Pittsburgh Penguins still feeling Rob Scuderi’s absence
By Andy Green
When the Los Angeles Kings scooped up the 6-foot-1, 214-pound Scuderi on July 2, 2009, many thought the scuffling franchise was putting too much money into a one-dimensional player. The LA Times story on the Scuderi signing mentioned the team’s need for a winger before mentioning Scuderi’s name. The Kings’ management saw it another way, especially after they realized they had their goalie of the future in Jonathan Quick, No. 1 center in Anze Kopitar, and offensive defenseman in Drew Doughty.
The Kings’ coaching staff, led initially by former NHL defender Terry Murray, usually put Scuderi on the top defense pairing with Doughty. They used him as a fixer, someone they could pair with a struggling defenseman to get his game going again, they used him against top lines to shut them down, and most of all they loved his quiet leadership.
After missing the playoffs every season between 2002-03 and 2008-09, the Kings haven’t missed the playoffs since Scuderi arrived. The following table bears out the relative improvement of the LA Kings’ defensive fortunes during the regular season after Scuderi’s arrival alongside the Penguins’ fortunes over the same time increment. This includes the teams’ points percentages, conference rank (out of 15, playoff seasons highlighted), goals against per game and league rank (out of 30), goal differential, and penalty kill efficiency and league ranking.
|
Pittsburgh |
Los Angeles |
||||||||||||||
| Season |
Win % |
Rk |
GA/G |
Rk |
GD |
PK% |
Rk |
Win % |
Rk |
GA/G |
Rk |
GD |
PK% |
Rk |
|
| 2005-06 |
0.354 |
15 |
3.78 |
30 |
-72 |
78.8% |
29 |
0.543 |
10 |
3.28 |
23 |
-21 |
78.7% |
30 |
|
| 2006-07 |
0.640 |
5 |
2.93 |
14 |
+31 |
82.1% |
17 |
0.415 |
14 |
3.38 |
27 |
-56 |
77.9% |
30 |
|
| 2007-08 |
0.622 |
2 |
2.59 |
10 |
+31 |
81.0% |
23 |
0.433 |
15 |
3.21 |
28 |
-35 |
78.0% |
30 |
|
| 2008-09 |
0.604 |
4 |
2.84 |
17 |
+25 |
82.7% |
8 |
0.482 |
14 |
2.76 |
11 |
-27 |
82.9% |
7 |
|
| 2009-10 |
0.616 |
4 |
2.87 |
20 |
+20 |
84.1% |
9 |
0.616 |
6 |
2.57 |
9 |
+22 |
80.3% |
20 |
|
| 2010-11 |
0.646 |
4 |
2.39 |
6 |
+39 |
86.1% |
1 |
0.598 |
7 |
2.39 |
6 |
+21 |
85.5% |
4 |
|
| 2011-12 |
0.659 |
4 |
2.66 |
15 |
+61 |
87.8% |
3 |
0.579 |
8 |
2.07 |
2 |
+15 |
87.0% |
4 |
|
| 2012-13 |
0.750 |
1 |
2.48 |
12 |
+46 |
79.6% |
25 |
0.610 |
5 |
2.38 |
8 |
+15 |
83.2% |
10 |
Of course, the playoffs are the crux of this discussion, and Scuderi has lived up to his massive contract in Los Angeles by helping the Kings morph from a sieve into one of the top defensive teams in the league. This was aided by the arrival of several other top players, to be sure, including Mike Richards, and a new coach, but Scuderi’s importance cannot be overlooked, as he brought instant credibility to the Kings’ defense.
As Kings’ color commentator Jim Fox and GM Dean Lombardi adeptly pointed out in January, the level-headed Scuderi brought credibility to the Kings that other players noticed, aiding their resurgence with a new ability to sign and re-sign free agents. Sure, the Kings were up and coming anyway, but like the 1982 Washington Capitals before Rod Langway, they weren’t consistent enough to make the playoffs without Scuderi.
Since Scuderi left the Steel City for Hollywood, the biggest difference for the Kings and Penguins since 2009, of course, is the Stanley Cup the Kings won. Overall the Kings have won twice the number of playoff series as the Penguins over the past four seasons. Let’s take a look at the Penguins’ playoff series numbers again, this time in comparison to the Kings.
|
Pittsburgh |
Los Angeles |
||||||||||||
| Playoffs | Series | Wins |
GA/G |
Rank |
PK% |
Rank |
Series |
Wins |
GA/G |
Rank |
PK% |
Rank |
|
| 2006-07 |
0 |
1 |
3.60 |
15 |
75.0% |
15 |
|||||||
| 2007-08 |
3 |
14 |
2.15 |
2 |
87.1% |
3 |
|||||||
| 2008-09 |
4 |
16 |
2.67 |
5 |
83.3% |
5 |
|||||||
| 2009-10 |
1 |
7 |
2.92 |
9 |
72.1% |
15 |
0 |
2 |
4.17 |
16 |
75.0% |
11 |
|
| 2010-11 |
0 |
3 |
3.14 |
11 |
70.4% |
15 |
0 |
2 |
3.33 |
13 |
91.3% |
3 |
|
| 2011-12 |
0 |
2 |
5.00 |
16 |
47.8% |
16 |
4 |
16 |
1.50 |
1 |
92.1% |
1 |
|
| 2012-13 |
2 |
8 |
2.67 |
10 |
92.9% |
3 |
2 |
9 |
1.89 |
2 |
87.7% |
4 |
Compare the Kings’ 2009-10 playoff season to the Penguins’ 2006-07 season, as both teams were in the playoffs for the first time in several years. After that season, the Kings improved every post-season defensively and the Penguins regressed. Certainly the 2010-11 Penguins were hurt by not having Crosby or Malkin in the lineup, but that doesn’t excuse a penalty kill that performed at just 70 percent efficiency.