May 14, 2016 4 min read

We’re a game into the Eastern Conference Final and much of Penguinsland is in a panic. The Penguins are down 1-0, and Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin were shut out.

Again.

Of course, the one goal the Penguins scored wouldn’t have happened if not for a ridiculous between the legs, backward pass from Crosby, but we won’t go there.

We all know the Penguins can’t win if Nos. 87 and 71 don’t score.

Except for that time when they didn’t and the Penguins beat the Washington Capitals in six games. You’d have to go all the way back to Tuesday to remember when that happened.

Here’s something for everybody to remember: The Tampa Bay Lightning are pretty good. They went to the Stanley Cup Final last year.

Yeah, they’re banged up and playing without their superstar Steven Stamkos and … wait, are the Lightning proving they can win in the postseason when their leading scorer doesn’t score?

Since he hasn’t played a game in the postseason, they must be proving it.

John Taveras was the talk of the first round when he had five goals and four assists against the Florida Panthers.

You know what what he did against the Lightning?

He had a goal and an assist in Game 1 and zip for the next four. No goals. No assists.

Patrick Kane’s a pretty good goal scorer.

You know how many points he had for the Blackhawks against this team in the six-game Stanley Cup Final last year?

Three. One goal and two assists. He had one assist in the first five games.

Do you know how many goals Patrick Kane scored in his last 13 playoff games? Two.

He had one in a seven-game series loss to the St. Louis Blues in the first round this year.

But, for the Blackhwaks to beat the Lightning in six games and win the Cup, Kane’s partner in crime, Jonathan Towes, must have picked up the slack, right?

Wrong.

Toews had one goal and two assists in the six games.

The Lightning seem to have figured out a way to keep the big guns off the scoreboard, so maybe everybody should adjust expectations for Crosby and Malkin.

Would you be OK with them combining for two goals, the Penguins winning in six games and moving on to the Stanley Cup Final?

A lot of people won’t.

Trust me.

• Two years ago, Joe Butler of Metro Index Scouting in Pittsburgh said Pitt defensive lineman Aaron Donald was the best player in the NFL draft. He was on to something. Pro Football Focus ranked the NFL’s top 100 players this week. Donald, who plays for the Rams, was No. 1.

• This Crosby/Malkin version of the Penguins is considered a disappointment because it has won “only” one Stanley Cup. Would the Steelers be considered a disappointment if they went to four AFC Championship games in eight years? How about four NLCS appearances for the Pirates in eight years? This is the Penguins’ fourth trip to the Eastern Conference Final in eight years.

Keep in mind if the Penguins win a cup this year, Crosby and Malkin will be tied with Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr with two.

Lemieux and Jagr played in four conference finals together in eight seasons. Lemieux, who played with several Hall of Famer players, appeared in four in 17 years.

• Maybe if Penguins defenseman Kris Letang broke his neck or suffered a season-ending concussion after having his head driven into the glass, the man who delivered the cheap shot, Ryan Callahan of the Lightning, would have to explain himself at a hearing.

Letang came back to the game, so all Callahan got was five minutes in the penalty box. It was exactly the kind of hit the league should use as an example if it’s really serious about reducing head injuries, which apparently it is not.

• Try to picture Ben Roethlisberger playing in an all-star game after the Steelers are eliminated from the playoffs. That’s what Alexander Ovechkin is doing. He’s playing for Russia in the World Championship. It’s real hockey with a real potential for injury.

• Evgeny Kuznetsov led the Washington Capitals in scoring during the regular season with 77 points. He had two points in the playoffs.

• There were nine overtime games in Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the most ever in a 16-team format. It’s the best tournament in sports.

John Steigerwald writes a Sunday sports column for the Observer-Reporter.