Penguins Tame Wild But…

…our boys never make it easy, do they? Even when the Penguins play a mostly good game, as was the case during last night’s 6-4 taming of the Wild at Xcel Energy Center, there are plenty of warts to pick at.

For instance, yielding a pair of bang-bang goals during a ghastly 12-second span of the second period to eliminate a hard-earned 2-0 lead. Giving up a shorthanded goal to Joel Eriksson Ek (eek!) at 11:23 of the third period to cut our lead to 4-3, just when we appeared to have the two points secured in our hip pocket. Even the letdown in the closing seconds to allow Wild defenseman Matt Dumba unfettered access to an open look and easy goal.

Fortunately, our guys did a lot of good things, too. Sidney Crosby atoned for one of his worst games in recent memory with a sparkling, lead-from-in-front individual effort, potting two huge goals and adding a pair of assists for a four-point night.

The power play, colder than a Greenland glacier of late, produced two goals, including a biggie from snake-bitten Kris Letang at 18:20 of the second period when the game was still very much up for grabs. The first goal of any kind this season for Tanger. Buoyed by the return of Teddy Blueger, the penalty kill snuffed out three Wild power plays and is showing marked improvement.

Speaking of “Bluegs,” the fourth line seems reborn thanks to his presence. The trio struck late in the opening frame for a goal by Ryan Poehling on a beautiful tic-tac-toe passing play off the rush. The kind you might expect from Sid’s line. Mssrs. Blueger, Poehling and Josh Archibald were far and away our most effective unit from a possession standpoint (Corsi of 73.33), generating 11 shot attempts to four against in 7:15 of 5v5 action.

Other individual performances of note included Rickard Rakell, who picked up an assist and had a notable positive impact on his erstwhile struggling linemates. And how about Brock McGinn, who bagged his fourth goal in five games at a critical juncture of the third period. His league-leading third game-winner. Showing good chemistry with Jeff Carter, the “Brock Star” may be earning permanent employment on the third line.

While we’re handing out kudos, a little love to coach Mike Sullivan for tweaking his forward combinations. Although it wasn’t especially evident at times, he’s also adjusting his system to encourage better defensive play.

Was it a perfect performance by our boys? Hardly. And the Wild ain’t exactly the second coming of the 1970s Canadiens dynasty (nor is goalie Filip Gustavsson the second coming of Ken Dryden). But there were some positive signs. Hopefully the victory can serve as a springboard for better things to come.

Puckpourri

The Penguins outshot the Wild, 32-23, and held a 60-47 edge in shot attempts. While scoring chances were just about even, we held a pronounced 12-7 advantage in high-danger chances according to Natural Stat Trick. We dominated the faceoff circle as well (58 percent).

It was a total team effort, as 12 players including goalie Tristan Jarry tallied at least a point. Players with a Minnesota connection, including Archibald, Blueger, Crosby, Poehling and Jake Guentzel, combined for four goals and 10 points. Guentzel, who enjoyed a three-point night, struck for an empty netter with 3:29 remaining.

Following the 10 games in his career (out of 1125) when he’s logged a minus-four, Sid’s collected 21 points while leading the team to a 9-1 record. How’s that for a bounce back!

Unfortunately, cliff-diving Bryan Rust (minus-two) wasn’t among the scorers. Nor did he have a positive effect on the Evgeni Malkin line. So good of late, Geno’s unit brought up the rear possession-wise with a Corsi of 40, the only black-and-gold line to be in the red.

Wish Sullivan had put Rusty in a position to nab an empty-netter to get him going.

Our victory also masked to an extent a still shaky defense, which bumbled badly on all the Wild goals. Jarry wasn’t airtight, either, yielding four goals on 23 shots for an unsightly .826 save percentage.

Pierre-Olivier Joseph returned from a lower-body injury and bumped Chad Ruhwedel to the press box. POJ finished a plus-one in 16:04 of ice time.

If It Weren’t for Bad Luck We’d Have No Luck at All

If anything seems to represent our star-crossed season to date, it was a sequence that occurred at 15:33 of the second period. In his typical hustling fashion, Archibald drove through the left circle and fired off a shot, only to be shoved into Gustavsson (perched at the edge of his crease) from behind by Mats Zuccarello. During the ensuing scramble, Blueger scored.

The referees not only waved the goal off, they penalized Archibald for goaltender interference. Sheesh!

On Tap

The Pens (7-7-3) head north of the border to take on the streaking Jets Saturday night before returning stateside for a Sunday matchup with the rebuilding Blackhawks.