Pens at the Final: Game 4, pregame

Saturday May 31, 2008 @ 12:39 PM EDT

Posted by Dan_Rosen

The Penguins went through their normal pre-game skate this morning and there is no tangible news to report. At least from what they’re telling us, the team will look the same tonight for Game 4 as it did Wednesday night in Game 3.

However, if the Pens practice what they preach you will notice that they are less nervous tonight and a lot less surprised by anything the Red Wings will throw at them then they even were for Game 3, which they won, 3-2, thanks to a pair of goals from Sidney Crosby and a game-winner from Adam Hall.

Penguins coach Michel Therrien believes nerves played a major factor in the Penguins rough start to this series. Being that they are a young team, it is only natural for a team to be nervous at the start of something big.

“We’ve started to know those guys a little bit better and we start to feel comfortable playing against those guys, too,” Therrien said. “But still there’s a process to go with young players, and you can’t deny that. So, the more the series will go on the more we’re going to feel confident to play these games.”

However, I want to talk more about the surprise element, because to me that matters more than nerves. Players play through the butterflies in their stomach, but when they have absolutely no previous history against a great team like the Red Wings it’s hard to judge what they should expect.

For Game 1 especially, defenseman Rob Scuderi told me the Penguins were stunned at how good the Red Wings actually were. He said you can see them on TV as much as you want, but not until you’re out there skating with them do you realize the talent this team has and how hard it is to defend.

The element of surprise was not a factor in the first three rounds because the Penguins played Ottawa, the Rangers and Philadelphia a combined 20 times during the regular season. Scuderi said they knew exactly what those teams were going to do and what they were capable of.

However, that element of surprise in this series is out the window now because three games in the Penguins feel as though they have a good idea what the Red Wings are capable of.

My discussion with Scuderi wasn’t limited to just the element of surprise, though. In fact, we got there after a long conversation regarding on-ice communication between the Penguins d-men and forwards on the back check. Communication is essential against the Red Wings because, as Scuderi said, they always have a defenseman joining the rush and that could create havoc if the players aren’t talking to one another.

“We have a push-back guy from our forwards trying to push back on their first forward with the puck. If that happens to be a defenseman it’s up to (our defensemen) to make the call,” Scuderi said. “If we feel that our forward can’t catch him by the blue line usually he becomes a defenseman’s guy and the forward releases to the slot. It’s something we have to work on because they do a great job at bringing their fourth man into the play, which is usually the D, that it’s huge that you have coverage in the slot. That way you’re not giving them a Grade A scoring chance. They had those in the first two games and I thought our forwards did a real good job of making it back to the slot and not giving up a dangerous shot in Game 3.”

The perfect example of lack of communication between the forwards and the D happened on Johan Franzen’s goal in Game 3. Scuderi pinched up to play Franzen along the half-boards and made the mistake of lunging at him. Franzen cut back inside, went through the circle, and was able to get to the net easily because Jordan Staal did not get back to the slot in time and Ryan Whitney did not come across the crease to stop him.

If Scuderi did communicate with his forward, perhaps Staal would have gotten back to the slot in time to at least cut off Franzen and maybe force him to the end boards.

“It was my fault and I take full responsibility for that goal. I didn’t talk to my forward,” Scuderi said. “I lunged at him and that’s the No. 1 mistake you can make as a defenseman. It’s not something I do at all during the regular season, but I lunged to get the puck and he turned me. He surprised me a lot because for a guy that size he’s very quick and he’s real shifty.

“We had nobody there beside me, but it’s still my fault. I take full responsibility for that goal.”

I talked to both Staal and Ryan Malone about this communication with the defensemen and both agreed it’s essentially, especially against the Red Wings because that fourth guy is always joining the rush.

“We kind of push back and we have to release him at some point so the D have to communicate with us when they’re going to take that guy and we go to the slot,” Malone said. “There is a little bit of talking going on, but mostly it starts when they have the puck in their end and are coming at us.

“When we’re pushing back the D let us know how much time we have and who has who. The D has the eyes out there.”

Added Staal: “They (Detroit’s defensemen) jump up in the play a lot and it’s always great to not only have our third guy back but our fourth guy back to take away the middle lane. We try to talk to each other as much as we can. There are always gray areas so we have to communicate as best we can.

“Scuds is probably one of the better ones at it. He tells you to keep going, or you got him, or anything. The goal is to take away their time and space. If there is always a guy on the puck carrier and always guys clogging up the slot it’s tough for teams to get goals.”

One of the items of discussion that has come up in recent days is the Penguins d-men making a concerted effort to push forward into the rush themselves. If they’re going to do that, Scuderi said they have to do it without much risk because if the Red Wings force a turnover this whole back-checking communication thing we were just talking about gets tossed out the window and the Penguins wind up scrambling to snuff out an odd-man rush.

“You’re acting on all instinct. The second you think about it is the second you have to back up because by that point it’s too late,” Scuderi said. “If you hesitate even just for the time to think about it it’s going to be too late. When you have the opportunity to go you just have to go because if you wait for a second it’s going to be an odd-man rush the other way.”

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