Goal Assessment: Game 48 - Pens 8 Hurricanes 3

Link to Game 48 Thoughts:  The PensNation



+/- Assessment

1st Goal For (Malkin): + for

• Fleury – passes the puck all the way to the offensive blue line for Neal
• Neal – skates the puck deep into the zone, then turns and passes back to Malkin
• Morrow – plants himself on the crease to screen Peters
• Malkin – dekes around a defender and slides a puck along the ice that beats Peters

2nd Goal For (Neal): + for

• Kunitz – hustles back to the blue line to keep the puck in the zone and passes it down to Letang on the half boards
• Letang – takes the pass and waits for Neal to slide into an open area of the ice before passing to him
• Neal – skates towards the net and rips a shot past Peters’ glove

1st Goal Against (Westgarth): - for

• Kennedy – misses a pass interception and falls behind the play
• Martin – tries to poke check the puck at the blue line but misses and gets burned by E Staal, then fails to tie up Westgarth on the rebound
• Letang – gets caught out of position and can’t recover to make a play on E Staal or the rebound

3rd Goal For (Jokinen): + for

• Letang – corrals the puck in the defensive zone and moves it up to Iginla in the neutral zone
• Iginla – taps the puck up to Dupuis
• Dupuis – taps the puck over to Jokinen and enters the zone on a 2 on 1 with him
• Jokinen – puts a wrist shot on Peters that he can’t handle and then scores on the rebound

2nd Goal Against (Ruutu): - for

• Despres – has the puck bounce off of his skates directly to Ruutu in front of the net

3rd Goal Against (Westgarth): - for

• Sutter – loses the faceoff cleanly in the defensive zone
• Murray – can’t get out to Westgarth quick enough to disrupt his shot
• Martin – has the puck deflect off of him past Fleury

4th Goal For (Neal): + for

• Iginla – pokes a loose puck behind the net to Neal, eventually passes the puck back and forth with Martin up high
• Martin – moves the puck back and forth with Iginla before returning it to Neal
• Malkin – returns the puck back to Neal for a shot
• Kunitz – skates in front of the crease to distract Peters as Neal is setting up his shot
• Neal – moves the puck up high for Martin, then sends it down low to Malkin when Martin returns it, then takes Malkin’s pass and beats Peters on his stick side

5th Goal For (Neal): + for

• Murray – takes the puck in the defensive zone and passes it to Kunitz at the blue line
• Kunitz – chips the puck off the boards up to Malkin entering the zone on a 2 on 1
• Malkin – carries the puck in and passes it across to Neal
• Neal – one-times the pass in for the goal

6th Goal For (Morrow): + for

• Cooke – backhands the puck to the net and it ends up on Sutter’s stick
• Sutter – passes to Morrow at the backdoor of the crease
• Morrow – initially carried the puck in and passed it to Cooke, taps Sutter’s pass into the net

7th Goal For (Cooke): + for

• Despres – chips the puck in the defensive zone to Martin on the boards
• Martin – moves the puck up to Morrow on the boards
• Morrow – moves the puck up to the offensive zone where Cooke can chase it down
• Cooke – gets to the puck, slides it with one hand through Faulk’s legs, and beats Peters

8th Goal For (Jokinen): + for

• Letang – corrals the puck at the defensive blue line and moves it up to Jokinen
• Iginla – returns a pass to Jokinen
• Dupuis – drives to the net, causing a 2 on 1 situation and the defender to back away from Jokinen
• Jokinen – passes the puck to Iginla entering the zone, tries to backhand it to Dupuis and has it go into the net off of Faulk

Season +/-:  Click here for the Season +/- Spreadsheet

Goal Assessment: Game 36 - Pens 2 Isles 0

Link to Game 36 Thoughts: The PensNation



+/- Assessment

1st Goal For (Cooke): + for

• Kennedy – wins the faceoff back to Engelland
• Engelland – takes a shot that goes off of Nabokov and gets tangled up in Cooke’s jersey
• Cooke – shoots the puck past Nabokov after it drops at his skates

2nd Goal For (Neal): + for

• Murray – digs the puck out of the defensive corner and chips it to Malkin
• Malkin – makes a pass to Neal in the neutral zone so he can skate up with it
• Niskanen – jumps into the play on the other side of the offensive zone, causing the defenseman (Streit) to watch the pass and give Neal room to get a better shooting angle
• Neal – rips a shot past Nabokov

Season +/-:  Click here for the Season +/- Spreadsheet

Goal Assessment: Game 35 - Pens 4 Jets 0

Link to Game 35 Thoughts:  The PensNation

Quick recap for those new to my blog: Throughout this season, I have dissected every goal (for and against) to determine who contributed to goals for and who is at fault for goals against.  I have provided a game by game recap and have kept a spreadsheet with the season totals.  This all started because I hate plus/minus as a stat.  It's lazy and doesn't actually tell you what is going on for any shift and which players actually did something right or wrong.

I have included powerplay goals for and against because I see no reason players shouldn't get credit (or fault) if they had a hand in a scoring play.  Additionally, players in the penalty box during a powerplay goal against automatically get a minus for putting their team down a man.

The NHL +/- stat is next to my +/- stat for comparison's sake.  With the recent additions the Penguins have made, I am going to keep track of their NHL and my +/- rating only with the Penguins.

In every post on this site, I will give the full explanations for my goal assessments.  Additionally, you can find my post-game thoughts and analysis at The PensNation.  Thanks for reading!

+/- Assessment

1st Goal For (Kunitz): + for

• Malkin – retrieves puck after it hits the referee in the corner, passes behind the net to Crosby
• Orpik – takes a pass at the point and sends it across to Martin
• Martin – takes a shot that goes wide and bounces to Crosby behind the net
• Crosby – passes the puck to Orpik from Malkin, then takes Martin’s missed shot and makes a no look pass back to Kunitz
• Kunitz – one-times Crosby’s pass past Montoya

2nd Goal For (Malkin): + for

• Murray – keeps the puck in the zone after it’s blocked by the Jets, passes it to Niskanen
• Niskanen – sends the puck down low to Neal
• Neal – passes across the crease to Malkin
• Morrow – gets in the way of 2 defensemen as Neal’s pass glides by
• Malkin – has the puck go off his skate, off Montoya, off his skate, and in for a goal

3rd Goal For (Dupuis): + for

• Crosby – passes the puck up to Kunitz off the boards as they leave the defensive zone
• Kunitz – passes across to Dupuis on a 2 on 1
• Dupuis – initially retrieved the puck and sent it to Crosby in the defensive zone, then one-times Kunitz’s pass to beat Montoya

4th Goal For (Dupuis): + for

• Glass – joins Dupuis on a 2 on 1, pulling Enstrom away from Dupuis
• Dupuis – fires a shot short-side to beat Montoya

Season +/-:  Click here for the Season +/- Spreadsheet

Goal Assessment: Game 33 - Pens 2 Flyers 1 (OT)

Link for Game 33 Thoughts:  The PensNation



+/- Assessment

1st Goal Against (Giroux): - for

• Martin – in the penalty box for a retaliatory slashing penalty
• (no one else – bad bounce off of Glass, who had his stick in the right spot)

1st Goal For (Crosby): + for

• Bennett – keeps puck in the zone, eventually passes up to Martin
• Neal – gives Crosby an opening and then feeds the puck to back down to Bennett
• Martin – takes the pass from Bennett and sets up Crosby
• Crosby – passes the puck to Neal and then gets into a shooting position, one-times Martin’s pass to tie the game

2nd Goal For (Kennedy): + for

• Niskanen – feeds Kennedy from the point
• Kennedy – recovered his own rebound, passed it to Niskanen, moved into open space, ripped a shot past Bryzgalov for the winner

Season +/-:  Click here for the Season +/- Spreadsheet

Game 26 - Penguins 6 Islanders 1: Goal Assessment

Get the full thoughts here:  The PensNation - Game 26

+/- Assessment

1st Goal For (Dupuis): + for

• Kunitz – gives the puck away but takes it back at the blue line and gets it to Sid, then eventually passes down to Dupuis
• Crosby – beats Hamonic to the puck to help Kunitz and gives the puck back to him
• Dupuis – takes a sharp angle slapshot that goes off the post, off Nabokov, and in

2nd Goal For (Kunitz): + for

• Letang – fantastic keep at the blue line by batting the puck down in midair, eventually puts the puck in the corner for Neal
• Bennett – rotates down to give Letang an outlet and then gives the puck to Crosby and gets open for Crosby before giving it back to Letang
• Crosby – rotates to give Bennett a passing option, pulls a defender away from Neal, then gives Neal a passing option and feeds it right back to him
• Neal – gives Kunitz a perfect pass on the crease
• Kunitz – taps in Neal’s pass for a PP goal

3rd Goal For (Kunitz): + for

• Martin – break out pass to Crosby at the blue line
• Crosby – passes it to Kunitz in the middle
• Neal – passes the puck to Kunitz on the crease
• Kunitz – taps the puck to Neal and then receives a pass from Neal and shoots it past Nabokov

1st Goal Against (Boyes): - for

• Despres – trips over the puck / his own feet / the blue line, which leads to a 2 on 1 that Boyes shoots in

4th Goal For (Kunitz): + for

• Dupuis – throws the puck into the offensive zone for Crosby to retrieve
• Crosby – beats out Moulson to the puck in the offensive zone and drops it for Letang
• Letang – gets a low shot on net that leaves a rebound
• Kunitz – starts the break out in the defensive zone and buries the rebound in front when he gets to the crease

5th Goal For (Neal): + for

• Letang – clears the defensive zone with a hard pass off the boards
• Neal – takes the puck, goes in on a breakaway, and beats Nabokov

6th Goal For (Dupuis): + for

• Kunitz – forces a turnover in the offensive zone, receives a pass from Dupuis and sends it down to Crosby
• Crosby – passes the puck across the slot to Dupuis
• Dupuis – one-times the puck past Poulin

Get the full season +/- here:  Season +/- Spreadsheet

Game 25 - Penguins 5 Maple Leafs 4 (SO): Goal Assessment

Full thoughts here:  The PensNation

+/- Assessment:

1st Goal For (Neal): + for

• Malkin – wins the faceoff
• Letang – passes over to Niskanen
• Niskanen – shoots the puck, which gets blocked, but makes it to Neal
• Bennett – provides traffic and a screen in front of Reimer
• Neal – fires the loose puck past Reimer

1st Goal Against (Van Riemsdyk): - for

• Bennett – in the penalty box for a high sticking penalty
• Orpik – nowhere close to JVR on the crease to even get a stick on him

2nd Goal For (Crosby): + for

• Bennett – sends the breakout pass to Letang
• Letang – rushes the puck into the offensive zone, gets a shot on Reimer and picks up his own rebound which he throws at the net off the post
• Crosby – corrals the puck off the rebound off the post and shoots it into an open net

3rd Goal For (Martin): + for

• Orpik – pinches in slightly to keep the puck in the zone
• Neal – provides support to keep the puck in and whacks it past 2 defenders
• Malkin – picks up the loose puck and throws it across to Martin
• Bennett – draws Gunnarsson’s attention on defense, which leads to him putting the puck into his own net
• Martin – takes the shot which glances off of some sticks and into the net

2nd Goal Against (Franson): - for

• Crosby – in the penalty box for tripping
• Letang – stands next to JVR in front of Fleury, adding to the screen Fleury tries to look around unsuccessfully

4th Goal For (Dupuis): + for

• Kunitz – forechecks in the corner to win the puck battle
• Crosby – forechecks in the corner to win the puck battle and passes it up to Orpik
• Orpik – passes the puck over to Martin
• Martin – gets the puck deep into the zone to Dupuis
• Dupuis – originally kept the puck in the zone to start the sequence, gets a shot on Reimer, grabs his rebound, and banks the puck in off of Fraser’s skate

3rd Goal Against (MacArthur): - for

• Niskanen – hesitates as MacArthur comes in and neither steps up to him nor goes for the shot block

4th Goal Against (Kessel): - for

• Martin – doesn’t follow Kessel moving to open space while everyone else has a guy/spot covered, tries to take Niskanen’s defensive position

Season +/-:  Click here for the Season +/- Spreadsheet

Game 24 - Penguins 5 Flyers 4: Goal Assessment

Get the post-game thoughts here:  The PensNation

+/- Assessment:

1st Goal Against (Voracek): - for

• Neal – in the penalty box for elbowing (a soft call, but he still put himself in position for it unnecessarily)
• Martin – had no clue Voracek was sliding down from his point position
• Orpik – didn’t adjust to Simmonds going down low, leaving Martin to cover Simmonds and the back side

1st Goal For (Kunitz): + for

• Crosby – steals the puck at the blue line from Couturier and passes it to Letang
• Letang – puts the puck into the slot/crease area
• Kunitz – picks up the puck in front and scores

2nd Goal Against (Rinaldo): - for

• Niskanen – not back into the play yet after serving an interference penalty
• Crosby – doesn’t go out to the point after the faceoff (miscommunication with Kunitz)
• Kunitz – doesn’t go out to the point after the faceoff (miscommunication with Crosby)
• Engelland – leans on Rinaldo, but releases when the puck gets to the net

3rd Goal Against (Timonen): - for

• Engelland – stops abruptly in front of Fleury, creating a screen instead of following the puck out to Timonen
• (also Fleury’s fault, he should have had it)

4th Goal Against (Voracek): - for

• Neal – in the penalty box for slashing
• No One Else – there were 3 bad bounces that worked against the Pens in about 4 seconds

2nd Goal For (Dupius): + for

• Kunitz – keeps the puck in on the first clearing attempt
• Orpik – gets the puck at the blue line and fires it to the net
• Crosby – takes the puck behind the net and gives Dupuis a perfect saucer pass
• Dupuis – scores on a wide open net

3rd Goal For (Neal): + for

• Bennett – takes the puck away from Simmonds in the offensive zone
• Malkin – draws Coburn’s attention on the crease and pulls him further away from Neal
• Neal – puts the puck towards the net and it banks in off of Coburn

4th Goal For (Kennedy): + for

• Sutter – dumps puck in, tries to put it on net, and provides a screen in front of Bryzgalov
• Cooke – keeps the puck in with a forecheck and then sets up Kennedy
• Kennedy – keeps the puck in with a forecheck and then finds open space to one-time Cooke’s pass into the net

5th Goal For (Kunitz): + for

• Dupuis – takes the puck away from Timonen at the defensive blue line, chips it up to Kunitz
• Crosby – sets up Kunitz for the goal
• Kunitz – passes the puck to Crosby and then gets into a shooting position to score the game winner

Season +/-:  Click here for the Season +/- Spreadsheet

There's a Guy in the Slot? Pens Lose to Carolina, 4-1

Postgame thoughts here: http://thepensnation.com/tpn/uncategorized/thoughts-game-21/

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).  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).

+/- Assessment:

1st Goal For (Kunitz): + for

• Niskanen – leads breakout through the neutral zone
• Crosby – takes puck into the offensive zone and passes to Kunitz
• Neal – draws defenders deeper into the zone to open up a passing lane
• Kunitz – one-timer goal

1st Goal Against (E. Staal): - for

• Crosby – left his guy (Staal) after the faceoff and then doesn’t keep up with him going behind or to the net
• Letang – over-pursues Tlusty for a hit instead of playing the puck

2nd Goal Against (Tlusty): - for

• Crosby – doesn’t follow Staal / miscommunicates with Niskanen
• Niskanen – miscommunicates with Crosby / gets caught between Staal and Tlusty

3rd Goal Against (Skinner): - for

• Vitale – turnover in neutral zone
• Adams – turnover in neutral zone
• Bortuzzo – misses puck on a bad step up at the blue line, then has a tough time getting to Dwyer on pass to Skinner
• Martin – doesn’t step up to Skinner in the slot

4th Goal Against (Tlusty): - for

• Bortuzzo – gets manhandled and loses the puck
• Crosby – skates to empty area and doesn’t get back in the play
• Neal – leaves passing lane between Semin and Tlusty
• (Martin was not at fault for this goal, he was tripped on the crease and couldn’t do anything)

Click here for the Season +/- Spreadsheet

Neal Scores, Neil Gets Thrown Out, Pens Win

Main Storylines:

• Dylan Reese was sent down to WBS when Kris Letang and Matt Niskanen were activated off of IR
• Eric Tangradi was traded to Winnipeg for a 7th round pick
• Vitale returns to the lineup and Jeffrey sits.  Bortuzzo is a healthy scratch with Letang and Niskanen back
• Brandon Sutter is playing in his 300th career game

Result:

Pens 4  Sens 2

Goals:  Dupuis (5) from Crosby, Kunitz

            Neal (9) (PP) from Crosby, Martin

            Neal (10) from Cooke, Engelland

            Crosby (6) from Martin, Neal

ESPN Recap: http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=400442662

Stats:

• Sidney Crosby recorded his 400th career assist
• Crosby and Evgeni Malkin led the team with 4 shots each; Malkin also had 3 missed shots
• Tanner Glass and Brooks Orpik led with 4 hits each
• Orpik, Sutter, and Matt Cooke each had 3 blocked shots
• Tyler Kennedy played a team low 8:39 (Boychuk at 9:24 and Sutter at 11:30)
• Letang played 27:33 in his return, Niskanen played 21:19
• Joe Vitale was 8 for 10 in faceoffs, Malkin was 2 for 9

The Good:

All business for Neal.

• James Neal:  The real deal put together a nice 3 point night and put on a clinic for how to pass the puck in the offensive zone and slide into open space.  Both of his goals were a product of just occupying areas where the Senators completely ignored.  His assist was beautiful; he was in a great position to shoot but got Anderson moving side to side with a pass.  It was a very smart game for Neal.
• Evgeni Malkin:  Malkin gets no love on the scoresheet but directly impacted every goal except for the first one.  He moved the puck well during powerplays and provided strong puck support on the boards.  My favorite thing about his game: far fewer turnovers than usual.

Noteworthy:

(new section since some players like to be amazingly bad and incredibly good all at the same time)

It certainly wasn't the cleanest game for Fleury or Martin.

• Marc-Andre Fleury:  Flower demonstrated the full spectrum of his game, giving up an odd goal off of his knee and a weak goal off of his glove, and then stopping multiple one-timers and breakaways.  If the Pens don’t score more than 2, this game is a loss and it’s all on Fleury.  But they did score more than 2, so he gets credit for the big saves he made and keeping the Pens in the game.  The biggest takeaway is that he allowed 2 weak goals quickly, was left in the game, and returned back to form.  That’s a big step in maturity for him.
• Paul Martin:  It’s odd to see the 3rd star of the game have 3 penalties, but it worked out for Martin against Ottawa.  He took two of those penalties to hinder breakaways as he had trouble keeping up with Ottawa’s speed (smart penalties to take at the time).  On the flip side though, his puck movement and overall play was fantastic and he really calms the powerplay down for everyone.  Even if it wasn’t his best defensive game, it was still a solid game.
• Sidney Crosby:  Crosby continues to shine as he closes in on 1st in the scoring race.  His passing and vision are up to speed but I have a major complaint about his blind/backwards/forced passes.  He made 4 of them last night, passing on 3 open shooting lanes in the process.  It didn’t cost the Penguins at all last night, but that’s the type of turnover that leads to a backbreaking goal.  He needs to corral that a bit.

The Bad:

• Craig Adams:  Adams played a little more than usual (over 13 minutes) and had an underwhelming game (along with the 4th line as a whole).  Though it was the whole 4th line that got trapped in the defensive zone numerous times, Adams struggled the most when it came to clears, passes, and just making the smart play.  He struggled to chip pucks along the boards and frequently passed to no one.  For a player used specifically for his defensive prowess, this was an off game for Adams.
• Kris Letang:  If Letang wasn’t returning from injury, he would have been thrown into the next section easily.  He definitely looked a half step slower than usual (expected in his return) but did not change his game to adjust to it.  He completely missed on at least 3 hits which put him out of position in the defensive zone.  I’m glad he’s back in the lineup, but I wonder if it was a game too soon.

The Ugly:

Can't even imagine what the photographer was thinking.

• Cooke “Incident”:  I’ll keep this short:  a) The whistle should have blown when the puck hit the netting before this even happened, b) Cooke did not look at Karlsson’s legs, c) Players raise their skates when posturing along the boards all the time, d) Cooke did not intentionally step on Karlsson’s ankle, e) Chris Neil punching Cooke repeatedly was absurd, f) Cooke deserved the 10 minute misconduct for trying to throw Neil’s stick into the stands, f) There is no supplemental discipline for Cooke, nor should there be, g) I wish Karlsson a speedy recovery, he really is a lot of fun to watch.

+/- Assessment:

• 1st GF (Dupuis): + for Despres (keeps puck in), Kunitz (retrieves puck), Crosby (gets puck from Kunitz, pass to Dupuis), Dupuis (goal)
• 1st GA (Da Costa): - for no one.  Only Fleury at fault for the odd goal off his knee
• 2nd GA (O’Brien): - Dupuis (neutral zone turnover), Engelland (can’t close gap on O’Brien), Fleury with another weak effort
• 2nd GF (Neal): + for Letang (gives Crosby a passing option), Malkin (settles it down), Martin (draws 2 dmen, passes to Crosby), Crosby (feeds Neal), Neal (goal)
• 3rd GF (Neal): + for Cooke (offensive zone steal, deflection, screen), Malkin (pass to Engelland), Engelland (shot), Neal (goal)
• 4th GF (Crosby): + for Malkin (puck retrieval, pass to Neal), Neal (pass to Martin), Martin (pass to Crosby), Crosby (goal)
• Season +/-:  Click here for the Season +/- Spreadsheet

Thoughts:

Cooke's solid play was overshadowed by a circus.

• 2nd Line Wing:  Bylsma made a very nice (and slightly overdue) line switch after the 1st period to put Matt Cooke on the 2nd line and Zach Boychuk on the 3rd line.  I thought the move immediately paid dividends for both lines as Boychuk’s speed opened things up for the 3rd line and Cooke’s style cleared tight areas for Malkin and Neal.  I had completely forgotten the idea of Cooke on the 2nd line after camp since he has been invisible all season, but it was clear in 2 periods that he was a better option than Tangradi, Jeffrey, or Boychuk.  Hopefully Boychuk's familiarity with Sutter will help out the 3rd line as well.  (coughcough, cya TK, coughcough)
• Tangradi Trade:  Tangradi to Winnipeg for a 7th round pick.  I wish him the best of luck. I really do think he was just bad for this system and will be a serviceable NHLer elsewhere.  Watch him score on Friday night now.  Also, thank Winnipeg for the 7th round pick because that clearly shows Tangradi was going to be put on waivers and Winnipeg was high enough on waivers that they may not have even needed to make a trade for him.
• Bortuzzo Scratched:  If you regularly read this blog or follow me on twitter, you know I didn’t like this move (I owe a 41 tweet rant for it now).  I would much rather have Bortuzzo in the lineup than Engelland.  Bortuzzo has more potential, was playing better over the past couple of weeks, and has more of a future here than Engelland.  He also brings the same (if not more effective) pesky grit that Engelland has.  Hopefully Bortuzzo gets back in the lineup soon.
• Bennett Called Up:  Now that Bennett has finally been called up, it’s time to argue about what line he should be on, etc.  Personally, I reunite Kunitz with Malkin/Neal and give Sid his future career winger in Bennett.  If that doesn’t work out, Kunitz and Bennett can always be switched, but I’m willing to jump start the 2nd line at the possible expense of the first line for a couple games when you know Kunitz can always go back to the top line comfortably.  Sid has shown the capability to make anyone a scorer, literally anyone.  Let him do it with Bennett.

Pens Record: 9-5-0, 18 pts

Next Game:  2/15 @ Wpg, 7pm

Penguins Watch Loss From the Penalty Box

Main Storylines:

• The Penguins enter this game on a 5 game winning streak. Crosby is on a 6 game point streak
• Martin Brodeur is playing in his 1200th game
• Kris Letang did not make the trip to NJ so the lineup remains the same as last game
• Matt Niskanen has been skating separately but there is no timetable for his return
• Former Penguin Tomas Sandstrom was elected to the Swedish Hockey Hall of Fame

Result:

Devils 3  Pens 1

Goals:  Sutter (3) (PP) from Despres, Kennedy

ESPN Recap:  http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=400442629

Stats:

• The Pens took 12 minor penalties in the game
• Sidney Crosby had 6 shots and Evgeni Malkin had 5
• Malkin drew 4 penalties and took 3 penalties
• Craig Adams played 1:19 at even strength and 6:09 shorthanded

The Good:

Last year, Martin elbows Clarkson in the head and passes
the puck to a Devils player.

• Pascal Dupuis:  Despite taking 1 of the 12 minors, Dupuis had an overall good game and caused havoc in the passing lanes for New Jersey.  He was credited with 2 takeaways and provided strong defensive support at even strength and on the penalty kill.  He actually contributed to pretty much every situation for the Pens, playing 2:44 on the PP, 6:11 on the PK, and 9:30 at even strength.  Sadly, the biggest reason Dupuis had a good game was because the Pens spent most of the game in the defensive zone.
• Paul Martin:  It was just another game for Martin, leading the team with 28:49 on the ice and playing mostly mistake-free hockey.  Unfortunately he finally took his first penalty of the season, but the team survived the PK without him.  I was most impressed with his offensive zone puck movement in this game even though it didn’t amount to anything. He certainly loves that spin move at the point and you can tell his confidence is extremely high with how often he goes to it right now.

The Bad:

• James Neal:  Neal seems to be going through bouts of brilliant hockey and useless hockey depending on the day.  The train to the penalty box certainly didn’t help his cause, but he took an awful slashing penalty to end a powerplay and generally had puck control problems all day.  With a couple turnovers and missed passes on Saturday, I’m guessing Neal bounces back for a strong game on Sunday since that has been his trend this season.

The Ugly:

Hard to stop everything when it's 5 on 4 for over a period.

• Discipline:  TWELVE MINOR PENALTIES.  Going back through most of them, the ones that were questionable were Vitale for boarding, Vitale for boarding, and that’s it.  Take away another (Bortuzzo for roughing) as a coincidental minor and that still leaves NINE BAD PENALTIES.  That’s simply unacceptable.  The Pens had a chance to feel everything out with a 1-0 first period lead and didn’t learn anything as the game went on.  Instead they got increasingly frustrated and took some foolish penalties.  Every player has to be smarter than that.

+/- Assessment:

• 1st GF (Sutter): + for Reese (keeps puck in zone), Kennedy (passes to Despres), Despres (one-timer), Sutter (deflection goal)
• 1st GA (Matteau): - for Cooke (goes to wrong point), Orpik (releases on Matteau)
• 2nd GA (Henrique): - for Glass (penalty)
• 3rd GA (Butler): - for Malkin (penalty)
• Season +/-: Click here for the Season +/- spreadsheet

Thoughts:

Not always pretty, but what a legendary goaltender.

• Evgeni Malkin:  Malkin drew the ire of most people today, drawing 4 penalties but also taking 3 (one of which cost a potential powerplay).  I have to imagine most of the people that are quick to turn on Malkin are also the ones quick to turn on Fleury.  Both players are high risk, high reward players.  You’ll get lots of positives AND negatives with both, but far more positives in the long run.  Everyone just has to accept that with both, it’s not going to change.  For what it’s worth, I had Geno marked down for 11 positive plays and 7 negative plays in this game.  The next player I had marked down the most was Dupuis with 8 plays total.  That’s just what you get with Geno, he’s going to be very involved and it’ll come with negatives.  More often than not, it’s worth it.
• Martin Brodeur:  Give credit to Brodeur for this game as well.  He made two outstanding saves that put an exclamation mark on this game.  The first one was on Kunitz on the very first shift of the game, and the 2nd one was on the 2nd to last shift on Malkin.  The Pens could have played 100x better and may still not have beaten Marty more than once.
• Refs/Penalties:  While most of this is covered under “The Ugly,” the team failed miserably at adjusting to how the game was called.  The refs were clearly calling the game tight early; New Jersey took their fair share of penalties for it too.  It’s up to the players and teams to see how each ref is calling each game and adjust in turn.  Refs only call what the players give them a chance to call - it’s on the players ultimately.
• 2nd Line Wing:  Boychuk hasn’t really progressed at all in his game with Malkin and Neal.  Speed is still an asset, but his puck handling can be atrocious at times.  I’ve called for this 2 games in a row now, but maybe with the loss we will see Jeffrey enter the lineup again.  Jeffrey adds a defensive aspect that Boychuk doesn’t have.  If no one is going to add offense to that line, I at least want to see a defensive addition then.
• Goaltending:  Fleury faced another rough game stat wise but played a solid game overall.  He was left all alone on the first goal and did as much as can be expected.  The second goal was just an amazing bounce for the Devils as the puck hit the post and landed on Henrique’s stick.  Fleury would probably want the 3rd goal back though since he was just beaten on a clean shot.  Regardless, I’m sure Vokoun plays Sunday and people start goalie controversy crap over nothing again.  Let’s wait until Fleury actually costs the team a game before we attack him for once perhaps.

Pens Record: 8-4-0, 16 pts

Next Game:  2/10 vs NJ, 7:30pm

Illness Gives Kunitz Superpowers, Pens Win

Main Storylines:

• Tomas Vokoun starts against his former team.  He was perfect in his last start, making 28 saves to shut out NYR.
• The lineup remains the same with Dustin Jeffrey, Eric Tangradi, and Ben Lovejoy as healthy scratches.  Matt Niskanen is still out of the lineup with an ankle injury.
• Ovechkin before the game: “I'm standing here, I have only 3 points.  It kind of embarrasses me, but it is what it is.”

Result:

Pens 6  Caps 3

Goals:  Kunitz (3) from Martin, Crosby

            Cooke (1) from Engelland, Bortuzzo

            Letang (3) from Sutter, Cooke

            Kunitz (4) from Crosby, Malkin

            Kunitz (5) (PP) from Malkin, Neal

            Kunitz (6) (PP) from Crosby, Letang

ESPN Recap:  http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=400442593

Stats:

• Chris Kunitz had the first 4 goal game of his career
• PP was 2 for 3, PK was 3 for 4
• The Pens won only 33% of faceoffs in the 1st but were at almost 50% (34/71) by the end of the game
• Evgeni Malkin was a team worst 5/14 (35.7%) on faceoffs
• Paul Martin and Robert Bortuzzo led with 4 blocked shots each (Pascal Dupuis next with 3)
• Tyler Kennedy was the only player under 10 minutes played with 9:51.  He only played 2:02 in the 3rd.
• Brooks Orpik led with 28:11 of playing time

The Good:

I want whatever Kunitz has.

• Chris Kunitz:  Do I even need to explain this one?  Kunitz added another 4 goals while “ill”, had solid puck control, and was a forechecking machine.  Obviously his 4 goals take the cake, but the biggest change in his game has simply been a massive decrease in turnovers.  Just an unreal performance by Kunitz, his first 4 goal game of his career.
• Sidney Crosby:  There is no question in my mind that Crosby played his best game of the year on Sunday.  The Pens’ captain had 3 assists and put his name back in the hat for “most-skilled grinder” in the world.  His defensive effort was superb and he displayed a plethora of creativity and hard work in the offensive zone.  Crosby was a force in all 3 zones against the Caps.
• James Neal:  Neal only had 1 assist and was a little lost on the Mike Green goal against, but he had a very strong defensive game overall.  I had him marked down 4 times for great poke checks or backchecks in the defensive zone and another 2 times for strong puck support going into the offensive zone.  It won’t show up on the scoresheet, but Neal played a very strong and responsible game to help out his linemates more than himself.

The Bad:

• Kris Letang:  Letang looked great in the offensive zone and showed two things that will elevate his game even further: patience and a wrist shot.  His defensive game was inconsistent though as he demonstrated awareness issues and committed multiple turnovers.  When the Pens started using Bortuzzo and Despres less, it looked like it hurt Letang’s game more than anything.  He doesn’t appear to have good chemistry with Engelland when they are on the ice together.

The Ugly:

Vokoun had a great game, don't let Edzo say otherwise.

• Simon Despres:  As a young defenseman in the league, Despres will face many ups and downs.  Sunday’s game was certainly a down as he took two penalties, was manhandled in the defensive zone and saw his TOI decrease as the game went on.  Here are my notes on Despres from the game: “bad pass, misses a check, gets out of position, can’t clear, getting manhandled, loses puck in neutral zone, high stick penalty, delay of game penalty.”  I’ll just leave it at that; he’ll work through it (as long as Bylsma doesn’t switch him for Lovejoy next game).
• Fluke Goals:  Though Eddie Olcyzk wanted to blast Tomas Vokoun for the Capitals’ second goal, it’s hard to blame a goalie when the puck shoots out at a 60 degree angle from the glass.  The Pens have seen their fair share of both good and bad bounces like that, so while it was ugly, I wouldn’t want Vokoun to play any different.
• Third Period:  With a 5-2 lead, the team reverted back to some bad habits like they did in the first Rangers win of the year on opening weekend.  There were more passes up the middle, more players skating away from passes, and team as a whole got a little cocky about their abilities.  With a team this talented, Dan Bylsma’s biggest challenge all season is going to be keeping everyone focused and in control for 60 minutes every game.  It’ll be something to watch all year and it's my biggest determining factor on if he's the right coach to win another Cup with this team.

+/- Assessment:

Green scores one for Mother Earth.

• 1st GF (Kunitz): + for Crosby (faceoff win), Martin (shot), Kunitz (deflection)
• 1st GA (Green): – for Neal (drifts from slot), Cooke (lets point guy go free), Letang (doesn’t pay attention to Green)
• 2nd GF (Cooke): + for Sutter (puck retrieval), Bortuzzo (pass), Engelland (shot), Cooke (deflection)
• 2nd GA (Carlson): - for no one, skaters played it right, bad bounce for Vokoun
• 3rd GF (Letang): + for Boychuk (brings in puck, gets it to the net), Cooke (puck retrieval), Sutter (pass), Letang (patience, goal)
• 4th GF (Kunitz): + for Malkin (outlet pass), Crosby (pass back to Kunitz), Kunitz (goal)
• 5th GF (Kunitz): + for Malkin (starts play, primary pass), Letang (returns puck to Malkin), Neal (pass to Malkin, creates room in slot), Kunitz (goal)
• 3rd GA (Ribeiro): - for Despres (penalty), Letang (fans on clear), Sutter (fans on poke check)
• 6th GF (Kunitz): + for Malkin (knocks puck to Neal), Neal (sends puck to Letang on point), Letang (passes to Crosby), Crosby (rotates and feeds Kunitz), Kunitz (goal)
• Season +/-: http://www.crosbyftw.com/p/plusminus-spreadsheet.html

Thoughts:

2 game assessment: waiver wire success

• Powerplay Setup:  The powerplay FINALLY made some sense (and produced 2 goals) as Letang was at the point, Malkin on the right boards, Neal in the slot, Kunitz drifting between the crease and the left faceoff circle, and Crosby moving as he pleases around the lower half of the zone.  There will still be plenty of scares with only Letang at the point, but at least now every player is in a position that is comfortable for him.  I’ll be the first one to call myself an idiot for considering moving Kunitz off the top PP now that he looks competent with the puck again.  I have a feeling this will continue to trend up and down though because the Caps didn’t look all that well-prepared for the Pens on special teams yesterday.
• Trade Thoughts:  Credit to Alex R (@Alb4619) for sparking this thought, but could we maybe see Kennedy traded this season?  He’s a restricted free agent after this season and is quickly losing playing time and Bylsma’s confidence it looks like.  Kennedy has proven himself as an NHL player, is still young, and could actually bring something back in a trade (unlike Tangradi or Lovejoy right now).  It’s something to ponder and Shero may even be able to throw one of those other two players into the mix with TK.  Again, just a thought.
• Who Gets Benched:  This section will stay in until Niskanen returns because either Despres, Bortuzzo, or Engelland will inevitably get benched when Nisky is healthy again (and there’s still Lovejoy there too).  Sunday’s game was bad for Despres but I’m still a firm believer that he has to play through everything to solidify himself in the NHL.  We all know my thoughts on Bortuzzo, I had him listed above Engelland coming out of camp.  Engelland has played well though and Bylsma clearly trusts him.  I’m sure it will turn into a “play well and you stay, play poorly and you sit” situation, so right now Despres is the leading candidate to sit in my mind, for better or worse.
• 2nd Line Wing Watch:  Boychuk has solidified himself as the 2nd line winger for now and his speed is an incredible asset with Malkin and Neal.  I can’t imagine Jeffrey or Tangradi getting into the lineup without an injury right now.  Ray Shero should send a bottle of champagne to Jim Rutherford and some wine to the 12 or so other GMs that passed on Boychuk.

Pens Record: 6-3-0, 12 pts

Next Game:  2/5 @ NYI, 7pm