Analysis: Up front, Crosby has been much more dangerous in terms of scoring goals, and his line leads the postseason in point production playing as a unit (Franzen and Co. have scored more but while with varied linemates). Hossa is the biggest single loss for the Penguins, and he was also their most productive player in the series against Detroit last year with seven points in six games.
After three rounds last season, Crosby's linemates had 25 points. Guerin and Kunitz so far have 26 (albeit in more games played), which combined with the captain's improvement makes the first line essentially a wash.
Pittsburgh has also lost the contributions of Malone and Sykora (who has been a non-factor this year), production that has been replaced by Fedotenko, Satan, Cooke and, of all people, Adams. Together, they essentially have duplicated their contributions, giving Malkin slightly weaker wingers in exchange for more depth on the checking lines.
Where the Pens have gotten much, much more production is the blueline, as other than Gonchar's 11 points in the first three rounds last season, they only had one goal and 14 points. This year, the No. 2 through No. 7 defencemen have chipped in with nine goals and 29 points.
So there's one huge difference.
In terms of minutes played, here's a look at players' shift in ice time from last year's postseason (among those that remain on the team and who have played 10 games both years).
Forwards
Kennedy: +3:42 per game
Staal: +1:19
Crosby: +1:00
Malkin: +0:29
Talbot: +0:13
Dupuis: -7:49
Defencemen
Letang: +2:15
Scuderi: +1:54
Gill: +0:35
Orpik: -0:43
Gonchar: -2:01 (mainly due to injury)
Forward
Biggest positive change: Better scoring depth & growth of Crosby/Malkin
Biggest negative change: Loss of Hossa
Defence
Biggest positive change: Healthy Eaton & bigger roles for Letang, Scuderi
Biggest negative change: Loss of Whitney
In conclusion: Pittsburgh's roster is significantly different than last season's, especially up front, but the biggest positive improvements have come from the young players like Crosby, Malkin, Staal, Letang and Kennedy, who are all playing bigger minutes and producing more.
Just how much they've improved will go a long way to determining if they can beat a Detroit team that (a) easily handled them last season and (b) on paper, looks awfully similar to last year's group ? aside from adding Hossa.
After three rounds last season, Crosby's linemates had 25 points. Guerin and Kunitz so far have 26 (albeit in more games played), which combined with the captain's improvement makes the first line essentially a wash.
Pittsburgh has also lost the contributions of Malone and Sykora (who has been a non-factor this year), production that has been replaced by Fedotenko, Satan, Cooke and, of all people, Adams. Together, they essentially have duplicated their contributions, giving Malkin slightly weaker wingers in exchange for more depth on the checking lines.
Where the Pens have gotten much, much more production is the blueline, as other than Gonchar's 11 points in the first three rounds last season, they only had one goal and 14 points. This year, the No. 2 through No. 7 defencemen have chipped in with nine goals and 29 points.
So there's one huge difference.
In terms of minutes played, here's a look at players' shift in ice time from last year's postseason (among those that remain on the team and who have played 10 games both years).
Forwards
Kennedy: +3:42 per game
Staal: +1:19
Crosby: +1:00
Malkin: +0:29
Talbot: +0:13
Dupuis: -7:49
Defencemen
Letang: +2:15
Scuderi: +1:54
Gill: +0:35
Orpik: -0:43
Gonchar: -2:01 (mainly due to injury)
Forward
Biggest positive change: Better scoring depth & growth of Crosby/Malkin
Biggest negative change: Loss of Hossa
Defence
Biggest positive change: Healthy Eaton & bigger roles for Letang, Scuderi
Biggest negative change: Loss of Whitney
In conclusion: Pittsburgh's roster is significantly different than last season's, especially up front, but the biggest positive improvements have come from the young players like Crosby, Malkin, Staal, Letang and Kennedy, who are all playing bigger minutes and producing more.
Just how much they've improved will go a long way to determining if they can beat a Detroit team that (a) easily handled them last season and (b) on paper, looks awfully similar to last year's group ? aside from adding Hossa.
