Mixed-Bag Penguins Earn a Point, BUT…

Merriam-Webster defines a mixed bag as one having both positive and negative qualities or aspects.

Along those lines, I’m not sure how to feel about the Penguins 3-2 shootout loss to Washington last night at Capital One Arena. On one hand, I’m glad we hung in there and earned a point out of the proceedings. But on the other hand (WARNING…rant coming)…

Outshot by a mind-boggling 22-7, the Pens gave a miserable showing in the first period. Fully reminiscent of the disgraceful, no show, 5-1 loss to the Islanders following the Christmas break. How a team that touts itself as a Cup contender can repeatedly come out flat as unleavened bread for big Metro matchups is beyond me.

They win a game, never mind how they do it, and it’s as if they get all happy and self-satisfied and have to be coaxed into showing up for the next game, playoff implications be damned. Perhaps a by-product of an aging team that’s been there, done that and simply doesn’t have the fire in their collective bellies any more. I don’t know.

What I do know is this. Poor Casey DeSmith was left to fend largely for himself during those opening 20 minutes. Thanks to his heroic efforts and some less-than-sharpshooting by the Caps, we were only down 1-0 on a power-play goal by Alex Ovechkin.

I confess, I was so disgusted by our “effort” that I paid only cursory attention to the big screen TV behind the front desk at Wright’s Gym during the opening minutes of the second period. It was only when one of our gym members stopped and asked, “Who scored for us?” that I got dialed back in. A quick check on NHL.com revealed that Danton Heinen was our goal scorer, courtesy of a hustling follow-up of a Drew O’Connor rocket off the post at 2:37.

To my surprise, the Pens proceeded to carry the play to their hosts, piling up an 18-12 edge in shots on goal during the second stanza. DeSmith continued to sparkle between the pipes, stopping Nicolas Aube-Kubel mid-period, Ovechkin from his “office” in the left circle at 15:37 and Trevor (the Wrong) van Riemsdyk from the right circle in the closing minutes of the period.

Alas, the Caps reclaimed the lead at 5:17 of the third period on a top-cheese wrister by Marcus Johansson from the top of the left circle.

If I seemed overly critical of our first-period foibles, then I credit our guys for continuing to battle when down. With seven minutes remaining in regulation Jake Guentzel dished a soft pass to Bryan Rust in the neutral zone. Using a breaking Kris Letang as a decoy, Rust glided past three Capitals and beat Darcy Kuemper from the right dot to knot the score at 2-2.

Then came overtime and our customary attempt at Hari-kari. Evgeni Malkin performed the ritual disemboweling, tripping T.J. Oshie 47 seconds in to hand the Caps a 4-on-3 power play.

No way we survive this, I thought. Yet somehow we did, thanks to some gritty penalty killing, a pair of large DeSmith saves on Oshie and Ovy and a dash of puck mismanagement by the home team. We even turned the tables and pressed Kuemper in the closing minutes, but the big goalie stood firm.

Could our boys possibly come away with two points? When DeSmith stopped the diabolical Oshie and Rickard Rakell beat Kuemper in the opening round of the shootout, I had visions of sugar plum fairies (a win) dancing in my head. But the script flipped. Evgeny Kuznetsov and Nicklas Backstrom beat DeSmith, while Kuemper stoned our “Two-Headed Monster.”

In the battle of aging Metro lions, the Capitals roared a little louder.

Puckpourri

Despite our pushback, the Caps dominated in shot attempts (72-64), shots on goal (45-37), scoring chances (41-23) and, especially, high-danger chances (23-9).

Plain and simple, DeSmith stole the point with a 43-save performance that earned him second star honors behind his counterpart. An effort that was both redemptive and heartening for the New Hampshire native.

Letang tangled with big (no, make that HUGE) Anthony Mantha at 7:45 of the second period. Logging 24:35 of ice time along with three shots on goal, five hits and four blocked shots, Tanger continues to be an inspiration. I, for one, am very glad to have him back.

Through no fault of his own, Ty Smith was returned to the Baby Pens to make room for Dustin Tokarski. Caught in a numbers game, both personnel and cap-wise, the 22-year-old defender tallied a highly respectable goal and four points in nine games, to go with a plus-three. All the while averaging over 20 minutes of ice time.

This is pure speculation. But I wonder if the Pens will use Pierre-Olivier Joseph as a trade chip at the deadline to make room for Smith. POJ’s ice time and impact have been shrinking of late.

Beware the Blades

Don’t look now, but red-hot Buffalo (winners of five straight) is charging up our tailpipe.  No fluke, the explosive young Sabres boast four 20-plus goal scorers and five guys hovering over or around a point-per-game clip, including sniper extraordinaire Tage Thompson (34 goals and 68 points).

Young studs Owen Power and Mattias Samuelsson (son of Kjell) anchor an emerging defense. Their lone Achilles heel? The lack of a front-line starter in goal, although 41-year-old Craig Anderson has done an admirable job.

They remind me very much of our Pens, circa 2006-07, and I think they’re going to win some Cups before all is said and done.

So why should we care? They’re going to make the playoffs, folks. Likely at the expense of either the Pens or the Caps.

On Tap

We host woebegone San Jose on Saturday night. Should be an easy two points…IF we decide to show up. You never know about this bunch.