A week ago at this time, when the Penguins were getting embarrassed (and embarrassing themselves) in Game 3 of their first round playoff matchup in Philadelphia against the Flyers and fell behind 3-0 in the best of seven series, I doubt anyone thought they'd be able to stay alive for another week.
However, after an impressive 10-3 showing in game 4, and an exciting 3-2 victory in game 5 in Pittsburgh Friday night, you could see the optimism growing in Penguins fans around town.
Unfortunately, the almost inevitable finally came to be today, as the Penguins had no more fight left and fell to the Flyers 5-1 in a lackluster showing in game 6 in Philadelphia. The Penguins have now been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the second straight season.
This might be dumb to say, but the Penguins were really rolling down the stretch and seemed to have the New York Rangers on the ropes for the top spot in both the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference. However, once Sidney Crosby officially returned full-time after dealing with his concussion problems for well over a year, things hit a bit of a snag.
It seemed to really hurt the chemistry of the team, and we know hockey players are all about chemistry.
With Crosby back in there, the line combinations changed, and so did the continuity and cohesion.
But what was Pens coach Dan Bylsma supposed to do? When you have the best player in the entire world on your team, you can't sit him down or put him on the 4th line. It's like not starting your best fantasy football player because he doesn't have a favorable matchup.
If Bylsma had decided to make Crosby a healthy scratch for the postseason, the only outcome that would have made that not look like a silly move would have been a Stanley Cup victory. Otherwise, people would have pointed to that as the reason the Pens fell short.
Now that the Penguins lost with Sidney Crosby in the lineup, idiot bloggers like me are writing about how the most talented player in the world screwed up the team's chemistry. I don't know how coaches live with us.
I digress.
The Penguins failure to claim the top seed in the Eastern conference meant that they had to go up against their heated rivals, the Flyers, in the first round of the playoffs. And the Flyers just plain had Pittsburgh's number this year. Philly beat the Pens four out of six times in the regular season (four out of the five that mattered), and everyone was a bit uneasy when the playoffs started.
As it turns out, they had a good reason to be nervous, as the Flyers were clearly the better team all throughout the series with the exception of game 4.
I know the Penguins got a tough first round match-up, but you know what? So did the Flyers. And the fact of the matter is the Pens were probably going to have to play the Flyers at some point. It just so happened to be in the first round.
With the Rangers facing elimination in the first round of the playoffs, the Flyers now look like the team to beat in the Eastern conference. And heck, even if New York somehow survives, I don't think anyone is going to prevent the Flyers from advancing to at least the Stanley Cup Finals.
As for the Penguins, after winning the Cup in '09, they're going home early for the third straight season.
There will undoubtedly now be calls for a major shake-up within the organization. Whether that means Bylsma gets the boot, or even gm Ray Shero, remains to be seen. But if I'm owner Mario Lemieux, and my roster include two of the best players in hockey, a third-line center who could be on the top line of a lot of other teams, and a top-end goalie, I'm going to want to see more out of the postseason than three straight early departures.
No comments:
Post a Comment