Penguins Update: A Tale of Two Seasons

Recurring themes. When you write about a team on a consistent basis, you’re bound to get caught up in them. When all is said and done, they often tell the tale of a team and its season.

In reading some of my blog articles from last season, the consistent theme seemed to be the Penguins’ sluggishness and lack of urgency, along with an appalling failure to pay attention to details. Add a dash of chaos to the proceedings for the way coach Mike Sullivan constantly juggled his lines.

This season? A totally different story. The recurring theme is about this group’s enormous resilience and character in the face of withering adversity.

A tale of two seasons, to borrow from Charles Dickens.

Our present Pens have been kicked in the teeth more times than you can shake a hockey stick at. Consider for a moment the guys who’ve missed large chunks of time. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jake Guentzel, Brian Dumoulin, Bryan Rust, Patric Hornqvist, Justin Schultz, Dominik Kahun, Nick Bjugstad and now John Marino have combined for 191 man-games lost and counting due to injury.

Indeed, the injuries have occurred almost exclusively to key personnel. Each loss a dagger, aimed at the Pens’ Cup hopes.

And yet this group keeps responding. And they keep displaying their collective heart for all to see.

Just like last night.

No, the 3-2 edging of Florida to snap a six-game winless streak in the Sunshine State wasn’t a thing of beauty. Not by a long shot. Speaking of shots, the home standing Panthers rang up a whopping 35-22 advantage in shots on goal, 25-14 over the final 40 minutes. They enjoyed a pronounced edge in shot attempts (64-42) and dominated the faceoff circle as well, winning 41 of 69 draws.

Yet our Peskies found a way. Our leaders led. Kris Letang opened the scoring on a breakaway with his signature forehand-to-backhand move to beat Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. For the night the fiery defender had five shots on goal, four hits and three blocked shots, as well as a second assist on Teddy Blueger’s tally, while logging a team-high 25:41 of ice time.

“Tanger” was the second star behind Crosby, who potted the game-deciding goal early in the second period on a power-play deflection. Evgeni Malkin picked up the second assist while pacing all black-and-gold forwards in ice time (20:08).

Talk about rising to the occasion. Has there ever been a better core group than these guys?

Although he didn’t earn a star, Tristan Jarry was superb. With the ice tilted in his direction, the cucumber cool netminder made six saves in the final 3:35, including huge stops on sharpshooters Mike Hoffman, Aleksander Barkov and Evgenii Dadonov in the final minute to seal the victory.

Back to my original point. I don’t know if the Pens will win a Stanley Cup. Not with all these injuries. They’ve been out shot, 194-147, over their past six games (which dovetails with Kahun’s concussion). A worrisome trend. They’re starting to lose puck battles on a consistent basis. They’re yielding more odd-man breaks, too.

I personally think it’s the sign of a tired hockey team, exacerbated by the constant pressure to cover for the injured and the fact that Sullivan now seems reluctant to play the fourth line.

I’ve gotten some pushback, most notably from my esteemed colleague Other Rick, but I feel we need to add a player or two…a forward who can make an impact and a depth defenseman if possible. Whether we do so remains to be seen. Much hinges on the severity of Marino’s injury and how long he’ll be out.

One thing I do know. If our guys fall short in their quest for a Cup, it won’t be for a lack of heart.

Riikola Returns

After being a healthy scratch for the past four games, Juuso Riikola returned to the lineup last night. Statistically speaking he had a quiet game, logging a holding penalty in 12:16 of ice time…the lowest among black-and-gold defenders.

I wish someone would explain to me in clear, concise English, what Sullivan and the coaching staff find lacking in this kid’s game. To my eye, he’s mobile and alert, makes good passes and sound reads and has a physical bent to boot. Advanced stats seem to back my perception.

The only thing that makes sense? Perhaps the Finnish defender is being viewed as a bargaining chip for a potential trade and the Pens are trying to keep him healthy.

If that’s not the case? Then Sullivan’s lack of trust seems groundless.