Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Broadway sucks, Pens lose 4-3


Rangers 4  Pens 3
Goals:  Neal (14) (PP) from Crosby, Martin
            Malkin (9) from Neal, Sullivan
            Dupuis (7) from Crosby, Engelland



Top 3:   
1)  Matt Niskanen.  Playing 22:31, which I suspect is a career high, Niskanen shifted his game to act more as a stay at home defenseman and he did well with it.  He was very strong on the crease in front of Fleury, which is not a spot he usually has, and he stayed in position throughout the game.  His shots suffered because of it, only taking 1, but his play on defense was very strong as he deflected passes and made sure no one got the puck in front of Fleury when he was on.

2)  Alexandre Picard.  After arriving at the arena less than an hour before game time, Picard put together a very strong game in the absence of Letang and Michalek.  I thought Picard played great during his previous call up, and he continued his strong play with 3 blocked shots and good puck movement on the powerplay when he was on.  He was very dependable with Bortuzzo on the other side, not missing a beat in his call-up. 

3)  Joe Vitale.  Though Vitale only played 9 shifts for 6:58, he made this list for his fantastic shift in the 1st period where he was on Lundqvist’s crease and causing complete chaos.  He drew penalties out of Lundqvist and Emminger, has he battled them both without a helmet trying to screen Lundqvist.  It’s the exact type of play you want out of your 4th liners.  I was rather baffled as to why he didn’t get more shifts later on when it was clear he was having an energy night.
Scrappiness...check.

 Bottom 3
1)  Brooks Orpik.  Two penalties, including an incredibly stupid one with the Pens killing a 5 on 3 powerplay for the Rangers, bought Orpik this spot.  His hitting was strong, but he was a tad overzealous at times.  He also was beat by Rangers players to the crease a few times, which is what frequently led to his hitting since he was out of position.  Just a matter of Brooks trying to do too much tonight I think.

2)  Chris Kunitz.  Kunitz had a downright awful 3rd period, not being able to control the puck and taking a stupid (albeit questionable) boarding penalty late in the 3rd period.  As the Penguins pushed towards tying the game, his performance fell apart.  He turned it over at his own blue line, the Rangers blue line, and couldn’t seem to get anything going tonight. 

3)  Deryk Engelland.  There was a big increase in Engelland’s offensive game, as he assisted on a goal and he attempted 5 shots, but his defense suffered tonight.  He was beat cleanly by a couple of Rangers, fanned on the puck in his own zone a couple of times, and took a penalty on Gaborik when he skated right past him.  Both him and Orpik appeared to just have their feet a little too set against the Rangers quick forwards tonight.
Maybe not optimal defensive positioning
 
Injury Report:
- Brian Strait (elbow) is day to day
- Ben Lovejoy (wrist) will be out for at least 5 more weeks
- Dustin Jeffrey is on the IR as he rehabs his knee
- Steve MacIntyre was placed on the IR for a lingering upper body injury
- Kris Letang sat out the game after breaking his nose against Montreal.  He will return to Pittsburgh for precautionary evaluation
- Zbynek Michalek sat out tonight’s game, and his heading back to Pittsburgh for precautionary evaluation


Random Notes:
- The Pens called up Picard and Bortuzzo to step in for the injured Dmen
- D pairings were: Engelland/Martin, Orpik/Niskanen, Picard/Bortuzzo
- Martin took Letang’s spot on the powerplay
- 1st period PPs: 3-0 Pens.  After: 6-1 Rangers.  Interesting when Tortorella had a conversation with the refs going into the 2nd and one of them replied “there are still 40 minutes left”
- The Pens lost the faceoff battle 17 to 40, with no one having a winning faceoff record
- First game this season that Fleury has allowed more than 3 goals…I know the game wasn’t all on him, but I still question when Brent Johnson will spell him, it’s been a while.
Rough night for Flower, with 2 PP goals against not helping.


Random Thoughts:
- Is this team allergic to being healthy?  Are they all hypochondriacs?
- I’d much rather see Niskanen on the top powerplay than Martin.  He gets a lot more shots on net in general
- Paul Martin pinches way too much for a guy who doesn’t put the puck in the net
- The penalties in the 3rd were quite one sided, but the Pens have to know better than to put themselves in those situations


Takeaways:
1)  Coach’s Influence.  The Penguins deserved most of the penalties they took in the game, but it was very suspicious that Tortorella talked to the ref before the 2nd period and the penalties magically shifted from 3-0 Pens in the 1st to 6-1 Rangers in the 2nd and 3rd.  The only questionable penalty was really Kunitz’s with 3 minutes left, but I find it hard to believe that the Rangers didn’t do anything as small as Engelland’s little slash on the hands that got him a penalty.  It was quite unprofessional for the ref to have a give and take with Torts before the period started.

2)  Late Injuries.  Michalek and Letang were late scratches today after taking the game day skate.  As such, Picard and Bortuzzo showed up at MSG at around 6:40, and both played very admirably for their late arrival.  The Penguins really do have a lot of depth on defense that goes unappreciated.  However, that depth certainly isn’t strong enough to keep the PK % as high as it is, nor will it add the potential offense that Letang does.  Expect Fleury’s #’s to drop if both defensemen miss some time.

3)  Deserved Playing Time.  I can’t comprehend why Vitale didn’t get more ice time than 6:58 tonight.  He was a spark plug for the team and clearly getting under the Rangers’ skin in the 1st period.  I can’t help but wonder if he would have drawn more ire from the Rangers as the game went on if he was on the powerplay or even just on the ice more.  For that matter, Picard also deserved more playing time for his efforts, though that one makes more sense since he was called up hours ago.


Pens Record: 14-7-4, 32 pts.
Goals For: 80
Goals Against: 63
PP %:  19% (20 for 105)
PK %:  90% (77 for 86)

Next Game:  12/1 @ Was, 7pm  LET’S GO PENS!!!

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Karma wins out, Pens win 4-3 (OT)!!


Pens 4  Habs 3 (OT)
Goals:  Malkin (8) from Kunitz, Crosby
            Dupuis (6) from Martin, Cooke
            Staal (12) from Malkin
            Letang (3) from Neal (OT game winner)


Top 3:   
1)  Evgeni Malkin.  Geno scored the opening goal just seconds into the game and set up Staal on a long cross ice pass for the game tying goal late in the 3rd to make his mark on this game.  He played a solid offensive game, attempting 10 shots (hitting on 6) and had a didn’t have his usual turnover issues.  The only downside to his game tonight was a 2 for 8 faceoff performance, an issue that plagued most of the team.

 2)  Jordan Staal.  As Steigerwald said on the broadcast (and how could you miss it, he repeated it 9078097 times), Staal was a monster in this game.  He was great on the backcheck, stripping the Canadiens of the puck a few times.  He was his usual self on the penalty kill, and came up huge with the game tying goal in the 3rd period.  It will be interesting to see how frequently he is put with Malkin as the season wears on.
Look out Neal, Staal is coming for ya in goals!
 3)  Kris Letang.  All eyes were on Letang for this one as he got wrecked by Max Pacioretty and what surely was an illegal hit (though not called a penalty).  Letang broke his nose on the hit in the 3rd period, got a pin placed in, and came back to score the winner in overtime on an odd play where all but about 4 people thought Price had the puck covered.  All you can say is what a beast of a game for Letang.  Talk about a hockey player!


Bottom 3
1)  Tyler Kennedy.  TK followed up one of his best nights with a very quiet one.  He was lazy on a backcheck that led to a goal for Montreal and he didn’t add much to the offense tonight.  The problem with a player like Kennedy is that, if he’s not giving 110%, his effectiveness drops remarkably. 

2)  Matt Cooke.  Kennedy’s frequent linemate also had a rough night, as he set the example for TK by being lazy on a backcheck that led to the first Montreal goal.  The linemates together did a poor job of covering trailing players into zone tonight.  For Cooke to be effective, he has to be a grinder and a harder work on both sides of the ice.  Tonight wasn’t his best effort.

3)  James Neal.  Despite the fact that Neal leads the team in goals, it’s hard not to think that his hot start is going to slow down, and it might be doing that right now.  He still managed 5 shots on net, but his overall play is starting to slow down a bit.  He took 2 needless penalties and was demoted off of the “hero” line with Crosby and Malkin (replaced by Sullivan, Cooke, and Kunitz at times).  He still was 3rd in ice time for the forwards, but we’ll have to keep an eye on his progress after a blazing start.


Injury Report:
- Brian Strait (elbow) is day to day
- Ben Lovejoy (wrist) will be out for at least 5 more weeks
- Dustin Jeffrey is on the IR as he rehabs his knee
- Kris Letang left the game late in the 3rd period after breaking his nose, but returned in overtime.
No need to penalize for this, it's okay.
 
Random Notes:
- Kunitz had 2 goals disallowed…for the 2nd time this season

 
Random Thoughts:
- Pacioretty’s hit on Letang…wow, Shanahan can have fun with that one
- A true display of Cooke’s maturity:  he was next to Letang when he got hit and Cooke didn’t chase after Pacioretty
- This was an awfully officiated game, including Letang’s winner.
- Sid looked perfectly fine in back to back nights
- I was surprised Brent Johnson didn’t start either of the weekend back to back games


Takeaways:
1)  Fleury Came Up Big.  Most people will be talking about Letang, Staal, and Malkin in this one.  Don’t forget Fleury.  He may have let up 3 goals, but he made some HUGE saves throughout the game, especially on the penalty kill, to keep the Penguins in striking distance.  MAF is getting harder and harder to rattle for opposing teams, and it makes the Penguins a dangerous team no matter what the score is.  This is the 3rd time this season that the Pens have come back to win a game in which they were down 2 goals (happened 0 times last year).
All he does is win win win.

2)  Neal and Sullivan Switch.  Neal is still got 7 more minutes of ice time than Sullivan in this game, but Sullivan is starting to play with Malkin and Crosby is more key energy situations.  As Sullivan starts scoring again (hopefully he keeps it up), it will be interesting to see how that ice time gets split up and how it affects Neal.  It’s clear that both Sullivan and Neal have chemistry with Malkin.  The kicker might be finding out who has more chemistry with Crosby.

3)  Awful Refs.  This game was horrendous.  Letang’s goal probably shouldn’t have been allowed.  Pacioretty should probably have been given a 5 minute major for his hit on Letang.  Orpik’s penalty for hitting Pacioretty in front of the net was a normal hockey play.  The linesmen and refs got in the way of a few dump ins and clears.  Hell, a ref even got in the way to send Kunitz on a breakaway for his 2nd disallowed goal.  The officiating crew was generally horrible in every aspect for this game.  Anytime that happens, you’re lucky to get 2 points because it may be out of your hands.  Thankfully for the Pens, they won out in this one.


Pens Record: 14-6-4, 32 pts.
Goals For: 77
Goals Against: 59
PP %:  19% (19 for 101)
PK %:  91% (73 for 80)

Next Game:  11/29 @ NYR, 7:30pm  LET’S GO PENS!!!

Penguins outgun Senators, win 6-3

Pens 6  Sens 3
Goals:  Kunitz (8) from Crosby, Engelland
            Kennedy (3) from Martin, Fleury
            Sullivan (4) (PP) from Malkin, Crosby
            Malkin (7) from Letang, Crosby
            Dupuis (5) from Asham, Kennedy
            Staal (11) from Kennedy, Martin



Top 3:   
1)  Tyler Kennedy.  TK has quietly put together a very impressive comeback from his short absence due to a concussion.  He scored a very odd goal, putting it in off of Anderson’s feet from behind the net, and also added 2 assists on the night.  With the lineup back at full strength, Kennedy has excelled at playing his spark plug/scrapper role, averaging around 14-15 minutes and chasing the puck all over the ice.
Who invited this guy?
 2)  Evgeni Malkin.  Malkin looked very impressive tonight, especially on his goal, where he took an awkward bounce and weaved between a bunch of Senators before ripping a wrist shot past Anderson.  He frequently found himself on the point during powerplays and in the course of the game when Letang went in deep, and he looked comfortable and worked the puck well from these spots.  This is a massive improvement from last year when he looked very shaky at best when covering on the blue line.

3)  Zbynek Michalek.  Michalek quietly played a very strong game in what turned to be quite a high scoring game.  He had a couple of takeaways and led the team with 5 blocked shots.  It’s nice to see that after breaking his finger while blocking a shot, he hasn’t shied away from getting in front of the puck.  Michalek also played almost 6 minutes on the penalty kill, helping them greatly in keeping Ottawa out of the game.


Bottom 3
1)  Joe Vitale.  Vitale was key in faceoffs, going 8 for 10.  Aside from that though, I was not thrilled with his play.  As he fights with Richard Park for the last dressing spot on a nightly basis, I expect Vitale to provide few mistakes and a lot of energy.  Instead, he took a bad penalty and was pretty invisible during the game.  He’s going to have to improve his consistency if he wants to stay in the lineup regularly. 
He may have left his feet on this one...
 2)  Matt Niskanen.  Niskanen didn’t play horrible, but definitely looked out of sync with his coverage in the corners at times.  He was hesitant to take skaters moving out of the corners in conjunction with the forwards.  Niskanen and Engelland blatantly made bad reads on the 3rd goal by Ottawa.

3)  Deryk Engelland.  Engelland gets to be here with his defensive partner, though he made a great play to skate the puck up and assist on Kunitz’s goal in the 1st period.  Engelland is generally slow to get to players due to his overall size and stride, but he usually makes up for it with positioning.  He was a little off tonight as he appeared to be out of sync with Niskanen.  The pairing wasn’t horrible, but they just weren’t up to par tonight.


Injury Report:
- Brian Strait (elbow) is day to day
- Ben Lovejoy (wrist) will be out for at least 5 more weeks
- Dustin Jeffrey is expected to take the next 2 weeks to continue rehabbing his knee for strength and was placed on the IR


Random Notes:
- Paul Martin played in his 500th game



Random Thoughts:
- How does Adams go in on a breakaway and slashing is called on Ottawa, but no penalty shot?
- I was very surprised Brent Johnson didn’t start this one so Fleury could start tomorrow


Takeaways:
1)  Where did Bylsma’s system go?  On both offense and defense, the Pens are making things more difficult on themselves.  On defense, positioning has been off and all 5 players are chasing the puck a lot more.  On offense, there is a lot more passing going on and things appear to be more complicated than necessary.  The Pens need to get back to basics and get some of these scores down before they will be achieving their potential. 
Retro Bylsma doesn't use systems
 2)  Offensive Juggernaut.  Offensive potential?  Achieved.  Sure, Craig Anderson looked horrible in net as the Penguins scored 4 on him in 10 minutes, but still, the Pens can do it.  12 players got into the act getting points, led by Crosby and Kennedy with 3 each.  No team is going to want to get into a fire fight with this team, and Ottawa just found out why.

3)  New Potential Lines.  There was a big buzz about Dupuis playing center in this game and Staal moving to Malkin’s wing for a little bit as well.  Dupuis looked solid at center, and certainly has the capability to handle the defensive responsibilities.  It was also fun to see a line of Crosby-Malkin-Staal on the ice for a minute.  I’d like to see the opposing coach who knows how to handle that.


Pens Record: 13-6-4, 30 pts.
Goals For: 73
Goals Against: 56
PP %:  19% (19 for 98)
PK %:  91% (69 for 76)

Next Game:  11/26 @ Mtl, 7:30pm  LET’S GO PENS