I hate when coaches use hackneyed old phrases and clichés. It used to annoy the life out of me when former Penguins coach Dan Bylsma summed up his team’s woes by saying, “We need to get to our game.”
Nor am I a huge fan of Mike Sullivan’s favored mantra, “Playing the right way.” But that’s exactly what we did last night during a feel-good 5-2 victory over the pesky Devils in Newark. We played the right way.
It was arguably our best overall effort since a strikingly similar 5-2 triumph over Toronto way back on February 18 vaulted us, temporarily, into first place in the Metropolitan Division.
Sullivan thought so, too.
“That’s one of the better games that we’ve played, one of the more complete games that we’ve played in a while,” said the Pens’ coach. “All four lines were going. The defensemen all competed out there. We were playing the game the right way.”
There’s that phrase again.
Indeed, following three weeks of hockey at its worst, at long last there were some genuine positives. Skating with speed, intensity and purpose, the Pens carried the play to their hosts for most of the night while racking up a decided edge in shot attempts (58-40) and shots on goal (33-22). We dominated in the face-off circle, too, winning 61 percent of the draws.
In a stunning about-face, we were responsible with the puck in all three zones while executing 14 takeaways and only three giveaways. Best of all, when the Devils shoved back, first to knot the score at 1-all and then to close the gap to 3-2 midway through the third period, we didn’t panic or fold. Instead, we responded like a team that just might have some Stanley Cup aspirations after all. And while the stripped-down Devils are hardly a contender, they’d gone on a 6-1-2 run of late, including victories over the Capitals and Blues.
Unlike recent our victories over Ottawa (a powder-keg goal-fest over a weak team) and Buffalo (we played poorly enough to lose), this was a solid, 60-minute, playoff-style effort. And while there’s still work to be done…the bottom-six forwards need to start producing again…it’s precisely the way we need to play going forward.
“It kind of felt like everyone was back on track,” rookie defenseman John Marino said. “We played together. There was a lot more energy on the bench. You could just feel it. Hopefully, we use this as a stepping stone and continue.”
My thoughts exactly. In closing, I guess I’ll lean on a time-honored adage after all. It’s said the journey of a thousand miles begins with a first step. Well, last night’s victory felt like the first step in what, hopefully, will be a successful stretch run and a long and fruitful postseason.
Puckpourri
Evan Rodrigues scored his first goal for the black-and-gold at 8:29 of the first period. The versatile forward’s done a good job of driving possession. He has the highest 5-vs-5 shot attempts percentage on the team (63.1). Defenseman Brian Dumoulin is second at 56.7.
First star Evgeni Malkin keyed the victory with a three-point night, including two goals. He finished a plus-3. Rodrigues, Kris Letang and Justin Schultz scored our other goals. Schultz’s tally was his third of the season and first since November 12.
Matt Murray stopped 20 of 22 shots (.909 save percentage) to earn his 20th win, tying Tristan Jarry for the club lead.
Sam Lafferty (12:14 TOI) replaced Nick Bjugstad, listed as week-to-week with a lower body injury. Sullivan rolled four lines for the first time in recent memory. All but five of our guys (including Sidney Crosby) finished the game with a plus rating.
In the Metro
The Pens are currently in third place in the Metro with 86 points. They trail the first-place Caps by four points and the second-place Flyers by three. Philly’s winning streak was snapped at nine games by Boston.
We lead Carolina and Columbus, currently the two wild-card teams, by five points each. The Pens hold a six-point edge over the scuffling Islanders and an eight-point lead over the streaking Rangers.
NHL is suspending season. Official announcement will be made soon.
Now there is word that the NHL may temporarily suspend the season similar to what the NBA had does because an NBA player has tested positive for Covid-19 and was in contact in practice with many other players and possibly during a game.
A couple positive notes if the NHL proceeds the same way are… Wow the Pens could use some time right now to regroup and Jake Guentzel could be back in play.
NHL cancelled all morning skates and team meetings this morning. My guess is the season is definitely suspended at the least.
No fans at the Penguins game tomorrow night is going to be one of the weirdest things I’ve ever seen. They are going to have to bleep out the swearing or something.
Didja notice that the team won after Bjugstad was injured again and Lafferty was in the lineup?
The team wins because of not despite injuries.
Hey tOR,
I’m slowly becoming a big Lafferty fan. I agree and would much rather have him in there that Sheary or Bjugstad. On the other side of the coin, I’m not going to put much weight on wins against bottom feeders vs. playoff contenders.
Agreed – wins against teams you are suppose to beat are better than loses but don’t signify that the team is out of the woods.
Rick
Definitely played the write way – Oops theirs that phrase again!! Lol
If our forwards play a strong two-way game we’re tough to beat. When
we don’t we’ll get beat.
Hopefully this jump starts us as we approach Playoff Hockey.
GO PEN’S
Rick
Ignore my mis-use of the word write!! lol
i’m sure you know I meant to say right.
Hey Mike,
Two writes make a right … or something like that … 🙂
I was encouraged by how we played…sounds like you were, too. Would still like to see a little more net crashing and shots from inside the circles, but overall I was pleased.
Now let’s see if we can do it again (and again and again …)
Rick
Rick (The good) ,
Excellent post as always!
I mentioned the 4 games (now down to 3) with the Lightning as a bell weather to judge the team fit (or not) for the playoffs. Why? Playing another playoff caliber team 4 times in a short period is as close to a playoff round as it gets. The teams have the opportunity to make real time adjustments to their next games from their last. If Pittsburgh gets its rear end handed to them again by the Canes, that will be an especially bad sign for me…conversely, a meaningful effort and a win would give me some hope.
Has anyone noticed the slow passing during power plays? Generally, teams cycle the puck as it moves faster than humans do…hence creating openings. Most teams zip the pucks and then look for a one timer to the net as close as they can manage. I perceive the Pens as notably slow with passes, not generally penetrating close enough to the goal and then often trapping the puck before shooting (often wristers).
Have you noticed this?
When Schultz finally scored he was just goalside and inside the dots which didn’t give the Devils goalie time to react (he was close).
As any OBGYN will tell you…penetration is key.
Pens need more penetration (Powerplay or 5 v 5) . I wanted to strangle Sheary when he goes inside and then receives a pass and kicks it back out to the edge again…..We need him to take a one time shot when he is open inside and have folks ready for the rebound and garbage goal. Hornquist and Zucker can do this but few others stick their noses in or around the crease.
The LeTang penalty for knocking the stick from the defender in front of the ref. was unconscionable .
It takes a level of toughness to go inside that just isn’t there on this team; other than Hronqvist. These Penguins are soft. They don’t want to pay the price. But then again, it doesn’t surprise me any – they are just a bunch of midgets; for the most part, they can only take so much of a pounding.
Hey PensFanBoy17,
Excellent (and colorful) observations. I always enjoy reading what you have to say.
I, too, have noticed the Pens’ annoying habit of turning away from the prime scoring areas inside the circles and kicking the puck outside or back to the points. Basically, the perimeter.
I don’t know why we’ve become so allergic to shooting the puck and crashing the net. Let’s face it, this time of the year you score ugly…or generally not at all. We’ve still got some work to do in terms of getting the ‘fancy’ out of our game.
Ah…the power play. The most effective power play I ever saw was the Flyers’ when they shredded us in the 2012 playoffs. Starting with Kimmo Timonen at the right point (wonder if he’s available?), they attacked with a series of quick, sharp-angle passes from one side of the ice to the other to get us moving in the wrong direction, while getting closer to the net with each successive pass. Usually resulting in a net front redirect or a tap-in by Wayne Simmonds.
Surgical in its efficiency.
I agree…the Pens need more movement. And they need to turn the puck into the prime scoring areas (not out of) and crash the net more often. It ain’t rocket science.
For some reason, everyone seems to want to defer to the other guy. “Here…you take it. No you take it. No you take it…I insist.” In that regard, we miss Phil Kessel a lot. He just took charge and ran the power play from the left wall…to great effect.
Anyway, I did see quite a few positives last night. Hopefully we can continue in that direction…
Rick
Hi Rick,
Been a while. I haven’t posted but I read everything. I haven’t had anything to add. Hope all is well with everyone.
Every interview with every player or coach has been the same cliches for 50 years, or more. After a while it’s just embarrassing, and boring. “Get to our game… Play the right way… One game at a time… Build off this or that… I just want to help our team win…” I guess the media has to have something to write about.
On the subject of the Pen’s size, does anyone else notice that Dan Potash is taller than most of the Pens he interviews? Maybe JR and Sully should take a look.
I wish I had more to offer, but usually by the time I get here everything possible has been nicely covered.
— 55
Hi Rick!
Speaking of our captain, in the +/- department, I’ve noticed that Sid doesn’t have a good year. He is currently – 8. I checked his game logs. October was fairly good: he was +5. In November, not so good, -7 (he played 4 games). I know that he played in PK at some occasions. I also suspect the D-pairing (especially their propensity to pinch down low).
I would like to know your point of view on that issue (TOR, if you want to jump in, you are welcome).
Thanks in advance!
Hey Jorenz,
I have been watching that very closely all season, at first because of Simon,
now for Sid himself.
My first thought is that even though Sid has gotten to play with a really good forward (Guentzel) and at least a serviceable Winger (Zucker) he also has been saddled with 2 very poor pylons in Simon and Sheary. Perhaps if Guentzel hadn’t gotten hurt, then Crosby and Guentzel together could over come the pylons but singly; Crosby isn’t a kid anymore, he can’t carry AHL players around the ice anymore.
Apparently, these pathetic lines are of Sid’s own making though. It may only be rumor but there is a lot of supporting evidence too, that Sid is choosing to try and play with his buddies rather than let the Coach form a good line for him.
Now however, not only does Crosby’s numbers look bad, so does his play. I counted 4 really bad pass attempts in the 1st period, including a 1 touch attempt to the point that almost turned into an odd man break for NJD. He is trying to get really cute with his plays; 1-touch passes and blind drop passes that get turned the other way, maybe because his line mates can’t play at that level and/or he has tried going to the well one too many times and opponents are reading him and getting there (to the play) first.
I also wouldn’t argue against either he came back too soon from his surgery and wasn’t physically healed, or maybe he is still too tentative about re-injuring his hernia and it is affecting his game.
Hello Jorenz. Always good to hear from you.
I really hadn’t put much thought into Crosby until you asked the question. But now that you mention it, he seems to have fallen into the same funk as the rest of the team.
The stats seem to bear it out. He was terrific coming off his surgery…seven goals and 16 assists for 23 points in 13 games…bookended by a pair of four-point games. Although, curiously, he was only an even plus-minus despite all those points.
In the 11 games since, which coincide exactly with our recent 3-8 downturn, he’s notched four goals and three assists for seven points. Hardly putrid, but certainly not Sid-esque. His plus/minus during that stretch ain’t so hot…a minus-7. But the other big boys (Malkin, Letang) are significant minuses over that time, too.
I don’t know if he’s entirely comfortable with his linemates. Zucker should be a good fit and he’s produced with Sid, yet they still seem to be working out the kinks. Sheary’s been okay, but as Other Rick’s pointed out he’s far from an impact player.
It does seem at times lately that Crosby’s been an island out there, as if he’s having a hard time meshing with them and finding them on the ice.
Last season…actually maybe the last couple…I thought Sid was the best two-way player I’ve ever seen. But he does seem to be lagging a bit defensively this year. Although I haven’t seen anything to that effect, maybe he isn’t fully recovered from his surgery. Or perhaps the constant weight of carrying the team and his linemates is bogging him down.
Then, too, maybe he’s just hit a funk…like the rest of us mortals so often do…and will lift out of it in time. Let’s hope so. Without Sid playing at or near the top of his game, we don’t stand a snowball’s chance in h-e-double-hockey-sticks of winning a Cup.
Rick
Hi Rick!
Hi TOR!
Thank you guys for your feedbacks! Very insightful!