2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Time is Now for Jordan Staal

The greatest hockey player in the world and this year’s scoring champion are about to bring the hammer down on the on Eastern Conference with a 1-2 punch not seen since the Thrilla in Manilla.

It is almost laughable to read about Flyers Head Coach Peter Laviolette talk strategy in defending these two, implying that he has checking line(s) ready for the task.

While “Lavy’s” second, third and fourth lines are hopelessly trying to stop an unstoppable object, the Flyers coach himself will be ready to let his own stallion out of the stable, the league’s third leading scorer, Claude Giroux.

Enter: Jordan Staal.

There are more benefits to home-ice advantage in the playoffs than just the insane crowd noise bearing down on opposing players.

The home team always gets the last line-change, making it much easier for the home coach to get the match-ups he wants. For example, if the Flyers are forced send out their worst defensive pairing, the Penguins would recognize this and send out a scoring line.

This can cause headaches for an away team coach, as it is sure to do to Laviolette. However,  Laviolette will take every chance he gets to pit his top line of Giroux, Scott Hartnell (37 goals), and future Hall of Famer Jaromir Jagr against the Penguins’ bottom two lines.

More often than not, third-line center Jordan Staal will be called to the task of shutting down point-machine Giroux, who has 38 points in 40 career playoff games. Staal was on a great scoring pace this year before missing games due to injury, yet still posted a career high of 50 points.

However, he has faded slightly since the return of Sidney Crosby on March 15 and has only scored three goals since then. But in the playoffs, Staal will not be asked to score furiously. Rather, it will be who he keeps from scoring, and when he scores.

Staal, a one-time Selke trophy finalist for the NHL’s best defensive forward, needs to shake off whatever it is that has gotten to him and his game since 87’s return.

The goals he keeps off the scoreboard will be a hundred times more important than the tallies he puts on.

If Staal can stymie Giroux and his linemates, it will have an immeasurable impact on the series.  Giroux is a rare talent in that he can embarrass a defenseman on the transition or outwork him in the corners and slickly make his way to the net before unleashing a wrister.

Staal will have a huge (literally) advantage while defending Giroux: size. Jordan (6’4, 220) needs to eat up space with an active stick and push the young Flyer around. It won’t be easy, but as Giroux goes, the Flyers go.

Giroux’s ability to facilitate the puck and open scoring chances for his teammates is second only to Crosby.

Staal’s tougher challenge will be taking away those passing lanes with his huge reach. Giroux is a playmaker who only needs a half-second window to change a game. If Staal can step up and get Giroux off his game, he will handcuff Hartnell and Jagr in the process.

Can he do it? You betcha. Staal seems to love scoring goals and played the best all-around hockey of his career this year while healthy. But for right now, his best attributes (to himself and the team) are his defensive prowess and skills in his own end.

When the Penguins won the Cup in 2009, Staal seemed like just another piece to the puzzle: good, but not great; necessary, but not invaluable (-16 in 67 career playoff games).

If Pittsburgh is going to get past Philadelphia and raise 34.5 lbs of silver this spring, Staal will have to become the combinations’ knockout punch.

Under the Radar Keys to Series:

-Is Joe Vitale ready to translate his game into the playoffs? His speed and physicality, a la Darren Helm of Detroit, can set the tone early and often.

-Will Matt Niskanen be ready to go? Niskanen has been nothing but solid this year for the Pens and his absence has hurt a little. Look for him to shore up the Pens d-corps when he returns.

-Will Ilya Bryzgalov earn his money and turn his game around in the postseason? He has endured two straight first round exits, the last of which was a sweep where he posted a line of 0 W, .879 save percentage and 4.36 GAA. Ouch.

-Jaromir Jagr. That is all.

My Picks

WEST: Vancouver, St. Louis, Nashville, Phoenix

EAST: New York, Boston (but watch for Ovechkin/Caps), New Jersey

Penguins in 5

Related posts:

1. 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Pens-Flyers RS Records Moot
2. 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Veteran Pens Draw from Experience
3. 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Pens-Flyers a Special Teams Affair
4. 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Pens-Flyers Live Blog
5. 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Pittsburgh’s Acquisitions Key to Lengthy Postseason