Twenty Year Later – Part II

Yesterday I waxed poetic about the 20 year anniversary of the Pens winning their first Stanley Cup.

The 1991 Stanley Cup Penguins will always have favored status in my heart. You never forget your first cup…or something like that. The team was not as brilliantly talented as their 1992 or even 1993 successors. Their run was not as epic as the 2009 version.  And it matters not a lick.

What they did was bring Pittsburgh its first and most improbable Stanley Cup, doing so through a litany of spectacular moments. They gave us a lifetime of brilliant hockey memories; memories that two decades later are still burned in my brain (with an occasional second assist from YouTube).

Some of the most memorable include:

THE INJURY – The Pens opened the 1990-91 season without Lemieux. Le Magnifique had offseason back surgery and then suffered a major set back with a training camp infection. There was talk that his career was in jeopardy and ultimately we would not see him in the line-up until late January. I remember the Pens opening night broadcast starting with this quote from Tom Barrasso “I wish to state unequivocally that we are a better team with Mario Lemieux in the line-up.” The bad news was obvious. The good news, the rest of the team was forced to grow up with their franchise player sidelined.

THE KID – It’s fair to say that none of us had ever heard of an 18 year old Czech phenom named Jaromir Jagr when the Pens acquired him on draft day. I remember reading that he was the most talented player in the draft; and frankly not believing it. That’s exactly what teams say when they have the fifth pick in a deep draft, rather than the first. Who would have known that Jagr would develop in to the one of the truly dominant offensive stars in NHL history, and a critical component of two Stanley Cup championships. Not to mention a pretty solid weather man on WDVE.

THE OPTION LINE – With Lemieux out, the Pens offense was put in the hands of three young stars playing out their options; Kevin Stevens, Marc Recchi, and John Cullen. All three were critical to the team’s regular season success. All three were critical to the team’s ultimate Stanley Cup championship, Recchi and Steven’s directly and Cullen by being the marketable asset that allowed for THE TRADE (see below).

THE TRADE – Arguably the greatest trade deadline deal in NHL history. The Pens were struggling and underachieving when Craig Patrick changed the entire look of the franchise. The deal was such highway robbery that Hartford GM Eddie Johnston (yes, that EJ) should have gotten his name on the cup. Ron Francis brought leadership and brilliant two way hockey. Ulf Samuelsson brought dominant, in your face defense (as Cam Neely will attest). Even Grant Jennings was a key acquisition. Before the trade the Pens were a great offensive team, after it they were a great team.

THE GOAL, PART I – The Pens were very much in danger of falling behind New Jersey two games to zero…at home. They were outplayed by the plucky Devils for two straight games and had barely managed to force overtime in game 2. That’s when the 18 year old Jagr scored the first of his many jaw dropping goals over the next decade. He blew around the Devil defense, cut across the face of the goal, out waited Chris Terreri, and fired home one of the biggest goals in Penguin history. It was pure individual brilliance; the kind rarely seen by any player…or at least any player not wearing 66 in black and gold.

THE BANISHMENT – A regretably overlooked turning point in the playoffs may have occurred in game four of the first round against New Jersey. After discovering that the Pens had not won a game all year with John Rowan watching from Chris Cox’s house; we banished him to the backyard for the third period. The Pens lost the game but after that, we were more strategic about our viewing logistics. Quote of the year from Chris’ mom…”Why is J.P. in the backyard by himself?”

THE SAVE – I’m the biggest Tom Barrasso fan this side of…anywhere…and even I will acknowledge the obvious. Frank Pietrangelo’s spectacular glove robbery of Peter Stastny was “the moment” the Pens developed that championship belief. The combination of facing elimination and the loss of Barrasso drove stress levels to record highs amongst Pens fans. And then there was Stastny all alone in front, firing a loose rebound towards an empty net…until Frankie Pete robbed him blind. I love watching 18,000 fans jump to their feet to celebrate a sure goal, and then dropping down in stunned disbelief.

THE GOAL, PART II – The Pens were very much in danger of falling behind Washington two games to none, at home. Sound familiar? They were outplayed in game one and needed a late Randy Gilhen (seriously) goal to send game two in to overtime. And then Francis set up Kevin Stevens for the game winning goal in overtime. The Pens never looked back, dominating the next three games with Barrasso stopping 97 of 100 shots. The conference finals were coming.

THE GAURANTEE – In those days, the common belief was that the Boston Bruins were the superior team and the Pens the underdog upstart. Boston has played in the Stanley Cup Finals in two of the last three seasons, led by star players Ray Bourque and Neely. The Pens lost the first two games and were quite frankly robbed by a highly questionable penalty late in game two. The situation looked bleak until Stevens took over. He boldly guaranteed after game two that the Pens would win the series. It was pure bulleting board material...for the Pens. The boys have not lost of playoff game to the Bruins since.

THE ROUT – PART I – After two hard fought victories in Pittsburgh the Pens returned to Boston for a critical game 5. We all thought this would be a turning point in the series. It was. The Pens destroyed the B’s 7-2, chasing overrated scrub goalie Andy Moog in the process.

THE TROPHY – I laugh every time I see teams refuse to touch the conference championship trophy. After Recchi finished off the B’s in game 6, Lemieux and company took the Prince of Wales trophy for a skate. Two weeks later, they were Stanley Cup champs. Two decades later, Sidney Crosby did the same thing. Perhaps this superstition is a tad…dumb?

THE FOG – Don Cherry, a man who could do the entire world a favor by talking considerably less, accuses Barrasso of being “in a fog” after a game one loss to Minnesota in the finals. Barrasso’s response, “I refuse to have a battle of wits with Don Cherry because he’s unarmed.”

THE GREATEST GOAL IN STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF HISTORY – “Here’s Lemieux, to center, penalty coming up, LOOK AT LEMIEUX, OH MY GOODNESS, WHAT A GOAL, WHAT A MOVE, LEMIEUX. OOOOOOH BABY.” Kudos to hockey night in Canada for its perfect description of what truly was the greatest goal in playoff history. What Lemieux did to Shawn Chambers and John Casey is a criminal offense in seven states.

THE PARADE – Mario’s back stiffened before game 3 causing a late and shocking scratch of the game’s greatest player. Without Big 66, the Pens fell 3 to 1. Minnesota started planning their Stanley Cup parade. The Pens were…ANGRY.

THE DANCE OF CHAMPIONS – The Pens jumped out to quick leads of 3-0 and 4-1 in a must win game 4; then gave two goals back to make it a one goal game. Late in the third period, the team known as an offensive juggernaut took a five minute major penalty. The Pens killed it without allowing a single shot on goal. It was the defining moment of what was now a great team in all phases. I still say this game was one of the underrated gems of Barrasso’s career.

THE ROUT, PART II – The Pens 8 to 0 demolition of the North Stars in game 6 remains possibly the most dominant cup clinching victory in NHL history.  The NHL was close to invoking a mercy rule. Lemieux so dominates Minnesota that he looks to be playing pond hockey against local high school players. Francis, Mullen and even Jim Paek score breakaways. Barrasso silences his remaining critics with a defining shut out.

THE ANNOUNCEMENT – In the immortal words of Mike Lange, “The Stanley Cup has come to the city of Pittsburgh.”

THE LIFT – Mario Lemieux, the man who lifted the franchise, lifts the Stanley Cup. Lange…”Go for it Mario…Go for it.”

THE PHOTO – The Pens become the first team to do an all hands on photo at center ice with the cup. The tradition lives to this day. One of the greatest moments in Pittsburgh sports history, immortalized forever.

THE MEMORIES – To last a lifetime.

Twenty Years Later ???

If you are a hockey aficionado like me, I highly recommend the Empty Netters Blog on the Post Gazette’s web site. Not only does Seth Rorabaugh do an excellent and thorough job of covering the game, but he also adds a touch of sarcasm and humor which I find to be positively, “Haber-Esqe.”

Throughout the 2010-11 season, Empty Netters has been running a feature entitled “Twenty Years Later” focusing on the 20 year anniversary of the Penguins first Stanley Cup championship. It includes recaps of every game played (often with awesome video footage) and interviews with key players from that team. Most of those players are long gone, with the notable exception of the ageless Marc Recchi. Remember when the Pens traded him in 1992, ostensibly because he was too small to survive long-term in the NHL?

Needless to say, I was thoroughly enjoying the walk down memory lane, until reality slapped me in the face this morning.

TWENTY YEARS ???

Is it really possible that today is the 20 year anniversary of one of the greatest moments in Pittsburgh sports history? Can it really be two decades since that magical season ended with Mario Lemieux lifting the franchise’s improbable first Stanley Cup?

Twenty freakin years?

Let’s see, we were 18 years old, seniors in high school when the Pens won that first championship. That would make me…never mind.

Was it not just yesterday that Mario Lemieux was the 18 year old French Canadian savior of Penguin hockey? No, that was 1984. Did I not wake up this morning to news that 18 year old Czech phenom Jaromir Jagr was coming to Pittsburgh? Sorry, 1990. I could swear that only in the last few minutes came reports that the Pens had acquired Ron Francis and Ulf Samuelsson from Hartford. That was 1991.

And now, Lemieux is the Penguins OWNER, Jagr is playing out the string in Europe and Francis and Samuelsson are both coaches and/or executives in the league. How on earth did this happen?

Here’s the thing; for me and a large portion of my audience, the Penguins are the first championship team we truly experienced. I have the vaguest of memories of the Steelers’ fourth Super Bowl in 1980; just as I have the vaguest of memories of dressing up as “the Fonz” for Halloween. I’ve said before that those first four Super Bowl championships are far more history to me than they are reality.

The Penguins however are different. We quite literally grew up together. It started with the drafting of Lemieux in 1984, the event that quite literally saved the franchise. It continued as Lemieux matured in to a superstar, and then possibly the most dominant player in NHL history. And it morphed in to a championship when the Penguins finally surrounded Le Magnifique with other championship caliber players.

I still remember dancing around my basement when the Pens acquired Paul Coffey in 1987. Finally, there was a second superstar, a player truly worthy of sharing the ice with Big 66. The other star pieces of the championship puzzle fell gradually in to place over the next three plus years; Barrasso, Recchi, Stevens, Jagr, Mullen, Trottier, Murphy, Francis, Samuelson, etc. It was a stunning build out for a club that for too long relied on other team’s leftovers.

I’m not sure today’s generation of Penguin fans can truly appreciate how impossible to fathom a Stanley Cup Championship was for us in 1991. That’s not to say we were not fully on board for the journey, we absolutely were. We just never dared allow ourselves such grandiose fantasies. Not for a team that had won exactly one playoff series in ten years.

For the most part all we knew were near misses and failures. I remember albeit vaguely the 1982 first round loss to the NY Islanders where the Pens blew a 2 goal lead in the final four minutes. I remember quite clearly blowing what should have been a slam dunk playoff appearance in 1988, in spite of Lemieux’s unwavering brilliance down the stretch. And there but for the grace of Steve Guenette go I.

The Penguins made missing the playoffs an annual event; at a time when over 75% of the league was honored annually with a post season bid.

That’s why we celebrated like drunken sailors when the 1991 Pens knocked of Washington in the second round. Going to the conference finals was new ground; a previously inconceivable destination. On a side note, would anyone have guessed then that the series would mark the beginning of two decades of torturing the Craps?

The Penguins had little or no history in those days. Now they have history to match any non original six team (and for my money one or two of them). The watershed moment for the franchise was the Stanley Cup exchange between Sidney Crosby and Lemieux in 2009? That past meets the present. To me having two completely separate eras of championship greatness is what defines a truly great organization, in any sport.

And yet I still can’t believe its been twenty years.

Twenty years since Frankie Pietrangelo’s save against New Jersey. Twenty years since Kevin Stevens guaranteed a victory over Boston after falling behind two games to none? Twenty years since Lemieux effectively destroyed John Casey’s career.

I guess it makes sense. In those days we would watch the games in Chris Cox’s basement and then play hockey in the driveway between periods (with your friendly neighborhood blogger flopping around on the asphalt making “Barrasso-like” saves”). We would celebrate any series victory by grabbing sticks out the garage and running around the block. Today’s game night activities are to say the least, far more reserved.

So much has changed. Lemieux and Jagr gave way to Crosby and Malkin. Barrasso gave way to Marc-Andre Fleury; Phil Bourque gave way to Max Talbot. The Old Igloo has given way to the brilliant new Consol Energy Barn. Mike Lange has given way to Paul Steigerwald (admittedly the one change that we would all reverse in a heartbeat if possible).

And yet so much has stayed the same. Let us not forget that a franchise that endured so much losing and sorrow in its first two decades has lifted the cup three times in the past two decades. The Pens have turned post season success from an impossible dream to an annual expectations. And they have suited up an incredible list of superstars headlined by Lemieux, Jagr, Crosby, and Malkin. Such thoughts were inconceivable in the early 80s, when players were threatened with trades to the Burgh.

In short, a franchise that was once laughed at and mocked is now one of the class organizations in all of sports. Pittsburgh has become a destination spot for great hockey.

Could we have possibly had the foresight in 1991 to see this coming? Certainly not, nor did we care. At that point it was about nothing more than the moment, the incomprehensible idea that, “The Stanley Cup has come to the city of Pittsburgh" to quote Lange.

We had no foresight towards the repeat championship in 1992, nor the shocking collapse of the most dominant team in Penguin’s history two years later. We could not predict Mario’s back, Stevens’ face, Jagr’s moods, or Howard Baldwin’s reckless and unruly spending spree; all of which nearly ruined the team. We had no way of knowing how close our Penguins would come to extinction in the Burgh, before more Mario magic and a fortuitous ping pong ball returned them to prominence.

How could we? We could not even predict our own futures; college, relocations, jobs, wives, kids, and everything else. All of those things that define us today were unknowns 20 years ago. Our lives were blissfully simple back then. We were far more concerned about shutting down Minnesota’s white hot power play, than we were about graduation.

All we knew or cared about was that the impossible had happened; the Pittsburgh Penguins had brought home the Stanley Cup. It was the first time in my life that I truly felt the complete and total sports happiness that comes only with a championship. It was the year I truly became a Penguin fan for life.

Or better stated…twenty years to life.

ALL HAIL THE MIGHTY PENGUIN, BLESSED BE THE PENGUIN, FOR IT IS GOOD.

Back from the Dead, Third Round Playoff Predictions

I used to accept as a given that when a playoff series reached three games to zero, it was over.

It’s not just because before last year; only three teams in North American major sports history had overcome such a deficit. It just seemed that most teams threw in the towel once they lost that third game. The mountain seemed too high to climb.

Of course the players and coaches on both sides would vigorously deny that. The team leading would channel memories of Lou Holtz, regaling us with tales of just how dangerous Navy was while losing 40 straight years to Notre Dame. The trailing team in contrast would launch in to a series of “Bull Durham” like clichés about how it’s not over until it’s over and they were going to take it one game at a time.

To the latter point I offer Alex Ovechkin’s half hearted promises of a Washington comeback from said deficit last week. Ovie’s blatant lack of inspiration or conviction in those comments seemed to relay the utter futility that I have long associated with teams in this situation.

So how is it that for the third time in two years, a team forced a game 7 after trailing 3 games to none? How is it that a team from each of those series has arrived at this year’s final four? And how is it that two teams this year have blown a 3 games to 0 lead and still managed to win game 7?

Not just any teams mind you; San Jose and Vancouver, two clubs with a history of imploding under playoff pressure.

Indeed, if there is anything I believed in as much as a series being over at 3 to 0 it was this; if a team somehow did come back to force game 7, they would absolutely win the series. It’s why I truly believed that Chicago would finish off the comeback and topple the Nucks and with the caveat I will explain below, that Detroit would take out San Jose.

So chalk up a second staunch personal conviction I can toss in the recycle bin.

Here’s that odd caveat regarding San Jose. I actually did think they could win last night. I freely admit however I would not have believed that if Vancouver had lost to Chicago. Seeing a Canuck’s team built around historic post season chokers somehow win that game 7 made me realize that anything is possible. For the record, anything includes Patrick Marleau finally getting his playoff wake up call in the third period of game 7. I’m still awaiting Jeremy Roenick’s omnipotent pontifications on that.

Give both the Nucks and Sharks full credit; neither gave up when they had every reason to.

I would argue that both Vancouver and San Jose created their own drama through a distinct lack of killer instinct. That’s not to take away from the efforts of Chicago and Detroit, both of whom showed championship metal in their comebacks. I just do not know how Vancouver can go up 3 to 0 in a series and then lose the next two games by a 12 to 2 combined score. I watched the last six games of that series and I can tell you that Vancouver flat out did not show up in games 4 and 5. How does a supposed Stanley Cup favorite do that?

The same goes for San Jose. As great a team as Detroit can be, there is no excuse for the Sharks blowing a 3 to 1 third period lead, AT HOME, in game 5. Then they compounded it by getting blown off the ice in a listless game 6 effort. The scoreboard does not show it thanks to a sterling effort from Antti Niemi but the Sharks were dominated in virtually every facet of that game.

None of this should be shocking considering the calamity that is the recent post season history of these franchises.

I wonder however if this will serve as a coming of age moment for either the Sharks or Nucks? Will this be the year one of these teams finally grows up and develops championship metal; or just a prelude to more disappointment? For my money, I think the Sharks may finally be ready for that critical championship growth spurt. I’m not so sure about the Nucks, especially given another blown elimination opportunity in game 5 at home against mediocre Nashville.

The problem with both teams is that there core stars regularly disappear after tax day. As Penguin fans, we draw tremendous pleasure from the annual playoff vanishing acts of Semin, Backstrom, and Green in our nation’s capital. Well they are in good company with Joe Thornton, Marleau, and Dany Heatley in San Jose and the Bobby Lu and the Freak Twins in Vancouver.

The Versus’ crew spent most of last night waxing poetic about the brilliance of Thornton. Maybe I’m missing something but that would be the supposed franchise player who has two goals this post season? Yes he’s working hard, playing defense and winning face offs. It seems to me the Sharks could save $5 Million per and pay Max Talbot for that. And Talbot historically outscores Jumbo Joe in the post season.

Amazingly Thornton’s offensive production, which does include 9 assists has put Heatley and Marleau to shame. I’m not going to pull a Roenick and try and analyze either player’s intestinal fortitude; I will just say that historically they don’t produce when it matters most.

The Sharks growth spurt to me is driven by two factors. First, the team has built tremendous depth offensively including players like Joe PAVELski, Ryane Clowe, and Devin Setoguchi. Second, the Sharks replaced another perennial playoff choker, goalie Evgeni Nabokov, with a top playoff performer in Antti Niemi.

I realize I’m walking the Fleury/Barrasso line in terms of my Niemi credibility but both Emily and I are taking great pride in his success. Niemi has spent the season establishing as an elite goaltender and more important, a goaltender who gets it done when it matters (since winning the cup last year apparently was not convincing to the enlightened media masses). He was at his best in game 6 and 7. Not only did he make the critical saves, but he gave his team a desperately needed sense of belief. That’s a belief the Sharks have clearly lacked in prior years.

As for Vancouver, the main reason they are skating in the conference finals is a fortuitous match-up with Nashville. Luongo still looks skittish and the Sedins have been lost in Ryan Kessler’s ever growing shadow (not too mention the overbearing, Joe Flacco like love fest from the entire hockey world). Watching a team with this much talent try and eek out 2 to 1 wins over the chug and plug Predators was as bad as…Washington’s so called defensive system.

In case I’m being too subtle here let me spell it out; I’m not exactly a believer in the Canucks. I look at their coming of age comeback and see through the cracks. A flawed Chicago team followed by mediocre Nashville. A team that gave up a short handed goal in the final two minutes of game 7 and nearly lost in overtime. A flopping goaltender who is only playing by the grace of Corey Snyder’s groin injury.

I am a believer in San Jose…Sharks in 5.


Boston (not Philly) versus Tampa (not Washington)

It’s been so long since either of these teams saved Penguin fans from further post season torture that I’m not sure I can even make a prediction.

The series could go either way but I like the Bruins. There is nothing specific I can quantify except perhaps Tim Thomas’ superbly brilliant post season. Historically I’ve been scared off by ensemble offensive casts as they have in Boston. This year’s Bruins however just have the look about them. It’s an intangible I know but to me it seems pretty real. They had their own coming of age after going the distance to blow a 3-0 lead least year.

Add Zdeno Chara’s most dominant post season to an experienced, physical and motivated group, and I think the B’s are too much for the Bolts. It also does not hurt my belief that Tampa is relying on Sean Bergenheim and Dominic Moore for offense and a goaltender who is AARP eligible, while Steven Stamkos is mostly invisible.

As much as I will miss the angry stares from the French Canadian Mike Tomlin (aka, Guy Boucher)…Boston in 7.



1st Round 6 and 2 (lost with Philly and Pittsburgh)


2nd Round – 2 and 2 (lost with Washington and Nashville)

The More Things Change...

…The more things stay the same.

One week ago, Penguin fans were contemplating an unfathomable match-up for the Eastern Conference championship. Let’s see; who do we root for, the Washington F’n Crapitals or the Eastern Pennsylvania Orange and Black Goon Squad? Can you say spontaneous labor stoppage? And while we are debating such matters, do you prefer a colonoscopy or a prostate exam?

Instead, in a shocking (or perhaps not so shocking) turn of events the Craps have been swept and the Goons are at death's door. Instead of an impossible choice in the Eastern Conference finals, we are 48 hours away from assessing the wreckage of two more lost seasons.

On the positive side, Bruce Boudreau will have infinite opportunities to go for ice cream at 9:00am. Unemployment has a liberating effect on one’s personal calendar.

Washington spent most of the season rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. They attempted a delusional reincarnation as a defensive style team. Apparently it’s easier to ask soft, one dimensional offensive players to trap than it is to admit they are perennial post season chokers. On the ridiculous meter, this rivals Lou Piniella selling Cubs management that his team’s five phase post season choke could be cured merely by adding Milton Bradley.

After all those cosmetic changes the result was the same; a post season flame out. The Craps as per usual collapsed once the games started to matter. Or at least when they mattered against a credible post season opponent.

Speaking of credible, we have the Philadelphia Professional Hockey Club which continues its three decade quest to win a Stanley Cup IN SPITE OF its goaltending.

Just when we think the goaltending in Philly can’t get any worse, they find a way to deal it down. Martin Biron and Antero Nittymaki are not bad enough? Let’s bring in Brian Boucher and Michael Leighton. Miraculously overcome this until Leighton implodes in the Stanley Cup finals? By all means try it again; and toss in an over his head rookie to up the ante.

I honestly can not stand the Goon Squad and even I’m angry at the joke that is their goaltending. It’s an affront to everything I believe in; to my personal hockey truth. The only thing more amazing than entrusting a legitimate Stanley Cup favorite to these three stiffs is that they actually won a series. Against Ryan Miller no less. And somehow Lindy Ruff got a contract extension?

The Goons however have finally hit the crappy goaltending wall. Boston is too talented, too focused, and too much better between the pipes to blow another 3 games to none lead. And Philly is not going to repeat least year’s miracle comeback against any opponent when their starting goaltender is an even money bet to get hooked in the first 40 minutes.

Seriously, is anybody else tired of watching Boucher’s stick breaking, equipment throwing tantrums every other game? Hey Brian, here’s a thought…STOP THE FREAKIN PUCK. In fairness, there is a reason Boucher is giving up so many ridiculously soft goals this post season; HE’S NOT GOOD. That’s why his NHL passport has been stamped by half the league, as a BACK-UP goalie. And the saddest part is he truly might be Philly’s best net minder.

For goodness sakes, Mike Milbury referred to Philly’s goaltending debacle as “an organizational failure.” MIKE FREAKIN MILBURY! What next, Rashard Mendenhall tweeting about...ok, never mind.

I frequently lament the Osgood-ification of the NHL. This is the ridiculous syndrome, promulgated first by the all powerful Scotty Bowman in Detroit that allows for teams to have so much talent and depth amongst their 18 skaters that they can essentially win without a goaltender. Philly has taken this to a whole different level.

Whatever you think of Osgood, and personally I think he’s an above average goaltender in a perfect situation, he’s about five times better than any Philly goaltender since I graduated high school. I will shed zero tears for my least favorite team’s latest post season flop. It is however in a broader sense a hockey travesty that a team with so much talent and depth allows itself to be annually sabotaged by ECHL caliber goaltending.

Seriously, how many years in a row does this have to happen before somebody at the FU Center gets a clue? How many years will they throw big money at redundant talents like Andrej Mezaros and Kris Versteeg; while dishing out bargain basement wages to the three stooges in net? Is there a minimum basic skills test to be an NHL general manager a la Joe Clark in "Lean on Me"?

As for the first runner up for my hockey disdain, the carnage is likely to be a lot worse. Philly, at least in theory, can address their primary issue. They have more than enough marketable depth to trade for somebody who can actually stop a 30 foot wrist shot in the post season. The solution is not so simple in Washington.

The easy thing to do after an embarrassing sweep against Tampa is to throw Boudreau under the bus and make him the scapegoat for the Craps' latest melt down. Accepting the obvious comic relief this would provide, it is effectively a band aid for a broken organization. The problems are much greater in scope and relate primarily to Ovie’s minions.

I can only assess so much blame to the Haagen Dazs clown when he’s saddled with three supposed star players who disappear every spring. My favorite quote of the playoffs came after (yet another) botched defensive play by Mike Green; the Versus announcer clarified that defensive situations are not Green’s strength. That does not exactly qualify as breaking news but if forces me to ponder exactly what he is good at? After all, Green has not scored a meaningful post season goal since junior high school.

A few weeks back I stated that I was not sold on the Craps' new “defensive style” but “at least Semin and Green would have excuses for not scoring in the post season.” That statement was in error; but only by omission since I forgot to include Nicklas Backstrom. Hate on Alex Ovechkin all you want but understand he is the one and only player in red, white, and blue that consistently scores in the postseason. Go figure his refusal to pass the puck late in game three. Would you pass to Semin or Backstrom with your season on the line?

Ovechkin figures to take some heat for Washington’s latest collapse. He’s supposed to be a championship caliber superstar and thus is hardly immune to criticism. In all fairness, I doubt Sid the Kid could drag the collection of big game stiffs masquerading as Ovechkin’s supporting cast past the second round. Seriously, these guys make the playoff Sedins look like Gretzky and Lemieux.

That’s not to absolve Boudreau from responsibility from his team’s latest failure. My personal opinion, validated in part by four enlightening episodes of 24/7 is that Boudreau is way over his head coaching a team with legitimate Stanley Cup aspirations. He panics at the slightest sign of trouble (see Theodore, Jose). He whines incessantly about every questionable call against his choking team (quote of the WEAK, “I’m not whining, I’m just explaining”). Worst of all, he makes rash decisions like turning a talented offensive juggernaut in to New Jersey Devils south.

Seriously, if the Craps were going to run out the neutral zone trap, should they not have hired Jacque Lemaire? Or at least Guy Boucher? Instead, Boudreau converted his existing team with a few cosmetic changes to a style they are not equipped to play and he is not equipped to coach. Calling Dave Wannstedt…Mr. Dave Wannstedt.

It will be interesting to see if Sweaty Teddy’s patience finally runs out. My guess is it will. The last two years were bad enough but this failure, after a full scale re-engineering of the team’s style is probably the last straw. My guess is management is at the end of its rope with Boudreau’s F’bomb tirades and the deaf ears they fall on. The players should go first but good luck finding trade partners for $7 Million post season chokers who are signed through 2045.

That mean’s Boudreau could ultimately bare the full responsibility for this failure while the invisible men return for another playoff run. It will be left to BB’s replacement to get water from a stone (or stones).

Peter Laviolette figures to survive in Philly. He should not expect much improvement if his general manager continues a three decade tradition of going blue light special between the pipes.  One presumes the salary cap will start to claw away at Philly's depth as well.

In other words, the more things change…the more things stay the same.