There’s an old saying, seeing is believing.
If you’ll pardon the play on words, when it comes to our Penguins I’m not quite sure if I believe what my eyes are seeing.
A team that in all honesty was deader than a doornail less than a fortnight ago, has suddenly sprung back to life with a vengeance and reeled off four-straight wins (and five in our last six games).
Take today’s 4-1 victory over the Red Wings. Not only did we win the game, we prevailed in incredibly impressive fashion while limiting one of the more potent offensive clubs in the league to a paltry 12 shots on goal. Three in the third period with the game on the line.
Again, a far cry from mid-December when we coughed up multiple-goal leads to the Sharks and Mammoth in back-to-back games.
So what’s changed?
To my admittedly untrained eye there are several factors. The winning streak has coincided with Blake Lizotte’s return from the IR. That’s not coincidence or happenstance.
Get real, Buker. You mean to tell me a fourth-line center has made that much difference?
Yes. Plain and simple, Lizzo’s the hustling emotional core and defensive conscience of this team. The PK went bust without him. So did the fourth line. Although Danton Heinen and Kevin Hayes filled in as best they could, it’s a role neither was really cut out to play.
Then there’s the not-so-small matter of familiarity. Connor Dewar alluded to the fact that he, Lizotte and Noel Acciari have an innate feel for each other. A feel that shows in the way they play as a unit.
Not so with the other guys.
Now we’re back to rolling four lines as coach Dan Muse prefers. In the process, lengthening our bench and perhaps taking some of the burden off the top six.
Factor number two, (vastly) improved defensive play. Thanks to Muse’s astute shuffling, the defense has actually been really solid. Kris Letang and Brett Kulak were on the struggle bus with other partners. Thus far, they’ve blended like peas and carrots. So, too, has the new third pairing of Ryan Shea and Jack St. Ivany.
Both Stuart Skinner and Arturs Silovs have noted how well the defense is insulating them, especially at the net front. Almost unheard of in these parts.
If a goalie doesn’t feel compelled or forced to stand on his head, it’s easier for them to settle into a groove and trust their fundamentals.
Lastly, the Pens are playing for a full 60 minutes. We’re scoring early and often…11 first-period goals during the four-game streak…forcing opponents to slug their way out of a hole. We’re not trying to protect leads once we get ’em. We’re just continuing to play our game, like we did today against the Wings.
With the Pens up 2-1 entering the final period, the contest was still up for grabs. But our guys gets kept coming, attempting 24 shots to the Wings’ six. We never took our foot off the gas pedal and never allowed them to gather too much momentum.
As they say, the best defense is a good offense. And so it was with our Pens today.
Puckpourri
That wasn’t exactly a weak sister we swept in the home-and-home set. The Red Wings were leading the Atlantic Division as of Friday night.
Bryan Rust staked the Pens to an early lead at 3:44 of the first period, beating Pittsburgh-native John Gibson with a wrister off the rush, courtesy of a typically marvelous feed from Sidney Crosby.
Our second goal with 2:30 left to play in the period came off the stick of…drum roll please…Yegor Chinakhov. Catching our hosts in a line change, Ben Kindel alertly hit the newcomer with a sweet stretch pass at the Wings’ blue line.
If Kindel’s pass was a thing of beauty, what transpired next was doubly so. Chinakhov cruised in and absolutely smoked Gibson short side.
My goodness, what a release. What a shot. Even watching on replay, the puck was an absolute blur. It reminded me of a fellow who happens to sit atop the all-time, goal-scoring list. Yes, I’m talking about Ovi.
Maybe we can expect good things from Mr. Chinakhov.
The other black-and-gold tallies came on empty-netters in the final minute of play, one by Rickard Rakell and the other Dewar to provide a little icing on the cake.
Maybe this’ll help RikRak get going. To my eye, he’s been in a bit of a funk since coming off IR in mid-December.
Parker Wotherspoon collected two assists. He’s quietly on pace for a 30-point season. Rust and Crosby extended their points streaks to six games each. Ville Koivunen sat out for the second-straight game.
Skinner stopped 11 of 12 shots for the win. He’s turned aside 38 of 40 (a .950 save percentage) over his last two outings.
As of this post, the Pens (19-12-9, 47 points) have reclaimed the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Last season at the 40-game mark, we were 17-17-6. That’s a seven-point improvement.
We take on the CBJ in Columbus tomorrow afternoon, then catch a little breather before hosting the Devils on Thursday night.
Oh, Evgeni Malkin skated at a recent practice, albeit in non-contact fashion. Hopefully, the big guy’s inching ever closer to a return.
