2011 NHL Playoff Preview: Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning
The Pittsburgh Penguins and the Tampa Bay Lightning will square off in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in the history of either franchise.
The Penguins are making their fifth straight playoff appearance, while the Lightning are in the postseason for the first time since 2007.
There are many factors that will cause the teams to succeed or stumble in this Eastern Conference Semifinals:
How will the Penguins really fare without Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin?
Do Lightning veterans Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier still have what it takes to keep up with the intensity of the postseason?
In a battle of young, talented coaches, will Dan Bylsma or Guy Boucher come out victorious?
Check out what each team has to offer as we anticipate the drop of the puck on Wednesday night.
Alison Myers is an NHL and Pittsburgh Penguins Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. You may contact her with any questions, comments or writing opportunities by sending an e-mail to Alison.Myers@mail.com.
Regular Season Records
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Pittsburgh: 49-25-8 (106 points), second in Atlantic Division, fourth in Eastern Conference
Tampa Bay: 46-25-11 (103 points), second in Southeast Division, fifth in Eastern Conference
Offense: Penguins
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It goes without saying that when you take away Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the Penguins' talent on offense drops considerably.
Crosby boasts four 100-point seasons and has 82 points in 62 playoff games.
Malkin has two 100-point campaigns and 73 points in 62 playoff games. He also won the 2009 Conn Smythe Trophy by posting 36 points in 24 games.
Although the losses of Crosby and Malkin hurt, several players on the Penguins have stepped up to put up points.
Defenseman Kris Letang was the leading scorer in Crosby's absence, posting 50 points for a new career high. He has 22 points in 52 playoff games.
Chris Kunitz, acquired in a 2009 trade with the Anaheim Ducks, posted his fourth 40-point season with 48 points. He has 41 points in 72 playoff games and had his best postseason run with the Penguins in 2009, finishing with 14 points in 24 games.
In last year's playoffs, Kunitz had 11 points in 13 games to bring his Penguins postseason total to 25 points in 35 games.
Jordan Staal will be looked to as well. Although he missed the first half of the year recovering from a foot injury, he has still managed a respectable 30 points in 42 games and has 24 points in 60 playoff games.
The Penguins scored 2.78 goals per game this year, which put them 13th in the NHL.
Offense: Lightning
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Martin St. Louis was the Bolts' leading scorer this year, posting 99 points over 82 games. His points total was second in the NHL. It was also his sixth 80-point season and fourth with at least 90 points.
In 45 playoff games, St. Louis is a more than a point per game scorer with 48 points. He has played his entire career in Tampa.
Steven Stamkos had another impressive year after capturing the Rocket Richard Trophy. He is second in the NHL with 45 goals and fifth with 91 points.
Veteran captain Vincent Lecavalier was limited to just 65 games this year with injuries but still posted 54 points. He was recently named the NHL's Second Star of the Week after posting five points in Tampa Bay's final three games last week.
In addition to two experienced players and one young star, Teddy Purcell has had a breakout year for the Bolts.
After posting just 15 points in 60 games with the Los Angeles Kings and the Lightning last year, Purcell finished this season with 51 points in 81 games.
Tampa scored 2.94 goals per game this year, good for eighth in the NHL.
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Defense: Penguins
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As previously mentioned, Kris Letang is one of the team's strongest defensemen this year. His point totals lead Penguins defensemen.
The Penguins' defensive corps also has Paul Martin, who was signed to a five-year deal this past offseason. Martin previously spent several years with the New Jersey Devils and has had at least 20 points every year besides 2009-10, when he was out with a broken arm.
He has been in several playoff runs with the Devils and has 16 points in 42 postseason games.
Zbynek Michalek, who also got a five-year contract, is first on the Penguins with 149 blocked shots. Last year, he was a part of the Phoenix Coyotes team that went to the postseason for the first time since 2007, and he had two points in seven games.
Pittsburgh's defense also has Brooks Orpik, a physical defenseman who is first on the team with 194 hits. Orpik, an alternate captain, is also very outspoken and will not be afraid to say something should the Penguins stumble at any point in the playoffs.
The Penguins gave up 2.39 goals per game this year, which is the sixth lowest total in the NHL.
They have a team plus/minus rating of plus-28, good for fourth. Crosby has the highest plus/minus rating with a plus-20, but Kunitz is second with a plus-18.
Defense: Lightning
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Tampa Bay has some issues on defense.
Brett Clark, who leads Lightning defensemen in scoring, finished the regular season with 31 points.
Pavel Kubina, who was a part of Tampa's 2004 Stanley Cup squad, had 23 points in 79 games this year but has just six points in 38 postseason games.
Victor Hedman is one of the team's best young defensemen. He had 26 points and a plus-three rating this season, an improvement over his 2009-10 totals of 20 points and a minus-three rating. This will be his first trip to the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Although the individual numbers may not look too bad, the issues come in on the team statistics.
Tampa allows 2.85 goals per game, which is the 21st highest total in the NHL. Only one playoff team, the Detroit Red Wings, allows more (the Wings give up 2.89 goals a game and are ranked 24th).
The Bolts have a team plus/minus rating of minus-13, which is 20th in the league. Their plus/minus rating is the lowest among playoff teams.
In addition, the team's plus/minus leader is Steve Downie (you read that right), who has a plus-eight rating.
Goaltending: Penguins
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Marc-Andre Fleury got off to a slow start this year, winning just two of his first nine starts and facing stiff competition from backup Brent Johnson, who was playing lights out.
However, Fleury got it together and managed to post his fourth 30-win season, going 36-20-5 with three shutouts. His 36 wins were ranked sixth among NHL goaltenders. He also had a .918 save percentage and a 2.62 GAA, which was ranked ninth.
Fleury has played in 62 playoff games and is 38-24 with a .911 save percentage and 2.52 GAA. His best playoff year was in 2008, when he finished with a .933 save percentage and 1.97 GAA to go with a record of 19-10-2 and four shutouts.
When Pittsburgh won the 2009 Stanley Cup, he was 16-8 with a .908 save percentage and 2.61 GAA.
Fleury will be looking to rebound from last year's poor showing, where he had a 7-6 record with one shutout to accompany a .891 save percentage and a 2.78 GAA as the Pens were upset by the Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Goaltending: Lightning
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Dwayne Roloson will be coming into his first playoff run since 2006, when he was a part of the Edmonton Oilers Stanley Cup Finals team.
Prior to coming to Tampa Bay on January 1, Roloson was on a floundering New York Islanders team and had a record of 6-13-1 with a .916 save percentage and 2.64 GAA.
However, he has flourished since his trade. He has played 34 games with the Lightning and has a record of 18-12-4 with four shutouts as well as a .912 save percentage and 2.56 GAA. The turnaround helped him finish with a 24-25-5 record with a .914 save percentage and 2.59 GAA.
Roloson has played in 33 playoff games and is 18-12 with a .915 save percentage and 2.56 GAA.
Special Teams: Penguins
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For what seems like forever, the Penguins power play has been pretty bad.
This year, Pittsburgh converted on just 15.8 percent of their man advantages, which is ranked 25th in the NHL. They also gave up six shorthanded goals.
However, the penalty kill is much better. The Penguins finished the regular season with the best penalty kill in the NHL, an 86.1 percent success rate. They also scored 13 shorthanded goals, which is tied for second in the NHL.
Kunitz leads the Penguins with 17 power-play goals, while Pascal Dupuis is in front with four shorthanded goals.
Special Teams: Lightning
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The Lightning boast two special teams in the top 10 of the NHL. Their power play is at 20.5 percent, good for sixth in the league, while their 83.8 percent penalty kill rate is ranked 10th.
Stamkos leads the Bolts with 17 power-play goals this year, second overall in the NHL.
However, Tampa has only scored one shorthanded goal in 2010-11. The distinction of scoring that goal goes to forward Nate Thompson.
Coaching: Penguins
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Dan Bylsma has only been with the Penguins since the later part of the 2009 season, but he has accomplished plenty.
He led the Penguins to the 2009 Stanley Cup after guiding them to an 18-3-4 end to the regular season and fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.
This year, he became the third Pittsburgh coach to earn 100 career wins. He also has 23 playoff wins, which leads all Penguins coaches.
Coaching: Lightning
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Boucher is in his first season as Lightning head coach. He has led the team to their first playoff appearance in four years and has drastically turned around their record. The Bolts finished 12th in the Eastern Conference last year, but under Boucher, they are the fifth seed.
Prior to coming to the NHL, he coached the Hamilton Bulldogs, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens. He was named Coach of the Year last year and also earned coaching honors in the QMJHL.
He is currently the youngest head coach in the NHL.
Experience: Penguins
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The Penguins still have 11 players on their roster who were on the team that won the 2009 Stanley Cup.
In addition, six players have won Stanley Cups or been in the finals with other teams:
Craig Adams (2006 Stanley Cup with Carolina Hurricanes and 2009 Stanley Cup with the Penguins)
Arron Asham (2010 Finalist with the Philadelphia Flyers)
Mike Comrie (2007 Finalist with the Ottawa Senators)
Alexei Kovalev (1994 Stanley Cup with the New York Rangers)
Chris Kunitz (2007 Stanley Cup with the Anaheim Ducks and 2009 Stanley Cup with the Penguins)
Mike Rupp (2003 Stanley Cup with the New Jersey Devils)
Experience: Lightning
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There are still three members of the Lightning's 2004 Stanley Cup championship team on the current roster: Kubina, Lecavalier and St. Louis.
They also have four other players who went to the finals with other teams:
Simon Gagne (2010 Finalist with the Flyers)
Adam Hall and Ryan Malone (2008 Finalists with the Penguins)
Dwayne Roloson (2006 Finalist with the Oilers)
Who Has the Advantage?
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Here is who I feel has the advantage in each category we discussed:
Offense: Tampa Bay. The Bolts have the two top offensive stars the Penguins are lacking.
Defense: Pittsburgh. The Penguins have more physical defensemen who also have more NHL experience.
Goaltending: Pittsburgh. Marc-Andre Fleury is very much battle tested in the playoffs, while Roloson will need time to find his game in the amped up intensity of the postseason.
Special Teams: Tampa Bay. The Penguins may have the best penalty kill, but the Lightning are more well rounded in the special teams battle.
Coaching: Pittsburgh. Bylsma needed very little time to prove his worth as an NHL coach and will likely out-coach Boucher in this series.
Experience: Pittsburgh. They still have the majority of their Cup winning team, while the Lightning are a young team with not a lot of proven Cup winners outside of their veterans from 2004.
Prediction
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Martin St. Louis and Steven Stamkos are great scorers for the Bolts, and Dwayne Roloson is a solid veteran goaltender. They have a bench boss who has led them to great success in his first year, but they still have a big weakness on defense.
When it comes down to it, the Penguins are a more complete team. Their players are used to experiencing adversity and know how to respond. Many counted them out once Crosby and Malkin went down, but they have continued to prove they are a force to be reckoned with.
They also have home ice advantage in the new Consol Energy Center, and Penguins fans always have a strong presence in Tampa Bay. The fans won't make or break the series, but they are an extra bonus.
Penguins in six.
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