“Boy, this has been a textbook third period for the Penguins. They just have to finish it off.”
Pens TV color man Bob Errey uttered that observation with about three minutes remaining and our favorite hockey team clutching a 3-2 lead.
I was thinking the same thing. Following an iffy second period, we’d done a masterful job of draining the air out of Scotiabank Arena, not to mention the Toronto attack. However, when Bryan Rust, Josh Archibald and Brock McGinn all missed cracks at an empty net? Well…I confess I was waiting for the other shoe (or in this case skate) to drop.
I’m pleased to report that my fears, for once, proved unfounded. Eschewing a pass to Rust, Jake Guentzel nudged the puck home with 13 seconds remaining to seal a well-deserved 4-2 win. Our second victory in a row in case you’re counting. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
The Pens skated on even terms with their talented hosts during the opening 20 minutes. Midway through the period the Evgeni Malkin line, by far our most effective unit, enjoyed an extraordinary shift thanks to the efforts of buzz-saw Jason Zucker, who dished out three hits and unleashed three shot attempts.
However, the Leafs struck first at 13:49 on a goal by…wait for it…Zach Aston-Reese, who swept a rebound past surprise (and surprised) starter Casey DeSmith from below the right circle. Malkin was issued a tripping penalty a short time later, his second infraction of the period. It may have been the best thing that happened to us.
“Malkin irritated, often not a good thing for the opposition,” noted Leafs color man and former Pen Greg Millen.
How right he was.
Unhappy with the call against him, “Mad Geno” made the Leafs pay. Capping a strong shift by his line, No. 71 pounced on a loose puck 36 seconds before intermission and lasered it into a yawning net. Followed by a rather impassioned imitation of a referee’s tripping motion.
Don’t you love when Malkin’s fired up? I sure do.
Following a quick two-shot burst by the Leafs to open the second period, Malkin and his mates struck again. Geno chased down a loose puck in the offensive zone and fed Zucker with a wondrous spinning pass from the left half wall. In practically a carbon copy of his tally against Buffalo, Zucker blasted the puck home from the right circle to give us a 2-1 lead. No Jaromir Jagr salute this time.
The Leafs’ pushback was both immediate and forceful. They hemmed in our third line for over two minutes (2:05 to be exact) but thanks largely to DeSmith, came away empty handed. Casey punctuated the sequence with a sparkling pad save on John Tavares at the 4:50 mark.
Still, the Leafs kept comin.’ Late in the period Kris Letang tripped Michael Bunting to hand the vaunted Toronto power play another chance. This time they cashed in. Michael Nylander beat DeSmith with a blast from the left circle two seconds before the penalty expired.
I’m not privy to what was said in the dressing room between periods. But it was a different black-and-gold squad that came out for the third period. Two minutes in Danton Heinen picked Denis Malgin’s pocket in the neutral zone and quickly transitioned to offense before slipping a short pass to McGinn. Using Mark Giordano as a screen, the ginger winger ripped the puck home from the right circle to stake us to a 3-2 lead.
In a manner that would’ve done Martin Brodeur and his trap-happy Devils proud, the Pens proceeded to apply a chokehold while denying the Leafs precious time and space. In the process limiting our high-powered hosts to a meager four shots on goal for the period and setting the stage for the glorious ending described above.
Puckpourri
The Leafs outshot the Pens, 30-23, and held a pronounced edge in shot attempts as well (65-49). Faceoffs were even. The Pens were far more robust, outhitting the Leafs 41-14.
Speaking of physical play, our guys aren’t going to win any gloves off battle royales. However, led by newcomer Jeff Petry (47 hits), I’ve noticed our defense has been way more forceful in moving foes away from our net. During one such instance last night, Petry and Brian Dumoulin took turns giving Bunting the bum’s rush.
Did I mention we’re fifth in the league in hits with 399?
Geno paved the way with two points (1+1) to earn top-star honors. Zucker was the second star. Man, do I love what he’s bringing to the table. Thank goodness we didn’t dump him.
Following a sluggish start to the season, McGinn has goals in consecutive games and five points in his past five. Better still, he’s shown great chemistry with Heinen and Jeff Carter. Which seems to have all but sealed the fate of Wally Pipp (er…Kasperi Kapanen), again a healthy scratch.
Chad Ruhwedel filled in for the injured Pierre-Olivier Joseph and did his usual solid job. He registered an assist, three hits and finished a plus-2.
Feisty Mark Friedman was recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Sam Poulin was returned to the Baby Pens.
Opinyinz
At least for the time being, it’s best to keep our former top defensive tandem of Letang and Dumoulin separated in galaxies far, far away. As effective as the pair used to be, they seem to be pure poison for each other now, as witnessed by the sequence leading to ZAR’s goal. In a classic case of the chicken or the egg, it’s hard to tell who’s covering for who.
Keep Marcus Pettersson, arguably our best defenseman over the first month of the season, with Letang for now. Speaking of Tanger, is it just me or does something seem amiss with him?
I don’t know what type of adjustments Mike Sullivan and his staff have made. But the way we’ve played the past two games is the way we need to play in order to have success.
Yes, our shot totals are down. Big deal. We’ve been more diligent defensively, more controlled and more opportunistic.
Our mission going forward? Avoid track meets where each team has 45 shots on goal.
No Rest for the Weary
The Pens (6-6-2) take on Montreal (7-6-1) at the Bell Centre tonight.
