Fleury, Penguins Start Off On Wrong Foot, er, Skate
I didn't get a chance to watch all of Game 1 of the Cup finals, so it was much to my surprise and amusement when I saw a quick clip of Marc-Andre Fleury taking a spill to lead the Pens onto the ice for warm-ups.
For a team built around an explosive offense, two consecutive shutouts is unacceptable. While they are a young team in uncharted waters, you would still expect something out of a team boasting arguably the scariest powerplay in the league and stars such as Hossa, Crosby, Malkin, and Fleury. They came into the series with a 12-2 postseason record, and return home with their loss column doubled.
But if you had to pick any team to face off against that vaunted attack, it would have to be the Detroit Red Wings. They are a veteran team all around, but that veteran emphasis can be found from the blue line back. They have what might be the oldest goaltending duo in finals history in Osgood and Hasek, and have a rugged defense anchored by veteran Chris Chelios, perennial Norris winner Nicklas Lidstrom, Brian Rafalski, and Brad Stuart. Add Niklas Kronwall and Brett Lebda, and you might have the deepest defensive lineup in the league. Throw in some solid two-way play by their forwards, and Detroit could sweep the series without allowing a goal.
Now Pittsburgh was supposed to beef up their already solid defense with the addition of Hal Gill, but they have been pretty porous so far. They're going to have to step up and give Marc-Andre Fleury a little help, especially considering the rough start he's had. Usually the Penguins can overcome that with their high scoring offense, but they've gone more than two straight games without scoring a goal. Hopefully home ice will give them a chance to right things.
After all, you're never in trouble until you lose at home.
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.ericmcerlain.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/8351
Comments
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in,
.
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)
11:50 PM