Penguins Rally, Earn Point Against ‘Hawks

I’m not gonna’ lie. I spent most of last night’s 3-2 shootout loss to Chicago lamenting our system. Indeed, as I watched us attack the Blackhawks in wave after fruitless wave with nary a goal to show for our toil, I found myself wishing we could blow it all up and start fresh. Which stand-in coach Todd Reirden sorta’ did when he finally (finally) juggled the line combinations with some effect in the third period.

To digress, the Pens dominated across the board in stats. We held a sizeable edge in shot attempts (79-48), shots on goal (44-32), high-danger scoring chances (15-9)…heck…just about every category imaginable. Despite the continued absence of captain Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and other key players, our guys skated hard and attacked with speed.

However, we once again had difficulty penetrating the prime scoring areas between the circles, especially when the Blackhawks packed the house and clogged shooting lanes. An all-too-familiar refrain during the Mike Sullivan era. An opponent throws up a stout defense and our quick but undersized forwards are forced to the perimeter. Grit and determination only take you so far. Sometimes only good old-fashioned muscle will do.

As if to emphasize my point, both black-and-gold goals were scored by Jeff Carter. As always, the big guy kept the game simple, using his size and speed to bulldoze his way to the net. Nothing fancy. Straight lines. North and south. Get the puck and shoot.

Lord, how I wish we had two or three more like him. Alas, as is so often the case with our Penguins, fellow big-and-tall skaters Brian Boyle and Drew O’Connor are relegated to spot duty. Radim Zohorna is presently languishing in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (perhaps on merit) and Anthony Angello seems to have all but disappeared off the face of the earth. (Seriously, does anyone know what’s happened to him?)

In the meantime? Smurf City as Other Rick is fond of saying. With some variation in style and ability, Evan Rodrigues is Teddy Blueger is Bryan Rust is Jake Guentzel is Jason Zucker is Dominik Simon. Our “heavy” guys Brock McGinn and Zach Aston-Reese ain’t that heavy.

Does that mean everyone needs to be a monster? No. But at least a degree of variation in dimension and attributes would give opponents something different to deal with, instead of same-old-same-old each and every shift.

Granted, players like Carter don’t grow on trees. He’s a rare combination of size, speed and skill. But as the Pens enter the early stages of what’s likely to be a lengthy rebuild, GM Ron Hextall would do well to borrow from the old Broad Street Bullies drafting philosophy. Ergo, if you’re considering two prospects of equal ability, pick the larger, more aggressive one.

Size does matter.

The Goals

Following a scoreless opening frame, the Blackhawks struck at 2:14 of the second period thanks to a coverage gaffe by Mark Friedman. Fixated on the puck, the feisty defender drifted out of position, allowing for an easy backdoor goal by ‘Hawks heavy Jujhar Khaira. Tristan Jarry had no chance. Chicago 1-0.

The ‘Hawks expanded their lead at 15:53 of the period. With Kirby Dach providing a perfect screen, Seth Jones skated to the right faceoff dot and ripped one home off the far post. Again, no faulting Jarry. Chicago 2-0.

The Pens finally nicked old friend Marc-Andre Fleury at 5:34 of the third period. Guentzel whipped the puck goalward from the top of the right circle. Carter drove to the net and deflected the biscuit through Fleury’s five-hole. Chicago 2-1.

Seconds after a huge stop by Jarry on Mike Hardman, the black and gold knotted the score with just over four minutes remaining in regulation. Once again Carter did the honors, rambling to the net to nudge home Guentzel’s pretty cross-ice feed. Tied 2-2.

After staring down a 2-on-0 in overtime, Jarry once again turned into the incredible shrinking goalie in a shootout. While Fleury stoned Guentzel and Kris Letang at the far end of the ice, No. 35 yielded tallies to Jonathan Toews and Alex DeBrincat, sandwiched around a save on Patrick Kane. Spoiling his team’s bid for a second point and dampening an otherwise stellar 30-save performance by Tristan between the pipes.