Guns Ablaze, Penguins Snap Skid

I confess. I was beginning to wonder if our Penguins were ever going to win another game. Especially given the unending succession of stinko efforts they produced over the past two weeks. So forgive me if there were times during last night’s 7-3 thrashing of Ottawa that I rubbed my eyes a time or two in disbelief, thinking the ol’ lamps were playing tricks on me.

After all, it had been a fortnight since the Pens resembled anything close to a playoff hockey team.

Turns out, what we needed the most was what we were all hoping for…the healthy returns of defensemen Brian Dumoulin and John Marino.

“They were great,” said Bryan Rust, who garnered first star honors. “They’re obviously guys that mean so much to the team. They move the puck up quick, they’re great skaters, they play in the face of the opponent. A combination of all of that kind of helps us play in the offensive zone more and gives us the puck more.”

Indeed, the duo’s impact was incalculable. Marino made his considerable presence felt just 48 seconds after the opening draw when he gathered in a pass from Evgeni Malkin and wired it past Ottawa goalie Craig Anderson. For the evening, the preternatural rookie recorded three hits, two takeaways and a blocked shot to go with a plus-1 in 20:55 of ice time.

Dumoulin, likewise, was tremendous. Just 51 seconds after Marino’s tally, “Dumo” worked a nifty give-and-go with Conor Sheary to hand us a 2-0 lead. He finished the game a plus-3, with two blocked shots and a hit.

Too, their collective presence helped our sagging defense to properly align. Dumoulin stepped into his customary slot beside Kris Letang. Perhaps not by coincidence, “Tanger” was a plus for the first time since February 8. Marino paired with Marcus Pettersson (four blocked shots), who’d been showing signs of battle fatigue. And Jack Johnson settled into his natural spot on the third pairing beside Justin Schultz.

No right-handed guys struggling to play the off-side, as we’ve become so accustomed in recent weeks. Everyone looked comfortable in their role.

“They’re just both real good players,” said coach Mike Sullivan. “They help us create some balance throughout our pairs.”

The improved push from the back-end helped fuel the transition game, not to mention some much needed offensive zone time. The Pens enjoyed a pronounced edge in shots on goal (35-26) and a smaller one in total shot attempts (55-50). Better to possess the puck than not.

It was great to see our guys tickle the twine, too, especially after netting a paltry eight goals over the six-game slide. Rust broke out big-time with a hat trick, giving him a team-leading 27 goals on the campaign. Malkin picked up four assists while Sidney Crosby chimed in with a goal and two helpers.

The newcomers contributed, too. Jason Zucker, steady through the storm, notched his sixth goal in 11 games with the black and gold, along with two assists. Sheary tallied a goal and an assist to silence…at least temporarily…rumblings that his acquisition was a mistake. Patrick Marleau picked up an assist and continued to play steady two-way hockey.

Between the pipes Matt Murray was far from air-tight, allowing three goals on 26 shots. But he made the saves when it mattered most and backstopped us to a win.

The streak is dead…thank goodness. But one win does not a playoff push make. Let’s see if we can repeat against Buffalo, a foe who gives us fits, on Thursday night. Then we’ll really have reason to cheer.

Puckpourri

Dominik Simon is out week-to-week with an undisclosed upper-body injury. Brandon Tanev missed the game last night due to illness.

Anthony Angello and Sam Lafferty joined Evan Rodrigues on a reasonably effective fourth line. The trio combined for six shots on goal in limited ice time, including three by Rodrigues.

Defensemen Juuso Riikola and Chad Ruhwedel were healthy scratches.