Penguins Update: A Win to Build On

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.