The Pens’ Third and Fourth Lines
Posted March 1st, 2014 @ 01:17pm by Erik J. Barzeski
Elite Teams And Depth (Pittsburgh Isn't Good)
Soooo…at some point someone in Pittsburgh is going to say "Given that Crosby and Malkin were there when he got here, what HAS Ray Shero done to make the team better?" right? Pittsburgh's third and fourth lines were a disaster last year, their first without Jordan Staal (another player Pittsburgh just got by being terrible) and they're a mess again this year. They're markedly different than all of the other contenders. If the Pens lose in the playoffs, as they probably will, it will probably involve Crosby/Malkin having a few cold games (or Marc-Andre Fleury blowing up). When that happens, people will say "Gee, Malkin/Crosby/Fleury were terrible." Perhaps they should point out that Pittsburgh is trying to win with an abysmal bottom half of their team, which piles an awful lot of pressure on the other guys.
Agreed. A Second-round exit is waiting in the wings.