Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Bottom Line Is Top Players In Pittsburgh Need to Be Better

05/24/2016 at 8:34am EDT

from Mike Zeisberger of hte Toronto Sun,

...Letang has to be better, both between the boards and between the ears.

When defenceman Trevor Daley broke his ankle in the second period of Game 4, the onus on Letang to carry the load became even stronger now that the Penguins No. 2 defenceman was lost for the remainder of the playoffs. Instead, he was anything but.

Within minutes of Daley’s injury, Letang snapped, shooting a puck at the Lightning forward, then immediately hunting down big-bodied Tampa Bay winger Brian Boyle. With Letang serving a subsequent double minor for his brain drain, Tampa Bay scored a power-play goal to go up 3-0 in a game they would win 4-3.

How is that helping your team?

In Game 5, Letang was on the ice for all four Lightning goals. How is that helping your team?

In both cases, it isn’t. And he didn’t.

Of his dubious minus-4 result, Letang said Monday: “That’s a stat and I certainly didn’t feel that good to look at it, but break down the film, it’s a team game. Some nights I will get plus, and I don’t do anything out there. But certainly, I have to be better, and I have a chance to prove it (Tuesday).”

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from Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review,

Wouldn't blame Ron Burkle and Mario Lemieux, co-owners trying to sell their majority share in the Penguins, for moving on from some player they've grown to cherish. Couldn't blame any of those players — centers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, defenseman Kris Letang, and Fleury — if the ice looked cleaner outside of Pittsburgh.

Change for the sake of change is always the worst of ideas.

But seven years without a return to the Cup Final seems like it should be one too many for the Penguins' Big Four to garner even one more shot to chase Lord Stanley's chalice together.

Before Tuesday night, Sullivan should pull Crosby, Malkin and Letang into his office for a chat. He should plead for them to set a proper example of patience and persistence early in Game 6. If the players don't want to hear it, Sullivan should show them how those attributes have paid off for the Lightning.

Also, Sullivan would be wise to bring in Fleury and explain the situation clearly to the Big Four as a whole.

This might be your last game together as Penguins. You're the ones who have been Penguins the longest. Make it count.

Extra motivation never hurt a desperate hockey club. If the Penguins don't look desperate from the opening faceoff Tuesday night, the legacies of Crosby, Malkin, Letang and Fleury likely will look different than any of us figured they would on June 12, 2009.

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

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