It didn’t show up on the score sheet. And it definitely won’t make a short list of Sidney Crosby’s career highlights. Unlike his fabulous one-handed goal against Buffalo on Tuesday night.
But Crosby’s pushback during a first-period scrum against Ottawa last night spoke volumes of his character and leadership. Not to mention his banged-up team’s mettle.
From the opening faceoff, the Senators left little doubt about their tactics. Led by rugged defensemen Marc Methot, Dion Phaneuf and NHL penalty king Mark Borowiecki, they hit the Pens hard and often through the early going.
Methot hammered Scott Wilson three minutes in. Ninety ticks later Borowiecki—a one-man wrecking crew (11 hits)—welcomed Carter Rowney to the Canadian Tire Centre with a similarly brusque in-your-face greeting.
To the delight of the home crowd, the Sens had the Pens on the run. All that was missing from the proceedings was a Chris Neil beatdown.
Then Sid shoved back.
Around the 13-minute mark, the Pens’ captain accidentally slashed Methot across the left hand. The hulking Ottawa defender recoiled in pain, then removed his glove to reveal a bloody finger. After confronting Crosby, he exited to the dressing room, done for the evening.
“I was just trying to get his stick and I think I caught his finger judging by his reaction and their reaction,” Sid explained later. “I’ve gotten those before. They don’t feel good.”
Seeking to inflame the good citizens of Ottawa, the PA crew pounced. They dutifully displayed video of Methot’s bloodied appendage on the huge scoreboard screen for all to see. The 18,102 in attendance howled their disapproval.
Sid was a marked man. In enemy territory no less.
Moments later, during a net-front scrum in the Ottawa zone, Sens forward Zack Smith decided to get even. A frequent dance partner of former Pen Robert Bortuzzo, Smith grabbed Sid under the chin with a stiff-arm left and, with henchman Phaneuf crowding in, popped No. 87 in the mush.
Challenge issued.
Phil Kessel tried to intervene, but was swallowed up by a cadre of red-and-black clad Sens.
Picture General Custer at Little Big Horn. Sid was on his own.
Having undergone a dental procedure only hours earlier to replace two front teeth, Crosby was in no mood to play punching bag. He lashed back at his antagonist.
Challenge met.
In an instant, the tenor of the game shifted. Suddenly, the hunted became the hunter.
Crosby collided with Phaneuf in the corner following the ensuing faceoff, knocking the burly blueliner off the puck. Newcomer Frank Corrado—hardly a noted pugilist—rushed to Matt Cullen’s aid after the veteran center was flattened by Ottawa pepper pot Tommy Wingels.
Midway through the second period, Josh Archibald delivered the crowning blow. Racing in at top speed, he flattened Borowiecki with a huge, clean hit along the wall. One of four solid checks dished out by the feisty forward on the night.
Our Pens didn’t win the war. Ottawa prevailed, 2-1, thanks to a third-period marker by Sens nemesis Mike Hoffman and shootout tallies by Kyle Turris and Bobby Ryan. Which eclipsed an earlier power-play goal by red-hot Nick Bonino.
A sensational 34-save performance by ex-Pen Mike Condon had something to do with it, too.
Still, I couldn’t be prouder of our guys. Or Sid.
Talk about a leader.
Puckpourri
Bonino’s goal was his 16th of the season and seventh in his past nine games. “Bones” scored a career-high 22 for Anaheim in 2013-14.
The Penguins outshot the Senators 35-30. Ottawa won 65 percent of the faceoffs and outhit the locals, 30-21. Matt Murray made 29 saves for the black and gold.
Buffalo defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen was suspended three games by the NHL for his hit on Jake Guentzel. Archibald was summoned from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to replace Guentzel. He played just over nine minutes against the Senators.
Bryan Rust accompanied the team on the road trip. His return appears imminent.
Hey all,
An unsolicited opinion. I alluded to this in a follow-up comment to my “Points Per Sixty” post.
Newcomer Frank Corrado looks a bit suspect in his own end. In fact, as banged-up as the Pens are on defense, he only saw 5:54 of ice time last night.
I realize it’s awfully early to make a judgment. Jim Rutherford and his staff obviously saw something in Corrado to trade for him. But thus far, I’m kind of underwhelmed.
Rick
Hey Rick,
You know what I think about the Pens D; they are the weakest link on this team and if the Pens fail to repeat it will be because of them and the GMs failure to truly upgrade the D.
Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of players I do like, but outside of Cole, they are all undersized or play small. The second toughest D-man on the team is Letang and he is listed at 72″ but I am willing to bet that is a generous number; maybe when he is on his skates.
I was trying to refrain from getting on my D-complaint soap box but I will insert the post I was trying not to post;
I have read in several places people complimenting the Pens defensive performance last night. Hmm…. The average SA/GP in the NHL as of last night is 30.26; I find it interesting that the team is being hailed for their defensive performance when they raise their game to average. The Pens SA/GP this season has been a full standard deviation above average, with above average being bad in this case.
Some might want to blame theses numbers on the rash of injuries the Pens D has sustained, problem is on Jan 1 before the Pens were struck with the injury bug, their SA/GP was statistically the same, all the way around, in terms of raw numbers and in terms of being a full standard deviation off of the league average.
I know that these number show that I have a statistics problem and really should be going to statistics anonymous but they also show how bad the team D is again.
So, I agree with you Rick, I am underwhelmed by Corrado thus far. but then again, as far as I am concerned there are only 2 defensemen on this team that I would not consider initiating a trade with; Cole and Schultz and even they would not be untradable, just that I wouldn’t start any trade talks with their names.
In my thinking the only way this team can only make a strong showing in the play-offs is with Conn Smyth Goaltending performances.
Hey Other Rick,
Really interesting and revealing look at the Pens’ defensive performance.
Like you, I’d have thought for all the world that our shots against numbers would’ve deteriorated with all the injuries. Interesting that it’s not the case.
We’re all aware that Jim Rutherford has consciously eschewed brawn and gristle in favor of a mobile, puck-moving defense. To such an extent that we’ve shed the only guys (Reid McNeill and Steve Oleksy) who played anything resembling a physical, stay-at-home style. (Cameron Gaunce plays with a little grind and mustard…we see how often he suits up.)
It was pretty tough to argue with the results last season when we won a Cup. But I’ll agree that our inability to stand and defend at times has given me cause for concern.
While I don’t know if we can pin this predicament solely on the defense (the forwards play a part, too) there are times when we really have difficulty clearing our zone.
Definitely a worrisome thread…especially if we face a heavy forecheck (Columbus) come the playoffs.
Rick
PS–SA … 🙂 Do you think there’ll be any open seats at the next meeting?
Hey Guys,
Conn Smyth NEVER played for a team with a weak, physically challenged D corps as we have. So with the greatest respect to my ” elders”, I really doubt even he could lead this Team to the promised land in 2017.
The only hope we have is to out score our opponents starting next month,( 16 times ) and pardon my bluntness, with all the undersized AHL and College talent masquerading as Pittsburgh Penguins….
Good Luck.
We need 6 things to win the Cup.
1.Talent.( You can not make a Clydesdale work horse in to a Kentucky Derby winner. No matter how much you try.) My point is you can not win with out talent. AHL does not cut it !! We are thin in many areas.
2. Heart.( If that horse does not want to run for you, you are done for.)
3. Speed. The game has changed and you need to be fast.( We have.)
4. Size. The bigger the better. A puck possession team needs size.
5. Toughness. The most under rated quality of any championship team. Last year, I think one of the real reasons we won was that until Christmas of 2015, everyone was calling the Pen’s a bunch of losers, no good, washed up has beens. Even Mario wanted out !!
So Sullivan was able to channel that Negative emotion into a strong motivation factor and our boys played thru a lot of adversity to prove everybody, including the fans WRONG !!
Especially Crosby and Letang.
Murray did not have a clue about the pressure of the Stanley Cup because he never dreamed that at the start of last season he would be the reason we win it all.
He just wanted to finish with maybe a Calder Cup.
Today all the pressure is on him.
6. Luck.” You need to good to be lucky and lucky to be good.”
Injury free..Well rested. Good first round match up .
That helps to win NHL Championships .
2017…Our luck just ran out. We play Columbus in the first round or maybe Washington. Unless there is a bunch of injuries to the Caps
they will finish first. ( They have a much easier schedule.)
Rick, the dreaded match up you always worried about,CBJ, is going to be played out. We let 2 points slip away this past 2 games and I am afraid it will come back to haunt us big time.
The Pen’s must finish ahead of the Caps and the Jackets and have them play each other in the first round.??
I do not see that happening.
Coach, I still have my hair and I too am totally frustrated.
Cheers…
PS : I sound like a crazy old man ranting above. Turned 60 today.
I am a crazy old man !!
Hey Jim,
Often times realists do sound like crazy people to people that refuse to pull their heads out of the sand. Your assessment may not be pretty but it is rather accurate. But then again what is the old saying “Pretty words are seldom true and true words are seldom pretty”?
The team has been giving up the most or nearly the most shots against all season, even when healthy, and nothing was done about it at he trade deadline. Instead of trading for a true upgrade on D JR went for getting some patches, retreads, and clones of existing D. So, no big surprise that the team still hasn’t been able to get the shots against down.
I do think however, that during the regular season, once Malkin, Guentzel, and Hagelin get back, offensively they will still be able to overwhelm opponents during the regular season. Unfortunately, once the playoffs start, they will need to play D to win or superhuman performances out of their goalies.
Good luck with that, as much as I like Fleury, he is not known for standing up to the pressure so that leaves Murray. What a state of affairs that is, the teams playoff hopes resting on basically a rookie.
Well said Coach.
Hi Rick,
They played a good defensive game. They were on the Sens like the proverbial hair on a gorilla. It was a tough loss.
My takeaways, other than what’s mentioned above, are Murray needs to work on his glove hand. It’s a bit of a glaring weakness. He needs to learn how to flash the leather with more confidence. It’ll come, I’m sure, but I always find myself wishing Fleury was in net when the game goes to a shoot out.
And, I think Sid should have been penalized for the slash. Seeing now that Methot lost part of his finger, perhaps a suspension of some sort is in order, too. I doubt they will, but they should. – 55
Hey 55 (or ‘fitty-five’ as some denizens of the ‘Burgh might say),
I thought the Pens showed a lot of heart and guts last night. Too bad we couldn’t have nabbed the extra point. But I’m proud of ’em all the same. Especially given how beat up we are.
As much as I hate to write it–and will probably draw some flack for doing so–Sid should’ve been penalized at the very least. Even though I was proud of the way he (and the team) stood up for themselves, all things considered, the Senators showed a fair amount of restraint.
While we’re on the subject of offenses that slipped through the cracks, Malkin probably should’ve been suspended at least one game (maybe two) for his hit on Blake Wheeler back on Feb. 16. It was blindside–similar to the Ristolainen hit–and Geno put a shoulder into Wheeler’s head.
About the only differences? Malkin’s hit was more spontaneous. There was perhaps a bit of a payback element involved (Schultz and Maatta had gone down earlier in the game). Plus, he and Wheeler are in the same weight class. Obviously that wasn’t the case with Ristolainen and poor Jake Guentzel.
That’s why I try not to get too upset over these incidents, unless it’s a blatant attempt to injure (Tom Wilson’s attempted takeout of Conor Sheary’s knee last spring still sticks in my craw). Unfortunate as they are, they have a way of balancing out over time.
Sobering thought. But perhaps we’re paying a penance of sorts through all the injuries … 🙁
Rick
PS–Agree on the observations about Murray. Especially the shootouts. It’s the one area where I think Fleury far outshines Murray. In fact, I wonder if a stone cold, off-the-bench Flower wouldn’t be better than a warmed-up Murray in those situations.
Kidding…sort of.
Obviously, Murray’s young (still technically a rookie). We tend to forget that Fleury was a little rocky in shootouts, too, when he first came up. Then…lights out.
You mentioned Kessel looking tired a while back. I agree. He seemed gassed last night.
Do you sit him a couple games, perhaps when Rust and Geno return, to try and get him recharged?
Hi Rick,
Re: Kessell
I would sit him if we were healthier, for sure. At least, I’d have a serious discussion with him. As things are it might be a tough call. On the other hand he’s not bringing much of anything to the ice, so it might not hurt all that much anyway. He’s been awful for at least eight games, save for a stray goal, or two. I imagine he is tired, but so is everyone else. He’s lost his focus and often seems to just be wandering the ice. I’m not sure, other than saying that, how to explain his inability to make hockey 101 plays, like making or taking a pass. Also, maybe my eyes are getting old, but he also appears to have gained some weight.
Murray will get the hang of the glove. Funny thing, he’s not really worse than Fleury in the shoot out this season. He’s 1-2 and Fleury’s 2-2. Whodda thunk? I always wonder why Pens players don’t snap that high glove wrister from about 10-15′ out once in a while to mix it up instead of all the deaking and puck handling.
Hey 55 on Point,
That is one of my frustrations too. If I had hair left on my head I would be pulling it out every shootout, watching all the players come in sooooo sssllllooooowwww. Maybe they are trying to lull them to sleep. However, you are spot on, all the Pens shooters give the same look and opposing goalies know to be patient. They know all the Pens players will wait until they get on top of them, before trying to shoot. So they know not to move and let the Pen commit first. So there are never any openings.
You would think after a frustration this long the Pens would realize they are so predictable that their moves are useless. I would love to see someone come in with speed and rip that wrist shot while the goalie is sitting on his heels waiting for the some wornout move.
Sorry, lots of typos. Typing to fast on that one.