The Stanley Cup playoffs — a time when players rise to the occasion and heroes are made. Over the years, the Penguins have had their fair share of playoff heroes. Some of them have been considered some of the greatest players in NHL history. Others, few outside of Pittsburgh have ever heard of.
Lemieux, Malkin, Crosby, Coffey, Jagr, Stevens, Guerin, Tocchet and Gonchar are just some of the names that come to mind when you think of the stars who have contributed to the Pens three Stanley Cup championships. Household names, many Hall of Fame caliber without question.
We also know that as critical as those star players are, sometimes, it’s a player you don’t expect to shine, an under the radar player who comes through when you need it most. Frank Pietrangelo anyone? How about Rob Scuderi? Who will ever forget Max Talbot?
Everyone remembers Lemieux in the bigger picture, just as everyone will remember Crosby and Malkin. However, without Pietrangelo, Scuderi and Talbot, who knows what the ultimate outcome would have been?
Those under the radar players make all the difference, and this year in not an exception.
As the Penguins prepare to play the New York Rangers in a pivotal Game 4 tonight at the Madison Square Garden, two of those under the radar players, Jussi Jokinen and Paul Martin, are writing their own pages in the history of playoff lore in Pittsburgh.
For Jokinen, the contributions he has made offensively, which include 5 goals and 3 assists in the Pens first nine playoff games, has been key to the team’s success. With some of the Penguins top goal scorers like James Neal, Chris Kunitz and Crosby struggling to find their scoring touch, Jokinen’s scoring has not only been welcome, it’s been critical.
In fact, Jokinen leads the Penguins with two game winners and has also chipped in a with a power play goal. His goal in Game 3 on Monday on a breakaway was not only vintage Jokinen, it broke the backs of the Rangers, already reeling from playing their sixth game in nine days.
Jokinen has been valuable in others facets of the game besides scoring. His +5 rating is second to only Brandon Sutter among Penguin forwards. Jokinen has been one of the best face off men, winning at nearly 60 percent clip.
After being brought in off the proverbial scrap heap last season from Carolina, Jokinen played well, but still found himself a healthy scratch for much of the 2013 playoffs. Its fair to say Jokinen will not suffer a similar fate this year. Without his scoring touch and strong overall play, its hard to believe the Pens are where they are today.
As for Martin, he’s on a short list of Penguins who you could argue have been the most valuable thus far. Not only is Martin tied for second in points scored with eight, his 27:15 total minutes on ice per game leads the team by nearly four minutes a game.
Martin also has been a stalwart on special teams. Only Sidney Crosby has more power play assists than Martin’s three, and Martin has been absolutely outstanding as a key cog of the Penguins penalty kill. The portrait of consistency in the playoffs, Martin never seems to be caught out of position, and his presence on the blue line since coming back from a hand injury has improved the overall play of the blue liners as a unit.
Speaking of this, it’s hard not to see the calming influence Martin has had on the talented, but mercurial Kris Letang since they have been made a tandem. It seems that it is not a coincidence that Letang has looked more like the player who was a Norris Trophy finalist last season since he has been paired with the reliable Martin.
Pens fans should thank Martin for Letang’s up tick in play and it could be a difference maker in the playoffs. Martin’s heady approach allows him to support Letang’s style of play in a way that Rob Scuderi simply can’t as this point in his career. We are now seeing Martin support Letang the way Scuderi did in 2009, not to mention Scuderi has been much better in his own right playing with another stay at home type like Robert Bortuzzo.
Though neither Jokinen or Martin will get the accolades of many of their better known counterparts, their play so far has been critical to the Penguins playoff success. If the Penguins are able to continue on and win a Cup, both players are making their case to be added to the list of under the radar players who made all the difference when the games meant the most.
