Oilers beat Pens 2-1 (SO)
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| No wonder oil prices are rising. |
Goals: Letang (1) from Sullivan, Kennedy
Top 3:
1) Brent Johnson. It’s an absolute shame that Johnson took the loss in this one. He was fantastic throughout the game and was the biggest reason that the penalty kill looked flawless tonight. The only goal he let up in regulation was on a scramble in front of the net, and Edmonton has an abundance of skill for shootouts. He deserved way more goal support tonight.
2) Kris Letang. Letang continued his strong start to the season, scoring a powerplay goal and putting on a skating show all night. He led the rush a few times and did a great job creating in the offensive zone. A couple of his poke checks saved breakaway chances, and he was flawless in his own end. I did not expect such a strong effort in back to back situations from Letang, who led the team in ice time by a whopping 6 minutes.
3) Steve Sullivan. Sullivan and Letang looked masterful at times on the points for the powerplay (we’ll ignore their 1 for 8 performance for the time being) and has added a poise in the offensive zone that the Penguins were missing last year. He set up almost half of the team with solid scoring chances and did a great job to create opportunities, though clearly only one was finished. The best thing I noticed about him tonight was that he can control the puck with the same confidence whether he is deep in the corner or high on the point, and that kind of movement will help the Penguins greatly in scattering opposing defenses.
Bottom 3:
1) Steve MacIntyre. Yes, he actually did play tonight. He probably doesn’t belong on this list or any list at all, but I’m distraught that he was dressed and played a full 1:47 on 4 shifts tonight. Maybe I should just change this to “Coaching Staff”. MacIntyre was dressed because Edmonton had tough guy Darcy Hordichuk in the lineup. A lot of good that did for a team that was playing their 2nd game in as many nights, on the road.
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| What's higher: my ice time or the time it took me to put this on? |
Edit: Via twitter:
Smacker33 Steve MacIntyre
It was great seeing some familiar faces tonight!Was proud to be an oiler!Now I'm proud to be a part of another great org! Gopens!
Well, now I just feel bad...
2) Ben Lovejoy. Lovejoy makes the list for taking a needless cross-checking penalty early and then getting caught up in front of Johnson on the Oilers only regulation goal. All in all, he didn’t play that bad, but he was the worst of the defensemen in keeping up with Edmonton’s talented stick-handlers.
3) The Powerplay. I was tempted to put them first, but they did score the Penguins only goal. The powerplay has been solid so far this season, but they don’t get much credit from me tonight. For as well as they worked the puck around, 1 for 8 was just unacceptable. Especially with a 5 minute major to end the 3rd period and start overtime. The powerplay has to finish off the game right there and that lapse alone gets them into the Bottom 3.
Random Statistics:
- The Penguins played in their 3rd straight home opener, and will make it 4 in a row in Pittsburgh on Tuesday night
- Letang was on the ice for 29:16. Second highest was Staal with 23:49.
- Letang also led the team with 6 shots. While Neal led the team with 4 missed shots (a disturbing trend).
- Staal went 4 for 16 (25%) in the faceoff circle
Injury Report:
- Evgeni Malkin did not play tonight with a lower body injury. He took the pregame skate though, and isn’t expected to be out long. Bylsma said after the game he may return on Tuesday.
- Chris Kunitz took an elbow to the face in the 3rd period that cut up his mouth, but returned to action a few shifts later.
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| Line change, not linesman change! |
Takeaways:
1) Chances won’t score themselves. The Penguins have played very well through this Western Canada trip and have played dominantly for a majority of the time. However in the early going, we’re seeing a lot of great setups but not a lot of finishes. Neal is leading the crew with missed shots, and the majority of his come from around the faceoff circles in the offensive zone. The defensemen are starting to get into a bad habit of shooting the puck wide so that it turns into a breakout the other way as well. The Penguins look good, but they are going to have to learn to be more efficient with their opportunities.
2) Games don’t end after 2 periods. Third straight game the Penguins have put in their best effort to give up a lead and a game, and this time they finally succeeded. Despite outplaying the Oilers most of the night, they couldn’t put them away, leading to a late tying goal and a loss in a shootout. The Pens are going to have to learn to put together a 60 minute game before this becomes a trend for the season.
3) Last season was worth it. No Crosby or Malkin in the lineup. Last year, that meant playing as defensively as possible, giving up nothing, and scraping by for a win. Although we did lose this one, the offense pushed the tempo all game tonight. This team is a confident group even when they are without Crosby and Malkin, and that could be an important factor as the season wears on. (wears on? It’s 3 games in, west coast trips are exhausting!)
All in all, gotta be happy with 5 outta 6 points on the road to start the season. Now it's time to get back to a normal schedule! LET'S GO PENS!!!
Pens Record: 2-0-1, 5 pts.
Goals For: 10
Goals Against: 8
PP %: 33% (6 for 18)
PK %: 100% (11 for 11)
Next Game: Sun 10/11 vs Florida 7:30pm (Home Opener)
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