Pens Favorites For Cup Over Night... Or Are They?
Posted 2:13 AM ET | Comments 3
Look, it certainly seems like the Penguins are going to be the team strolling through the playoffs en route to the Stanley Cup this year. I mean what is going to stop them?rnrnThey are on a 13 game winning streak, they have two of the top two scoring centers in the league, their goaltending have been excellent as of late, and they've done some work to solidify the blueline as well. rnrnOh and I just heard they added this guy name Jarome Iginla to the roster as well. Not sure who he is but whatever.rnrnSeriously though. He's pretty much the man.rnrnBut the playoffs are the playoffs and you never know what can happen. They have had some bumps throughout their streak and adding this many players to the lineup could cause a little bit of chemistry issues.rnrnLets dissect this. rnrnFirst is injuries. Malkin is the primary concern right now. If he can get healthy before the playoffs then that will be all the more firepower up front. However he still is not back and that is a little bit worrisome to me. Letang is going to be out for a bit with a broken toe and Fleury's injury could be anything. I know they are saying it is a neck injury right now and lets hope that's all it is, but you can never be sure if this is something that is going to linger.rnrnAll these things can be overcome with the depth in their lineup, especially with Vokoun playing well and solidifying the crease. However if the Pens go on any sort of skid right now it could be difficult to regain traction. Which leads me to my next point.rnrnTeam chemistry is crucial when heading into the playoffs. Everyone needs to be buying into the team system and be on the same page. I don't think there is going to be any issue with the character of the guys they have brought in, and since they didn't trade any roster players in any of the three moves I don't see it being an issue, but you never know.rnrnLastly, and bringing this full circle, the playoffs are the playoffs. There will be 15 other teams all vying for the same prize. All it takes is a hot goalie on the opposing team and that can end a series. Or lack of goaltending as highlighted last year when the Penguins came storming into the playoffs only to be ousted by their beloved state rival. That didn't go so well.rnrnAt the end of the day if I had to pick one team to win the cup right now it would be the Penguins, so don't bother getting your hate on in the comments just yet. All I'm saying is that there are still some very good teams in the conference (Bruins, Habs) as well as coming out of the West (Chicago, Vancouver-darkhorse) so don't start planning the parade just yet.rnrnThe playoffs are the playoffs.
First round exit
WTf is rnrn
Not really sure how all that got in there. The must be where I hit enter to start a new paragraph. Must have gotten screwed up somehow. Wow that looks ugly.