Don't know if it was Martin St.Louis who gave them a rwason to play well, but they came through.
Lundqvist stood tall in net and is probably the best goaltender in the playoffs.
As for Pittsburgh, Crosby shows again that he is over-rated.
I am a Ranger fan and thrilled that they advanced. But let's be fair. Saying Sidney Crosby is overrated is just ridiculous. He is one of the greatest offensive players in the game today and well on his well to a Hall of Fame career.
Crosby has played in 550 games and has 274 goals and 495 assists (769 pts.) In the HISTORY of hockey, in terms of points per game, Crosby is 4TH ALL TIME (1.398 per game) behind three guys named Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Mike Bossy. Come on now.
Over the first 4 games, we were all lauding the brilliance of Crosby as the Pens had a 3-1 lead. Then over the last three games the Rangers, to their credit, shut him down. They executed a game plan to perfection. But many great players, in all sports, have had tough stretches in playoff series. It happens. It doesn't diminish their brilliance. Sidney Crosby (who by the way has already WON A CUP) is one of the best players in the league. Period.
Sports are a team game. MJ couldn't win a basketball championship until Scottie Pippen developed into a HOF talent. LeBron did not win until he teamed up with Wade/Bosh. Wayne Gretzky played with FIVE HOF ( Mark Messier, Jari Curry, Paul Coffey, Glen Anderson, Grant Fuhr) and countless other all stars. People look at Peyton Manning and say he's overrated because he's 1-2 in the SB. It's foolish. You can't win by yourself, especially in hockey, where you play only a 1/3 of the game. You need talent around you.
Have you looked at the Penguins roster? Outside of Malkin, what do they have? The physical abuse that Sidney Crosby endured over two series was frightening. Where are the tough guys to protect their franchise player? If anyone looked at Wayne Gretzky, they got the crap kicked out of them. The Pens don't have tough guys. They don't have guys willing to do the dirty work. Their goaltender is a disaster waiting to happen. You have to have depth. Their roster is nowhere near the equal to that the Bruins, or Blackhawks or Kings for example.
Yes, Sidney Crosby should shoulder some of the blame for the Pens loosing. It goes with the territory of being a superstar. But is an immense superstar. Saying he is overrated is not accurate nor fair.
-- Modified on 5/14/2014 2:28:24 AM
He hasn't been the same since his head got whacked .
-- Modified on 5/15/2014 4:27:06 PM
Blackhawks will repeat..
-- Modified on 5/15/2014 4:27:06 PM
-- Modified on 5/16/2014 11:20:53 AM
the fate of the coaching staff. ESPN just corrected their earlier report.
-- Modified on 5/16/2014 9:56:40 AM
The writing was on the wall if they lost .