In their first game following the 4 Nations Face-Off, our Pittsburgh Penguins played a strong, dare I say dominating at times, opening 30 minutes.
After gifting an early goal to Capitals rookie Ethan Frank on a team kerfuffle, the Pens tied it late in the first period on a power-play goal by Kris Letang, thanks to a terrific play off the wall and feed by Evgeni Malkin.
The Caps retook the lead early in the second on a goal off the rush by defenseman Martin Fehervary, but the Pens knotted the score again on a vintage backhander through the wickets by Sidney Crosby.
Then, to bend the lyrics of the old Chicago hit, Lowdown, “the hockey team I was rooting for fell apart and died.”
Taking full advantage of what I’ll politely term defensive lapses, Caps d-man Jakob Chychrun scored twice within a four-minute span. When hulking Aliaksei Protas struck eight seconds later off the rush, Mike Sullivan pulled harried starter Alex Nedeljkovic in favor of Joel Blomqvist.
The rookie netminder promptly yielded a sixth Caps goal to DC villain Tom Wilson.
The real fireworks flew when ABC studio analyst P.K. Subban took dead aim at the Pens’ organization, Kyle Dubas in particular.
“Struggling is an understatement. It’s not a slight at the players. There’s a lot of great, talented players in there. But this is a poorly built team, to me. They’re undersized, undermanned. They’re soft in every area. In the (defensive) zone. They’re soft in the corners, the front of the net.
“It’s not about structure. Mike Sullivan and Sidney Crosby are at a huge disadvantage. You can throw (Evgeni) Malkin and (Kris) Letang in there as well. They’ve got a lot of great players that deserve more talent to have to work with here. There’s no excuse for this team to be this bad.
“The difference between Washington and Pittsburgh is that Washington defensemen join through the structure. So they have confidence joining the rush because they’re confident in their structure and the way that they’re playing. (Erik) Karlsson and Letang are being put in position to force plays. I don’t care how good you are; you can’t force offense in the league. You’ve got to let the game come to you.
“So they’re set up to fail. And to me, the way this team is built, it’s inexcusable. Against the biggest team in the league, they’re getting outmanned in front of the net. Two small defensemen trying to battle Tom Wilson. It’s not been any good.
“So for me, Crosby deserves way more than this. At the level he’s playing at, where he’s at right now in his game, his career … I don’t want to pick on guys individually. What I’m saying is, this is not enough for Sidney Crosby. He needs a better team around him. Mike Sullivan needs better players to coach. And if it’s not going to be better players, it’s got to be put together the right way for these guys to be able to have a chance to make the playoffs. And I don’t see it.
“For me, it’s on Kyle Dubas. You get paid 7 million bucks, that’s what I expect. If it’s a rebuild, then rebuild. If it’s not, then we’ve got to see better results on the ice. This is inexcusable for me.”
Subban’s rant proved far more interesting than the third period, which saw the visitors outscore us by a 2-1 margin. Danton Heinen was the lone black-and-gold scorer.
Puckpourri
The Pens paid tribute to legendary announcer Mike Lange in a touching pre-game ceremony.
Great to see Malkin return. He was one of the few Pens to play with genuine fire. Geno’s finishing skills may be on the wane, but he can still create and make plays.
What can you say about Sid? Although he still doesn’t appear to be 100 percent, he’s out there battling and giving his all. What a leader.
Philip Tomasino picked up two assists. He continues to flash potential, especially when he gets to open space.
Bryan Rust and Boko Imama sat out. Matt Nieto filled the void. In 9:39 of ice time, “Niets” was on the ice for three 5v5 goals against and had a team-worst xGF% of 24.68. I know I’ve (unfairly) made him a lightning rod for my discontent, and if you’re going to have a guy play every third or fourth game, better it be a veteran like Matt than a kid. Still, I wish the Pens would waive him.
It was a lousy night to be a goaltender, or at least the black-and-gold variety. Nedeljkovic, who had a .934 save percentage in his previous eight starts, yielded five goals on just 14 shots (a .643 save percentage). Blomqvist wasn’t much better, allowing three goals on 17 shots (.824).
Had they called Edgar Snyder, both could’ve sued their teammates for non-support and won a handsome settlement. Or better yet, Shenderovich, Shenderovich & Fishman. The twins only charge 25 percent.
To think Chychrun (16 goals and counting) was the apple of our eye only a couple of seasons ago. How in the wide, wide, world of sports the Caps managed to pry him loose from the Sens for 34-year-old journeyman Nick Jensen is one of the true mysteries of the modern world.
Don’t look now, but Wilson has 25 goals this season. What I wouldn’t give for a player of his ilk.
Amazing that Erik Karlsson could perform so well for Team Sweden in the 4 Nations Face-Off, then play dog-do defense for us.
As Subban suggested, something’s definitely rotten in the ‘Burgh.
THIS SPACE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK.
(It’s usually the spot where I reference our playoff chances.)
I’m still angry that we let Fleury walk.
I hope Kolyachonok plays today against the Rags. He can’t be worse than anyone on our left side.
Hey Rick,
The funny thing about what Subban said is that his criticisms have been exactly what you, me, and many people on this site have been saying for many seasons, long before Dubas came to Pittsburgh. I am no fan of Dubas but this sorry state of the Penguins started long before he got here. Big defensemen, defensemen capable of keeping the front of their net like Jamie Oleksiak and Erik Gudbranson got extremely limited ice time and were summarily traded away. Worse Andrei Pedan were never given a chance to play and he went back to the KHL and had himself a career that would have proved Subban completely wrong. As for forwards, Rick let’s not forget your favorite RW Ryan Reaves and his eyedropper doled out TOI. Those players that would be tough in both creases and the corners of both zones, but they were dismissed long before Dubas came here. Furthermore, Dubas only has limited control over the “structure” that Subban complained about when comparing Washington’s defense vs our Penguins defense and their having confidence in their structure when they joined the offense. Dubas’ control over that structure is limited to how ling he puts up with his subordinates who are charged with overseeing the on ice strategies nd tactics.
Bottom line is I do not mind Dubas drawing fire from a national source, but that source is lazily blaming the easiest target, the target that has represented the Toronto press’ whipping boy for many years. Dubas has done little since coming here. If Dubas starts taking heat here in Pgh great, he deserves some. However, it is time to start trouble shooting and critically thinking about where the team is failing and at whose feat that failure lies. It is past time to excise that failing, if not we fans will continue to have this same circular conversation for years to come.