When I was in my early teens I loved to run. I was even halfway decent at it, setting records in the half-mile and mile at the First Presbyterian Church Camp in Ligonier one summer.
My hero was Jim Ryun, the brilliant middle-distance runner from the University of Kansas, arguably the greatest track-and-field athlete of his time. The last American to hold the world record in the mile (3:51.1), Ryun would hang back in the pack for most of the race while conserving his energy. Then he would turn on the jets as the bell lap began and pull away with an incredible finishing kick.
However, during the 1500-meters at the 1968 summer Olympics in Mexico City his strategy backfired. Ryun fell too far off a blistering early pace set by Kenyan Ben Jipcho. Although he turned on his traditional finishing kick, he was unable to make up lost ground and finished a distant second to Jipcho’s countryman, Kip Keino.
Why the long-winded track-and-field intro?
Intentionally or otherwise, our Penguins seem to have adopted Ryun’s strategy of pacing themselves out of the starting blocks. With four victories in our last five games, we appear to be hitting our stride, just like the great miler. However despite the fact that we’ve picked up the pace, we’re currently five points out of an Eastern Conference wild-card spot. Hope we don’t fall short the way Ryun did at the Olympics.
If Sidney Crosby has anything to say about it, we won’t. Last night Sid provided all of our offense in a white-knuckle, 2-1 shootout triumph over Carolina that kept the 18,267 faithful in attendance at PPG Paints Arena riveted to the edge of their seats.
His goal, which came at 8:51 of the opening frame, typified to a T the type of player he is. Following a scrum in the neutral zone, Sid was the first man in on the forecheck. After banging big Brady Skeji into the boards, No. 87 bounced off the check and made a bee-line for the front of the net, arriving just in time to deflect Rickard Rakell’s spinning shot from the high slot past ‘Canes goalie Pytor Kochetkov.
For good measure Sid notched the shootout winner as well, beating Kochetkov high glove side.
I can’t think of another franchise player who mucks and hustles and grinds like Sid. What an extraordinary example he sets. At age 36, he’s taken his game to another level. Remarkably so.
At the opposite end of the rink, Alex Nedeljkovic was lights-out again, stopping 23 of 24 Hurricanes shots through regulation and overtime and three more in the shootout. The only puck that eluded him came not off the stick of a foe, but rather the skate of Kris Letang at 14:52 of the second period following an extended shift by our exhausted second line.
Kudos to Mike Sullivan for resisting the urge to return to the guy who makes the most coin (Tristan Jarry) and sticking with the goalie with the hot hand. And make no mistake, Ned, is piping hot right now. His reflexes, quickness and anticipation, not to mention his glove hand, are all working in wonderful harmony. Blended with a touch of swagger.
On the season, Ned’s posted some eye-popping numbers, including a 2.38 goals against average, a .927 save percentage and a .750 quality starts percentage. Maybe most important, his 5-2-1 record. He gives us a chance to win every time he’s stationed between the pipes.
Why the ‘Canes dealt Ned to Detroit for journeyman Jonathan Bernier and a third-round pick is beyond me. Given their struggles in goal, bet they rue that deal now.
Their loss is definitely our gain.
Whatever became of my hero? Ryun fell during a 1500 qualifying heat at the ’72 Olympics after being tripped. The International Olympic Committee acknowledged a foul had occurred but refused to reinstate him.
He went on to represent his native Kansas as a member of the House of Representatives from 1996 to 2007.
Puckpourri
The shoot-from-anywhere ‘Canes held the edge in shot attempts (65-55), scoring chances (29-24) and high-danger chances (9-7) according to Natural Stat Trick. The Pens had a slight edge in shots on goal (25-24).
Overall, it was a well-played game with plenty of pace.
With the victory, the Pens snapped an 0-3-2 skid against the ‘Canes.
Great to see Rakell pick up an assist on Sid’s goal, his first point since November 14. He nearly scored at the seven-minute mark of the opening period, but stoved a backhander off the post to the right of Kochetkov.
Noel Acciari has really made a difference since his return from IR. In addition to his intangibles, our penalty kill is 5-for-5 with “Cookie” back in the lineup.
With 19 goals, Sid is tied with the Bruins’ David Pastrnak for fourth place, one ahead of friend and fellow Nova Scotian Nathan MacKinnon.
Still not sure about the Ryan Graves–Erik Karlsson defense pairing…or for that matter the John Ludvig–Chad Ruhwedel tandem. But they held up okay last night.
I wish I had a dollar for every time we center the puck and no one’s in the slot to receive it. I’d be a rich man. Don’t know why we’re so allergic to the middle of the ice.
While I appreciate Jansen Harkins’ grit and hustle, not to mention his considerable speed, he rarely seems to have the puck on his stick, let alone shoot or make passes. I still think Vinnie Hinostroza would be a better option.
The black diagonal letter uniform with the skating Penguins logo on the shoulders is my favorite.
I Was Wrrr…
On the classic sitcom Happy Days, Arthur Fonzarelli (aka the Fonz) had an impossible time admitting he was wrong. The best he could utter was, “I was wrrr…”
As much as I hate to admit it, it appears I was wrrr about a couple of our forwards, Drew O’Connor and Radim Zohorna. I felt DOC was poised for a big-time breakout, and I thought Big Z was a diamond in the rough.
Although they certainly possess some redeeming qualities, neither seems capable of producing at the big-league level.
On Deck
The Pens (15-13-3, 33 points) travel to Ottawa to take on the floundering Senators (11-17, 22 points) on Saturday night. In total disarray, the Sens recently fired coach D.J. Smith and replaced him with former black-and-gold assistant Jacques Martin.
Despite the Sens’ struggles, this has the feel of a trap game. Hopefully our guys don’t look past ‘em.
How hard is it to make up ground? We’ve won four of five…and have fallen further behind the playoff pack.
Rick
The Penguins finally made an adjustment and played the type of game that they need
to play against a team that doesn’t possess a lot of scoring.
Also, I’m not trying to pick on Letang but could he just make the easy pass to the open
man?? Right before the Hurricanes scored he was carrying the puck out of our end
uncontested and his defense partner skating to his left and instead of reversing the
puck he forces a pass up the middle of the ice into three Hurricane players – they quickly
transitioned the puck back into our end of the ice and eventually score against a tired group
of Penguins players. I’m hot faulting him for the goal – going off his skate was just a bad
break.
One other quick observation and suggestion I would like to make and I’ll look forward to your
feedback. I think its time to remove Malkin from the #1 Power Play unit. Lord, his passing, puck
handling and decisions are killing us. I for one am tired of watching it.
Hey Mike,
In terms of always trying to make the fancy or difficult play…I hear ya. At one point, I believe Guentzel and Malkin broke in on a rare power-play rush, with Jake carrying the puck down the left side. Instead of taking the open shot, he tried to force a pass through a defenseman to Geno in the middle. Grrrr.
Along those lines, when they’re struggling to exit their zone they still try to make these little chip passes high in the zone instead of just banging the puck out with authority and living to fight another day. Invariably leading to a failed clear and extended zone time for the other team.
Regarding Geno, I haven’t been focusing on him too much. (I try not to watch an accident waiting to happen.) I’m pretty sure it’s you who’ve lamented on more than one occasion that he’s never adjusted his game as he’s gotten older. He still tends to play the way he did when he was in his 20s, but is less able to get away with the high-risk stuff.
Stands in stark contrast to Sid, who’s constantly adjusting and evolving. Speaking of, is he playing some great hockey or what? My word, what an amazing player!
Rick
Hey Mike,
Saw this comment on another site and, at the risk of doing something untoward, had to pirate it and post it here:
“Malkin has zero goals and two assists on the PP in the last 18 games. Now riddle me this: Why the hell hasn’t he been banished to the second unit yet? #EarthToSully”
Lol.
Rick
Rick
Totally agree. This is one of the biggest issues I have with Sullivan and the Pens when it
comes to making decisions based on what’s best for the team. I’m watching us against
the Senators and it’s the same old same old with Letang and Malkin. Give someone else
a shot – its like he’s afraid to offend someone – you can’t coach like that if you expect to
win. IMO, the entire organization is way to sentimental towards our core. This is a business
and you have people paying good money to watch them play.