Recently, I’ve spent lots of time lamenting the Penguins’ injury woes. And it sure is tough to watch our guys repeatedly take it on the chin. Like last night’s 5-1 loss to Chicago at PPG Paints Arena, a defeat that was equal parts humbling and stinging.
Talk about a slap in the face. The Pens have lost four games in a row for the first time since Mike Sullivan stepped behind the bench back in December 2015. The past two by a combined score of 11-3. Both on home ice, before a national TV audience on NBCSN.
A lousy time for a skid. Especially with second place—and the much-coveted home-ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs—still very much up for grabs.
Although the games have been downright painful to view from a Penguins perspective, I applaud Sullivan and his staff for resisting the temptation to rush our injured players back.
Better to get everyone fully healed.
On to last night’s hiding. Obviously, there wasn’t much to cheer. Conor Sheary returned to the lineup following a one-game absence, as did Chad Ruhwedel. Bryan Rust scored his first goal since coming off IR six days ago. His first since January 22.
Oh, and Justin Schultz actually returned from the locker room after blocking a shot with his foot. A welcome change from our usual.
That’s about it.
On the negative side of the ledger? Plenty to choose from. Our depleted Pens allowed more odd-man breaks than a minimum security prison. Something like eight of them, all told. Including a doozy of a 3-on-1 in the waning seconds of the first period that led to a fourth Chicago goal by expatriate Pen Marian Hossa. And possible shell-shock treatment for poor Marc-Andre Fleury between periods.
You’ll think I’ve taken permanent leave of my senses for what I’m about to write. But getting cuffed around a bit may be just what the doctor ordered.
How can that be, you ask?
Let me explain.
The Pens are a proud team. A defending Cup champ. Getting trounced on a regular basis can’t be sitting too well in the locker room. Especially with the guy wearing the ‘C.’
“The last couple of games haven’t been good enough,” snapped Sidney Crosby. “We’ve just got to be better. That’s the bottom line.”
Might be generating a little fire in the gut, if you know what I mean. A fire that hadn’t burned—at least not as intensely—before all the adversity hit. One that’ll make ‘em feel like they’ve got something to prove come playoff time.
Ready for some truly good news?
According to sources, a full-scale return (except for Carl Hagelin) is just around the corner. In time to let the returnees iron out the kinks before the postseason begins, while affording the holdovers a chance to unleash a little pent-up frustration on an unsuspecting foe.
What happens when you pull back on a rubber band…then release it? It flies…full bore…in the other direction. Or to quote Newton’s Third Law of Physics, for every action there’s an equal and opposite reaction.
I pity the first team we play when everyone comes back. I really do.
I’ll wrap up my ramble with a little message to the Blackhawks. Hope you enjoyed clobbering our JV team. It won’t be so easy next time.
See you again. Say, in about two months.
Puckpourri
The game was closer statistically than on the scoreboard. Chicago held a slight edge in shots on goal (36-32); the black and gold led in hits (32-11) and controlled the faceoff circle (59 percent).
Fleury made 31 saves. All but two of the Pens finished the game a minus. Matt Cullen and Patric Hornqvist were even.
The locals trail Metro Division leader Washington by seven points and second-place Columbus by two points. The Blue Jackets, our likely first-round opponent, have a game in hand.
Crosby continues to lead the league with 42 goals—four more than Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov. Sid trails Connor McDavid by seven points in the race for the Art Ross Trophy.
An update,
Allegedly Guentzel and Hainsey are due back tomorrow. In Hainsey’s case, I know some may think that is something but for me; yawn. However, getting Guentzel back has me excited. He may need a game or 2 to shake of the rust but maybe the we can see more than 1 goal a game for the the flightless fowl.
Hey Rick,
“Painful to view” yes indeed. The Pens aren’t trying. They’re lolligagging in the offensive zone, they’re lolligagging in the defensive zone. Do you know what that makes them?
I don’t know if you can tell on TV, but it would seem that there are only a few guys hustling at any given time. They other guys are hanging back (even Crosby), waiting to see if something develops then they go into the zone. I think they stopped blocking shots for the most part also.
Is it a good plan? Probably, but only time will tell. Like 55 on Point said, the Rangers passing them would be the best case scenario. Reminds me of a certain team from 1983.
I also like what you said about waiting for the guys to come back healthy. Hopefully they do that. There is no reason to get more guys injured blocking shots either. Play for the playoffs and keep your eye on the real prize seems to be the idea.
That all being said, still tough to sit through these games.
On the plus side, Detroit’s out of the playoffs which means the Pens have the longest running playoff streak at 10 years now!
Hey Phil,
Perhaps I’m guilty of oversimplifying. But I really feel that most of the Pens’ current issues stem from the injuries.
This is not meant to knock him. But if Carter Rowney’s your second-line center–as he was at the start of last night’s game–you’ve got serious manpower issues.
Along those lines, guys are trying to fill roles they’re simply not capable of filling–at least not for an extended period of time.
As a result, we’re having breakdowns all over the ice. The defense is struggling to move the puck to the forwards. (Lord, do we miss Letang on the transition. Daley, too.)
When the ‘d’ does manage to move the puck, the forwards are struggling to do anything with it once they get it. There’s very little speed or flow. We’re getting virtually no sustained pressure in the offensive zone. So we wind up doing the one thing we’re not built to do–even when healthy. Stand and defend in our own zone.
When the big guns return, guys will once again be slotted where they belong. Kunitz and Wilson can settle back into the bottom six, where they’re infinitely more effective. Crosby will once again be centering a dynamic line with Guentzel and Sheary. Malkin and Kessel. Deadly together–especially on the power play.
A positive domino effective, rather than the negative one we’re presently experiencing.
Rick
Good Afternoon Pens Fans,
As I said in an earlier thread, the best case scenario would be for the Rangers to pass them in the standings, regardless of anyone, or everyone, returning. That being said, I don’t expect them to lie down even though finishing first is about as remote a possibility as there is.
Even with the return of Letang, Maatta, Daley and Hainsey, how much better does the D get? With Cole and Schultz sucking wind, can they pick up the slack? This is an exploitable D even with everyone healthy. We already know Letang, Sid and Malkin have targets on their backs. Returning injured players will likely be wearing them too. That’s how Tortorella coaches.
This poses some interesting questions: Does wanting to win always mean going out there and leaving it all on the ice no matter what? Do you think coaches sometimes realize which side of the bread the butter is on and scale back to take the easier route if it does present the better chance of success? Isn’t that what part of coaching to win is all about? To give, as they always say in interviews, their team the best chance for success?
Columbus will hurt them. They want to hurt them. They’ll have to. Logic dictates the easier route to the second round doesn’t go through Columbus. The Rangers know that, too. The two remaining games against the Rangers will be fun to watch. It’s not impossible to imagine the Pens losing all their remaining games. I hate admitting that could happen, but it could. But, what will NY do? That’s what I’m waiting to see.
I don’t think either team will back down, but I bet they’ve thought about it. Maybe even discussed it. What say you?
Hey 55,
Maybe I’m naive. But I tend to take an “aw shucks, everybody’s out there tryin’ to do their best” view of things.
To digress, I’m well aware that our very own Penguins admitted–years after the fact–to tanking for all practical purposes in order to draft Mario Lemieux. And some of Craig Patrick’s deals in the early 2000s, including the trade that sent then-superstar Alexei Kovalev to the Rangers for four guys named Moe (Bouchard, Fata, Lintner and Samuelsson to be exact) were done so we’d have a chance to draft impact players like Fleury, Malkin and Crosby.
Still, I have a hard time picturing Sid and Geno huddled in a corner of the locker room, talking about what a really tough team Columbus is.
Are they aware that the Blue Jackets are a capable and rugged foe? Certainly. Sid probably still has lumps on his head from his latest clash with Brandon Dubinsky.
But our guys have a lot of heart and a ton of pride, too. They’re resilient with a capital ‘R.’ And there’s a lot of leadership in that room (Sid, Geno, Cullen, Hornqvist, Kunitz to name a few).
I can’t imagine a team as accomplished as the Pens–especially one led by a tough-minded coach like Mike Sullivan–seeking to avoid an opponent to the extent that they’d even consider holding back.
Again, I hearken back to the ’92 playoffs. The Caps and Rangers…and the Blackhawks in the Finals…meant to do us harm. And we prevailed.
I think this team–provided they’re reasonably healthy–can, too.
Rick
Hey Rick & 55
If I were the owners of the Penguins and knowing a first round exit from the play offs is simply UNACCEPTABLE…. Meaning it can not happen or else we will face severe financial consequences moving forward, so I would indeed play to lose against the Rangers and whom ever else we face in the next 6 games. Rest your stars.
Start MAF in the next 4 games. Rest Murray. Do not bring back Letang or Hainsey or Maatta. Rest them too. Do the same with some of your forwards. Under no circumstances would you want to play Columbus in the first round and then after being severely banged up, maybe face Washington in the second round. No way.
Do not forget that the refs throw away the whistle come play off time because the TV sponsors and the TV fans want to see rough, tough, physical play off hockey. Unfortunately dirty also finds away into that style as well. Lets face it guys and gals,the Pen’s are NOT a dirty team.
We do not have that type of line up any more. Where is Matt Cooke and Gary Roberts when you need them ? I know that last comment will cause some complaints by others, but in my opinion when you play a team like Columbus or even the Rangers you need one or two players who can “get the job done” if need be.
You old guys all talk about Gordie Howe. The real reason he was so great was come play off time there was nothing, and I repeat nothing he would not do to win.Gretzky who idolized Howe said ” he would not last 10 minutes in a game 7 against Gordie. He would take me out.” Watch him in Rocket Richard go at each other. One night they started a major riot in Montreal and the Army was brought in. No joke.
Last night I thought to my self if you are a Hawks fan you must feel real good about now. From my vantage point I saw that once the score was 4 to 0 the Hawks let up and stopped trying a bit. They knew the game was won. Others may differ in viewpoint, but there is no way that TEAM LAST NIGHT COULD WIN IN 7 GAMES AGAINST THE HAWKS !
So I say again lets not kill ourselves trying to finish 3rd behind Columbus…. Lets be smart and finish 4th and rest our team and get the easier match up.Then we get to face a bruised and banged up Capitals squad for round 2 and we will be well rested.
( We can take Montreal in 5-6 games and they are not a physical team like Columbus.)
Cheers,
Hey 55,
You know I agree with you, even when the Pens defense is healthy they have not been good. Only Schultz and Cole have consistently brought their “A” game. Letang, Daley, Maatta, and Domoulin have been inconsistent at best this year. Hainsey and Streit are new but neither impact D.
If when Letang comes back, he comes back and plays like he played last year, then maybe….
Although there may be forwards out there licking their chops at the prospect of playing against the Pens D, there certainly no Defense or Goalies out their doing the same when considering the prospects of going against the Pens full stable of Forwards. In fact I would suspect that all the D and G out there are probably thinking to themselves, wouldn’t it be nice to play someone other than the Pens or thinking maybe the Pens forwards will be out all post-season, Please.
So, as Rick suggests, I doubt that Sullivan or any players are thinking let’s throw a couple of games to get a better match up. Although, as I said many times, recently, I don’t have that same feeling as I did last year, as powerful as the Pens O can be, I would think that at least in their own minds, if their O is healthy, the Pens feel that are more than a match for any team in the league. I would think that their pride as defending Stanley Cup Champs and the fact that when healthy they were challenging for the President’s Trophy, despite their glaring weakness on D, they should still be considered odds on favorite this year.
Mind you, I still don’t have that feel, but I think they do or at least I hope they do. If they don’t then the cause is really lost.
I do not have the same confidence I had last year, but I also would not bet against this team just yet. The Pens fire Power can overpower CBJ and Was, particularly if they get a couple of breaks and a 2 game lead. Malkin and Crosby can both break any goalie. The chased Holtby once already this year and if they do that again in the playoffs there is a good chance the Caps fold like a house of cards, given their history of choking.
Hey Rick,
I despise excuses. I never give them and though I don’t always admit it, I really don’t accept them. However, in the case of the Pens, I wrote a week or two ago that any team losing to the Pens at this point should be embarrassed as the Pens were forced to put about a 1/2 of a roster of AHL players. Unfortunately that is still holds true, but now the Pens are playing playoff contenders and big surprise the kids are probably trying but they are being overwhelmed by real NHL talent.
Those kids gave a good account of themselves at first but the weight of having to play so many games against NHL teams has taken its toll and the nerve that got them through at first is gone and reality has set in. A team may be able to survive a 3 or 4 games under the conditions the Pens have been facing but this seige has lasted how long now? a Month? They must feel like Gen Wainwright on Corregidor waiting for the US Pacific Fleet to come rescue them or Crocket and Bowie at the Alamo against Santana’s forces.
You may be right, Sullivan’s strategy, like Sam Houston’s, asking these kids to buy time to allow the veterans heal fully just may provide the springboard to rile a sleeping giant to lay waste to CBJ in the first round and carry them through a Cap team waiting to find an excuse to choke once again.
That would be a great scenario!
I could see the big Russian coming out and blowing the doors off some opponents just like Artie of old or like he himself, Geno, did during the first Cup year strapping the team on his back and with force of will breaking his opponent.
However, it still may not workout that way. Those players won’t have much time to shake off the rust of so many long absences. And both goalies are looking worn down by the full scale assault that has been thrown at them.
Hey Other Rick,
Great stuff, and great historical analogies, too!
Spot on about the kids and fill-ins. Guys like Gaunce, Rowney and Sundqvist did a good–even admirable–job in a short-term pinch. But the longer they’re here, the more their AHL pedigree shows.
And it’s not just that the Pens have injuries. It’s WHO’S injured that really hurts. Malkin, Letang and Guentzel on the top end, followed by solid and capable pros like Daley, Hagelin, Hainsey and Maatta (yes, I’ll include Olli).
When you think about it, Malkin’s loss cost us Kessel, too. Or at least an effective one. None of the guys he’s playing with can read him or handle his admittedly hard passes. Passes that Geno was converting into goals galore.
Anyway, that’s a lot of hockey team we’ll be getting back soon. Hopefully accompanied by an emotional rush that will help propel us forward. Especially for what figures to be an extremely challenging first-round matchup with Columbus.
In the meantime, the guys will just have to suck it up for a few more games. Pray we don’t suffer any more serious injuries to key personnel in the interim.
Rick
Thanks Rick,
But it was the way you wrote your article that evoke those historical analogies.
Also, I agree with you, it wasn’t just injuries to 3 and 4th liners or 5 and 6th defensmen, the Pens have Pen forced to play without some big time talent.
Like you I am praying that these guys are getting angrier with each passing loss so that when they come back their will not just be a wild fire in their eyes but an inferno that spreads through the battle weary Crosby, Kessell, Hornqvist, and Schultz.
I wanted to be able to compare this March to last March to see sort of gauge the team before the playoffs (the shots against stuff) but it really is unfair to compare like this.
The one positive out of all of this is some of these kids are getting a real look at the NHL and a look at it without the support of the big guns. The are not riding anyone elses coat tails. Hopefully that gives them an appreciation of what it takes to win and should they find themselves out their again, skating on Crosby or Malkin’s wing, not take anything for granted and fight for every cube of ice space.