It was ‘80s night at PPG Paints Arena last night. Judging by the ugly outcome, a throwback to early ‘80s and the hapless “Boys of Winter” squad that won 16 games and lost by scores of 13-4, 11-3 and 10-3. You know. The Penguins who featured household names like Gary Rissling, Rocky Saganiuk and Ted Bulley (who dey).
All that was missing was Devils executive Bob Butera accusing us of playing to lose and then Penguins coach Lou Angotti (may his soul rest in peace) firing back with an expletive-laced retort. And perhaps part-time truck driver Vincent Tremblay coming on in relief of Tristan Jarry.
Yeah, we were that bad. God awful.
The glaring if not downright stunning ineptitude that has marred the team’s play in recent weeks reached its nadir (hopefully) last night during a disgraceful 6-1 loss to the Devils. This time right out of the gate.
Scarcely a minute into the contest, Marcus Pettersson got crossed-up in the neutral zone, leading to (altogether now) a 2-on-1 break. Partner John Marino made an inspired play to break up Nico Hischier’s attempted pass, but the puck squirted loose to Jesper Bratt, who buried it into the wide-open far side of the net.
The Devils were off and running. Actually, galloping is more like it. Four minutes later Kasperi Kapanen failed on a weak attempt to clear the zone. The puck pinballed to Evan Rodrigues, who laid a buttery soft outlet pass right onto the waiting stick of Bratt. The Devils’ winger quickly pulled the trigger and ripped the rubber past Jarry high stick side. Primary assist to E-Rod.
The third Devils’ goal, which came 57 seconds later, was just as painful to watch. P.K. Subban slipped a pass to Yegor Sharangovich, who’d somehow escaped Pettersson’s attention. Sharangovich snapped the puck past Jarry from point-blank range.
Just an absolutely dreadful period of hockey for our guys.
The embarrassment continued into the second period. Pettersson again wore the goat horns. His flubbed d-to-d pass along the back wall was picked off by Jack Hughes, who moved the biscuit quickly to Dawson Mercer at the lip of the crease. Jarry had no chance.
Our lone moment of glory came at 11:13 on the power play. Evgeni Malkin, one of the few locals to display any fire, scooped up the puck behind his net and flew up ice with a burst of speed before headmanning the rubber to Sidney Crosby at the Devils’ line. Working the give-and-go to perfection, Sid hit No. 71 with a return pass as the big Russian rambled into the slot. Geno artfully kicked the puck to his stick blade and wired it past rookie netminder Nico Daws.
Quicker than you could say Mitch Lamoureux, the Devils countered with a power-play tally of their own on a long-range blast by Damon Severson. In the process chasing Jarry and sucking what little life remained out of the building.
Midway through the final frame Hischier beat Tremblay…er…Casey DeSmith on yet another wide-open look from the slot to run the final score to a gruesome 6-1.
The lone consolation? If we keep playing this badly we’re a shoo-in to draft Mario Lemieux.
Oops…wrong team and wrong decade. Then again, it was easy to get confused.
Puckpourri
Thanks to a cosmetically resurgent second period, the Pens held an edge in shot attempts (62-52) and shots on goal (38-36). The Devils held the high ground in scoring chances (28-26) and high-danger chances (12-8).
Our second pairing of Pettersson and Marino had a rough night. The former was on the ice for three 5v5 goals against in only 8:54 of ice time…a truly impressive feat. Not to be outdone, the latter was on the ice for five goals against, four at even strength.
Aside from Malkin’s power-play goal there was little to cheer for the 18,057 patrons in attendance. Mike Matheson had a solid game on ‘d’ and DeSmith stopped 16 of 17 shots after coming on in relief of Jarry.
Speaking of No. 35, our erstwhile Rock of Gibraltar continues to slip following a brilliant first half. Over his past 14 games he’s posted a porous 3.38 goals against average and .894 save percentage. It should be noted that defensive support has been virtually nonexistent at times, leaving Jarry on an island to fend for himself.
It’s become increasingly apparent we miss the all-around services of Teddy Blueger. Another critical loss that’s contributing heavily to the team’s recent slide? Assistant coach Todd Reirden. Since he’s been absent from the bench due to knee surgery, the Pens are 2-3 and have yielded 18 goals over their past four games.
Up next for the skidding Pens (31-14-8, 70 points). The New York Rangers come to town for a 3 pm matchup on Saturday. It’s the first meeting of the season between the Metro rivals. Let’s pray Mike Sullivan and the coaching staff figure something out between now and then. Our structure has literally gone to hell in a handbasket. And our fading Stanley Cup hopes along with it.
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Hey Guys,
They just let me out of prison and unfroze my bank accounts up here in Canada so I have to be quick....
Only 30 + games left and take a look over your shoulder Gentlemen.... There are many teams starting to make serious runs for a play off spot and that sure is not good news for us. We were at the top of our game 14 days ago and now we look tired. The next part of the schedule is not kind to us and we are in for a photo finish to make a wild card spot. It may seem crazy to you I know but we simply do not have the TRADE PIECES OR THE CAP SPACE TO IMPROVE OUR TEAM DRASTICALLY but our competition does...They are a coming.
Tomorrows game against the Rangers will tell us a lot.
Cheers
Jim
Hey all,
Interesting piece over on Pensburgh by Hooks Orpik titled, "Sour starts are putting the Penguins in a big hole." According to Hooks and Jesse Marshall, the foundation of the Pens (and Mike Sullivan's system) is the forecheck. Obviously, when it's working we're jumping on other teams and forcing turnovers, which leads to goals.
On the flip side, when it's not working, it leaves us vulnerable to quick counterattacks...exactly what we're seeing. They also mention that it's a demanding system to maintain over an 82-game schedule, which I've been saying.
An interesting and enlightening read.
Rick
Rick
I know I've mentioned this before but right now for whatever reason our forwards are hanging
the "D" out to dry. During their 18 & 2 run we always had a forward or two coming back to lend
support to our Defenseman - not so much right now and our opponents are taking full advantage
of our lack of effort defensively.
Couple of things I've noticed since the All-Star break:
*Dumo has definitely lost a step and relying on his experience.
*Matheson is a much better player than fans want to give him credit for.
*Like you I gave Simon his due - the problem with both him and ZAR is when
our top two lines our struggling they can't help us offensively.
*No matter who we stick on Geno's line it's not working. He has like 3pts when
5 on 5.
*Could we please remove E-Rod from the 2nd Power play unit??
I look forward to your feedback - GO PENS
Hey Mike,
I know you didn't ask me but......
*Dumo has been struggling the whole year. He may have lost a step, but I have also seen him jumping deep into the attacking zone far more often than any previous season. His poor defensive play be lost step or a team systemic attempt to drive offense through defense.
* As I wrote in my last feature, I will acknowledge that Matheson may be the best D man on the team right now, but caution everyone, I don't really hold any of these D men in high regard. The tough part is that he is now hurt and the team is going to try and play RHD Freidman in his slot, according to Kingerski. That should tell everyone what the team really thinks of POJ and for that matter Riikola.
(not sure why Riikola has put up with it.)
* Unfortunately you comments on Geno do not match the actual stats. Geno has the 4 th highest 5 on 5 pnts/60, above Sid's. (I just posted these numbers)
Guentzel 2.48
Rust 2.33
Heinen 2.06
Malkin 1.88
Crosby 1.83
While Sid gets to skate 5 on 5 with Jake and Bryan who are both on fire and lead the team in Pnts/60, Sid is behind Geno. He isn't even getting Assists on the Goals those two are pumping in 5-on-5. In the mean time Geno has gotten stuck playing with no consistent line mate. Kapanen gets has gotten the most time among forwards and Heinen the 2nd most. Looking at Geno's with or without you stats shows that both Danton and Kasperi benefit from playing with Geno, their Corsi and other on-Ice stats are better with Geno than without him.
Rick
Great summary of a truly ugly effort.
Another night of an opposing team feeling confident in starting their backup goalie.
What’s also concerning is that the Penguins are relatively healthy compared to most other teams, so in many instances our starters are playing against subs.
I also would have expected more physical play on the forecheck. Ok, it’s highly unlikely they are going to win in the 3rd period being down 5 goals, but at that point they are playing to right the ship in terms of team attitude, execution and toughness.
I didn’t see any evidence of that from most of the team. Gino and Sid showed some signs but the team didn’t follow.
Great points Lightning,
I remember, just a few short years ago, no team ever thought to play a backup against our Pens. I often wondered what their Goal Point production would have been had they got to play a couple of backups.
And it is very scary to consider that our Starter can't be other teams Subs.
Thanks Lightning.
Yeah, it's kind of disturbing. We just keep playing the same (largely ineffective) way and making the same mistakes. Malkin aside, the bottom three lines have just gone into the tank...and are showing no signs of snapping out of it. It's a total meltdown eerily similar to what happened in 2019-20...at virtually the same point in the season. Again, perhaps a side effect of playing Sullivan's pedal-to-the-metal system?
Dear Lord, what's happened to Kapanen? He's been invisible. I've experienced athletic slumps back in my younger days and I know they can wreak havoc with your mindset, but he' looks like he's given up. You just can't have that.
They need to get back to basics...hockey 101. Strip it down to the floor boards and keep it real basic and simple. At the same time if a player just simply isn't putting out, then sit him. Call up a couple of kids...Zohorna and Nylander and maybe even Joseph...come to mind. They might provide a spark and who knows...a goal.
Rick
Hey Rick,
I can tell you what has happened to Kasperi - Sullivan has happened to him. Every Season our "coach" has to have 1 punching bag player to bolster his self-esteem as a coach; Cole, Malkin, Kessel, Sprong - with Cole, Malkin and Kessel earning that honor more than once.
Sullivan reminds me of the Pink Floyd lyrics;
"There were certain teachers who would
Hurt the children any way they could
By pouring their derision
Upon anything we did
And exposing every weakness
However carefully hidden by the kids
But in the town it was well known
When they got home at night, their fat and
Psycopathic wives would thrash them
Within inches of their lives"
I would wish Kapanen were stronger than that, but I understand, whether Consciously or Subconsciously there can't be any real desire to play for that pathetic Martinet.
Hey Other Rick,
Loved your Pink Floyd analogy. But with all due respect, I'm not laying Kapanen's struggles at Sullivan's feet. Ultimately, a player is responsible for his own head space and sweat equity, and both seem to be missing in Kappy's case. Yeah, he's been benched on a couple of occasions...deservedly so. He's also had more than ample opportunity skating next to Malkin and lately Rodrigues to resurrect his game and he's doing next to nothing.
A shame, because the talent and pedigree are there to be a dynamic player. But he appears to have quit on himself and his team. While you hate to resort to heavy handed tactics, honestly, a few games in the press box might do him some good.
Rick
Sorry Rick,
Sully started on him way, way back before camp started. I mused way back as soon as Malkin went under the knife and it was announced that he was going to be out for a couple of months of this season, "Who will be Sullivan's whipping boy, since he won't have Malkin to kick?" It didn't take long to find the answer. Last season Kapanen had his best season ever in terms of offense per 60min 5 on 5. Look it up on Natural stat trick. Go back and read some of the clippings on how Sullivan wanted to "push" Kapanen, with "push" being a red flag for Power Trip issues on Sullivan's part.
How about "pushing" Simon or ZAR to find the back of the net, or more importantly Zucker, who gets paid $5.5 million. These guys are never in Sully's dog house no matter what they do.
There is such a terrible double standard that Sullivan plays and it is THAT which undermines the players. They can see it too, even if they are too professional to stoop to Sully's level.
Hey Lightning,
It wouldn't be the first time the team gave up on Sully. If you recall, Big Mike whined that no one was listening to him after the Isles swept us from the playoffs a couple of seasons back.
If this is happening, than the sooner Sully’s gone the better. Mike Babcock did this in Toronto to Mitch Marner and they seem to have managed ok after firing him in the middle of the season.
Simplifying greatly, it’s the coaches responsibility to get the team prepared physically, mentally and emotionally . It does not appear that they are Physically challenged so the collective mental and emotional state being the issue appears indisputable..
Of course, an alternate argument would suggest that maybe they just suck.
If we don’t see an aggressive forechecking and team hustle against the Rangers, they’ve given up on Sully imo.