Perry is a man of maddening moments
“It’s a great wisdom to know when enough is enough.” This was not a line authored by a hockey player. It came from actress Kim Cattrall, explaining why she would not reprise her popular role as Samantha Jones in a third “Sex and the City” movie. She understood the timing.
Corey Perry, the soon-to-be 37year-old with the Tampa Bay Lightning, has shown early in the Stanley Cup playoffs the effectiveness of timing. He understands the game and the nuances within it. He knows what is required in the playoffs, and when, and he knows who he can provoke. His use of space, both his and yours, is defining. Perry is one of the masters in the art of disruption.
The Lightning knew they had lost key components after winning consecutive Stanley Cups, with their third line leaving through the expansion draft (Yanni Gourde to Seattle) and free agency (Barclay Goodrow to the New York Rangers, Blake Coleman to Calgary). Lighting GM Julien BriseBois responded by adding the likes of Perry and rebuilding his bottom-six forward group.
BriseBois had watched Perry compete in the previous two Cup finals, first for Dallas and then for Montreal. He was irritatingly effective and proved he still had mettle. BriseBois signed him to a two-year, $2-million (U.S.) deal.
Moving up and down the lineup during the regular season, Perry had 19 goals, including six on the power play, and 40 points while playing all 82 games. But the numbers were likely a bonus to BriseBois, who wanted Perry for when the regular season ended and the real fun began.
Perry has not disappointed. He was everywhere when the Maple Leafs-Lightning series opened in Toronto: firing the puck into the opposition net at the end of warmup and riling the early-seated home fans with his ensuing celebration; crowding Leafs netminder Jack Campbell’s personal space at every opportunity; starting post-whistle scrums on a moment’s notice; and tweaking William Nylander at close range just to gauge a reaction.
He has thrown his six-foot-three, 215-pound frame around with a recklessness that belies its age, and attracted the attention of the Leafs’ brawn at every turn. He had Wayne Simmonds frustrated enough in Game 2 that the Leafs forward took a cross-checking penalty at the edge of the Toronto crease. Tampa Bay scored on the power play, a goal that made it 5-1 and took on more importance when Toronto scored twice to narrow the margin late.
The Simmonds penalty was classic Perry. He pushes just enough, edging, cajoling, threatening, glaring. And often smiling at the result.
Questions abounded coming into the series about how the physical story would play out. The Leafs seemed better equipped than in the past and more willing to engage if they were called upon to do so. Toronto’s Game 1 lineup included Simmonds and Kyle Clifford, and they were supported by more physical defenders in Ilya Lyubushkin, Mark Giordano and a healthy Jake Muzzin.
While Clifford exited the scene early with a major penalty and misconduct, the addition in Game 2 of Michael Bunting, a player coach Sheldon Keefe called “a player made for the playoffs,” was expected to help negate the effectiveness of Perry. It didn’t.
The evolution of Perry has been interesting to watch. He won a Stanley Cup in 2007 with Anaheim. He was the Rocket Richard and Hart winner four years later, when he scored 50 goals. But he has contributed in a different manner in recent years, moving down the lineup. The physical demands are enormous, as are the mental. Adjusting to being a featured agitator after being a featured scorer (while still an agitator) is quite a step, and one that Perry has embraced.
He knows there may be a key moment each night when something is required. It may be a goal, it may be a critical pass, it may be a big hit, or it may be his best impersonation of the ultimate disturber. Pushing, pushing, pushing. And then, at the right moment, maddeningly to his opponents, he stops.
Corey Perry knows when enough is enough.