Lagace, Carter Pace Penguins in Grand Finale

It’s in the books. Fifty-six games up in this crazy-quilt, COVID-condensed campaign. Fifty-six games down. Unlike a Fourth of July fireworks display that saves the best for the grand finale, there were precious few pyrotechnics during the Penguins-Sabres game at PPG Paints Arena yesterday afternoon.

Rather, the Pens clipped the Sabres, 1-0, in what proved to be a rather subdued affair. However, if the game itself wasn’t monumental, the end result sure was. Our guys clinched the MassMutual East crown, ensuring us home-ice advantage at least through the first two rounds of the playoffs.

Whodda thunk it entering the season? Not I.

The offense was provided by none other than new-found scoring sensation Jeff Carter, with a huge assist from Frederick Gaudreau (love this guy). Early in the second period Freddy picked off a wraparound attempt by Anders Bjork and fed a quick pass to Carter in the crease. The puck appeared to bounce off at least one stick before deflecting in off the big guy’s jersey crest. Reinforcing the notion that good things happen when you go to the net.

However, the real story occurred between the pipes at the far end of the ice. Maxime Lagace, a 28-year-old journeyman, picked a fabulous time to post his first NHL shutout, stopping all 29 shots he faced. In the process becoming the first goalie in franchise history to post a shutout in his team debut.

Considering his career big-league numbers entering the game (3.92 goals against average and .868 save percentage), a remarkable performance befitting a truly remarkable season.

Puckpourri

Buffalo outshot the Pens, 29-23. We won 51 percent of the draws. Hits were even at 23 apiece.

With his fifth goal in two games, Carter finished the season with 17 (nine in his 14 games with the black and gold). While he’s got lots of competition (Ron Francis, Ulf Samuelsson to name a couple), could No. 77 be the best trade-deadline pickup in Pens history? He’s certainly in the running.

Seeing his first game action since March 16, Chad Ruhwedel replaced Mark Friedman (healthy scratch). The veteran d-man registered two shots on goal and four hits in 12:45 of ice time. Although he didn’t receive an assist or a plus, he initiated the scoring play with an outlet pass to Jason Zucker, who likewise exited to the bench.

A Second Helping of Crow

To borrow and bend a line from Return of the Jedi, my failure (as a judge of talent) is now complete. When Jim Rutherford signed the previously porous Lagace as our third goalie, I suggested that Craig Anderson (Washington) would’ve been a better choice.

Excuse me while I microwave my leftover crow…

What’s Bruin?

The MassMutual East, that’s what. While our boys have sewn up the division title, the not-so-small matter of who we’re going to face in the opening-round is still up in the air. One thing is certain…our opponent won’t be Washington. The Capitals have 75 points and are assured of second place.

That narrows it down to Boston or the Islanders. The Bruins, presently in third place with 71 points, square off against the Isles at home on Monday before finishing the season on the road in Washington. The fourth-place Islanders (70 points) wrap up their season in Beantown.

So who do we want to play?

That’s a no-brainer. The Islanders.

Yes, they’ve had our number in the past. But we’ve mastered them to the tune of a 6-2 record this season, including shootout and overtime wins. The Isles have struggled since the trade deadline (5-6-2). Anders Lee is out for the season, and we appear to have solved Semyon Varlamov (weak to the stick side).

By contrast, the Bruins have been one of the league’s hottest teams since the deadline at 11-3-1. We’re only 3-4-1 against them. Taylor Hall has provided scoring depth as Phil Kessel once did for us. And goalie Tuukka Rask is our kryptonite. He owns us.

Not to think dark and nefarious thoughts, but could the B’s…uh…”throw” their last two games in order to face us in the opening round?

Maybe not. Boston is 4-1-2 against the Caps. But games between the two clubs have been hotly contested and extremely physical. Might the Bruins be looking to avoid what’s sure to be a punishing opening-round set?

It bears watching (pun intended).