Wins Are Great
Superstars Are Great, Too
Don't Get Too Excited
And Other Thoughts
Superstars Are Great, Too
Don't Get Too Excited
And Other Thoughts
-Don't get me wrong, I love watching the Penguins win. I especially love watching the Penguins win on Hockey Night in Canada. But here's the thing. The Toronto Maple Leafs are not expected to be a good hockey team. The Toronto Maple Leafs are expected to "contend" for the top overall pick in the 2009 draft. As such, the Pittsburgh Penguins, the young, promising team that went to the Stanley Cup Finals last season, are supposed to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs. And to be perfectly blunt, the Pittsburgh Penguins--even sans their top two offensive defensemen in Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney and even with the offseason losses of wingers Hossa and Malone--are supposed to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs handily--you know, by a substantial margin. So, while it was a wonderful night for statistical milestones in Pittsburgh, and while it's reassuring to know the Penguins can still score on the power play, may no one delude themselves into thinking that the Penguins did anything wonderful or great tonight. The Pittsburgh Penguins merely did what a team with two of the top players in the world should do: beat a much less talented hockey team. The Penguins are going to need to continue to beat inferior opponents, and while they're at it, they're going to apply any lessons learned thus far in order to beat clubs far more talented than the Toronto Maple Leafs.
-Speaking of applying lessons learned, watching the Penguins power play sans Gonchar and Whitney has been, um, interesting, thus far this season. In fact, just watching the Penguins defense without Gonchar and Whitney has been, er, equally interesting.
But first to the power play...watching tonight, I was struck by a few things. I think it's good for Crosby and Malkin both to know how to play the point on the power play. I think it'll eventually be a useful skill for both of them, and perhaps something they'll get very, very good at, that can be used at certain times (recall that Mario Lemieux' career did include playing the point on the power play with much success). Even though the Penguins' power play was solid tonight (against an inferior opponent, when it should have been solid), I was struck by the pucks that Malkin didn't keep in the zone that Gonchar (or yes, even Whitney) generally keep in the zone, and keep in the zone with ease. Even for the best players, there is a learning curve. Malkin and Crosby are already at the top of the NHL as forwards, and their skillsets can be applied to manning the point on the power play. But neither Crosby or Malkin, at least not initially, is going to provide the same level of all-world power play point-man play we see in defensemen like Lidstrom. Numbers 87 and 71, as their statistics show, have got the talent--but now it's a matter of applying that talent in new situations. Which is just a long-winded way of saying: Crosby and Malkin are great, world-class players, but don't be shocked if, early this season, it takes some time for their all-world skill to manifest itself at an all-world level when they're manning the point on the power play.
Having noted that even a kid who's accumulated over 200 points in 161 NHL games is going to have a learning curve while manning the point on the power play for the first time, why not note that young offensive defensemen Alex Goligoski and Kris Letang are going to experience an even larger learning curve? Just like Paul Coffey (remember the Doctor swooned over Letang when visiting the Pittsburgh broadcasting booth last season), I love Letang's potential and style. And in tonight's game against Toronto, I saw the glimpses we'll see from time to time this season. I saw Letang rushing the puck confidently, I saw him hold the puck in, and I saw him knock down a Maple Leaf with a solid check. All of which, of course, I hope will one day become par for the course. But as Letang's current plus-minus rating might indicate, he is not yet at the stage where he's going to give you 24 to 25 minutes of solid, mistake-free play on a game-in, game-out basis. There are going to be lapses, there are going to be errors, and there's going to be the learning curve that comes when an inexperienced defenseman is "thrown to the wolves," so to speak, to get the experience he needs in order to improve. Goligoski and Letang both played less than 20 minutes tonight, and Goligoski, the rookie, has been a bit more protected (ice-time wise) than Letang thus far this season, but the bottom line is that Pittsburgh fans are watching two young, inexperienced defensemen....which, of course, is another long-winded way of saying: Don't expect Letang and Goligoski to replace Gonchar and Whitney. Don't expect them to do what Gonchar does, or even what Whitney does, at least not initially. Not because they may not one day be able to, but because reality dictates that just as Gonchar and Whitney needed NHL games to learn, so, too, will Letang and Goligoski.
-Oh, and my other thought about tonight's game, and about the Penguins in general? When you have two players as good as Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, well, you're just spoiled rotten, and you should expect to win games when you can dress two of the best players in all of hockey. I'm generally not a fan of Evgeni Malkin as Crosby's wing save for certain, special circumstances (Malkin, as last year proved, is a world-class center in his own right), and teams with only one line that is capable of generating scoring chances at even-strength may make the playoffs, but they generally are not built to advance in the playoffs. That said, the season is young, the Penguins in October (for better or worse, as the case may be) are not the same team they will be in January or in March--and the same goes for other NHL teams as well.
But just staring at the statistical milestones tonight, notating the points that two players have already put up, so quickly, is astonishing when you realize those two players play for your team and who, provided they stay healthy, are still at the nascent point of their careers. These players are going to score more goals, get more assists, learn how to play the point on the power play, and maybe Malkin's even going to get good at winning face-offs someday, too...but the point is, these players are already great. And as such, well, fretting about the state of the Pittsburgh Penguins seems a little overblown when both Crosby and Malkin are in the fold. Say what you will for the years of Mario Lemieux/Jaromir Jagr and what could have been/should have been, but those teams nearly always competed for division titles. The presence of world-class players in a lineup--especially two world-class players--means that talent can triumph against many opponents, and I'm looking forward to watching Crosby and Malkin do their shiny superstar thing this season.
-Oh, and while I already mentioned this in passing, it bears repeating, especially given that the playoff loss against the Red Wings probably still feels fresh. October hockey is not playoff hockey. Yes, a team needs to win the games and accumulate the points necessary to get into the postseason to compete for the Stanley Cup. But no hockey team in the autumn will be the same hockey team in the spring. For better or worse, injuries will occur, trades will happen, lines will be tweaked, etc., etc...the list is long.
Right now, it's interesting for me to ponder the blog post I wrote back in the spring of 2007, believing that sans a loss of Crosby, Malkin, or Fleury, the Penguins would be in the most trouble if Sergei Gonchar or Ryan Whitney were lost to injury. I find it interesting because both Gonchar and Whitney are out with injuries now, and no one can argue the Penguins don't miss those two players. The Penguins are a weaker team without Gonchar and Whitney--their power play is weaker, their power play options are weaker, ditto for the penalty kill, and while they still have depth on the NHL blueline, no one can argue that the defensemen who have assumed Gonchar and Whitney's minutes are as adept with outlet passes as are Gonchar and Whitney.
And yet what's interesting is what the Penguins know full well: They have to win games without Gonchar and Whitney. They have to rely on different players to win those games. And in order to win those games, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are going to take their turns at the point on the power plays on 5 on 3's, and we're going to wince more than a few times as Malkin gets comfortable at the point on the power play. We're going to wince way more often than that when we watch Goligoski and Letang get turned around or caught out of position or just not quite be able to do something that we've seen Gonchar do as a matter of course. And yet--the team in October won't be the same as the team in April.
Given last season, of course, I'm hopeful, but the season can go a ton of different ways, and the bottom line is the Penguins have to do what they did against Toronto tonight on a frequent basis against teams of a much higher caliber than the Maple Leafs. It should be a fun ride to see what they can do and how they do and who steps up to do it.
-Oh, and one last thought? Speaking of fun rides, the evolution of Marc-Andre Fleury from "kid with potential" to "goalie who makes the big save" and is congratulated on his postseason work by Martin Brodeur, that's just great. Here's to hoping Fleury continues his upward curve, and that a few of his teammates join him in creating upward curves of their own--to becoming peak players at their positions/within their roles, and in so doing, win lots of games...because, after all, winning is the name of the game. (And, yes, it's fun to beat any Canadian team on Hockey Night in Canada.)
-Speaking of applying lessons learned, watching the Penguins power play sans Gonchar and Whitney has been, um, interesting, thus far this season. In fact, just watching the Penguins defense without Gonchar and Whitney has been, er, equally interesting.
But first to the power play...watching tonight, I was struck by a few things. I think it's good for Crosby and Malkin both to know how to play the point on the power play. I think it'll eventually be a useful skill for both of them, and perhaps something they'll get very, very good at, that can be used at certain times (recall that Mario Lemieux' career did include playing the point on the power play with much success). Even though the Penguins' power play was solid tonight (against an inferior opponent, when it should have been solid), I was struck by the pucks that Malkin didn't keep in the zone that Gonchar (or yes, even Whitney) generally keep in the zone, and keep in the zone with ease. Even for the best players, there is a learning curve. Malkin and Crosby are already at the top of the NHL as forwards, and their skillsets can be applied to manning the point on the power play. But neither Crosby or Malkin, at least not initially, is going to provide the same level of all-world power play point-man play we see in defensemen like Lidstrom. Numbers 87 and 71, as their statistics show, have got the talent--but now it's a matter of applying that talent in new situations. Which is just a long-winded way of saying: Crosby and Malkin are great, world-class players, but don't be shocked if, early this season, it takes some time for their all-world skill to manifest itself at an all-world level when they're manning the point on the power play.
Having noted that even a kid who's accumulated over 200 points in 161 NHL games is going to have a learning curve while manning the point on the power play for the first time, why not note that young offensive defensemen Alex Goligoski and Kris Letang are going to experience an even larger learning curve? Just like Paul Coffey (remember the Doctor swooned over Letang when visiting the Pittsburgh broadcasting booth last season), I love Letang's potential and style. And in tonight's game against Toronto, I saw the glimpses we'll see from time to time this season. I saw Letang rushing the puck confidently, I saw him hold the puck in, and I saw him knock down a Maple Leaf with a solid check. All of which, of course, I hope will one day become par for the course. But as Letang's current plus-minus rating might indicate, he is not yet at the stage where he's going to give you 24 to 25 minutes of solid, mistake-free play on a game-in, game-out basis. There are going to be lapses, there are going to be errors, and there's going to be the learning curve that comes when an inexperienced defenseman is "thrown to the wolves," so to speak, to get the experience he needs in order to improve. Goligoski and Letang both played less than 20 minutes tonight, and Goligoski, the rookie, has been a bit more protected (ice-time wise) than Letang thus far this season, but the bottom line is that Pittsburgh fans are watching two young, inexperienced defensemen....which, of course, is another long-winded way of saying: Don't expect Letang and Goligoski to replace Gonchar and Whitney. Don't expect them to do what Gonchar does, or even what Whitney does, at least not initially. Not because they may not one day be able to, but because reality dictates that just as Gonchar and Whitney needed NHL games to learn, so, too, will Letang and Goligoski.
-Oh, and my other thought about tonight's game, and about the Penguins in general? When you have two players as good as Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, well, you're just spoiled rotten, and you should expect to win games when you can dress two of the best players in all of hockey. I'm generally not a fan of Evgeni Malkin as Crosby's wing save for certain, special circumstances (Malkin, as last year proved, is a world-class center in his own right), and teams with only one line that is capable of generating scoring chances at even-strength may make the playoffs, but they generally are not built to advance in the playoffs. That said, the season is young, the Penguins in October (for better or worse, as the case may be) are not the same team they will be in January or in March--and the same goes for other NHL teams as well.
But just staring at the statistical milestones tonight, notating the points that two players have already put up, so quickly, is astonishing when you realize those two players play for your team and who, provided they stay healthy, are still at the nascent point of their careers. These players are going to score more goals, get more assists, learn how to play the point on the power play, and maybe Malkin's even going to get good at winning face-offs someday, too...but the point is, these players are already great. And as such, well, fretting about the state of the Pittsburgh Penguins seems a little overblown when both Crosby and Malkin are in the fold. Say what you will for the years of Mario Lemieux/Jaromir Jagr and what could have been/should have been, but those teams nearly always competed for division titles. The presence of world-class players in a lineup--especially two world-class players--means that talent can triumph against many opponents, and I'm looking forward to watching Crosby and Malkin do their shiny superstar thing this season.
-Oh, and while I already mentioned this in passing, it bears repeating, especially given that the playoff loss against the Red Wings probably still feels fresh. October hockey is not playoff hockey. Yes, a team needs to win the games and accumulate the points necessary to get into the postseason to compete for the Stanley Cup. But no hockey team in the autumn will be the same hockey team in the spring. For better or worse, injuries will occur, trades will happen, lines will be tweaked, etc., etc...the list is long.
Right now, it's interesting for me to ponder the blog post I wrote back in the spring of 2007, believing that sans a loss of Crosby, Malkin, or Fleury, the Penguins would be in the most trouble if Sergei Gonchar or Ryan Whitney were lost to injury. I find it interesting because both Gonchar and Whitney are out with injuries now, and no one can argue the Penguins don't miss those two players. The Penguins are a weaker team without Gonchar and Whitney--their power play is weaker, their power play options are weaker, ditto for the penalty kill, and while they still have depth on the NHL blueline, no one can argue that the defensemen who have assumed Gonchar and Whitney's minutes are as adept with outlet passes as are Gonchar and Whitney.
And yet what's interesting is what the Penguins know full well: They have to win games without Gonchar and Whitney. They have to rely on different players to win those games. And in order to win those games, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are going to take their turns at the point on the power plays on 5 on 3's, and we're going to wince more than a few times as Malkin gets comfortable at the point on the power play. We're going to wince way more often than that when we watch Goligoski and Letang get turned around or caught out of position or just not quite be able to do something that we've seen Gonchar do as a matter of course. And yet--the team in October won't be the same as the team in April.
Given last season, of course, I'm hopeful, but the season can go a ton of different ways, and the bottom line is the Penguins have to do what they did against Toronto tonight on a frequent basis against teams of a much higher caliber than the Maple Leafs. It should be a fun ride to see what they can do and how they do and who steps up to do it.
-Oh, and one last thought? Speaking of fun rides, the evolution of Marc-Andre Fleury from "kid with potential" to "goalie who makes the big save" and is congratulated on his postseason work by Martin Brodeur, that's just great. Here's to hoping Fleury continues his upward curve, and that a few of his teammates join him in creating upward curves of their own--to becoming peak players at their positions/within their roles, and in so doing, win lots of games...because, after all, winning is the name of the game. (And, yes, it's fun to beat any Canadian team on Hockey Night in Canada.)
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