Fragile Penguins Buckle Again, Bow to Canucks 4-3

Before I spout my two cents worth over last night’s come-from-in-front loss to the Canucks, I encourage you to read Caleb Di’Natale’s article, “The Soul of the Penguins Died Vs Vancouver.” Caleb does an outstanding job of summing up the current sorry state of our Penguins in a way that’s both entertaining and compelling, while sifting through the rubble and encapsulating our myriad issues.

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Otherwise occupied, I listened to last night’s Penguins-Canucks game on the radio rather than watching it on the telly. To be honest, sometimes I prefer that. It’s a lot less hard on the eyes, for one. And I especially enjoy color man Phil Bourque. Perhaps to the chagrin of his higher-ups, the Ol’ Two-Niner calls ‘em like he sees ‘em.

As for last night’s fiasco? Let’s just say Bourquie was less than pleased.

My own take? Happy as I was when Bryan Rust staked us to a 2-0 lead early in the second period, I wondered how long it would take for us to fritter away the lead. (Amazing how you get conditioned to such things.)

Not long, as it turned out. Just over two minutes later, the wrong Pettersson (Elias) countered with his first goal of the campaign.

Then the roof literally caved in. Kiefer Sherwood and J.T. Miller beat Alex Nedeljkovic in rapid succession, the latter while simultaneously depositing Erik Karlsson on his considerable wallet in the slot.

Three goals in 65 seconds.

While we wallowed in our collective misery, former Pen Daniel Sprong blew past Karlsson in the neutral zone as if No. 65 were a freshly planted sapling and set up Arshdeep Bains for his first career goal.

In the radio booth, Bourquie was utterly flabbergasted. I can’t remember exactly which words he bit off to describe Karlsson’s pathetic play, but rest assured they weren’t complimentary.

A little later he called out EK65 and tandem-mate Matt Grzelcyk for playing “nicey-nice” in front of our net. “You don’t hit me, I won’t hit you,” he growled. “That’s not how it works.”

Unfortunately, Bourquie, with this team that is how it works.

I confess, I was surprised when we actually rose up from our self-created mire to make a game of it. While Ned held down the fort, Evgeni Malkin (three points on the night) beat Canucks goalie Kevin Lankinen with a slick forehand-to-backhand move on a partial breakaway. However, even our cause for celebration became muted, as the big guy lie on the ice for several moments after crashing into the cage.

Such is the way of things for our Pens these days.

Anyone Seen Sid?

While Geno padded his team scoring lead (14 points in 10 games) with his fifth multi-point game of the season, Sidney Crosby continues to be eerily silent. He’s been held off the scoresheet in four of our last five games and registered a lone assist over the course of our Western swing.

Although Sid did make a play in the neutral zone that sprang Geno for his goal, it’s not in any way, shape or form what we’re used to seeing from our captain.

Mike Sullivan tried to provide a spark by moving Rickard Rakell to Sid’s line…to no avail.

As Sid goes, so goes the team. All we can do is hope and pray he snaps out of his funk.

Jarry Shines

In his first game since being assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for conditioning purposes, Tristan Jarry made 32 saves to backstop the Baby Pens to a 3-2 victory over Syracuse. In the process earning top-star honors.

While we’re on the subject of goalies, Paul Steigerwald interviewed a hockey analyst during the pregame show who assigns expected save percentages for goalies based on an array of factors. (Forgive me for not remembering his name.)

Jarry’s expected save percentage was .832 (his actual is .836), by far the lowest of any goalie examined over the past couple of seasons. Which indicates there are plenty factors contributing to Tristan’s porous performance (crummy team defense), not all of them self-inflicted.

Joel Blomqvist’s expected save percentage is .876, his actual save percentage is .911. Which means the rookie’s far outperforming his circumstances.

The website MoneyPuck calculates Goals Saved Above Expected (GSAE). Of the 69 NHL netminders who’ve played at least one game, Blomqvist ranks 13^th (3.7 GSAE), Nedeljkovic is 45^th (-1.4), and Jarry is 46^th (-1.7).

EK65 a Forward?

In light of Karlsson’s dreadful defensive play, I wonder if the coaching staff has given any thought to using him as a forward. After all, he is creative and he does possess dynamic offensive skills, the kind that might come in handy in a top-six role.

My guess is, probably not. And even if they have, it’s doubtful Karlsson…a proud former Norris Trophy winner…would agree to such a switch.

There is, however, a precedent. During the ’91-92 season, then-coach Scotty Bowman couldn’t tolerate Paul Coffey’s defensive shortcomings. To the extent that Bowman shifted Coffey to forward for a handful of games.

The arrangement didn’t last too long. Coffey was soon dealt to the Kings as part of a three-team blockbuster that brought in, among others, current Canucks coach Rick Tocchet.