Penguins Update: To Win a Stanley Cup You Need…

In my never-ending quest to figure out what happened to our Penguins, a thought occurred to me. You need Cup-caliber players to win Stanley Cups. I know…what a ridiculously obvious statement. Indulge me if you will.

All men may be created equal, but hockey players most assuredly are not. Some thrive in the cauldron of postseason play. Some don’t.

Rick Kehoe was one of the Pens’ all-time greats. With 312 goals and 636 points, the two-time All-Star ranks sixth on the club’s all-time goal scoring list and fifth in points behind some pretty select company.

The sharpshooting right wing reached or topped 30 goals five times in the ‘Burgh, including a career-best 55 in 1980-81. He won the Lady Byng Trophy that same season, emblematic of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high level of play.

But in the playoffs? Kehoe fizzled big time. He failed to score a goal in his first 25 postseason games as a Penguin and tallied only four in 39 career playoff games.

Talent-wise, Max Talbot paled by comparison. He was a lunch-pail guy of modest skills who relied heavily on passion and grit to carve out an NHL career. Yet “Mad Max” was a giant slayer come playoff time. At his best in pressure situations, the son of a construction worker notched 14 goals in 66 postseason games with the black and gold. Eight during the 2009 Cup run—including both of the team’s goals during an epic Game 7 in arguably the most clutch performance in franchise history.

Likewise, our back-to-back Cup champions were loaded with guys who rose to the occasion. Phil Kessel led the team with 18 goals during the dual Cup runs, but he had plenty of help. Chris Kunitz was fading as an offensive threat, yet he tallied nine points during the final seven postseason games in 2017—including a pair of huge goals in Game 7 of the conference final.

Patric Hornqvist, Carl Hagelin, gritty Nick Bonino and team dad Matt Cullen also had a knack for scoring big goals on a big stage.

Add in Bryan Rust, who has a Talbot-esque 17 goals in 66 playoff games while filling mostly a bottom-six role? You had a very formidable team. One that didn’t rely solely on Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to shoulder the offensive load.

In fact, during the ’16 and ’17 Cup runs 17 different players scored game-winning goals, including bit players Eric Fehr and Tom Kuhnhackl.

Contrast that with this season’s crew. Brought back for an encore at the trade deadline, Conor Sheary hasn’t scored a goal in his past 17 postseason games despite seeing considerable ice time with Crosby and Jake Guentzel.

He’s not alone. Kids such as Jared McCann and Marcus Pettersson have yet to notch a postseason goal. In fact, most of the present supporting cast is short of playoff experience…and playoff production.

Even Jason Zucker, who notched a couple of goals and performed well against Montreal, is short on playoff mojo (six goals in 35 postseason games).

The poster child for the new breed of flightless waterfowl? Zach-Aston Reese. I’ll digress for a moment and mention that Zach was a vital cog on an excellent shutdown line with Teddy Blueger and Brandon Tanev during the regular season. In fact, when ZAR went down on February 16 with a lower body injury, it coincided almost precisely with the team’s precipitous 3-8 pre-COVID slide.

However, in the playoffs it’s a whole other matter. In 17 career postseason games, Zach has no goals and a paltry two assists to go with a minus-6.

In fact, the only time he seems to draw attention to himself is when something bad happens. Like getting reefed by the Capitals’ Tom Wilson two years ago, arguably the turning point of the series. Running interference on Jack Johnson during the qualifying round opener, which dug us an early hole. Exiting the zone too quickly on the Habs’ winning goal in Game 4.

It adds up a team that doesn’t rise to the occasion come crunch time. Exactly what we’re seeing.

Among his list of off-season to-dos, GM Jim Rutherford may want to set the WABAC machine to 2015 and give special priority to adding a prime-time player or two with a proven track record of playoff production.

It could go a long way to curing what’s ailing our Pens.