I’ll give it to you short and less than sweet, our Pittsburgh Penguins lost 4 – 1 to the Winnipeg Jets.
The night started out great, honoring Mike Lange for his 45 years of service for the Penguins (congratulations Mr Lange). Pumped up by the pregame ceremony Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel gave Lange little time to settle into his broadcast both before striking with the opening goal. Guentzel found the team Captain wide open in front of the net and Crosby tapped in behind the Jets Goalie before he, like Lange, could set up for the game.
Unfortunately, very little else went right last night. In those few moments when the outcome was still in doubt, Patrick Laine and Mark Scheifele simply overpowered the Penguins’ defense. On the Jets’ 1st goal, Erik Gudbranson did beat Scheifele to the loose puck and started it up the opposite boards for a breakout, but neither Zach Aston-Reese nor Jack Johnson could do their job. Tucker Poolman beat Aston-Reese to the puck and it went back down the boards where Laine beat Johnson to the puck. Laine advanced the puck behind the net, where Scheifele was just getting back up after Gudbranson had dumped him. Scheifele made a good play to shield off Gudbranson long enough to get the puck to the rookie Ville Heinola, who (speaking of overpowering) blasted the puck through Matt Murray.
Murray, who turned in 2 stellar performances in his previous outings, was not quite up to the task. He did get a piece of the shot, but it still got past him.
About 4 minutes later Aston-Reese gave the Jets the lead by blindly bumping the puck straight to Nikolaj Ehlers stick. Coming with speed, Ehlers caught Marcus Pettersson flat footed and used him as a screen to whip a wrist shot past Murray.
The 2nd period wasn’t any less frustrating than the 1st period. When the Penguins’ Defense failed to gain control of the puck again, in their own zone, Laine and Scheifele set up another Defenseman for a goal. This time Poolman got the puck around center point and fired a wrist shot through 3 of our tuxedo clad turnstiles as well as our Goalie.
Finally, another Jets’ Defenseman, Neal Pionk gave the visitors their closing goal. Jumping up into the play and skating in behind the black-n-gold defense an off-line Laine shot bounce off Pionk’s body and almost trickled past Murray. The initial deflection started to dribble behind the net, but the Winnipeg defenseman was able to get it back in front where it kicked around and under Murray over the goal line.
The goal was somewhat of a controversy. The referee lost sight of the puck during the scrum in front of the net and at first appeared to blow the play dead. The referee called it a goal on the ice and then went to the replay. I assume the audio portion of the replay showed that the whistle had not blown before the puck crossed the goal line, because the goal stood.
Anyone only reading the box score from last night’s game may think that the defense played well, since the Jets finished with only 20 shots. However, the low number of shots was more of a questions of the Jets not pushing the play in the 3rd period but letting the clock do their work. The boys from north of the border only took 2 shots in the 3rd frame.
While the puck was bouncing rather unfriendly for Murray, it seemed to be doing its best to help Connor Hellebuyk. After the Penguins’ first goal, it seemed as if there was an invisible barrier around the visitor’s net. Whereas Heinola’s shot bounced off Murray and into the net, pucks that beat Hellebuyk bounced off his body behind him, precariously through the crease, but harmlessly out the other side.
Some Penguins’ bloggers are bemoaning the lack of depth at the forward position for our team this morning after. One went so far as to suggest trying to call up Samuel Poulin or Nathan Legare. Wow, and people call me reactionary.
Sorry, I am not all that convinced that there is a lack of depth at the forward position. I would suggest that the team’s brain trust isn’t using what they have properly. Let’s start off with the elephant in the room, what the expletive is Dominik Simon doing on the team, let alone skating on the top line? How many golden opportunities does Guentzel and Crosby have to set him up for and he muffs before Mike Sullivan gets over his love affair for an offensively inept player.
Yes, he was on the ice for the first goal, a passenger on the Crosby-Guentzel bus, but he was no where near the play. Later, when Guentzel put the puck in Simon’s wheelhouse coming off-wing, with Hellebuyk pulled to the other side of the net, Sullivan’s stepchild couldn’t hit the open net. The Jets’ Goalie did get over with his glove to freeze the puck, but the offensively impoverished winger shot low and what appeared to be just a bit outside. Despite the pass coming pretty much straight to his stick, Simon couldn’t get the puck up into the whole wide-open top glove side of the net. Worse, although it is hard to tell for sure, (since Hellebuyk was sliding right to left) it appeared that when the puck went into his glove hand, the puck was outside of the post.
Later, near the end of the game, Crosby set up Simon between the circles, sliding a pass to the winger’s stick. This time, from about 20’, Simon fired the puck over an open net.
When he does get the puck on net, he hits the goalie center mass for an easy save.
I understand Jared McCann may need to be pressed into service as a Center right now, but he would be a better choice for Crosby’s right flank. However, when are we going to see Dominik Kahun, Kasper Bjorkqvist, Adam Johnson, or even Anthony Angello get their chance? None of them could drag down Crosby’s line any farther than Simon has.
As for Poulin and Legare, as much as I loved what I saw in those kids, particularly Legare, there is no need to ruin their contract status. Furthermore, I pretty sure that once returned to their junior team, a player could only be called up to their NHL club when that club no longer has any other player at that position in the NHL or AHL. For the Penguins to recall either of those 2 kids, the team would have to have an injury list of probably around 13 or so forwards on the IR before calling up this year’s draft picks, only then would it be considered an emergency basis.
Furthermore, if there is a lack of depth at forward for the Penguins, it may be more of a question of there not being any on hand. Due to poor decision making at the top, the team is forced to carry at least 8 Defensemen or waive at least one of them to bury in the AHL.
It wasn’t all bad last night;
It is easy to all doom and gloom after giving up 4 goals on 20 odd shots and only getting one goal on 38, but there were some bright spots to the game.
- Brandon Tanev’s intensity for one; he is like a cruise missile looking for a target.
- John Marino continues to impress. His edge work and elusiveness baffled veteran Jets’ forwards. Also, unlike some of his veteran teammates, he does seem to know when and when not to jump into the offensive zone. Let’s hope Sullivan lets him play enough now so that he will grow and be ready should the team still be around come April
- Sam Lafferty also showed he can play at the NHL level. He went to the dirty areas, kept his feet moving and drew a penalty.
Odds and Sods
Penguins’ forwards are becoming as endangered a species as Steelers’ Quarterbacks. Kris Letang injured another teammate. After tripping Evgeni Malkin and sending him to IR for “Longer Term” the Penguins’ Defenseman drilled a shot off the inside of Patric Hornqvist’s knee, where there is no padding. Hornqvist left the ice. He did returned to the bench for a moment but then was gone again.
Sullivan, if Hornqvist is out for any length of time, Angello may be your best call up. He may be the only one that can fill Hornqvist’s shoes on the Power Play, in front of the net.
I did see a note out there in the ethereal rumor mists of Hockey that suggested our Penguins may be looking to deal with the Ottawa Senators to address their rapidly disappearing forward situation. One of the names that popped up was Jean-Gabriel Pageau, the player that I wrote for which Jim Rutherford should have held out to get instead of Derick Brassard. If anyone remembers, my real hope for that playoff run was to keep the team as it was with Ian Cole and Ryan Reaves intact, but if Rutherford had to mess with the team’s chemistry to get the kid Pageau. I am no longer sure if I would want him. He hasn’t really been playing like he was prior but that may be due to how far Ottawa has dropped as a team.
Next up Anaheim, Thursday Night 7:00pm
Last year, 2018-2019, I watched in shock as Sidney set up Dominik Simon with spot- on beautiful feeds that Simon couldn’t handle. This season has abruptly shown the same. Yes, Hellebuyck did catch that shot outside the pipe. I bet Sid would have had 115 points last season and perhaps won the scoring title if Simon had closed the deal on half those chances.
Hey Ed,
Did you see, Sully elevated the flat tire Simon to first team PP in yesterday’s practice? Talk about a head scratcher. I always wondered what Mario’s numbers would have looked like had he not had to skate with players like Warren Young, Doug Sheddan, Dan Frawley, and an older Terry Ruskowski, early in his career. Comparing anyone of them to Simon? When, when will Sullivan get over his love affair with this offensive black hole?
The Other Rick
Couple for bullet points:
*Simon and Aston Reese couldn’t score if you were
in goal (no offense).
*Put Lafferty on Crosby’s line
*Add Simon into any type of trade – move him now
before the rest of the league figures out what we
already know.
*Once again our lack of size kills us against the NHL’s
most physical teams – we were manhandled on the
boards – I’m not sure why people have this mis-conception
you can’t have size & speed.
*I’ve said this numerous times before but I think its worth
repeating. The Defense is not the Pen’s problem – Until
they force the forwards to do there part defensively we’ll
always struggle to move the puck out of our end.
*It will be bittersweet to see Johnson and Gudbranson traded
and our defense still suck. Can’t wait to see where all the
un-educated hockey people place the blame – no more scapegoat
*Gally (2)pts Kessel (1)pt “LOL”
*GO PENS – I look forward to your feedback.
*No offense taken Mike. and let’s face it, Simon couldn’t hit the ocean with a beach ball. ZAR, is a little better but not much.
*Lafferty – Crosby – Guentzel, not sure if that would be a perfect match, but it is far better than the anchor Simon there. Moreover, with his willingness to go to the net it just may work.
*I have been saying that all summer, add Simon into any trade package.
*Agreed, size and speed are not mutually exclusive, why does our management team not understand that?
* I do have to disagree here, the Penguins defense is a problem. Letang has no clue how to play Defense, he is great offensively but a millstone in his own end. Schultz and Dumoulin are good at moving the puck, most of the time, but soft in front of their own net. They need to be teamed with a more physical player.
There are two teams on the ice and no matter how good you are, there will be times when opponents are jsut as good and tie you up in your own zone. In those instances, defensemen need to be able to protect heir Goalie.
Pettersson, Riikola, and Marino are very young. They have all shown upsides ranging from good to very good, but they are still young and need more seasoning. And by all means give them that opportunity to grow, but understand that they will make mistakes and hopefully learn from them.
Gudbranson is not a top 3 but can serve very well. He is a glue guy. I have no problems with him. I would prefer that his contract wasn’t quite as large, but I could live with it.
Johnson, no. He blocks shots and gets hits but those stats are being padded from his in ability to clear his own zone effectively. He was just as responsible for that first goal against Winnipeg as ZAR. He was just as in effective in his own zone.
200 hundred foot forwards are great when you get them, but asking forwards to skate 200 feet on every shift makes them extremely less than capable of doing what they are paid to do, score goals. Hopefully MJ learned that when he was unceremoniously removed from office here in Pgh. Defensemen need to be able to do their job by themselves more than occasionally.
*Galchenyuk 2 points in 1 game (1 on the PP), against Merzlinkis, a rookie goalie whose Sv% is .825. Against Hutton 0 points. Against Hellebuyk 0 Points. And despite 2 points he is a 0 on his +/-. A 0 on a team that has scored 9 goals. And more importantly, he is on IR. He is missing games, something Kessel doesn’t do
Kessel only has 1 point but Kessel has faced Gibson Sv% .970 and Rask .937 and has the same +/- on a team that has only managed 1 goal so far on the season.
Seems to me that this trade is looking more like a loss (for JR) rather than an LOL, at least at this point.
Hi TOR!
Well, against CBJ, the Pens were looking like the Stanley Cup champs. Yesterday, they were looking more like an AHL team coupled with some NHL veterans. Consistency is the key nowadays in the NHL. I don’t think the Pens will be consistent this year, unless some major changes are done.
You use the word ”passenger” and you pretty nailed it. I saw lots of passengers last night. This is going to be tough for Captain Sid this year because he is definitely not a passenger. He is still hungry! I wonder what his real thoughts are about this team. But Sid is very polite and I think he will keep it for himself.
The thing with Dominik Simon is the following: he is definitely not a finisher!! He is good without the puck, in confined areas, but is not able to see the game as a whole. We call it the peripheral view. Very few players, in my opinion, have this ability.
Let’s see what the Pens will do against Anaheim. The Ducks are physical so let’s hope that the Pens won’t be too much abused.
Hey Jorenz,
My heart and my head have been at odds with one another for quite some time. My heart keeps hoping and praying that some how, some way, it all works out but I my head can’t see a logical scenario for that conclusion. You are right, the team needs consistency but it just seems to get ever more elusive.
Passengers? for as much as Kahun, Simon, and ZAR are bringing right now – Lafferty, Bjorkqvist, and A. Johnson could do just as much. If Hornqvist is out, Angello would seem the more logical choice.
Defensively, J Johnson – No, Riikola yes. If not Riikola then Marino. If you can’t trade JJ, bury him. Gudbranson? I do like what he brings. I hate to trade him like some rumor mongers are trying manufacture, especially since, when away from JJ he has looked pretty good, but against skating teams I would definitely rather see Marino in there.
And as much as I respect his offensive ability and heart, I really wish the Penguins would move on from Letang.
You say Simon is not a finisher, 100% spot on. Not only is he not a finisher, but he drags down his entire line’s shooting %. Sullivan is in love with Simon’s Corsi but apparently hasn’t looked at all of his advanced stats. The average League S% last season was 9.5%. The Penguins S% was 9.9, slightly above the league average. However, when Simon was on the ice, the team S% dropped to 7.8%. He is a millstone on any line he of which he is a part. He needs to get all of those extra shots to balance out the number of misses, blocks and saves.
What worries me most about last night is Gibson. If Ana plays him, I am not sure we score a goal.
Hey tOR,
Way too many cute passes to get the puck out of the zone. Aston-Reese was the most obvious because they scored right off of it.
The Penguins need to make a decision and I believe it is time to take a write off on Jack Johnson. Sullivan gave him a dirty look after a horrible play he made and I believe it is pretty clear he is just there to try up his value. Send him down take the loss and move on.
Marino looks good, Rikola looks good. It’s time, the team needs a full crop of forwards.
Amen Phil,
SOP – they still haven’t figured out that those cute little passes get you in more trouble than out. I am not as down on ZAR as some but he did stand out like a sore thumb last night.
J Johnson? Last year, someone may have been able to argue that he was still viable, while Pettersson and Riikola were gaining experience, but this year? I know Mike likes his size and “grit” but like you I would rather see Riikola or Marino out there. JJ does get a lot of blocked shots and hits, but it seems to me that his block and hit numbers are up because he can’t get the puck out of his own zone. His own lack of ability sets up his stat padding.
The max a team can save from sending a player down is what, about $1 million? It may be worth trying to bury him. It would be pretty much the same as retaining some of his contract in a trade. Who knows, someone may grab him for free off of waivers.
The Other Rick / Phil
i’m not for or against Jack Johnson but the Penguins face a dilemma
and I believe this is some of the reason why he hasn’t been moved.
Johnson offers the Pen’s something they sorely need and don’t get
it from any other Penguin defenseman – “Physical play” I know its
early in the season but EG & JJ are the only plus defenseman on
the team ( +2 ) – Yet people still want to attack them.
IMO Letang needs to go – free up 7mil before he goes down with an
injury. We’ll be lucky if he plays in 50 games this year.
Hey Mike,
I like EG. He tossed Scheifele to the ice like a rag doll right before the Jets’ opening goal. Since he has gotten here, no one really takes runs at Murray. The rumor mill now has the JR looking to deal him, what????? That stupidity is why I want even JR gone, before he destroys this team completely.
Furthermore, I do agree that the team needs more physical D men. I was not a fan of the team dumping Oleksiak, but if it took losing Oleksiak to get EG then I am OK with that.
In that same vein, I am still not exactly over the team letting Pedan get away. I believe he is at the end of his current KHL contract, I hope they try and get him back over here. The KHL is about 10 games into their season and Pedan has 5 points and is a +6. He is 6′-4″, 215lbs, and has 16 hits and 6 blocks in those 10 games.
He is younger, faster and with an upside. JJ is older and seems to shoot himself in the foot, then has to work harder to make up for not getting the puck out.
As for Letang, like you, I am over him. If someone just looks at Letang’s upside, I understand why they may think that he is worth his $7 mil contract. Unfortunately, defensemen are paid to play defense first and offense second. When you look at the whole forest of what Letang brings to the team, not just the Oak but the Maple and all the trees, particularly now when he no longer has the speed to make up for his gaffes.
Again, JR blew it. Letang should have been traded in the off season, not Kessel (look above for my Kessel rebuttal), to free up Cap space.