I’d mentioned in my previous game summary that I thought our Penguins finally looked like the team they’re meant to be. That impression held up through yesterday afternoon’s scintillating 6-3 triumph over Washington at PPG Paints Arena.
With the exception of a sloppy start and a slight letup in the closing minutes of the second period, I thought we played a strong game. We had three lines more-or-less rolling and the defense, while not back to 100 percent, played well, sparked by an impressive performance from newcomer Mike Matheson.
The only question mark was in goal. Tristan Jarry let in a couple of softies, again while playing deep in his net. But Jarry regrouped in the final 20 minutes to slam the door on the Capitals.
How it all Went Down
The Pens started the game with one skate on the banana peel, drawing a pair of penalties before the game was four minutes old. Matching the Caps’ top-rated power-play (35.5 percent) against the Pens’ porous penalty kill (28th at 70.7 percent) is a little like pitting King Kong against Bambi, so it was no surprise when Evgeny Kuznetsov struck on the second man-advantage to give the Caps the early lead.
Yet our guys are nothing if not resilient. At the 10:29 mark Matheson worked a give-and-go with Sidney Crosby and slipped a crisp diagonal pass onto the blade of Bryan Rust, who steered the puck home.
A scant 32 seconds later, Cody Ceci uncorked a drive from the right point. The rebound popped off Vitek Vanacek’s pads and onto the waiting stick of Brandon Tanev. Two-to-one Pens.
The Caps evened the score early in the second frame on a tally by Jakub Vrana. Again, the Pens displayed their trademark resilience. Rust scored his second goal of the game and fifth of the season, ripping home a pretty pass from Kris Letang.
Four minutes later it was Jake Guentzel’s turn. Looking more and more like his old pre-injury self, the tousle-haired winger snapped off a shot from the high slot, followed up his own rebound and buried it to hand the Pens a 4-2 lead…incredibly their first two-goal edge of the season.
It appeared our guys were firmly in the driver’s seat. But nothing comes easy for this team. At 17:49 of the period, Nicklas Backstrom picked Evgeni Malkin’s pocket in the slot and chipped a short backhander past Jarry.
The Pens would not be denied. Again they pushed back hard, piling up a 17-8 advantage in shots on goal in the final period. The outcome was in doubt until the final minute, when Zach Aston-Reese fired home an empty-netter from the wall inside the Pens’ zone. Crosby tacked on a second empty-netter for the final margin of victory.
Puckpourri
The Pens outshot the Caps, 38-31, and dominated the faceoff circle, winning 62 percent of the draws. Jarry stopped 28 of 31 shots for a .903 save percentage.
The Guentzel-Crosby-Rust line was deadly, collecting four goals and eight points while racking up an astonishing 14 shots on goal. A team-high six by Rust.
Likewise the third line impressed, registering two goals, five shots on goal and seven hits. At one point Tanev went nose-to-nose (or nose-to-chest) with Caps’ heavy Tom Wilson while they engaged in a heated discussion.
ZAR to the Rescue
Is Aston-Reese the glue that holds us together? While it may sound preposterous to suggest a third-liner could be such an important piece of the puzzle, our sudden resurgence has coincided with his return. He and Teddy Blueger and Tanev just click, giving us a potent third line.
Perhaps it’s no coincidence that the wheels fell off our wagon last February when ZAR, the top-rated defensive forward in the NHL, went down with a shoulder injury. The Pens were 4-8 in his absence. His erstwhile linemates fared no better, combining for a lone goal and a minus-nine without him.
Ian Cole filled a similar role a few years back. Kind of like the apple in the middle of a stack of apples in the supermarket…the one that causes the whole display to tumble if you pluck it out.
Matheson Shines
Matheson enjoyed a second straight strong game. He was surprisingly sound defensively and a threat in the offensive zone as well. Assistant coach Todd Reirden reminded him to keep his feet moving, and he’s looked fluid and mobile all over the ice.
Could something so simple fix our $32-million dollar man? It’s early yet. But if Matheson continues to play the way he has, I’ll be eating my words…along with some humble pie…when I labelled his acquisition a disaster.
For the record, Mike collected an assist and three shots on goal, to go with a hit and a plus-three in 21:55 of ice time. Better still, he has only one giveaway in five games.
Some love for Ceci as well, who’s been quietly effective. The durable defender recorded two assists, three shots on goal, a hit, three blocked shots and a takeaway. He, too, was a plus-three and earned the game’s No. 3 star.
On the flip side, rookie Pierre-Olivier Joseph…so good in his first few games…was a minus-two. His inexperience showed on a couple of plays around the net, most notably the Vrana marker. Still, he fired off three shots on goal and continues to display a ton of promise.
Happy Family Day to my Canadian bloggers…
I was able to catch the game up here and my thoughts….
Best game i have seen the boys play thus far ..
– Tanev and Rust were awesome, love the way those two play the game,
– Ceci and Mike looked really good on D
-Jarry played one of his best games, after settling in
– the useless awards of the game go to … Zucker and Kapanen, Leturnover
I haven’t been a fan of Zucker, he doesn’t do much offensively ..
I liked it when Letang tried to pass the puck up the middle with a Cap player standing there, in the third I believe….can’t stand him.
And the 1st PP unit…I don’t understand why they don’t shoot the puck more??
The chances are there…just shoot it
Hopefully the Pens build off the win and keep it going…only playing in your division..each two points is huge.
Hey Pen’s4ever,
Happy Family Day! And nice, succinct evaluation of the game and players. Agree with you about Rust, Tanev, Matheson and Ceci. I’ll expand it to include Sid, Guentzel, Blueger, Aston-Reese and Marino, who finally looks comfortable again now that he’s on his natural side.
The second line…I like the idea of Malkin and Kapanen…I like to think Geno can get the puck to Kasperi in open space, although it hasn’t happened as much as we’d hope. I still don’t think Zucker and Malkin are a fit, although it would be awfully hard to pull Guentzel off Crosby’s line at this stage.
Every once in a while Zucker will play a really assertive game where he looks great. And at other times he just seems to be skating in circles.
Anyway…LET”S GO PENZ (and shooooot)!!!
Rick
Hey Rick,
When you criticize, you have to compliment as well. Gotta give it up for yesterdays game, the first time they never really trailed in a game this season.
Rust was the number 1 star and he earned it. He was dominant. Don’t look now, but he is the leading scorer on the team and the only one on his line to on the plus side, Crosby is a -1 and Guentzel is a -2.
Guentzel got number 2 star and Ceci no 3 but sorry, I think Tanev needed to be in that top 3. His go head goal set the tone for the rest of the game. He was channeling his inner Hornqvist couple that to the scuffle he had with Wilsonand he was my no 2 star.
I didn’t think Joseph played all that bad or at least he really wasn’t the cause of his -2 for the game, Jarry wacked the puck up to Vrana before POJ could get to it and move it to safety. And even though Rust was a whirring Dervish through mos tof the game, it was his lapse that led to Backstrom’s goal.
Zucker and Malkin were behind the net when the puck kicked up the boards. POJ pinched as Letang rotated over to cover and Rust was supposed to be the high forward in Letang’s now vacated post. Unfortunately, Rust shot like a missle over to the LW boards to help POJ but arrived late and the Ovie and the Caps were off to the races.
Malkin having circled from behind the Caps net got on his horse and raced to get back into the play and that is why Malkin was in the slot to try and intercept Ovie’s centering pass.
And give Backstrom some credit for a solid play and his backside pickpocket of Malkin.
Finally, and sorry to disagree, after all of the times you lambasted Murray over the last few seasons, I can give excuses for Jarry, but you can’t, his play on Backstrom’s goal was horrible. Jarry was lucky that the boys in front of him dominated the 3rd period with 17 shots to 8.
I don’t blame any Penguins’ goalie, after the number of times they get hung out to dry by their pathetic defenders, but I am one of only a few people in the ‘burgh who can defend Jarry or DeSmith without being a hypocrit.
Matheson? I’ll give him props on his assist. it was a nice give and go with Crosby, leading to a sweet redirect by Rust. It also helped that Vanecek was in goal. He over-committed and left a whole that only Dominik Simon could miss. If that is Matheson’s best, then it isn’t bad if he is only a $3 mil cap hit but he is over a $4 mil Cap hit and soon to be over $6.5 mil in real money, and this was only 1 game. He has a long way to go to earn his keep.
All in all though, it was the first game this season that looked good. Now they have to build on it.
To everyone
I think it’s time to quit evaluating players based on the salary
cap and their current contracts.
A salary cap is only a number and as an organization it’s
fairly easy to navigate if your willing to make the proper moves.
1) Matheson and Ceci just haven’t been good but really good!!
To criticize these two is beyond laughable – both players are
still adjusting to a new team and system – I’m not sure how
you can ask for anything more from the two of them. This was
Matheson’s 5th game and Ceci’s 10th.
2) I may get a little backlash on this but I’m still not feeling Rust – he
leads the team in shots with (51) and has 5 goals and of his 51 shot
attempts 80% are from point-blank range.
3) Pens need to remove Ruhwedel from the “D” rotation – I love him
but he’s starting to get exposed big time.
4) Would someone please tell Malkin to quit chasing the puck carrier
behind the net on the forecheck.
5) Give me 3 or 4 more Tanev’s!!
Hey Mike,
Agreed, I would love to have 3 or 4 players that play with Tanev’s abandon.
Also, like you I appreciate Ruhwedel for what he does in small quantities. He is a 7th at best. He needs to get out of the rotation.
As for Rust, he is no Mike Bossy, but I give him his due for his hard work. He puts pressure on opponents much like Tanev. So in that respect we do have at least 2 Tanev’s (or since Rust was here first – do we have 2 Rusts?). More importantly he does lead the team in Points and is the only member of that No 1 line to on the Positive side of the +/-. He has to be doing something right.
Unfortunately and sorry but I have to disagree with you on several points.
1) Salary and Cap hit of underachieving players – I am not going to stop talking about that because that is why the team is wallowing in 5th place right now in the division, money poorly spent. Wasting Cap space on a Matheson is ridiculous.
2) Ceci has been playing well? Maybe, Really well, no. Games aren’t won on style points or eye tests. Games are won by outscoring opponents. Ceci’s numbers aren’t horrible but they aren’t good. When the game is on the line (within 1 Goal) 5-on5 Ceci’s TGF/60 is actually pretty decent, good enough to rank him 55th out 203 defensemen. Defensively, Ceci takes a bit of a hit, his TGA/60 numbers drop him to 89th out of 203. But those numbers may not hold up long because his HDCA/60 drops his rank all the way down 124th out of 203 (no wonder Jarry and DeSmith’s Sv% stink, Pens D-men give up far too many HDCA, well above the league avg).
I know you prefer the eye test, but that is as subjective as it can get and often influenced by prejudices. The numbers are as objective as you can get and don’t give a hoot about who you may like. When the game is on the line, Ceci has been OK but there is an underlying concern with the number of HDCA when he is on the ice. Considering what we pay him, he was a good signing.
3) Matheson on the other hand – no way.His TGF/60 5-on-5 when the game is on the line (within 1 Goal) Matheson, is decent, it ranks him 56 out of 203, just one rank below Ceci. However, Defensively he is still a nightmare. His TGA/60 (5-on-5 and within 1 Goal) is so bad as to rank him 148 out of 203 and that is no doubt due to the disproportionate number HDCA/60 (5-on-5 within 1 Goal). Matheson’s numbers rank him 174 out of 203.
Even if you try and limit Ceci and Matheson to comparing them to Defensemen wearing black and gold (which isn’t saying much – since the team stinks defensively) they are middle of the pack for TGF. Ceci stays middle of the pack in most categories but Matheson is bottom of the team.
As for Matheson and Ceci’s playing time, they are both within a standard deviation of the average TOI of NHL defenseman so their number of games played is irrelevant for comparison.
Again, I know you don’t care about statistics but I do. The bottom line is all that matters to me. The eye test means nothing if the data doesn’t support it.
The Other Rick
This is where I have a problem when you evaluate based on
numbers “they can be manipulated to support your argument”
The problem with numbers is it doesn’t account for the
intangible contributions of a player – These are a crucial
ingredients for any winning team. They don’t show up in the
boxscore.
The fact that Matheson and Ceci are having success there
having playing with a new team is impressive. The number of
games they’ve played with a new team & teammates is extremely
relevant. These two are still learning Sully system which we both
know has taken most new additions months before they began
to play up to their potential. These two are way ahead of the
curve.
Also, back to Rust – I love his hard work and I’m not blaming him
but he’s playing with the greatest player in the world and getting
huge opportunities to score. Rust has 55 shots on goal and a
shooting % of 9.1 – the worst of all Pens forwards. I know you
like numbers so there you go. Also, not sure what you meant
by the Rust / Tanev comparison – Rust is a digger – Tanev is a
banger. Rust has 14 hits in 16 games while Tanev has dished
out 68 hits. Rust uses his speed to be hard on the puck – Tanev
uses his speed to separate players from the puck.
Bottom line I like Rust but if he connects on just a few more of
his point-blank chances the Pens have at least 2 or 3 more
victories.
Hey Mike,
I agree with just about everything you wrote. My lone exception is Rust.
I guess I accept him for what he is…a plumber who gets himself a lot of Grade-A chances through hard work and hustle…and some great setups courtesy of his linemates.
Do I wish he could finish more? Sure. But he gets to the dirty areas and has a shoot-first mentality…not too many of our guys do. And even when his shots are stopped, it creates an opportunity for his linemates to pick up the garbage and score a grimy goal.
FYI: He was named NHL Third Star of Week.
Rick
Rick
I like Rust – I love the way he works and he does a good job of
getting to open / scoring area’s. i would just like to see a little
more consistency hitting the back of the net. You and I both
know that if you get open Crosby will find you. Rust does lead
the team in shots but he also has the worst shooting % among
our regular forwards. i also take in consideration that the more
shots you put on net the tougher it is to maintain a high success
rate vs shot %. But his shots are usually coming on high level
quality chances.