mvn
Posted January 30th, 2009 by mvn
Tags: Hockey
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A Possible Springboard for Letang?

I’m not the type of person that thinks one game turns around a team or a player’s season.

So, naturally, I don’t think last night’s 6-2 win over the NY Rangers is going to jump start a 10-game winning streak, nor do I think just because Kris Letang played out of his mine that he’ll be keeping it up for the rest of the season.

But I can’t just ignore it all either.

The Pens played last night like their season was on the line — mainly because, in a way, it was. In fact, each night it’s going to be on the line. They are in a position right now where any losing skid can force them into a hole that might not be physically possible to dig out of.

So if having the mentality of playing for your season is what gets them going, then by all means, I hope they do keep it up.a

That being said, when Sidney Crosby found a wide-open Letang across the ice last night, the young D-man showed a sign of himself that he hadn’t seen the light of day in the 2008-09 season.

Letang had an open look at Lundqvist. Typically, Letang had just been firing slapshots. But with open space, he skated directly toward the goalie, faked a slapshot and looked off a pass option. The movement forced the goalie to make the first move.

You know the Mighty Ducks quote: “Make ‘em make a first move, Charlie!” … well, that works with goalies as much as it does with the defense. Lundqvist made a move to go down and a quick wrister over the shortside shoulder by Letang made him pay for it.

That goal = confidence booster for Letang. The next time he touched the puck he turned into a forward. Took the puck off of Evgeni Malkin’s stick, flew through the neutral zone, made a one-on-one move on Mara and beat Lundqvist again.

That’s the Letang we know exists.

Will we continue to see it? Let’s sure hop so. If the Pens are going to get on a run in the second half of the season, Letang — and the rest of the defense — are going to need to step their game up and play to their potential.

Friday night in New Jersey will be as big as it gets at this point.

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  Written by mvn

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