Penguins Bludgeon Banged-Up Panthers, 9-4

Heading into Saturday’s matchup with the Panthers at PPG Paints Arena, I confess to having some concerns. It wasn’t so much our flat-line loss to the Lightning on Thursday night as a fear that we might take the two-time defending Cup champs too lightly.

Despite a burgeoning injury list that included no fewer than eight regulars, including luminaries Aleksander Barkov, Sam Reinhart, Brad Marchand and Aaron Ekblad, the Panthers had scored back-to-back victories over the Bruins and Senators.

Concern No. 2? The prolonged shaky netminding of Arturs Šilovs.

I was thrilled when the Pens jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead on tallies by Noel Acciari and Erik Karlsson. Not so when the Panthers struck back to knot the score on goals by A.J. Greer and Seth Jones. The former came on a made-to-order rebound off the pads of Šilovs and the latter on a slapper from downtown.

Reinforcing concern No. 2.

And then the Pens absolutely ERRUPTED in the second period. You’ve heard of Krakatoa? Well, this explosion could’ve been described as “Pensatoa.” If I took time to describe all the goals in detail I’d be typing till next Tuesday, so suffice to say I’ll be brief.

In a pyroclastic flow of offense, Anthony Mantha (1:51), Evgeni Malkin (5:51 & 8:27) and Elmer Söderblom (9:53) scored to chase Sergei Bobrovsky. Rickard Rakell (17:48) and Ryan Shea (18:07) followed suit against Bob’s successor between the pipes, Daniil Tarasov.

Eight-two after two. And concern No. 2 became a moot point (sort of).

Geno continued the black-and-gold onslaught at 3:30 of the final period, stealing the puck from Mike Benning and putting on more moves than Mae West before beating poor Tarasov to complete his first hat trick of the campaign.

The Panthers saved some face with a pair of goals from Noah Gregor and Mackie Samoskevich within a three-minute span mid-period to make the final count 9-4.

Puckpourri

In addition to earning top-star honors with his hatty and four-point night, Geno notched career point No. 1400. The PPG partisans gave the big guy a rousing and heart-warming ovation. What a career it’s been.

Karlsson likewise had a four-point night (1+3) to snag second-star recognition. With his two helpers, Sidney Crosby moved past Steve Yzerman and into seventh place on the all-time list with 1756 points, 15 shy of Marcel Dionne. Sid seemed to have a little more hop in his legs. However, he still has only one goal in his last 15 games.

What better way for Mantha to celebrate the birth of a daughter than to pot his 31^st goal of the season. Congratulations Moe!

Rakell has goals in five-straight games. Perhaps it was something the Scandinavian trainers added to Team Sweden’s water, but my goodness, he and Karlsson have been on a tear since the Olympics.

I continue to be amazed at how well fellow Trey-Kroner Söderblom is playing and how well he’s fit in. It really makes you wonder what kind of wizardry Kyle Dubas and his staff have at their disposal when identifying potential trade targets and additions. So many bullseyes.

For the record, Elmer registered a goal and a helper against the Panthers and now has two goals and five points in his past five games. On the fourth line.

Speaking of, Acciari has three goals and four points in his last five. Raise your hand (along with me) if you thought the Pens should’ve parted ways with “Cookie” early on. He’s certainly making me (gladly) eat my words.

Since posting a 22-save shutout against Vegas on March 1, Šilovs has registered a beyond porous .863 save percentage over his last eight appearances. He’s only allowed less than four goals in a game twice during that span. It’s a testament to the team’s awesome firepower that we’re 5-3 during that stretch, but it’s no way to do business. Especially with the playoffs looming.

The weaknesses he displayed early on, rebound control and tracking long-range shots, are still prominent. (I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that fellow PPer Other Rick has had issues with Šilovs play from the get-go.)

I’m not the type who goes for drastic moves. But as the old saying goes, desperate times call for desperate measures. With the exception of the Flyers, the teams we need to stay ahead of are all struggling. We have some wiggle room. I’d call up Sergei Murashov and start him in Šilovs’ stead over this final week and change.

The Pens (39-22-16, 94 points) have opened up a five-point bulge over the third-place Islanders and a six-point lead over the clubs we must stay ahead of to qualify for the playoffs.

Tomorrow afternoon, a return engagement with the Panthers at PPG Paints Arena.

For what it’s worth, I’ve always been a fan of Greer’s and wish we would’ve signed him somewhere along the line. A.J.’s a no-nonsense, old-school power forward, the kind that seems to be disappearing from the game. Kind of a poor man’s Nick Foligno, if you will.

May you all enjoy a truly blessed Easter!