Quote:
Originally Posted by Neil K Walk
Oh ye of little faith. Talk in Pittsburgh was that there was a sense of the passing of the torch leading up to the game. I'm afraid that the Pens are not ready to fade just yet. Here's the way I see it:
1: Crosby is still the best player in hockey and has experience to back up skills, even if his athletic ability is not at the level of the up and comers. He seems to be acting more like a coach on the ice than the go-getter/goal scorer that fans expect of him. You have to grant that when he's on the ice he makes others look good. He's not like an Ovechkin or a Kessel; he's more likely to get in on an assist that take the shot himself.
2: Murray is a clutch goalie but not the sensation that Marc Andre Fleury was. I miss the option of having Flower in net; he was able to carry the team on his back during scoring droughts. Granted, he still took crazy risks and had concussions but I think that he understood that he had to be athletic in order to not get concussed when the crease got too crowded or the net got knocked off the moorings. It really concerns me that Murray continues to get concussed in practices of all places.
3: the defense is in constant flux. With Schultz being out, Maatta being shuffled around, Le Tang not being the same as he once was and Sully continually changing assignments (outside of the second line) I've resigned myself to the fact that there are going to be breakaways by opposing teams.
That being said, I'm keeping an eye on Toronto. I think hockey is overdue for having the Cup reside north of the border during the offseason.
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I'm surprised to hear about the "passing of the torch' talk in Pittsburgh. I certainly don't have that sense at all about this Penguins team. Sure, the loss of Schultz has caused some bumps on defense, and the team seems to only put in a good effort against stronger opponents (3-0 against the Caps, Golden Knights and Leafs; 0-1-2 against the Habs and Canucks), but Letang has been great (Pens get 66% of the shots and dangerous scoring chances when he's on the ice), Kessel and Malkin are putting up lots of points, and their special teams have been outstanding, especially the PK at over 90%. Sid is off to one of his typical slow starts, but I love what Leafs coach Mike Babcock had to say about Sid "passing the torch" of best player in the world to Connor McDavid: