Who were those guys clad in black-and-gold at PPG Paints Arena last night? And, more important, how do we get them to come back?
For one brilliant period at least, our present-day Penguins channeled the Stanley Cup champions of yore. We completely throttled the visiting Oilers, ringing up four…count ‘em four…first-period goals!
Rickard Rakell broke the scoring ice just 3:19 into the fray with his 21st goal of the campaign, followed in relatively short order by Bryan Rust (7:22) and big Kevin Hayes (9:46). In the process, making Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner resemble a 6’4” hunk of Swiss cheese.
When the Deutschland Dangler, Leon Draisaitl, broke through against Alex Nedeljkovic at 12:33, I thought, “Here come the Oilers.” But nope, at least not yet. We rolled up our sleeves and went right back at ‘em, with Drew O’Connor cashing in 68 seconds later to restore our three-goal edge.
A shame we couldn’t bottle whatever mojo we had going in the first 20 minutes, because it was pretty much all Oilers after the first intermission. Indeed, the visitors came at us like so many waves crashing against the shore during the height of hurricane season, piling up a staggering 36-13 edge in shots on goal over the final 40 minutes and 21-6 in the second period alone.
So dominant was the Oil, they appeared to be working with a man-advantage at 5v5 play. But much like an army fighting a delaying battle against a superior foe, our Pens competed hard and yielded ground grudgingly while Nedeljkovic sparkled to the tune of 40 saves.
Sidney Crosby provided a last gasp of offense at 5:42 of the second stanza with a power-play laser from the right circle, courtesy of a sweet diagonal feed from Michael Bunting. The Oilers countered with two second-period tallies of their own to make it 5-3. But Ned shut down Connor McDavid & Co. in the third with a little help from his friends to seal the victory.
Puckpourri
Crosby and Rust paced the Pens’ attack with three points apiece (1+2). Sid moved into ninth place on the all-time NHL scoring list, passing Joe Sakic. Marcus Pettersson registered two assists and finished a plus-3, as did tandem-mate Kris Letang.
The Hayes-O’Connor-Jesse Puljujärvi line combined for two goals and four points, with the latter registering an assist and three hits against his former team. I was going to sing their praises until I glanced at the trio’s advanced stats (34.78 Corsi, 27.86 xGF%).
Woof.
Shows how much the eye test can diverge from the metrics. Still, I like the line’s combination of size, speed and physicality on the wings.
Speaking of “formers,” ex-Pen Kasperi Kapanen was a minus-1 in 7:07 of ice time. True to form, Kappy flashed his wheels and skills on one very noticeable shift, but didn’t dent the scoresheet.
Erik Karlsson assisted on Crosby’s goal. Over his past 16 games he’s tallied 15 points (2+13) and generally played much better (plus-3) over that span. In his second season with the club, the three-time Norris Trophy winner appears to be settling in at both ends of the ice. I’m reminded of Sergei Gonchar and how he struggled during his first season in the ‘burgh before regaining his all-star form.
Karlsson’s partner, Matt Grzelcyk had a three-game points streak snapped. However, not only has Gryz been productive (14 points in his past 18 games), he’s been a surprisingly effective partner for EK65.
Owen Pickering and Pierre-Olivier Joseph appear to be blending nicely on the third pairing, while the Ryans (Graves and Shea) continue to man the press box.
The victory enabled the Pens (18-17-8) to keep pace with surprising Columbus in the chase for the second Eastern Conference wild-card spot. Both clubs have 44 points. The CBJ have a game in hand.
Up next, the Sens pay us a visit on Saturday.
Don’t look now, but that other black-and-gold team is plummeting. The Bruins have lost six in a row (0-5-1). So much for former coach Jim Montgomery being the problem.
Secret Sauce
My boss and friend, Dave Wright, attended last night’s game, perhaps providing a little hidden vigorish. I told him he has to go to all of our remaining home games…lol.
