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What Went Wrong: Pittsburgh Penguins

Mark Letestu, Brooks Orpik, Ben Lovejoy, Paul Martin, Tyler Kennedy

Pittsburgh Penguins’ Mark Letestu (10), Ben Lovejoy (6), Paul Martin, Tyler Kenndy (48), and Brooks Orpik, left rear, watch as the Tampa Bay Lightning celebrate a 1-0 win in the deciding Game 7 of a first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, April 27, 2011. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

AP

Of all the first round exits, the Penguins might have the most easily diagnosed reason why they’re bowing out of the playoffs early. When looking over their numbers after being taken out in seven games, while one reason why they’re toast is obvious there are others lurking below the surface that help explain their early entrance to the offseason.

If you think everything centers around not having Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin around, you’re missing the mark. What went wrong for the Penguins? Let us count the ways.

1. Powerless power play
Let’s just get this out of the way first. The Penguins power play was abysmal. While the Bruins’ power play in these playoffs was technically worse since they didn’t score any goals in 21 chances, the Penguins power play may have cost them the series. Scoring at a 2.2% clip and going 1-35 in the series is awful. They had no cohesion, no real flow, nothing creative going on at all. They stunk.

In a series that demanded teams to find a way to score goals, the Pens had ample opportunity to put pucks in the net through the series (58:51 to be exact) and potted just one goal. That’s not getting it done for any team. When you’ve gotten nearly a full game’s worth of power play time over a seven game series you have to score more. We know all about how they didn’t have Crosby and Malkin and that’s fine, but adjustments have to be made especially since they spent half the season without those two. Give credit to Tampa Bay’s penalty kill for being tough, but at some point you’d think the law of averages had to give in and it never did.

2. Matt Cooke was sorely missed
Crazy thought right? Not so much when you consider how important Cooke was to the Pens penalty kill this season. For all of Cooke’s bad parts to his game, he’s a tremendous penalty killer for them. With Cooke out for the series thanks to his suspension, the Lightning were able to make a nice living on the power play going 8-27 in the series (29.6%). Half of those goals came in Game 5 that saw Tampa Bay win 8-2, but the point was hammered home that if Pittsburgh took penalties they were instantly playing with fire.

While the Pens would run the risk of giving up a few more power play opportunities with Cooke running around and doing his thing on the ice, his role on the PK was vital for them. Without him there the Lightning ran wild. With such a special teams advantage for Tampa Bay on both sides of the ledger, they were able to eke things out.

3. Offensive frustration personified
The Pens offense averaged two goals per game. That’s asking a lot out of Marc-Andre Fleury to be flawless. The Pens offense, instead, managed to not even be able to hit the net. Pittsburgh was second in the playoffs in missed shots with 108. Making matters tougher on them, the Lightning blocked a playoff best 145 shots. With guys either getting in their way or the Penguins missing the net entirely, it’s not shocking they had such a hard time scoring. When the shots did get through, Dwayne Roloson was there waiting to stop them. The Penguins led all teams in the playoffs through the first round with 257 shots on goal.

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We all know what the Penguins were missing in the playoffs this year. They were without two of the premiere offensive weapons in the NHL and they were also without their best penalty killer. Provided all things go well next season, they’ll have all of them back as they challenge for the Stanley Cup once again.

Dan Bylsma proved himself to be one of the best coaches in the NHL after juggling knives the way he did this season with injuries. The series loss stings, but if Crosby and Malkin needed further motivation to bounce back in a huge way next season, they’ve got it now.