Apr 23, 2016
Thumbs to Flyers, second-guessing Sullivan
TSN's Dave Hodge extends his thumbs to unpredictability in the NHL playoffs and to anyone who thought Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan should have kept Evgeni Malkin out of the lineup.
By Dave Hodge
This is ridiculously premature, of course, but just in case the Philadelphia Flyers win their next two games against the Washington Capitals, let me be the first to say it would be the biggest playoff shocker of all time.
The other four comebacks from 0-3 deficits were hardly predictable, of course, but they weren’t accomplished by teams that snuck into the playoffs at the expense of teams that were runaway regular-season champions.
And none of the other teams that came back from near-extinction (Toronto 1942, NY Islanders 1975, Philadelphia 2010, Los Angeles 2014) went down 0-3 quite the way these 2016 Flyers did. Washington’s 6-1 win in Game 3 was as much of a laugher (for the Caps) as could have been imagined when the third period began with the visitors leading 2-1. Four power-play goals in the third period emptied the Wells Fargo Center and created the bizarre situation of handout souvenirs littering the ice and causing the refs to penalize the Flyers for the fans’ behaviour. Washington didn’t apologize for running up the score, but did so with such casual ease that the merciful end of the game must have felt like the end of the series.
Should the Flyers recover from that embarrassment to eliminate Washington, the only apt comparison would be from the world of Major League Baseball. The Boston Red Sox got credit for the ultimate best-of-seven miracle when they beat the New York Yankees four straight after dropping the first three games of the 2004 American League Championship Series. Game 4 seemed quite unnecessary when the Yankees took their three-game lead by a score of 19-8. There was no reason to think the Yankees could lose the series because there was less reason to think the Red Sox could even extend it.
It wasn’t quite like that at the end of Game 3 in Philadelphia, but pretty close. “Thumbs up” to unpredictability, and to Michal Neuvirth, because when you can’t think of a reason for stuff like this to happen, there has to be one and he’s it, if it happens again.
Put To Good Use
The silliest suggestion made in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs was ignored by the man for whom it was intended - Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan. And he ignored, with a chuckle, the idea that Evgeni Malkin should remain out of the Pens’ lineup, never mind that Malkin was pronounced fit and ready to return from his “upper-body” injury.
It was argued, with solid evidence, that Pittsburgh was doing just fine without Malkin. It was argued, without common sense, that bringing him back might disturb the forward-line chemistry. Sullivan scoffed and called Malkin a “world-class player who is capable of changing a game by himself.”
And that’s what he did on Thursday.
Two power play goals and one of two assists with the man advantage allowed Malkin to disprove any theory that would make him a healthy scratch. If he’s a fourth-line centre, he’s the best one you’ll ever see. And he’s the same power play specialist he ever was, so who’s worrying that lines centred by Sidney Crosby, Nick Bonino and Matt Cullen are affected by Malkin’s presence?
The Penguins have regularly proved that they can win without Malkin, or Crosby, and occasionally, they’ve toughed it out with both stars missing. But Sullivan is like any other right-minded coach -- if he can have both, he wants both and it will be no problem at all deciding how to use them.
“Thumbs down” to anyone who would think differently.