STEAMROLLERED.
I wrote that single word in my game notes to sum up the first period of last night’s Game 1 clash between the Penguins and Rangers. An apt description if there ever was one.
Indeed, my enduring vision of the opening 20 minutes came near the end of the frame. Rickard Rakell lie face down on the ice, courtesy of a crushing (and high) hit along the boards by Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren. Across the way another Penguin…Jake Guentzel I believe…was on all fours and struggling to regain his skates. Like bowling pins scattered on an alley.
Guentzel would mercifully continue. Rakell was done for the night.
The poster child for the Rangers’ barbaric play? Ryan Reaves. You remember Reavo. Big fellow. Used to play for us, until Mike Sullivan decided he had no use for him. A story for another time.
Last night Reaves was a one-man wrecking crew. The 225-pound Mack truck on skates delivered four thundering first-period hits (eight in all), including two body-benders on our d-man John Marino. More on him later.
Following the big man’s lead, the Rangers attempted to run our boys out of Madison Square Garden. They nearly succeeded, too, piling up an early 8-1 advantage in shots on goal and snatching the lead at 9:19 on a power-play goal by Adam Fox. When Andrew Copp struck early in the second period to give the Blueshirts a 2-0 lead? I confess…I thought it was game over.
I think the Rangers thought so, too. A stroll in Central Park.
Then someone ripped the needle off the phonograph record. Or more accurately, the Pens dug deep and displayed an enormous reservoir of heart and soul in the face of extreme adversity. And I mean extreme.
Just 84 ticks later, Bryan Rust circled high in the attacking zone and fed Sidney Crosby in the right circle. K’Andre Miller and Mika Zibanejad closed on Crosby, leaving Guentzel wide open in front of the net. Sid threaded a pass between the defenders to Jake, who banged it past Igor Shesterkin.
Incredibly, the Pens proceeded to dominate their puffed-up hosts, piling up a 25-8 edge in second-period shots on goal.
We knotted the score at 2-apiece at the 11:47 mark thanks to a buttery smooth transition by our top line. Rust fed a picture perfect outlet pass to Crosby, who cut diagonally across the top of the Rangers’ zone to buy time and space before slipping a backhand pass to a breaking Guentzel. Jake shot quickly, beating Shesterkin high stick side.
Unfortunately, we hiccupped while working on a power play with three minutes left in the period. Zibanejad slithered past a stationary Evgeni Malkin and moved the puck to Chris Kreider on a 2-on-1. The Rangers’ 50-goal man skirted the diving efforts of Guentzel and went forehand to backhand. Casey DeSmith didn’t have a prayer.
Three-two, Rangers. Surely all the edge the stingy Shesterkin and his pals would need.
But hold the phone. Jacob Trouba boarded Guentzel to leave the Rangers two-men short. Kris Letang calmly took the puck on a walkabout across the top of the zone before dishing the puck to Malkin to the right of the net. Rather than trying a jam shot, Geno coolly feathered a cross-crease pass to Rust at the far post. Rusty slammed the puck home to knot the score at 3-all.
Each team had their chances in the third period. With a dozen minutes to go, Kasperi Kapanen sprung Danton Heinen on a breakaway. Danton hit iron on both his initial shot and follow-up try. With five minutes left in regulation, a revitalized Kapanen unleashed a bullet from the slot, forcing Shesterkin to make a huge glove save.
Then, with just over three minutes remaining in regulation, the Rangers struck for the apparent go-ahead goal. Kaapo Kakko stole the puck and steamed straight to the net, ripping off a shot before barreling into DeSmith. The force of the collision pushed Casey far from the cage, leaving the net wide open for an easy tap-in by Filip Chytil.
Sullivan challenged, claiming goalie interference. For once lady luck smiled on our Pens. Although Brian Dumoulin appeared to push Kakko into DeSmith, the war room in Toronto ruled in favor of the black and gold. The goal was waved off.
The game ground through a first overtime, then a second. Disaster appeared to strike midway through the second overtime when DeSmith abruptly flagged down a referee and pulled himself from the game with an apparent lower-body injury. Backup Louis Domingue, sitting in cold storage on a chair near the Zamboni, was thrust into the game at a critical juncture.
Fueled by an in-game meal of spicy pork and broccoli, Big Louis stood tall. He squelched 14 Rangers shots in the second overtime and three more in the third. Remarkably, the aging Pens found a second wind, carrying the play to their hosts with renewed vigor.
I remember thinking that we had to win this game. To come so close and fall short…I didn’t think we could recover.
Well, the hockey gods smiled a second time at 5:58 of the third OT. Brock McGinn and Kapanen won a puck battle in the left corner of the Rangers’ zone. Kappy ragged the puck behind the net and up the far wall before slipping a pass to Marino at center point. The Pens’ defender zipped a shot toward the net, where Malkin fought off the persistent attention of Chytil to set up shop in front of Shesterkin. The puck deflected off Geno’s stick and in for the OT winner. Correction…3 OT winner. Touching off a riotous victory celebration among the black and gold.
Delicious win. Simply delicious.
Puckpourri
I scarcely know where to begin. The Pens attempted a staggering 143 shots (to the Rangers 98) and outshot the Rags 83-68. We held the edge in scoring chances for (72-37) and high-danger chances (32-15).
The three stars went to Malkin, Shesterkin and Rust. The Rusty Razor snapped a nine-game pointless drought with a goal and two assists. Jake had two goals, Geno a goal and an assist and Sid two assists.
Letang (an assist) logged a mind-blowing 46:41 of ice time.
In addition to assisting on the game winner, Kapanen unleashed eight shots on goal and played a dynamic game…easily his best in months. I was pulling for Kappy to score the game winner.
DeSmith stopped 48 of 51 shots before exiting. Domingue stopped all 17 shots he faced in relief. A shout-out to Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now, who suggested a while back that Domingue would play a key role in the Pens’ postseason plans.
Eerie how Domingue was poised to assert himself when he went down with a foot injury. And the door reopened for him due to Tristan Jarry’s foot injury.
Speaking of injuries, DeSmith and Rakell are being evaluated.
The series resumes on Thursday night in Madison Square Garden.
And that’s it. I’m spent.
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"A stroll in Central Park."
Then they got mugged. Repeatedly. *grins ear to ear*
Hey all,
I read this in the comments section on another site, and it bears mentioning here, too. Casey DeSmith deserves a lot of credit for putting the team first and pulling himself from the game when he realized he was hurt. It couldn't have an easy decision...hockey players are notorious for their toughness and playing through just about anything.
Again, tons of credit to Casey for deciding the team would be better off with a healthy Domingue in goal...and having the courage to act on it.
Rick
It shows great judgment Rick.Casey did the right thing for the team.Good job.
I wonder if he’ll be able to come back to play tomorrow night.?
Jim
Hello my friend,
Casey's listed as "day-to-day." From the sounds of it, I don't think he'll be ready to return tomorrow night. It's looking like Domingue will start.
Great comments and observations, by the way ... :)
Rick
Now that was a game to remember. Well done guys. I too thought Dumo pushed the Ranger forward in to the net and therefore their goal should have counted,but that is life. Everyone is so happy and thinks that the Pen's will win this series and off we go to the Cup Final. I do not see it that way Rick. Last night was the best we could do and it was a phenomenal effort to get the win. We did not dominate anybody Rick. Both teams had their chances. Our Power play scored once, on a double Penalty,and failed 3 other times.The Rangers had 1 power play and they converted. The Rangers won the Specialty Teams battle last night.
One game does not make the series and I say can our team play this way for 7 games with out serious injuries to our players. Time will tell. One thing for sure is the Rangers will NOT make the same mistake with the Crosby line as they did last night whereby Jake was left wide open to score an easy marker. They will tighten that up for sure.
Lets Go Pens.
JIm
Rick
Great summary: I hate to bring up a negative but from my view the only guy trying to get at the Ranger
defenseman for his hit on Rakell was Matheson. He Matheson obviously understands the importance of
sticking up for a teammate, and he probably also understands he's not really the right guy for the job.
On Kappy getting the game winner , I was also pulling for him, and I thought he had it when he let a rocket
go from the right of the face-off circle only to get robbed by Shesterkin. Couple of observations:
1) I'm not sure what our defensive coverage is in our own end but the weak-side of the ice is a major concern.
2) I thought McGinn really played well last night and is starting to look more like himself.
3) Is it me or do our defenseman rim the puck around the boards directly to the opposing team. Even when
they're not being pressured they don't even take a look - it's like its automatic.
4) Freidman needs to be put in the lineup asap
Invigorated detailed game summary. A lot to cover. What I found astonishing is that Sid was not named a star of this game. Sid’s level of play is so routinely above everyone else’s that lethargic gratitude has set in. Yes Jake is a flat-out gifted goal scorer and someone else may not have converted those two Sidney setups, but the goals do not get close to happening without the prescient greatness of one Sidney Crosby. Those two plays redeemed our lost first period and changed our fate. We never get near overtime without Sid raising the level and doing stuff like making two stellar defenders look weak by drawing them to him and slipping the puck through that seam for the team’s best finisher to enjoy isolation against a great goaltender. Sid is 35, so he is t going to dominate front to back as he once did. But that fateful sequence that caused the 2-2 knot reminded me so much of a younger version of Crosby who pu the team on his back when it faced elimination against Tampa in Road Game 6 in 2016. Crosby just suddenly elevated his game to do what was needed to help us get to Game 7 at home. Just what I mean: I bet it slips people’s minds that we were on the brink of being knocked out in that round.
Other thoughts: yes “revitalized” is how Kapanen looks! When RR went down, I yelled at my screen for Kappy to pick up the slack. By all rights, that stinger off the draw should have bagged the win earlier in OT, but Shesterkin made a Grant Fuhr like stunning glove save.
Want to say also: Marino was quietly brilliant all night. I’m always struck by his grace under pressure and ability to use his legs to gain more time and space to either find a shooting lane or wait for traffic or throw the defenders off rhythm before finding a teammate who has gotten open. He is the anti-Bylsma defender/point man: seldom throwing the puck at the net without weighing his options. They hammered him early and he did not fold: he blocked shots, he calmly held onto the puck to skate it to safety, and he made a few plays that, unlike the final play of the game, found no resolution but stood out for their sly creativity and chance-making for others. He and Blueger, another underrated creative force, are particularly slick and clever when they team up to make a play, sharing in an uncanny mutual lack of panic and an underrated vision. I’m glad they are on our side. Glad too at Kappy’s inspired bump behind to net and carry out that made the game-winning Marino play and Malkin deflection possible. Let’s also reflect of the courageous relentless play of whipping boy Dumoulin and HOF-bound Kris Letang. I don’t know what happens from here: Letang’s minutes nightly almost match his age. We have some aging players, but three of them - our Holy Trinity - don’t appear to be interested in unhappy endings, or twilight, or even the future. They are committed to now, holding up the sun. Don’t know what Thursday brings: how long can our goalies keep this up? I have bit of a quibble Rick with your wonderful recall of the game: I think you’re quite right that there was nothing DeSmith could do on Kreider’s shorthanded goal and that a save there would have been a bonus. Except that the goal was also a product of DeSmith not being particularly quick post to post and that a more talented goalie with more lateral explosiveness could have prevented the score. DeSmith played valiantly we did Domingue, but we continue to have a huge disadvantage - maybe we will continue to play defense like we understand that.
Mike: amen. We ring the puck out with no provocation and just hand it back to their scary pointmen to cede them a second wave of offensive possession. I do not understand that at ALL. It is maddening. We also clearly are coached to remain in a box structure and seldom challenge the areas above our defensive circles. We somewhat abadoned this as the game wore on but I think that was more a product of actually sending our first man more aggressively at the puck carrier in the neutral zone, making the posture a nonstarter because they couldn’t generate enough speed to put us on our heels in the first place.
Finally, I am still steaming over that Rakell hit. Brings me back to 92 when they clearly put a contract on Lemieux, knocking him out of the series. I’ve no doubt they targeted him just like they did Jake and Marino. The way the Sid line dominated, expect more of them coming after Guentzel. I think that hit on Rakell backfired: we got pissed, we got focused. Even Malks didn’t overhandle too much of linger past his allotted shift time. It’s one game., but man it was a classic Penguins win!
Thanks Mike.
Watching Reaves just about wipe out our entire defensive corps... It just galls me to no end that we had him and gave him up. Or more to the point, Sullivan forced Rutherford's hand by not playing him.
Plain and simple, Reaves is the best at what he does. And you simply don't give up the best of anything, whether it agrees with your personal philosophy or not.
What a weapon he is. Imagine if the shoe was on the other foot, and it was the Rangers defense he was softening up! I'd like our chances a whole lot better.
Watching Reavo practically decimate our defensive corps made me mad at Sullivan all over again for forcing that trade.
Rick
PS--Love Matheson's guts but agree 100 percent. He's not the guy you want fighting the team's battles. (Neither is Letang or Malkin.) Boyle went back at Reaves, albeit mildly, a couple of times. I really like Boyler and I'm glad we have him, but he's not enough, either. You need...well...a Reaves.
Hey Rick,
Maybe my memory is fuzzy on this Reaves subject, but I'm pretty sure Reaves asked for a trade out of Pittsburgh because he was unhappy being a role player getting 6 minutes a game. I think he said such in an interview when in Vegas, also saying he would not go back and play for Sullivan because of that. He also threw in there that he was a top six forward. I also remember him playing like a top six forward in Vegas and everyone was pissed at Sullivan for not using him as a top six. Once those two weeks of looking like a top six was over, Reaves had 1 goal the rest of the season finishing with 9 goals.
The guy was and still is a fourth line role player who was unwilling to accept it. He can't kill penalties, and he wasn't even a smidgeon close to a top six guy on the Pens. Not Sullivan's fault.
After the second period, I was pretty happy Reaves wasn't on our team. He basically became useless and was lazy getting back. I'm pretty sure that's why he logged the lowest amount of ice time by almost 5 minutes on the rangers.
To put the whole Reaves thing into perspective, Chad Ruhwedel had only one less goal than Reaves regular season, and tied him in points. To put that more into perspective, it's the same amount of points Ppoop favorite Simon had. BTW Ruhwedel had more goals than Simon. Lol
Don't get me wrong, I would love an enforcer. Penguins need one. An enforcer that can't accept his role isn't worth it.
PS. Mr. October, Ryan Reaves - 85 playoff games. 3 goals 5 assists.
Other notes:
Boyle in his limited time looked great. Really showed why they talk about playoff experience being very important.
The Penguins showed they were in much better physical shape than the Rangers especially in the overtimes. This could pay off on Thursday as the Rangers could still feel it.