We've Got to Stop the Oger

Some players just have a nose for the net, and even though his is green, Evgeni Malkin is one of them. He got a gift in game one and a knee shot in game two. His first goal yesterday was the result of some great positioning when he sneaked into the slot just like he sneaked into the U.S., and the second had eyes. When it comes to producing offensive chances I'd have to say that Malkin is significantly more dangerous than Crosby.

He's currently leading the NHL in playoff scoring with 7 points in 3 games. If the Penguins win the next two against the Flyers and then sweep every opponent on the way to a Cup he'd score roughly 39 points in 17 playoff games. Gretzky had an incredible 47 points in 18 games in 1985 and Lemieux had 44 in 23 games in 1991. It's no secret that for whatever reason the top scorers in the league no longer get 150 points a year so getting around 40 points would be an amazing accomplishment. on par with both The Great One's and The Magnificent's accomplishments.

I can't help but go back to avoiding this fate and beating the Penguins relies on the one simple thing we've heard 5,000 times already this post season - staying out of the box. Three of his points have come on the powerplay. One was an assist on the overtime winner in Game 2, an assist that earned the team a win. Their powerplay is so dangerous, and the ugliest dude in the world is perhaps the key component to it. We need to stop giving him chances and take a page out of the Rangers playbook (just threw up a little) and get bodies in front of his shots. He gets discouraged easily. We need to take advantage of that weakness.