Mocking the Steelers' draft by position

By Scott Brown
http://espn.go.com/blog/pittsburgh-steelers
April 21, 2014

PITTSBURGH -- Mock drafts have, predictably, been all over the place as far as the Pittsburgh Steelers' first-round pick. Most, however, have them taking a wide receiver or a cornerback No. 15 overall, assuming they don’t try to trade down. 

I think those two positions are most likely the ones the Steelers will target with their first pick, though North Carolina tight end Eric Ebron could also be in play if he slides a little in the draft. 

Ebron

Ebron is the No. 1 player at one of the few positions that is not particularly deep, and he would give the Steelers a tall receiver while also filling a long-term need. I think Heath Miller has at least three good seasons left in him, but the Steelers have to plan for the post-Miller years at some point. 

If Ebron is still available when they make the first pick, I think they give him serious consideration, especially if a couple of cornerbacks are already off the board, as well as Texas A&M wide receiver Mike Evans. 

The Steelers have eight other picks in the draft, three of which are compensatory selections, including one at the end of the third round. They have a lot of needs -- or as general manager Kevin Colbert would frame it "wants" -- particularly on defense. 

Here is my projection of the positions they will address with their nine picks, which is contingent on the Steelers not adding extra ones through a trade. 

Cornerback (2): The Steelers could use immediate help here, and they don't have a long-term starter at cornerback after third-year man Cortez Allen. I would be surprised if they don't draft two cornerbacks, with one of them coming in the first three rounds. They drafted two cornerbacks in 2011, including Allen in the fourth round. 

Defensive line (2): The Steelers will draft a defensive lineman as early as the second round -- ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr. has them taking Notre Dame nose tackle Louis Nix III with their second pick in his latest mock draft -- and they need to take at least one end. The signing of Cam Thomas gives them a player with position flexibility, but the Steelers' need at defensive end is every bit as glaring as it is at cornerback. 

2014 NFL DRAFT

Round 1: May 8, 7 p.m. ET
Rounds 2-3: May 9
Rounds 4-7: May 10
Radio City Music Hall
New York City

Draft order | Draft home

---

•  Mel Kiper's Mock 4.0 
•  Todd McShay's Mock 4.0 
•  Gruden's QB Camp schedule
•  Draft Machine: Create your own mock
•  Mel Kiper's Big Board 
•  Todd McShay's Top 32 
•  NFL draft player rankings 
•  Rank 'Em: Rate the top prospects

Wide receiver (1): No position is deeper in the draft, and even if the Steelers don't address it in the first round, they can still get a good prospect later. The Steelers probably won't get a chance to draft Evans unless they trade up in the first round and Florida State's Kelvin Benjamin may be too much of a risk to take at No. 15. LSU's Odell Beckham Jr. has been linked to the Steelers in various mock drafts, and they could pull the trigger on him if they have him high on their board. 

Linebacker (1): The Steelers have to take a player who projects as an outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme given how thin they are at the position. It will be interesting to see what they will do if Alabama’s C.J. Mosley is still on the board at No. 15. Mosley, who projects as an inside linebacker, may be one of the most NFL-ready players in the draft. “He and (Lawrence) Timmons could be your (NaVorro) Bowman and (Patrick) Willis,” ESPN analyst and former NFL scout Matt Williamson said. If the Steelers take Mosley, they will also draft an outside linebacker later in the draft. 

Safety (1): The Steelers have hosted at least three safeties for pre-draft visits, including Louisville’s Calvin Pryor, a projected first-round pick. The signing of Mike Mitchell makes it unlikely the Steelers take a safety in the first round but it wouldn't hurt to add another younger player here. The question is whether it makes sense for them to draft a safety -- or instead sign a couple of undrafted free agents -- if they don’t take one in the second or third round. 

Offensive line (1): I don't see this as the need that others do. The Steelers got their upgrade up front when they hired Mike Munchak to coach the offensive line and he has plenty of material with which to work. All five starters return, including Pro Bowl center Maurkice Pouncey, who tore his ACL eight snaps into last season. And the Steelers have depth up front after re-signing Cody Wallace and Guy Whimper. The Steelers will probably take a lineman they can develop later in the draft, but I could also see them not drafting one for the second year in a row if they take two linebackers or a tight end. 

Running back (1): The Steelers need depth and they could use a speedster to complement Le'Veon Bell and LeGarrette Blount. The de-valuing of running backs allows the Steelers to wait until later in the draft to address the position and still get a good prospect. I don't see them taking a running back before the fifth round.

Fleury leads the comeback this time

By Andrew Chiappazzi 

Beaver County Times Sports Correspondent 

http://www.timesonline.com/sports/

April 22, 2014

Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury #29 of the Pittsburgh Penguins breaks the stick of Boone Jenner #38 of the Columbus Blue Jackets while blocking his shot during the third period in Game Three of the First Round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs on April 21, 2014 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Pittsburgh defeated Columbus 4-3. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/NHLI via Getty Images)

COLUMBUS – Athletes slip into catchphrases and clichés on a regular basis. It’s a habit of speaking frequently to the media while also trying to stay out of the doghouse for saying something wrong.

But a phrase that Marc-Andre Fleury has leaned on recently may be more of a psychological mantra designed to keep him sane than it is a cliché.

Following the Penguins’ 4-3 win over Columbus on Monday night, Fleury once again spoke of needing to move “onto the next one” after giving up difficult goals. From the end of the regular season and into this back-and-forth opening series, the Penguins’ goaltender has spoken repeatedly of the need to move on quickly from any pucks that slip, bounce or trickle past him.

That might be a sound approach, because while the Penguins now have a 2-1 edge in the series, Fleury’s job has been far from easy. Game 3 was a microcosm of Fleury’s life against Columbus.

Just 98 seconds into the game, with Columbus riding a wave of emotion in front of raucous home crowd, Boone Jenner grabbed a rebound off of a Jack Skille shot and walked in all alone on Fleury to give the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead. A mere 1:40 later, a breakdown in defensive zone coverage allowed Jack Johnson to shake free of the defense and again pounce on a puck in front of the net to put Columbus up 2-0.

The Penguins called a timeout to regroup. Fleury was a step ahead of them.

“You just forget about that one and the other one, then just stop the next one,” Fleury said. “It’s just one shot at a time and try to keep them in the game.”

Fleury was able to do that, even shrugging off another goal scored close to the net to open the third period. The Penguins were able to respond, and Fleury escaped with the win.

“I thought Marc-Andre Fleury was completely outstanding tonight. He made a lot of big saves to keep us in it,” Brandon Sutter said. “That game could have been 3-0 a couple of times.”

The challenge for Fleury is that he can expect to face a high number of close scoring chances the rest of the series. Out of Columbus’ 10 goals in the first three games, seven have come with a few feet of the net, either off of rebounds, deflections, or because of breakdowns. The other three came on odd-man rushes.

“I think our game is getting to the net and playing in the hard areas. We’ve done a good job to open up room for ourselves and play hard,” Columbus forward Matt Calvert said. “Ultimately it comes down to battling and the compete level in front of the net, and that’s something we pride ourselves on, winning those one-on-one battles.”

It’s also going to be an on-going point of emphasis for the Penguins. Every defensive pairing and line has been victimized at some point by Columbus’ presence in front of the cage.

They go to the net hard and they put pucks there,” Sutter said. “We have to respect that, but I thought we did a good job of responding.”

The Penguins will have to hope that the rest of the series is more like the final 45 minutes and not the first 15.

“We gave up two goals real quickly in this game and I thought after that point – I can’t give you a good estimation on how many scoring chances there were after that, but there’s not going to be a ton that we gave up,” Dan Bylsma said.

A fine finish, but much more needed

By Dejan Kovacevic 
http://triblive.com/sports/
Published: Monday, April 21, 2014, 11:24 p.m.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — “That cannon … wow, that thing is loud,” Marc-Andre Fleury was musing as he sat back in his stall Monday night, his smile as bright as the white pads he still hadn't peeled off after the Penguins' 4-3 victory over Columbus in Game 3 of their Stanley Cup playoff series. “I mean, it's really loud on the ice. I wonder what it sounds like to those people who are sitting close to it.”

The cannon in question, of course, is a fixture at Nationwide Arena, and it's blown off every time the Blue Jackets score. Which happened twice in the first four minutes, inconveniently enough at Fleury's end.

“Oh, my God,” he said. “Boom! Boom!”

Yeah, loud enough to wake up the dead, apparently.

Because from that point forth, Pittsburgh's curiously dormant hockey franchise began … well, trying.

“Not everything went our way, especially early on,” Lee Stempniak was saying. “But I thought, overall, this game was our best of the series in terms of raw effort.”

Effort.

“We pushed hard,” Sidney Crosby said. “I think we made a lot of things happen with our speed.”

Effort.

“We knew they'd come out hard, and they did,” Brandon Sutter said. “But we stayed the course and matched what they were doing.”

Meaning, again, effort.

It's striking and sad, really, that effort ever came up in these playoffs. But it most assuredly did, with the Penguins' players publicly bemoaning their own “push” and “desperation” in the Game 2 loss, and this after not exactly overtaxing the sweat glands in Game 1.

Game 3 was shaping up as an ugly sequel. If it wasn't the defense caving in on Boone Jenner's opening goal, it was Beau Bennett pretty much wishing Jack Johnson well on his way to scoring the second goal just 3:18 after the opening draw. What's more, the Blue Jackets kept taking every 50/50 puck, kept finishing every check, kept looking like their lives depended on the outcome.

The Penguins?

They got going. Eventually. And they did, as Sutter stated, stay the course. Even after Cam Atkinson's apparent dagger of a goal early in the third brought a 3-1 lead, Sutter, Stempniak and Jussi Jokinen struck three times in a two-minute, 13-second torrent.

“We did the same thing in the third that they did to us in the first,” Sutter said.

What's more, they did it with grit, finally getting into Sergei Bobrovsky's face. They did it with Fleury continuing to be the Penguins' best player. And yeah, they did it with their two stars rising up at least a little, Evgeni Malkin assisting on Jokinen's winner and drawing a late penalty and Crosby earning a second assist on Stempniak's goal. It was nothing spectacular for either, but it's a start.

That's true, really, of the whole game.

Or the whole effort, I should say.

The physical disparity remains a concern, with Columbus again registering a 2-to-1 edge in hits. The Penguins won't match the Blue Jackets in that category. They're not built that way. Still, the margin needs to be slashed, if only to set the tone for a longer Cup run.

The other concern: The power play was 0 for 6 and is 3 for 17 in the series. Don't kid yourself that it's all about skill over even those mind-numbing lateral passes. This is about effort, too.

“We have a lot of talented guys on the power play,” Paul Martin said. “But if you're not working hard and doing the right things, it doesn't matter.”

Translation: Go to the net.

Don't mean to douse things here. The Penguins had a critical and, in some ways, a quality W. But there still has to be more of a fire with this group. A passion. It can't be spoken. It can't be manufactured. It has to be real. And for that matter, it's got to be 60 minutes, not just “past the 45- or 50-minute mark” that coach Dan Bylsma noted.

I began bringing up effort with Brooks Orpik, whose pivotal goal at the end of the second was a just reward for relentless work, and he laughed as he cut me off.

“You know,” he said, “it's a question that shouldn't have to be answered this time of year.”

He's right. But suffice it to say there's a reason he proceeded.

“Look at that team, at their desperation,” Orpik said of the Blue Jackets. “It doesn't matter how much talent you have, you've got to at least match that desperation. It's a mentality. It's an attitude.”

It's a welcome sight.

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Power play anything but advantage for Penguins

By Mark Madden 

Special to The Beaver County Times 

http://www.timesonline.com/sports/

April 21, 2014

Matt Calvert #11 of the Columbus Blue Jackets celebrates his shorthanded goal with Jack Johnson #7 and Artem Anisimov #42 during the second period against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game Two of the First Round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Consol Energy Center on April 19, 2014 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Blue Jackets have taken home-ice advantage from the Penguins via, in part, an unusual formula: Commit penalties, then score shorthanded.

The Blue Jackets netted a shortie in each of the first two games. The Penguins have scored three power play goals, but that’s an inadequate edge. The Penguins’ power play (a putrid 1 for 8 in Saturday’s 4-3 overtime loss) too often looks disheveled, and the result is momentum too frequently handed to Columbus.

Matt Calvert’s second-period short-handed goal got the Jackets back into Saturday’s game by halving their deficit. The Penguins were never the same after.

The Penguins’ power play is improperly designed and overly complicated. True, it led the NHL with a 23.4 percent conversion rate. But that was during the regular season. The Penguins are paper champions, nothing better than a good regular-season team, and their power play is exemplary.

When you play the same team repeatedly and the opposition has spent hours dissecting what you do, complications are much easier to diagnose and disrupt. The Jackets clearly have the Penguins’ power play figured, and, as always, the Penguins’ frustration and immaturity takes a bad situation and makes it worse.

The Penguins pass cross-ice far too much and with insufficient penchant for putting the puck in a teammate’s wheelhouse for shots. They create too little traffic at the blue paint. They get inconsistent penetration with control.

The deployment of personnel is also a problem.

Evgeni Malkin should not play up top. That should be the simplest position on the power play. It's a reset point. Simple distribution. Simple shots. Remember Sergei Gonchar? Malkin’s style is too complicated, and he’s a defensive liability every time the foe counterattacks. That’s no knock on Malkin. He’s in the wrong spot.

Paul Martin must play up top. Martin personifies what’s required, and he’s good at gaining the zone with control.

The Penguins’ PP should be: Martin up top, Kris Letang or Matt Niskanen in the left circle, Malkin in the right circle, Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz down low. One right-handed shooter is a must.

That’s probably not what some of those involved prefer. Tough luck.

James Neal should be omitted. He had 11 power-play goals this season, a league-best 18 in 2011-12. But Neal isn’t playing well currently and isn’t part of the best power-play fit. Neal should be next choice if a forward falters or gets hurt.

The power play should attack off the rush more often. If space is available, don’t slow things down and set things up.

The power play should not force the puck to anyone. If you’re open, you get it.

The power play should shoot more often. Blast it from the circles. Everybody besides the shooter and Martin poaches around the net. Maximize traffic. Get more second opportunities. Don’t look for the perfect shot, because frustration abounds when it doesn’t come. Create momentum through zone time and pressure.

Do what the Flyers do: Grip it, rip it and crash.

At least one right-handed shooter is a must. Two defensemen are a must.

No one should embarrass themselves by citing what worked during the regular season. Over the past four playoff campaigns, the Penguins have proven how meaningless the regular season is. Playoff success requires a different level of grit, intelligence, flexibility and maturity.

The Penguins need to work on all that.

Letang is under fire after two straight bad games. But Letang is the Penguins’ best defenseman. Paul Coffey had the occasional nightmare, too. You’ve got to let Letang play through it. Give him confidence. Use him on the top power play.

The coaching staff’s treatment of Letang is exemplary of their style in general. With lesser talents, they nurture and cajole. With Letang, they just get mad.

Mark Madden hosts a radio show 3-6 p.m. weekdays on WXDX-FM (105.9).

Still waiting on Malkin, Crosby

By Dejan Kovacevic 
http://triblive.com/sports/
Published: Sunday, April 20, 2014, 10:03 p.m.

Sidney Crosby #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins moves the puck up ice in front of Artem Anisimov #42 of the Columbus Blue Jackets in Game Two of the First Round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Consol Energy Center on April 19, 2014 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/NHLI via Getty Images)

COLUMBUS, Ohio — I don't care, honestly, that Rob Scuderi has been reduced to a rusty turnstile. Or that Kris Letang is a botched assignment or bad penalty waiting to happen. Or that Craig Adams no longer can cover his quadrant on a penalty kill. Or that third- and fourth-liners keep taking stupid offensive-zone penalties. Or that Chris Kunitz and James Neal are looking up at a lot of third- and fourth-liners on the scoring list. Or even that Dan Bylsma braincramped after a strong start to his playoffs by getting greedy with a four-forward power play.

And I most definitely don't care about all the “desperation” and other intangible trivia Kunitz and Paul Martin brought up Sunday at the Penguins' media availability.

Because the cold fact is, as these Penguins brace on this Monday for Game 3 against the Columbus Blue Jackets in the most important NHL game played in Ohio since ... um, ever ... there always have been only three players in this era of Pittsburgh hockey who truly matter toward the broader cause of winning the Stanley Cup.

No. 1, and with a bullet on position alone, is Marc-Andre Fleury. And to his credit, he's been plenty good enough so far in this round. Never mind the seven goals on 79 shots. He almost singlehandedly kept Game 2 on life support. He was no less sharp in Game 1. There's legit cause to believe he at least has begun burying his playoff demons.

The other two, of course, are the best players in the world.

They really are the best, too. I believe that about Sidney Crosby now more than ever. And Evgeni Malkin has shared that rare air with Crosby more often than anyone else in the world over their shared time in the league. They're 1 and 1A, no questions asked.

Well, except this: How long until we again see their best when it counts?

Crosby has three assists through two games, which sounds fine except if one sees more than scoring summaries. He's been charged with six giveaways, or one fewer than the entire Columbus roster. He has registered six total shots, or one for every 10 shifts. He is dangling on the perimeter, aiming for across-the-box passes that wouldn't amount to much even if they connected, pretty much looking like … well, anyone else out there.

Todd Richards, the Blue Jackets' coach, was asked why he stopped shadowing Crosby with uber-pest Brandon Dubinsky early in Game 2. His response was as damning as it gets: “Once we got going, I saw the success of other guys against Crosby, and I didn't feel the need to chase the matchup.”

Ouch.

All of which would be fine if Crosby was just anyone else. Or these were just any other two games through Edmonton and Calgary. But he isn't, and they aren't.

Malkin has been no better. He's got two assists, two giveaways, nine shots and, generally, has looked nothing like “The Bully,” the nickname his teammates playfully apply when he's in a foul-mood-fueled hyperdrive.

If not now, then when?

Seriously, this isn't just about a couple of games:

• Neither Crosby nor Malkin has scored in the Penguins' past six playoff games. In that span, which is more like seven games when overtimes are weighed, they have combined for five assists.

• In playoff series in which the Penguins were eliminated since winning the Cup in 2009 — not including 2011, when Crosby and Malkin were hurt — Crosby had 13 points in 17 games, Malkin 11 points in 17 games.

• The most recent playoff game-winning goal for both came in 2010, Crosby against Ottawa and Malkin against Montreal.

• Crosby never has scored in a playoff OT and — get this — has one third-period goal in his past 30 playoff games!

Save any deeper analysis, please. The best players have to be the best players. Maybe not every game or even every series. But it's an absolute must for Cup contention.

Save the excuses, too. Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr, the two greatest players in franchise history, rose up to the biggest games. Those guys were shadowed, too. They were beaten up, too. And yet, they never were passengers while a Brandon Sutter or Matt Niskanen carried the load. But for the rarest of exceptions, they were front and center, stood their tallest.

Crosby was referring to the Penguins as a whole late Saturday when he said: “We've got to be better. That's really, I think, the bottom line.” But he might just as well have been speaking about the two at the top.

Beginning in Game 3, their participation no longer is optional, if it ever was.

Dejan Kovacevic is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at dkovacevic@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Dejan_Kovacevic.

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Penguins stick with it against Jackets

Down two goals against plucky Columbus, Pittsburgh's experience pays off

By Scott Burnside

http://espn.go.com/nhl

April 17, 2014

Marc-Andre Fleury #29 of the Pittsburgh Penguins makes a save in the third period against the Columbus Blue Jackets in Game One of the First Round of the 2014 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Consol Energy Center on April 16, 2014 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Penguins defeated the Blue Jackets 4-3. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Penguins spent the first half chasing Game 1 of the 2014 playoffs, conjuring up images of last spring's series loss to the Boston Bruins.

But the Penguins finally caught up to the game, and the result was a 4-3 victory over the plucky Columbus Blue Jackets.

Now it falls to a Columbus team that is new to the business of playoff hockey to ensure it doesn't end up chasing the entire series against the more talented, more experienced Penguins.

In spite of trailing 1-0 and 3-1, the Penguins rallied for the win on a hard Brandon Sutterwrist shot midway through the third period. It was the only time in the game the Penguins led, which is kind of how the playoffs work if you're good.

The victory ended the Penguins' four-game playoff losing streak dating back to last year's Eastern Conference final against the Bruins, when they were swept, scoring just two goals in a series loss that in some ways still hangs over this team.

For much of Wednesday's Eastern Conference quarterfinal opener, you wondered whether the streak would go to five.

The Blue Jackets used their speed and took advantage of Pittsburgh's miscues to score first, with Jack Johnson jumping into the play and putting home a nice Brandon Dubinskypass before the first period reached the midpoint.

After the Penguins knotted the game at 1-1, the Blue Jackets opened up a two-goal lead with a goal late in the first and another early in the second, a short-handed marker byDerek MacKenzie.

For a moment, all of the wondering about the Penguins' psyche, the questioning of whether they are still a Cup contender in spite of their talent and the thinking that they were missing some crucial part of their former championship DNA bubbled to the surface.

The sold-out Consol Energy Center was stunned into silence.

But that silence lasted less than a minute as Beau Bennett cut the deficit to 3-2 with a power-play goal and, less than a minute later, Matt Niskanen tied it at 3-3 with another man-advantage marker.

"It was good for everyone to stick with it," Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby said.

"It felt like we probably had more chances in the second half," he added. "I don't feel like [we] sat back at 3-3. I thought we generated some good chances.

"I think those two goals that quickly [to tie the game at 3-3] really allowed us to kind of get settled and really play the rest of the game the way we wanted to."

The storylines in this series have been clearly identified.

Where are the Penguins five years after winning the Stanley Cup in 2009? Is some sort of window closing on this talented squad?

On the other side of the ice, what kind of challenge can the Blue Jackets mount as they take part in in the playoffs for just the second time in franchise history with a largely inexperienced squad that included 11 players on Wednesday night taking part in their first NHL playoff game?

"They've [Penguins] been through this. That's a team that's won over there. They answered on their power play. Their power play's been good for them all year. It gave them life. It got them back in the hockey game," said former Penguin Mark Letestu, who was traded to Columbus in the fall of 2011.

"This is a learning experience. It's a good team -- you get a 3-1 lead in their building, get a power-play goal, a short-handed goal, that's got to give you some momentum. But [we] took two penalties and they capitalized. Again, that's a team that's won. They know what it takes. We'll probably learn from that," said Letestu, who scored the Blue Jackets' second goal, a man-advantage marker with 2:02 left in the first.

It is a fine line this Blue Jackets team walks now.

Their inexperience is what it is. They must work diligently to keep it from becoming a defining element in how this series is decided, or more to the point, they must guard against letting their lack of experience become a fallback position in explaining why things went wrong.

Coach Todd Richards acknowledged before Wednesday's game that there was an element of the unknown confronting his squad.

"I think there was a lot of anticipation of what's going to happen and what's the game going to be like, what's the atmosphere, what's the crowd, playing against a very good team, and sometimes that anticipation can be draining," Richards said.

"I'm hoping that we got our feet wet now, we know what to expect, we know what the environment's going to be like."

But Richards was quick to try to quash the notion that the Blue Jackets are merely here to take notes for a test that will be administered in the future.

"It is learning. But we're here to win. And that's the big thing. The learning is through the process, but we aren't here just to go to school. Our guys are competitive. I know that they believe. So we're here to win. The learning comes through the experiences, and that's what I take away from it. There's disappointment in losing, because we all come in here expecting win and it didn't happen," Richards said.

The Blue Jackets departed Pittsburgh for the short trip back home after Wednesday's game and will work out in Columbus before returning for Game 2 on Saturday night.

There is much to be pleased about.

They took their first lead in a playoff game.

They outhit the Penguins 48-27.

Dubinsky was a thorn in Crosby's side much of the night, and Boone Jenner seemed to get under Evgeni Malkin's skin a number of times.

But unless those elements can be built upon to come up with a way to be at least one goal better than Pittsburgh on Saturday, they will have little meaning.

"I don't think that they surprised us at all, so I'm not sure if we learned anything other than what we know already, which is they got a good team and they're going to make you pay for taking penalties and having turnovers," Dubinsky said.

"I thought our compete level was good. We've got to continue to build on it. The games are just going to get harder, they're going to get tougher, and we just got to be prepared for it. Like I said all year, I like our group, I like our character, our resilience. I know our guys will be prepared and ready on Saturday."

Bylsma's moves — yes, moves — pay off

By Dejan Kovacevic 
http://triblive.com/sports
Published: Thursday, April 17, 2014, 12:09 a.m.

Just imagine the field day the Philly headline writers would have had with it …

PENGUINS WIN ON CROSBY DIVE

Am I right?

Would have been hilarious, too.

Alas, one must conceive one's own drama when opening the Stanley Cup playoffs against the completely drama-free Columbus Blue Jackets, whose next postseason victory will still be their first after the home side held on, 4-3, Wednesday at Consol Energy Center. This opponent isn't much fun to beat, you know. And being extra candid here, it doesn't look to be any more of a threat to take this series now than 24 hours ago.

The Flyers they ain't.

And yet, there were the Penguins in the waning seconds, fighting off one last Columbus flurry with a Fleury of their own — Marc-Andre stopped all nine shots he faced in the third period and 31 pucks in all — when Sidney Crosby executed a virtuoso headfirst dive to poke a puck past Jack Johnson and safely beyond the blue line.

“We got it done,” the captain said.

Fun stuff. Not exactly a blast, but it did represent the first time that the now-standard, holding-their-breath Pittsburgh playoff crowd could exhale.

And that should tell you something: This all remains a work in progress.

“There were some areas I'd say we were happy with, especially coming back,” Dan Bylsma said. “But there are areas where we need to improve.”

Chief among them, as Bylsma noted, was the play of the first defensive forward back, known as F3 in team lingo. Lapses by the F3 led to most of the early breakdowns, even if the defensemen might have appeared responsible.

There also was a — wait for it — lack of discipline. Kris Letang's retaliatory slash brought one penalty, his offensive-zone interference another. He wasn't alone. Other players pushed back when they should have skated away.

And Bylsma never cited this, but there also was a failure at what had been the Penguins' much-discussed objective No. 1: Hit Johnson. In fact, Johnson was exactly the dynamo they'd feared, registering a goal, an assist and three jarring hits, one so potent — and clean — that it sent Craig Adams' stick flying almost as far as his body.

To rewind to the morning, this was the plan, as expressed by Tanner Glass: “Johnson's a big, physical guy. He logs a lot of minutes. Anytime you can hit him, it makes those minutes tougher.”

It hardly happened, and that's got to change. Wearing down the other team's best defenseman isn't optional.

That said, there also was much to like from this. Even from the most embattled of anyone on the Penguins' side entering this postseason.

Bylsma coached a good game.

There. Someone had to say it.

He removed Letang from the power play right after Letang's giveaway led to a short-handed goal — No. 58 had quite the evening, you'll gather — then took James Neal off a later power play to keep two defensemen at the points.

He didn't like what he saw of Crosby's line early, so he moved Beau Bennett to the third line and Brian Gibbons to the first. Bennett would set up Brandon Sutter's winner in the third period, and Gibbons “gave us more speed, more pressure that we were looking for with Sid's line,” Bylsma said. Crosby concurred.

Bylsma even tried to get Crosby away from Columbus checker — and on this night, cheap-shotting slew-footer — Brandon Dubinsky. Bylsma could have done even better in that regard, but he said the staff was “more concerned about the defensive pairing Sid would face,” and Crosby concurred there, too.

It all worked out.

And while there wasn't any strategic shift, even after Columbus had taken the 3-1 lead early in the second, there were points of emphasis relayed on the bench and in the locker room, most powerfully the one to simplify the game and get pucks deep.

“There were some things between the coaches and the leaders in the room,” Joe Vitale recalled. “They just talked about us needing to settle down.”

In the end, Bylsma shortened his bench and went with seven forwards, no matter how bad it might have looked that Bennett was limited to three shifts.

“We just went with guys that we, in that situation, wanted,” Bylsma offered unapologetically.

Yeah, that meant sitting Letang some more. He logged only 3:55 in the third.

None of that's revolutionary, of course, and it won't erase Bylsma's many playoffs in which he's been repeatedly, often embarrassingly, outmaneuvered.

But it's an encouraging start to what simply must be a transformative spring for this coach. Even if he's making moves that some won't like — and I can tell you I'm no fan of Gibbons on the top line — it's better than just taking up space on the bench while the other guy pushes all the buttons.

To reiterate, this will take time. That's only fair with a group that's been together for … what, just this game?

Evgeni Malkin had two assists, but his timing was a bit off. He'll be better.

Letang looked nothing like he had since returning from the stroke, so one can hope he'll be better, too.

Fleury conceded a couple point-blank goals and a breakaway, but otherwise looked like he might have broken away from some demons.

Rob Scuderi … well, there are other defensemen to take his place.

That's the beauty of being open to change, you know?

Dejan Kovacevic is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at dkovacevic@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Dejan_Kovacevic.

Read more: http://triblive.com/sports/dejankovacevic/dejancolumns/5946836-74/bylsma-crosby-letang#ixzz2z8R3nOcR 
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