The Penguins have had a very good season to date – despite Jordan Staal missing the first 40 games, and Crosby missing the last nine, the Penguins have compiled a 31-15-4 record (66 points), which is the 4th-best record in the league. Unfortunately for Pittsburgh, the best record belongs to the Flyers, who have amassed 71 points and appear to be the class of the league so far. The Pens have been an above-average scoring team – their 154 goals ties them for second in the East – but the most impressive feature of this club has been PREVENTING goals. They have allowed only 114, an average of 2.28 per game, and only Boston (112) has allowed fewer. The run-and-gun Penguins in the running for fewest goals? As of November 10, the idea seemed laughable – Marc-Andre Fleury was 1-6 and was allowing his usual allotment of soft goals, the team was 7-8-1 and seemed to be lacking the kind of goaltending needed to contend for the Stanley Cup.
From that day forward, Fleury has made a remarkable turnaround – at the All-Star break he is 23-11-2, with a 2.19 GAA and an impressive .925 save percentage. In that time he has allowed four goals only once, allowed three goals only seven times, and frankly hasn’t allowed a soft goal in at least six weeks. He has single-handedly won the team several games, and kept them in others when they had no business competing. I was very hard on Fleury in November, suggesting that if he didn’t find his game they should explore trading him, and given how he had played in the previous season, I think there was cause for concern – but as the season comes down the home stretch, given how he has turned it around I can honestly say there’s not a goalie in the league I’d rather have than ‘the Flower’. If he continues to play at this level, the Penguins have to be considered favorites to make the Cup Finals out of the East – Philly is strong, and young Sergei Bobrovsky has been impressive, but until he proves himself in the playoff pressure-cooker; he’s suspect.
Fleury certainly hasn’t done it alone – I thought before the season started that this defensive corps had a chance to be the best in team history, and I believe that even more today. They have seven quality D-men, and a great mix of skill, toughness, and defensive responsibility. In fact, they are so deep on the blue line that I expect them to trade a defenseman for a scoring winger next month. That worries me, because I love having the depth, but there can be no doubt that they need some scoring. With Crosby out, the team has scored two or fewer goals in five of nine games. The core of the team is clearly in their prime, but that window won’t be open forever – I look for GM Ray Shero to make a move or two to try to get the team back to the finals. Regardless of that, however, this team is a true contender – they are playing stellar defense, they have the top penalty-kill in the league, and when Crosby and Malkin return they will boast the top trio of centers, one of the top goalies, and arguably the best defense corps – that’s a winning combination. Anything can (and often does) happen in the playoffs, but the Pens are well-positioned to be a major factor.
Elsewhere in sports…I’ll have more on the Pirates next month as part of the annual baseball preview, but suffice it to say I’m disgusted with their moves, or lack thereof, this winter. Lyle Overbay isn’t the answer, and while there are some good young pieces here, it looks to me like they are well short of enough talent to contend – even in 2012 or 2013. Dejan Kovacevic of the Post-Gazette has investigated the team’s finances and has found that the owners aren’t pocketing the money, they simply aren’t making enough. Not surprising to me; when you run a team like a newspaper, which is Bob Nutting’s background, you’re going to have razor-thin profit margins and no extra capital. To win, you need to spend first and entice the fans back – that simply has not happened in Pittsburgh in a meaningful way. Even the lowly Royals, who have stunk about as bad as Pittsburgh, look to be near a turnaround – their farm system is widely regarded as the best in baseball now, and they’ve shown in the past they would spend some money to fill gaps. The Rays also followed this path and remain a contender. I seriously doubt that the Pirates will be relevant under this ownership – we can only hope that eventually, they take their profit and run, allowing another ownership group to lead this team out of the darkness.
Golf is starting up, and Tiger Woods is making his season debut this weekend in San Diego. This is a key season for Woods – coming off his first winless campaign, and with his knee and marital woes each a year behind him now, it will be interesting to see if his legendary competitiveness and focus return. Also, he’s 35 now and has at best 5-7 years left of his ‘prime’ – few golfers dominate after 40. The two clubs to watch with Woods are the driver and the putter – the driver because if he’s hitting it straight, he contends; the putter because even in tough times Woods has been clutch with the flatstick, but sometimes age robs a golfer of his touch on the greens. Tiger was noticeably worse on medium-length putts last season, and it bears watching to see if that was a 1-year aberration (understandable given the other demands on his focus in 2010) or a long-term problem. Personally, I look for him to bounce back strong – not 2000-level strong, but five or six wins and a major to show that the striped one is still on the prowl.
Finally, I have to dedicate this column to my grandmother, Tish Ogden. I’ve spoken before of my grandfather Carl, and that he was the driving force behind my love of sports – well, none of that was possible for Carl OR me without Tish behind the scenes, rooting for him and me and all of the athletes in the family. ‘Sweet’, as we call her, has always been there – rooting us on, available to talk, being patient when we boys would show up and ask to see grandfather rather than even say hi to her. Sweet, thank you-from all of us. This column would not exist without your influence. To my readers – enjoy your time with your parents and grandparents – it is precious and fleeting time indeed.
Next week, Super Bowl preview – possibly with the help of some of my GANT colleagues.
Dave Glass can be reached at buggyracer@verizon.net.