I was all set to write my summary of Sunday’s 3-2 triumph over Carolina when my community experienced an electrical outage.
Plans temporarily short-circuited, I decided to make the best of things and went out for an early morning walk while the utility company restored our power.
Reminded me a bit of yesterday’s contest. Although the Penguins got off to a sluggish start, they remained patient and capitalized on opportunities when they arose, instead of forcing the issue.
The result? A workmanlike win.
The Pens yielded too many shots (35—including 13 in the final period) to call it a blueprint for the playoffs. But we’re gettin’ there, slowly but surely.
Once again, Jake Guentzel and Conor Sheary grabbed the spotlight, offsetting a somewhat flat performance—statistically speaking—by linemate Sidney Crosby (one shot, minus-1). The kids each tallied a power-play goal and combined for seven shots on goal.
Not a bad day’s work.
Guentzel made the most of his 37 seconds with the man advantage. With Klas Dahlbeck in the box for tripping, the peppery forward raced to the net and tapped home a made-to-order setup from Chad Ruhwedel at 11:28 of the first period.
After Jeff Skinner knotted the score two minutes later with a determined, second-effort goal, the game settled into a typical Pens-Canes thriller. Featuring plenty of end-to-end action and momentum swings.
Then the Pens’ lunch-pail crew chipped in midway through the second period with a nice bit of teamwork. Following a prolonged cycle in the Hurricanes’ end, Carter Rowney cut through the left circle and snapped off a shot. Carolina goalie Eddie Lack made a right-pad save, but couldn’t smother the rebound. Scott Wilson arrived on the doorstep to jam the puck beneath Lack’s pads and over the goal line.
“When guys step up at different times and different people make contributions each and every night, that’s a sign of a real competitive hockey team,” noted coach Mike Sullivan.
The locals gained a little breathing room early in the third period—again on the power play. This time Sheary did the honors, one-timing a beautiful feed from Patric Hornqvist past Lack from the side of the net for his 22nd goal of the season.
The ‘Canes made things interesting, thanks to a freak power-play goal by Justin Faulk at 9:38 of the third period. Faulk’s blast from center point smacked off the Plexiglas and hit Matt Murray square in the numbers. Displaying remarkable reflexes, the rookie goalie tried to make a circus glove save in behind-the-back fashion, but the puck eluded him and bounded in.
The Pens staved off a late push by the visitors to leapfrog Columbus and regain second place in the hotly contested Metro Division.
“I think Washington’s going to be tough to catch if they keep winning, but Columbus is definitely within reach,” said Sheary. “If we want to come into the first round with home ice, I think it’s important to keep playing hard and keep playing for two points.”
Puckpourri
Carolina outshot the Pens, 35-26, and won 58 percent of the faceoffs. The black and gold held a slight edge in hits (32-30).
The line of Rowney, Wilson and Josh Archibald was a physical force, accounting for 13 hits. The trio totaled four shots on goal in a combined 33:46 of ice time.
Archibald replaced Chris Kunitz, who suffered an upper-body injury while blocking a shot during the late stages of Friday night’s victory over the Rangers. Sullivan described the injury as “longer term.”
Sullivan set a franchise record for first-year coaches with 48 wins, eclipsing the previous mark held by Dan Bylsma and Michel Therrien.
The Pens trail Washington by five points in the Presidents’ Trophy race. They presently hold a one-point lead over Columbus in the quest for home-ice advantage. Each team has four games left to play in the regular season.
The Pens and Blue Jackets meet in a showdown at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday night.
Just an update,
According to the NHL website; Murray is expected to get the nod. Part of me, the sentimental part, was hoping that MAF would get the start since it is the last regular season home game, then Murray could still get sharp over the last 3 games.
Also according to the NHL website, Daley and Sestito participated in the morning skate but wore yellow noncontact jerseys. Hoepfully they get back next game and maybe Malkin and Letang can be ready by the following game so that they can get a couple of games under their belt before the play-offs start.
Hey Rick,
I am not sure who all thought the Guentzel would play like he has consistently played so far this year, but I do remember you and I were high on him right at the get go. What a find. If not for Murray still being a rookie, I would be yelling for Guentzel to be the Pens Rookie of the year.
As for Sheary, I am gladly eating some humble pie on that one, I said he was too small. This is one of those times I am glad I was wrong.
During the end of the Bylsma era and the brief but way too long for me MJ interlude I worried that the Pens had absolutely nothing in the minors. Not only have these 2 kids been a wow factor and Rust and Kuhnhackl have been doing yoemen’s jobs, I was looking at WBS’s stats and so far Aston-Reese is doing rather well too. He has 7 points in his first 7 games; I think it was 3 G and 4 A.
Also, thanks for sparing me from having to give my normal whine by addressing it in your article, nuf said.
Last thing, this morning, while bemoaning my pet peeve, which I will stop short of naming a second time in this post, I decided to look at the standings in the west. Why you may ask? I was struck by an e-article yesterday whose headline extolled the wisdom of the Pens in keeping 2-No 1 goalies. With that in mind I remembered how the hockey world marveled at the coup pulled off by LA in trading Budaj for Bishop so they could have 2-No. 1 Gs. If you remember did not share that opinion.
Well, all the play-off slots are filled in the west and LA is not among those playing through April. Their trade bought them early tee times. Bishop and Quick have put up pretty good S% but their win% are rather average at best. Bishop is at 0.500 with Quick a hair over 0.500. As I have said when this subject comes up, although goaltending is perhaps the most important position, you only need 1 starting goalie and 1 – 2 quality back-ups. Tying up as much money and salary cap space as LA currently has invested in goal doesn’t leave them much room for other players to help them win.
My point? First I am not sure the Pens really wanted to keep MAF and MM. Maybe they did, but then again, at the end maybe JR did his level best to make a trade at the dead-line. Had the Pens moved MAF in the last off-season or at the dead-line, I do think they would be infinitly better off. Imagine if Murray was already making his $3 million this year. Would the Pens really still have a mathematical (didn’t say good) shot at the Presidents trophy or would they be fighting for a play-off spot or like LA on the outside looking in?
As much as I like MAF and would like to see him retire a Penguin, I would have like to trade him and even if I didn’t get the player I wanted, open up the salary room to have tried to bring in a real defensemen to help Schultz and Cole. That potential D man would be worth more than a second no. 1 G.
Hey Other Rick,
I’m sold on Guentzel, I believe he is the real deal. It’s not just that, I believe the Penguins have finally found the perfect match of a line mate for Crosby. Sheary is good, but when push comes to shove in the off season, I believe he will be gone. I believe he is pretty much just reaping the benefits of Crosby & Guentzel, he’s a solid player, but a Warren Young.
When Malkin comes back, I believe Crosby’s line will really take off.
On MAF, I believe if there was a deal to be had, Rutherford would have traded Fleury. I think he weighed Fleury’s backup value to what he could get on the open market to better the team and opted to keep him.
We’ll see how the playoffs go, who knows he could end up in the same position Murray ended up in last year. The few days leading up to the 21st of June should be fun to watch.
Hey Phil,
I agree, you could be right on both counts about Sheary. I do think he is good, but he is definitely benefitting from Crosby and this time with Crosby is raising his stock higher than it would be otherwise. However, since he is RFA rather than UFA the situation will resolve itself a little different than Warren Young. If someone offers him more than the Pens will be able to offer, at least the Pens get some kind of compensation. Also, there is a chance that no one will really be willing to offer him too much because they may not want to lose any picks. I know it isn’t suppose to be that deep of a draft so some GMs may be willing to gamble, but there still is the chance the won’t gamble.
I also agree, once Malkin gets back, Crosby’s line is going to be lightning and his return should also give a huge bump to Kessel and Hornqvist as well.
It is hard to tell about what really happened with MAF. I do think JR did try and trade him at the deadline but the market wasn’t there. I even believe Jim’s report was pretty solid, and close to the mark. The real question would be what other pieces did St Louis want. As much as I would have loved to see Shattenkirk in black and gold, I wouldn’t want to throw away to much of the future. I think the Pens could make another serious run at the cup next year, meaning if the can repeat I don’t think a threepeat is that far out of the question. In fact I think the team could be stronger next year than this year, depending on the off season.
However, part of me is glad MAF gets at least one more shot at getting his name on the Cup as a Penguin, even yhough the logical side of me really would have liked to get some type of top 4 defensive help, prefereably with size, rather than adding more filler men. No matter which one Murray or Fleury is in net, I think they are going to get hammered with vulcanized rubber.
I am hoping Crosby and Crew and MM/MAF can find a way to be the difference.
Hey Phil,
I agree wholeheartedly about Guentzel. He’s the real deal—feisty, whip-smart and skilled. However, he needs to shore up his decision-making a bit. Jake has an unnerving (and careless) habit of flinging the puck off the wall and out into the middle of the ice in the d-zone. I’ve seen him do it at least a half-dozen times, and it nearly always results in a turnover and prime scoring chance for the other team.
Still, no questioning his upside.
I do, respectfully, disagree with your assessment of Sheary. I’m not saying he’d win the Art Ross without Sid or Guentzel, but goodness this kid’s a player. Extremely clever and creative with the puck, and already a master at finding the seams and openings and exploiting them. And he never ceases to amaze me at how good he is along the wall, especially for a kid his size. He not only wins puck battles against much larger foes, but he comes off the boards ready to make a play. Remarkable.
My guess is, you’re basing your overall opinion to a degree on the fact that Sheary and Crosby weren’t as effective without Guentzel. While correct, don’t forget that the opposite also held true. During the stretch when Sheary was out—basically all of February—Jake had three goals and five assists in 13 games. Certainly not bad, but hardly overwhelming.
Since Sheary returned on March 3? Guentzel’s got six goals and six assists in 12 games.
Bottom line? They’ve combined with Sid to form a terrific line, as you duly noted. Each brings so much to the table, and the kids have truly re-energized Sid. You can tell he enjoys playing with them.
I can’t imagine being an opposing team and trying to defend against them. They come at you with so much speed and skill, and from so many angles. By the time you’re moving over to check Sheary, the puck has already gone from Sid to Guentzel on the other side of the ice. Or vice versa.
I don’t know how you track that…or defend against it. You’re better off just staying in your lanes and hoping they run into you, rather than trying to chase them. Easier said than done, I’m sure, when your instincts are screaming for you to react.
Bodes well for the playoffs.
Rick
Hey Other Rick,
Excellent thoughts, all around.
I’ll focus my comments on your assessment of the Pens’ young talent a couple of years back. I was right there with you. As recently as early last season, I was predicting gloom and doom for the future. Like a lot of other folks, I thought Ray Shero had left the prospect cupboard bare. I really thought we were headed for a collapse that would ultimately rival the early 2000s.
I completely missed the mark on the whole lot of them—Archibald, Guentzel, Rust, Sheary and Wilson. All I saw was their lack of size. Fortunately, Shero and his scouts were looking at other qualities—perhaps the ones that really matter. Character, desire, heart, skill, speed and tenacity…to name a few.
While I’ll always have a preference for bigger players (like Aston-Reese, who’s tearing it up with the Baby Pens) it taught me a lot about not prejudging players solely based on size.
Reminds me of that old saying. Good things come in small packages … 🙂
Rick
For those of us who like a little mustard with our hockey…
At the risk of celebrating the brutal side of the game, Aston-Reese scored a KO in his first pro fight.
Looks like we have, at long last, signed a prospect who can play and play tough, in the mold of a Nick Foligno or Boone Jenner.
Can hardly wait to see him with the Pens.
Rick
Hey Rick,
Hopefully Aston-Reese didn’t sign his trade card by showing a little grit last night.
Maybe we can disguise him as Warsofsky. That way, they’ll keep him for sure … 🙂
Rick
That’s funny 🙂