Otherwise detained at work, I was only able to watch bits and pieces of the Penguins’ 2-1 preseason victory at Buffalo last night.
When I was finally able to tune in to the videostream on the Sabres website, the first thing I noticed was No. 75 in the Pens’ visiting whites throwing a check on a Sabre.
My first thought…”When did we get Ryan Reaves back?” Then I noticed the name on the back. OLSON. As in right wing Kyle Olson, who goes 5’11” 178 as opposed to Reaves’ Thunderdome dimensions. Lol.
Anyway, enough with my clunky lead-in. From the dozen minutes or so I was able to watch I formed some more impressions. Some good. Some not so good. Here they be.
Overall, I thought we were more aggressive and “on the puck” for lack of a better way to describe it. We also did a way better job of generating shots from the prime scoring areas inside the circles.
Everyone seemed generally effective in their roles. Among the players I noticed more than others, Olson, Anthony Angello, Valterri Puustinen (an assist, plus-2), Michael Chaput (a goal and an assist, plus-2) and, as much as it pains me to write it…Dominik Simon, who notched our first goal and logged a sterling CORSI for of 61.90 on a night when the team’s CORSI was a subterranean 38.75. Giving credit where credit’s due, the much-maligned Czech is doing everything in his power to earn a spot on the season-opening roster. No honorary appointment from coach Mike Sullivan necessary.
The goalies were solid. Louis Domingue in particular did a fine job in relief of Casey DeSmith, turning aside 20 of 21 shots, including 15 during a rather lopsided third period. Defenseman Will Reilly caught my eye with his skating. For the record, he’s big (6’2” 197) and a right shot to boot.
A special shout out to feisty center Jordy Bellerive. Although I didn’t see it, he laid a whuppin’ on Sabres forward Matej Pekar in a first-period fight. I honestly can’t remember the last time a Penguin prevailed in a go ‘round.
I’ll lump prime prospects Sam Poulin and Nathan Legare into the so-so category. Maybe it’s a case of misplaced expectations, but I was hoping Poulin would be more physical along the lines of a traditional hit/score/fight power forward. For Legare, I once again think it’s a case of trying a little too hard. He wants to score so badly that he seems to be forgetting details like securing the puck in one-on-one battles and being physical in the corners. It should be noted that he paced all skaters with five shots on goal.
I didn’t see enough of Radim Zohorna to form an opinion one way or another. Although he had a good night in the faceoff circle (71 percent) I continue to be largely unimpressed with forward Drew O’Connor (one shot on goal, no hits). He flubbed a chance for an empty-netter in the final minute of play.
The only truly glaring negative? When the heat was on and our defense was pressured, it once again morphed into an on-ice version of the Keystone Kops, making Domingue’s performance all the more impressive. Granted, we dressed our second-string defensemen. But it’s an organizational issue rooted in Sullivan’s preference for stick-on-puck defense that stresses puck movement over traditional d-zone and net-front play. An issue that’s liable to dog our ‘d’ all season long.
But hey, at least there were some positives and at least we showed some life.
Pens Pare Roster
The Penguins lopped 13 players from their training camp roster following the game. Forwards Jonathan Gruden, Felix Robert, Bellerive, Olson and Puustinen; defensemen Niclas Almari, Taylor Fedun, Cam Lee, Mitch Reinke and Reilly; and goaltender Filip Lindberg were assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Fedun must first clear waivers before he reports to the Baby Pens.
Pittsburgh native Matt Bartkowski (plus-2 last night) was released from his PTO. Intriguing forward Raivis Ansons was returned to Baie-Comeau Drakkar of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
Hey Rick,
I did see most of the game, from the 2nd period on – it took me some time to find the live stream.
My impressions;
* When I first started watching both teams looked like they were flying.
* By the end of the game, it looked like our boys were fading.
* I didn’t tune in until the 2nd period so I missed Bellerive’s fight but for most of the game I thought I was watching the ice capades or maybe a pillow fight or tidily winks , nobody was hitting. I did see your boy Simon get leveled though.
* The Simon question – sorry I missed his goal so I can’t comment on it, but even if it was on par with a Lemieux goal I would push back, “even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.” I still wasn’t all that impressed. He looked to me to be the anchor slowing down his line – Puustanen, with whom I was rather impressed with (so natural Sullivan sent him down) seemed to spear head that line. When Pustanen was on the ice with Simply Simon, (10 min worth) Simon’s CORSI was 68.75%, in the 3 minutes without Pustanen it was 40%. I also was mildly impressed with Chaput and I did see that goal, Chaput went to the net to get the G on the door step with Puustinen crashing hard. crawling up from the safety of the LW corner boards Simon enters the picture after the whistle blows to signal the goal. While Chaput was on the ice (10:52) Simon’s CORSI was 64.71%, Without Chaput (2.24), Simon’s CORSI was 50%.
Let’s add in that Simon only had 1 D-Zone starts, it shouldn’t be all that hard to have a positive CORSI when you aren’t starting in your own zone. Furthermore, he was on the ice for 3 D-Zone Draws, doesn’t sound like much, but it was only one game. Now add in that he only was on the ice for 5 O-Zone FO, doesn’t look like he generated a whole lot of pressure to me. One again it looks like bein gifted prime TOI that he doesn’t deserve, letting others do his heavy lifting.
Finally factor in the team the Pens were playing Buffalo – They may only be a fraction better than Team France or team UK. Last I saw, Vegas has Buffalo’s odds to win the Stanely Cup at 200 – 1. There is not a whole lot of talent in Buffalo and having only dished out 7 hits, they were hardly the physical teams the Penguins will have to play most of the season against. Imagine what will happen when freight trains like Ryan Reaves, Tom Wilson, Matt Martin, Rasmus Risolainen et al stat leaning on not just him but the rest of Sullivan’s Softies.
* Legare looked good to me. The rap on him not being fast enough just didn’t seem true at all, he caught several players from behind. I also saw him get a break at the end of a very long shift and just miss by a step of splitting the D and getting a 2nd break from almost the blue line in.
* I wanted to see more out of Bjorkqvist but didn’t
* Poulin and O’Conner almost didn’t make my radar Nothing bad, but nothing impressive. I will give O’Conner some leeway as he was trying to play C, not his natural position.
* As you mentioned Reilly stood out as did Almari. Almari did look like he wore down a little under the pressure of the end of the game, but early on he looked a lot sharper and his only blemish was having the puck bounce off him for the Sabres’ goal.
* Both Goalies looked good but I have to give the edge to Domingue, he was pressured more. In both games the backup out-played the starter.
* I also like what I saw in Zahorna, – Kapanen. Zahorna did make a couple of nifty little moves to open up space. He also seemed poised with the puck and didn’t panic, waiting for opening.
*Bellerive and Angello also played well for what little TOI Sully gave them. Maybe the Penguins would have dished out more than the 9 checks the did register if Bellerive was on the ice more. Oh wait, that would require Sully to rethink his philosophy.
Even though I saw things that looked good, I have to acknowledge the strength of the opponent and the fact the team only won 2 – 1.