Proud of Our Penguins

Just when it seemed the hockey gods were smiling on our Penguins and everything was going our way…WHAM…we get hit with a triple dose of misfortune. Given our horrendous luck, I sometimes wonder if PPG Paints Arena is built on an ancient Native American burial ground.

The one thing this team could ill afford has happened…a crippling rash of injuries to our forwards. But I digress.

The Pens battled valiantly against adversity and the Bruins at PPG Paints Arena, only to come up on the short end of a 2-1 score. In the process snapping our six-game winning streak.

If ever a team deserved a better fate, we did last night. Instead of succumbing to a daisy-chain of brutal events our guys displayed the heart of a lion and fought to the bitter end. Win, lose or draw, I can’t remember the last time I’ve been more proud of a Penguins team.

We started taking hits before the opening faceoff. Teddy Blueger, such a pleasant surprise at third-line center and a crackerjack penalty killer to boot, was scratched with an undisclosed upper-body injury. After the game came more bad news…coach Mike Sullivan announced No. 53 would be out longer term.

Things downshifted from bad to worse just past the six-minute mark of the opening frame. Former Pens farmhand Jarred Tinordi…all 6’6” of him…flattened Evgeni Malkin with bristling check in the corner. When Geno regained his skates, the hulking B’s defenseman ran him again. Grimacing, Malkin slowly exited the ice and made his way to the locker room.

After gamely returning for a power play, No. 71 exited again…this time for the night. This following an early power-play goal by David Pastrnak that gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead.

Again, the Pens displayed their remarkable resilience. Following a nice bit of work by linemates Kasperi Kapanen and Evan Rodrigues, Brandon Tanev pounced on a loose puck at the goal mouth and slipped it past goalie Dan Vladar to even the score at 1-1.

As fate would have it, Tanev and Tinordi would soon play a pivotal role in the proceedings. At 12:57 of the second period, “Turbo” spotted Tinordi lugging the puck near center red. Whether he had it in mind to avenge the hit on Malkin, only he knows. Taking dead aim, No. 13 raced across the ice like a wild dog, closing on Tinordi with demon speed.

Tanev leveled the big defenseman just as he released the puck. Tinordi slammed into the boards back-first and lie on the ice for several minutes, drawing the attention of both the Bruins’ medical staff and the officials. After watching replays of the incident, the zebras confirmed their initial call. Despite his vigorous protests that the hit was clean, Tanev was issued a five-minute match penalty and a game misconduct.

For all intents and purposes the Pens were now down three forwards, including arguably their two best penalty killers in Blueger and Tanev.

What followed was one of the gutsiest displays I’ve witnessed in recent years. With help from Sidney Crosby, we snuffed out the major penalty and very nearly scored a shorty. Mark Jankowski broke in alone on Vladar, but the rookie goalie got a piece of his shot, which glanced off a post for good measure.

So close and yet so far.

Unfortunately, Boston’s Trent Frederic had no such difficulties. Seven minutes into the third period the rugged forward took full advantage of heavy traffic in front of Casey DeSmith to score on a wrister from the high slot.

The Pens battled valiantly till the bitter end, nearly beating Vladar from a scrum around the net in the closing seconds. Alas, on this night, it was not meant to be.

An observation. Whether we contend for the Stanley Cup or not, we’ve got Stanley Cup character. And that bodes well for this group…now and in the future.

Puckpourri

The Pens outshot Boston, 35-33. The Bruins won the faceoff battle (58 percent) and topped the black and gold in hits (46-40).

DeSmith earned the third star and made 31 saves in a losing cause. The first star belonged to Vladar, and rightfully so. The rangy 6’5” netminder made several huge stops in his NHL debut, none bigger than his reach-back paddle save on Colton Sceviour midway through the first period.

Chad Ruhwedel dressed in place of John Marino; Sam Lafferty filled Blueger’s spot. With Teddy joining Jared McCann and Jason Zucker on IR, pray Malkin’s not seriously hurt.

Despite the loss, the third-place Pens maintain a three-point edge over Boston and a six-point lead over Philly. Up next, the Devils at the Prudential Center on Thursday night.