“Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale,
A tale of a fateful trip
That started from this tropic port
Aboard this tiny ship.”
Sorry, but after watching the latest meltdown in a season long series of implosions I just couldn’t get this old TV Sit-Com out of my mind. Perhaps, the fact that our favorite flightless fowl (or is it becoming flightless foul) were playing a team named after a storm that starts out on the sea that my mind wandered off course to that classic ditty. I guess the whys do not really matter, only the fact that my thoughts drifted away as befuddled as the characters of the Minnow and our local lost boys.
“The mate was a mighty sailing man,
The skipper brave and sure”
The Penguins‘ “skipper”, captain Sidney Crosby certainly has been brave and sure. He has tried very hard to guide this foundering ship through the stormy 2018-2019 season. He started the season off with 6 goals on 30 shots with 8 assists and was +9 in the 10 games of October and has been rock steady all season. He picked up another assist on 2 shots and was a +1 last night, bringing him up to 33 goals on 201 shots with 60 assists and a +19.
Crosby‘s assist last night came on a typical Crosbyesque hard play. Chasing down a dump in, Crosby got to the puck first, spun away from a Hurricane check to find Jake Guentzel between the circles just seconds after the Canes grabbed a 1 – 0 lead to pull the teams even.
The “mate”, assistant captain Kris Letang is not a perfect fit for Gilligan, but he is pretty close. Like Gilligan, he is well meaning and tries really hard but more often than not he makes the game harder than it has to be for all those around him. His defensive lapses and temperament have lead to a landslide of giveaways, breakaways and other grade A scoring chances for opposing skaters.
Unlike Gilligan, Letang does have some high end skill. He is an offensive talent and would be the prototype for the old Rover position in hockey had that position not faded into Hockey lore back in the 1920s.
Last night both sides of the Jekyll/Hyde skill set/lack there of were on full display last night. Late in the 3rd period (15:23) in pretty tic-tac-toe passing play, Guentael fed Bryan Rust alone 2 on 0 in the Carolina slot. In the maddening typical Penguin style, Rust deferred, he passed up a high percentage shot to pass back across to Letang at the bottom of the Right Wing (RW) circle for a good but lesser percentage shot. Fortunately, the opportunity was still a good one and Letang is highly skilled that close, he lifted the puck up over Canes Goalie Petr Mrazek’s shoulder.
Unfortunately, Letang played his Gilligan card at 2:56 of the overtime (OT) period. Not only did he take a slashing penalty, he compounded it with a misconduct penalty as well. Letang‘s slashing penalty effectively ended any chance of the Penguins winning the game in OT, burdening his teammates with having to kill off a second penalty in the extra frame. The misconduct penalty kept Letang from being able to participate in the Shoot Out (SO).
“Five passengers set sail that day
For a three hour tour, a three hour tour.”
So, who are the 5 passengers?
Wow, there are many candidates to fill those roles; some have already left (Derick Bressard and Riley Sheahan come to mind), but since they are gone let’s let them rest in peace, and some are still here.
It grieves me to start with Matt Cullen, but I must. Cullen is the Mr Howe of this team he was once rich in talent but now, not so much.
I really wanted Cullen on this team last year for his last hurrah but now, not so much. The “Wheel in the Sky has kept Turning” and left him behind. With all due respect to what Cullen has accomplished over his illustrious career, this year is a significant low light. To date, the venerable Penguins’ Center has only managed 5 goals and 12 assists in 63 games a major factor in the lack of secondary scoring plaguing the Penguins. Last night he was a -2.
At the beginning of the season I mentioned that if Cullen played more than 40 games and averaged over 10 minutes of ice time it would mean that this team was hurting. He has played an average of 11:31 in 63 games and the team is clinging to its playoff hopes by a thread. Only through the courtesy of the Islanders and Blue Jackets losing yesterday is there still a pulse, not weak but certainly not strong and irregular.
Dominik Simon he is Ginger. He is flashy but useless. He has been another empty sweater on this team. He only has 8 goals and 18 assists in 63 games. That which may be worse is the fact that Simon has, on more than one occasion, found himself on the ice with talents like Crosby and Evgeni Malkin and still only has 8 goals to show for his 13:13 of ice time per game. In conversations I have had with Rick Buker, although at a loss for why Simon is so far less than effective, he keeps assuring me that he has heard that Simon totally wows coaches and team mates alike in practice. I am sorry Rick, but this all sounds like in baseball when all the scouts keep assuring the manager that a kid has a great swing but the kid still hits below the “Mendoza Line”. Practices do not count in the standings. When a player has only 8 goals to his name after having played top 9 all season it is time to move on.
Finally I offer up Mike Sullivan as the Professor. Just like the Professor in the show he always says the right things to the camera. He has many people convinced that he is knowledgeable (at least here in Pittsburgh) but he can’t fix the boat. He can’t fix the boat because he really is a fraud. Professor Sullivan’s only solution to the Penguins’ problems is to shuffle the lines and hope that the players will work something out themselves. That may have been the norm at one time in Hockey but it hardly constitutes coaching. It is more like a glorified baby sitter.
“The weather started getting rough,
The tiny ship was tossed,
If not for the courage of the fearless crew
The Minnow would be lost, the Minnow would be lost.”
If it wasn’t for Crosby and his fearless crew of Malkin, Phil Kessel, Guentzel and Matt Murray, the Penguins would be lost and Sullivan would be in the unemployment line.
Malkin is on the shelf again and may be there for the rest of the season. That is seriously bad news for the team. Our sphenisciform seabirds didn’t fair well at all last time he was out. They were 1-3-1 at the beginning of February when the big Center was out.
Kessel didn’t do much last night but he has still been a regular contributor to this team with 24 goals and 49 assists for 0.99 points per game (Pnts/G). However, I must note that Phil the Thrill had 14 of those 26 goals and 22 of those assists in the 34 games before Dupuis Gate.
Guentzel on the other hand was flying again last night, reaching the 70 point mark with a goal and an assist. Kudos to the Penguins young gun! Unfortunately, like Crosby and Kessel he failed to score in the SO, so the team only managed 1 point for their nights labor.
Finally, the unsung, Murray despite a very shaky start to the season has been a fort from which the Penguins have hid since December 1st. Only, Dallas’ Ben Bishop has had a significantly better Save Percentage (Sv%) among starting goalies than Murray (0.938 to 0.929). A couple of goalies are a point or two higher but only Bishop has any real distance.
Last night was no different than the rest of the season. Back on December 22, Murray weathered a 39 shot storm from these same Hurricanes to post a shutout. Last night, Carolina subjected him to another 39 shot deluge. Murray earned 2nd star honors but ,unfortunately, when you play with fire, you will eventually get burned. This time the Canes managed to get 2 of the 39 shots behind him.
Adding players like Jared McCann and Nick Bjugstad give the Penguins a fair probability of still making the playoffs but my greatest fear is that our Penguins are pretenders not contenders. I fear that even if they do get in to the playoffs, it will be a 1 and done playoff year.
It certainly is an uphill climb. I just hope Penguins aren’t stranded castaways.
You should add Phil the Thrill to list of passengers, he gives the puck away too much and then gives up on the play. He is one of if not the fastest guys on the team but can’t catch anyone on a back check (doesn’t want to). I know Phil was a big part of the first Cup but I’d rather have Kasperi back.
And you didn’t mention Gudbranson, when the trade happened I didn’t like it either but he has done a great job, I think, in front of our goalie, being physical.
Mcann and Bujgstad played really well last night vs. Stars, Jared scored a beauty for the game winner, a nice spin o rama back hander.
We need Geno back for playoffs or we are in trouble in first round, vs. Islanders most likely.
The Other Rick
Great article and I’m sure a lot of time and energy went into it. I would like
to put a little different spin on the Pen’s problems. Everyone wants to blame
our defense when in reality its our wingers that refuse to be more responsible
when patrolling there area of the ice.
I realize that the plus/minus stat can be deceiving as can many other analysis of a players performance. It boggles my mind that Malkin and Kessel are sitting with a -24, -21 respectfully considering that both have point totals in the 70″s and I realize half of those have probably been on the Power play.
Defense – Plus/Minus Ratings
Letang + 11
Dumo + 27
Schultz + 2
Johnson – 3
Maata + 7
Pettersson + 10
Gudbranson + 5
Trotman + 3
I’m so frustrated and so tired of watching Malkin do fly by’s, and both him and Kessel trying to get fancy with the puck at the most in-opportune time. I know you’ve been down on Sully but for me the worst thing he did was put Kessel and Malkin back together.
As for Murray – he’s paid to stop pucks and every team that makes it thru the playoffs does it with there goalie standing on his head. I’m not a Murray hater but I wouldn’t be at all disappointed to see him moved in the off-season. He’s injury prone, does a poor job of controlling rebounds which contributes to the pressure he receives in our own end – last but not least his glove hand is suspect and he allows way to many “soft” goals. I think even in the days when we won the cup our goalies were unbelievable in net. It goes with the territory.
One more point and I brought this up month’s ago and still rings true – everyone
loves to talk about our skilled players – why don’t we fair better 3 on 3 and in shootouts? I like to hear everyone’s feedback.
I have to agree with Rick – I would play Blueger ahead of Simon. Hands down!
Sorry for being long winded – not trying to be negative nelly – again great job with the article.
Hey Mike,
Thanks!
I am very critical of the defense. In even the recent past, I directed my vitriol toward specific D men and still do at times (see above), however, now I am more of the opinion that coaching is the fault. Pearson for Gubranson was a big win for JR. If Pettersson can put some weight on without sacrificing speed, Sprong for Pettersson can be a win for JR too (exclusive of the fact that since Sullivan wasn’t going to play Sprong anyway so anything would be better than nothing).
I was never a Sprong fan per se, I have just grown tired of Sullivan’s sand paper personality running players out of town. When talking about my ideas about trades I have written that I don’t necessarily think you have to trade a player for the player you want or need in the first trade but simply get an asset that you could eventually use to get the player you want. Trading Sprong for Pettersson could give the Penguins a good defensmen for the future since he is just a kid while trading Brassard and Sheahan for McCann and Bjugstad could give the Pens the young forward they gave up in trading Sprong (McCann) and that is what frustrated me so much over Sully’s banishment of Sprong, the loss (loss in the sense of wasting away on the bench or minors) of a young forward.
But back to the D. The PP is a perfect example of why I blame the coaching. Way too often I have seen Malkin and Kessel lugging the puck up ice as if they were legitimate defenseen while the only true defenseman on the ice, Letang was up playing wing. It really shouldn’t surprise anyone when these forwards get beat going back the other way. If I am a forward and see a D man back I just dump the puck and waste time. If I see a forward back playing D I take the chance and try for the SHG.
Furthermore, it took Sullivan 2 – 3 months to change the Pens breakouts in the early part of the season. It worked for a while but other teams have adjusted but it doesn’t seem like the Coaching staff has counter their opponents adjustment again. How long will it take this time?
As for Malkin and Kessel, I do not doubt that Sullivan’s personality has caused serious problems there. Both of these guys came into camp and the season ready to go and on fire when teamed with Hagelin. Malkin was only 1 point behind Rantanen for the league lead in scoring at the end of Oct with 7 goals and 20 points in 11 games. He was also a +3 at the time. Kessel was 14th in the league at that time, also with 7 goals, 16 points overall and was a +4. During that stretch, Sullivan left those 3 alone when he went thru his frenetic line shuffling and they produced. Now at even strength they do not produce much when saddled with a parade of passengers and only get goals and points on the PP.
Getting back to my bad defense rant being on the coaches, in my mind that is why the Pens give up so many SHGs and why Malkin and Kessel have so abysmal of +/-. They don’t get +s for the PPGs they are on the ice but they do get -s for the SHGs scored against them combined with a lack of a competent LW during even strength hurts them.
In Murray’s case, as I wrote below, with his 0.929 sv% since Dec 1, I would say that they only reason the Penguins have even had the leads in some games that late was because Murray was standing on his head during the first 50 minutes of the game. I say that the only reason the Pens go any points at all is because Murray stole at least 1 point out of the game. Murray has 4 shutouts this year, 3 of them were 30+ save performances, 2 of them were almost 40 save nights. Fleury leads the league right now in SOs with 8, twice as many as Murray. 2 of his 8 SOs were less than 20 save games.
In Murray’s case we appear to be on opposite sides.
Interesting question about the 3 on 3s. It would be easy and lazy to say that the team may not be as skilled as many people think, and that may be a fair and contributing point. After so many years at the top with the team not cultivating youth, they do tend to slow down can be exposed when exhausted after 3 grueling periods. However, I would think that the Pens have way too many players looking to make the perfect pass rather than putting the puck on net. if the team goes back to the shoot first mentality maybe they could blunt any age factor at least a little.
Also, I agree with you and Rick, Blueger over Simon. But I pose this question to you; Adam Johnson was just called up. what do you do with the line up?
Looks like I was longer winded, sorry.
Hey Mike,
I’d like to piggy-back onto your thoughts. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review did a really interesting article today regarding hits absorbed this season. The Penguins have SIX players in the top ten…four of them defensemen.
Pettersson leads the league with 202 hits absorbed. Maatta is third at 169; Dumoulin fourth at 166; and Johnson seventh at 154. For the record, Guentzel and Hornqvist are also in the top ten.
Either our guys do a lousy job of getting out of the way or…far more likely…our forwards do a lousy job of getting in the way and holding guys up. It almost reminds me of football and a porous offensive line that perfects the “look out block.” As in, “Hey (Qb’s name)…look out!”
Agree 100 percent that defense is a team concept and the forwards are very much involved (or not in our case). While I’m no coach or X’s and O’s guy, it would seem our lack of structure…perhaps influenced by Mike Sullivan’s attack-first system…leaves us vulnerable to abuse on the back end.
It sure doesn’t help…as you pointed out…that guys like Geno and Kessel regard back-checking in the same manner as an optional game-day skate.
For the record…I cringe every time those two are on the ice together 3-on-3. I’d love to know how many of our OT losses have occurred with them on the ice for the deciding goal. My hunch is, more than a few.
Anyways…enough grumbling. GO PENZ!
Rick
Other Rick, this is absolutely priceless! I laughed and chuckled my way through the entire piece. Love the way you related our Pens to the Gilligan’s Island theme song and characters.
Bravo!
I do have a slight bit of push back to offer regarding Simon. Yes, I did mention in passing one day that I’d heard he dazzles his teammates in practice, who marvel at his skill. However, I think something got lost in the translation. I’m not ready to crown him the second coming of Mario. While I do think he looks more at home on the third line between Hornqvist and Bjugstad, if everyone’s healthy, I play Teddy Blueger ahead of Simon.
Okay…I’ve set the record straight. Again, great stuff … 🙂
Rick
Hey Rick,
Thanks!
Sorry for the misinterpretation of your Simon thoughts. I agree, I play Blueger ahead of Simon.
Did you see Adam Johnson got the call up? Where do you see him fitting in?
Hey Other Rick,
I just saw the Pens called up Adam Johnson…thanks for mentioning it. Sounds like they plan to slot him on the fourth line in place of Joseph Blandisi, who was sent down to the Baby Pens.
I’m anxious to watch Johnson play and…more to the point…skate. He can really motor and we sure could use an extra dollop of speed, not to mention energy.
Some production from the bottom six wouldn’t hurt. The well’s run dryer than a bone for the fourth line, and the third line ain’t exactly lighting it up, either. Chronic issues, I’m afraid …
Hi TOR!
Long time no see as they say! Glad that you published this article!
I really liked the analogy with Gilligan’s island! I agree with all your points except one but I’ll get to it later in my comment.
In the passenger category, I would add Patric Hornqvist. It looks really tough for him. I don’t know if it’s due to his two concussions but he seems to be way off. He is not as gritty and passionate as usual. I noticed that since Hagelin has been traded, Horny seems to have lost his anchor, on and off the ice. They were close and it probably affected him. I know hockey is a business, that players should get used to this but from a human standpoint, Hornqvist may take some time to overcome that.
To some extent, Malking and Kessel are also affected by Hagelin’s departure. But it’s more on the ice than off. Don’t get me wrong, Hags is not a super scorer but to get and retrieve the puck in the corners, he is quite fast. That helped Malkin and Kessel a lot because they don’t like to hustle and bustle along the boards. I still don’t understand to this day why Hags has been traded. His speed was useful to this team.
Last night, after getting his misconduct, Letang’s prima donna behaviour infuriated me! Seriously, your team is in overtime, fighting for a playoff berth, but Tanger didn’t think about the team! He acted very selfishly! He should have shut the f…up! That was not the first time. I am wondering if the coaching staff has told him to calm down. Quite frankly, I don’t think Letang listens to the coaches. He does whatever he wants. His teammates worked really hard to kill his stupid penalty. I just hope he had the decency to thank them!
As for Professor Sullivan, he has been outcoached quite a few times lately (and all year round for that matter). The latest example was against the Islanders. Barry Trotz made him look like a peewee coach. Again, last night, Sully shuffled his lines, expecting the ”SPARK” to turn things around! As Einstein quotes: ”Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
And now the point that I disagree with, TOR, is Matt Murray. Don’t worry, I am not a Matt Murray hater! But I cannot say that he held the fort much this year. In the last four games, some of the goals were in the ”soft category”, glove side as usual. Is it related to nervousness, confidence, lack of focus in critical moments? It can be a combination of many elements. However, he doesn’t have a super D in front of him. I am also questioning Murray’s technique. He plays too deep in the net and is always on his knees. At 6’4”, I think he can afford to stay up a bit!
I really like the Pens and they are close to my heart. But last night, it was the last straw! I told myself that maybe I should step back and stop watching games for a while. I heard comments such as: ”The Pens have so much talent, they just can’t drift away.” They used to be very talented but this year, that talent is fading, or is diluted because some players are sitting on the wrong chairs.
Hi Jorenz,
Thanks, I have had a very busy schedule of late, so I have had a hard time trying to write. By the time I got a chance to sit and get my thoughts down, the idea just didn’t seem quite relevant anymore.
I wish things were different and that I could argue with your assessment of fading talent but you are right, Crosby and Malkin are still elite players but they are no longer the Crosby and Malkin of yore, the Crosby and Malkin that sat somewhere between the Lemieux – Gretzky – Orr level and the rest of the hockey universe. There are times when they actually need their wingers to play a little.
Granted part of that problem comes from being at the top of the heap for so long and drafting so late, even when they held on to their picks. However, part of the problem has been bad investments and you touched on one; Patric Hornqvist. I don’t begrudge Hornqvist his money, he earned every penny of it over the years but moving forward the Penguins could probably have spent that money a little differently and with better results. I hate writing anything bad about him because he embodies the City of Pittsburgh, but in conversations I have had going all the way back to last year, before the trade dead line, when I already began to feel that the team needed to take a step back one year to retool rather than make a lame playoff run, I mentioned that I though the smarter move would have been to trade him for picks. I also mentioned that in conversations this year (I really don’t see the team making any serious run, even if they get in the playoffs).
I can’t say that I have noticed the changes you mention in Hornqvist since Hagelin left. I guess I was just attributing it to the number of injuries he has had. but your argument makes tons of sense.
However, I wouldn’t quite go so far as to call him a passenger on this bus. He certainly hasn’t been the Hornqvist of even last year but he has more goals than Cullen and Simon combined.
Interesting take on Murray. Like in Hornqvist’s case, I can’t say that I have noticed Murray choosing stay deep in his net when he has had the opportunity challenge, but I will start looking for it. I may be wrong, since I wasn’t really looking for it. In my mind, when I have seen him deep it always appeared that there were opposing forwards hanging around in front of him, backing him up. As I said, I will have to look closer, maybe I have let my own biases color my perspective.
If he is playing deep and dropping down to his knees early, it could be a sign that he isn’t confident in either himself or his team mates and with the volume of shots he has seen, it could be either.
But in his defense, again, even if he is struggling, (compared to what he was like in the Cup years) he still has posted a Sv% that rivals all but Bishop since Dec 1. When a goalie is posting numbers as high as Murray is I see the glass half-full, I see it more of “at least he was able to get the Pens 1 point out of it.”
I just saw Adam Johnson got the call up. What do you think?