Penguins Show Moxie

Merriam-Webster defines the word moxie as courage and determination. I thought our Penguins showed tons of both during the recent nail-biter victories over Washington and Minnesota.

Indeed, if there’s a turning point in a season desperately in need of one, the dual 2-1 triumphs may be it.

Talk about overcoming adversity. Scarcely a minute into a touchstone game with bitter rival Washington, Jamie Oleksiak…capable enough with his dukes…got his clock cleaned by hated Caps Neanderthal Tom Wilson. I mean, the “Big Rig” got knocked out colder than a proverbial Atlantic mackerel.

Then Alex Ovechkin, puffed up with Wilson guarding his fanny, began hurling invectives at Pens captain Sidney Crosby for having the temerity to prod the referees about a possible instigator call.

To say the Pens were in a hostile environment would be the understatement of the century. Not to mention being down a defenseman in a critical division dustup with 59 minutes to play.

 

Man, did our guys respond. It’s as if Wilson’s booming overhand right knocked all the Rust (pun intended) off our back-to-back Cup champions in one fell swoop…or arcing blow as the case may be.

Leading the charge was Crosby, who in my humble opinion is playing the best two-way hockey of his career. Sid may not be lighting up scoreboards like the “Kid” of old. But when you consider intangibles such as leadership, conditioning and game-in-game-out intensity, there isn’t a better all-around player on the planet. Maybe ever.

With the deck decidedly stacked against us, Sid shoved back. Hard. Scarcely a minute after the fight, he drilled Caps forward Travis Boyd with a stiff body check, sending a clear message to “Ovi” and his cohorts.

You’re not going to run us out of the building. We’re not going anywhere.

Following Crosby’s lead, the black and gold matched the Caps hit for hit over the course of a riveting, take-no-prisoners affair. It was playoff hockey in December.

Along with No. 87, who collected a goal and an assist and won 59 percent of his draws, Kris Letang played a superb game, pacing the locals with three takeaways while logging an astronomical 32:22 of ice time.

I’ve been a frequent critic of “Tanger” in the past. However, on this night he was at his finest…fiery, intense and focused. I was especially proud of the way he stood up to a rampaging Ovechkin behind the Pens’ net shortly after the fight, dousing the Caps’ bullying tactics.

This wasn’t just a victory for the elite. Everybody chipped in. Bryan Rust, reborn with a staggering eight goals over a six-game stretch, was at his dogged, determined and feisty best, fishing the puck out of a traffic jam and shoveling it past Caps netminder Braden Holtby late in the second period for the game winner.

At the opposite end of the rink, Matt Murray emerged from a season in the shadows and Lord knows where else to resemble the phenom of old, coolly stopping 31 of 32 shots for a tidy .969 save percentage. Say what you will about Jack Johnson, but he led the team with five hits and five blocked shots while uncorking three shots of his own. He looks increasingly effective skating beside Marcus Pettersson, whose mobile, long-limbed presence has helped stabilize a heretofore shaky defense.

The foot soldiers impressed as well. Although officially credited with one hit, Garrett Wilson stepped boldly into the void created by Oleksiak’s forced departure, taking a piece of the enemy at every turn. An improving Riley Sheahan unleashed four shots on goal. Heck, even Derick Brassard… generally uninspired…flashed some fire and hop along with a helping of skill.

I was encouraged that our sweat equity carried over to the Minnesota matchup last night. If any game had letdown stenciled all over it, this was it. The Wild…disciplined and structured and oh-so boring…are the antithesis of a heated division rival. Yet the Pens brought their A-Game…or at least as close as they could muster in the second of back-to-back outings.

It didn’t hurt that Rust continued his stunning, Lazarus-like resurrection by potting both black-and-gold goals, each off feeds from trench-worker extraordinaire Jake Guentzel. Nor that Casey DeSmith made a statement of his own between the pipes while shunting aside 40 of 41 shots.

Needless to say, coach Mike Sullivan was pleased.

“I thought our guys came with a lot of energy,” he said. “We tried to use the bench as best we could and keep our shifts short. I thought the players made good decisions with the puck. They didn’t overstay their shifts. … I give them a lot of credit. They played hard tonight.”

I was pleased, too. With efforts like these, there may be hope for us yet.