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NEWARK, N.J. -- No matter what Rob Scuderi does, no matter what he accomplishes, exactly where he goes, he will often be "The Piece."That is due to the fact in several methods the hardworking, no-nonsense defenseman is just that, "The Piece."The nickname was given life in the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs when Scuderi, then a cornerstone of the Pittsburgh Penguins' defense, in an try to describe his role as being simply a piece to the Penguins' puzzle inadvertently described himself as "the piece." But he turned out to be "the piece" in Game 6 of that series when he made two critical defensive plays to end certain goals to preserve a 2-one victory against the Detroit Red Wings and send the series to Game 7, which the Penguins would also win.Not remarkably, his teammates in Pittsburgh created wonderful sport of the misstatement, referring to Scuderi simply as "The Piece." Pittsburgh GM Ray Shero nevertheless chuckles at the moment as there could hardly be a player much less probably to draw attention to himself than Scuderi.Even now a mention of the second causes the understated Scuderi some discomfort."I experimented with to leave that in Pittsburgh but thank you quite considerably for bringing that up," he stated with a wry grin Friday afternoon after the Los Angeles Kings practiced in preparation for Game 2 of the Stanley Cup finals."No one's called me it right here. Every after in a while somebody says it and I will kind of make the shushing [sign]. It was humorous. It is not like I explained it on function. It's much more of a funny factor that we can all laugh at."The native of Prolonged Island, N.Y., was part of a Penguins crew that grew up collectively. He played in the AHL at Wilkes-Barre after graduating from Boston School and then with the big club. Along with gamers like Brooks Orpik and Maxime Talbot, Scuderi grew to become part of the backbone of a club that would go to the 2008 finals just before winning it all the next yr.Ed Olczyk was the head coach of the Penguins when Scuderi acquired his first extended taste of NHL life in the 2005-06 season. The former NHLer and broadcast analyst mentioned that with Scuderi you always know what you are going to get."We projected him to perform towards the greatest guys in the league evening in and evening out," Olczyk told ESPN.com Friday."Just the way he goes about his company. Not a whole lot of flash, just a whole lot of heart and a good deal of consistency."He's not the quickest skater or the most bodily defender, "but he can play the game," additional Shero."He is acquired this kind of a great stick. He is very, quite good defensively. He's the type of player the coaches genuinely like. I'm actually happy for him."Within weeks of winning the Cup in 2009, Scuderi hit the industry as an unrestricted totally free agent as the Penguins could not make area for him beneath the salary cap. He became a member of the Los Angeles Kings by the end of the initial day of free of charge company, signing a 4-yr deal really worth $13.6 million.At times a contract like that creates unrealistic expectations for everyone concerned -- staff, player, fans.In this case, GM Dean Lombardi and assistant GM Ron Hextall produced it clear to Scuderi that they needed precisely what he'd proved to be in Pittsburgh.[+] EnlargeAndrew D. Bernstein/NHLI/Getty Pictures"True professional. That is the initial issue that comes mind, [he] is a actual professional," Dean Lombardi mentioned of Rob Scuderi."I will not consider it was hard just due to the fact I would talked to Dean and Hextall within the initial couple of days I'd arrived in Los Angeles with my family members and they rather significantly just informed me we want you to be the same player, we want you to be the identical man or woman we have heard about," Scuderi stated. "It actually took the strain off since you received a massive contract. I do not mind the expectations that comes with the territory and which is fine, but I was actual glad people guys kind of came in and mentioned we never want you to do anything diverse than what I did in Pittsburgh."I did not think it transformed me. I believe I've been the very same man or woman I was in Pittsburgh. I consider just going to a different team in a diverse region on the opposite coast, I consider that was the greatest adjustment for my loved ones and I."Though the Kings had been bounced in the first round the very first two springs Scuderi was on the West Coast, he never acquired discouraged at the team's evolution and now the Kings are 3 wins away from their initial-ever Stanley Cup."When I manufactured the selection you can only make the selection on the facts that you have at the time," Scuderi stated. "I imagined the group was on the upswing, I do not feel that was a shock to any person, and I considered possibly we would have a likelihood to win http://www.whitesoxfansstore.com/29-luis-aparicio-jersey. Even even though I would been lucky just to win the Stanley Cup you even now want to be on a winning crew http://www.whitesoxfansstore.com/19-carlton-fisk-jersey. No 1 consciously makes a decision to be component of a loser. It was some thing that I thought had a chance http://www.whitesoxfansstore.com/36-ozzie-guillen-jersey."Certainly Lombardi felt Scuderi's presence would be an crucial building block in constructing what he hoped would be a championship lineup."Real pro. Which is the very first thing that comes to thoughts, [he] is a actual professional," Lombardi informed ESPN.com Friday. "There's a workmanlike presence to him just does the appropriate point. His personality is really a lot like he plays: targeted. There is not a whole lot of the rah, rah, rah things but you just have to watch him do the appropriate thing every single day. It's real basic."The point now [is] his stature kind of rises as we have gone via this procedure since he is been there [the Cup finals] twice back-to-back and he is been matched up towards leading players http://www.whitesoxfansstore.com/25-jim-thome-jersey."Throughout the playoffs, Scuderi has been paired with former Norris Trophy nominee Drew Doughty, who missed education camp in a contract dispute before signing a long-phrase deal. Later in Game one of the Cup finals, they have been matched up a lot more usually against Ilya Kovalchuk's forward line. Kovalchuk registered one particular shot and zero factors in the game."Now you get to the intangibles," Lombardi mentioned Carlton Fisk Jersey. "I believe we have all noticed Drew pretty excitable. I will not know if you guys saw the Phoenix series and that tiny temper tantrum. And Drew in this yr I think he's place a whole lot of pressure on himself. You have clearly acquired a calming influence there [with Scuderi]. When a guy's been there twice like that and has a ring, that rings with Drew, even even though Rob's not a large-profile guy."Shero jokes that Scuderi could have the fewest shots blocked in the NHL in component because he hardly ever directs any at the net. Via 15 playoff games this spring he has 9 shots in total -- tied for the fewest of any normal player on the Kings. He has a single aid.And yet when head coach Darryl Sutter needs to send someone in excess of the boards to preserve a lead or destroy a penalty, you can be positive he'll be searching to Scuderi."One of people previous-college, traditional, comes to operate each and every day. He is a great professional," Sutter explained."I consider as we've went along and down the stretch, the playoffs, he is proven that even more."As Lombardi finished his discussion of Scuderi, he paused."But isn't it true that with any good team there's usually those guys that just do their task and are real very good pros? He's a wonderful fit for us," Lombardi mentioned.Whether Scuderi is a fit or the piece, in the end the final results speak for themselves.
