Four short weeks ago, the Capitals barged into PPG Paints Arena and destroyed a Penguins team utterly demoralized by the trade of beloved teammate Jake Guentzel. The 6-0 embarrassment was arguably the lowest point of a season packed with low points.
Last night our guys returned the favor, beating the Caps in thoroughly convincing fashion by a 4-1 count at Capital One Arena. Our third win in a row and fifth in our last six games. A streak that’s reinserted us into the thick of the playoff chase.
Who’da thunk it?
Certainly not I.
As far back as that ill-fated clash with the Caps on March 7 and actually well before that, I thought we were toast. In my mind, we had absolutely no chance of making the playoffs, an opinion I wasn’t shy about sharing. I mean, we couldn’t piece together a solid 60 minutes of hockey let alone stack wins or go on any type of hot streak.
Truly, I thought our dreadful el foldo against the Avs a fortnight ago would prove to be our death knell. Instead, it’s served as a spring board for our 11th-hour revival.
Incredible.
Give Mike Sullivan and his staff a ton of credit. To digress, anyone who’s read PenguinPoop for any length of time knows Sully doesn’t get much love on our site. However, as I listened to him thoughtfully expound on last night’s win and the team’s recent and sudden success while humbly deflecting credit to his players, I couldn’t have been happier for him. After all, he’s drawn a lot of heat of late.
While many, including yours truly, called for the Pens to punt for what all intents and purposes appeared to be a lost season in hopes of garnering a top-10 pick in the draft, Sully refused to give up or give in.
The team followed his lead. Somehow he’s got the guys believing in themselves again and playing solid, structured hockey to boot.
In particular, his decision to eschew starter Tristan Jarry and ride Alex Nedeljkovic in goal? Huge. It isn’t easy to sit the guy you’re paying the most, but Sully has the courage of his convictions and it’s paying off in spades. In a word, Ned’s been superb. His coolness, competitive fire and competence has provided the foundation for our revival.
Sidney Crosby’s had a huge hand in our turnaround as well. Leading from in front as he always does, Sid refused to quit and the other veterans are following his lead.
Evgeni Malkin’s rediscovered the fountain of youth. He made a play last night that almost defies description. Reilly Smith and Rickard Rakell seem reborn. Ditto Erik Karlsson, who’s suddenly providing the free-flowing puck movement from the back end that earned him three Norris Trophies.
Bryan Rust has heated up. Pierre-Olivier Joseph is flashing his first-round pedigree and gaining confidence with each game while filling a heretofore gaping void beside Kris Letang.
Lars Eller. Drew O’Connor. Marcus Pettersson. Jeff Carter. You can go right down the lineup. Everyone’s contributing.
The newcomers have delivered a real and tangible spark. Front and center, Michael Bunting. Say what you will about the Guentzel trade, but Bunting’s provided production along with a sled-dog drive and tenacity that’s rubbed off on the team and linemates Malkin and Rakell in particular.
The most significant addition in my eyes? Rookie defenseman Jack St. Ivany. This kid is as solid as the day is long. Not to cast aspersions, but he’s a huge upgrade…physically and otherwise…over the departed Chad Ruhwedel. In addition to providing remarkably competent defensive play, he’s served as a stabilizer for a revolving door of partners on the third pairing including John Ludvig and the Ryans, Graves and Shea.
I’ll touch on this as lightly as I can. But it hasn’t hurt that two of our most erratic performers, Graves and Jarry, have been absent from the mix.
Two points out of a playoff spot with six games to play, we still face an uphill climb. Especially with teams like Tampa Bay, Toronto and Boston looming just ahead on our slate, to say nothing of the Red Wings, Predators and Islanders.
It’s liable to be a dog fight right to the bitter end. But suddenly, our Pens are right where they want to be.
The Goals
We grabbed the lead on a pair of first-period tallies, both from long range, both from unexpected (and welcome) sources. Ryan Shea struck on a long-range snap shot from the left point just 1:49 in for his first NHL goal. Joseph followed suit with a slapper from virtually the same spot at 11:03.
The backbreaker came midway through the second period. Valtteri Puustinen hit Bunting with a sharp diagonal pass in the neutral zone. After settling the puck as he crossed the line, the plucky winger let ‘er rip from the top of the left circle. In the process, catching Caps goalie Charlie Lindgren in betwixt and between.
Our hosts came a stormin’ early in the third, courtesy of penalties to Karlsson and Letang that left us two-men short for nearly two full minutes. While Rust and O’Connor did yeoman’s work on the PK, Nedeljkovic gave his best Marc-Andre Fleury imitation between the pipes while snuffing out several chances from close range.
Although Alex Ovechkin (who else?) struck from the back door as the final seconds of the man advantage drained from the clock, our boys minimized the damage. Setting the stage for Eller to plunge the final dagger into his former team’s heart at 17:23 with a hustling empty-netter, his 15th goal of the season and 400th point of his career.
Puckpourri
According to Natural Stat Trick, the Caps had the edge in shot attempts (70-45), shots on goal (31-24) and scoring chances (31-20). High-danger chances were dead-even at a dozen apiece. Continuing a pattern of being outshot and outchanced throughout our points streak.
While it flies in the face of “process” wisdom, the Pens seem to do better…and play more responsibly…with less shot activity. To the eye we’ve been far more controlled and less scrambly.
Rupper a Good Luck Charm?
Prior to our streak, I considered former Pen Mike Rupp to be bad luck. While I think he does a great job as a color analyst, it just seemed we lost every game with him in the booth. Right up to our current hot streak, this is.
Suddenly, Rupper seems to have morphed from evil talisman into a good-luck charm.
Let’s keep our streak going. With all due respect to Army and the Ol’ Two-Niner, keep Rupper in the booth!
On Deck
The Pens (35-30-11, 81 points) host the streaking Lightning (43-26-7, 93 points) for a Saturday matinee matchup. Then we jet off to Toronto to take on the Maple Leafs (43-23-9, 95 points) Monday night.
