KK Sponsors - Fathead | IceJerseys.com | Shop.NHL.com

LOGIN | REGISTER | RSS FEEDS

The Confluence

Next entry: Gonchar practices with Penguins today

Previous entry: FSN Pittsburgh earns its highest ratings ever during Game Five victory

Capitals force Game Seven:  Don’t count out the Penguins just yet

by Tony on 05/12/09 at 11:27 AM ET
Comments (5)

I imagine that it’s appropriate that the Penguins and Capitals will now head back to Washington for Game Seven Wednesday night.  This series has been so close, you can easily imagine yet another close one tomorrow night to determine the series winner.

Conventional thinking gives the Capitals, with their home-ice and home crowd, a distinct advantage over the Penguins.  It certainly may turn out that way, considering how high-strung the Caps’ offense is.  If the Penguins’ defense aren’t disciplined, I could see the Caps running and gunning their way to an uncharacteristic blowout.

But I’ve always liked the visitors’ chances in games like these.  Let me explain;

Back in my early blogging days, early in 2006, when I blogged for both the Steelers and Penguins, the Steelers could only muster the #6 seed going into the NFL Playoffs.  If the Steelers were going to advance anywhere, it was going to be via them winning on the road.

I told everyone who would listen at the time that I preferred the Steelers on the road rather than having them play at Heinz Field.  I felt that the Steelers were a better team on the road.  They concentrated better, they focused better, and they weren’t as lackadaisical.  Of course, as history tells us, the Steelers went on to dominate at Cincinnati, at Indianapolis, and at Denver on their way to winning Super Bowl XL vs. Seattle.

I have to say, while I of course would have preferred that they would have taken care of business last night in Game Six at home, I truly believe that they have a better than average shot at defeating the Capitals again in Washington tomorrow night.  My rationale is exactly the same that I gave for the Steelers in ‘06.

Winning a Game Seven on the road isn’t about the flashy behind the back passes or the extra saucer passes for the sweet one-timer.  Winning a Game Seven on the road, with all of the emotion that will be attached to it, is all about discipline.

Just as I described with the Steelers, playing such a crucial game on the road for the Penguins, psychologically, forces them to focus on their game.  It forces them to concentrate.  It forces them to simplify their game.

Conversely, the Capitals are sure to be flying around.  While they are certainly capable to turn that into a blowout, it can also cause them to get way out of position, especially their offensive-minded defensemen.  The Penguins need to take advantage of that and use their transition game to turn those into odd-man rushes the other way.

The obvious key to Game Seven, as is has been the entire series, will be between the pipes.  Simeon Varlamov has simply not folded, to his credit.  The Penguins have peppered him with shots all series long, and for all but one game, he hasn’t broke.  On the Penguins’ side, Marc-Andre Fleury hasn’t played bad, per se, but he hasn’t shut the Caps down like he did in a couple of games during the Flyers’ series.  Fleury is due for a good game, what a better time than Game Seven.

Finally, something tells me that Sidney Crosby is going to be a bigger beast than even he usually is tomorrow night.  Don’t be surprised if Crosby has a big game. 

It’s been a tremendous series, one in which the NHL couldn’t have dreamed to have gone much better.  Regardless of who wins, let’s hope for one more great game to top it off.

Filed in: | The Confluence | Permalink
 Tags: NHL-Hockey, Pittsburgh+Penguins, Washington+Capitals,

Comments

It all will come down to Fleury. If he has a comparable game to Varlamov, the Pens will win. If he doesn’t, the Pens will likely lose unless Geno or Sid have a ridiculous game.

Fleury is the weak spot on the team. Keeping a team as explosive as the Caps to 24 shots is a real credit to the D and the forwards’ defensive work. Hopefully, MAF will have at least a solid game.

Posted by catz27 on 05/12/09 at 12:19 PM ET

These two teams have been so evenly matched, that it’s going to come down to mistakes. Last night, it was Gil taking out Fleury to let an easy Caps goal in the third. In the games prior, it was the Caps turnovers in the neutral zone and undisciplined play. I’m hoping for Gonchar to be back in the lineup, and to have the Pens finish them off in another nail bitter.

Posted by penguinsfan on 05/12/09 at 01:39 PM ET

Trust me, there is no one here in Capsland that thinks this is anything more than a coin flip. The biggest untold story of this series is Fleury. He has been mediocre at best and hideous at worst. Has he been one of the 5 best players in any of the 6 games? Doubtful. We’ve been outplayed in every area except in Goal. Hopefully that continues tomorrow.

Posted by eric from baltimore on 05/12/09 at 03:04 PM ET

See, even Caps fans know that Fleury is the weak link. I said it on my site, you need a goalie who can come up with the necessary stops in the playoffs and Fleury is not doing that this year.  The only good game he played this playoff season was Game 4 against Philadelphia.  Every other game we have been winning in spite of him not because of him.  19 saves on 24 shots?  You can’t have that if you want to hoist the Cup.

As for Varlamov, he is the next Jim Carrey.  Flash of brilliance at the start of the career, out of the NHL within a few years.  Varlamov’s glove hand is extremely weak and once teams get a chance to see him up close they are going to start filling the net.  Playing the offensively inept Rangers padded his stats, but he’s given up 21 goals in this series including a minimum of 4 in each of the past three games.  Even if Washington wins this round, they are not going to win it all.

Posted by Hept-Rossi on 05/12/09 at 03:45 PM ET

I think it has become obvious that Pitt is the better team. However, in hockey for one game that doesn’t mean much.....

Posted by kevin from boston on 05/12/09 at 04:15 PM ET

Add a Comment

Please limit embedded image or media size to 575 pixels wide.

Add your own avatar by joining Kukla's Korner, or logging in and uploading one in your member control panel.

Captchas bug you? Join KK or log in and you won't have to bother.

Most Recent Blog Posts

About The Confluence

Welcome to The Confluence, a Pittsburgh Penguins blog since 2006.  Originally at Blogspot, then at MVN, The Confluence has over 1000 articles reporting Penguins news as well as jumping on my soapbox to opine constructive Penguins criticism.  My posts are regularly linked by hockey websites such as the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Empty Netters and Yahoo!’s Puck Daddy, and I’ve done guest blogger spots on such websites as the New York Times.  I invite you to spend a little time and peruse the archives at all of the sites for some of my better work.  I am a retired U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer, but don’t confuse me with my fellow Chief at A2Y.

Please feel free to send any comments to me at .  If you’d like to befriend me on Facebook, click here.  If you’d like to join The Confluence page on Facebook, click here.  If you’d like to follow me on Twitter, click here.

The Confluence Links

Archives