UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- The goaltending was garbage.
There. That's my series analysis.
Nah?
All right, somehow I didn't think that'd suffice ...
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Jeff Carter beats the Islanders' Ilya Sorokin in the first period.
When Jeff Carter so coolly rams home the game's icebreaking goal that he barely raises his stick but, instead, bolts back to the bench to bark at his teammates, per the mic he was wearing, 'F--ing right! Here we go! Here we go!' ... that needs to be a defining moment.
It doesn't need to be answered by the opponent within minutes. Which it was.
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Jake Guentzel celebrates beating the Islanders' Ilya Sorokin in the first period.
When Jake Guentzel finally buries his first of the playoffs and uncharacteristically releases a rage of pent-up emotion ... that needs to be a defining moment.
It doesn't need to be answered by the opponent within minutes. Which it was.
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Jason Zucker celebrates beating the Islanders' Ilya Sorokin early in the second period.
When Jason Zucker deftly redirects a point shot to reclaim that lead early in the second, when he and his teammates yet again voice a forceful statement that they won't be denied ... that needs to be a defining moment.
It doesn't need to be answered by the opponent within minutes. Which it was.
And then came another 13 seconds later.
And then came another a couple minutes after that.
And yet again ... handshakes:
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Barry Trotz and the Islanders shake hands with the Penguins.
The Islanders would take the game, 5-3, and take the round in six games. The Penguins, for a third consecutive summer, would take the first exit out of the Stanley Cup playoffs. And by the time the various press calls were completed late Wednesday night here at Nassau Coliseum, everyone except Tristan Jarry would take the fall for it.
Anyone who's actually eager to relive all that, here, go nuts:
Mike Sullivan declined to criticize Jarry with three separate questions regarding goaltending, and only with the third did he finally give any answer at all: "You win games as a team, you lose games as a team. It’s not any one position. It’s not any one person’s fault."
Sure it is.
The only other two players brought to speak with reporters, Carter and Sidney Crosby, reacted similarly, with Crosby fairly blaming himself for being on the ice for all three of those New York response goals, for being largely responsible for two of those scoring chances, and for not producing enough points in the series -- one goal, one assist -- himself.
"I feel like I didn't make a big play," he'd say, "whether it's overtime or adding to a lead when we're up, 2-1."
It's worth noting that he denied being hurt despite overwhelming visual evidence to the contrary, notably to a thickly bandaged wrist.
Neither he nor Carter would touch the Jarry topic. But that's fine. I'll do that.
The goaltending, in case I omitted this on the first two references, was garbage. And I'm talking absolute garbage. By conventional metrics, Jarry's 3.17 goals-against average and .888 save percentage were both the NHL's worst of the round. By one advanced metric, Jarry's general performance was the league's worst of any round since Ilya Bryzgalov in 2014!
Who overcomes the ugliest meltdown at the sport's most important position in nearly a decade?
Where does that team exist?
Because it sure wasn't the one that generated 411 shot attempts to the other guys' 306. Or the one that commanded an incredible 58.9% of five-on-five possession. Or the one that held Mat Barzal without a goal. Or the one that four times built a third-period lead, with three of those turning into losses, two of those in overtime.
The Penguins' skaters were better. Their coaching was better. Their goaltending was ... yep.
No, they weren't perfect. They had breakdowns at inopportune times, and Crosby's weren't the only ones on this night, either. They got carved up on faceoffs. They got beaten up along the boards. And one of the big ones for me: They had a paltry 6.93 shooting percentage, which doesn't even account for missing the net 41 times in the final two games alone.
Forty. One. Times.
Sullivan wasn't perfect, either. His decision to stick by Jarry in this game, once it'd become obvious to even the vendors and ushers that he was crumbling, was almost as uncomfortable as his answer when asked about that: "I'm not gonna discuss the discussions we have as a coaching staff or the decisions we make at any position."
Right ... except he does discuss stuff like that all the time.
Whatever. Not like it mattered. Maxime Lagace, for crying out loud, wasn't going to make a dent after New York's fourth or fifth goal, and the Penguins never scored a fourth, anyway. Besides, it's not like Jarry would've won Game 7. Or beaten the Bruins.
None of this mattered other than Jarry. But oh, my goodness, what an impact his mess could have.
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I'll put this up front: I'm fully in favor of keeping the Core intact for another year, and I hope Ron Hextall, Brian Burke and ownership can agree on that.
I've got a handful of reasons, and they aren't at all legacy-based or otherwise syrupy:
• Can't get much in a trade.
Start here: Crosby'll never go anywhere. So erase him wholly from this conversation.
Kris Letang's coming off a regular season in which he's never looked more valuable to this blue line, and now a playoff in which he was his team's very best player. At a position that's totally depleted, by the way, all through the system. So forget about him getting traded this offseason, either.
What we're really talking about, when we're talking about the Core and trades and so forth, is just Evgeni Malkin.
Well, here's a news flash: Trading Malkin won't bring some franchise-transforming haul, the way some seem to think. He'll turn 35 in two months, he just missed a third of this season to recurring knee trouble, and he's had one season of 75-plus points out of his past nine.
Not even Edmonton's sending a haul here for that.
• Those movement clauses.
Presuming the Penguins would try to trade Malkin, they'd run into a massive obstacle in Malkin's full no-movement clause. Not because he'd refuse -- most athletes don't want to stay where they feel they aren't wanted -- but because he'd have complete control of the process. And that alone undercuts any market the team could hope to create.
Say Malkin agrees to, oh, the Panthers -- his family spends some of the offseason near Miami -- and one or two other teams. Well, Florida's already got Sasha Barkov and ample depth down the middle, so now it dwindles down to one or two.
Letang's got a modified no-trade clause in which, if asked, he picks 18 teams to which he'd approve a trade. His market's thus limited, as well.
• They're both final-year bargains.
Malkin's got one more year on his contract at $9.5 million, Letang one more year at $7.25 million. Malkin's might seem high relative to recent health and production, but he's now tied for the NHL's 16th-largest cap hit, with so many players having passed him. And Letang's hit ranks 16th just among defensemen.
Between those two salaries and Crosby's $8.7 million, the Core will make a combined $25.45 million. That's an obscene bargain for those three. And that's to say nothing of no future commitments, meaning after 2021-22, to Malkin and Letang.
There isn't a GM in the league who wouldn't sign those three to that figure, with that kind of future flexibility.
• All three are still strong.
Crosby and Malkin have fallen off from their ultra-mega-superstar peaks, but both remain ... oh, come on, I don't need to insult anyone's intelligence. Everyone knows who they are and sees what they still can do. And again, Letang looks as good as ever.
If that doesn't cut it, though, go ahead and rank the team's three most talented players right this second. I'll wait here.
• One. More. Year.
Can't state this strongly enough: All three are passionate about adding a fourth championship. Here, too, everyone sees it, including in this game.
So, what'd be the point of moving one or more?
To make a statement?
To begin the rebuild?
OK, then, second news flash: Nothing of the kind will be occurring for as long as Crosby's pulling over a Pittsburgh sweater. Even if Malkin were moved, this team would still be led by Crosby, Letang and, oh, yeah, the 36-year-old Carter, who's also entering a final year on his contact at his own bargain rate of $2,636,364.
Carter, a two-time Cup champ himself in L.A., was asked if this team's still got what it takes to win another.
"I've really enjoyed my time here," he began. "It's a great group of guys, and I think, up and down the lineup, it's definitely a team that can still compete for the Stanley Cup. The hunger's still in that room. And that comes from the top guys. Those guys want to win. They want to get back to the top. You can see that. There are some really disappointed guys in that room. This year was a really good opportunity for this group and, unfortunately, we came up short."
• Sid wants it.
In case there'd been any doubt as to which way Crosby leans on the Core issue, he made sure to leave none when it came up.
I asked what he'd say to anyone who suggested it was time to turn the page, and he scowled slightly.
"Well, they've been saying that for four years, right?" he'd respond. "So I don't know if I'm going to change anybody's mind."
He paused a moment.
"You know, I think we did a lot of good things this year. We easily could've made a run, I feel. I'm pretty confident in saying that, with the way we finished, the way we were trending. But it's a fine line in the playoffs."
Then, revisiting my question, he'd add, "As far as what I'd say, I really don't know. But I know that the three of us want to win, and we'll do whatever it takes to try to compete to do that every year."
Wait, whatever it takes?
Including lobbying the brass?
"No, I don't think that's ... I've never been one to try to be GM. I'm not gonna start now. I think those guys want to win. I know we've been together a long time. I've seen how much they care and their commitment. I'd never doubt or question that."
Another pause.
"You know, there are so many parts, and it is a business, so that's up to other people. But as far as what I can see and how I feel, there's zero doubt in my mind that the group that we have is a really good group, and we had an opportunity here, and that's why it stings so much."
Where I'm sitting, that's an unmistakable stance on the captain's part: He wants the Core back.
Sullivan was asked to address this, as well.
"I believe in the Core," he said. "This is the best core group of players that I've ever been around. Bar none. They're a passionate group. They're generational talents. They still can compete at an extremely high level, and they've shown it game in and game out."
That's the captain and the head coach.
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Until Hextall and/or Burke speak, anything more about the Core will be guesswork. Both are too new to this scene, both absolutely would need to confer with Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle on something this seismic, and there's no telling how long that'll take.
All that's known now: Everyone's got more free time than they'd like.
Crosby, Carter and Sullivan are correct that the Penguins exceeded expectations in 2020-21, claiming a division title when countless forecasts had them flat-out missing the playoffs. And in a pack that was the NHL's most physical and most competitive. And despite 258 man-games lost to injury, 23 by Malkin.
But the PPG Paints Arena rafters carry more Cup banners than division banners and, now, for the fourth straight year, they've fallen miles short in losing 15 of the past 19 playoff games while scoring more than three goals once in that span.
For a franchise with this tradition, that shouldn't be acceptable. Changes must be made, and I've got another handful-sized list for that, too:
• Get rid of this goaltender.
I'm sure that comes across as harsh. So be it. Jarry's not new here. He was drafted way back in 2013, he's spent parts of each of the past five seasons in Pittsburgh, he's had a path cleared to become a starter, he's been paid like a starter ... and he did this.
Again.
Jarry's history, even dating back to juniors, was that he was maddeningly inconsistent. No so much in effort but in focus. For a lack of a friendlier way to phrase it, he'd space out. Things that seemed urgent or important to others weren't to him, even on the ice.
Think of this:
That trait can be a goaltender's buddy at times, corralling the nerves and so forth. But it's evidently a lousy one to have in the playoffs.
Barry Trotz didn't outcoach Sullivan, but he sure as hell nailed it before the series when observing of the Penguins, "They’ve got a real good forward group. The defenseman are mobile. They’ve got two inexperienced goaltenders."
Ow. And once Casey DeSmith went down just before the round, Trotz knew precisely where to take aim.
Glove side, of course.
Ominously, Jarry's got two years left on a three-year, $10.5 million contract, and that wouldn't help in moving him. But one never knows. At worst, Hextall can venture outside the organization and find someone to supplant him as starter.
It can't be Jarry. Not after this. And please, don't compare this situation to Marc-Andre Fleury's early-career struggles. Fleury had far more pedigree and was far more worth the wait. This one's already taken too long.
• Fire Mike Buckley.
He's the goaltending coach. Fire him into the hot sun. Can't believe I left that out of the previous entry.
• Get bigger, more physical.
Don't freak out, analytics aces. At least hear me out.
No, I'm not advocating Burke-esque 'truculence.' That's dinosaur fare, and it's not needed or wanted. But the bigger, more physical Islanders were able to engulf and punish the Penguins' smaller wingers -- it's to Guentzel's credit that he survived at all -- and that was going to damage the team eventually if it hadn't already. For sure against the Bruins.
I'd always prioritize speed and skill, but that can come with a size component, too, and that's the logical next step.
As for being physical, man, look ...
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The Islanders' Brock Nelson flattens Sidney Crosby with an unpenalized cross-check in the first period.
... can we agree that it'd be ideal if Crosby didn't get cross-checked from behind by Brock Nelson while every single teammate on the ice silently skated back to the bench?
The NHL's getting back to a bigger, badder game, whether we like it or not. The NHL's officials remain inconsistent bordering on incompetent, whether we like it or not. Ignoring both of those and hoping for a Delorean ride to 2016, when the Penguins surprised everyone with their Herculean shot generation, that won't cut it.
This could cause friction. Burke's on record as wishing this roster were bigger and meaner. Hextall sounds like he's somewhere in the middle. Sullivan's squarely on the side of speed, skill and skating away from trouble.
I asked Sullivan if size and physicality influenced this series' outcome.
"I couldn't have been more proud of the season we had as a team," he began. "I said to the players after the game that I was so disappointed for them. Because I know how hard they worked and some of the adversities we fought through. I know how much these guys care. I couldn't be more privileged than to coach a group like this."
Then, he'd add, "We didn't lose this series because we weren't big enough. Where the roster goes moving forward, that'll be a discussion for the offseason. But this particular group that we had, I can't say enough about them."
Like I said, they'll need to get together on this. Really together.
• Be more flexible strategically.
I respect Sullivan immensely, and that includes his aggressive approach to activating his defensemen. It helps far more than it hurts.
But, as Crosby mentioned, playoffs involve "a fine line," and one mistake is all it takes to topple what feels like balance over a long regular season. So, in a series like this, when the Islanders are constantly countering your goals with their own goals, and a lot of those are happening late in periods or while holding a lead in the third ... pump the brakes a bit, huh?
In every game of this series but one, per my tracking, a pinch contributed to a New York goal. Sure, most of those were covered back by a forward, but forwards aren't defensemen. There are situations that call for a defenseman to be the one playing defense.
• Challenge/threaten Geno.
This has to be a two-way street: Malkin's got no interest in leaving, and he's now got the tacit backing of Crosby and Sullivan. So all concerned have every right to demand that he never again report to a training camp the way he did this past summer. He'll need to be in NHL game shape before the first bucket of pucks is spilled in Cranberry and, to ensure that, he'll accept team-provided conditioning help and supervision.
Yeah, I know what he said about coronavirus closing gyms in Russia and whatever. I'm just not buying. Find a pool. Swim laps.
He needs this team, as we've seen. I'm still of the mind that this team needs him. I witnessed firsthand what he was doing here in Game 6. He was king of the rink every time over the boards. In every capacity, even trucking Matt Martin and other Islanders.
I'm also of the mind that what we saw in the wider scope with these Penguins the past few months wasn't a mirage. And that we'd all be having a dramatically different dialogue about the future had they received any goaltending above utterly catastrophic. It was a good team. It did do a ton of things well. And I'll be damned if it didn't deserve a better fate than the one Jarry afforded.
The 2021-22 NHL season won't represent a new chapter in Pittsburgh, and that's entirely because it can't. But it very much can offer another chance for this extraordinary group to go for one more.
A final chance, maybe.
