“Crap.”
That was the only word I could think to utter as I watched Alex Ovechkin cut unimpeded into the slot and whip a bullet past Marc-Andre Fleury a mere 35 seconds into last night’s rivalry matchup between the Penguins and the Capitals.
Turned out to be a pretty good metaphor for the entire game. At least from a black-and-gold standpoint. From Ovi’s early rocket—his 20th goal of the season and 1000th NHL point—to Lars Eller’s empty netter that bonked off the stick of Patric Hornqvist and floated in. Capping, if you’ll pardon the expression, a 5-2 Washington win.
It was one of those nights. The Pens managed 32 shots on goal, yet rarely seemed to solve the Capitals’ lane-clogging defense, which accounted for 19 blocks. While the locals mounted a mild third-period rally, thanks to power-play goals by Evgeni Malkin and Hornqvist, they never really threatened. Especially after feisty defenseman (and ex-Cap) Steve Oleksy was whistled off for tripping with less than four minutes to play.
Still, Mike Sullivan was quick to distinguish this loss from the 7-1 thrashing doled out by the Caps on November 16.
“We were climbing back in it,” noted the Pens’ coach. “We had momentum. We had energy. Our power play gave us a boost in the third. We were right there.”
The numbers seem to support Sully’s take. The Penguins attempted 64 shots, compared to just 41 for their hosts. Fully half of their 32 shots on goal came from below the hash marks—an enviable ratio. By contrast, only eight of the Caps’ 30 shots on goal came from close range. Despite losing a whopping 62 percent of the faceoffs, the locals started in the offensive zone 54.4 percent of the time.
Yet this setback has an all-too-familiar ring. One that, in my eyes, links it to previous defeats at the hands of Washington and Columbus. Not to mention a pair of lopsided losses to the grinding, disciplined Minnesota Wild and two overtime losses to the hulking Los Angeles Kings.
Searching for a common thread, a few observations come to mind. In each of those contests, our guys had difficulty imposing their will and style of play. The Kryptonite to the Pens’ puck-possession game? Solid positional play and attention to detail. Particularly along the wall and in front of the net.
Indeed, although the Pens registered a ton of shots from close range last night, few seemed uncontested. Credit the Capitals—and opponents like the Blue Jackets and Wild—who’ve learned the folly of chasing the quicksilver Penguins around the ice. Instead, they’re staying in the shooting lanes and using their superior size and strength to win puck battles along the wall and in the trenches.
It’s working.
A shame in a way, because I really like our team. It’s wondrously skilled. Following Sidney Crosby’s exemplary lead, our guys compete hard. They play for each other and pick each other up, both on and off the ice.
Yet I fear changes are needed if the Pens are to compete on even terms with clubs that combine a high level of skill with a solid defensive game plan and physical bent. Perhaps in the form of tactical adjustments. But possibly through trades or recalls (or both).
Gordie Roberts, a member of the Pens’ first two Stanley Cup winners, once boasted, “We can change gears. We can play any style. We do what we have to do to win hockey games.”
Until our present Pens can make the same claim, another Stanley Cup may lie just beyond their grasp.
Hey Rick,
I too am getting a little concerned. I can’t help but fall back to an idea that Jim has been proselytizing off and on, the Pens may need to make a trade and not try and repeat with the same line-up. I have never been opposed to that idea even though I may have thought the team may be able to slip through under Sullivan’s guidance without drastic measures. Teams have had over a year to dissect this team and figure out how to beat it. The task of winning again may now require more talent than the team has to impose its will against forewarned opponents.
I am not suggesting that the team lacks talent, just that when opponents know them inside and out they have to be able to execute that much better.
Last night Ottawa assaulted Murray in the first period taking 21 shots of which 15 made it on goal; 4 were blocked and another 2 missed the net. Yes, Ottawa had 3 PP opportunities but Ottawa still put up a lot of O “5 on 5.”
I really don’t think the problem lies with the Forwards or the Goalies, with the team tied for 4th worst in the league in shots against, the blame for this Jekyll and Hyde would appear to be D.
I do believe that Schultz is starting to show his worth and Cole is has also shown himself to be a quality player, but as for the rest of the D, they are not getting it done. Everyone likes to take pot shots at Pouliot and there does seem to be provocation there, however, outside of Schultz and Cole, no one else is really getting the job done. Teams are taking tons of shots, assaulting both goalies. They are not clearing their own zone very effectively. Just as there have been times the Pens forwards have had seriously extended zone time, opposing teams have had their share of extended zone time in the Pens zone as well.
On the whole, the team could possibly make upgrades from within; Guentzel may actually represent an upgrade on LW. Also Sundqvist, G Willson, and Jarry all seem like they may be ready for the NHL. But on D, although Oleksy and Rhuwedel are doing better than anyone could have hoped, the team is not blessed with anything resembling a sure thing on D down in WBS right now.
It might have been best if JR had dealt MAF in the off-season even for nothing more than a No 2 pick. Not because MAF may have lost it, he hasn’t he still is a solid goalie and as I have already said it would hardly seem fair to hold him accountable for anything considering the onslaught he has faced.. However, the $5.75 mil could have easily upgraded the team in the FA dept. (Although I can’t remember if there were any FA D men this past off-season I would have gone after.
However, with Guentzel, Sundqvist, G Wilson, and Jarry all seeming ready, as well as the depth the team does have at RW it may be time to consider moving a F or G or combination there of for a D man. And as I have, in the past, stated that I am not a fan of trade dead-line trades, asserting that they can represent a vote of no confidence and shake a play-off run, the time may be in the next couple of weeks to try and pull off that deal. There are some teams already looking to deal, judging by a couple of recent trades.
Let’s hope I am just jumping the gun
Go Pens!
Hey Other Rick,
Excellent thoughts!
I can’t but feel that at least some of our defensive woes are attributable to the team’s damn-the-torpedoes style, not to mention loosey-goosey decision-making. But some certainly are due to personnel issues on the ‘d.’
Schultz has been phenomenal. Not only is he an amazing offensive talent, but he’s really playing well in his own end. A shame he wasn’t named to play in the All-Star game.
Cole, as you pointed out, has been really solid. Even though I still have concerns about his skating, Maatta, for the most part has been, too.
Letang seems to be in one of his funks right now (minus-4 in his past two games). Sometimes you have to take the bad with–in Tanger’s case–the brilliant. However, I definitely prefer Schultz–a natural quarterback–on the power play.
Daley’s had some issues, although the coaching staff keeps moving him around in the wake of Dumoulin’s injury. As well as they’ve done in a pinch-hit role, I think everyone agrees that Oleksy and Ruhwedel are short-term patches.
We’ve touched on this before. But I’d love to see a bigger guy (or two) back there. When our defense has to stand and defend for any length of time, it tends to wither. Stick-on-puck defense is fine for a fast-break game. But it doesn’t hold up nearly as well in the face of a heavy forecheck. The kind the Pens face when they play a Washington or Columbus.
Rick
Agreed Rick,
Sometimes our Offensive stars make some bad decisions in the attacking zone leading to odd man breaks, and this has lead to an occasional goal. Fortunately, both Fleury and Murray have been equal to the task on most of those looks, as evidenced by the team’s record. Furthermore, I don’t get all that upset, if the player making the mistake busts his butt to get back into the play to at least pressure the opponents if not break it up. At least in the case of Schultz, Daley, and Letang, I have seen them come back even when they weren’t at fault to clean up mistakes.
What worries me most is the extended zonetime opponents have been getting, which leads to the elevated number of shots against. Opposing teams have figured out our puck moving D’s tendencies and are shutting them down and tying them up in their own zone, getting a chance to lean their heavier bodies on the Pens lighter frames and wear them down.
I didn’t mention Daley, Letang, or Maatta in my initial comment but your assessments on all three are spot on. Letang has always been a streaky player and right now he is slumping. In away, he reminds me of the Pens answer to Terry Bradshaw. Daley has shown flashes of last year, unfortunately he has also struggled at times, and this could very easily be due to being juggled around to plug holes, so I don’t want to lambaste him. And as for Maatta, he was lambasted at the beginning of the season but like Cole and Lovejoy last year, he has really picked himself back up.
Truth be told, I like all of those D and want them all to succeed and succeed here, but as a unit they aren’t getting the job done. They are not moving the puck out of the zone all that fast. Adjusting breakout schemes can help a little as well as rotating some of the lower D (Like I mentioned a couple of weeks ago) to give their beat up bodies a little R-n-R, but I do think this is the area that needs an infusion of new blood.
It may require the Pens to move one of their D but it may also require them to move a Forward or Goalie as well, to get a D of value.
I think I uttered a variation on that, Rick. I hadn’t even gotten into my seat before the roof blew off the Verizon Center. I tend to be more of a glass is half empty girl than I’d like to be, but I share your pessimism. And although I’m not totally clear on the question, I’m pretty sure Oleksy is not the answer.
Hey Jayelene,
Nice to hear from you.
Like you, I tend to be a glass-half-empty person at times. And, as much as I really do like our team, I’ve been concerned for some time about how we stack up against physical teams that can play. Like Columbus, Minnesota and Washington.
Unfortunately, our dubious record against those teams (1-5) only serves to affirm my doubts.
For the past couple of years, I’ve harped on and off about the need to add at least a couple of bigger guys–preferably one up front and one on defense–to help us physically compete on even terms with clubs like the Caps, Jackets and Wild.
I’m not talking about enforcer/fighter types–although an infusion of grit and combativeness would certainly be welcome–as much as guys who can play hockey AND play a big man’s game. I just think it would add an element to our team that’s missing, and might help us compete on even terms with the teams I’ve noted.
Speaking of grit, I thought Steve Oleksy did a really nice job his first handful of games (Chad Ruhwedel, too). However, as you noted, his “AHL” has shown the past couple of games. As much as I love Oleksy’s toughness and heart, he’s obviously not a long-term answer.
Along those lines, I think it might be time to start working Chris Kunitz out of the mix. Again, love his grit and heart. And I’m sure he’s a terrific teammate and leader. But at 37, his speed and overall effectiveness have waned.
That’s the spot I’d target to fill with a larger (and, hopefully, more productive) player. I don’t know if that guy exists within the organization. Garrett Wilson (6’2″ 199) is having a strong season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. But he’s yet to prove he can get ‘er done in the NHL (no points in 34 games with Florida).
Readers may take me to task on this one. But I actually think Baby Pens heavyweight Tom Sestito has some underrated skills. He’d sure go a long way to fixing the size/toughness issue, too. I just don’t know if he skates well enough to keep pace on a consistent basis.
Most likely, the answer lies somewhere outside the organization. The Pens are rumored to have interest in Colorado’s Gabriel Landeskog, a burly 23-year-old Swedish left wing who can score (think of a super-sized Patric Hornqvist). Unfortunately, so are 28 other teams.
Then there’s the not-so-little matter of salary. Landeskog’s got a $5.5 million cap hit (ouch).
Still, he’s the type of player the Pens would like (and need) to add.
Rick
Hey Rick and Jayelene,
I don’t know if you saw ESPN is suggesting Colorado has already jumped into sell mode as they have traded McLeod to the Preds. So, maybe a Landeskog deal is in the works.
Hey Guys and Gal…
Sorry to come late to the party and Coach you my stance on the need for some size and grit for our team.
But watching the Ottawa game on HNC and please understand Ottawa is not a team known for grit, the Pen’s appeared to me to be chasing the game and not playing the game. Great team pre act where lesser teams react ! Last night the Pen’s were out of sync
Case in point. The talking heads on HNC always have great statistics in a game to justify there large salaries. They mentioned the Pen’s 8 second rule.Apparently the Pens have a rule since last year’s playoffs that when the puck entered their zone they have 8 seconds to retrieve it and get out of their zone?? ( that was their quote ).
Last night my watched must have stopped several times because the play was in our end alot.
Also Condon played very well and made several good stops.
In the Washington game we were not sharp in the first period and we paid the price.Plus they can handle the physical side where we can not.
With regards to the Avs, it was mentioned that the entire team can be made available for the right deal.
I also agree Jayelene that Olesky is not the answer moving forward.He is a number 8 d man on any competitive team.No better.
In my opinion we need to make some major changes if we want to lift the Cup in 2017.
But I have been wrong before.
Cheers
Hey Jim,
If the Avs are really willing to deal I may be more interested in Erik Johnson rather than Landeskog. Maybe Soderberg too if we need to make a multi player swap.
Duchene and MacKinnon are better scorers but with Malkin and Crosby, scoring Centers aren’t a priority but Soderberg has size and is pretty good in FO circle combine that with Bonino and Cullen UFA at the end of the year and only Sundqvist and Fehr moving back to Center to inherit if both are gone at the seasons end.
Hey Coach
Sometimes it is fun to play arm chair GM as you know.My buddy from Halifax says Would I trade Malkin for Nate McKinnon. ? (Both he and Sid are Cole Harbor boys.)Just a hypothetical question.
So here is my answer. Nate is 21, and during the World cup he was North America ‘s second best center man after McDavid. He was a beast. He is bigger than Sid, but plays the two way game the same way.New 7 year deal that pays him 6.3 mill.
Geno is 30 and at the top of his game. He has a 6 year contract left at 9.5 mill.
I would trade Geno for Nate M., and the Avs first round pic in 2017,( which is a top 4 for sure).Plus
have the Avs take back 20% of Nates salary, even if I had to give them some cash, dropping his cap hit to 5.1 million for 7 years. That would save the Pen’s 4.4 million a year to buy a good D man.
Maybe package MAF and others and grab an Erik Johnson as u suggest.
But deep down I would love to see Gabriel Landeskog playing wing for Sid and Nate centering the second line with Phil K.
We can only dream my friend.
Cheers
Hey Jim,
Agreed, arm chair coaching can be a lot of fun.
That is an interesting trade idea;
Right now, Malkin, like Crosby, is on fire. He would be considered the best C in the league if Crosby and McDavid weren’t around. Those three blow all the others out of the water. However, McKinnon is just a kid with a huge upside. Put him on a better roster and he may be fighting those three for a scoring title. So your idea has tons of merit. McKinnon should be around for a long time.
On the other hand if Colorado is selling, they are more than likely not looking to pick up a 30 year old C. I would think they would prefer younger players to grow together and once they get a core of players and are in a position to make a play-off run, look to get a Veteran to bring stability to the team and provide that veteran leadership. So, as good of a deal as what you suggest may look for the Pens, I don’t see Colorado going for it.
At 28 Johnson could still be a factor for the Avs once they get their core players, but not much past that, so they may be willing to jettison him for prospects and picks. The problem here is I think Johnson has a big Cap hit, like $6 mil. To make that deal work, the Pens may need to try and work MAF into the deal to balance the salaries plus maybe add a Pouliot or other prospect to make it attractive enough.
The down side for the Pens on that deal is that it pretty much assures Schultz to be gone at seasons end. I can’t imagine that they would want to have 3 $5+ million D men, not to mention Maatta at $4+ mil.
Financially, Tyutin, Wiercoch, and Zaderov would be easier fits but would not a much to the D. In fact they may weaken the D overall. They may not be able to succeed in Sullivan’s system.
Let’s get back on the winning track tonight!
Hi guys,
I thought Condon played a really good game, setting the tone early with some nice stops. Sometimes I think there’s something to the idea that players going against a former team often feel they have something to prove, especially if they were simply let go (or traded for a low draft pick). As for Oleksy, I hope I didn’t sound harsh when I said he wasn’t the answer. I was probably being a little flip. But I’ve actually seen him play quite a few times – he’s tough, fun to watch, and a fan-favorite. But he’s slow (somewhat faster than me on figure skates, but still …), and he takes too many bad penalties. That might be ok on some teams, but we seem to have a problem in the penalty killing department. (That, and face offs, which is something I’d love to hear you guys talk about sometime – what’s up with that?)
I’ll say it again – it’s fun reading you guys, I learn a lot! Thanks.
Hey Jayelene,
Face-offs are a weird stat; teams that aren’t doing well in them down play it, teams doing well in the department rarely talk about it, in the long run, the game is more about who scores more goals but you can’t score if you don’t have the puck. It certainly would benefit the team to have control of the puck after the FO, especially after a D-zone FO, it should help cut down on D-zone time.
I really elided this part of the game during my diatribe against the D, but if the Centers won more FO, then would think the team could cut down on some of the shots.
The bigger question is how did this team go from being fairly dominant FO circle last year to the struggling team this year. Last year opponents were complaining that the Pens were somehow cheating in the circle because they were winning so many draws. LAst year Malkin was the only inconsistent FO man this year only Cullen is really consistently winning draws.
Maybe the refs have adjusted how they drop the puck after all of the whining last year, but it looks to me like Crosby and Bonino just aren’t as focused and FOs require a lot of focus.
That is my 2 cents, take it for what it is worth, but that also goes to why I mentioned Soderberg earlier, he is doing fairly well this year on his FOs. A good FO man and a new D-man are my wish list.
Hi The Other Rick!
You make a great point – you can’t score if you don’t control the puck. I haven’t seen any numbers that break it down, but I have to think that the dropoff in faceoff wins is a factor in the poor penalty killing. It just seems common sense that when you give the other team the puck, in your zone, AND they have an extra man … well, it’s a disaster in the making.
I hadn’t thought about the refs altering the way they drop the puck, but wouldn’t/shouldn’t good players, with quick hands, be able to adjust? Maybe you’re right about Crosby and Bonino lacking focus, although the way Sid’s playing, it’s hard to reconcile.
Hey Jayelene ,
All really good points.
Never be shy about expressing your opinion.
Face offs and turnovers have caused us alot of issues this year. As Coach said Malkin has never been a good face off man. As for the others my opinion is that the opposition teams have made a decision to get the puck away from the Pen’s in order to disrupt their puck possession game.
So they work on the face offs. Also you see the opposing wingers coming in to the circle more and attempt to disrupt our flow of game.
I really like Cullen and at 40 years old he continues to amaze me.
Bonino ? ? He is not the player he was last year. I have no knowledge of this,but I feel that he really believed he would have a big contract offered to him by now, based on his play last year.
So why bust your butt if you know this is your last year as a Pen.Maybe he is playing a little more reserved than last year.
What ever the cause, the Pen’s need to be a lot better in the circle in the next 41 games.
And the defense needs an upgrade…soon.
Cheers
Thanks, Jim, I’m trying not to be. 😉
That’s very interesting about Bonino. I’d noticed that he didn’t seem to be playing with the same intensity as he showed last year, but was unaware of his contract situation. (I guess I hoped he was nursing a minor injury, or he just hadn’t found his groove with his line mates, some kind of funk like that.) So, is it a foregone conclusion that he’s in his last year with the club? If so, I can see how that might taint his outlook, even if that is a bit self-destructive in terms of his own professional future.
Hey Jayelene,
I was being a little flippant with my refs dropping the puck different comment, I was thinking about something someone else said to me, I would like to think the Refs are more professional than that and as you point out, if the players are really good players, I too think they would eventually be able to adjust.
My true gut makes me think that the Pens just aren’t as focused as they were last year, during face-offs. I am not sure, because I haven’t really looked at any real data as to how many times a C is waved out of the circle, but anecdotaly, it seems to me that the Pens center is waved out of the circle fairly regularly.
Let’s not just blame the Centers, although it starts from there, very few draws are won cleanly. More often than not, the FO is won during a scrum ofter the puck drop and by the team that has more players going after the puck. In those situations a backside winger or D can be a big help in winning the draw particularly when the Cs are struggling.
Having said all of that, I have been having a similar opinion of Bonino. I am not so sure as to the cause, but he really hasn’t lived up to his play-off performance of last year. Granted, he hasn’t had consistent time with Kessel and Hagelin, but he was still better in the FO last year before he was given the anchor position of the HBK line. I haven’t really said this out loud yet but I have been edging closer and closer and now seems as good as a time as any to suggest Bonino may be expendable. The Pens may be better off sitting him a couple of times to get him focused again and either bring up Sundqvist to play a couple of games on that 3rd line or move Cullen up to third line and shift Fehr into the FO circle.
Fehr seems to play better there anyway.
Hopefully, Bonino responds the way Cole and Lovejoy did last year when they were sat down last year and Maatta responded this year and returns to last years play-off form.
FYI,
Tonight in the Detroit loss the team was 45 % in FO winning percentage. Guys and Gals, I want to remind you that Detroit is not that great in FO percentage wins. Because we were so bad, there average looked good.
Malkin 29 %
Bonino 36 %
Crosby 50 %
Cullen 70 %…
One could argue Cullen does not face the high caliber of Centers as Sid does on a regular basis, so his FO average is a little distorted. But he is still the best we have.
I am afraid to say that this is a pattern and not a one time occurrence. Just like in Ottawa, the boys were chasing the play.Transition mistakes!
J. Schultz was a minus 4 for the night.
Hope for better things in Washington !
Cheers