Rickard Rakell had a couple of breakaways. The youngest Pittsburgh Penguins had a seemingly endless amount of glorious chances they thought were going in, but for most of the game, Nashville Predators goalie Jusse Saros and the hockey gods had different plans, at least until the end. Ultimately, what looked like an undeserved loss became a deserved 3-2 OT Penguins win.
The Penguins were without several core players, including Evgeni Malkin (illness), Bryan Rust (lower body), Sam Girard (lower body), Egor Chinakhov (lower body), and Ben Kindel (medical).
But the young players who are getting chances in those absences have played quite well in the last couple of games. Saturday, the Penguins held a 32-19 scoring chance advantage (25-11 after 40 minutes), and a commanding 65% expected goals-for advantage, too.
Actually, they dominated.
It was the Penguins game to win, but they almost didn’t. Saros didn’t know he made a few of his first 32 saves when Nashville led 2-1 in the final minutes. But Rakell shed a game’s worth of frustration with a blistering wrister to tie the game 2-2 with just 1:06 remaining, and the Penguins youth was served when Ville Koivunen scored the biggest goal of his young career and capped it with a big celebration when he beat Saros with a surgical wrister in OT.
The Penguins’ lopsided advantage on scoring chances and high-danger chances merely confirmed the growing tension in the building as the Penguins attacked in waves but failed to light the lamp. Until the very end, it looked like Nashville would escape Pittsburgh with their dog, their truck, and their wife, but the Penguins’ dominance eventually gave Nashville the blues.
Perhaps the biggest Penguins flaw Saturday was an exasperating inability to finish beautiful scoring chances. Rakell had several.
“Probably the biggest thing (for us) was just staying with it. I mean, being in a game where you get a lot of chances, there was a flurry of Grade A (chances) for us in the second,” said coach Dan Muse. “I think it was early in the second period (we had chances), and then I thought we kept finding it. I think it’s easy to get down … the biggest thing I felt that with the team is just stay with it. You’ve got to keep looking to do the right things, and I thought for the most part, we were able to create some pretty good looks.”
Xs and Os
Three things:
1. What a difference a forecheck makes.
The Penguins surprisingly stacked shifts through most of the first period, and did so through a few different phases of the game. In the first 10 minutes, the Penguins attacked with a good forecheck, creating several turnovers, including one Tommy Novak-forced giveaway that sprang Rickard Rakell on his first breakaway chance (he had another in the third period).
As Nashville settled, the Penguins’ backcheck created a few more fumbles, including a couple that fourth-liner Elmer Soderblom was able to convert into a change of possession. After all, the big man takes away a lot of space, and breakout passes under duress can be imprecise.
Eventually, Nashville got their feet beneath them and began to stack the blue line. The Penguins initially tried to skate through it on the rush, to predictably poor results, but quickly adjusted to chip-and-chase, which created more forecheck, puck possession, and pressure.
“I think just trying to drive pucks deep into their zone, and yes, I think starting there (we did well),” said Rakell. “I think we’re dangerous when we get behind the goal line in their zone, and trying to find different places in the pocket, and getting people in front of the net to get some shots through and create rebounds.”
In fact, the Penguins thoroughly dominated the game. They played connected with good puck management, zone entries or chips when required, and played between the dots without lounging on the perimeter. The first graph from NaturalStatTrick.com is the shot attempt advantage. The second is the expected goals advantage. Everything was lopsided in the Penguins’ favor, and deservedly so.
2. Scoring Chances.
The graph above on the right shows the Penguins’ scoring chance/expected goals advantage deep into the third period.
The Penguins were very good for most of the second period, too. Soderblom had several more chances at the net front. So, too, did Rakell, Hendrix Lapierre, and Avery Hayes. Yet, the Nashville goalie made more than a few unexplainable saves.
The Penguins’ second line, centered by Hendrix Lapierre, kept pressing, and they had some great chances, though they didn’t score 5v5. Still, for a line all under 25, it’s another reminder of the Penguins’ potential future, if they ever embrace it.
“I feel like we’re just supporting each other and close to each other all over the ice, up and down the sheet, D zone, neutral zone, O zone, and we just kind of played off each other well,” Hayes said.
Indeed, Saros was fighting for his life, but managed to stay above water. He did not look like a goalie stealing a game, but ultimately, he was, until the very end.
“Not too much (frustration). I think if you get chances, you’re probably going to score some points, so I think just try to keep going and present more chances,” said Koivunen.
3. Puck Management/Movement
One thing the Penguins did exceedingly well beyond their clean zone entries was hang onto pucks. They didn’t simply throw it to empty space or to the net. The possessions and chances were dangerous as they moved around the offensive zone and got shots in good areas.
For a second consecutive game, the Penguins’ breakouts were on point. Sometimes, the puck would touch several sticks on the way up the ice, but they were touching Penguins sticks. With new defense pairings over the last few games, the mind-boggling turnovers have abated, replaced with proper plays.
Overall, the Penguins’ youth played a big role in the victory. The line of Koivunen-Lapierre-Hayes had a team-high 17 shot attempts, a perfect 8-0 scoring chance advantage, and did so with more starts in the defensive zone (5) than in the offensive zone (4).
The oldest player on the line is Lapierre at a ripe old age of 24, some eight months older than 24-year-old Hayes, and the even younger Koivunen (23).
The other “youngster” who provided a solid game, especially cleaning up the defensive zone, was Rutger McGroarty, at 22 years old.
It’s almost like the Penguins are ready for a youth movement, eh?
Penguins Report Card
Team: A
Energetic. Structured. They were a bit “goalied” in the first period. More goalied and snake-bitten in the second. But the Penguins’ pressure eventually cracked Nashville.
The Penguins got a little sloppy in the middle of the second period; they were pressing after Nashville claimed a 2-1 lead when Jayden Struble exploited a d-zone seam to whip a shot past Penguins goalie Arturs Silovs from the right circle. In short order, the Penguins gave up several odd-man rushes, but eventually pulled it back together to resume domination.
“We’ve still got to clean up some stuff there on the defensive side. It wasn’t as many chances, but again, some of the breakdowns there we can correct,” Muse said. “But I think even if you look over the last couple of games, we’re working to correct those, and it’s a step in the right direction.”
Actually, a big step.
Erik Karlsson: A
He was on his toes Saturday. He eluded would-be defenders to enter the zone and created a lot of space at the top of the offensive zone with movement and by holding the puck to draw more defenders.
Karlsson tied for the team high with six shot attempts. He was part of the first wave early in the game to establish a speed and zone advantage.
Fourth Line: A+
Soderblom-Dewar-Robertson. They are becoming a favorite of coach Dan Muse, and for good reason. The trio started the game and had the first good scoring chance. In fact, they had the best scoring chances in the first period. Robertson had a couple, and Soderblom inexplicably couldn’t get the puck around, over, or through a sprawled Saros later in the first. But they owned the puck and offensive zone time. A 14-6 shot attempt advantage for a fourth line is nothing less than spectacular. Speed. Some physicality. And scoring chances (8-1 advantage).
Triple bonus points for Soderblom creating several turnovers and setting up the first goal. He was especially good in all three zones. Perhaps his most complete game. Over the last two games, the 25-year-old forward has noticeably used his teammates more rather than being an army of one; the result is a far more effective line.
Tommy Novak: A
Novak looked much more comfortable playing beside Sidney Crosby in his second game there. And the puck followed him. He provided a good forecheck, which created a few turnovers, distributed well, and moved the play well on the power play. It was probably his best game of the season, as he looked smooth and confident with the puck.
He tied with Karlsson with six shot attempts.
Avery Hayes: A
Give the kid a gold star. He had some great scoring chances. Tied for the team high with three hits and led the team with five shots on goal.
He did what general manager Kyle Dubas said he wanted to see: A young player demand playing time and then play well at the top level.
Others Who Graded Well:
Arturs Silovs: Especially in the middle of the second period, the Penguins still gave up a few too many loud scoring chances, but Silovs was quite good.
Hendrix Lapierre: He’s a center. And he’s playing well and fast in all three zones. He won five of eight faceoffs Saturday. The Penguins management would do well to keep him in the middle.
Ville Koivunen: Sometimes, Koivunen’s little plays don’t draw attention, but he’s increasingly showing his playmaking skills as he gets more comfortable in the NHL game. He launched Hayes on a few rushes and zone entries. And he scored the game-winner.
Solovyov-Letang: There is a lot to like about this pairing. They are moving the puck forward and defending well. Letang is playing much better with Solovyov than he was with Trevor van Riemsdyk. In fact, Letang played almost 23 minutes with some ice time in OT. They are a net positive, which could not be said of TVR-Letang.
Rickard Rakell: So many chances. It’s not a coincidence. Scoring chances are earned, even if they don’t go in.
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