Friday, May 16th, 2008 by Adam Wagner
Pens lose, Staal emerges
The Penguins were going to lose eventually. Fortunately it happened now, while they were up 3-0 in the series instead of during the Stanley Cup Finals against the Detroit Red Wings, when the whole thing starts at 0-0. The problem on Thursday night was a slow start, as the Penguins fell behind 3-0 in the first period, a lead that they would be unable to overcome en route to a 4-2 loss.
The Flyers’ offense, which has been anemic for most of the series, finally came awake as big names Joffrey Lupul, Daniel Briere and Jeff Carter scored. The goal was Briere’s first of the series, which is particularly odd considering that he is normally the Flyers’ go-to player in big-game situations.
The Penguins were fortunate to take one of two in Philadelphia, a city in which they had not won all year, and some fans may even view the team’s winning the series in Pittsburgh as a positive. Going to five games isn’t as much of an issue now as it would have been if Detroit had beaten Dallas in four games, instead of dropping Game 4 to the Stars.
On a positive side for the Penguins, Jordan Staal finally showed why some think he could be as good as his brother, Eric, scoring two goals including one on a slapshot and dominating the game each time he stepped on the ice. Staal is a player who dominated his rookie season and then somewhat underperformed in this, his sophomore year. To see him take his game to the next level is very impressive and shows that he does, in fact, have that ability to dominate that is so necessary to be a star in the NHL.
Two of the Flyers’ goals came on the powerplay, showing that the Penguins made stupid mistakes tonight that they wouldn’t have been able to afford had the series been tighter. As things stand, this loss doesn’t make or break their Stanley Cup run. If they are made in the next game or against Detroit, however, they could break the whole thing up. Stupid penalties and lots of penalties just can’t happen in order for the team to be successful.
Of course, the last time the Penguins lost to Philadelphia in Philly they promptly rattled off a 7-game winning streak which would, conveniently enough, place them two games into next season with a Stanley Cup firmly in hand.
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