Pens lose to Sabres 3-2
Goals: Neal (5) from Park
Staal (2) from Kennedy, Martin
Top 3:
1) James Neal. Neal is undoubtedly the Penguins best forward right now. The goal he scored tonight was certainly a fluke as it hopped up off of a Sabres’ defenseman’s stick, but he still made the appropriate play to get it to the net. I am consistently impressed by his backchecking as well. He caused 2 neutral zone turnovers tonight just by skating back hard to intercept passes where no one expected him to be. Neal’s skill level is above average, but his effort is absolutely outstanding.
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| "Anyone else wanna try doing this? Anyone??" |
2) Ben Lovejoy. On what turned out to be a very poor game for the defense as a whole, Ben Lovejoy played his best game of the season. He got involved in the offense on a few occasions by getting shots to the net and also pinching as far as below the goal line to keep a play alive. He also did a great job in the defensive zone, breaking up a 2 on 1 and not committing a single miscue in his own end. Lovejoy was reliable tonight on a night where most were not.
3) Steve Sullivan. Sullivan looked much more comfortable in the offense tonight and it allowed his skills to flourish. He was masterful at times with his passing and puck possession, creating time and space for both himself and the recipients of his passes. I still would like to see him shoot more, but his ability to create will turn into more scoring chances as the season wears on.
Bottom 3:
1) Kris Letang. Frequently in my Top 3 this season, Letang had by far his worst game of the season. He was a turnover machine, whether it be mishandling the puck, bad passes, or shooting from the point and having it blocked immediately. He also made 2 or 3 very bad pinches in the offensive zone, and was at fault for a couple 2 on 1’s. He was also the cause of a 2 on 0 for the Sabres which led to their 2nd goal. This is the inconsistent side of Letang that caused me to begin hating him to start with.
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| "Strong chance I might be more useful right here tonight." |
2) Chris Kunitz. Already off to a quiet start this season, Kunitz looked completely off tonight and pretty much couldn’t do anything he set his mind to. His passes were off by a few feet, his shots were off by a few feet, and his physical game was invisible. He was even guilty of basically making a breakout pass for the Sabres right up the middle at one point. If anyone is counting down the days until Crosby’s return, it’s certainly Kunitz.
3) Deryk Engelland. Engelland struggled in this game, though I think the change in defensive pairings was a big factor in that. He was caught out of position a couple of times, and left the crease and his man during the penalty kill, but was bailed out by Fleury most of the time. Engelland looked rather lost with Michalek, and as a pair they had difficulties moving the puck. It looks like being paired with Letang has led to Engelland sticking to a specific style that balances well with Letang, but does not work with another stay at home defenseman.
Random Statistics:
- The Penguins lost to the Sabres for the first time in their last 7 meetings
- The Pens have taken only 2 penalties in their last 2 games
- Neal had 4 shots and 4 missed shots…it appears his new strategy is just shoot no matter what
- Martin led the team in ice time, though I’m not sure anyone noticed (which is a good thing)
- Staal was dominant in faceoffs, going 13 for 19. Everyone else was below 50% except for Craig Adams (3 for 3)
- Arron Asham was a team worst -2 tonight
Random Thoughts (because stats weren’t enough):
- The defensive pairings were different through much of the game (Michalek/Engelland, Martin/Niskanen, Letang/Lovejoy). The Michalek pairing looked horrendous, the Martin pairing looked very solid, and Lovejoy looked great as he covered for Letang’s mistakes. I prefer the old pairings.
- Marc Letestu needs to pick it up ASAP if he wants to keep his spot on this team. He’s not making mistakes, but he’s adding nothing. For all of the top 6 wingers he gets to play with, he better contribute fast.
- Through 6 games, the Pens have scored 8 out of their 18 goals on Special Teams (6 PP, 2 SH). While that’s a nice thought, I’d like to see some better 5 on 5.
Injury Report:
- Evgeni Malkin did not skate this morning and did not play in the game. He is still dealing with soreness in his knee and is day to day.
- Brooks Orpik skated separately again this morning. No real update here.
- Sidney Crosby has been skating with the team but with the grueling schedule he hasn’t faced anything big in the way of contact. This is gonna be a longer process than most want.
- Dustin Jeffrey has been skating as well and is working on improving his leg strength. The way Bylsma speaks about him, I don’t think Jeffrey is that far from coming back.
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| "Well, that's a well placed advertisment." |
Takeaways:
1) Turnovers Kill. The Penguins committed far too many turnovers in this game, especially in the first period, especially in the defensive zone. Most of the Sabres’ (if not all) offense came off of blatant turnovers which left everyone in bad position. While turnovers are always bad, at least if it is made in the offensive zone, players can scramble back. The amount of turnovers in the defensive zone tonight left everyone helpless far too many times to expect a win.
2) Transitioning for Dummies. The biggest difference I noticed between these 2 teams was their ability to transition. The Penguins are very solid when they can settle the puck down and move it around, or when another team has settled it and the Penguins are in their defensive formation. Meanwhile, the Sabres played their best game when in transition both on the offensive and coming back defensively. The Penguins inability to transition to offense led to quite a few turnovers, which led to a strong Sabres transition back the other way. Based on each team’s strengths, it is simply the team that makes more mistakes will lose. Guess who made more mistakes tonight.
3) Discipline isn’t always ideal. While it is nice that the Penguins have only taken 2 penalties in the last 2 games, I wonder if their discipline is hurting them a little bit. Anyone who has watched an NHL game knows that penalties are called inconsistently and players get away with a lot at times. I wouldn’t mind seeing the Penguins toe the line a little more with interference and pinning guys against the boards in an attempt to slow a team down, especially one that moves down the ice like the Sabres. I’m sure if they get called for it, I will flip out about it and get just as angry about them doing it, so this is a silly point in many ways, but I wonder how much they are leaving on the table in terms of what they could get away with.
Pens Record: 3-1-2, 8 pts
Goals For: 18
Goals Against: 16
PP %: 22% (6 for 27)
PK %: 94% (17 for 18)
Next Game: Sat 10/17 @ Winnipeg, 8:30pm LET’S GO PENS!!!
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