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:
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| "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
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