14 games left: approaching the finish line and the starting line

Some quick snap shots on the Pittsburgh Penguins as the regular season finish line comes into focus along with the starting line for the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs:

What the Devil?

After last evening’s 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Devils in New Jersey, the Penguins have now dropped all five contests played thus far this season between the two Atlantic Division rivals.  The final regular season game between the two clubs is back at the Prudential Center next Wednesday, St. Patrick’s Day.  New Jersey has simply stifled Pittsburgh this season, winning by scores of 4-1, 4-1, 4-0, 2-0 and 3-1.  The third game was goaltender Martin Brodeur’s record-breaking 104th career shutout and he followed that up nine days later by breaking his own record, adding shutout #105.  Sidney Crosby’s league-leading 45th goal of the season momentarily tied the game 1-1 last night and ended Brodeur’s shutout streak over Pittsburgh at 170:53.  Besides that blip, Brodeur was flawless, turning away all 35 shots faced except Crosby’s, and running his record over the Pens this season to a spectacular 5-0-0 / 0.60 / 0.981.  Where’s Martin Straka and German Titov and Double-J when you need them?

Crosby

Dating back to the night of the Winter Olympic Opening Ceremonies, the captain has recorded a point in eight straight games on 6 goals and 6 assists.  His lone marker last night gave him sole posession of the NHL lead in goals over Alexander Ovechkin’s 44, with 14 team games remaining for each player.  Crosby, the player who has achieved so much in such a short time, continues to drive toward another career “first”: a Rocket Richard Trophy.  Crosby scored his first shorthanded goal this season in October (and added another one against Dallas last Saturday), earned his first Olympic gold medal, is on pace for a career-high number of shots on goal, and also is now on pace to record 54 goals, which should certainly put him in contention for the Richard Trophy, and 103 points.

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Guerin: level-headed perspective

In the wake of last Sunday afternoon’s unfortunate event where Penguins’ left wing Matt Cooke’s left forearm or elbow collided with the head of Boston Bruins’ forward Marc Savard’s head, the debate over hits to the head and appropriate punishment flared up once again.  After deliberating early last week, the NHL decided on Wednesday not to hand down a suspension to Cooke.  That very day, the league’s general managers emerged from their mid-week meetings to announce a recommendation for a new specific penalty for “a lateral, back pressure or blindside hit to an opponent where the head is targeted and/or the principal point of contact”.  Hits to the head will be punished with either a minor or major penalty and possible suspension should all relevant parties agree to the proposed change.

As reported by ESPN, Penguins’ right wing Bill Guerin openly talked about the need for deterrence in the name of safety when it comes to hits to the head.  “We’re all playing in the same league.  We all want the same safety.  We all want to be looked after the same way. I understand he [Cooke] is on my team but, hey, he’s in a tough spot.”  It’s refreshing to hear a respected veteran like Guerin speak candidly about this topic and not take the tired, it-looked-clean-to-me-because-he’s-my-teammate stance.  Whether Cooke meant to hit Savard up high or not, the culture of hitting needs to change to prevent or drastically reduce even accidental striking of players’ heads.

Rest of the schedule

Fourteen more games remain: seven on the road and seven at home.  Eight of the last regular season contests will be pairs of home and away dates with Tampa Bay, Washington, Atlanta and the Islanders.  The Pens also visit Detroit on Monday, March 22 for the first time since That Great Night back in June last spring.  Officially, the final guaranteed home game at Mellon Arena will be Thursday, April 8 against the Islanders, but barring a colossal collapse, the lights will blaze for a few more nights under the steel dome during a playoff round or two.  Or three.  Hopefully, four.