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Saturday, June 6, 2009
Detroit's Jonathan Ericsson, the defenseman with 27 regular-season games and 15 postseason appearances on his NHL resume prior to the Stanley Cup Final, actually played it about as well as he could.
It didn't matter.
This was Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby flying into the Detroit end, 2-on-1.
Ericsson collapsed and blocked Malkin's first attempt at a cross-crease pass.
Malkin simply got the puck back and flipped it to its intended target all along -- Crosby.
Once Crosby finished with gusto, goaltender Chris Osgood had either lost his liquor license, didn't know whether to cry or wind his watch, or all of the above.
Sidney Crosby scores the winning goal over Chris Osgood from a pass from Evgeni Malkin during the second period action between Pittsburgh and Detorit in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final at the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh Thursday.Christopher Horner/Tribune-Review
What must Ericsson have been thinking at that particular juncture Thursday night at Mellon Arena?
What about Osgood, who's been around for 15 NHL seasons and likely still hadn't seen that fish before?
"I'm not going to speak for what they're thinking," Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said. "But if I was out there, I know I had games against great players, and it's going through your mind. It was going through my mind, 'Oh, goodness ... that's ... Mario Lemieux.'
"So, I'm sure if Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are coming down on a 2-on-1, if I was the defenseman, I'd be ... it's different than if Dan Bylsma and (Penguins assistant coach) Mike Yeo are coming down on you, 2-on-1."
It's been different for the Penguins this postseason, in those periodic instances when Crosby and Malkin are playing together, and especially when they're following each other over the boards.
It's been different since the Washington series.
Prior to that, there still were lingering questions about Malkin's consistency and competitiveness. Prior to that, Malkin still had played his best hockey when Crosby wasn't available, and he seemed content to play second fiddle to Sid.
Not anymore.
Malkin's still scoring goals, as he has been since his first day in the NHL. But now he's also making plays, taking the body and back-checking with relentless effectiveness. His game has become more complete.
And Crosby, prior to the Washington series, was still thought of as a guy who could do just about anything he wanted except score goals.
Not anymore.
Crosby has dedicated himself to scoring them like never before this postseason (did the showdown with Alex Ovechkin bring that out of him?) And his newfound lust for the back of the net hasn't been satisfied at the expense of any other facet of his all-world repertoire. His game has become more complete.
That's what the Red Wings are dealing with in this series, one that has been reduced to a best-of-three sprint to the finish.
This is what the Penguins envisioned back when they won the draft lottery for Crosby, a year after losing the draft lottery for Ovechkin and settling for Malkin as a consolation prize.
It's happened faster than anticipated.
But it's happened according to plan.
That 2-on-1 the other night against Ericsson was as symbolic along those lines as it was a devastating blow in Game 4.
"There were probably 20 different thoughts that went through (Ericsson's) head," said Phil Bourque, who played a little defense in his days with the Penguins. "One of them was probably, 'Oh crap, here comes Malkin and Crosby.' "
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