Crime Pays in the NHL: Goon Rangers Bludgeon Penguins, 5-3

It was a different era and a different time.

But the same NHL.

May 5, 1992. A date forever etched in infamy in the minds and hearts of old-time Penguins fans. Game 2 of the Patrick Division Finals. The Pens had taken Game 1 and were up on the Rangers, 1-0, thanks to an early goal by Kevin Stevens. New York d-man Joe Cirella took an elbowing penalty (sound familiar?) and the Pens went to work on the power play.

Ron Francis won the faceoff and drew the puck back to Mario Lemieux at the left point. As Super Mario gathered in the pass, penalty killer Adam Graves approached with bad intentions.

“When I saw Adam coming I knew he wasn’t kidding around,” Mario would later recall.

Wielding his stick like a baseball bat, Graves swung for the fences and caught Lemieux with a wicked two-handed slash across the left wrist. Mario crumpled to the ice in pain. After what seemed like an eternity, he picked himself and skated off the ice and into the locker room, clutching his broken hand.

Speculation was rampant that Rangers coach Roger Neilson, who had a well-known affinity for back-alley tactics, had placed a bounty on Mario. It was later revealed he’d encouraged his charges to “take Lemieux out of the game.”

Fast forward to last night. Up 3-1 in the series, the Pens carried a 2-0 lead into the closing minutes of the second period. We’d survived an early Rangers push and physical assault and were methodically choking the life out of our hosts. Front and center was black-and-gold captain Sidney Crosby and linemates Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust. The New Yorkers simply had no answer for the plucky trio, who were dominating the series.

No legal answer, that is.

Displaying his typical sled-dog tenacity, Sid was in hot pursuit of a loose puck in the high slot. His head was down.

That was all the invitation Jacob Trouba needed. The hulking Blueshirts d-man, who’d already taken an early penalty for elbowing Guentzel, took a run at Sid and smashed him in the head with a chicken-wing elbow. Crosby recoiled, then skated straight for our bench. Shades of Mario 30 years earlier.

As the camera followed him, my stomach turned. I’ve seen that dazed expression on Sid’s face before. Far too many times.

Concussion immediately flashed across my mind.

Adding insult to injury, Trouba wasn’t even penalized for his blatant cheap shot. As announcer Jim Carr frothed in Slap Shot during a Chiefs-Bulldogs brawl, “This is hockey.”

The shift in the proceedings was immediate, audible and oh so damaging. Lifeless only moments before, the Rangers poured three pucks past a suddenly all-too-mortal Louis Domingue in a span of 2:42 to grab a 3-2 lead. Although Guentzel struck moments later in an enormous display of heart and character to knot the score, Domingue couldn’t hold the fort. The Rangers went on to win the game. Just as they had on that fateful Tuesday night back in 1992.

Another goon win by a goon team and goon coach. All Rangers bench boss Gerard Gallant, no shrinking violet during his playing days, seems capable of is to harp on his team to finish their checks. He got his wish.

Somewhere Neilson must be smiling.

I guess crime does pay after all. At least in the NHL.

It’s an open secret throughout the league that we don’t protect our stars. I understand coach Mike Sullivan’s aversion to employing a hired gun…to an extent. He doesn’t want a guy taking up a roster spot who can’t contribute.

To that end, I’ve kept an eye on former Pens and present Rangers hit man Ryan Reaves. While he’s thrown some booming checks and does his best to stir the pot and intimidate, I honestly don’t know if he contributes much in the way of hockey.

Maybe the presence of a Reaves-esque heavyweight would’ve encouraged Trouba to mind his manners. Maybe it wouldn’t. Still, the Pens can’t continue to turn a blind eye to affording their stars some protection. When push comes to shove, we’re a punching bag for the rest of the league. While no one can question our grit and heart, some pushback and snarl would do nicely.

I’ve written this before, but somewhere out there is a player who can hit and fight and play a little. GM Ron Hextall needs to find him, Sully’s preferences be damned.

In the meantime? I sure would like to see, say, Nicolas Deslauriers sporting the black and gold next season. And I’d like to see him pound the daylights out of Trouba at the earliest opportunity.

Not very Christian of me, I know. I’m talking old school, or rather Old Testament.

David vs. Goliath. An eye for an eye.

As presently constructed, our Pens simply don’t have an answer. Not unless Brian Boyle and/or Mark Friedman man up and send a message. While both are willing, enforcing really isn’t their game.

Back to ’92. Then coach Scotty Bowman urged his players to forget about revenge and concentrate on winning the series. “Putting the puck in the net is the worst aggression to another team,” said the Hall-of-Fame skipper.

The Pens listened. We went on to win the series in six games. Let’s hope for a redux for our current bunch. Honestly, we deserved a better fate last night.

Puckpourri

Guentzel (two goals) and Kris Letang scored for the Pens, the latter capping a beautiful passing sequence from Evgeni Malkin and Jason Zucker. Jake has a mind-boggling seven goals for the series. Geno collected two assists on the night.

Adam Fox, Alexis Lafreniere (impressive kid), Trouba, Filip Chytil and Ryan Lindgren (empty netter) scored for the Rangers.

According to Natural Stat Trick, the Rangers had the edge in shot attempts (65-57), shots on goal (34-32), high-danger chances (18-14) and hits (32-24). The Pens dominated the faceoff circle (67 percent) and held a slight advantage in scoring chances (30-29).

Domingue stopped 29 of 33 shots for an .879 save percentage. While not air-tight, Rangers netminder Igor Shesterkin was one better, making 29 saves on 32 shots.

Speaking of goalies, Tristan Jarry continues to make solid progress on ice while recovering from his foot injury. Let’s hope and pray for a speedy return. The bloom is definitely off Domingue’s rose.

Following several strong games, the Malkin-Danton Heinen–Kasperi Kapanen line tanked to the tune of a 16.67 Corsi. Geno fared better between Guentzel and Rust (a collective Corsi of 60).

The series resumes Friday night at PPG Paints Arena for a pivotal Game 6.

Around the League

Florida took a 3-2 series lead on Washington. The Flames squeaked by the stingy Stars and are up 3-2 as well. The Hurricanes, Maple Leafs, Blues and Kings hold a 3-2 edge over the Bruins, Lightning, Wild and Oilers, respectively.