ALL HAIL THE KING

This post comes a little late, but still.. King Henrik of Manhattan proved me wrong. He was not about to go down in five. Instead he showed us how great he is under pressure and what a clutch goalie he is when it matters the most. He carried his team for the remaining three games against Pittsburgh and he was spectacular in Game 7.

Lundqvist earns his fifth straight Game 7 win. 

After Game 4 I thought the New York Rangers were done. The Penguins really looked like they were in control of the series after having won three straight since losing Game 1. I still don't think I was way off doubting the Blueshirts after what really was a poor performance through those three losses. But this is what is so great about hockey. Anything can happen and momentum is hard to predict. It can shift from game to game or, as in this series, in sets of three games. What is clear is that while the Rangers seemed to rally together and lift their game to a higher level while the Pittsburgh Penguins fell apart completely. And, although Sidney Crosby stated after Game 7 that he was healthy, something clearly wasn't right with the Pittsburgh star player. Except for a game or two, he was a non factor in this series.

So what will happen in Pittsburgh? Was this Dan Bylsma's last game as a Penguins coach? Likely, yes. Crosby's leadership has been questioned. Will that have further consequences? We'll see.

Catch me if you can

Dustin Penner, Scottie Upshall, Shawn Thornton, Benoit Pouliot, Erik Christensen, Matt Stajan, Scott Gomez, Darren Helm, Niklas Hagman, Jeff Halpern, Samuel Pahlsson, Nick Palmieri, Justin Abdelkader, Drew Miller, Chuck Kobasew, Matthew Lombardi, Raffi Torres, Derek MacKenzie, Michal Handzus, Todd Bertuzzi, Brian Rolston, Ville Leino, Sam Gagner, Brian Boyle, RJ Umberger, Manny Malhotra, Dan Cleary, Eric Belanger, Arron Asham, Mike Knuble, Wayne Simmonds, Lars Eller, Guillaume Latendresse, Rene Bourque, Tyler Kennedy, Mark Giordano, Maxim Lapierre, Jeff Carter, Brad Boyes, Jamie Langenbrunner, David Clarkson, Jordin Tootoo, Joel Ward, Ruslan Fedetenko, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Brenden Morrow, Cal Clutterbuck, Matt D'Agostini, Andrew Cogliano, David Booth, Dave Bolland, Lee Stepniak, Josh Gorges, Frans Nielsen, Alexander Semin, Ales Hemsky, Travis Moen, Martin Havlat, Nikolai Kulemin, Michael Grabner, Patric Hornqvist, Sergei Kostitsyn.

These are all players whom Sidney Crosby have passed in the scoring race just seven games after his return. In how many games from now will he crack the top 30?

Sid the Hypocrite

Sidney Crosby spent a year away from the NHL because of a concussion. During that time he has spoken out against head shots, stressing the importance of getting rid of them. Well, I guess that was all talk or perhaps he thinks it's ok for him to hand out elbows to the head, like he did to Nick Foligno. It sure wasn't pretty and Crosby should be suspended for it, though he probably won't be.

......

Something Crosby Can't Do

Worst Shootout Percentage:
Patrice Bergeron, C, Boston (0-for-5)
Sidney Crosby, C, Pittsburgh (0-for-4)
Miroslav Satan, RW, Pittsburgh (0-for-4)

This is pretty interesting. Why can't Crosby score in a shootout? Obviously, the other two's lack of notching in a shootout is equaly mysterious.


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