By any measure, the Pittsburgh Penguins are having a tremendous season. They are flirting with the league’s best record. They are nearly unstoppable at home, with a 22-4 record at Consol Energy Center. For most of the season, they have maintained a double-digit lead in the Patrick Divi– I mean the Atlantic…well, the Metropolitan Division. They have done all this despite a crippling run of injuries that has affected nearly the entire roster.
But there’s a strange unease that hovers over every regular season in this high-flying, second golden age of Penguins’ hockey. Any pre-playoff success rings hollow; first place and top seeds and home ice advantage and division championships no longer carry much weight. Because after Game 82, the Penguins are a decent bet to be the odds-on favorite to win the Stanley Cup.
As they were in 2013.
And as they were in 2012.
It’s an enviable place to be. Every other team, at least theoretically, strives to get there. The Penguins are automatic contenders, pretty much just by showing up.
Even with all their success and dominance, they appear to be, at some level, on cruise control. Most of the time, things come easy for them. But this is more ominous that it sounds. After four straight years of bitter playoff exits, could a bit of regular season turbulence be just what they need?
Consider this: Since they beat Detroit in that famous Game 7 in 2009, the Penguins have played in seven playoff series, and not once been the underdog. Higher seed, home ice advantage, favored to win – every single time. And yet, the entire tableau is not a pretty picture: Three playoff series wins in those four years, none impressive or dominant; three inexplicable series losses featuring mostly self-inflicted wounds. The Penguins definitely should have beat the Canadiens in ’10, they probably should have beat the Flyers in ‘12, and, while I can’t say they should have beat the Bruins last spring, they should have at least scored more than 2 goals…in the series.
It’s probably bad form to complain about a team that could possibly be in the middle of a hugely successful run. Pittsburgh hasn’t missed the playoffs since 2006; they have at least a few Hall of Famers and at least two once-a-generation superstars; and, of course, they twice reached the Finals, splitting a pair of titles with the Red Wings. It’s all wonderful.
But not all great teams are judged equally. No one can doubt that the Penguins can win when it matters. They’ve already done that. Which makes it harder to swallow if they can’t do it again.
When is one championship not enough? Just ask Peyton Manning. Two days from now, if he – “he” in this case being the 53-strong Denver Broncos – loses again in the Super Bowl, there will be at least some validation to the theory that he is the greatest regular-season quarterback of all time. All those great teams, all those 1-seeds in the playoffs, and only one ring? In whatever small way, that can only be classified as a disappointment.
Look at the Bobby Cox-era Atlanta Braves. With a lineup of Hall of Famers and a once-in-a-lifetime pitching staff, they got a pile of division titles but celebrated only one World Series championship. It’s the blueprint for squandering a potential dynasty. It’s Exhibit A for the dreaded label and backhanded compliment of being a “great regular season team.”
Think about Wilt Chamberlain, who had otherworldly size and skill, but whose career, or at least a small part of it, is often thought of as a failure because he “only” won two NBA championships. Fair? Maybe not. But with great players and great teams come great expectations. If Jordan’s Bulls can win six, and Gretzky’s Oilers can win four, and the Kobe-Shaq Lakers can win three, shouldn’t the Crosby-Malkin Pens be able to win, at the very least, two?
Nearly two weeks ago, the Penguins lost 5-1 to the bottom-feeding Florida Panthers, at home – their first home loss in over two months. Last weekend, they looked listless in a road game at Dallas, losing 3-0. Either one of those losses could claim pole position for worst loss of the season.
The fan backlash after each loss – Trade Letang! Regular-season champs! Flaws exposed! – was nearly as predictable as the Penguins’ response. There was no panic, no dissension in the ranks. No one was benched or fired or demoted. There were no tirades in the locker room, no snarky complaints to the media. In between and after the losses, it was business as usual, as they dominated in victories over the Candiens, Islanders, and Sabers.
Turmoil isn’t something you would normally wish upon the team you root for, but I say bring it on. Give us more inexplicable losses. Make the players question themselves. Let the coaches sweat and scream and bellow. Let the self-doubt and second-guessing arrive before the first round of the playoffs. As the great philosopher Lou Holtz once said, “I’ve never known anyone to achieve anything without overcoming adversity.”
Last night in Los Angeles, Pittsburgh faced the Kings, a struggling but talented team with a core of recent Stanley Cup-winning experience. The Penguins nearly ran them out of the building, scoring three goals in the first 12 minutes and controlling the game from start to finish. It was a thoroughly impressive performance. It felt like they could have won 14-1 instead of 4-1. It was all too easy. In other words, just another regular season win.
