Derrick Pouliot shields the puck against an Arizona forechecker Saturday at Consol. — GETTY
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
The sickening crash of Kris Letang to the Consol Energy Center ice, first his upper back to the surface, then his helmeted head into the end boards, will and should override anything else accompanying the Penguins’ 3-2 comeback over the Coyotes this afternoon.
As one team executive put it outside the locker room shortly after the final horn, “Don’t ask me how I’m doing. Right now, I’ve got no idea.”
Thoroughly understood and appreciated.
Letang was hit by Phoenix’s Shane Doan in the second period, momentarily after making a head-man pass out of the Pittsburgh zone. To my view — and I respect that others are entitled to their own — Doan followed through on a check just as Letang was awkwardly adjusting his balance after releasing the puck. And once that occurred, Doan’s push resulted in Letang spilling hard and staying prone for nearly three minutes amid a hush in the arena.
All Mike Johnston disclosed afterward was that Letang had been taken to the hospital, though it was telling, and perhaps encouraging, that he wouldn’t even rule out Letang returning tomorrow against the Sharks. That, as well as stuff behind the scenes, sounded more encouraging than not, even if Letang is being held overnight for observation.
The bulk of the buzz, naturally, was on the legality of the check, since no penalty was called and the crowd was vocally displeased about it. So let’s get that out of the way.
Two things matter here, per the NHL rulebook:
1. The hit can’t be late.
I don’t think it is. I’ve seen it timed already, by one Canadian outlet studying the video, at .54 seconds. That’s well within league guidelines for late hits, including as it pertains to suspensions. There was much fuss on social media about how far the puck was up ice when contact was made. That’s irrelevant. All that matters is time elapsed between the release of the pass and the check.
2. The victim can’t be driven into the boards.
This is murkier. Letang was close enough to the boards for Doan to have boarded him, but the push itself hardly came across as having sufficient force for that intent. And the mere fact that Letang landed on his back, then slid into the end boards probably discounts this, as well. Boarding is almost never called boarding unless the victim first strikes the boards.
Johnston claimed he didn’t see the check, which given his precise memory of every minute detail of every game struck me as implausible, but maybe he just wanted to stay out of the fray. The Penguins’ players didn’t offer much more than that. Some expressed dismay at the necessity of the hit, some wondered if maybe it was late, but there was nothing remotely in the realm of outrage.
Even Steve Downie, who picked up mega-brownie points and probably a few FuelPerks for later fighting Doan then ramming home a sensational slap shot, sounded like he had no issue with the legality: “He’s a hard player. He’s going to finish his hits,” Downie said of Doan. “It was unfortunate the way Tanger fell, but I have nothing but respect for Doan. He did the right thing. That’s hockey right there.”
And this was informative, too, from Doan: “He’s so good. We talk about it, how you can’t let him jump by you, and I just went to make sure I got a piece of him so he couldn’t jump by me. And obviously, he went into the boards awkward. We have to finish our checks on him. I hit him just to stop him from jumping by … and you never ever want to see anyone like that, especially a guy with his caliber and everything he’s went through in the past couple years, you never want to see that.”
Teams finish their checks on Letang. It’s part of being Letang.
That’s that, as far as I’m concerned. Further word on his health is expected tomorrow morning. Here’s hoping for the best for someone who, as Doan cited, really could use better luck.
Now, all that said, there was one moment of this game that just might matter quite a bit for these Penguins going forward, and it doesn’t deserve to get lost amid all the rest.
Enjoy …
Wow, right?
This is what archaeologists commonly refer to as a power-play goal.
Regular readers will recognize the formation, even though it’s only been a figment of my imagination to this point, but there it was, each man in exactly the right spot doing exactly the right thing:
• Paul Martin, this team’s smartest power-play performer, was on the ice only because Letang was out, but you could see the value right away. Rather than blindly flick a pass or shot in the direction of the net, he waited and moved it the right way. One shortcoming of this power play, in my view, has been a blind acceptance of the coaching staff’s shoot-everything decree. There are times to dish. Martin knows the difference.
• Evgeni Malkin was on the half-wall. I’ve advocated for Malkin in the high slot or anywhere other than the point, but this is ideal. Unlike Crosby, he’s a legit threat to shoot. Unlike with Crosby, the Coyotes’ defenders had to take that threat seriously, if you watch how they veer his way. So when Malkin goes cross-ice to Derrick Pouliot, he gets an actual lane.
• Pouliot, who was born on the power play, skates up the left side and looks over the scene. And again, rather than just making a play to make a play, he keeps his head up and sees not one but two bodies near Mike Smith’s crease. He aims it their way.
• Patric Hornqvist goes to the net. Of course he does. And he takes two Coyotes with him.
• Crosby goes to the net.
I’ll let that last sentence marinate a moment.
The captain sees the traffic, sees the opportunity and, rather than simply standing off to the side and surveying, he opts to get involved. And in doing so, the puck clanks off him for maybe the ugliest, maybe the prettiest goal he’s scored all season, depending on one’s perspective.
I asked Pouliot, Crosby and Johnston to take us through the sequence …
There’s negative reinforcement and positive. I’ve always preferred the latter. The Penguins are a team, if you ask me, that will go as far in the Stanley Cup playoffs as their power play will push them. Other factors will be secondary.
If they want to get serious about fixing it, they now have Exhibit A.
Hey DK, I'm sure you are aware, but I wanted to mention that some readers are unable to play some of the videos you post. I have a Samsung S5 Active and maybe that the issue, but all I see is this, " This video format is not supported on your device." Can anyone help with my dilema? Thank you!
Nice comeback win, first one right?. I wouldn't put too much stock into it though, Coyotes are just a bad team. The Coyotes 2nd goal was the result of Downie over playing the puck in the other end with the empty net, got trapped and away went the Coyotes the other way for a typical defensive let down.
Still thought to judge this Pens team as they still didn't have the full compliment with Perron out. I still don't see them getting out of the 1st round, and if 58 is out I don't think they even win 2 games. I think the massive amount of man games lost has taken a cumulative toll on this team. They're still not playing 60 minute games with the intensity needed to beat good teams.
We'll have to wait and see. It just seems that Ken Dryden keeps showing up in net at the opposite end every night.
The article is doing some strange flashing on the app. Makes it hard to read. This has happened before to me. Maybe have the tech people take a look. Thanks!
Fixed now, Kev. That was the gif. I've relegated it to hyperlink status.
cooneykevin
3-28-2015, 9:14 pm
All is working now. Thanks. Love the site by the way. Striking out on your own like this was a fantastic, and novel, idea.
yinzer84
3-28-2015, 7:20 pm
Didn't agree with the call on Comeau's hit, looked incidental. Doan obviously wasn't trying to injury Letang but Letang seemed to be in a vulnerable position. Such is hockey. Really hope Tanger is alright.
Letang is being kept overnight for observation, so I can't imagine that being encouraging. I hope what DK observed behind the scenes is better than it looks.
That's not a huge deal, in general. A hospital can keep you overnight for observation and it's just like it sounds--they're just watching you. You can feel perfectly fine, and *be* perfectly fine, but they're being cautious. If you're being admitted for treatment/testing/surgery, that's much more serious
NPerino
3-28-2015, 7:40 pm
The Pens dominated this game and I really like how they played. That said, make no mistake about it, the power play will be irrelevant in the playoffs. Look back at the past Cup winners. Tell me the last one to have a power play in the top half of the league. Since 2001-2002, only the 02 Wings, the 07 Ducks, & the 08 Wings had PPs that ranked above 16th in the entire league (credit that stat to Ryan Wilson, not my research). The thing this team must do is carry possession and dominate the shots category. They did that the entire first half and did that today. The refs put the whistles away in the playoffs, taking advantage of pp opportunities is extremely important, but has not been indicative of who will win the Cup.
it's absolutely perplexing that Johnston/Tocchet refuse to put Martin on the #1 PP Unit. And almost infuriating that he gives Martin zero mention when talking about the goal. it simply doesn't happen with Letang on the ice because he doesn't have QB of PP patience.
We need to hope and pray LeTang doesn't suffer any long term injury. Our
bad luck just seems to be hanging around forever. Great read and love the videos. Enjoy the Riverhounds tonight!
Pens go into their last March game at 6-6-2 but it feels like it was a lot worse. Of course 2 years ago they marched through March unbeaten at 15-0 and stayed hot until the Bruins sweep. So March is not necessarily a good barometer of playoff success. 93 Pens finished 17-0-1 and were 21-1-1 going into the Isles series.
That hit by Doan was totally unnecessary, the puck was way up the ice and that's where he should have been. He was running around all game like a jerk.
Why would a forward worry about finishing a check when his team was heading the other way?
Here's my problem with the Doan hit. And i realize this might not be in any violation of nhl rules. The puck was alreayd sent up ice and there was no need to hit Letang at all. Regardless of the actual time after the pass, the play had moved up ice. That hit ads no value to the play whatsoever. Just garage league chicanery.
Sad that it takes an injury for the Pens reconfigure their power play. They have the personel, but their plan A needs thrown out in place of what we saw today on the Crosby goal.
March 28, 2015
Column: Savor Exhibit A of that power play
by Dejan Kovacevic • Columns • Penguins
Derrick Pouliot shields the puck against an Arizona forechecker Saturday at Consol. — GETTY
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
The sickening crash of Kris Letang to the Consol Energy Center ice, first his upper back to the surface, then his helmeted head into the end boards, will and should override anything else accompanying the Penguins’ 3-2 comeback over the Coyotes this afternoon.
As one team executive put it outside the locker room shortly after the final horn, “Don’t ask me how I’m doing. Right now, I’ve got no idea.”
Thoroughly understood and appreciated.
Letang was hit by Phoenix’s Shane Doan in the second period, momentarily after making a head-man pass out of the Pittsburgh zone. To my view — and I respect that others are entitled to their own — Doan followed through on a check just as Letang was awkwardly adjusting his balance after releasing the puck. And once that occurred, Doan’s push resulted in Letang spilling hard and staying prone for nearly three minutes amid a hush in the arena.
Take a look for yourself.
All Mike Johnston disclosed afterward was that Letang had been taken to the hospital, though it was telling, and perhaps encouraging, that he wouldn’t even rule out Letang returning tomorrow against the Sharks. That, as well as stuff behind the scenes, sounded more encouraging than not, even if Letang is being held overnight for observation.
The bulk of the buzz, naturally, was on the legality of the check, since no penalty was called and the crowd was vocally displeased about it. So let’s get that out of the way.
Two things matter here, per the NHL rulebook:
1. The hit can’t be late.
I don’t think it is. I’ve seen it timed already, by one Canadian outlet studying the video, at .54 seconds. That’s well within league guidelines for late hits, including as it pertains to suspensions. There was much fuss on social media about how far the puck was up ice when contact was made. That’s irrelevant. All that matters is time elapsed between the release of the pass and the check.
2. The victim can’t be driven into the boards.
This is murkier. Letang was close enough to the boards for Doan to have boarded him, but the push itself hardly came across as having sufficient force for that intent. And the mere fact that Letang landed on his back, then slid into the end boards probably discounts this, as well. Boarding is almost never called boarding unless the victim first strikes the boards.
Johnston claimed he didn’t see the check, which given his precise memory of every minute detail of every game struck me as implausible, but maybe he just wanted to stay out of the fray. The Penguins’ players didn’t offer much more than that. Some expressed dismay at the necessity of the hit, some wondered if maybe it was late, but there was nothing remotely in the realm of outrage.
Even Steve Downie, who picked up mega-brownie points and probably a few FuelPerks for later fighting Doan then ramming home a sensational slap shot, sounded like he had no issue with the legality: “He’s a hard player. He’s going to finish his hits,” Downie said of Doan. “It was unfortunate the way Tanger fell, but I have nothing but respect for Doan. He did the right thing. That’s hockey right there.”
And this was informative, too, from Doan: “He’s so good. We talk about it, how you can’t let him jump by you, and I just went to make sure I got a piece of him so he couldn’t jump by me. And obviously, he went into the boards awkward. We have to finish our checks on him. I hit him just to stop him from jumping by … and you never ever want to see anyone like that, especially a guy with his caliber and everything he’s went through in the past couple years, you never want to see that.”
Teams finish their checks on Letang. It’s part of being Letang.
That’s that, as far as I’m concerned. Further word on his health is expected tomorrow morning. Here’s hoping for the best for someone who, as Doan cited, really could use better luck.
Now, all that said, there was one moment of this game that just might matter quite a bit for these Penguins going forward, and it doesn’t deserve to get lost amid all the rest.
Enjoy …
Wow, right?
This is what archaeologists commonly refer to as a power-play goal.
Regular readers will recognize the formation, even though it’s only been a figment of my imagination to this point, but there it was, each man in exactly the right spot doing exactly the right thing:
• Paul Martin, this team’s smartest power-play performer, was on the ice only because Letang was out, but you could see the value right away. Rather than blindly flick a pass or shot in the direction of the net, he waited and moved it the right way. One shortcoming of this power play, in my view, has been a blind acceptance of the coaching staff’s shoot-everything decree. There are times to dish. Martin knows the difference.
• Evgeni Malkin was on the half-wall. I’ve advocated for Malkin in the high slot or anywhere other than the point, but this is ideal. Unlike Crosby, he’s a legit threat to shoot. Unlike with Crosby, the Coyotes’ defenders had to take that threat seriously, if you watch how they veer his way. So when Malkin goes cross-ice to Derrick Pouliot, he gets an actual lane.
• Pouliot, who was born on the power play, skates up the left side and looks over the scene. And again, rather than just making a play to make a play, he keeps his head up and sees not one but two bodies near Mike Smith’s crease. He aims it their way.
• Patric Hornqvist goes to the net. Of course he does. And he takes two Coyotes with him.
• Crosby goes to the net.
I’ll let that last sentence marinate a moment.
The captain sees the traffic, sees the opportunity and, rather than simply standing off to the side and surveying, he opts to get involved. And in doing so, the puck clanks off him for maybe the ugliest, maybe the prettiest goal he’s scored all season, depending on one’s perspective.
I asked Pouliot, Crosby and Johnston to take us through the sequence …
There’s negative reinforcement and positive. I’ve always preferred the latter. The Penguins are a team, if you ask me, that will go as far in the Stanley Cup playoffs as their power play will push them. Other factors will be secondary.
If they want to get serious about fixing it, they now have Exhibit A.