Bungling Penguins Fall to Philly, 2-1, in OT

In my 13 years of writing for PenguinPoop, rarely have I been critical of Sidney Crosby. That’s because there’s rarely been a need. A testament to what a truly magnificent player he’s been and is.

However, during overtime of last night’s Metro Division tilt with the Flyers, whatever malaise has infested our team seemed to have infected our captain as well. In a rare case of blunderitis, Sid committed at least three outright bonehead plays.

On the first, he chased a Flyers puck carrier behind the Philly cage…a no-no in 3-on-3 overtime…and wound up trailing the play up ice. On the second, he attempted an awkward (and dangerous) cross-ice pass in our end that was promptly picked off by Travis Konecny, leading to extended zone time for the Flyers and two shots on goal.

On Sid’s final gaffe, he lost a faceoff in the Philly zone to Sean Couturier, then lurched forward in pursuit of Travis Sanheim along with sidekick Jake Guentzel to gift the Flyers with a 2-on-1. With virtually the entire sheet of ice to work with, Konecny set up Couturier for the overtime winner. In the process, ceding another extra point to our in-state rivals in the Battle of Pennsylvania.

While we’re at it, Erik Karlsson made some decisions with the puck that defy logic. Although not for a lack of try, it seems our guys simply can’t overcome their addiction to high-risk, low-reward hockey. They’re always looking for the big bang, the pretty play.

A case in point? Early in the third period, we kept the Flyers bottled up in their zone for nearly two full minutes. Impressive, right? Except nobody wearing the black-and-gold went to the net and nobody shot the puck. We just pass, pass and passed some more while circling the Flyers’ zone. It reminded me of watching couples skate ‘round and ‘round at the old South Park skating rink as a teenager.

As for the power play (0-for-3 last night)? Don’t get me started.

The shame of it is, we wasted another superb performance in goal by Alex Nedeljkovic. Again, Ned was razor-sharp and cat quick, his rebound control near flawless. Among his best saves, he stoned the sharpshooting Konecny not once but twice on shorthanded breakaways and made a huge save on Joel Farabee late in the second period.

In the end, his teammates couldn’t capitalize on his fine effort.

Bottom line? Good teams find a way to win. Bad teams don’t.

Right now we’re the latter.

The Goals

The Pens struck first on a goal by Crosby with 46 seconds left in the opening frame. Bryan Rust took a short pass from Marcus Pettersson along the left wall and hit Guentzel with a diagonal backhand pass in open ice. Jake scooted into the Flyers’ zone with No. 87 on a 2-on-1 and slipped our captain a letter-perfect feed. Sid one-timed it home for his 15^th goal of the season.

Philly tied the score midway through the second period on a snipe from inside the left circle by Tyson Foerster, courtesy of a sharp cross-ice feed from Konecny.

The less said about Couturier’s OT winner the better. Grrrrr.

Puckpourri

According to Natural Stat Trick, Philly had a slight edge in shot attempts (63-61), shots on goal (33-32) and high-danger chances (11-9). The Pens had the better of the scoring chances (36-29).

Coach Mike Sullivan reconfigured our bottom six, with better results. Recalled from the Baby Pens, Alex Nylander slotted next to Lars Eller and Radim Zohorna on a reasonably effective third line (Corsi 54.17). Jansen Harkins (three shots on goal), Joona Koppanen and Jeff Carter comprised the fourth line.

Vinnie Hinostroza was a healthy scratch, a move that baffles me. With his speed and playmaking ability, I thought Vinnie would be a Sully favorite for sure.

What in the wide world of sports has happened to Reilly Smith? After notching six goals and 11 points in his first 10 games, he’s been silent as a stone (two assists in his past 14). While we’re at it, Big Z is pointless in seven games and has a lone assist in his past 11.

Not to sound like a broken record, but we’re wasting some outstanding performances in goal from Ned and Tristan Jarry. I shudder to think what happens if and when they sag…

We’re the type of team that needs all hands healthy and on deck to be effective. Unfortunately, injuries happen.

Don’t know where we’re going to find ‘em. But we could sorely use a couple of guys, preferably forwards, who excel at butcher-block hockey. It’s such a chore for us to get to the opposing net. Heck, call-up Jagger Joshua (have to sign him first) and at least let him make like Mike Lange’s bulldozer in a construction yard. He might just wreak enough havoc to cause a puck or two to bounce in.

Pretty ain’t cuttin’ it.

On Deck

The Pens (11-10-3) travel to Florida for a return match with Tampa Bay (11-10-5) on Wednesday before taking on the Panthers (14-8-2) Saturday night.

We’re currently three points out of a wild-card spot.

Anyone else feel like we’ve totally squandered whatever momentum could’ve been gained by our comeback win over the Bolts, not to mention Jarry’s goal?