I’d intended to work this into my Penguins-Stars game summary but ran out of time and space…kind of like our Pens so often do these days. But I thought it was worth mentioning somewhere.
To reinforce a point, I was really struck by how much difficulty we have getting bodies and pucks to the net simultaneously. The reason we seem to run into a hot goalie game after game is simple. We rarely take away a goalie’s eyes.
Coach Mike Sullivan concurred (or vice versa). Indeed, I felt like Sully was reading my mind in his post-game comments.
“I think there are things that we can do to increase our chances, like fighting for the blue paint, making the goalie sightlines difficult, (and) creating broken plays,” he said. “A lot of times, those broken plays are the hardest ones to defend because they force a lot of decision-making and hesitation. And you know, the goaltenders have to fight to find the puck in the chaos.”
Shot selection is another issue. It seems so many of our shots come from angles, lots of times from the circles or far edge. Rarely, it seems from the slot.
A case in point. Midway through the third period Erik Karlsson crossed the Stars’ blue line at center point with the puck in tow and cruised into the high slot. He appeared to have a shooting lane. Rather than launch a shot on goal, however, he tried to dish a pass through a defender (another black-and-gold bugaboo) to an accompanying teammate. The pass was picked off and the Stars scurried away in transition.
Far be it from a slug like me to tell a 100-point scorer and three-time Norris Trophy winner his business. But it appeared we would’ve been better served if Erik had shot the puck and his cohorts had crashed the net, perhaps pouncing on a rebound and maybe even banging home a greasy goal. The kind we so rarely seem to score.
Another example occurred during the first period. Sidney Crosby’s line breached the Stars’ zone three abreast off the rush with speed. Bryan Rust moved the puck quickly to Sid in the slot. Our captain appeared to have a lane. But instead of shooting, he tried to pass the puck to Jake Guentzel in the left circle. The play fizzled without a shot on goal.
That just shouldn’t happen. At least not as frequently as it does.
We need to simplify our game. We need to embrace a shoot-first mentality. Part and parcel to that, we need to venture into the dirty, high-traffic areas. Especially bigger bodies like Lars Eller, Drew O’Connor and Radim Zohorna, but the smaller guys, too.
To paraphrase a song by Drowning Pool, “Let the bodies crash the net.” Far from my favorite track, but the point is valid.
The reward? Perhaps some ugly goals. Maybe even a few much needed w’s.
You know what gets bodies into the blue paint? Grit. You know what clears bodies out of your blue paint? Grit. You know what the Pens don’t have? The one gritty player Sully allowed into his lineup so far this season gave himself a concussion last night. It’s time for a coach that will allow youth and toughness back on the roster.
Hello Nick and welcome to PenguinPoop.
You’re preaching to the choir. I (we at PenguinPoop) have been banging the drum for more toughness and physicality literally for years. It boggles my mind that our management team and coaching staff (particularly HC Mike Sullivan) think we can win without that very important element, especially in the postseason when the game becomes much harder and grittier.
Part of the reason we haven’t gotten past the first round since 2018.
Rick
Hey Nick,
As Rick B noted you won’t find too many arguments here. Several of us writers and many of our readers have bemoaned that very point. One of more frequent readers, Mike, has most recently been reiterating the truism that the team that controls both creases to put itself in the best chance of winning.
Rick B. you noted Sully saying “I think there are things that we can do to increase our chances, like fighting for the blue paint, making the goalie sightlines difficult, (and) creating broken plays,”
My question back to him then would be “Why do you employ so many smurf’s in your lineup if you say you want to make the goalie sightlines difficult?” Bless his little heart, but how many Goalies are there in the league that find it hard to look around Jake Guentzel? I like Guentzel, but he is not taking away the sight of any Goalie. He has all the guts in the world, but he needs size as well.
Going to the net is good but going to the net with size is better.
In the Defensive zone, it is not just a question of size and grit but a question of the skill set of the player you are asking to defend. It is not just important to get tough in front of your Goalie, you need to get your Defensemen (your players trained from pee wee leagues on up on how to defend) to insulate your Goalie and protect the crease. Watch the Star’s game winning Goal again. Marcus Pettersson was chasing Tyler Seguin all the way up to the blue line and was nowhere to be found when Dadanov tapped in the rebound. Rakell a Forward tried racing in to cover for the errant Pettersson.
I don’t really blame Pettersson, after all that is what the Coaching staff wants, defensemen chasing the puck around their own zone like 6-year-old s while demanding Forwards protect the net, in Sullivan’s opposite world strategies.
Hey all,
A quickie follow-up. Ludvig sustained a concussion. And Nedeljkovic has a lower body injury.
It just keeps getting better (not) … 🙁
Rick