Sens 6 Pens 4
Goals: Sullivan (6) from Asham, Vitale
Niskanen (2) (PP) from Sullivan, Kunitz
Malkin (12) (PP) from Sullivan, Neal
Kunitz (10) from Despres, Malkin
Top 3:
1) Steve Sullivan. Sullivan was the Penguins offense in a lackluster game that went from downright boring to a shooting gallery at times. He picked the corner beautifully for his goal and had the primary assist on the powerplay goals by Niskanen and Malkin. His puck movement was very strong in the offensive zone, and he created his own space by using the net to his advantage down low at times. He also made a great defensive play on the powerplay to deny the Senators a short-handed chance.
| |
2) Chris Kunitz. Kunitz had a strong game the last time the Pens played the Sens, and he went with the same game plan in this one to be successful again. He was a major factor in front of the net, screening Auld on both powerplay goals, getting a secondary assist as well. Kunitz added a late goal, tipping a puck in front of the net from his usual spot. He also played well in his own zone, breaking up 2 passes and covering for a pinching Paul Martin a couple of times.
3) Evgeni Malkin. Geno keeps trying to carry the team on his back, and scored another goal in this game. He could only do so much for the team though despite his fantastic efforts. He played his usual game, with strong stickhandling and great skating. Malkin just didn’t get too many chances as he was double teamed frequently around the net and he didn’t get much help from the rest of the team here.
 |
| No double team here, but couldn't finish it. |
Bottom 3:
1) Paul Martin. Martin simply either couldn’t keep up with his defensive assignments throughout the night or was pushing too hard to get offense. He was cleanly beaten on 2 of the Senators goals that basically turned into 2 on 1’s because of his lack of coverage. He also turned it over twice going into the offensive zone causing quick rushes back the other way that he couldn’t cover on. Martin did not play defense first tonight, and that’s something the Pens can’t afford.
 |
| A step behind as usual tonight. |
2) Deryk Engelland. The other half to the Martin pairing, Engelland struggled just as much as Martin did tonight. He found himself out of position even when Martin was caught pinching or caught out of position. He was also on for the 6th goal and was very deep in the offensive zone where there was no hope of getting back to cover. I understand pinching when the team needs goals, but when a guy skates as slow as Engelland, pinching has to be very limited and carefully done. Engelland has to succeed on positioning, and tonight was not his night.
3) Brooks Orpik. Goal off of his skate aside, Orpik still did not play a strong game. A -3 on the night, Orpik’s worst effort came on the Senators 2nd goal, as he wandered all the way out to the blue line to make a hit, leaving a 2 on 1 going back the other way for an easy Senators goal. His positioning was bad and his luck was even worse (see: goal off of his skate). His physical game was also lacking in this one, and he did nothing to the 2 men in front on the Senators powerplay goal late in the 2nd period. The whole defense pretty much blew in this one.
Injury Report:
- Brian Strait (elbow) is getting close to returning and has been skating with the team
- Ben Lovejoy (wrist) is out 2-4 more weeks
- Dustin Jeffrey is on the IR as he rehabs his knee
- Kris Letang is on the IR with a concussion
- Zbynek Michalek remained out with a concussion as he felt headaches earlier in the day
- Richard Park is out 4-6 weeks with a broken foot
- Sidney Crosby is out indefinitely with concussion like symptoms
- Robert Bortuzzo is out indefinitely with concussion like symptoms
- Jordan Staal sat out the game with a lower body injury
- Paul Martin hurt his right leg in a collision with Chris Phillips and went to the locker room in the 3rd period. He did not return.
- James Neal got hit in the face and went to the locker room in the 3rd period but returned for his next shift
Random Notes:
- Pascal Dupuis started at center with Staal out of the lineup
- Dupuis also played in his 700th career game
- Eric Tangradi and Alexandre Picard were recalled and played tonight
- Brent Johnson got the start in the 1st game of back to backs
- Johnson was pulled after allowing 5 goals in 19 shots through 2 periods
 |
| Sorry BJ, did you want defense in front? |
- The first period was about entertaining as watching paint dry
- Niskanen showed his biggest value, actually shooting the puck from the point unlike Paul Martin
- The Sens powerplay goal with 5 seconds left in the 2nd period was just crushing
- The game really wasn’t Brent Johnson’s fault…the defense hung him out to dry and he faced some bad bounces
Takeaways:
1) Find the Open Man. This one is aimed mostly at Malkin and Neal, with everyone else occasionally. Point being, some of the Pens get in the mode of trying to carry the team, whether it be for a shift, period, or a game. One of the best things about Sidney Crosby is that once he draws attention, he is great at dishing the puck out to open guys, especially when he’s being double teamed and someone is blatantly open. Malkin seems to struggle with this when he is being dominant. Teams look to double him when he tries to take over, but there is rarely an attempt to dish the puck off to the rest of the open team.
2) Stick to the System. The key to the Pens surviving this rash of injuries will be sticking to Byslma’s defensive system that got them through last winter and spring without Crosby and Malkin. Bylsma’s system requires a great amount of discipline in terms of positioning and breakouts. The Penguins took the better part of 2 periods to get into it tonight and it was too late at that point after the 2nd period onslaught. With this roster, a full 60 minutes of perfect play is pretty much a must.
3) Wake up, Penalty Kill. The penalty killers let another goal up tonight, and this one was a back breaker with 5 seconds left in the 2nd period. The Pens are on a bad streak with their penalty kill, allowing a PP goal in their past 3 games, as their success rate has dropped off greatly over the past 3 weeks. Not having Staal, Michalek, and Letang hurts the penalty kill quite a bit, but the time for excuses is over. Penalty kill requires hard work, and the Pens better start giving it when they are down a man if they want to turn this slide around.
Pens Record: 17-11-4, 38 pts.
Goals For: 99
Goals Against: 85
PP %: 18% (24 for 130)
PK %: 87% (102 for 117)
No comments:
Post a Comment