Hey all. This is going to be more a blurb than traditional game summary. A windstorm took down the top of a tree in front of my condo last night. Which took down the power and cable lines. Which took down my Wi-Fi access. Pretty much putting my typing fingers on IR.
Fortunately, there isn’t a whole lot to describe concerning last night’s Penguins-Ducks clash at PPG Paints Arena, although by no means does it diminish the importance of our win. Loaded with up-and-comers, the Ducks are vastly improved. The fact that we shut out a team that ranks seventh in the league in goals scored speaks volumes about where we’re at (Pittsburgh-ese) as a team.
A truncated game summary and Puckpourri rolled into one:
- Brock McGinn tallied the lone goal of the night five minutes into the contest, thanks to a pretty cross-ice backhand feed from Zach Aston-Reese. Chad Ruhwedel also assisted. It was Brock’s seventh goal of the season.
- Back from the dead following a miserable stretch, back up Casey DeSmith faced down 35 scoring chances and 15 high-danger chances, making 33 saves in all. Over his past three outings, Casey’s stopped 89 of 93 shots for a sterling .957 save percentage.
- Sidney Crosby’s point streak was snapped at seven games.
- The fourth line (Brian Boyle, Drew O’Connor and Dominik Simon) dominated in terms of possession (Corsi of 93.33). Jeff Carter, Jason Zucker and ex-Duck Danton Heinen were also strong (52.63). However, the first and third lines were both under water.
- With the win, our fourth in a row, we maintained a hold on fourth place in the Metro with 33 points, four points ahead of Columbus. Wild card contenders Boston (three games in hand) and Detroit have 30 and 29 points respectively.
- Next up, Montreal on Tuesday at the Can.
- Oh, and we wore our new alternate jerseys, the ones with the diagonal Pittsburgh across the front in block letters. An ode to the team’s very first uniforms. Pretty sweet.
That’s all folks. Go Pens!
Hey Mike,
Challenge Accepted
What do you want me to explain? Why do they only have the 4th best 5 on 5 stats (GF%)? or why do they only have 4th best 5 on 5 numbers but are tied for 1st in the division with a Pts% of 0.722.
I would have to dig deeper into the Rangers season to explain why they are only 4th in the division in GF%. However, the answer to why they are tied for 1st in terms of Pts% while only being 4th in 5 on 5 GF% wasn’t hard to figure out. Just like the team they are tied with, they spend far, far less time than the Penguins 5 on 5; over 2 minutes less per 60 minutes than our Penguins. And Carolina, with whom they are tied in Pnts% plays over 2 minutes less than the Rangers, over 4 minutes less than the black and gold (50:49 to 48:20 to 40:16). In fact Carolina plays the least amount of time 5 on 5 in the league.
Part 2 to that answer is that NYR actually has a PP. They score 8.67 PPG/60minutes compared to our Penguins 5.38. and they even give up less SHGA/60minutes; 0.47 to our 0.98.
It isn’t that hard to figure out. Our Penguins play the 3rd most minutes 5 on 5 and their PP is horrible, so 5 on 5 is extremely important to them. The Rangers play far less time and they have far more talent and score far more goals on the PP. That is what happens when a coach creates a squad of wannabes around 2 prematurely aging superstars (aging too fast because the rock headed coach refuses to acknowledge the need for size and sand).
Rick
It’s amazing the type of defense you can play when your wingers back check. Both DeSmith and Jarry
have been solid and both have made big saves but as a team the Pens have played very good team
defense in front of them.
Something I saw yesterday that I found very interesting – the Rangers have the worst 5on5 numbers of
the top 4 or 5 teams in the Metro Division. I can’t wait for the Other Rick to try and explain this one!! LOL
Also, not sure if you saw this but Angello played for Wilkes Barre a couple nights ago after missing 18
games due to an unspecified injury.
GO PENS
Sorry, typo Carolina plays 46:12 5 n 5
Thanks Mike, for keeping me in the loop on Angello. It was weird…there just wasn’t anything on him anywhere. Nice to see him get a goal already in two games.
Not that Simon’s done horribly (59.5 Corsi) but I’d like to see Angello get a crack at fourth line right wing. Would also like to see Zohorna, who’s starting to come to life, get a shot as well.
You make a great point regarding team ‘d.’ When the forwards come back, the defensemen can step up and challenge. Given that we’re not quite as skilled as we were in the past, especially with Guentzel out, it makes sense to play a closer-to-the-vest style.
Rick