Turning Point: Pens need to get past Philly's defense
By Brian A. Shactman
ESPN.com
A major reason the Flyers dispatched the Sabres with relative ease was because Philly's defense wouldn't allow Buffalo's forwards the opportunity to crash rookie goalie Brian Boucher. The Sabres didn't get many second-chance opportunities, and often the big Flyers defenders simply kept the middle open.
Boucher saw everything.
|  | | Hrdina and his ability to score is one of the keys for Pittsburgh. |
Pittsburgh cannot let that happen in their conference semifinal matchup with the Flyers. The Penguins not only have to crash the net whenever possible, their forwards have to work Philly's defense wide, especially in transition, to test the speed of big players like Chris Therien and Luke Richardson.
The good news is that Pittsburgh is much better up front than Buffalo. Jaromir Jagr will draw a lot of attention -- more than any player Buffalo threw out on the ice -- and that should open space for others. It is just a matter of how well forwards like Jiri Slegr, Jan Hrdina, Martin Straka and Alexei Kovalev fight through checks.
The Penguins are highly skilled; there's little doubt about that. But the Flyers will be a lot more physical than Washington was vs. Pittsburgh in the first round.
In the end, Jagr will get his points. The key will be when Philly pressures him so much that he needs to look pass first. In the previous series, players like Hrdina finished off Jagr's feeds. That has to keep happening.
Boucher is a solid goaltender, and there were moments when Philly had defensive breakdowns. However, that happened only sporadically, and now Buffalo is gone.
The Penguins' skill is impressive, but won't mean much if some toughness doesn't enable forwards to get rebounds and garbage opportunities.
Brian A. Shactman is the NHL Editor for ESPN.com. |
