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Pittsburgh's style and skill too much for Columbus |
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The Pittsburgh Penguins did what they had to do in order to end their first round series against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Their big trio of offensive stars all produced and Marc-Andre Fleury rebounded from two poor starts to put in his best game of the five game series.
The final score was 5-2 and the Blue Jackets did not go quietly. They mustered up 51 shots and Fleury stopped 49 of them. As the final moments dwindled down on the Blue Jackets season the Pittsburgh crowd showered Fleury with chants of his name to show their appreciation. It was a really nice moment for the long time Penguin in front of the home crowd. Fleury was appreciative
As far as I know Matt Murray hasn't begun skating yet to it is likely that Fleury will remain the starter for the next round. Fleury had three good games and two bad games in this series. They were cleanly split between home and away. Home was good and the road was bad. This is a season long trend.
Let's talk about Evgeni Malkin. After missing the last month of the regular season costing him a chance at the Art Ross and potentially the Hart Trophy he torched the Blue Jackets for 11 points in only five games. He leads the NHL in playoff points right now. He led the NHL in all situations points per 60 this year and he was fourth overall in 5v5 points per 60. He was the league's best generator of offense when he was on the ice this year. It hasn't been talked about enough.
Geno Machino has been activated.
Sidney Crosby and Phil Kessel have done their part as well. They are second and third overall in playoff scoring with eight and seven points respectively. The Penguins star players showed up to play in this series. Before the series I alluded to the Penguins star power being too much for Columbus to overcome and that prediction came to fruition, but not without a little bit of help.
Sergei Bobrovsky was BRUTAL. The man who is going to win the Vezina Trophy in about a month and a half was one of the worst performers in the playoffs. He needed to be one of the Blue Jackets best players and he ended up being their worst. I don't know how else to put it. He cost his team any chance they had to defeat the Penguins in a seven game series. His overall playoff numbers for his career are less than stellar. Although, I saw this last night and think this is a bit cruel for him
Poor guy has played one of the league's most dynamic offensive teams for 12 playoff games in a row.
Bryan Rust really loves elimination games
He's enjoying his time on a line with Geno and Phil.
Give this camera man a raise. Here is a really cool compilation showing just how close the Blue Jackets scored early in the game if not for the efforts of Olli Maatta
Here is how the series played out
This is a real departure from the way the Penguins went about things last year. I think because of the Penguins top end talent you can get away with that against the Blue Jackets, but what happens when the other team can match you in that high end talent? IE: Washington
Getting this series over in five games is important. It will allow their bodies to rest that includes players like Carl Hagelin and Chris Kunitz who should be available for duty when round two starts. This is a very important development if the Penguins are going to have a chance at advancing to yet another round. It is remarkable that Pittsburgh was able to get through a series with Columbus without any injuries during gameplay.
It wasn't for lack of trying from Columbus.
The final hit tally for the series:
Columbus: 197
PIT: 137
The one game Columbus won was the game they threw the least hits (27)
Columbus is on its way to being a great hockey market. They had to wait 14 years for their first playoff victory and 16 for their first playoff win in regulation. Their arena is in an awesome spot in downtown Columbus. The organization has one of the better prospect pools in the league along with Winnipeg and Minnesota. The best thing Columbus could do is embrace the style of hockey the Penguins play. The toughness and hitting mantra that John Tortorella brings only holds the team back. This team can take the next step in their development by going in a completely different direction. Certainly the fans of Columbus deserve that.
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The Buffalo Sabres cleaned house the other day and anytime a general manager is fired in this league you have to wonder about how Jason Botterill fits into the equation.
Another bullet dodged!
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The Chicago Blackhawks were swept in round one. It is the second year in a row where they have failed to win a playoff series. However, not everything is a negative about the situation. Jonathan Toews led the team until the bitter end. In one of his most poignant leadership moves of the season he waited until near the end of the third period to score his first playoff goal in two years. I find Toews' leadership strategy impressive. The selfless Blackhawks Captain led by sitting back and giving all of his other teammates the opportunity for glory. By scoring late it was a message to his team that he can still get it done when he wants, but he would rather share the glory. His patience should be applauded and should be taken as a sign of not wanting to showboat or show up his teammates. However, at some point you have to score to teach others a lesson and now the rest of the team will have all summer to ponder how they too can turn on the Jonathan Toews switch. These are things that can't be captured by statistics and are why his 10.5M contract is one of the best values in the league.
Thanks for reading!
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