The Pittsburgh Penguins never fail to surprise. Thursday, they may have surprised themselves, but they certainly put a charge into home fans and the Florida Panthers, too.
The Penguins were never out of control, and even when Florida tilted the ice in the second period, the Penguins did not chase the game. Ultimately, the Penguins shut out Florida 4-0 at PPG Paints Arena.
As it was, the mix-and-match Penguins lineup was well matched. Coach Dan Muse put together lines that clicked, mostly.
“When I think things aren’t going your way, the hope is that it could be an opportunity to come together and correct things that you know you need to see improved and improve our overall team game, and I thought (it’s a) huge credit to the players,” Muse said. “I think that’s what we saw here tonight. I really thought we had contributions from throughout the lineup. Obviously, Artie (Silovs) was great … we talked about consistency. That’s right up there. I think for me, in terms of that, it was the most consistent game of the year.”
In the shadow of the scary cloud that was Ben Kindel’s health episode Tuesday, top-line winger Bryan Rust’s significant lower-body injury that will keep him out for at least six weeks, and the dark clouds of one of the ugliest four-game losing streaks in franchise history, the Penguins had four new lines and were facing plenty of adversity.
Instead of imploding, the Penguins played one of their most connected games of the season, remained structured….
Xs and Os
Connected. The Penguins. Who knew it was possible?
In short, once again hockey wisdom rang true, and Team USA coach Herb Brooks’ line immortalized in Miracle is true: “I’m not looking for the best players, Craig (Patrick). I’m looking for the right ones.”
Through the constant (and necessary) line shuffles this season, for a moment coach Dan Muse seemed to find a team that looked like a professional squad sans silly turnovers, catastrophic breakdowns, and mind-numbing lapses.
“I think we were doing the right things … It doesn’t matter who you’re playing, whether it’s on a back-to-back or no matter what the situation is, you don’t want to be doing things that give easy offense to the opponent. And I thought we did a good job controlling things that way, and when it was time to defend, I thought we defended hard,” Muse said. “For the most part, in terms of just driving pucks in, getting pucks behind, just being a little harder to play against, I thought there were more elements of that in our game there tonight, and I think that’s always going to be important.”
**The Penguins’ first goal was a microcosm of their vastly improved game with the new lineup when the fourth line scored. Nick Robertson’s backcheck created a turnover. He sent Kris Letang ahead on the rush. Instead of looping, Robertson stopped and started to trail the rush. Elmer Soderblom dragged a couple of defensemen to the net, which created space. Letang made a nice cross-ice pass to Connor Dewar, who held the puck for a moment before he spotted Robertson as a trailer.
Robertson was wide open, toe-dragged around a defender to create a clean shooting lane, and scored.
“I mean, you can take what you get,” Robertson said. “I’m very fortunate it’s going in the direction it is, but I want to focus on how I got those goals, you know, playing the right way, and kind of the details, the kind of things that people overlook, and just keep focusing on that.”
When Robertson scored the empty-netter, he upped his season goal total to six.
**Also, the Penguins’ second line without Egor Chinakhov, who is out day-to-day with a lower body injury, and Tommy Novak, who joined the top line as a winger, was also far more effective than it has been.
Hendrix Lapierre centered the line with Evgeni Malkin and Ville Koivunen, and their puck possession numbers were ideal. In the first period, they had an 80% Corsi (4-1) with a pair of scoring chances. Beyond the spreadsheet love, Lapierre distributed the puck, which opened the ice for Malkin, who did the same, and the line with Ville Koivunen on the other side was able to play in space.
The above paragraphs were written before their second-period goal, which was a thing of beauty. Silovs poked the puck out of traffic to Malkin for a quick transition that became a three-on-two. The three forwards played it perfectly as Malkin led Koivunen with a pass into the zone, and Lapierre took advantage of being the extra skater and cut to the net.
Koivunen put a buttery pass on the tape, and Lapierre neatly deposited his found penny into the piggy bank. Koivunen had a solid game, but Lapierre and Malkin showed real chemistry.
“You know, he was able to make some tremendous plays. So it was fun,” Lapierre said of his new linemate. “It was really fun. It’s fun to play in the O-zone. It’s fun to play with guys that have a lot of speed and that make great plays.”
**The power play…a work in progress. Not a lot good, but at least nothing bad. It remains wildly streaky, and Thursday they again failed to heed fundamental decision-making and refused to dump in the puck when facing a stacked blue line. The labored zone entries and perimeter play minimized their chances.
**However, the penalty kill, especially in the final three-plus minutes in the second period, was a thing of beauty. There were numerous exemplary moments, from Ilya Solovyov’s stops on the wall to Connor Dewar’s defensive zone disruptions and the blue liners engaging in net-front battles.
Penguins Report Card
Team: A+
We’re grading on the curve here because it was not a great game, but it was one of the three best performances in 11 games this season. The Penguins were professional, engaged, and played a speedy game. Yes, speedy.
There were some issues, such as the team’s reluctance to chip-and-chase when Florida stacked the blue line both on the Penguins’ power plays and at even strength. They had too many turnovers in that regard, but unlike most games this season, they were not caught without players back on defense.
The backtracks were better, though not perfect. That’s a structural issue that absolutely must be cleaned up.
But overall, it was an immensely better game in all three zones.
Hendrix Lapierre: A
His speed was immediately evident and genuinely stood out. He set the tone on his first shift when he held the puck in the offensive zone, and the play opened up. He moved it to Malkin, and the line cycled and created pressure.
Lapierre had two points, one goal and an assist, and elevated the line with speed and distribution.
As a big-picture aside, it is this writer’s belief that Lapierre should remain in the lineup at center. Full stop. Speed. Playmaking. Tenacity. Though we couldn’t quite get Muse to say the same.
“I thought he had a really good game tonight. Beautiful goal, but not just that, I thought he was impactful throughout,” said Muse and then offered a little smirk, knowing PHN tried to lead the witness. “In terms of do I like him better (at center)? I think he’s a guy who has versatility in his game, and I think that’s something that’s always good to have as a coach.”
Evgnei Malkin: A
Malkin was dangerous. His puck touches had intent, meaning his game was north-south and applied pressure. Lapierre’s speed opened more ice for Malkin, and he used it well.
Rutger McGroarty: Solid
McGroarty provided a 200-foot game with Blake Lizotte and Andrei Kuzmenko. Not on the stat sheet were a couple of defensive zone intercepts and moving the puck forward. The line allowed no shots on goal and had an 80% scoring chance advantage (4-1) after 50 minutes (they finished up 4-2). McGroarty played a big part in that.
Ilya Solovyov: Emerging
He’s not going to wow fans with end-to-end rushes, and he’s not one to leave his spot for a big hit. But he won net-front battles (you only notice them when they lose, right?). However, he has steadied Kris Letang’s game by providing a consistent and predictable presence and has been hard to play against. Thursday, he made a couple of smart touch passes in the neutral zone that sent the Penguins forward.
He’s getting a second chance to establish himself … and taking full advantage.
Fourth Line: A
Soderblom-Dewar-Robertson. The trio not only scored a goal (A beauty of a rush which Robertson finished), but they played heavy and on their toes. The bottom line matched up against Florida’s top lines quite a bit and held them in check, allowing just one high-danger chance.
Arturs Silovs: A
The goalie is building on good performances (despite the statistics) and made key saves to keep Florida listless and behind.
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