I said it and make no bones about it either. I still feel that the Pittsburgh Penguins have issues that need clarified and I'll point those out in a second, but the Pens are right now in a better position for a late season run in the Playoffs than they were last year and amazingly some of it has to do with the loss of 2 players and gaining 1 player. No, that 1 person isn't even Sidney Crosby.
What are those reasons that I speak of that make the Pens better contenders this season than last season? Well, let's start off with the very first..
1. No more Zbynek Michalek.
Either some are scratching their head at this one or are throwing nerf objects (hopefully) at their screens and not beating their phones to death. The truth of the matter is that Michalek struggled pretty badly in the Playoffs last year Defensively and for a good part of the Pens season. He never was that "shutdown" Defenseman that the Pittsburgh penguins had envision and the reason for that is either the scouts, Ray Shero or a combination of both made an error in signing him to begin with. Part of the process in bringing talent to a team is that they need to be able to fit into the style and system the team plays. just because a player is a good player on another team, it doesn't mean that they will be a good player for another. Certain players are better fits with certain systems and schemes.
Zbynek Michalek was this type of player. The Pens aggressive style of player needs the Defense to be quick and fast. They are extremely mobile and often pinch in the Offensive zone and sometimes, deep down low. You either need to back check in a hurry or you have to play damage control as a lone defenseman. Michalek seemed to struggle with this style and it was really evident against the Flyers. The Flyers speed made Michalek look slow.
Also, when you are playing opposite side someone like Kris Letang who gets involved Offensively, a lot, you need to be quick to cover on Defense while the Forward is moving into Letang's slot. The aggressive pinching Offensively of Letang or Martin seemed to be too much for Michalek's style.
What the Pens gained is a player in Simon Depres who has the mobility to play this style of Defense. If Despres isn't paired with Letang, then Matt Niskanen will be and he is an example of a player that is "Anti-Michalek". Giving them the benefit of the doubt, Niksanen is a player the scouts and Ray Shero plucked figuring he would be a great match for this system, because he has been. Excellent speed and quickness. Enough Offensive upside and steady enough defensively. He's who the Pens desperately keep wanting Ben Lovejoy to be and Ben Lovejoy will never..... never be.
We'll chalk this up as a Plus for the Pens Defense while they likely gain Offensively too (as if that was ever an issue)
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2. No More Jordan Staal.
Some of the women that read this will cry and then spew venom, but one of the big problems with the Pens in the Playoffs last year and in recent years has been the Penalty Kill. One of the big issues with the Penalty kill has been the Pens getting "Killed" taking draws in their own end and that is Jordan Staal's area. Last Regular Season, Staal was winning 94-115 draws shorthanded (44.9%). In the Playoffs he was just 8-15 (34.7%) in the playoffs taking draws while the rest of the team was 7-7 (50%). That's a 10% drop from a percentage that was already below average. Against good Power Plays and players that can win draws, this is a brutally hurtful statistic. I won't mention the 2010-11 Playoffs since a team without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin had little hope to begin with. Step back one more year to 2009-10 and Jordan Staal won just 31% of his Short Handed draws in the Playoffs while winning 44.3% in the Playoffs. He was just as bad in 2008-09 when the Pens won the cup except that Craig Adams and Max Talbot took more shorthanded draws and won just under 50% of them helping to make up the difference.
For the Pens to go deep, they need to improve their Special Teams in the Playoffs, mainly their Penalty Kill and 1 of the 2 best ways to do that is improve your Win Percentage on draws in your zone, hence why the Dan Bylsma is turning Sidney Crosby into a Penalty Killer. This isn't as much about needing to fill a spot and Crosby's ability to turn shorties. Evgeni Malkin was an excellent Penalty Killer in the KHL before he came to the Pens, so much so that his former coach Dave King questioned Michel Therrien and the Pens, why they weren't using Geno to kill penalties. If Evgeni Malkin can kill penalties and be potent scoring shorties, why not use him?
Faceoffs.
Sidney Crosby is much better at winning Faceoffs than Malkin. He's got that 1 bigger and more important factor that the Penalty Kill desperately needs. That's not all either. There's one more name..
Brand Sutter
The guy that is replacing Jordan Staal. He kills penalties. He won 49% of his Short Handed Faceoffs last year. Unfortunately, since the Carolina Hurricanes suck and have sucked since the Pens trashed them in the 2008-09 Eastern Conference Finals, I have no Playoff Stats for Brandon Sutter. However if he does drop off some, I can't see it being as bad as Staal did in the Playoffs, under the spotlight. Sutter is already a better Faceoff man than Staal.
3. Tomas Vokoun.
I will say it now and get it out of the way... Marc-Andre Fleury simply hasn't been as good of a goaltender as the Pens or anyone would need in the Playoffs. His Save Percentage has been .834, .891 and .890 the past 3 Post-Seasons. He needs to steal games, and be the difference maker. I have said it now for the past few seasons when I've written my Playoff preview that Marc-Andre Fleury is the most important player on this team when it comes to Playoffs. The team will go where he goes.
The Pens bought themselves Playoff insurance this year in Tomas Vokoun. Yes, the Pens needed a backup goalie, but they went out and got an experienced Vet who has put up impressive enough Regular Season statistics. Unfortunately, Vokoun has played on some rotten teams and has only seen the Playoffs twice but in those 2 times, he's posted Save Percentages of .939 and .902. When Nashville lost in 6 games in the 2003-04 Playoffs, it wasn't because of Tomas Vokoun's 2.02 GAA.
This signing IMO was Management showing less faith in Marc-Andre Fleury as a Playoff Goaltender. If Fleury struggles in the Playoffs this year like he did last year against the Flyers, there will be no hesitation to put in Vokoun. Fleury knows this too and the best Playoff performance he's ever had statistically was when Ty Conklin stepped in for 33 games in mid to late season and put up excellent numbers. He knew that the Pens would have no problem going to Conklin if they needed to. Making Marc-Andre look over his shoulder is a good thing.
The Pens are going to be a good Offensive team this year, possibly better than last year if health is on their side. The Pens have more than enough Offense to beat anyone in the Playoffs and the Playoffs is where all talk should be at. The Pens are good enough without Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin to make the Playoffs. Their issues have been Playoffs related and they addressed those concerns this Offseason directly or indirectly.
Get that Champagne ready, this Pens team looks to have it's best chance of a deep Playoff Run than it's had in years! Attached Images
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