Shea-ved Ice: Hollywood Suggestion For Sullivan
The Penguins saw their five-game winning streak come to an end Saturday night in Toronto.
For the first time in a long time, the Maple Leafs look like they could be a player in the Eastern Conference.
They've got some serious team speed with enough grit sprinkled through the lineup to make them extremely difficult to play against.
There's not a whole lot to say about the game. Pittsburgh had plenty of chances to capitalize on brutal rebounds left by goaltender Jonas Gustavsson and only did so twice.
It wasn't for lack of trying though. The Pens were just a half-second too late or too early to get to the rebounds.
Steve Sullivan had a golden chance as he was left all alone in front of Gustavsson.
Sullivan drew him to the ice as he moved across the crease. He even got the puck up like you're supposed to do with the goalie flat on the ice. Somehow Gustavsson got the glove up and Sullivan put it right in the webbing.
I seem to remember fans and analysts all over James Neal last season for not being able to score goals. To me, it was largely undeserved because it wasn't as if he was lazily playing the game.
He was getting chances, they just weren't going in. Now, he's continuing to put pucks on net and they've been going in for him.
Of course, it helps playing with Evgeni Malkin, but I digress.
However, it appears as if the goal-scoring hex has been transferred to Sullivan.
In a two-game span last week, Sullivan easily could have had six or seven goals. He had wide open nets where the puck rolled off his stick or a defender deflected it away at the last second.
Sullivan is doing the right thing most of the time. He's more of a passer than a shooter by trade, but there are times he tries to force that extra pass to either Malkin or Neal and a scoring opportunity is wasted.
I can't say I blame him for wanting to feed the two best goal scorers on the team right now, but don't be afraid to fire the puck.
With several movie shoots being held in Pittsburgh recently, the following suggestion is inspired by Hollywood.
Perhaps Sullivan should review the "Major League" movies and borrow a page from the great Pedro Cerrano.
Cerrano: "Bats, they are sick. I cannot hit curveball. Straightball I hit it very much. Curveball, bats are afraid. I ask Jobu to come, take fear from bats. I offer him cigar, rum. He will come."
Hockey players are superstitious when it comes to preparation for a game. So, would anyone even bat an eye if Sullivan constructed a shrine in his locker and lit some incense?
Maybe he could also hold an exorcism to banish the injury bug from hanging around the posh confines of the CONSOL Energy Center.
Now, you can add Jordan Staal to the list of dinged up flightless birds.
He didn't make the trip up to Toronto after suffering a "lower-body injury" after laying out John Tavares of the Islanders on Thursday.
The Penguins don't think it is a serious injury and since they don't play until Thursday, giving him last night off will hopefully let him get back to 100 percent.
While we're on the topic of injuries, the entire hockey world is focusing on the return of Sidney Crosby. There are even rumors out there that he'll return during this brief West Coast coming up.
Here's how I look at it:
The Penguins have basically played every other day for the entire month of October. While he has been cleared for contact, the Penguins haven't really conducted an all-out contact practice to help keep the team fresh.
With five days until their next game, this could be one of the first times Crosby gets jostled around for a couple of days in a row. I honestly don't believe we'll see him in a game this week.
I think this week will be a litmus test of sorts to see how he handles actually being hit. Playing Thursday in San Jose and in Los Angeles on Saturday will give the doctors three days to evaluate his progress from practices.
After the game against the Kings, the Penguins are off until the following Friday (Nov. 11). That will give them another few days of practice to let Crosby try and get back into being hit.
The schedule doesn't ramp up again until the third week of November.
I really believe the next two weeks will be a major test for Crosby. If all goes well, maybe we'll see him toward the end of the month.
Again, this is purely speculation and I'm only looking at this as objectively as possible. For now, we should all just sit tight and continue to be patient.
Anyway, back to Sullivan.
If he keeps playing the way he is, the goals will come. I'm sure he's frustrated that he hasn't scored yet this season.
I just hope that if he takes the above advice, when he does finally get his first goal as a Penguin, he stomps back to the bench saying, "Look. At. The. Scoreboard. Now, Grasshopper!"
You can follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/CaseySheaPens.
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