Do you want the hero or the team effort in Game 6?

by FrankD on Jun 8, 2009 2:59 PM EDT in News Comment 23 comments

A lot has been said over the past 48 hours regarding Marc-Andre Fleury and his off-night in Game 5. Joe Starkey mentioned today in the Trib-Review that MAF had to be solid from here on out. Pensburgh user Dr. Tre examined the streaky tendencies of Fleury, while Malsby examined the theory of momentum (good debate too) and where it may play a part in this series.

When you really get down to it though - and I mean really look at this season and series as a whole - can you pin it all on just one guy?

Goalies get the credit when its due and often take the fall when it's more of a team collapse than anything else. Chris Osgood earned his 22-save shutout. You could argue that he was barely challenged (Shots: 10-6-6) or say the Red Wings' puck possession was the factor, but none of those excuses puts a goal in the Penguins' column.

In a way a lot of Game 6 and, hockey Gods willing, Game 7 rely heavily on Fleury. To say it's all on his back though may be a bit of an overstatement.

The point is Pittsburgh can't get into a 1-0 hole against Detroit. The Wings are a good team defensively, keep the pressure offensively and will continue to get chances regardless of who is on the ice for either side. Fleury has to come up big but the offense has to come up bigger.

Ideally MAF will come out of his G5 funk and post a shutout in G6. Again that's ideal - not something you can sit back and expect. Even if Fleury only gives up one or two goals it's on the offense to match the Wings' every move and keep applying pressure to Osgood.

The firepower is there for Pitt. Even with Fleury giving up one or two goals it will come down to the rest of the team to make a 1-0 hole a 2-1 win, or a 2-0 deficit a 3-2 victory.

It's a team effort out there and G6 will surely bring out the best for both teams. If Pitt wants to force a Game 7 they'll have to outdo Detroit in every aspect of the game, but most importantly team play.

We have two games to win. We have one game to win to draw even. We’re focused on one game. Do we need those guys to score a goal? We don’t need them to score a goal. We need our team to play well, we need our special teams to be better than their special teams. If we do that, we’re going to give ourselves a chance to win the game.

Pittsburgh head coach Dan Bylsma
(Kukla's)

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Total team effort is needed definitely. And like I posted several days ago, no pucks dribbling under anyone’s fanny GO PENS!!!

by CGNC on Jun 8, 2009 3:19 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Actually, both. Why can’t we have both – Total team effort and a hero? I think we can!

by CGNC on Jun 8, 2009 3:21 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

haha when I typed this up I was questioning whether I should mention both or if someone would suggest it. Thanks for not letting me down!

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by FrankD on Jun 8, 2009 5:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree CGNC! I want both! It never hurts to have team effort AND a hero. Does anyone know if Billy’s brother John is available? hahahaha If not, then Bill can just take a page out his book and treat all the Detroit players as ticket thieves and hunt them down on the ice!

I've learned.... That having a child fall asleep in your arms is one of the most peaceful feelings in the world.

All women are created equal, then some become firefighters.

by MommaGuin87 on Jun 8, 2009 3:28 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I would say Washington is a good example of the downfall of a hero over the team. Ovechkin is probably the best ‘hero’ the game has to offer today, but heroes have tough fates if they’re standing on islands. The Pens are more lucky than most to have two such heroes, but even then, it’s a game of 18 skaters on the bench and the guy between the pipes, not just one or two players(I guess 19 guys on the bench if you count the backup goalie. Way to go on Saturday night, Garon!).

Team effort wins aren’t sexy, but look at how many championships are won that way. Still, I think if the Pens are going to pull this off their star players(read: Sid, Geno, Gonch, Flower) will have to be star player-like in these final hours. If they do fall to the Big Red Machine again, I won’t blame their heroes. Sid and Geno have been amazing this postseason(30+ pts for each, first time in history that’s happened), Gonch has played through a devastating knee injury, and Fleury has been there when they’ve needed him to be.

Instead, I’ll blame Ryan Whitney. Because, really…it’s all his fault when you think about it.

by Malsby on Jun 8, 2009 3:36 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

i completely agree

i think one player can be the “make or break” deciding factor and possibly over come a few mistakes by his teammates, but he still depends on the rest of the team doing their jobs. the “hero” is often just the last piece of the puzzle used to get the win or did his job a lil better than everyone else, but he still couldn’t have done it without his team.

by t1mmy10 on Jun 8, 2009 3:39 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I don't care

Team, hero, heroes, team and heroes, I just don’t care. For the love of all this is good and decent with humanity, please, please, please do not allow the evil winged wheel to win another Cup. Sure some of their fans (those not littering the rest of the country with their XXXL Wing jerseys with numbers matching or exceeding their IQs) still have to live in that crackwhore infested cesspool called Detroit. But that doesn’t mean they deserve another cup.

MHH: Shagging Dater one contributor at a time.

by Bob in Boulder on Jun 8, 2009 4:26 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I don’t know, I was laughing when they kept on singing some of the songs in the 3rd period of Game 5 after the puck was dropped.

by Malsby on Jun 8, 2009 4:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

That is hilarious. I forgot about the rivalry between Avalanche and Red Wings

by CGNC on Jun 8, 2009 4:45 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don’t blame you. Surely it is because our beloved Avs now suck. But not in the same way as the evil winged wheel and their fan base does.

MHH: Shagging Dater one contributor at a time.

by Bob in Boulder on Jun 8, 2009 4:47 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

rebuilding takes time. Patience. :-D

by CGNC on Jun 8, 2009 4:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

with GM bankrupt, will they have to rename their team the Detroit Red Greedy CEOs?

Bleeding blue and white and black and gold.

by raimman on Jun 8, 2009 6:28 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Pens = future evil penguin wheel?

So, if the pens were to win the next 4 out of 11 cups- do you not think that everyone else (other than pens fans) would find them evil? For the love all decent humanity….you bet that they would. But I surely would not hear you complain, or would I….despite if your pens were to win that many cups, would you in turn complain that your team has become evil for the NHL?

The Wings aren’t some “evil winged wheel,” they are just a fantastic team. Please, as a proponent of the NHL, just because a team is successful does not make them “evil.” I expect that the pens will win multiple stanley cups over the next fifteen years, so take that into account and please respond to this gracefully. Detroit is an awesome team, but the Pens (with Crosby and Malkin) ARE the future of NHL Stanley Cup lore.

by PittsburghCaniac on Jun 9, 2009 2:19 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

and the pens will push this to game 7….and it will be AWESOME!!!! AND I BELIEVE THAT THE PENS WILL WIN THE CUP.

by PittsburghCaniac on Jun 9, 2009 2:37 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

If the Pens become dominant, yes, only the diehard fans who loved them in the Milan Kraft or Les Binkley eras will still think they’re the bee’s knees. Everyone else will hate them for being so damn good and say things like, “The evil skating Penguin”, “They always win, give someone else a chance”, “Who the heck could root for these guys”, etc.

A good example of this is the New England Patriots. Remember before their Super Bowl against the Rams how they decided to be announced as a team? They were the decided underdog, and they were liked. Now fast forward to the present. Who likes that team? Patriot fans and only Patriot fans.

by Malsby on Jun 9, 2009 9:41 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Excellent point- I rooted for the Patriots against the Rams in that superbowl- and now I **&^ cannot stand them.

by PittsburghCaniac on Jun 10, 2009 11:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sorry, you don't have me pegged

I’m an Av fan. And as such, I will hate the winged wheel as long as they exist. I don’t care if they go winless in a season, I’ll still hate them and take great joy in their failure. I will never, in a million years, hate another hockey team, no matter how successful, as much as I do the winged wheel.

MHH: Shagging Dater one contributor at a time.

by Bob in Boulder on Jun 9, 2009 12:06 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I have debated endlessly with myself the last couple day whether to suck it up and be uber-ly optimistic or to drown in the tears of my despair…I shall do neither.

Instead, I will maintain an even-keeled objective outlook on the series.

The question on whether we would like a hero or a team effort is one that cannot be quantified into statistical analysis (can’t spell analysis without anal!). The problem with choosing a hero is that, for example Fleury could be our hero, but if we fail to score on the offensive end, Detroit could still win 1-0 and the end result would be the same as a butt-whoopin’ akin to Saturday’s, except that the series would be over. Or, we could have Evgeni or Sid be our hero, but even if they score a hat-trick, and Fleury or our Defense doesn’t show up, then we could still lose.

A team effort, however, would be much like how we should up in Game 4, where everyone was firing on all cylinders and we got the W.

I guess what I am saying is that if I were made to choose, I would like our chances better with a team effort. Everyone comes out and plays like they did for the first 6 or 7 minutes of game 5 and we have a very good chance of heading to the Joe for the deciding contest.

"Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action." - George Washington

by Hockey Beard in SLC on Jun 8, 2009 11:52 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I’m doing like I do before any elimination game: Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

by Malsby on Jun 9, 2009 9:42 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Maybe it takes a 'Canes fan to bring clarity......?

OK….Look At Your Team….Crosby, Malkin, Staal, Orpik, Guerin, Fleury (tough game- but he can rebound like a stallion), Gonchar…etc…etc…etc…etc….and multiple other players that a FANTASTIC GM (SHERO) PUT TOGETHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ya guys have a great organization- and one of THE BEST TEAMS IN HOCKEY!

Pens can do it. I have heard and read so much negative information over the past few days that I want to puke. I cannot imagine any other team more poised than yours to make a comeback- and I think y’all will. Sorry- but Detroit has not won the cup yet, and it is not over…..

by PittsburghCaniac on Jun 9, 2009 2:04 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I was really hoping for a 6 game win for us, because after work friday at 6pm i get in my car headed for Pittsburgh. I won’t be able to watch the game. Do i start my trip after work as planned or do i start my trip after game 7, assuming there is a game 7…Should i just watch it taped when i arrive at the rents house? What to do what to do….

I’m torn, i need to be in Pittsburgh asap and need to get some sleep i have a bachelor party to throw and i need to do alot of stuff for i t, so i can’ t be delaying things…these Pens are making me make decisions i don’t wanna make.
Go Pens.

by JasonGoPens on Jun 9, 2009 9:52 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

still the same boat...

here is the bottom line. the pens are in the same situation they were in before game 5. they need 2 wins, WON at home and WON at the joe. it doesnt matter what happened last year or last game. its time for them to focus on tonight and game 6. a team effort is needed to beat the red wings but a hero performance from anybody or everybody will be fun to watch.

GO PENS!

by AZpenzFan on Jun 9, 2009 6:50 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

i'm not one to come back and post thoughts about debate questions because hindsight is always 20/20

but you know, i dont think a single person here (including myself) gave the right answer.

what was needed wasn’t just a team, or a hero or two, or even a team effort and A hero. it was a team of heroes. scuderi with his game saving saves. fleury being amazing in net. staal playing awesome. the list goes on and on.

by t1mmy10 on Jun 10, 2009 2:37 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs