Pittsburgh Penguins’ Round One MVPs

With one round of the playoffs behind us and the next one looming, let’s take a look at which Pittsburgh Penguins really stepped up.

The Pittsburgh Penguins all but cruised through the first round of the playoffs against the New York Rangers. While the second game of the series was a bit of a speedbump, every other game showed the Penguins’ might.

Through the five games, nearly every forward and many of the defensemen chipped in offensively, picking up points and demonstrating the depth of the lineup. While those five games aren’t a huge sample size, it’s enough to look at a few players who went above and beyond the rest in their play.

Of course, not all of us as fans have the same opinion on who played the best – and that’s what makes this a fun discussion to have. Admittedly, some of us have become so desensitized to having two of the greatest players in the world, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, on our team that anything they do, no matter how great, is expected.

We asked, and you answered. In our twitter poll following the game four blowout, 69% of you said Matt Murray was the most impressive, while Malkin picked up 18% of the vote and Conor Sheary was close behind with 12%. Only 1% of fans said that a different player had a major impact in that game.

But again, that’s just one game. Each one in the series had a different player really shine, and to me, that’s really exciting.

Next: Golden Goalie(s)

The Goalie Tandem

Matt Murray obviously saved the Pens’ bacon when he came back into the lineup, but they couldn’t have had such a strong start if it wasn’t for the play of Jeff Zatkoff in the opener.

While Murray went 3-0 and Zatkoff was 1-1 in the first round, you can’t really blame that loss on him entirely. The Pens entirely imploded during game two, and while he may have wanted one or two of those goals back his team mostly hung him out to dry.

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The fact that the Penguins had two goalies make their playoff debuts in one series – and win both those debuts – is phenomenal. While Murray is obviously going to be Marc-Andre Fleury‘s backup or maybe even equal down the road rather than Zatkoff, that’s a great stat to have under our belt.

Fleury is still experiencing concussion symptoms, but there’s little reason to worry about the playoffs if he remains out through some or all of the next round. Murray allowed only four goals in the three playoff games he started, even picking up a shutout in game four.

Even on days when he’s a little behind the puck, it seems that the forwards are strong enough to pick up the slack. Though Murray was a key factor in getting through to round two so quickly, the Pens couldn’t have done it without Zatkoff either.

Next: Don't Poke the Bear

Evgeni Malkin

After missing the first game of the series with his hand/wrist injury, Evgeni Malkin was back with a vengeance. Though his first game back in the lineup was that awful game two, he hardly missed a stride once the whole team got it together.

Of course it took some time to get back in the swing of things, especially with how much the team had been rearranged in his absence. In the four games since he’s been back, Geno’s picked up seven points – two of which were shorthanded goals.

The game in which he scored those, he was on fire. Let’s not forget that he deftly drew a penalty and then went on to score on the ensuing powerplay. That’s ridiculous… and I’m very glad he’s on our side.

Next: Red-Hot Rookie(s)

Conor Sheary (and Bryan Rust… and all the rookies)

This is Conor Sheary‘s first NHL postseason, and his success in the tail end of the regular season has definitely carried over. Within a game or two he found himself promoted from the fourth line up to the first, on Sidney Crosby‘s wing.

These two players have great chemistry together, as we saw from the sick Crosby-to-Sheary goal in the game that eliminated the Rangers.

Sheary is fast and agile, fitting into the Penguins’ system perfectly. Another player who’s done that particularly well is Bryan Rust – who not only picked up his first NHL postseason goal in that same game but also scored another one, just for good measure.

Rust was also out for a little while with an injury heading into the postseason, and he’s really shown how effective he is in the lineup since he’s been back.

Honorable mention goes to Tom Kuhnhackl, who’s a short-handed goal-scoring whiz. Though he only scored one goal in this series (I say like it’s a bad thing, for a rookie fourth-liner), it was a critical shorthanded goal that gave the Pens some momentum.

Next: Team Dad Matt Cullen

Matt Cullen

Last but certainly not least, we can’t ignore the presence and yes, the scoring prowess of veteran Matt Cullen. He’s been shifted up and down the entire forward lineup throughout the season, but is now slotted in as center on the fourth line.

Despite being flanked by far younger forwards, Cullen has continued to show why he’s been one of the best players for the Pens this year. He scored two goals in this playoff series – and both were game-winners.

The players have said again and again that Cullen is like the “team dad” whose presence is inspirational and encouraging at the same time. Even if he wasn’t contributing on the scoresheet as much as he is, he would be a valuable figure to have in a playoff locker room.

Next: In Conclusion... Everyone's Great