During the War Between the States, a Union corporal came across a package of three cigars wrapped in paper out in an open field. That innocuous piece of paper turned out to be a copy of Special Order 191, detailing Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s plans for his first invasion of the North.
The orders made their way to George B. McClellan, commanding general of the Union Army of the Potomac. “Here is a paper with which, if I cannot whip Bobby Lee, I will be willing to go home,” McClellan gushed.
Although he knew every move Lee planned to make and enjoyed a near 2-1 advantage in manpower, McClellan could do no better than fight the Rebels to a bloody stalemate during the ensuing battle of Antietam.
Well, our Penguins were handed their own version of Special Order 191 on Monday night when their closest competition for a wild-card spot, the Islanders and Panthers, lost. All our guys had to do was win their final two games against bottom-feeders Chicago and Columbus and they were in.
With a 17th consecutive postseason appearance all but stashed in their hip pocket, the Pens let last night’s game against the Blackhawks slip through their fingers, resulting in a 5-2 loss that was as disheartening as it was disturbing.
When Kris Letang broke his stick while attempting a slap shot from the left point late in the second period, I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach it was going to be one of those nights. Actually, I got that sense long before. Almost from the opening draw the bounces weren’t going our way. Loose pucks were hopping over flailing black-and-gold sticks. Guys were turning the wrong way.
Heck, Sidney Crosby must’ve had close to a dozen scoring chances all by himself, not to mention eight shots on goal. None of ‘em went in.
Going strictly by the numbers, our guys didn’t play all that horribly. Indeed, we ran up a whopping 81-42 edge in shot attempts and a 40-27 advantage in shots on goal. However, while we seemed to grip our sticks too tight, the visiting Blackhawks played free, easy and responsibly.
The poster child was veteran goalie Petr Mrazek. Preternaturally cool and razor-sharp, he appeared to anticipate every move and every black-and-gold shot before it happened. It didn’t help that for all our shot activity, we didn’t create much traffic and we weren’t able to penetrate the prime scoring areas between the circles. At least not often enough. As a result, most of our shots came from the perimeter or from sharp angles and were easily tracked by Mrazek.
Following a scoreless opening frame, the game began trending down, down, down to where Gollum lives at 8:04 of the second period, when Hawks d-man Connor Murphy beat Tristan Jarry with a long-range blast through traffic.
To Jarry’s credit, he regrouped and held serve, at least for the rest of the period, with a couple of big saves on Anders Bjork with five minutes to go to keep the score at 1-0.
The Hawks’ Caleb Jones took a tripping penalty 40 seconds into the final period, but our pop-gun power play failed to convert. At 2:44, Danton Heinen fired a wicked shot off a faceoff from point-blank range, but Mrazek somehow nudged the puck aside. Then Jones was whistled again, this time for holding Bryan Rust, and we finally (FINALLY) broke through.
With time ticking down on the man-advantage, Rickard Rakell cut loose a shot/pass from the top of the right circle that found Evgeni Malkin parked in the slot. Having gained body position on Murphy, the big center deflected the puck home to knot the score.
While Geno and the crowd went bonkers, I breathed a sigh of relief. Having finally dented Mrazek, I had hopes we’d pull this one out or at the very least garner a point.
How foolish of me.
Just past the 10-minute mark, Jones unleashed a harmless shot from the left point. The puck hit 31-year-old journeyman Buddy Robinson and dropped fortuitously onto his stick blade. In a flash, the puck was behind Jarry.
Cue the collapse. On the ensuing shift Brian Dumoulin was trapped on an ill-advised pinch, springing Bjork and Andreas Athanasiou on a 2-on-1. Jarry stopped the speedy winger’s initial shot but stumbled awkwardly getting back into his net to cover the post. Athanasiou reached from below the goal line and swatted it home.
The Hawks left the door open a crack when rookie Wyatt Kaiser was called for hooking at 15:49. Again, we failed to convert. With Jarry pulled for an extra attacker, Tyler Johnson blew past Letang and split the empty net before giving Crosby a celebratory shot with his stick.
Heinen banged in a token goal at 19:22, but it was far too little, too late. Mackenzie Entwistle (great name) tacked on a second empty-netter to close out the scoring.
To borrow from the ol’ Gunner, Bob Prince, we can kiss it (our playoff hopes) goodbye.
Puckpourri
Frankly, I’m still stunned, so this is going to be more of a ramble than usual.
In many ways, the game was a fair if unfortunate microcosm of our season. We dominated “the process” as metrics mavens like to say but not where it mattered most…on the scoreboard. And we lost to an inferior team.
Needless to say, incredibly disappointing…and frustrating.
Our robotic (idiotic?) habit of having our defensemen pinch bit us squarely in the arse on the Hawks’ third goal. When will these guys learn to use discretion? Maybe never. At least as long as Mike Sullivan’s coach.
Dmitry Kulikov returned to the lineup after missing 14 games and finished a minus-1 in 9:54 of ice time. Although it didn’t really affect the outcome, I would’ve stuck with Mark Friedman, a better puck mover.
Speaking of moves, I would’ve been tempted to flip-flop Rakell and Rust in an attempt to get something going. Would’ve also put Alexander Nylander, who again showed flashes, on the second power play in place of space taker Jeff Carter.
At a critical juncture, our goaltending once again let us down. I don’t fault Jarry on the first two goals. But the Athanasiou tally was on him.
Malkin and Rakell finished a minus-4 each, Letang and Jason Zucker minus-3 apiece. Sid, Dumoulin and Jake Guentzel, who I thought was pretty much invisible, finished at minus-2.
Our power play (1-for-5) was awful. We could barely gain the zone, let alone establish any sustained pressure.
On Tap
The Pens (40-31-10, 90 points) wrap up the season in Columbus Thursday night against the Blue Jackets (24-47-9, 57 points).
As for our all-but-snuffed playoff hopes? The Islanders must lose in regulation to the banged-up Canadiens tonight and we must beat the Jackets to get in. Forlorn hope at this stage.
Since we beat the Rangers back on December 20, we’re 21-22-6. Since our overtime win over the Blueshirts on March 12, we’re 6-9.
How’s that for mediocre?
If you’re a Penguins fan, you know the inevitable looms just ahead and around the…
Well, our Penguins finally did it! They played a reasonably complete 60-minute game (62:35 actually)…
I thought I'd take a break from the relentlessly grim news surrounding our skidding Penguins…
The Penguins are off to a rough start, to say the least. Over their…
Perhaps the title of this article should be, “The More Things Change, the More They…
Before I spout my two cents worth over last night's come-from-in-front loss to the Canucks,…
View Comments
This was a great write-up, Rick!
I'm very thankful for the great ride the Penguins gave us the past 16 years. So many great moments.
Elvis left the building Tuesday night for summer vacation. Three other people with their entourages should permanently leave the building by Friday afternoon. The three stooges of Penguins hockey, Brian Burke, Dennis Hextall, and Mike Sullivan should all be given pink slips and let to slither away into the sunset. Another end to a Penguins fruitless campaign for Lord Stanley's cup. But this biting end is an end of an era and the beginning of a dark time in Penguins hockey. The Penguins will be golfing by next Tuesday instead of preparing for their first Playoff game. The future looks dismal with the current roster of players. The rebuild should take place quickly. The crop of Hextall era acquired players should be removed from the fold as soon as possible, regardless of cost of cap dead space. Attempt to trade Carter, Petry, Granny, Ruuta before the upcoming draft. If they can't be moved, buy out Petry and Granny. Send Carter to Wilkes Barre for his final season. Dumo should be let go. None of these players with the exception of Ruuta should wear a Pittsburgh Penguins jersey again. There should be an attempt to sign Zucker and Jarry to short term contracts and use them as trade bait in the upcoming season. Ride out Casey DeSmith's contract and put him as your third goalie on the depth chart if you cannot move him. All players on the roster with the exception of the big three should be subject to trading for future high draft picks. Time for the rebuild to start now.
Hi Bleed Black and Gold,
I wish we could waive Carter and send him to WBS but unfortunately his buddy Hextall cursed the team by givng Carter a NMC. He can't be traded, waived, or sent to WBS without his consent. I am not sure how talking Carter into retiring would affect us in terms of Cap hit. Since he has a 35+ Contract, there are conditions where his retirement won't carry a Cap Penalty. The first condition is no signing bonus beyond the 1st year, which we pass because there is no signing bonus what-so-ever. The 2nd condition may become the sticking point. For the Pens not to get hit with a Cap penalty, hte contract could not be front loaded. Unfortunately, Carter's is, only by 250K, but it is slightly front loaded. Maybe that number is small enough to give the team a chance to talk him into retirement.
Hey all,
The Islanders beat the Canadiens, 4-2. We're officially eliminated from the postseason for the first time since 2006.
Wow...let that sink in for a moment. It's been quite a run, to say the least. As they say, all good things must come to an end. Too bad ours had to end with a whimper and not a bang. But such is the way of things.
Rick
Every storm cloud brings a silver lining my friend. If we do this right things could move faster than we think.....
One last thing.....THANKS TO ALL OF YOU FOR THE GREAT TIMES WE ALL ENJOYED THESE PAST 16 YEARS !!!!!!
Cheers
Jim
Hey guys,
in between periods Habs game, down a goal. Habs must win in regulation. Not looking good.
Mike, I want to look at number 1, Letang in particular. The guy has been in the league for how long and I have been screaming since he was first put on the PP that the guy has zero hockey sense. How can he play with these guys this long and still not have a clue how to put it in their wheelhouse for a one timer. He passes at players feet EVERY single time. The horrible plays he makes when he doesn't have back up. He plays half the game. I would love to see them move him to the Habs like he wants and sign a big quality defenseman. #2 Yep
On to other stuff, I don't think the Pens can get rid of every player like TOR is suggesting JK, but everyone other than Malkin & Crosby should be fair game including coaches and GM's. I agree with most of TOR's moves except Pettersson. And yes, Pens need guys that go to the net, this team is sof, i've never seen a team sof like this.
Rick, I hear what you are saying about Boston. They sunk everything into this year huge contracts kick in and they will be cutting most of their players just to make salary next year. Same with Tampa, the fun is over. Pens could swoop in for sure.
MixnMatch
Np matter what, do not let Reirden be head coach.
I had high hopes for Petry, nope, nothing, bummer, but would rather have Petry than Letang.
Had high hopes after reading about Granlund, nope.
Jim, that salary is probably going to go down with missing the playoffs, but TOR will get his 'all prospects all the time'. Could be fun. We haven't missed the playoffs since we started the blog in 2009.
And with that Islanders won 4-2 Pens post season hopes are over.
Hi Phil
Great comments... Just a couple of thoughts..... if everything remains the same, I checked we should draft 13 th position. Montreal should draft 5 or 6th all being equal. Why not move Letang, PO Joseph back to play near his family and maybe throw in Sam Poulin , another french QhL product and switch places.5 th spot is better than 13 th.
Then take Jarry and Jake G. and try to get another top 6 or 7 spot. Maybe Vancouver ???
Then I would take owen Pickering 21st last year I think and add what ever we could and grab a top 10 spot.
You get the idea....Then pick out a top UFA 27 year old d man who you can build a team around
and at least 2 more UFA forwards and start the rebuild.
One thing for certain......We do not want to win against Columbus.
This should be a really fun summer ...I have been waiting 4 years for this to start....
Here we go.... of course we need a complete make over in management
Cheers
JIM
Hey Jim,
I'm sure there will be no moves until the lottery.
It will be interesting to see if the Pens commit to a full rebuild or keep plugging in parts hoping they work. I'm fine either way.
Hey Phil!
So as for Letang I don't think he's the only problem with the powerplay, our PP has no real quarterback, Sidney and Malkin are okay at it I guess but not really.
As for Letang, I'd keep his ass on the roster, they all wanted to stay together so they're staying for at least another year or two. They made the bed and they lie in it.
Perty is an absolute bum, the Canadians knew it and they passed that buck off to us, and don't get me started on that washed up trash bag Jeff Carter. They absolutely MUST get those two guys OFF this roster. I don't care how they do it, retain most of both their salaries until someone takes them or just straight buy them out, but they cannot play.
I wish we had Matheson over Petry, how bad does that trade look now? At least Matheson can freaking skate, and why the hell did we get Rutta??? No reason to bring him in, they should of just had Ty Smith in the line up, but I bet you Sully didn't want to play him.
I defintely disagree about having Petry over Letang, in my opinion, Letang is still a Elite top 10 defensemen, he makes mistakes for sure but he's still better then our entire d-core, and that's sad.
We MUST get rid of Granlund, Carter, Petry, Rutta, POJ, and Jarry, I'm saying it now those guys are all the cancer of the team that brought down this ship, and you will notice 90% of them are goofball Hextall guys. And Hexy is the center of the cancer of this teams failure.
Hi Rick,
What about the media reports that said Malkin commented the team was to OLD and the league has changed ? Younger ,,, I applaud him for stating the truth.
This is not due to lack of effort... It is a combination of events but in the end we were to slow, to small and to old..... and as a team many of our players were simply not talented enough to be on a true Cup contender.
Plus as we all have said we need better off ice personnel at all positions.
Great post my friend.
Cheers
Jim .
Rick, The Other Rick & all Penguin Poop Bloggers.
I had that same sinking feeling when Letang handed the puck right to the Blackhawks
four times in a mater of 3 or 4min. It was unbelievable. He looked to me like he was
out partying all night. Then we get chance after chance and can't lift the puck.
I listed some questions and made some observations below. I look forward to everyone"s
feedback.
1) How many times on the PP will Letang and Malkin get their passes intercepted because
they did saucer the puck?? This is the NHL last time I checked.
2) Everytime the Pen's lose a tough game they say the opposing goalie stood on his head
"NO" we can't finish - period.
3) Does anyone on the blog seriously think we deserved to make the playoffs??
4) Does Hextall keep his job? Not if I had a vote. Hextall should be gone even prior
to last nights embarrassing loss to the Hawks.
5) Does Sullivan keep his job? Not if I had a vote. To me last night sealed his fate.
6) Who do we move in the Off-Season?
a) Carter, Rust, Jarry, Dumo, Petry, POJ, Granulund, Bonino, Archibald, Heinen
Ruhwedel, DeSmith, Rutta
7) Who do we keep in the Off-Season?
a) Zucker, Pettersson, O'Connor, Nylander, Poehling, Friedman Kulikov?
I realize some maybe tougher to move due to their salaries or years remaining
on there contracts but this is pretty much my wish list. Even on my keep list
theirs no one exempt from being moved/traded on this team.
I would probably try to adjust the lower portion of our defensive depth by
Keeping Kulikov & Friedman as my 6th and 7th Defenseman and I could
live with Rutta on the 3rd pairing with his affordable contract.
Hope everyone is well - I look forward to your feedback. Sorry to ramble!!
Hey Mike,
Point 2 is soooo spot on. But let me add that at least in part, the reason we can’t finish is what you and several others always bring up, we don’t have the grit forwards that will crash the net and make the opposing Defense and Goalie work. Our roster is loaded with all forwards that would rather only score 1 highlight reel G than 5 garbage G.
3) I think there are 6 players on this team that deserve better than early Tee times. The rest of the team, the Coaches, the Scouts, Player Development, The GM, Burke, and even FSG are probably going to get exactly what they deserve – nothing!
4-5) Add my vote to RH and MS getting the sack and let’s add Burke to that list as well as Reiderdon and Chiodo at least.
6) Jarry, Dumo Bonino, Archibald and Heinen are UFA, so they are relatively easy to shed, just let them walk. The team won’t miss any of them. To move Rust, the team will have to get creative, he has a NMC as does Carter. If it were up to me, Carter and Granlund would be the first 2 I would try and move, followed by Petry. Rust, since he has a NMC, I would probably give him a chance to rebound next season unless he asks for a trade, then of course I would oblige. Also, if he hints at another pedestrian season, I will start thinking of ways to get out from under his NMC. $5 million is too much for average play. Ruhwedel can easily be waived and used to bolster WBS. I would probably do the same with DeSmith. POJ might still be able to get you something serviceable in return, since he is young. Like you, if Rutta was insulated on a 3rd pairing, I may live with while I look to rebuild.
7) Pettersson is a hard no, I put him in with your number 6 point. I would rather keep Rust and Rutta than Pettersson. I would keep Zucker, if as I wrote elsewhere, he signs a team friendly with regards to both money and term. If he doesn’t want to stay on a team friendly or simply wants a shot at a Cup, then he is an expense a rebuilding team doesn’t need. I haven’t seen enough of Kulikov to decide if I want to keep him. As for O’Connor, Nylander, Poehling, and Friedman, just like Zucker, if they want to stay and aren’t asking for the moon, let’s see what they can do under a different coach, one that is willing to teach younger players.
The Other Rick
I agree with you 99.9%. Really on this team your right Crosby and Malkin are untouchable.
IMO Rust needs to go and Zucker needs to sign a 2 or 3 year deal for 4 or 4.5mil per year.
Right now I'm frustrated and I know I'm not alone but with the right changes in Management,
the Coaching staff & players this team could make the playoffs again in 2023-24 but the
rebuild has to begin
Get with Rich it's time to start a draft page and figure out who we take in the first round. Or who
do we trade the pick for and why?
Love your Rambling Mike.
Very well thought out. Your point # 2 is worth repeating sir. !!!
I have listened to all the excuses for the past 4 years. Always someone else's fault.
The one point i want to make about Zucker is if we resign him and I hope we don't because we will give him a big raise and a 6 year deal. Then he will never live up to the contract. Just like Rust this year.
If we do sign Zucker make it a 2 year deal with a deep home town discount ..
The main point i worry about Mike is what happens if the new owners decide to cut the salary level we spend every year because we are not a Cup contending team any more and they are losing to much money ?? Instead of an 84 million dollar Budget they say you have 72 million to spend for salaries next year ??
Houston we have a problem !!!
Well written Mike.
Thanks
Jim
Jim
I always look forward to your feedback. I agree with you on Zucker and would
like to see him come back on a 2 or 3 year deal for 4 - 4.5mil. At the right price
I think he would be a great mentor for the younger players coming in.
Jim, also the salary reduction in salaries may be a good thing - then Penguin
management would have to look at less expensive younger players.
I guess time will tell. Great hearing from you as always.
Hello Mike.
Thank you for responding and thank you for sharing your ideas about what we need to do.
I suppose I should've seen this coming. But given the absolute gift we received with the Islanders and Panthers losing, I thought surely we could pull it together for these two games against the Hawks and Jackets and win out.
Obviously, I was wrong.
I agree that we need to clean house. While I didn't envy the spot Hextall was in when he took over...he had very little margin for error...obviously most of his moves didn't work out. Right down to the ghastly acquisition of Granlund at the trade deadline. And it isn't that I hate him...he tried his best...but he absolutely wasn't what we needed.
It's time to move on from Sullivan as well. The team, his system, everything is just so stale. The mistakes, the turnovers, the lack of physical play and accountability have pretty much become pathological at this stage. The same crap happens over and over and over and over again...
That falls on the coach. It's time for a new voice and a new philosophy and embracing different types of players who Sully had no use for. Either that or we tear it down and build a speed team to his specs, and I sure don't want to see that. Other Rick has mentioned this on numerous occasions and I saw it stated on another site as well, but Sully fell into the perfect mix of players when he first arrived, including some battlers like Kunitz, Hornqvist and Cole who he'd have no use for otherwise.
In terms of who stays and who goes, I need to put some thought into it. But at first blush I'm pretty much in agreement with you. The only guy we differ on is Poehling...I'm not as sold on him as other folks (I'd like to see more scoring and more aggression).
We have SO many flaws and so many holes, this is obviously going to require a significant rework and a general manager and coach who know how to execute it. I'm concerned that FSG lacks the hockey acumen to select the right people.
As a counterpoint, Boston was facing many of the same issues we were. Look at the job their GM Don Sweeney has done! The Bruins are everything we aren't...good, deep, tough, aggressive, spirited and hungry. Most of all, a winner.
Rick
Rick
I'm 100% in agreement. I read on another site where someone commented that the Penguins were in
a funk last night and had no one on the bench that could light a fire under them. How long have we
been saying that? You know today I was thinking how much I miss JR, I know right he made a lot of
bad moves, over paid and gave out two many long term deals but the reson I miss him is because
unlike Hextall he wouldn't have sat on his hands and watched it go down the way it did.
He would of fought and attempted to make the necessary changes. For that I respect him.