Ben Roethlisberger signed last March exceeds what Harrison got from the team that previously cut him three times.

The Steelers will officially announce the signing of Harrison at 3 p.m. today at news conference. The team had no comment Monday.

"James is very pleased," said Bill Parise, Harrison's agent. "He had made it very clear to me that he wanted to be a Pittsburgh Steeler. I think he's a little relieved that that's going to be taken care of."

Harrison had been entering into the final year of a four-year contract he signed in 2006. Locking him up with a long-term deal was the Steelers' top offseason priority.

Parise and the Steelers started talking less than a week after the Steelers won the Super Bowl on Feb. 1.

The two sides made a major breakthrough late last week and finalized the contract yesterday morning.

The possibility of the NFL going to an uncapped year after 2009 made putting a deal together for Harrison "terribly difficult," Parise said.

One clause that would be triggered in the event that the salary cap is scrapped: base salaries can't exceed by more than 30 percent the salary of the first year of the contract.

If that limited how creative the Steelers and Parise could be in working out a new deal, it also, in part, explains why it took more than three months for the two sides to reach an agreement.

"The Steelers and I have a great relationship, and I think that helped us grind our way through," Parise said. "We never got to the point of frustration with one another."

Parise says he believes Harrison's deal is the most lucrative in NFL history for a linebacker. It is similar to the six-year, $48 million deal that outside linebacker Bart Scott signed with the New York Jets at the end of February.

The Steelers previously acknowledged that Harrison outplayed the $5.5 million deal he signed with the team in April 2006.

Since taking over for Joey Porter at right outside linebacker in 2007, Harrison has made consecutive Pro Bowls. In 2008, he set the Steelers' single-season record with 16 sacks and was honored as the NFL's premier defensive player.

He capped his season with one of the most memorable plays in Super Bowl history, not to mention one that loomed large in the Steelers' 27-23 win over the Arizona Cardinals.

On the final play of the first half, Harrison returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown. It's the longest play in Super Bowl history.

Harrison, who didn't stick with the Steelers for good until 2004, turns 31 at the beginning of next month.

Steelers director of football operations Kevin Colbert has said the 6-foot, 242-pounder's age isn't a concern because Harrison still is relatively young, given that he's been a starter in the NFL for only two seasons.

Harrison's deal should allow him to finish his career where it started.

"That was one of our goals," Parise said. "James is extremely happy about it."

Note: The NFL will release the 2009 regular-season schedule at 7 tonight on the NFL Network. Steelers wide receiver Santonio Holmes will be among those appearing on an ESPN special that analyzes the schedule. The three-hour special will air from 7-8 p.m. on ESPN2 and from 8-10 p.m. on ESPN.


Taking care of their own

James Harrison became the latest Steelers player to snag on a big contract. The outside linebacker's six-year deal could be worth as much as $51.171 million, including $20 million in guaranteed money. Here's a look at some recent contracts signed by Steelers players:

Ben Roethlisberger, QB, March 2008: Eight-year, $102 million, includes $36 million in guaranteed money.

Troy Polamalu, S, July 2007: Five-year, $33 million, includes $15 million in guaranteed money.

Aaron Smith, DE, February 2007: Five-year, $25 million, includes at least $8 million in guaranteed money.

Malkin's goal now is to down the Flyers

Monday, April 13, 2009
By Dave Molinari, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/

Paul Chiasson/AP

Evgeni Malkin -- Back-to-back 100-point seasons

Evgeni Malkin knows all about those banners that were raised at Mellon Arena before the start of this season.

Especially the one that lists the 12 NHL scoring championships the Penguins had won.

"Every game, I see it," Malkin said.

And now, he'll be on it -- or some reconfigured version of it, anyway -- joining Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr and Sidney Crosby. Those four have combined to win 13 of the past 21 league scoring titles, including the one Malkin locked up with 113 points in 2008-09.

"It's a special accomplishment, and well-deserved," Crosby said. "He had an unbelievable year."

Point No. 113 was the Penguins' first goal in their 3-1 victory at Montreal in the regular-season finale Saturday, and Malkin's achievement enhanced the satisfaction and sense of accomplishment his teammates felt after going 18-3-4 in their final 25 games to surge from 10th place in the Eastern Conference to fourth. "It's something that's been in the back of all of our minds," Penguins interim coach Dan Bylsma said. "Maybe in the front of [Malkin's] mind for a while."

Although Lemieux and Jagr combined to win 11 of those 13 Art Ross trophies, Malkin and Crosby have a distinction unmatched in league history: They make the Penguins the first club to have two scoring champions under the age of 23 on its roster at the same time.

Whether the Penguins can again dominate the scoring race the way they did when Lemieux and Jagr were in their primes is hard to predict -- guys such as Alex Ovechkin and Zach Parise, among others, should turn up in the mix pretty often, too -- but it's not a reach to suggest that Malkin and Crosby might battle each other for the Ross every winter for another decade or so.

"I don't think you want to think about it a whole lot, but if that works out, that's great," Crosby said. "That means we're able to produce and help the team, and there's nothing wrong with that."

Malkin deflected -- or, perhaps, simply didn't understand -- a question about whether winning the Ross had been one of his personal objectives entering this season, but if it was, he didn't share it with his teammates. Including the one with whom he is closest.

"We never talked about it," defenseman Sergei Gonchar said. "He never told me, 'This is my goal.'

"I don't think he's a guy who aims for those records. He's a guy who enjoys the game and tries to be effective."

Malkin made a serious run at the Ross in 2007-08, but lost out to Ovechkin by six points. Even so, the way he ratcheted up his game when Crosby was out with a high ankle sprain helped lay the foundation for what he did this season.

"He got a lot of confidence when Sid got hurt last year," said Petr Sykora, a fixture on Malkin's right side. "He was the guy, and he almost won it last year."

Sykora believes Malkin and Crosby will be on the short list of Ross contenders for years to come.

"He can get better, Sid can get better," he said. "Both of those guys each year can be [at] 120, 130 points. That's how good they are."

Gonchar agreed that Malkin still can elevate his game, and said that will be reflected in greater consistency.

"You can see him [now] play unbelievably for a stretch, then he might play well, but not as great," Gonchar said.

"When you look at him, compared to other guys, he's still a kid. When he matures physically, he'll bring himself to that level on an every-night basis."

For now, however, the Penguins are focused on their first-round playoff series against Philadelphia, and their chances of surviving that best-of-seven will improve significantly if Malkin is at his best.

His career stat sheet against the Flyers -- 13 goals and 18 assists in 21 regular-season games -- suggests that isn't too much to expect, even though he was largely ineffective in the 2008 Eastern final after absorbing a crushing check from Philadelphia center Mike Richards.

"The team's ready, and I'm ready," Malkin said. "Everybody's playing good now."

Dave Molinari can be reached at dmolinari@post-gazette.com.
First published on April 13, 2009 at 12:00 am