Sid ‘n’ Ned Pace Penguins to 2-1 Shootout Victory over the ‘Canes

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.

He was beautiful to watch.

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.