What a weekend. Holy shit. A combined 14 goals were scored by the Pittsburgh Penguins against the reigning back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions. Those 14 goals put the Penguins in 2nd for goals scored in the entire league. That seems shocking to most, but I called this after watching training camp in person. I said on September 26th that this was easily the best offensive firepower since Kessel was around. Anyone who has been paying attention to Pittsburgh Penguins playoffs contention this season knew this offense was real before this weekend. Despite that proclamation I still undersold just how potent offensively this team would become because they have all but guaranteed the highest scoring season in team history. That is absolutely insane to think about given the star power that Penguins have trotted out onto the ice throughout the years.
In terms of the games that transpired over the weekend, the Penguins just simply dominated the battered and bruised Florida Panthers. On Saturday, a day where they scored 9(!) goals, they were also more physical than the league’s biggest bully. More of that physicality continued Sunday and so too did the goals as this calmly took care of the Panthers yet again. Both wins this weekend came in regulation which officially clinched the Penguins the tiebreaker for regulation wins. Winning that tiebreaker all but guarantees the Penguins a spot to play for Lord Stanley. They will officially lock in their spot with two more points over their last four games, and that spot looks all but certain to be home ice advantage in the first round.
With the talent, and their ages, on this team it’s all but certain you will show up to a game and witness a huge hockey milestone occurring. That was definitely the case this weekend as Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby both enjoyed phenomenal weekends both individually and in the hockey history books. On Saturday Malkin erupted with his first hattrick in four years and along the way notched his 1400th point in the NHL.
Crosby couldn’t let his best friend, and best teammate, have the weekend all to himself. Saturday night Crosby passed his hockey idol, Steve Yzerman, for 7th most points in NHL history.
Crosby wouldn’t stop there. He notched and additional three points on Sunday which confirmed he would finish the season with at least a point-per-game for the 21st consecutive season. He already owned this record, but he continues to expand upon it. He is the historical model for longevity and consistency. Crosby’s game never relied on one individual trait, or at least no trait that tarnishes with time. People will say McDavid breaks this record, but we have seen McDavid go into funks when he is injured. Unlike Crosby, McDavid relies so heavily on being faster than everyone else on the ice and when that begins to decline his game will also begin to erode. Crosby saw this happen too, but he is the game’s greatest grinder. He didn’t need to blaze past everyone to create offense because he could methodically work his way along the boards until he noticed someone unchecked on the ice, McDavid’s game is not built to transform in this manner. So maybe the record is one day approached by someone, but it will take an extremely long career with little decline due to aging effects and I’m just not sure anyone is currently built to do it.
Bryan Rust recorded his 500th point in the NHL on Crosby’s goal. Rickard Rakell continued scoring over the weekend with three goals over the two games and now has 11 goals in his past 10 outings. Erik Karlsson recorded four points on Saturday making sure everyone knew that his month of March wasn’t a one-off. Elmer Soderblom even scored in both games and now has 6 points in his last 6 games. The offense was coming from just about everyone and that bodes extremely well for a team poised to make a playoff run.
I bring up the big guy, Elmer Soderblom, because the Penguins are nearing the return of Blake Lizotte. Lizotte will, and absolutely should, get a jersey as soon as he is healthy. However, when he returns, I just see no world where the Penguins can take Soderblom out of the lineup. Elmer is producing offense and he has been noticeably physical the past few weeks, which again is extremely important come playoff time. Unfortunately, that means someone needs to be removed from the lineup. I believe that person will be Tommy Novak. The Penguins are experiencing a huge boom in offense, but Novak is not. He was largely unnoticeable in March, and that has continued into April. He has been given opportunity to consistently play on the second line with Malkin, Rakell, and Chinakhov but has done little with the opportunities recently. Novak is not physical, nor large in nature, which makes his absence from the lineup less noticeable than the next most likely player to be removed Justin Brazaeu. Mantha could easily slide up to play with Rakell and Malkin leaving Kindel’s line open for Dewar or Soderblom. I don’t think the team’s depth would be negatively impacted by these moves, as a matter of fact it might be enhanced by the changes.
Whoever is in the lineup really doesn’t matter as long as there is a lineup to be had come playoff time. The bigger development is who that lineup may be facing in the first round. The Blue Jackets have begun to fall back down to Earth losing six straight games. The Islanders have lost 7 of their last 10 and just fired their coach! The combined shitting down their legs from those two teams left the door wide open for the scumbags on the Eastern side of Pennsylvania. Yes, the Philadelphia Flyers are currently in position to be the Penguins first round matchup. If this scenario holds, I will reach a level on unhinged that has not been often seen in modern society. You are telling me that Sidney Crosby has been biding his time, patiently waiting for his chance at the playoffs again, and the hockey gods are going to serve him up the team he hates the most? Not only the team he hates the most, but the team he tortures the most. Just as Sid is getting his game completely back from the injury dealt to him by ex-Flyer/terrorist Radko Gudas. Giving Sidney the opportunity to win a series against them in a year where a gold medal was basically taken from him is almost an unfair amount of motivation working against the team from the trashiest city in Pennsylvania. I guess that’s what the city of Philadelphia deserves though. It’s almost too perfect of a situation but feed it to me anyway. Watching Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin mentally destroy those losers in puke colored orange sweaters, for potentially the final time together, will get me hornier than a Sydney Sweeney lingerie ad. I don’t know who they will ultimately play in the first round, but if it’s Philly, I am all but certain they will be playing in the second round Sid isn’t losing to those scumbags.
