Igloo Insider: Crosby hits 20, Pens in Montreal
If there was ever a time when the Montreal Canadiens could beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, it would be now. Everything looks good for the Habs coming into this matchup- they have won three straight, played pretty convincingly, and most importantly have got good goaltending from both their goaltenders. They even have a snowstorm in their favour, delaying the Pens from arriving in Montreal until 9pm last night.
Carey Price will be in net tonight, and he has won two straight including the 38 save effort against the Bruins in the centennial game. Marc-Andre Fleury is rested and will be looking get back on track after being on the wrong side of Carolina’s huge upset at Mellon Arena on Monday night. Fleury was definitely a factor, giving up 3 goals on 21 shots and certainly shouldn’t have let Ray Whitney’s goal get by. Alex Goligoski will play for Pittsburgh, which will be a huge boost at both ends of the ice. After coming back before for one game and then falling back out of the line-up, Bylsma will be wary of his minutes, but expect him to play full time on the powerplay with the rest of the first unit.
Even if Pittsburgh rallied a little after the first period, the intensity was lacking from start to finish of the Carolina game, and the team could really do with Chris Kunitz back soon to give them the edge that they are missing. Kunitz’s recovery has been somewhat slower that anticipated, as first indications showed that he would be returning in late November. After skating with Goligoski earlier in the week, Kunitz has not yet been activated from Injured Reserve, so it’s difficult to know when he will return. Before slumping just prior to his injury Kunitz had 11 points from the first 13 games, so he is certainly a viable option in fantasy leagues. He is still frequently owned at 53% because of his good PIM production as well as points, but he might be on the wire and has just been picked up in my league.
Sid for 50?
Sidney Crosby scored his 20th goal on Monday, continuing his scoring streak as he just keeps on contributing to what looks like a career year for him in that category. The new stick is working wonders, and Crosby has never reached 20 goals as fast as this season. 20 goals from 30 games, 8 from his last 4, and with 12 points over that span Crosby is not only leading the team but carrying it. John Tavares is understandably again drawing likeness to Crosby with his current play, but no-one can do it by themselves. Sid needs support and hasn’t got much over the past few games, and the lack of production from second-tier guys has eventually caught up with the Pens. Most notable would be Max Talbot who has just one goal from 10 games, despite playing on the top line for most of that period. He isn’t a goalscorer, he is there to create energy with his physical game and make space for Crosby, but he hasn’t made that power-forward impact at all.
Evgeni Malkin hasn’t made his presence felt either. He has not scored a goal since Nov.28, and this wouldn’t be a concern if he was having some kind of impact somewhere else, but he has been quiet on the ice and not his rampant self. He has still totalled a good amount of shots, but is still yet to find last year’s form. However Ruslan Fedotenko has by far been the biggest underperformer, especially considering his top-six status. He hasn’t scored since Nov.12, recording only one point in his last 11 games.
The exception to downward production is Mike Rupp- the main summer addition to the Stanley Cup Champions, who has 9 goals on the season to rank an incredible 2nd in goalscoring on one of the most offensively-talented teams in the league. Rupp has quickly made his career best of 6 goals a thing of the past, and has not stopped since. He has already seen time on different lines, but Dan Bylsma might be giving Rupp the ultimate reward with a place on the first line alongside Sidney Crosby and Bill Guerin. Apparently during the Penguins last practice session this line was exercised from start to finish, and would make sense considering that Chris Kunitz is still suffering, and Rupp could be that protection for Crosby. Him and Sid already showed great chemistry against Colorado on a give-and-go that ended up with Crosby scoring.
No way through
A worrying trend for the Penguins is that goaltenders of all ability are beginning to bring their best when they play Pittsburgh. Colorado fell 4-1 at the Igloo last Thursday, but Peter Budaj was stellar and kept it 2-1 until two empty-net goals, Antti Niemi was incredible and frustrated the Pens as Chicago prevailed in OT, and then most surprising of all, Manny Legace was very solid as he made 32 saves for the Canes. Teams are pumped up to play the cup-holders, and Pittsburgh has really struggled getting through the neutral zone recently, as opponents are learning of ways to shut-down the Penguins, even if you can’t completely eliminate their chance of scoring in the process. This just adds to a powerplay that was already struggling, even since Gonchar came back, and hopefully Alex Goligoski can help get a better entry.
It all doesn’t bode well for playing a Montreal team that hasn’t given their opponents much of a chance once ahead, and they will be fired up after being embarrassed 6-1 after a Crosby hat-trick, and then lost 3-1 when an injury-depleted Habs team visited Pittsburgh in their last meeting. Likewise the Pens seem to have the better of Montreal this season, regardless of who is on each other’s roster.