Penguins Playoff Update: Policemen Wanted

Those who live by the sword die by the sword.

It’s a Biblical warning to those who use violence as a means to an end.

While our Penguins generally are model citizens when it comes to matters of on-ice decorum, they’ve engaged in their own form of risky behavior over the past couple of seasons.

Indeed, there’s something downright dangerous about allowing a foe to feel so empowered that they take liberties without the slightest fear of retribution. By assembling a lineup shorn of a protective presence, the Penguins’ brass have unwittingly put their players at serious risk.

Last night it caught up to them, big time.

Capitals Alex Ovechkin and Matt Niskanen were already feeling their oats when they tag-teamed Sidney Crosby into la-la land. To say nothing of Washington bad boy Tom Wilson, who flaunts his physical prowess with a flair bordering on arrogance each time his skates touch the ice.

It’s like watching a fox invade a hen house when it knows there’s no guard dog on patrol.

Niskanen, an ex-Pen with no rep for nasty play, pretty much carried his stick at chest level throughout Game 2, frequently using it on Crosby. Naturally, the referees did nothing to dissuade him…even when Matt ran Sid into the goalpost with enough force to knock the net off its moorings following our second goal.

Sadly, neither did Crosby’s teammates.

If Gary Roberts were still skating for the black and gold, the Caps’ defenseman would’ve no doubt been “encouraged” to lay off Sid and keep his stick to himself. Alas, no such message was sent.

Thus, it was no great surprise that Niskanen’s stick was head high when Sid reeled toward him after being tripped, slashed and high-sticked by Ovechkin five minutes into the first period of Game 3. Extending his stick and gloves in an almost defensive reflex action, Niskanen jolted Crosby in the right side of the face.

For every action, there’s an equal and opposite reaction. Sid’s head whiplashed in response as he crumpled to the ice.

My heart sank as I watched No. 87 reach for his head, in obvious distress. My gut twisted as he literally was hauled to his skates by Pens trainer Chris Stewart and teammates Patric Hornqvist and Ron Hainsey before gliding off the ice in bent-over fashion.

I’ve seen Sid in that posture before. I hoped I’d never see it again. He departed in a similar manner after being blindsided by the Caps’ David Steckel at the Winter Classic back in 2011, and again after colliding with teammate Chris Kunitz 11 months later.

In each instance, my worst fears were realized. Pray it’s not the case this time.

With our captain leading the way, the Pens have a legitimate shot at the Cup. Without him? Talented and resilient as we are, there’s only so much you can expect from a group stripped of the best hockey player in the world.

I truly admire the Penguins for trying to play hockey the way nature intended—hard, fast and clean. In a nirvana NHL, where every infraction is called and blatant indiscretions are duly punished, perhaps there’s no need to cultivate players capable of serving as ice-cops.

However, the league isn’t perfect. While it’s come a long way in recent years, the NHL remains a descendant of the shadowy, old-guard fraternity that looked the other way while opposing checkers literally climbed on Mario Lemieux’s back in a vain attempt to stop the unstoppable. A detestable practice that contributed greatly to shortening the career of perhaps the most luminous talent ever to grace NHL arenas.

My point? So long as opposing teams carry players who engage in boisterous or hostile activity, a team needs a player, or two (or three) who have the mentality and physical wherewithal to put them in their place.

I’m not talking about a knuckle-dragger who plays five or six shifts a night. They’ve gone the way of the Dodo. I’m talking about guys who can play and play tough, and—if need be—drop the gloves when the situation calls for it. Recent Pens signee Zach Aston-Reese is a prime example.

For the past couple of seasons, I’ve bemoaned our lack of deterrent. Maybe I’m a hopeless dinosaur locked in an old-school mindset. But I firmly believe if we had a couple of guys who fought fire with fire, the Caps wouldn’t feel so emboldened.

While we’ll never know for sure, I don’t think Sid gets bushwhacked, either.