The Penguins rode a vintage performance by Evgeni Malkin and a three-point effort from Reilly Smith to a ragged but much needed 5-3 victory over Columbus last night at PPG Paints Arena. In the process, snapping an ugly three-game losing streak.
Perhaps in a backhanded way, a win that made up for Saturday night’s collapse at Calgary. For virtually the entire second period and a good chunk of the third we looked tired, sloppy and downright disinterested. Perhaps our guys were suffering from jet lag following our recent (disastrous) western swing. Although they’re finely conditioned athletes, they’re also human.
However, the Blue Jackets…fresh off a victory over Vegas the night before…had no such issues. They skated circles around us for at least half the game.
Back to the point I’d started to make. If we deserved a better fate against the Flames, perhaps we stole a game last night we really didn’t deserve to win.
The first period…no worries. We outshot the CBJ, 12-6, and grabbed a 2-0 on goals by Jesse Puljujärvi at 13:33 and Malkin at 18:57.
It was especially good to see Puljujärvi net his first goal in the black-and-gold. The big forward, still working his way back from double-hip surgery, gathered in a long pass from Ryan Graves and beat goalie Jet Greaves (love the name) glove side. Really nice feed by Graves, too.
Malkin’s goal came courtesy of a between-the-legs touch pass from Smith. Geno galloped into open space and beat Greaves with a blistering drive from the right circle.
Then we decided to take the second period off.
Needling no engraved invitation to steal the momentum, the Blue Jackets promptly tied it up with a pair of goals 57 seconds apart. On the initial strike at 4:31, Jack Roslovic skirted an apathetic black-and-gold defense before feeding Johnny Gaudreau in the slot. On the second, Andrew Peeke notched his first goal of the campaign on a long-range wrister following a turnover by Geno.
The visitors continued to dominate, piling up a 17-6 edge in second-period shots on goal. But the Pens regained the lead on a power-play goal by Rickard Rakell at 14:32, thanks in no small part to a gift from an old friend. Desperate to clear the puck, Erik Gudbranson attempted to fire the puck up the middle of the ice, only to bonk it off the toe of Rakell’s skate and in. Greaves had no chance.
In light of our good fortune, you’d think our guys would’ve picked up the pace. Instead, they remained languid while the Blue Jackets rolled up an early 6-2 advantage in third-period shots on goal. Roslovic, who on this particular night gave a pretty fair imitation of Connor McDavid, zoomed up ice unfettered near the eight-minute mark and beat Tristan Jarry for a shorthanded goal.
Dame fortune must’ve felt sorry for us. Because 22 seconds later the Pens regained the lead on a power-play marker by big Jeff Carter.
Our competitive juices finally (finally) flowing, we struck again 87 ticks later thanks to a superb effort by Malkin. Moving in aggressively on the forecheck, No. 71 hounded Cole Sillinger and Zach Werenski into a turnover. Geno then slipped a brilliant backhand feed to Smith, who was all alone in the slot. Reilly blasted the puck past Greaves to provide the final margin of victory.
Puckpourri
According to Natural Stat Trick, the CBJ held sway in shot attempts (76-70) and shots on goal (36-31). We had more scoring chances (34-33) and high-danger chances (13-9).
Smith (first star) and Malkin (second star) were terrific, hearkening back to their fabulous early season chemistry. Sadly, much like Harry Houdini and his vanishing act, it comes and goes.
Props to Graves as well, who played arguably his finest game in a Pens uniform. He made an excellent play to keep the puck alive and feed Puljujärvi on our first goal. The rangy d-man made an equally nice outlet pass to Smith on our second goal.
You look at the collective performances of Geno, Graves and Smith and wonder where we might be, standings-wise, had we gotten more of what we saw from them last night.
Mike Sullivan put his forward lines in a blender…with mixed results. Sidney Crosby centered for Rakell and Lars Eller (head scratch), a combo that was underwater in terms of 5v5 possession and effectiveness. Geno skated with Smith and Valtteri Puustinen. Drew O’Connor centered for ex-Jacket Emil Bemström and Puljujärvi, our best line metrics-wise until DOC exited late in the second period with a concussion.
With Noel Acciari and Jansen Harkins nursing injuries Carter, Jonathan Gruden and hulking 6’5” call-up Joona Koppanen formed a reconstructed fourth line.
While I understand that Koppanen’s recall is probably about role, I’m still baffled by our seeming reluctance to give Sam Poulin a shot (11 goals, 23 points in 28 games for the Baby Pens).
Marcus Pettersson delivered a booming check on Sillinger midway through the final period, which drew a retaliatory penalty and shook us from our lethargy. There’s reported to be a fair amount of interest in the Dragon, and with good reason. He’s been our steadiest all-around defenseman, and he plays with a bit of fire.
After carrying the team on his back for the better part of the season, Crosby’s been quiet of late (an assist, a minus-5 in our past four games).
Rumors are hot and heavy that a trade for Jake Guentzel is in the works, possibly of the three-team variety involving the Canucks and Bruins.
On Deck
The Pens (28-24-8, 64 points) have a busy murderous stretch ahead. We host the Capitals (28-23-9, 65 points) on Thursday night. Then it’s on to the Hub to take on the Bruins (36-13-15, 87 points) in a Saturday matinee matchup before returning home to face the Oilers (38-20-2, 78 points) Sunday afternoon.
Ugh.
We’re eight points behind third-place Philly in the Metro race (with three games in hand) and eight points out of a wild-card spot.
