Luongo and Fleury: Why I Think They Might Have A Problem Getting #1 Back!

By all accounts, Roberto Luongo and Marc Andre-Fleury have had great careers. Both seem to have a shot at the Hall Of Fame (Fleury has won 3 Stanley Cups, Luongo has been on 3 international championship teams), as both are closing in / past the 400 win mark. Luongo also has 74 shutouts, just two less than Tony Esposito. Not bad company.

So the 2017/18 season started out with each as THE man in the crease. Fleury seemed a lock for sure, as his Las Vegas Golden Knights were an expansion team and there was no one else around with the chance to take him off the #1 charts.

But then injuries struck him, and later, Luongo.

Fleury held the fort for 4 games, as him numbers were good: 3-1-0, 2.48, .925! Hey, job's his right? Not quite. A bad concussion that he has yet to return from in a loss to Detroit October 13th game, has allowed others to step in.

As I mentioned before, Vegas has used 5 goalies (So far) this season. But none were in Fleury's class. But then PK Subban's brother Malcolm, with all of 2 NHL experience with the Bruins, found his way into the crease, and wonders never ceased.

In 9 games (1 no-decision), Subban is 6-2-0, with a 2.27 GAA and .923 S%. Maybe it's all a fluke, but the guy has yet to come down to earth. Is Fleury's job in trouble. According to Hockey-Reference, it's possible a return in soon, but he'll have to battle it out with the kid for his spot. At this point, some of the fluke part of Las Vegas' surprising start is starting to wear off. The team is currently (Dec 8, 2017) 17-9-1, good enough for 2nd place in the competitive Pacific. Why not try to make the playoffs? With this kind of goaltending depth, the team is likely to alter Fleury and Subban since Malcolm has proven he belongs in there. Oscar Dansk, the other hot goalie, is down with an injury, too, but went 3-0-0 with a shutout for good measure. Gotta wonder if he is in the equation for this season.

Luongo was cruising and James Reimer was doing some winning and losing in the Florida Panthers' crease this year. Reimer won his 5th game last night, 6-4. Okay, not his best performance, but where is Roberto? Luongo (6-6-0) has been hurt and expected to be on the shelve for anywhere from two to five weeks.

James Reimer took it all in Toronto, and loved playing their. Okay, he's not the most talented goalie in the world, fine. But he always gives you 100%. He'll battle it out right down to the final buzzar. Certainly, he is still young, just 29 (Compared to Luongo, who is 38), but nonetheless, burst on to the scene way back in 2009/10. His experience in Toronto no doubt prepares him for the "Must win every game," expectations, but forget about that, he's coming into his own: 40-36-15, 2.60, .916) in the last two seasons plus 2017/18 (98 games). I think this is the type of situation where he'll really want to show you what he's made of. In his last half-season in Toronto, he wanted it. Same thing in his first. Why would this time be any different? With Luongo's age a factor, and a determined 1B goalie, Roberto might be fighting for that #1 position for the rest of the season when he returns. Don't be surprised if he's riding the pines half the time should Florida be in playoff contention. Reimer, don't forget, played in 43 games last year, more than half the season.

References

"Official Site of the National Hockey League” | NHL.com. National Hockey League. Web. 8 Dec. 2017. <https://www.nhl.com>

NHL.com. “Rotoworld - Fantasy Baseball, Basketball, Football, Baseball and Hockey. Draft Guide, News, Projections, Cheatsheets, Depth Charts And More.” Team News - Rotoworld.Com. Web. NBC Sports, 8 Dec. 2017, <;www.rotoworld.com/teams/nhl/vgk/vegas-golden-knights>

Sports Reference LLC. Hockey-Reference.com - Hockey Statistics and History. Web. http://www.hockey-reference.com/. Web. 8 Dec. 2017.

Common Denominator: Vegas Golden Knights Goalies (So Far)

That would be Oscar Dansk, Dylan Ferguson, Marc-Andre Fleury Maxime Lagace and Malcolm Subban. Hmmmm...Problems in net? Team is 15-7-1 in their inaugural NHL campaign in 2017/18. So much for the, "Expansion team, 2 points," theory that 30 other NHL teams had.

Vegas is in 1st place in the Pacific Division. 4 points behind St. Louis for first in the Western Conference with 2 games in hand. This is all really happening!

So what's been happening in goal?

Injuries.

Not that it matters. The team has found a way to win. Somehow, the five of net guardians have provided steady goaltending. Although, the 19-year-old Dylan Ferguson has played in just one game. Care to bet that he'll appear again? Why not?

The team started the season with veteran goalie Marc Andre-Fleury. So far in his NHL career, which began way back in 2003/04 with Pittsburgh, he's got 3 Stanley Cups, including a huge role in the Pens more recent win, last season. But after posting some impressive numbers in his first 3 starts (Winning then all), Fleury was injured in a loss to Detroit on October 13. So it was Malcolm Subban, with all of just two 31-minute NHL games over the last two seasons, in between the pipes 2 nights later.

But Subban, the younger brother of the Nashville Predators' star defenceman, won the game 3-1. It was his first NHL win. It would not be his last. He beat Buffalo 5-4 in the Knights' next game, then played, but was pulled against the St. Louis Blues on October 21st. Not to worry, Oscar Dansk came in to play, and ended up the winning goalie in OT.

Dansk has since posted some amazing numbers. He's 3-0 with a GAA of just 1.78. But at the end of the month, he was placed on  the IR with an injury to his lower body. He had recorded the team's very first shutout when Oscar beat the Avs' 7-0 on the 27th.

Maxim Lagace took over for Dansk in a game against the New York Islanders on the 30th, but took the loss, allowing 4 goals in relief. Lagace lost to New York Rangers and Boston, but found his groove, going 5-2-1 since. But his S% suggest the team is playing well in front of him. It's below .900 (.887 in his 9 games, having a no-decision last Friday. Subban, with just 3 saves, won the game).

Lagace was supposed to be out tonight with an injury that has not been disclosed. However, he's backing up Subban as I write this.

Ferguson lost his only game against the Oilers, seeing just 9:14 of playing time on November 14th. It's unknown when Fleury and Dansk will return. If Vegas is to continue to impress and make the playoffs in their first year (What a story that would be!), they'll need Fleury's experience. Dansk looked like the real deal, although Subban has carried the load well. If nothing else, three of the four inexperienced goaltenders are proving they can play in the National Hockey League. Several teams are looking for goaltenders, and perhaps if the injuries continue the Knights might try to acquire Andrew Hammond from Colorado.

23 games in, 61 to go for this franchise in 2017/18. So far, Las Vegas has been the "Feel Good" story of the year. Whether or not they can sustain this remains to be seen. Goaltending is as important to hockey as pitching is to baseball. Looking at Vegas, they've got 4 pretty good starters, kind of like a pitching staff. It's working.

So far.

References

"Official Site of the National Hockey League” | NHL.com. National Hockey League. Web. 30 Nov. 2017. <https://www.nhl.com>

NHL.com. “Rotoworld - Fantasy Baseball, Basketball, Football, Baseball and Hockey. Draft Guide, News, Projections, Cheatsheets, Depth Charts And More.” Team News - Rotoworld.Com. Web NBC Sports, 30 Nov. 2017, <www.rotoworld.com/teams/nhl/vgk/vegas-golden-knights>

Sports Reference LLC. Hockey-Reference.com - Hockey Statistics and History. Web. http://www.hockey-reference.com/. Web. 30 Nov. 2017.

Fleury and Reimer: Have You Seen These Missing Goalies?

Marc-Andre Fleury and James Reimer are two goalies in the same situation in the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs. And, of course, their stats are identical. What brought them to there is quite a different story.

Now, to get it out of the way fast, Reimer isn't the goalie Fleury is. Fleury, of course, helped the Pittsburgh Penguins win the Stanley Cup back in 2009, and make it all the way to the finals the previous year. Although the next few years were a struggle in the playoffs for Marc, he has shown life in the playoffs. Many were hoping that this was the year he regained his form in the playoffs. Although the Pens lost in the second round in 2014 and the first round last season, Marc's play was very good. Healthy, it was thought that he could contribute.

But Marc suffered two concussions this season, the second of which occurred on March 31st, late in the season. It was a shame. He'd won 35 of 58 games (All of them starts), and was in the top ten in save percentage (,921). Actually, that tied his career high. Pittsburgh roared into the playoffs after a bad start, and seemed poised for a deep run. Fleury went down, the Pens tried two goalies in their first round series vs. the Rangers.

Rather than lose it, it was Pittsburgh winning in five (and exact reverse of last season's result, and a repeat of the 2008 Conference Finals). The Pens settled on Matt Murray, rather than the experienced Jeff Zakoff. The move proved to be wise. Although Fleury was back on the bench in the second round series vs. Washington, he never got into any games. This series was excellent, with both Murray and Bradon Holtby providing some real top-notch goaltending. The Pens managed to hold the fort and prevail in six, despite blowing a 3-0 lead at home in the final contest.

The Eastern Conference Finals saw Murray in net against the Tampa Bay Lightning. At Pittsburgh proceeded to lose 3-1. Murray gave up the three goals on 20 shots. But it all likelihood, it will be Murray again in the second contest. Fleury has yet to appear in a single playoff game this postseason. And the Pens have played 12 games so far.

James Reimer is a different story. He hasn't had the stellar career yet that Fleury has. His one venture into the postseason ended with a heartbreaking game seven loss to Boston in 2013. Back then, he was a Toronto Maple Leaf. And he was still there when this season started. But he wasn't the #1 guy.

The Leafs go off to a sluggish start. But then something interesting happened. Toronto, who'd changed coaches in the offseason, started playing him. And he, if nothing else, kept the Leafs in many-a-game. With Toronto's other netminder, Jonathan Bernier struggling, the Leafs actually called up another goalie, Garrett Sparks to play. Garrett was too green to be the main man in the Toronto net.

Reimer played. He got hurt. He came back. He persevered. The Leafs were about a .500 team at the midway point of the season, and James looked like he'd won the job back that had been his back in 2013.

Then came a shocking trade to San Jose. Reimer had been below .500 (11-12-7), but had a .918 S% and low GAA 2.49. Once he got to the Sharks, those number became even better. From there, he went 6-2-0, 1.62, .938! It was truly a remarkable finish. Oh, and he tossed in three shutouts in his eight starts.

But San Jose got him to be the backup. Would you rather be a 1A or 1B on a not-so-good team like Toronto or a backup on a great team like San Jose? Well, in the playoffs, the Sharks turned to Martin Jones for the goaltending duties. Reimer was destined to ride the pines. The Sharks needed just five games to polish off Jones' old team, the Kings. Then, San Jose needed six games to beat the stubborn Nashville Predators. That took them to the Western Conference Finals. They gave the St. Louis Blues all they could handle in the opening tilt, only to lose 2-1. However, the signs here point to a long Conference Finals.

So, will either Fleury or Reimer play? Well, in Reimer's case, I think the answer is only in a relief role. So if Jones get shelled, he'll come in. But Martin has played very well so far, and you have to go with the hot hand (The same, of course, applies to Matt Murray). This is his first ever playoff series (Ditto for Murray) and he has responded well. But the Blues will undoubtedly be his toughest test. Maybe if St. Louis routs San Jose in game two. But I think the Sharks will steal the second contest and look to get ahead of the Blues at home.

Fleury could be a little closer. Is Murray just playing over his head? Well, I though he was the second best goalie out there in the last two games vs. Washington. Tampa Bay's goalie Ben Bishop left the game with an injury in the first game of the Conference Finals. He's listed as day-to-day. But his backup, Andrei Vaslevskiy, took over (Bishop had made nine saves, many of them spectacular before his injury) and was brilliant. Vas stopped 25 of the 26 shots that came his way, and Pittsburgh didn't get one by him until after they were behind 3-0. Game two is a big one. Tampa wants to steal another in Pittsburgh for two reasons: They can wait on Bishop and Steven Stamkos is rumoured to be on the comeback trail, this series! His return will give Tampa a huge boost. The Pens probably want this series in six or less, and losing game one made that just a little bit tougher to accomplish. But if Murray gets off to a bad start in the second game, Fleury will not only be back in the crease, but he'll probably get the nod in game three, as well!


References

The Canadian Press. "Jonathan Bernier Back In Leafs' Net After Minors Stint."  CBC.ca Canadian News Sports Entertainment Kids Docs Radio TV. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 15 Dec. 2015. Web. 16 May 2016. <http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/jonathan-bernier-maple-leafs-1.3366303>.

Gretz, Adam. "Marc-Andre Fleury Will Be Matt Murray's Backup For Pens In Game 3." CBSSports.com. CBS Sports. 2 May 2016. Web. 16 May 2016. <http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/ eye-on-hockey/25575399/marc-andre-fleury-will-be-matt-murrays-backup-for-pens-in-game-3>.

Sports Reference LLC. Hockey-Reference.com - Hockey Statistics and History. http://www.hockey-reference.com/. Web. 16 May 2016.

"Official Site of the National Hockey League." NHL.com. National Hockey League. Web. 16 May 2016. <https://www.nhl.com>.

The Four Departing Goalies In The Big East Were Superb!

So the first round of the 2015 NHL playoffs are over. Four teams are moving on in the East, and four more in the west. That makes eight for you counting. My apologizes to those following the Ducks, Jets, Flames, et all, I was more in tuned with Detroit / Tampa Bay, Montreal / Ottawa, New York / Pittsburgh, New York Islanders (From this point on, they'll be playing in Brooklyn) / Washington Capitals. The storylines seemed to offer plenty of intrigue. And while Ottawa, Pittsburgh, the Islanders and Detroit ended up exiting stage left, their goaltenders looked pretty strong.

The focus in Ottawa was, of course, on Andrew Hammond. Just so that you know, his GAA and S% was actually lower then Carey Price in the regular season. But in order to qualify, you must play 25 games. Hammond played 24. So it was The MVP-Caliber Goalie vs. The Hotshot Rookie (But he doesn't qualify for being a rookie). Craig Anderson, always clutch in the playoffs, was not even supposed to be a factor.

But Ottawa went out and lost the first two games, and by just a single goal. With that, Hammond had more losses in the postseason then the regular season. Enough to prove that his bubble had burst perhaps? Maybe. Game three was a must win for Ottawa, and they turned to Anderson, who only played four games since January 21st. An injury and the emergence of Hammond seemed to spell the end for his time in The Nation's Capital. And the Habs won game three, 2-1 in overtime. Montreal was one win away from advancing. But before I started to feel sorry for Anderson, I just had to look at the stats: 49 SOG, 47 SV! Rust? None!

A performance for the ages. Anderson then pitched a shutout in game four as the series went back to Montreal for it's conclusion. But wait! Anderson had another ace up his sleeve. A dazzling 45-save performance sent it back to Ottawa for game six. It was hard not to be amazed by this, but Anderson has a habit of doing this in the postseason. It took a 43-save performance by Carey Price to beat Anderson and Ottawa in game six, but Montreal only scored once on Craig.

The Sens season was over. Obviously, management has some thinking to do about Hammond and Anderson. Robin Lehner is also there. My money is on Anderson staying. Here's something to consider: In the 2015 postseason, he posted a 0.97 GAA and .972 S%!

Career wise, it's been much of the same, as Anderson has a .933 S% and 2.35 GAA. The guy is just born to play in the postseason. No way is Ottawa parting ways with that kind of postseason performance savy!

The Rangers needed just five games to take out Sid and co. in the first round. The Pens had injuries, of course. And it was enough to turn this potentially-great seven games, into a short, five-game affair. But this one had some goaltending!

Marc Andre Fleury. It's just human, isn't it, to blame him? I mean Sidney Crosby (2 goals and 4 points) and Malkin (0 points) aren't going to get blamed, are they? No way, no how. Now, I didn't think Crosby was too bad in this playoffs. I've seen him play better. But I've also seen him play worse (Think 2014). But back to Fleury. What stat proves all his detractors right? His poor S%, right? Never mind that this year he topped everyone, Price included, in shutouts with 10. Never mind he posted a .933 S% in the 2008 postseason, right? But I know, that save percentage never really been that good. And it needs to be in the postseason. Yet, his GAA is usually pretty good in the playoffs, right? He's had years of 1.97, 2.52, plus 2.40 in 2014 and  2.12 in these playoffs. It just seems like poor Marc never gets the goal support he needs, eh? Where are Sid and Evgeni when you need them? Their offence, as well as their teammates, just seemed to hit a wall by the name of Henrik Lundqvist the last two postseasons.

True enough. The Pens lost all four games, 2-1. They won game two. Fleury gave up three goals, but one was in the waning seconds and Pittsburgh was up 4-2. Crosby got two goals. But Pittsburgh proceeded to lose three straight games, two of which were in OT (Including the deciding game five). So, actually, Fleury allowed a grand total of one goal through sixty minutes of hockey in two of the five games, while posting a S% of .927 throughout that and OT. Those kind of numbers, and his S% of .920 in the regular season, might be a sign of Fleury (All of 30 years and with over 300 wins to his name already) maturing into one of the games' better goalies. Will he ever be elite? We will have to wait and see.

One of Fleury's postseason losses was back in 2010. You might recall it was to Montreal, with Jaroslav Halak in goal. They also topped Washington that year, the round before. Halak almost seemed like a forgotten playoff goalie. The kind that steal the show, as well as a few games. Traded to St. Louis, he had some fine years, but didn't get much playoff action. Which is odd considering that's what St. Louis got him for. When he played in the regular season, he was good. Given a chance to play in the playoffs in 2012, he posted a 1.73 GAA and .973 S% in two games. But that's just that, two games. Was what he did in 2010 all a fluke? Would he ever get a chance to prove himself again? He was there, in 2014/15 with Jonathan Tavares and company. What did he do?

The Islanders, as mentioned before, were playing out their last season in the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, and Halak was there for the ride. All he did was set a franchise record for wins in a single season with 38 in only 59 games. I guess the big problem was his low S%, just .917. Ah, so just like Fleury, he shouldn't even been in-between the pipes in the playoffs, right? Even his GAA (2.43) seemed to prove it was all Tavares and teammates doing the job for him in those 38 wins. What would another crack at Ovie mean? Discomfort, Down-to-earth? Distaster?

What it meant was a seven-game defeat. But, Halak kept 'em in it. He allowed four goals in game two, and another five in game five, but those were Jaro's only bad games. In games one and three, he stopped 24 of 25 shots for the win. In game six, a must win with the Islanders down 3-2, Jaroslav was even better, stopping 38 of 39 Washington shots in huge win. And, in the finale, Halak allowed just two goals while New York could only pot one. The future looks bright for Halak. He also has 182 regular season wins to his name already (Coincidentally, so does Anderson) and 30 playoff games with a .924 S% under his belt. That number is actually better, if you throw away his .889 mark from back in 2008 with the Habs. Halak has been money in the playoffs ever since, and I think you can count on that every postseason from here on in.

Petr Mrazek for Detroit, is the kid among these men. He's just 23 and played in his first game seven about an hour or so ago. It was a tough one, as he took a 2-0 loss to Ben Bishop and the Lightning. For a while, this kid was steering Detroit to an upset. Mzarek was the Andrew Hammond of the playoffs. But in the regular season, he appeared in just five more games then Hammond (29) and won 16 of them. But his .918 S% did not bode well for the postseason. But Detroit, can make any goalie look good, right?

But Mrazek was good, and made Detroit look that way in game one. And he made Tampa Bay look human. He stopped 44 of 46 shots on goal right there in Tampa as Detroit stole game one. In game three, he recorded his first playoff shutout. With things all even at two games for game five (Again in Tampa), Petr stepped up again. Another shutout. And now just one win away!

Detroit, alas, never got it. Mzarek was ordinary in game six (four goals on twenty-seven shots) and not quite up for the task in game seven. He did, however, stop 15 of 16 SOG, only to lose 2-0 (Tampa got an ENG to seal the deal) in the final game.

A tough way to lose, but the kid showed so much poise. Two shutouts in his first playoff series. Taking Tampa to game seven? I say we give Petr the benefit of the doubt. Detroit has a bright future with this kid.

The playoffs are a tough time for all. Scores shrink. Whistles are put away by the men in black and white. Pressure builds. Emotions boil over. Sanity is tested. The goalies seem to suffer the most, because that next goal might be the fatal one. A tired, old veteran who was written off, an under-appreciated tender lost in the mix of superstars, a forgotten playoff hero of some years past. And a promising rookie. Each was in a tough situation with the postseason spotlight shining right on them. And while their teams may have come up a goal or two short too many times, these masked marvels came through when the playoff pressure was there.


References

http://www.nhl.com/

http://www.hockey-reference.com

http://www.puckrant.com/index.php/component/k2/item/325-the-10-biggest-scapegoats-in-the-nhl

http://www.newsday.com/sports/hockey/islanders/islanders-have-confidence-in-jaroslav-halak-1.10335868

The Pens: The "Other" Players And The Stars! What Will Make The Difference?

So the Pens squared the series with the Rangers with a good overall team effort yesterday. Three crucial games are next, starting tonight.

Pittsburgh impressed me with their overall team play. I think this is a crucial element for their success. Others can play well, but so too must the stars. Take Sid Crosby and Marc-Andre Fleury as examples.

Crosby is struggling statistically. He's stuck on 6 assists. His faceoff W% is only 48.7. In the game one OT loss to New York, he was on the ice for the winning goal in overtime and the two other goals the Rangers scored. 0 points and he won only 32% of the faceoffs. Yet the Pens rallied from an early deficit and forced it to overtime before losing. Several Pens have picked up the slack. That's great. They'll keep you in there. But you need your best players to produce in order to win.

Paul Martin is not know for his offence, yet he has 8 assists in 8 games, despite failed to get a point in his last four games. But in that span of being held pointless, Paul has also been a +4. Lee Stempniak,  although it hasn't shown statistically, has been playing terrific hockey. And his goal in game 1 helped the Pens get to OT after trailing 2-0. Evgeni Malkin, six games without a goal for a stretch, now has 4 goals and 6 points in his last three games. So there are some "other" players and the "other" star player to pick up the slack for Sid!

A sidenote here is Pittsburgh has not lost a game in regulation in the 2014 playoffs. But they are 0-3 in OT.

Crosby had an interesting game 2. He got 8 shots on goal, but failed to pick up a goal. Actually, he failed to pick up an assist. His goal scoring slump now goes back to March 30th, a span of 13 games. So far. Sid has also failed to pick up a point in his last two games. The goal scoring drought is at 13 games, dating back to last year's series against Ottawa. Perhaps ditching that face shield was a mistake.

But, he won 50 % of the draws in game 2 vs. the Rangers. He also registered 6 shots on goal, and played over 20 minutes. He set up some nice plays. Watching that, I could help but think his time will come. The Rangers looked flat, and now there's a game tonight 24 hours later. Will the Rangers be tired? Did they not go seven to beat the Flyers in the first round? Perhaps that is catching up with them.

But there will be no one to pick up the slack for Marc-Andre Fleury. I think the Pens are in a situation where it's him or bust. And that is pressure, believe me. Ken Dryden once said that the goal of a goalie on a poor team is to keep them in the game, while a goalie on a great team needs to make the key saves.

Fleury did just that in game 2. He made several key saves on some big chances by New York. The Ranger powerplay, while in a slump, did everything but score in this game. The game's first goal was crucial, and New York looked liked they'd have it. But Fleury made the key saves there, and later on to preserve the lead an earn the shutout.

The is really no point in boring you with stats. The Pens are the better team here, but not by much. However Fleury is clearly not the goaltender that Henrik Lundqvist is, and it showed even in game 2. It had already shown in game 1. Do I bring up Fleury's puck handling skills here? No, that would be too cruel. King Henry made 32 of 34 stops to keep the Rangers in this thing, and looked miles better than Fleury, simply because Lundqvist is miles better than Fleury. Yet, if Fleury can play like he did in the second and third period of game 1, and all three periods of game 2, then Henrik better not have any games even slightly off. Lundqvist save percentage is .926 and his goals-against-average is 2.07. Oh, and he was huge in game 7. The last time Fleury was huge in game 7 was 2009. Ancient history.

Yet Fleury's save percentage is .914, and his GAA is 2.49. With the team in front of him able to pick up the slack for Crosby, they might also be able to pick up the slack for Marc as well. Many, but not all, of the goals he has given up have been the result of bad giveaways. But Marc has to take the heat for the tying goal by Columbus in game 4 of that first round playoff. And then he let up a softy in OT. His other problem, I feel, has been the rebound control. But in game 2 against New York, he showed you he can make the save, and deflect the puck into the corner. He needs to do that more often.

Can Crosby get going? I think he can if he keeps going at what he's at right now. Can Fleury get back to 2008 and 2009 form? If the Pens keep giving it away and Marc has those mental lapses, no. But the Pens are the better team here. Kris Letang had one of his best games in a while, and Martin is playing better than ever. With guys like that on defence, plus Malkin and Matt Niskanen (another defenceman averaging a point a game) picking it up the slack on offence, Sid and Marc have the help they need. But they too, must come to the plate when Pittsburgh needs them. That will be the determining factor!