Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Florida Panthers Defeat Pittsburgh 6-4: Goal Assessment

As I make my transition to The PensNation, I'm going to start putting my thoughts on their site and the full +/- assessments on this blog (with links on each page).  You can find my thoughts here.
Also, if you are going through podcast withdrawal, subscribe to theirs here.  Meanwhile, here are highlights and your goal assessment (if you have no clue what I'm doing with this goal assessment, visit http://www.crosbyftw.com/p/plusminus-spreadsheet.html).



1st Goal Against (Kopecky), - for
  • Kennedy: was in the box for a boarding penalty
  • Dupuis: doesn’t take a single stride as Kopecky skates past him
1st Goal For (Neal), + for
  • Orpik: retrieves the puck in the defensive corner and pushes it along to Martin
  • Martin: taps the puck ahead to Kunitz leaving the defensive zone
  • Kunitz: backhands the puck to Crosby skating through the neutral zone
  • Crosby: passes the puck to Neal as they enter the offensive zone
  • Neal: takes a wrist shot that beats Theodore short-side
2nd Goal Against (Kopecky), - for
  • Orpik: was in the box for an elbowing penalty
  • Letang: fails to clear the puck when he has it in the corner
3rd Goal Against (Campbell), - for
  • Glass: was in the box for a high sticking penalty
  • Dupuis: fans on a clearing attempt at the blue line
4th Goal Against (Goc), - for
  • Dupuis: was in the box for a hooking penalty
  • Sutter: fails to clear the puck on the boards, then lets Kopecky skate right past him
  • Martin: backs away from Goc, giving him positioning to tap the puck in
2nd Goal For (Jeffrey), + for
  • Kennedy: puts in forechecking effort to keep Panthers’ defensemen off the puck
  • Bennett: goes to the corner to retrieve the puck and passes it to Orpik at the point
  • Orpik: draws a Florida forward away and passes the puck over to Jeffrey
  • Jeffrey: takes a wrist shot that beats Theodore
3rd Goal For (Martin), + for
  • Neal: retrieves a loose puck in the defensive zone and skates it to the offensive zone, passing to Martin
  • Martin: one-times a shot past Theodore
4th Goal For (Kunitz), + for
  • Crosby: retrieves the puck in the corner and passes it down to Kunitz
  • Kunitz: attempts to center the puck and it deflects off of a defenseman and goes in
5th Goal Against (Fleischmann), - for
  • Letang: chases his own missed shot deep into the offensive zone as a penalty expires, leaving Niskanen back for a 2 on 1
  • Niskanen: doesn’t compensate for Florida’s speed coming down the ice and never turns towards the puck
6th Goal Against (Kopecky), - for
  • No One: empty netter and crazy bounce off the boards
Season +/-:  Click here for the Season +/- Spreadsheet

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Pens Player Power Rankings - Week 6

The Pens went 2-1 with an ugly loss to Philly last week.  Malkin is out, Eaton is back, and GMs are starting to make trades.  Look out, Shero!  (Eaton will debut on the rankings next week)

Rank
Player (Last Rank)
Last Week's Performance
1
Paul Martin (4)
Quietly had the most productive offensive week of any Penguin.  Wait, what? Still playing solid defense too. What, again? (1g, 4a)
2
Marc-Andre Fleury (1)
Continuing to set aside doubters with steady play throughout February. (2-0, 2.00 GAA, .925 Save %)
3
Sidney Crosby (2)
Pacing the Pens in offensive creativity, but could stand to make a few less passes. (2g, 2a, 12 shots, 42/72 faceoffs)
4
Kris Letang (9)
Playing at full speed and more importantly, getting smarter with the puck. (4a, 5 hits)
5
Matt Niskanen (8)
Showing off a very accurate shot from the point and increasing his physical game in the defensive zone. (2g)
6
James Neal (6)
Still leans heavily on the PP for production, but transitioned very well to the top line on Sunday. (1g, 3a, 3 hits)
7
Matt Cooke (13)
Out of his early season slump and playing well at both ends of the ice finally. (1g, 3a)
8
Brooks Orpik (3)
Consistently leading the team in blocked shots but could be more physical on the crease (1a, 4 hits, 11 blocks)
9
Chris Kunitz (10)
Slowing down on offense but still forechecking heavily to make Sid's job easier (1g, 1a, 10 hits)
10
Brandon Sutter (15)
Still great on defense and is improving his transition game in the neutral zone. (1g, 1a, 27/47 faceoffs)
11
Pascal Dupuis (5)
No offensive production and getting shuffled around, but still very dependable in his own zone. (7 hits, 4 blocks)
12
Beau Bennett (19)
Scored his first NHL goal and looks very smart all over the ice. Hopefully will get more ice time moving forward. (1g)
13
Deryk Engelland (16)
Seems to get easily distracted at times, but has generally done his job well. (4 blocks)
14
Joe Vitale (11)
Questionably scratched once last week but flat out dominating in faceoffs and provides tons of energy. (13/15 faceoffs)
15
Tanner Glass (14)
Still throwing the body and forechecking but it doesn't look like his game will improve beyond that. (9 PIM,  7 hits)
16
Dustin Jeffrey (23)
Awful in the faceoff circle so far but is looking better with the puck and a regular shift (1g, 7/21 faceoffs)
17
Simon Despres (18)
Inconsistent but not making any costly errors. Still has room to grow. (no significant stats)
18
Craig Adams (7)
Took a couple of rough penalties this week that hurt the team.  (4 PIM, 5 hits)
19
Tyler Kennedy (17)
Perhaps the most frustrating player alive right now. Showing flashes of improvement followed by 8 turnovers. (1g, 1a)
20
Robert Bortuzzo (21)
Struggling to get into the lineup and will not be helped by the Eaton signing. (no significant stats)
21
Tomas Vokoun (22)
Looked simply awful in his only appearance of the week. (0-1, 6.11 GAA, .813 Save %)
22
Zach Boychuk (20)
May never see the Pens lineup again (Did Not Play)
INJ
Evgeni Malkin (12)
Out Indefinitely - Concussion (1g, 2a, 4 PIM, 10 shots, 8/16 faceoffs)

Bennett Scores in Win; Pens Sign Mark Eaton


Main Storylines:
  • Evgeni Malkin is out indefinitely with a concussion. He will not join the team on the upcoming road trip.
  • Neal is moving up to the 1st line. The second line is Bennett-Sutter-Dupuis. Jeffrey is the 3rd line center.
  • The scratches are Malkin (concussion), Bortuzzo and Boychuk.

Pens 5  Lightning 3
Goals:  Crosby (8) from Kunitz
            Crosby (9) from Neal, Martin
            Martin (3) from Cooke
            Bennett (1) (PP) from Crosby, Letang
            Cooke (3) from Sutter, Letang

Stats:
  • Matt Cooke recorded his 200th career assist.
  • Sidney Crosby moved into 3rd place all-time on the Penguins’ franchise points list.
  • Beau Bennett recorded his 1st NHL point and 1st NHL goal.
  • Crosby led the team with 5 shots; Cooke was next with 3.
  • Brooks Orpik led the team with 4 blocks.
  • Everyone had at least 10 minutes of ice time except for Joe Vitale.
  • Vitale was the only positive faceoff guy, going 8 for 9 (Crosby 13/27, Sutter 5/14, Jeffrey 5/13)

The Good:
The first of many trips down the bench for Beau.
  • Beau Bennett:  Bennett was on this list before his goal and he shot to the top after it.  He has already demonstrated in just a few games that he can handle himself anywhere on the ice and with anyone.  He looked very good with Sutter and made several smart defensive plays including a diving poke check to get the puck out of the zone.  Add in his first NHL goal and things are looking great for Bennett.  It shouldn’t be long before Bylsma is giving him more than 11 minutes a game.
  • Matt Cooke:  Cooke’s two points were nice but it was his ability to create chances in the offensive zone and take away chances in the defensive zone that earned him praise.  He probably played his most well-rounded game of the season with a strong forecheck and doing a great job clogging up the neutral and defensive zones.  He played more than usual, over 18 minutes, and earned every single shift he had.
  • Sidney Crosby:  Sid stepped up in Geno’s absence (no he didn’t, he just played his regular game) and led the team with 5 shots and 3 points in only 19:59 of ice time.  Sid’s TOI was relatively low with few powerplay attempts and Bylsma using his checking lines against the Stamkos line, but Crosby was productive nonetheless.  He was much more careful with his passes in this game and I only had him marked down for one errant pass (a season low, I believe).
  • Marc-Andre Fleury:  Even when he’s allowing 3 goals, Fleury is still looking good.  He stopped 27 of 30 shots and tried to add a goal of his own but was stopped short.  He was clutch in stopping breakaways by Nate Thompson and Jeff Panik and put on another performance where he didn’t allow a bad goal.  Fleury has easily put to rest any “goalie controversy.”

Noteworthy:
  • Entire Defense:  The defense as a whole played well, limiting the Lightning to goals on 2 crazy bounces and a 5 on 3 chance, but still showed some red flags.  They received a LOT of help from the forwards in this game and it was quite necessary.  Every single defenseman struggled to judge or keep up with the speed of Tampa Bay’s forwards which led to numerous odd man breaks and breakaways.  When the Pens score 5, it’s not an issue.  However, the defensive core will need to adapt better against well-rounded teams with speed.

The Bad:
  • Engelland-Despres Pair:  I thought this pair struggled through much of the night, making quite a few ill-advised passes and failing to clear the defensive zone a few times.  They each had some very nice step ups and stretch passes, but as a whole it was a sub-par game.  This pairing definitely had the most problems with the speed of Tampa Bay.  Quick, forced decisions were frequently bad decisions.  Luckily, with only 13 minutes each on the ice, nothing bad came of it.

+/- Assessment:
"All hail Sidney Crosby!!  Oh wait, I'm Sidney Crosby."
  • 1st GF (Crosby): + for Kunitz (picks off neutral zone pass, passes up to Crosby), Crosby (picks the corner on Lindback for the goal)
  • 2nd GF (Crosby): + for Neal (picks off puck in D zone), Kunitz (brings puck into the zone, passes to Martin), Martin (takes shot from the point), Crosby (gets goal after it hits off of him)
  • 3rd GF (Martin): + for Cooke (picks off pass in D zone, takes shot on net), Dupuis (keeps TB dman honest and from going to Martin), Martin (scores on rebound)
  • 1st GA (Brewer): - for Orpik (turns it over trying to exit the zone), Neal (2 strides slow in following Brewer)
  • 2nd GA (Stamkos): - for Despres (penalty), Adams (penalty)
  • 4th GF (Bennett): + for Letang (rushes over to keep puck in the zone, passes to Crosby), Crosby (passes to Bennett), Bennett (one-timer goal)
  • 3rd GA (Conacher): - for no one, unlucky bounce
  • 5th GF (Cooke): + for Letang (retrieves puck in defensive corner, moves it up to Sutter), Sutter (cross-ice pass to Cooke), Cooke (empty net goal)
  • Season +/-:  Click here for the Season +/- Spreadsheet
  • **In an effort to make this a more valuable statistic, I’m going to work in TOI in the next couple days for the season totals**

Thoughts:
Am I the only one that sees him as
very replaceable?
  • New Lines:  The new lines were simply fantastic top to bottom.  Kunitz-Crosby-Neal worked great together right off the first shift and Neal demonstrated he can play with anyone.  His defensive prowess is also up there with that of Pascal Dupuis, so the line didn’t miss a beat.  Bennett-Sutter-Dupuis had the wingers rotated around a bit, but worked very well as a unit.  It was an incredibly strong defensive unit that showed good quickness to the puck.  Cooke-Jeffrey-Kennedy played strong as a 3rd line and had a great forecheck going through many shifts.  It was a strong balance of grit, speed, and skill for a 3rd line.  The 4th line was the same as usual (Glass-Vitale-Adams) and performed mostly well as usual.  No changes necessary with any of this.
  • Neal Play:  One thing to note is how frequently the Pens will set up the Neal faceoff play with Malkin out of the lineup.  Crosby is a better faceoff guy and won 2 pucks cleanly back to Neal for shots against Tampa Bay.  We will probably see a lot more of it in the next week at least.
  • Eaton Signing:  As I’m writing this a night after the Lightning game, it’s also after the Pens have signed Mark Eaton to a 1 year, $725,000 deal.  Personally, I do not like this deal but I also understand where it’s coming from.  Bylsma and Shero have always placed a significant value on depth veterans and they clearly prefer to have one instead of Bortuzzo/Despres logging big minutes in the lineup.  Bortuzzo cannot be sent down without going on waivers (he WILL be claimed), so expect him to stick around barring a trade.  Despres can be sent down, though I don’t believe he should be.  Bortuzzo and Despres are ready to log NHL minutes.  Despres has a higher upside, Bortuzzo is the steadier guy.  Eaton to me is a smarter version of Engelland without the big size/fighting ability.  I would rather have Eaton in than Engelland though.  I would also rather have Bortuzzo and/or Despres in over either of them.  My depth chart: Bortuzzo, Despres, Eaton, Engelland.  The Pens surely do not see it this way, but that is the reason that I will be up in arms over the Eaton signing.  I don’t think he should be in over the 2 younger guys who have earned their spots in the NHL already.  I also don’t like the message this continues to send to younger defensemen in the lineup.  It already appeared to be Despres vs. Bortuzzo, now that situation will likely get worse.
  • Future Moves:  Since Malkin was placed on the IR, that created room for Eaton.  When Malkin comes back, something will have to give.  Many people are suggesting Boychuk will go, but I’m still curious to see if he gets another chance while Malkin is out.  I also (personally) think it’s better to have 2 forwards and 1 defenseman in the press box than the other way around.  Based solely on how I would build a roster, my move would be send Despres down, perhaps trade him if the right deal comes along, or honestly – trade Engelland for a pick.  The most likely solution will be to send Despres down unless Shero finds the right deal for him though.


Pens Record: 13-6-0, 26 pts
Next Game:  2/26 @ Fla, 7:30pm

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Pens Beat Panthers; Malkin Has Concussion-Like Symptoms


Main Storylines:
  • Marc-Andre Fleury is back in net. Joe Vitale and Robert Bortuzzo are healthy scratches.  Dustin Jeffrey and Simon Despres take their places respectively.
  • Florida goalie Jacob Markstrom is making his first start of the year after being called up this week
  • Alexei Kovalev returns to the lineup for Florida after being a healthy scratch last game
  • The starting lineup is Beau Bennett with Malkin and Neal

Pens 3  Panthers 1
Goals:  Kunitz (7) (PP) from Neal, Malkin
            Niskanen (3) from Letang
            Jeffrey (1) from Cooke, Kennedy

Stats:
  • Though I have my issues with how the stat is recorded, the Pens had 11 giveaways to the Panthers’ 1.
  • Pascal Dupuis led the team in shots (5) and blocked shots (4). Malkin also had 5 shots.
  • Chris Kunitz led in hits (4).
  • Only 3 players didn’t reach the 10 minute mark for TOI: Jeffrey (9:23), Glass (9:01), Kennedy (8:56)
  • Brandon Sutter was the only good faceoff man, going 14 for 18.  Crosby was 8 for 17, Malkin 1 for 6, Jeffrey 2 for 8.

The Good:
Keep that stache you goal scoring creeper.
  • Marc-Andre Fleury:  MAF continued his good string of starts, stopping 22 of 23 shots to earn the win.  He certainly wasn’t tested frequently, only facing 3 shots in the 1st period to begin with, but he did make all the tough saves he needed to.  The only goal he allowed was through some screens; it was definitely an acceptable goal against.  Keep it up Flower.
  • Matt Niskanen:  Nisky had a great night in the offensive zone, accumulating 3 great shots from the point with 1 resulting in the game winning goal.  He also played well in his own end, mixing in a variety of poke checks and stepping up for hits to separate opposing forwards from the puck.  Add in his team-leading two takeaways and it was a top-notch game for Niskanen.  Also, from my power rankings at the start of this week: "Appears to be improving each game since his return and will likely challenge 7 and 44 for top Dman this week."  It looks like he'll take it with ease right now.
  • Brandon Sutter:  Sutter quietly played a strong game in winning 14 of 18 faceoffs and clogging up the neutral zone for the Panthers.  He continues to make his mark defensively (though it largely goes unseen) as he gets in passing lanes and positions himself perfectly to neutralize opposing breakouts.  He’s not very flashy in the defensive zone, but his defensive awareness is off the charts.

Noteworthy:
This goal celebration is not G rated.
  • Sidney Crosby:  Crosby and the first line continue to be the most creative and most consistent line the Penguins have.  Crosby himself though is still in the mindset of forcing passes and giving the puck away, especially on the powerplay.  It’s the only complaint anyone can have about Sid’s game right now, but it’s a big momentum neutralizer that needs to stop.
  • Dustin Jeffrey:  We saw two sides to Dustin Jeffrey against the Panthers.  One side was his 4th line center version, where he did nothing noticeable and was pretty much invisible on the ice.  The other side was his 3rd line center version, where he looked adept with the puck and confident going to the net.  Jeffrey is not an energy forechecker and does not look great in that role.  Give him the chance to be a skill guy, and there’s an immediate improvement in his game, which was rewarded with a goal.
  • Tyler Kennedy: Kennedy barely stays out of the bottom two sections because of his last 10 minutes of play.  He was downright awful in the first period with neutral zone turnover after turnover.  His second period didn’t improve, so Bylsma benched him for the 2nd half of the period.  In the 3rd period, he took an unnecessary slashing penalty on his 1st shift.  Kennedy had 6 negative points in my little rating system in just a period and a half (no one else on the team finished with more than 2).  HOWEVER, his final 10 minutes were strong.  They were strong enough that he forechecked his way into helping out with the Penguins’ final two goals.  If getting benched doesn’t wake him up and get him to continue that last 10 minutes into the next game (if he even gets that opportunity), he needs to be a healthy scratch.

The Bad:
  • Turnovers:  Pointed out by Michael Barron (@mdjbarron), the Penguins had an awful lot of turnovers in the neutral zone (beyond the “11 giveaways”).  It was hidden during the game thanks to great puck support and a relatively sluggish Florida team playing their 2nd game in as many nights.  That’s the problem that plagues the team against faster, up-tempo rosters (see: Toronto, NYI).  It’s something to watch for as the season continues on.

The Ugly:
:-(
  • Malkin Injury:  Now to the worst part of the game.  I won’t post the video because I’m sure no one wants to see it again, but Malkin is currently out with “concussion-like symptoms” according to Rossi and Yohe at the Trib.  He’s already listed as out for Sunday’s game against Tampa Bay and the Penguins are being extremely cautious to check his neck and back as well (lesson learned).  The hit by Erik Gudbranson was clean; it was just unfortunate with how Malkin slammed into the boards and slammed his head into the boards.  Hope for the best.

+/- Assessment:
  • 1st GA (Weaver): - for Martin (fails to clear the puck twice)
  • 1st GF (Kunitz): + for Malkin (brings puck into the zone, drops to Neal, passes to Neal again later), Neal (passes to Martin, puts puck on net), Martin (passes to Letang), Letang (passes back down to Malkin), Kunitz (crashes the crease for a goal)
  • 2nd GF (Niskanen): + for Bennett (pressure on the puck), Kennedy (pressure on the puck), Letang (keeps puck in, pass to Niskanen), Niskanen (goal from the point)
  • 3rd GF (Jeffrey): + for Kennedy (prevents Panthers clear), Cooke (pass to Jeffrey), Jeffrey (goal)
  • Season +/-:  Click here for the Season +/- Spreadsheet
  • **In an effort to make this a more valuable statistic, I’m going to work in TOI in the next couple days for the season totals**

Thoughts:
Kunitz scores before being violently attacked.
  • Weaver Elbow:  Pointed out by Eric Majeski (@LGP_Netwolf), Kunitz took a VICIOUS elbow after he scored for the Pens to tie it up.  Upon watching the replay, Mike Weaver takes a second to look at Kunitz, then winds up and goes full elbow with a follow through on Kunitz’s face.  It’s looked very deliberate and intentional and should have been penalized after the goal.  I doubt it would lead to any supplemental discipline, but it’s something the league should at least look at because that crap needs to get out of the game.
  • Malkin Aftermath:  With Malkin missing time, Bylsma has already stated that the 2nd line will likely be Bennett-Sutter-Neal and Jeffrey will be the 3rd line center.  Vitale certainly gets back into the lineup as the 4th line center.  It will be interesting to see if Boychuk is given a chance to take Kennedy’s spot on the 3rd line wing (or potentially 2nd line wing with Sutter) for a game or not.  Sutter has been brilliant defensively but hasn’t added a ton offensively yet.  It will be interesting to see how he deals with the bump up and if he can get his offensive game going next to Neal.  At least the 2nd line at even strength has already been quiet so there won’t be a massive drop off there.  I would imagine the top powerplay becomes Kunitz-Crosby-Neal-Letang-Martin which is more than serviceable for a while.  I daresay that based on the 2nd line performance so far, the Pens will survive Malkin’s injury just fine in the short term.
  • Gudbranson’s Comments:  If you happened to see what Erik Gudbranson said about the hit, it was a little interesting.  He stated, “I finished my check. You never want to see a guy go down.  He’s in a vulnerable position but you can’t pass up a hit like that.  It’s unfortunate that he got hurt on the play but it’s one that I’d take every time.” (Quote from @emptynetters).  I’ll be honest, I love the quote.  He was honest and it was a clean hit, he really did nothing wrong.  If Orpik or Kunitz were in the same situation, I would want them to finish the hit and I would love it if they were candid about it.  Same goes for the opponent.


Pens Record: 12-6-0, 24 pts
Next Game:  2/24 vs TB, 7:30pm

Friday, February 22, 2013

Pens Pregame Thoughts & Death of the Podcast

Just a few thoughts heading into the Panthers game tonight:

Lines at the Gameday Skate:

Kunitz-Crosby-Dupuis 
Cooke-Malkin-Neal 
Bennett-Sutter-Kennedy 
Glass-Jeffrey-Adams 
(Boychuk, Vitale)

Orpik-Martin 
Niskanen-Letang 
Engelland-Despres 
Eaton-Bortuzzo

Ummm, what?  What did Vitale do to get bumped off the 4th line?  What did Bortuzzo do to get bumped off the 3rd pair? Is there a coaching handbook that says "Following a loss - change one 4th line forward and one 3rd pair defenseman?" I guess for this team, it would say the 4th line center.

Sorry Joe, maybe if you put in less effort.
Vitale should be a staple in the lineup by now. He brings more energy to this team than any other player and has been dominant in the faceoff circle.  Moreover, he's a great fit on the 4th line.  Inserting Jeffrey on the 4th line does no favors to the team or DJ.  I love Jeffrey's defensive prowess and puck skills, but most of that won't be on display on the 4th line.  It does give Bylsma the option of juggling lines though and we all know how awesome that is....

As for the defensive side, I firmly believe Bortuzzo and Despres should both be in over Engelland.  Both have higher upside, and both have brought more to the table this season as well.  This is turning into a game of Survivor between Despres and Bortuzzo.  There is no quicker way to slow their development and ruin any confidence each of them has.  Remember the comments Strait made about essentially being terrified of making a mistake because he would get benched?  Despres and Bortuzzo are living that world right now.  That's a great way to risk ruining one, if not both prospects.  

Admittedly, there is a small part of me starting to wonder if Bylsma and Shero's true developmental styles, techniques, and skills aren't being masked by the greatness that is Crosby and Malkin (which spills over to their linemates) right now.  Take note that I did not include Letang there because for all the natural skill he has, I'm not sure what to say about him developing into a better player than he was.  One day in the future, I'm going to sit down and take a long look at who exactly has developed well under this regime.

Please don't ruin him.
As for Beau Bennett, as I mentioned in my Flyers recap - I'm okay with him on the 3rd line.  I don't think he's being used enough or properly, but I would rather see him gain confidence on the 3rd line than watch him get thrown from 2nd line to healthy scratch because of a bad game.  All I ask with Bennett is that he is used steadily to help him grow his game.  I want to see him on the 2nd line wing, but that position has been anything but steady and this just might be safer for his development right now.

Last thought on the lineup...HOW HAS KENNEDY NOT EVEN BEEN BENCHED FOR ONE GAME YET?!?

Last Night: Panthers 5  Flyers 2

While the result appeared lopsided and the Panthers got off to a very quick start against the Flyers, don't let the score fool you.  The Panthers were by no means dominant against Philly; they pretty much capitalized on 3 huge mistakes by the Flyers in the 1st period.  This should be a win if the Penguins just play smart, focused hockey.  I don't believe that'll be an issue after that Flyers loss.

Weird Stat for the Panthers, here are their goal outputs for the last 6 games (record of 1-2-3): 0, 5, 0, 5, 0, 5.  Fleury shutout on the horizon?

Death of the Podcast

As you may have noticed, we have not done a podcast in two weeks now.  I'll throw Adam under the bus for having a life and a busy schedule.  In the wake of such factors, I am joining the crew at The PensNation and will eventually start doing posts on their site.  I have already been joining them on some of their radio shows, so make sure you check out their site.  Here is an iTunes podcast link for their shows.  Thanks for listening to the CrosbyFTW podcast while it lasted and I hope you join me and my new colleagues over at The PensNation!  I'll still post to this site for a while though, fyi.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Losing Like It's April 2012, Flyers Defeat Pens 6-5


Sorry for the delay on the recap – had to wait until the replay on NHL Network this afternoon to assess the goals.

Main Storylines:
  • Tomas Vokoun gets the start in net after Fleury won 3 straight (2.01 GAA, .932 save %)
  • Jeffrey, Boychuk, and Despres are the scratches for the 2nd straight game

Result:
Flyers 6  Pens 5
Goals:  Niskanen (2) from Letang
            Malkin (4) (PP) from Martin, Neal
            Kennedy (2) from Martin, Orpik
            Neal (12) (PP) from Malkin, Crosby
            Sutter (4) from Martin, Cooke    

Stats:
  • Sidney Crosby went 21 for 28 in faceoffs.  Malkin was 7 for 10 and Vitale was 5 for 6 .
  • Special teams skewed TOI a lot – Crosby (27:00 with 7:32 on PP), Cooke (18:46 with 5:56 SH), Adams (7:35 with 4:06 SH)
  • More TOI – Vitale (6:19), Kennedy (7:48), Glass (6:37), Engelland (9:00), Bortuzzo (8:59), Bennett (8:03)
  • Brooks Orpik led the team with 5 blocks (team total was only 9)
  • Brandon Sutter and Evgeni Malkin led the team with 5 shots each (Crosby next with 4)

The Good:
Hope Sutter enjoyed this moment that lasted half a second.
  • Brandon Sutter:  It could have been a defining moment and defining game for Sutter.  He followed the game plan perfectly, stopped with the puck behind Bryzgalov’s net, and wrapped it around to tie the game at 5 late in the 3rd period.  However, the sour result of a loss just a minute later will forever tarnish Sutter’s moment.  Even without the goal, he played well all night and was well-positioned in both ends.
  • Pascal Dupuis:  Duper caught my attention with his poise and maturity more than anything against the Flyers.  He generally played well but looked like a saint compared to the rest of both teams.  At two different points, Dupuis took cross-checks to the back into the boards.  They could have been called boarding or cross-checking and no one would have blinked (but they weren't).  Both times, Dupuis got himself back up, got back into the play, and went on with his business.  No talking, no looking to the ref, no retaliation – he just continued to do his job.  Even if no one followed it, he put on a great display of leadership by example.

Noteworthy:
Geno shouldn't have been near Couturier as this happened.
  • Tyler Kennedy:  It was nice to see TK put a puck in the net, but that was the only thing that kept him from being a section or two lower.  After demonstrating some improvement in puck management in the previous two games, Kennedy was a turnover machine in the neutral zone (3 giveaways in 2 shifts at one point).  He only played 7:48 (less than Bennett) and has been called out by the organization a couple of times now.  Kennedy needs to play smarter asap if he thinks his career will continue in Pittsburgh.
  • Evgeni Malkin:  Geno improved on faceoffs, dealt with the Flyers well for MOST of the game, and added a nice PP goal.  However, he also had multiple giveaways on the PP (one leading to a shorthanded breakaway), and got into that ugly mess with Sean Couturier.  The one thing that frustrates me more than anything about Geno is his inability to skate away. I understand he was getting hit during the play, I’ll even accept the retaliation during the play, but he has to learn to skate away from players after the whistle.  There is nothing to gain by lingering with players who generally get in your head already, especially for a superstar.
  • Matt Niskanen:  Niskanen had shifts ranging from perfect to abysmal much like the rest of the team. His goal was a perfect shot from the point and he generally did a good job of stepping up in the defensive end.  His transition game left a lot to be desired though as he had a couple blatant giveaways and tried to take the body at the wrong times against Flyers forwards.  The 5th goal against was completely on him with a bad decision to step up in the neutral zone, a poor play on the puck, and a bad bounce for the goal.
  • Consol Atmosphere:  Consol was a madhouse in the 1st and 3rd and dead silent in the 2nd period.  It was generally a very impressive crowd for the building; the atmosphere was playoff-like at important times.  That being said, it’s very clear that what happens on the ice determines how loud the crowd is going to be.  Be it the fans, arena, or whatever other sources you can think of, the crowd does not feed off of itself, it feeds off of gameplay.  Had that been a gut-wrenching, entertaining 1-0 victory, it probably would have been a quiet night.

The Bad:
  • Deryk Engelland:  Engelland only played 9 minutes and wasn’t at fault for any goals against, so why is he in this section? - Because his focus was horrible. Engelland looked frequently distracted by the Flyers grit guys and put himself out of position a few times chasing after them.  He let himself get goaded into a penalty by Rinaldo, and was lucky he didn’t get called for another one when he retaliated after Bortuzzo was boarded.  If he wants to be a tough guy and fight, that’s fine, but it needs to start and end there.  I was very glad he only played 9 minutes.
  • 4th Line:  The 4th line struggled to get the puck out of the defensive zone a few times, got stuck on that mess of a 1st goal by the Flyers, and didn’t add much to the game in their limited time.  Most games, the Pens 4th line will outplay any other team’s 4th line (and 3rd line).  This wasn’t one of those games.
  • Officiating:  The officials seemed to alternate between calling a very tight game and letting everything go, leading to no consistency on the ice.  Honestly, I think both teams got screwed out of calls (Neal was high-sticked twice, Niskanen deserved an interference call, Engelland deserved a roughing call, etc.)  The one that hurt the worst on the scoreboard was the Adams elbowing call at the end of the 2nd period though (which wasn’t an elbow, just a horrible call).  It was also interesting how patient these refs were with whistling plays dead.  Give credit to the Flyers for playing until the whistle, but I imagine many officiating crews would have blown at least one of the eventual goals dead just for losing sight of the puck.

The Ugly:
Errrr, what?
  • Tomas Vokoun:  I mentioned it during the day and unfortunately the result didn’t help.  I did not understand why Vokoun was starting this game when Fleury came in with fantastic numbers as of late.  Going back to last week, I fully expected Vokoun to start Fri @ Wpg, Fleury vs. Buf on Sun, and Fleury again vs. Philly before getting Vokoun back in vs Florida.  Vokoun just had an awful game as I assessed 2 of the 6 goals against as completely on him.  He will bounce back fine, but it was certainly a questionable decision to begin with and I'm sure he's taking the loss harder than any of us are.
  • “Composure”:  Someone needs to teach the Penguins’ most valuable players how valuable they are.  There were 4 instances when the Pens and Flyers both had guys sent to the box at the same time.  1st: Cooke and Voracek. That’s a win for Pittsburgh for 2 minutes.  2nd: Glass-Simmonds fight, another win for the Pens for 5 minutes.  3rd: Letang-Rinaldo, huge win for the Flyers for 2 minutes.  4th:  Couturier-Malkin, huge win for the Flyers for 2 minutes, PLUS a powerplay as Malkin took an extra 2.  The Penguins’ stars need to learn to skate away and sometimes let their role players do the dirty work for them.  Lack of composure leads to some awful tradeoffs on the ice (not even including most powerplays and penalty kills) and it’s clearly something the Penguins didn’t learn from last April.
  • Puck Decisions:  This was a problem right off the start even though it didn’t cost the Penguins until later.  In the first two shifts of the game, Crosby, Malkin, and Neal all turned the puck over in the offensive zone.  Crosby especially had problems with forcing passes (think of that wasted 2 on 1) and the team as a whole was too careless with the puck.  As soon as the Penguins lose focus, this is where the mistakes pop up and it’s usually very costly.
  • First Goal Against:  After about 12 replays of the first goal against, I was still shocked that no one blew a whistle for losing sight of the puck.  However, that’s at the refs discretion so it’s nothing to complain about.  I fully expected Letang to get penalized for covering his hand on the puck (leading to a penalty shot), but the Flyers scored on the play anyways.  Looking through the replays, the only player that didn’t make himself useless in some way was Glass.  I was also less than impressed with how Vokoun stood up looking back at the crease before trying to get back into it.  Dive in Tomas, you have pads and can obstruct everyone’s view the best.

+/- Assessment:
Crosby runs huddles better than Roethlisberger.
  • 1st GF (Niskanen): + for Letang (pinches in to keep puck), Sutter (screen in front), Bennett (screen in front), Niskanen (point shot, goal)
  • 2nd GF (Malkin): + for Neal (digs for puck in the corner, throws it to the point), Martin (takes wideshot that bounces off boards), Malkin (goal)
  • 1st GA (Grossmann): - for Letang (loses Couturier out of the corner), Niskanen (loses a step on Knuble going to the crease), Adams (doesn’t get stick on Talbot), Vitale (does nothing in the whole scrum)
  • 2nd GA (Simmonds): - for Dupuis (doesn’t support Martin on clear), Crosby (out of position trying to leave zone early), Martin (overcompensates on coverage of Briere), Orpik (goal goes in off his stick)
  • 3rd GA (Voracek): - for Adams (penalty, bad call but still in the box), Orpik (unaware/not covering his area where Voracek is)
  • 4th GA (Voracek): - for no one, whole sequence caused by Vokoun’s indecision with the puck, players scramble/cover as best as can be expected
  • 3rd GF (Kennedy): + for Crosby (gives TK outlet down low, banks puck up to Martin at point), Orpik (pass to Martin), Martin (shot to the front of the net), Kennedy (corrals puck and scores)
  • 5th GA (Simmonds): - for Niskanen (bad step up in neutral zone, has puck go in off of his stick as he tries to recover)
  • 4th GF (Neal): + for Crosby (puck retrieval, pass to Malkin), Malkin (pass to Neal), Neal (one-timer goal)
  • 5th GF (Sutter): + for Cooke (helps with faceoff win), Martin (sends puck down to Sutter), Sutter (wraparound goal)
  • 6th GA (Voracek): - for no one, completely on Vokoun not covering the post as everyone had their guy covered well
  • Season +/-:  Click here for the Season +/- Spreadsheet
  • **In an effort to make this a more valuable statistic, I’m going to work in TOI in the next couple games for the season totals**

Thoughts:
When he's not passing to the other team,
Crosby is a quiet hockey genius.
  • Use of Bennett:  Bennett only played 8:03 in the game and while I won’t rail on Bylsma for keeping him on the bench in a chaotic game, I do think it was a mistake.  Bennett has impressed me with his hockey sense and awareness through his NHL stint so far.  He’s very smart without the puck and clearly knows what to do with the puck.  His puck handling hasn’t come up to speed at the NHL game yet, but I’ll take a player who can handle himself positionally and defensively any day.  The way the Pens were turning the puck over and getting out of position, he may have had a nice calming effect.  I think we will see his first big NHL moment very soon.  As for playing him on the 3rd line…get TK off that line and put Jeffrey on there and then I’m okay with it.  I would love to see him on the 2nd line wing, but he looks comfortable and good on the 3rd line so no complaints yet.  I would rather see him start like this than watch him get 3 games on the 2nd line and then thrown into Bylsma’s doghouse for not keeping up.
  • Despres Scratched:  I’ve made it clear I think Despres should be in the lineup over Engelland and I’ve seen nothing to discourage me from that.  He has a higher ceiling, and while he is certainly inconsistent, his average play gives more to this team both offensively and defensively than Engelland does.  Also, sitting Despres for multiple games at a time could turn into a huge mismanagement or waste of a prospect.  I’d rather send him down than have him sitting in the press box.  That being said, Engelland is the 7th best defenseman on this roster to me.
  • Observations:  Two little observations that I thought were cool/interesting during the game:  1) When Crosby broke his stick on the powerplay, he made a little nifty decision on how to get a new stick that affected the breakout and setup.  Instead of making a beeline straight to the bench, he skated back to the center of the defensive zone, turned towards the bench and picked up speed as he grabbed a stick that was held out.  It allowed him to take his place on the left side and jump into the rush at full speed without taking up anyone’s open ice.  Just a little thing that Crosby does right.  2) The 2nd line got caught for 2 icings in a row on a long shift in the 2nd period.  Here’s how they bought rest: First Engelland went to the bench with an “injury” to his face that the linesman allowed.  It slowed the teams lining up and also got a new man out there (Orpik).  Orpik went to the center (Cooke) and winger (Malkin) to say something, which bought more time.  Once he lined up, Cooke got himself kicked out of the draw because that was the point of him lining up at center.  Finally, Malkin wins the faceoff with the extra rest and puts it directly to Vokoun so he can cover it for a line change.  It was all just beautifully done.


Pens Record: 11-6-0, 22 pts
Next Game:  2/22 vs Fla, 7pm