As soon as the Penguins won Game 7 at Buffalo, HSBC Arena forever became "Had Series But Choked" Arena. With that in mind, here's some refreshing playoff notes designed to rejuvenate your hockey psyche before Scott Stevens tries to catch you with your head down:
Jaromir Jagr's performance in Game 7 went a long way toward allowing him to leave Pittsburgh like a champion. Heck, if Jagr keeps playing like that, he might be able to depart as a Stanley Cup champion. Jagr made maximum use of his virtually useless arm to dish three assists, and he skated at warp speed all night. He seemed to be everywhere at once, especially after he started playing on a line with Martin Straka, who always seems to coax a huge effort out of him. Jagr doesn't always wear his captaincy well, but he wore it with pride and style Thursday. He shouldered the burden despite a bum shoulder.
Speaking of heroic efforts, Darius Kasparaitis' overtime goal Thursday was the exclamation point at the end of his best game as a Penguin. He was impenetrable on defense, immovable in traffic and flawless on the breakout. Kasparaitis has had an inconsistent year, but he was awesome in Game 7. He was so good that I don't even want to mention that he usually puts that shot off the glass. Oops ...
Mario Lemieux seemed kind of sluggish Thursday, which makes me wonder if that Game 6 punishment he took from Buffalo's Vaclav Varada didn't do more damage than we know about.
The Buffalo Sabres disappeared during overtime in Games 6 and 7. Since they don't have a captain, maybe they could appoint David Copperfield. The cream rises to the top in tight situations. Sewage sinks to the bottom. The Sabres are a mediocre team with a great goalie who happened to catch the Penguins in a midseries stretch of relatively uninspired play. If the Buffalo-Pittsburgh series were played over and over, the Penguins would win every time, usually in six games or less.
The New Jersey Devils, despite having a home arena located in the world's capital for sewage, will not sink to the bottom. They are, simply put, the best team in the NHL, and I expect them to roll over an understandably exhausted Penguins team in Game 1. That said, the Penguins get two days off before Game 2, which will be a bit of a respite. The Penguins went 3-1-1 against New Jersey during the regular season because they were often able to sucker the Devils into playing a fairly wide-open game. If the Penguins can similarly bamboozle the Devils now, this series is winnable.
I don't like seeing players get hurt, but I'm in awe of the gladiator mentality that New Jersey defenseman Scott Stevens brings to the game. Win if you can. Survive if he lets you. I've never seen a better bodychecker in 33 years of watching hockey, and Stevens hits clean every time.
It's almost as hard to believe as Kasparaitis' scoring in overtime, but Johan Hedberg matched Dominik Hasek save-for-save for seven games. First, Hedberg beat Washington's Olaf Kolzig. Then, he beat Hasek. Next up: New Jersey's Martin Brodeur. If Hedberg keeps adding big names to his list of victims, he might find himself in the company of a guy named Ken Dryden. He was summoned to the Montreal Canadiens late in the 1970-71 season, won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, then took the Calder Trophy as top rookie in 1971-72. If the idea of Hedberg matching that seems wildly improbable, well, everything he has done this spring has been wildly improbable.
Coach Ivan Hlinka's decision to use four lines in Games 5, 6 and 7 was a big factor in winning the series. The fourth line, anchored by Milan Kraft, certainly didn't embarrass itself, and the top two lines were much fresher late in games. So, kudos to Hlinka. It only took him 92 games to figure out the obvious but, hey, better late than never.
Kraft should never wear a Wilkes-Barre/Scranton uniform again. After his performances in Games 5, 6 and 7, he deserves to be in the big time based on cool alone.
The Penguins' best defenseman in the playoffs undoubtedly has been rookie Andrew Ference. He can skate, he can shoot and he has savvy beyond his years. If General Manager Craig Patrick had it to do over again, do you think he would keep Ference in the minors most of the year, thus saving a few hundred thousand dollars on Ference's two-way contract? Silly question. Of course, he would.
I don't want to say defenseman Hans Jonsson is soft, but videotape rarely will show him, the puck, the boards and an opponent in the same camera shot.
Since Toronto's Tie Domi elbowed a guy named Niedermayer in the head, wouldn't double-secret probation have been enough punishment?
There is a rumor that U.S. astronauts never walked on the moon, that NASA filmed a simulation of said historic act at a desert in Arizona. Given that, is there any possibility that Kasparaitis' series-winning goal was somehow faked? I'm still having a hard time believing it.
Mark Madden is the host of a sports talk show 4 to 8 p.m. weekdays on WEAE-AM (1250).
Madden: Just in time, Jagr plays like captain 
E-mail this story 
