Who Can? The Penguins Can!

Back in the 1960s, Pirates Hall-of-Famer Pie Traynor served as a TV ad-man for American Heating Company. His famous sales line…”Who can? Amer-i-can!”

Well, I borrowed Pie’s pitch for my admittedly weak title. Who can? The Penguins can! (Or who can? McCann can!)

Indeed, following last night’s 2-1 squelching of the Islanders to sweep the two-game set and run their winning streak to four, it seems there’s no obstacle too great for our guys to overcome. Heck, even injuries to Evgeni Malkin, Teddy Blueger, Kasperi Kapanen and Brandon Tanev…a considerable chunk of speed, skill and grit…can’t seem to slow us down. The boys just close ranks and keep on keepin’ on. In fact, they’re thriving.

To quote baseball immortal Casey Stengel, “Amazin!”

Thanks to a quick start, outstanding goaltending and remarkably solid team defense, the Pens continued their surprising mastery over the nettlesome Islanders (6-2 for the season). During the waning seconds of an early power play, John Marino scooped up the puck went on a rink-long foray. After eluding Isles defenseman Scott Mayfield with a nifty burst of speed, he dished a quick pass to Anthony Angello in the crease. The big winger swatted the puck in off the far post for his second goal of the season.

Marino was a major player on our second goal as well. Working on a 4-on-4 late in the first period, he took a pass from Mike Matheson in the neutral zone and again carried the mail over the Isles’ line. Spying Jared McCann racing down the slot and calling for the puck, he hit his teammate in stride with a sweet saucer pass. With no wasted motion, McCann struck on a redirect to give the Pens a 2-0 lead.

Just when it seemed everything was going our way? You guessed it…injury. Casey DeSmith replaced Tristan Jarry to open the second period. Sensing opportunity, the New Yorkers pounced, ringing up a 14-6 edge in shots on goal and a decided edge in territorial play during the second 20 minutes.

Heavyweight-turned-occasional-scorer Matt Martin cashed in on a mid-period power play to cut the Pens’ lead to one.

Uh oh, I thought. The magic dust is wearing off. But DeSmith, aided by our surprisingly effective 1-2-2 defensive scheme, kept the Isles at bay the rest of the way. Depositing another deuce in the Pens’ burgeoning point bank.

Puckpourri

After coming on in relief of Jarry, DeSmith stopped 19 of 20 shots to earn first-star honors. Casey’s allowed just seven goals over his last eight appearances spanning nearly 397 minutes.

No update as of yet concerning Jarry’s condition. Video of Tristan exiting the ice following the first period didn’t reveal any obvious issues.

Speaking of goaltending, in the file-it-away-for-future-exploitation department, New York netminder Semyon Varlamov seems to have a pronounced weakness on the stick side.

With three goals and three assists over his past four games, McCann’s been on fire. The only issue? He bears a striking resemble to former NHL coach Mike Babcock, who for some reason you’d just like to punch.

Marino and Matheson recorded two assists apiece. After splitting them up for a spell, Mike Sullivan appears to be giving the mobile duo another try. A combo that has a potentially huge upside.

Jason Zucker returned to the lineup after missing 18 games. He was a plus-one while registering a shot on goal and two hits in 13:04 of ice time.

Last night’s victory pulled us into a second-place tie with the Islanders (48 points apiece) in the MassMutual East. Nine points up on our next foe, Boston.

After enjoying some extended home cookin’, we’re on the road for eight of our next nine games. A stretch that could make or break our season.

The Pens went 12-3-1 in March…extraordinary when you consider the brace of injuries we’ve endured.

Opinyinz

I think Sullivan’s done a fabulous job of keeping our undermanned team humming, right down to switching to a more structured defensive system that better suits our present personnel.

My lone bone of contention? Dressing Mark Jankowski in place of rookie Radim Zahorna.

It isn’t that I don’t understand “Sully’s” logic. Jankowski’s more experienced, is reputed to be a good defensive player and kills penalties. Attributes that Zahorna may not possess at this stage.

It’s just that every time I zero in on Jankowski, he seems to be lacking in some way. Time and time again when he has a chance to make a hard play along the wall or win a puck battle, he dissolves. “Soff” in Michel Therrien speak.

Going strictly by the eye test, opponents seem to enjoy extended zone time when Jankowski’s on the ice. In my humble opinion, we need to replace him as soon as we’re able.

Along those lines, our inability to clear our zone once foes establish possession is a worrisome thread.

Okay, enough picking nits. GO PENS!