Pens vs. Habs - Grades

Offense: B

The offense was a vast improvement over that of the Tampa game. In this one, they forechecked hard and that led to the only goal other than the empty-netter. It was just a tremendous shift by the Taffe-Laraque-Ruutu unit. They bottled the Habs up in their own end for the entire shift, and Big Georges just owned the area behind the net. He just held it and held it, then finally moved to the side and slid a nifty backhand pass to a wide-open (thanks, Roman Hamrlik) Taffe in front and he beat Cristobal Huet cleanly. They had numerous other chances on the transition, too. They just couldn’t beat Huet. They worked hard all night to generate these chances; very impressive, for a team playing the second of a back-to-back.

Defense: B+

This was a much better defensive effort than we have seen recently. They were blocking shots and deflecting passes all night long. It seemed everyone was always in the right spot. I suspect with Sid out, they realize they will have to be a bit better defensively. Last night, for the most part, they were able to limit Montreal to just one chance and no rebounds. It was one of their better efforts all year.

Power play: F

Maybe I should just quit grading it. It is usually bad, never great. They are just incapable of doing the things a good power play needs to do. They continually overhandle the puck, end up with nobody in a shooting position, or pass up the shot chances that are there. It is just ugly to watch. I would blame it on the Sid injury, but really, was it any different last night than it usually is? No.

Penalty kill: A

Another great game on the kill. I criticized Adam Hall's play in the Tampa game, but he had a good game tonight, especially on the PK. Montreal did have a few good chances, but Sabourin was there to shut the door.

Goaltending: A

How awesome was that to watch? Here’s poor Dany Sabourin, the forgotten guy, starting his first game in almost a month. Dany Sabourin, the guy who had a chance to take the bull by the horns, but got surpassed by Ty Conklin. Dany Sabourin, playing in his home province, on Hockey Night in Canada. What does he do? He pitches a shutout. How good must he feel right now? That was just so fun to watch, but I guess redemption always is, right? He was just spectacular, stopping everything Montreal threw at him. I imagine they were shaking their heads by the end of the game. It is hard to put into words how impressive that was. To come in totally cold, the night after Sid got hurt and shut out Montreal on Hockey Night in Canada is just incredible. And he earned it too, with numerous big saves in a 1-0 game. Okay, I’m almost out of superlatives, so I will stop now.

Pens goaltending since Fleury went down: 13-5-1, 2.16 GAA, .932 save percentage (Conklin is 9-1-1, 1.63, .951 in his starts).

Overall: A

As disinterested as they seemed against Tampa Bay, that’s how hungry they were against Montreal. They played like they had a chip on their shoulder, just to show people like me that they are not just "Sidney and the Rest." They played hard from the opening faceoff, getting contributions from almost everyone. They were INTO it. It was as if they got together and decided they were not going to lose this game. They forechecked well. They backchecked even better. They got key saves from Sabourin. In short, they did everything a good team does when a star player goes down. It brightens the mood in the locker room, too. They needed to close it out and get the two points just for their psyche, and they did. It was a fun game to watch, with every player giving his all.

And now, the rest of the story…

Evgeni Malkin: A

He took the bull by the horns last night. He was just tremendous. That rush he made to set up the two-on-none was incredible (but please shoot the puck Geno). He is trying to be the good center and set people up, but he will need to just shoot it because nobody else on this team can score. But last night, he provided hope that he can cover for Sid while the latter is out. Now, if somebody could pick up Geno’s slack…

Jordan Staal: A

He was a beast defensively. He was all over the ice. He got that long reach going and was at his defensive best last night.

Darryl Sydor: A

I cannot say enough about how well Syd played. Maybe he realized they always have to have at least one good Sid or Syd in the lineup. It was easily his best game of the year. He was blocking shots and passes all night long. He was always in the right place. They gave him the A, and he thanked them by playing just a tremendous game.

Georges Laraque: A

I thought it was funny when the Hockey Night in Canada guys said it was one of the best games they had seen Laraque play. Obviously, they don’t watch the Pens too much. He was very good, but he has played this way much of the year. I seriously think they need to try him on the top power play unit. I dare anyone to try to move him from the front of the net.

Discipline: A

Much better than the previous game, with only one dumb slashing penalty by Erik Christensen.

Erik Christensen: A

He was just flying out there.

Ryan Whitney/Sergei Gonchar: A

I didn’t notice them defensively. That must mean they were good.

Hockey Night in Canada: A

Boy, what a joy it is to watch a well-produced hockey game, especially after we had to sit through Sun Network the night before. The production is top-notch. The announcers were unbiased and knowledgeable. Oh, and then there was Don Cherry. He was blabbering so incoherently my wife thought he was drunk. But at least he praised a Canadian soldier who died in combat. That is his one redeeming quality.

Faceoffs: F

Boy, they are going to get killed in this area with Sid out. In fact, I think I’ll track it, just because I like numbers.

Tonight: 24/53, 45%. Worse, they were only 3/7, 43% on the power play.

Striped Buffoon Huh? Call of the Game:

Early in the game, Hamrlik blatantly interfered with Colby Armstrong, sending him crashing into the boards. It resulted in an injury. But no call. I hope you’re proud of yourselves, Garage League. I thought you were going to take interference out of the game. Yeah, whatever. And now a guy is hurt because a defenseman knew he could get away with it.