• Sat. Nov 2nd, 2024

Penguins Go Gently into the Night

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ByRick Buker

Aug 8, 2020

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Rage, rage against the dying of light.

If only our Penguins had heeded the words of Dylan Thomas and put up a fight in Game Four of their qualifying round series against the Canadiens. Instead of going out on their collective shields as champions are supposed to do, they went oh so gently into the night.

In a shockingly tepid performance, the Pens tested Montreal goalie Carey Price only 22 times, a remarkably low total considering their postseason lives were on the line. And most of those shots came from the perimeter.

Indeed, the Pens seemed content to dump the puck into the Canadiens’ zone and give chase, almost exclusively along the boards. The way they avoided the middle of the ice (and along with it, the prime scoring areas), you’d think it was out of bounds or something.

Anyone heard of the center drive?

Yes, I know Montreal was clogging the middle of the ice and the passing lanes. But sometimes you have to fight for real estate. Our guys did precious little battling.

The lone bright spot was the play of Jarry. Retrieved from mothballs to replace Matt Murray, the 25-year-old All-Star seized the moment, stopping 20 of 21 shots his first-ever NHL postseason start while muting the Canadiens dump-and-chase game with his adroit puckhandling. Alas, it wasn’t enough, as Price pitched a shutout to pace a series-clinching 2-0 Montreal victory.

Back to the attack…or lack of. Whether the black and gold played it close to the vest by design or it just worked out that way, they rarely pushed the pace. Rarer still, were prime scoring opportunities and second chances.

Patric Hornqvist rang a shot off the right post from a sharp angle during the early going. Midway through the second period, Sidney Crosby capped a 2-on-1 break with a quick one-timer, but Price stopped him cold and smothered the rebound.

After Jarry made the save of the game at 3:29 of the third period, robbing Brendan Gallagher on a partial breakaway with a brilliant glove save, the Pens finally showed some jump. Working with the man advantage, Evgeni Malkin found Sid with a sharp pass inside the left circle. Crosby ripped off a rising shot that whistled past Price, only to clang harmlessly off the crossbar.

All the while, the Canadiens waited for the Pens to flinch. They wouldn’t have long to wait.

With just over four minutes to play, the usually responsible Brandon Tanev misfired on a dangerous cross-ice pass in his own zone. Game One hero Artturi Lekhonen pounced on the errant pass and quickly fed Paul Byron, who burst past the net before slipping a beautiful against-the-grain backhand pass between Jarry and the post.

It was the only time during the afternoon that the young goalie lost his net and it cost him dearly. Lekhonen slipped into the crease between Justin Schultz and Kris Letang and rifled the puck home.

Skating on rubbery legs, the Pens’ big guns tried in vain to score the equalizer in the closing minutes. But Shea Weber, who had a huge series, put them out of their misery, shaking off a hard check by Malkin to bounce a clearing attempt off the side boards and into an empty net.

And that was all she wrote for our flightless waterfowl. A stunning if not entirely unexpected defeat at the hands of the lowly Canadiens.

Our worst nightmare come true.

So how could this have happened? How could a team with so much talent be ousted (and exposed) by a 24th seed? I’ll delve into some of the reasons in my next post.

12 thoughts on “Penguins Go Gently into the Night”
  1. Hey Rick,

    I wasn’t surprised they lost. Unfortunately, I expected it but didn’t expect it to be so pathetic. For a team with that kind of talent to simply roll over and go down without a fight is unconscionable to me. I wouldn’t have minded a loss if they went down fighting and with some dignity. I honestly think Sullivan has lost this team. It looks exactly like the end of the Bylsma era.

    No matter what happens in the draft I expect very few of those on this team as of today won’t be there when the puck drops for the 21-22 season. That’s as it should be, even behind the bench.

    — 55

    1. Hello 55,

      Funny, but I had the same thought about it reminding me of the end of the Bylsma era. It really does have the same vibe and feel…eerily so.

      Ownership moved very aggressively to clear out Ray Shero (12 months after he was named GM of the Year) and, a little later, Bylsma.

      I do think circumstances are a little different this time. With Sid, Geno and Letang all in their prime, that group was expected to win Stanley Cups. With two more Cups in the bag and our core aging, I’m guessing Rutherford and Sullivan may have a little more rope.

      But not much…

      Sadly, as happens with all champions, it looks like our window may be closing if not already closed.

      Rick

      PS–I was surprised at how many passengers there were…especially after they’d played so well as a team through the first four months of the season, with so many guys stepping up. But once we lost it, we just never got it back…

      1. Hey Rick,

        Remember that the players responsible for that fire were not on the playoff roster, gone was Joseph Blandisi, Domink Kahun, Andrew Agozzino. The Pens won 32 of the 50 games Kahun played in, 13 of the 21 that Blandisi played in, and 11 of the 17 Agozzino played.

        Conversely the only won 3 of the 8 regular season games Marleau, Sheary played in and 1 of the 4 playoff games (4 of 12), 6 of the 15 regular season games that Zucker played in and 1 of 4 playoff games (7 of 19), and only half of the games Rodrigues played in.

        The players on the team that played in the playoffs was not the same as the players of the team that played so well during the regular season.

        1. Hey Other Rick,

          I hear ya. Maybe I was looking at things through black-and-gold tinted glasses, but I liked the Pens fourth line when Blandisi and Lafferty were taking a reasonably regular shift. They added some speed and sand and fire.

          Their metrics weren’t very good. But as a rule, they didn’t get too many o-zone starts.

          I was going to save this for my next article, but JFresh was baffled by the Kahun deal and mentioned he was a 1.9 WAR. I don’t know too much about hockey WAR, but I assume that’s very respectable for a player of his ilk.

          It just seems to reinforce our feeling that trade was a mistake.

          Rick

  2. Rick,
    I got the sense (and mentioned yesterday) that Sullivan appeared catatonic in his pre-game interview on Twitter. Perhaps he was informed of the ownerships’ decision to move in a different direction next year regardless of the Canadians / Pens outcome?

    That’s pure speculation, but the team certainly packed it in on the effort front.

    I think its the Captain and assistant captains jobs to still command effort in an elimination playoff game. They certainly could have set a different tone if they wanted to.

    Sorry to bring up my experience watching the Red WIngs (I lived outside Detroit )…but their are a lot of parallels. After winning a couple of cups some of the high intensity guys weren’t quite so intense, some of them were traded or left at free agency due to cap reasons , some remained and were offered over generous new and often long term contracts based on prior glory rather than future potential, and frankly some of them lost a step or two from age.

    What slowly happens is that the team is good enough to make it to the playoffs but not to truly compete for the cup. All Detroit wanted to do for years was make the playoffs to continue their 25 + year streak.

    I think Pittsburgh has to completely break and rebuild the team. GM/Coach and all players are available for the right price with the focus of winning the cup in 5 years.

    The islanders went from worst to first quickly but they changed GM and Coach, put in a new system, and some key talent to get the most out of the youth that was there but not in a winning culture.

    Barry Trotz was thrown to the curb by the Caps and was ridiculed for going to the Islanders (after their captain and superstar Tavares left )….yet they look pretty compelling as a team these days….so it can be done.

    Just to leave on a humorous note, my 85 year old father in law is always busting sales peoples balls. We went to Home Depot one day and he asked the paint guy if he could get a quart of ambition. The guy didn’t skip a beat and said…”sorry, we have been out of that for awhile, but we got 55 gallon drums of “I don’t give a sh^t” back there if you want em…”

    It looks like Home Depot found a place to store their 55 gallon drums in Toronto yesterday.

    1. Hey PensFanBoy1965,

      Sorry I haven’t gotten back to you sooner. After writing the game summary (not pleasant) and trying to somehow corral my thoughts and emotions and funnel them into a reasonably coherent follow-up (not sure I succeeded)… Well, frankly my brain was fried.

      As always, I really enjoyed reading your comments (always with a splash of humor and color). It would be wonderful if champions (or at least the Pens … 🙂 could win year after year after year. But there is a life cycle to every championship team. Your Red Wings are a classic example. So, too, are the Blackhawks. Kane and Toews and Keith (their version of Sid, Geno and Letang) are still plugging away, but obviously the Hawks aren’t what they once were.

      I only hope our future doesn’t track like Detroit’s…no offense. Even with kids like Larkin, Bertuzzi and Mantha, there aren’t a whole lot of bright spots these days for Motor City hockey fans. But it happened to us before (early 2000s pre-Sid) and it could easily happen again.

      That’s why the Pens need to switch gears and stop trading draft choices and start developing young talent. Problem is, there isn’t a whole heck of a lot of it in the organization right now.

      I’m not sure how the Pens are going to proceed with Rutherford and Sullivan. Despite his age, I still think JR may have some juice left in him. But I can also envision a scenario where he’s kicked upstairs to a senior advisor role. Don’t know who would take his place.

      Hard to say about Sully. Everyone seems to regard him as a very good coach. But he does have some warts and he seems to be locked into playing a certain style…and promoting players who fit that style at the expense of others.

      For example, I wonder how a Samuel Poulin will fit in given that he’s not a great skater. We know how much Sully values speed.

      Anyway…it’ll be interesting to see what transpires.

      Rick

      PS–Not to be nebby, but I have to ask. Were you born in 1965?

      1. Rick

        Yes, I slipped on my moniker. I was born in 1965 .

        Every team has a dynamic that makes them unique from year to year. That includes the management and coaches too. These guys have to travel on the road incessantly .

        I really think that the best teams have significant leadership at the player level. Sid is an amazing player and leads by example but I’ve neve been sure that the most skilled player should be the captain.

        This sounds like I’m knocking Sid, but I think you need a player thats a natural hyper competitive pusher that really wants/has to win. Leadership is tough….you have to be respected but you can’t afford to let your decisions be influenced by friendship. Sadly the best leaders are often not folks that everyone says “wow ….he’s a great guy”/ Steve Yzerman was that guy for the Wings. To this day he’s a loner . Scotty Bowman never had to push players,,, they were all highly “motivated” by Yzerman. Chris Helios said every player was evaluated every shift by Yzerman. Instantaneous feedback. Bowman said it was the easiest and most relaxed coaching assignment he ever had.

        Sid’s toughness and skills and dedication to personal work ethic are unquestionable . He’s a generational superstar on talent…..I’m just not sure it always translates to helping the coaching staff as a player personnel motivator.

        I hope I don’t get crucified on this board for these comments by the way.

        I am praying for the draft miracle of the Pens getting the #1 slot here in the upcoming draft. That would be a game changer for this organization on many levels.

        1. Hey PensFanBoy17,

          You and I are roughly in the same age bracket. I’m a 1957 model … lol

          You absolutely will not be crucified for sharing your opinion about Crosby perhaps not being a natural leader. At least a vocal one. The vast majority of times, your best player is named captain, even though he may not be your best leader. I think Sid and Mario are kind of similar in that regard.

          I do think Sid leads by example, by the way he plays. When he’s surrounded by the right type of players…as he was in ’16 and ’17…that proved to be enough.

          But as you so aptly noted, team dynamics change from year to year. We had a lot of experienced guys on those Cup teams…Bonino, Fehr, Cullen, Hagelin and Kunitz to name a few…who weren’t followers but perhaps leaders in their own right. They’ve been replaced by players like McCann, Tanev, Blueger and Aston-Reese who haven’t experienced the same level of success and perhaps need a little more guidance from their captain.

          I’m going to point this at Sullivan, too. He seems to have issues with big voices in the locker room…guys who have forceful, outgoing personalities. Cole, Reaves, Lovejoy, Fleury and Gudbranson…and in a different vein…Kessel. None of these guys lasted too long under Sullivan, and I think some of it was by design.

          You get the feeling his voice is the only one he wants his players to hear. But you’ve got to have vocal guys and characters in the locker room to keep things loose and draw the more quiet guys out.

          I’m not sure the Penguins have that dynamic right now …

          Rick

          1. Rick,

            We had a 57 Ford growing up with big fins and a bench seat in the back (no seatbelts). Man I loved that car…we called it the bat mobile .

            Sid does lead by example, no doubt. My respect for his toughness went up a lot when he came back from that puck in the mouth that blew out his chicklets. He looked like a bloody jack-o-latern coming off the ice.

            A player you mentioned that I always admired was Chris Kunitz . My youngest son is up at Michigan tech and that league includes Ferris State, Lake Superior State etc.. and has produced some good players (Kunitz went to Ferris State).
            Anyways, besides being a 50-60 point/year producer, he had the ability to play big when you needed him. He could score, he always hustled and was really punishing when he wanted to be. A big dollop of nasty and a guy I would want on the ice when it mattered.

            Your comments on Sullivan are interesting as well. It is only logical that new coaches coming into a veteran team probably don’t immediately assert themselves over the existing veteran culture. If you think about it, thats when Sully’s teams were the most successful .

            The best coaches (hell, the best people) in the world learn from their mistakes and humble themselves to grow. We generally have the opportunity to learn from self discovery or through collisions with reality.

            I have the distinct feeling Sully is getting a collision with reality….

          2. GDammit!

            LaFreniere went to the Rangers.

            Lets be honest….NYC is a Sh^Thole city .

            AGGGGHHHH!

  3. Hey Rick,

    Spot on my friend. For a team that was supposed to be in win now mode, they just rolled over and played dead. What is worse, it didn’t really look like Montreal brought its “A” game and that 24th seed still beat Sully’s team.

    On to some bright spots;

    1) We now have a chance at the Alexis Lafrenière lottery.

    2) I was wrong. To who ever would listen down the gym, Rick, I said the Pens would get swept if they lost game 1, but they didn’t. For 1 game of the series, game 2, Matt Murray was able to steal victory from the jaws of defeat turning aside 26 of 27 shots.

    Sorry, but I would love to ask Sullivan if he is wishing Ian Cole, Ryan Reaves, Phil Kessel good luck in the playoffs he, Sullivan, will not be pat of.

    1. Sorry some typos,

      “…Cole, Reaves, and Kessel”

      and

      “…Sullivan, will not be part of.”

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