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Penguins loss not just Crosby and Malkin’s fault

Image (1) Crosby7-thumb-250x277-11424.jpg for post 1587

David Staples of the Edmonton Journal has a great post up this morning, on how the little moves made by GM Bob Gainey have certainly paid off this postseason. While many teams went after the big name acquisitions (and only Dany Heatley’s trade has truly paid off for the Sharks), the Canadiens decided to instead go for role players, hard working forwards that have made a big difference for the Habs in the postseason.

He also breaks down what happened with the Penguins, saying this wasn’t just about Crosby and Malkin not having a good series:

* Some folks may suggest Sidney Crosby choked, or that Evgeni Malkin did. While neither had his best game, Crosby did help manufacture one Pittsburgh goal with tough play in front of the net. The real goat on the Pens was Marc-Andre Fleury, who has a great reputation but lets in far too many soft goals in big games for my liking. Yes, he had a strong enough series against Detroit last year, but that came after stinking it out the year before.

While Crosby and Malkin were certainly outplayed by the Habs’ dynamic duo of Brian Gionta and Mike Cammalleri (that’s a sentence I never thought I’d write), you can’t put all the blame squarely on their shoulders.

In their biggest game of the season, Fleury was downright horrible; inexcusable when compared to what was happening on the other end of the ice. No matter what his overall playoffs record may indicate, Fleury has had just one truly memorable performance in the postseason. Even then, he was marred by soft goals and despite what some claim he’s yet to prove himself an elite goaltender in the playoffs.

What has to be most concerning for the Penguins is what has happened on the blue line and along the wing. The Penguins received nearly zero production from their secondary scorers and while this team is known for it’s depth at center it’s the lack of depth along the wing that was the ultimate kick in the teeth.

The Penguins are a team that has been built on star power, much like the Capitals, but it was an overall team effort by a number of role players that ultimately made the difference for the Canadiens.