On To Round Two

For the third straight season, the Pittsburgh Penguins find themselves in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

For the third straight season, the Washington Capitals stand in the way of another Eastern Conference Championship appearance.

During the first round of the playoffs, the Penguins were the team everyone watched during the 82-game regular season. At times, this team was dominant, so much so that doubters turned into #3elievers. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Matt Murray were stellar for most of the series.

Players like Bryan Rust and Jake Guentzel continued to build their resumes in big moments. Derick Brassard and the third line are meshing at the perfect time, and Riley Sheahan is not-so-quietly stepping into the Nick Bonino role.

Hell, even Olli Määttä and Jamie Oleksiak were solid for most of the series.

Simply put, this is another wonderfully constructed team built by GM John Rutherford and executed by Mike Sullivan.

But let me repeat, the Pens were exactly the team we’ve all grown accustomed to watching.  Along with brilliant offensive performances, there was the bad. In Games 2 and 5, the Pens could not find the back of the net, despite great opportunities. Though out-shooting the Flyers a combined 67-45 in those games, the Flyers made the most of their chances; the Penguins did not.

Defensive lapses are still prevalent on this team.

Turnovers were key factors in both losses. Kris Letang probably played the worst series in his career, spearheading the turnover machine and lacking the usual defensive leadership the Pens covet. They need him to figure it out soon.

Surprisingly, the penalty-kill quickly became one of the biggest, and most needed, strengths of this team. Whether it was one of Malkin’s abundant and senseless penalties, or the rather “interesting” officiating throughout the series, the Penguins ended up successfully killing 19 of 21 (90%). The penalty kill was nothing short of spectacular.

On the other hand, the NHL’s league leading power play team only managed to score on 5 of 25 (20%) power play opportunities. The power play also gave up a shorthanded goal, and damn near a second. I expect this number to rise back to the 26% we saw through the regular season.

Regardless how anyone feels about anything, throw the stats out the window, delete the frustration of a “rivalry” playoff series that should have ended in a sweep from memory, take a deep breath and read the title again: On To Round Two.

This team is running out of new adversity to overcome. They’ve seen and done it all before. Forget the injuries, forget the perennial Capitals hype, this team has as good a chance as any to raise their third straight cup.

This team owns the Capitals.

#3elieve