When the final curtain drops on the 2024-25 NHL season, our Penguins may once again find themselves on the outside of the playoff picture looking in. Our defense is threadbare, the goaltending a little too iffy, and there doesn’t seem to be enough talent up front to go around.
Just don’t tell that to the players.
Indeed, the one thing I like about this bunch is its moxie. Unlike the teams of the past couple of seasons, this one seems to possess some push back and tensile strength.
Last night our guys battled the defending Cup champions hard for 65 minutes, and in the Panthers’ barn to boot. Down 2-1 in the late stages of regulation play, the Pens refused to give up or give in. When Sam Bennett took an ill-advised run at Drew O’Connor to earn a roughing penalty with two minutes to play, we made him pay.
With 40 seconds remaining and an empty net yawning at our backs, Evgeni Malkin moved to open space and fed Michael Bunting a short pass below the right circle. “Bunts” wasted no time in slipping the biscuit to Rickard Rakell in the bumper position. The Pens’ leading goal-getter promptly ripped the puck past goalie Spencer Knight for the game-tying tally.
Yes, it would’ve been nice to bring home the bacon and bag the extra point, which slipped away in the shootout. But you gotta love the effort.
Puckpourri
Tristan Jarry appeared to be fighting the puck, and himself, at times. However, like a pitcher in baseball who didn’t have his best fastball, Tristan gutted it out and made 31 saves on 33 shots, including a couple of biggies after Bunting turned the puck over at the Florida blue line during a power play.
After the Panthers grabbed the lead on a goal by Gustav Forsling early in the second period, Sidney Crosby tied it up at 1-apiece midway through the frame. While working with the man advantage, Sid rifled a nifty backhand feed from Bryan Rust past Knight from the high slot.
The Pens welcomed back Owen Pickering from IR. The rangy defender missed the past four games due to a concussion. Slotted on the starboard of the third pairing alongside Ryan Graves, Pickering registered a shot on goal and two hits in 13:44 of ice time.
Ryan Shea sat out.
Kevin Hayes was given a reprieve from healthy scratchdom, where he resided for the better part of a month. Making the most of his modest 9:39 of ice time, the former all-star put five shots on goal. We may see more of the big guy, especially after Philip Tomasino exited early following an ugly-looking spill.
Anthony Beauvillier (three goals in his past 20 games) was scratched.
He may be meh defensively, but Matt Grzelcyk continues to roll, production-wise. The former Bruin picked up an assist on Crosby’s goal, smartly reversing the puck to Rust, and now has a dozen points (1+11) in his past 15 games.
IMHO, Matt sees the ice as well and distributes the puck as well if not better than any of our other defensemen, including Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang.
The Pens (17-17-6) and Ottawa each have 40 points. However, the Sens still hold the second Eastern Conference wild-card spot by virtue of a better record. They have a game in hand as well.
Up next, the always nettlesome ‘Canes in Raleigh on Sunday.
Another One Bites the Dust
Another player I’d hoped would gain traction has bit the dust, at least in black-and-gold terms.
Yesterday the Baby Pens dealt 25-year-old power forward Jagger Joshua to the Sabres’ AHL affiliate, Rochester, for future considerations.
I’d written about Joshua, an aggressive 6’3” 210-pounder with a taste for the rough stuff, on several occasions. Especially after he closed out last season with seven goals and 16 points in his last 17 games in Wilkes.
However, the very words I used to describe him likely doomed him here. We don’t, and simply will never employ a player of his ilk as long as Mike Sullivan’s our coach.
In my opinion, to the team’s detriment.
