Nightmare at MSG: Penguins No-Show in Dismal Loss to Rangers

Blame it on me if you like. I should’ve known that writing a complimentary article about our team would invoke the dreaded PenguinPoop curse. How else do you explain our thoroughly dismal 5-1 loss to the Rangers, a defeat that was even more humbling and humiliating than the final score would indicate?

If our 5-1 throttling of Tampa Bay on March 3 represented the pinnacle of our season, then last night’s flip-side loss was our nadir. While the newly reinforced Rangers attacked in wave after crashing wave the Pens…playing their third game in four nights…dissolved, resulting in a virtual metronome of odd-man breaks against.

Simply put, we were taken to the woodshed.

While the Pens slogged out of the starting gate with the alacrity of a snail, the well-rested Blueshirts struck with a fury. Transitioning quickly following a failed black-and-gold foray, Filip Chytil fed Alexis Lafreniere on a late-breaking 2-on-1. The former No. 1 overall pick slipped a backhander past Tristan Jarry just 2:07 into the contest to touch off the carnage.

On the Rangers’ second goal some 111 ticks later, we dispensed with d-zone coverage altogether. Indeed, Chris Kreider was so all alone it appeared he’d been drop-shipped straight from Heaven. (He’d actually been sprung by a sensational stretch pass from Mika Zibanejad.) Kreider had roughly a month-and-a-half to tee up a shot and beat Jarry stick side.

Eighteen seconds later, Zibanejab made a beautiful cross-crease pass through a stumblin’ bumblin’ Brian Dumoulin to Frank Vatrano, wide-open in front. Easy pickins’ for the noted Penguin-killer.

Three-zip Rangers. Even though the game was barely four minutes old, that was pretty much all she wrote.

We did little to alter the outcome. While the Rangers commanded the puck virtually at will, we remained a step behind all night long…winning nary a puck battle in the process. When we did gain possession, we repeatedly approached from the perimeter. At one point Brian Boyle launched a 70-footer from just inside the blue line. I noted at the time that it was about as close to the net as we got.

I’m exaggerating, but only slightly. Our presence and puck support below the circles was virtually non-existent. In the few instances when we did manage to breach the prime scoring areas, Igor Shesterkin slammed the door.

A few 10-bell saves by Jarry aside, our only shining moment occurred six minutes into the third period, courtesy of the second power-play unit. Rickard Rakell initiated the scoring sequence with a pass out of the corner to Mike Matheson at the point. Matheson moved the puck briskly to Danton Heinen near the right wall, who in turn fed Kasperi Kapanen in the high slot. Kappy wasted little time, ripping off a hard shot that deflected in off Jeff Carter’s stick.

Jarry continued to do what he could, stopping a pair of odd-man breaks within a minute span. With the game clock ticking down Kris Letang tried to make a statement when he flattened Andrew Copp with a crushing check at center ice. Whether Tanger either admired his handiwork or lost track of his foe altogether remains a matter of conjecture. A moot point, too. Copp sprang to his skates, steamed down the slot and whipped a made-to-order feed from Artemi Panarin past Jarry.

In closing, if this was a preview of a potential first-round matchup between the clubs, it should be titled Nightmare at MSG.

Yes, I know we were probably a tired hockey team. And I know you’ll have games like this over the course of a season. But this was a definite wake-up call if not an out-and-out siren, screaming for our attention. Let’s hope the Pens…and their coaching staff…heed the warning.

Puckpourri

The Rangers dominated the stats as well as the scoreboard. The Blueshirts held the edge in shot attempts (61-45), shots on goal (33-21), scoring chances (31-22) and high-danger chances (14-9).

I won’t mince words. About the only guy who showed up aside from our goalies was Sidney Crosby. He played his typical passionate, 200-foot-game and asserted himself physically on several occasions. A shame the rest of the team didn’t follow his lead.

Forgot to mention that Sid was the only player back to defend on the Rangers’ fourth goal by Kreider off a 2-on-1. God only knows where our defense was.

Casey DeSmith came on in relief of Jarry at that juncture and made three saves before his head smacked against a goal post, forcing him to exit. No word yet on his condition.

Evgeni Malkin missed the game with a non-Covid illness (lucky him). Mark Friedman dressed in Geno’s place and was one of only four Pens not to finish a minus. Boyle, Radim Zohorna and John Marino were the others.

Old friend Ryan Reaves was a healthy scratch. No matter…the Rangers bounced us around anyway.

Despite the loss, the Pens (39-17-10, 88 points) maintained a one-point lead over the Rangers for second place in the Metro. We return home to take on Detroit tomorrow afternoon.

Opinyinz

When our forecheck is humming and we get to our cycling game, the Pens are a sight to behold. However, when it isn’t working or when a foe takes the initiative the way the Rangers did last night, we have no answer. Our forwards get stranded in no-man’s land behind the play, especially when we’re up against a quick-transitioning team like the Rangers, leaving our defensemen and goalies hung out to dry.

It’s very reminiscent of our disastrous loss to Philly in the 2012 playoffs, when the Flyers exploited gaps between our forwards and defense and scored virtually at will.

When we’re not dictating the play, we seem to have no fail-safe system in place. It’s roughly akin to not backing up important files on your computer. Should a virus strike or your hard drive crash, you’re SOL.

It’s the same with our Pens. We place all of our eggs in one stylistic basket. When it doesn’t click, our structure dissolves and we wind up chasing the play, and none too effectively, while hemorrhaging odd-man breaks against.

Former coach Dan Bylsma, who favored a similar “on-your-toes” style, was nicknamed “One-Plan Dan” for his inability to adjust. I’m seeing the same tendencies in present skipper Mike Sullivan.

The postseason isn’t about pond hockey. It’s not even so much about puck possession. Our Pens had the best team Corsi in both the 2019 and 2021 playoffs. On both occasions, we were knocked out in the first round while winning a grand total of two of ten games. Last season’s Cup champion, Tampa Bay, had a team Corsi of 48.6.

That isn’t to say speed, flow and creativity aren’t important. But the playoffs are primarily about structure and discipline and grinding it out while capitalizing on your opponents mistakes. Are the Pens remotely capable of playing that type of game on a semi-consistent basis? Based on last night’s contest, the answer would appear to be a resounding no.