Goal Assessment: Game 40 - Pens 5 Hurricanes 3

Link to Game 40 Thoughts: The PensNation



+/- Assessment

1st Goal Against (Corvo): - for

• Adams – in the box for slashing
• Kunitz – in the box for tripping
• Sutter – clean defensive zone faceoff loss

1st Goal For (Bortuzzo): + for

• Kunitz – chips the puck from the defensive zone to the offensive zone
• Adams – forechecks and keeps the puck in the offensive zone
• Dupuis – follows up the forecheck by Adams to pick up the puck and then pass it across the crease to Bortuzzo
• Bortuzzo – gave the puck to Kunitz originally in the defensive zone and streaks up the ice to tap in the pass from Dupuis

2nd Goal For (Morrow): + for

• Jokinen – skates from deep in the offensive zone back to the blue line to grab the puck before 4 Hurricanes’ players around him do, then makes a perfect backhand pass to Morrow
• Morrow – moves the puck to the left around Faulk and fires a perfect wrist shot to the top corner of the net

2nd Goal Against (Sanguinetti): - for

• Bortuzzo – ices the puck with all of the forwards in front of him
• Adams – loses the defensive zone faceoff cleanly

3rd Goal Against (Nash): - for

• Engelland – gets beat to the puck off of a clean faceoff win
• Sutter – loses LaRose behind the net
• Bortuzzo – fans on the puck in the slot and doesn’t get a stick on Nash either

3rd Goal For (Bennett): + for

• Engelland – makes the stretch pass up to Bennett
• Adams – follows up Bennett when he can’t take the pass from Engelland, keeps the puck in the zone, and then eventually feeds Bennett
• Glass – goes in with Bennett on a 2 on 1, drawing McBain away from the puck
• Bennett – goes in for a backhand on Peters and has the puck bank off of McBain and in

4th Goal For (Malkin): + for

• Kunitz – keeps Gleason honest when entering the zone so the Pens have a 3 on 2 which they isolate into a 2 on 1 as Gleason sticks to Kunitz
• Iginla – intercepts the puck at the neutral zone, feeds it to Malkin entering the zone, gets the puck on net when Malkin returns the pass
• Malkin – feeds the puck back to Iginla, scores on the rebound of Iginla’s shot

5th Goal For (Dupuis): + for

• Dupuis – intercepts the puck in the neutral zone and puts it into an empty net

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

Goal Assessment: Game 38 - Rangers 6 Pens 1

Link to Game 38 Thoughts:  The PensNation



+/- Assessment

1st Goal Against (Boyle): - for

• Kunitz – puts the team on the PK with a slashing penalty
• Murray – fails to clear the puck at his feet
• Engelland – fails to clear the puck at his feet
• Dupuis – gets a piece of Richards’ shot but it glances off of him and bounces past Fleury

2nd Goal Against (McDonagh): - for

• Glass – failed chip to clear the puck on the boards, then doesn’t attack the puck carrier later
• Morrow – failed chip to clear the puck on the opposite side boards
• Murray – gets drawn completely out of position which causes confusion with Niskanen
• Niskanen – backs away from the net and McDonagh instead of trying to block the shot or get in his way

3rd Goal Against (Clowe): - for

• Orpik – loses the puck to Stepan’s forecheck without any attempt to clear it or pass it away

4th Goal Against (Brassard): - for

• Malkin – in the penalty box for slashing

1st Goal For (Dupuis): + for

• Despres – feeds the puck up to Dupuis in the neutral zone
• Morrow – runs interference to let the puck get to Bortuzzo at the point
• Bortuzzo – takes a long shot from the point that creates a rebound
• Dupuis – dumps the puck in around the boards, eventually puts the rebound past Lundqvist

5th Goal Against (Clowe): - for

• Cooke – in the penalty box for tripping
• Sutter – doesn’t rotate down quickly enough to get a strong stick on Clowe

6th Goal Against (Moore): - for

• Vitale – loses a puck battle on the boards
• Cooke – doesn’t get out to his man at the point and deflects the puck on its way to Fleury
• (also a soft goal for Fleury to let up)

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

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

ESPN Recap:  http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=400442741

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

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.

Paul Martin is America, Pens Win

It was a happy Hockey Day in America!

Result:

Pens 4  Sabres 3

Goals:  Dupuis (6) from Orpik, Kunitz

            Crosby (7) (PP) unassisted

            Dupuis (7) from Letang, Kunitz

            Martin (2) from Crosby, Dupuis

ESPN Recap: http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=400442686

Positives:

America cheers for Paul Martin.

• Marc-Andre Fleury:  Even with 3 goals allowed, Fleury was marvelous in a 30 save effort.  He was especially on his game in the 3rd period when he made 16 saves and was a major factor in killing off the only penalty of the period.  None of the 3 goals can be blamed on him as they came on 1) a defensive breakdown on the crease, 2) a ridiculous deflection on the powerplay, and 3) a bad bounce directly back to Buffalo.  It was another strong effort from Flower.
• First Line: The 1st line (when kept intact), easily had the best day against Buffalo as Kunitz, Crosby, and Dupuis combined for 14 shots and scored 2 goals as a line.  They had a strong forecheck going most of the game and played an incredible shift (eventually scoring) after Ott gave the Sabres the lead early in the 3rd period.
• Matt Niskanen:  Niskanen looked completely healthy again and played possibly his best game of the season in a very quiet and dependable performance.  He was especially adept at each blue line, keeping pucks in at the offensive zone and poke-checking pucks away in the defensive zone.  He also led the team with 4 blocked shots.
• Paul Martin:  Martin only played 22 minutes but his production remained strong with the game-winning goal and 2 blocked shots.  He has been incredibly useful to the powerplay at the point and has demonstrated the ability to decide between pass, shoot, or carry the puck very well.  Much like Niskanen, his poke-checks short-circuited quite a few Buffalo chances too.

Noteworthy:

Crosby goal...scored by Weber.

• Evgeni Malkin:  Geno had 3 shots, 3 missed shots, a slashing penalty, and was 3 for 9 in the faceoff circle.  His overall puck rushing ability and defensive support has been great the last few games, but he still can’t seem to put a complete game together.  It probably doesn’t help that he has new linemates every other shift at this point.
• Sidney Crosby:  Crosby had a solid offensive day with 3 points but was a complete moron on his cross-checking penalty and was also credited with 3 giveaways.  While racking up points will cure everything, Sid should be leading by example instead of cross-checking players in the back away from the play. 
• Tyler Kennedy:  While everyone wants to hate TK, and he did put himself offside twice in the game, he actually played a very well-rounded game.  Kennedy had 3 shots (0 missed) and 5 hits in 13:20 of ice time.  He returned to that quick, gritty style of game that got him to the NHL and propelled the 3rd line to some strong shifts, especially the first shift after Ott’s goal.  His defensive work was above average as well against Buffalo.  Hopefully things are turning up for TK.

Negatives:

• Stupid Penalties:  Malkin’s slash, Neal’s interference, Crosby’s cross-check, and Kunitz’s slash…they were all incredibly stupid, needless, and mindless penalties.  The four best forwards on this team took 3 penalties in the offensive zone and 1 in the neutral zone.  That performance has to be unacceptable in Bylsma’s eyes and that discipline is pathetic.  This group still has some maturing to do.
• Line Combinations:  The line combinations were downright ugly yesterday.  At one point, Malkin had 3 different left wingers over 3 shifts (Cooke, Bennett, Glass).  Crosby found himself on a shift with Vitale and Adams at one point.  Dupuis-Sutter-Neal came out as a line.  Even if the Pens need a jumpstart to their game at times, there is something to be said for consistency and chemistry for lines.  This certainly can’t be helping with the 2nd line’s lack of production so far.  Watching the 1st goal against over again, the forward line was Cooke-Vitale-Dupuis.  All 3 forwards failed to support each other beginning with Cooke’s attempt to clear the puck and all of them were out of position in the end.  That isn’t a shocking result for 3 players not used to each other, even if they are all strong defensively.

+/- Assessment:

Don't blame Flower for any of these.

• 1st GF (Dupuis): + for Kunitz (forecheck, pass to Orpik), Orpik (shot towards net), Dupuis (forecheck, goal)
• 2nd GF (Crosby): + for Martin (lead pass up), Kunitz (pass to Malkin), Malkin (shot on net), Crosby (tap in goal)
• 1st GA (Hodgson): - for Cooke (can’t clear puck), Bortuzzo (releases on Hodgson), Vitale (over-pursues into zone), Dupuis (doesn’t provide outlet support for Cooke)
• 2nd GA (Vanek): - for Crosby (penalty), Glass (penalty)
• 3rd GA (Ott): - for no one (unfortunate bounce)
• 3rd GF (Dupuis): + for Niskanen (forces turnover at blue line), Letang (backhand pass to Dupuis), Dupuis (won earlier puck battle and goal)
• 4th GF (Martin): + for Niskanen (moves puck up to Crosby), Dupuis (rotates puck to Crosby), Crosby (drives puck towards center of the zone), Martin (slapshot goal)
• Season +/-:  Click here for the Season +/- Spreadsheet

Thoughts:

Where'd he go?

• 2nd Line Wing:  At this point, I hope whoever is the starting 2nd line wing stays there for the whole game.  There have been flashes of good and flashes of bad from Cooke, Glass, Bennett, Kennedy, and Boychuk at this point.  Give someone two full games there and work from there.  (I realize this will never happen, but it needs to.)
• Scratching Despres:  Bylsma opted to scratch Despres to add some toughness and grit into the lineup in the form of Bortuzzo.  While that reasoning makes it silly to remove Engelland from the lineup, I would still have rather seen Despres than Engelland.  That being said, Bortuzzo was on for a goal against that was partially his fault (and only received 2:09 of playing time in the first period because of it).  Based on the move to sit Bortuzzo for a while after that goal, I would imagine Despres returns in place of Bortuzzo vs Philadelphia.  I’m not sure anything takes Engelland out of the lineup at this point.
• Glass Fight:  A game after Adams stood up for Niskanen, Glass took his turn and stood up for Sutter by fighting Cody McCormick.  Glass earns a stick tap for that.  On top of it, McCormick was a gentleman and did not pound Glass when his jersey was over his head.  McCormick waited until Glass could see again before the fight continued.  Stick tap for that.  Finally, Glass gave McCormick a big slap on the back after the fight was over to thank him.  Stick taps all around.  It was just a classy fight if there ever was one.
• Responding to Adversity:  After Ott scored to make it 3-2 Buffalo, the Pens were at a fork in the road.  They had taken each direction before – either get frustrated and fall apart or show resiliency and attack.  This time they chose the mature route and the 3rd line followed up Ott’s goal with a dominant shift in the offensive zone.  After their work was done, the first line came out and completed the task with the tying goal.  Give tons of credit to Bylsma, the staff, and the team for responding like they did after a bad bounce and stunning goal against.  That’s the type of composure we need to see from the team (even if the forwards couldn’t act like that all game).

Pens Record: 11-5-0, 22 pts

Next Game:  2/20 vs Phi, 7:30pm

Fleury Shines in 3-1 Win over Winnipeg

Main Storylines:

• Beau Bennett is making his NHL debut and starts on the 3rd line with Sutter and Kennedy
• Brooks Orpik is playing in his 600th career game
• The Penguins will face Eric Tangradi in his first game since being traded just two days ago
• Matt Cooke will start on Malkin’s wing
• Jeffrey, Boychuk, and Bortuzzo are the scratches

Result:

Pens 3  Jets 1

Goals:  Adams (1) from Vitale, Letang

            Neal (10 (PP) from Malkin, Crosby

            Adams (2) (EN) from Kunitz, Orpik

ESPN Recap: http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=400442673

Stats:

• Craig Adams led the team with 4 shots (and 2 goals)
• Kunitz, Malkin, and Letang combined for 10 missed shots
• Letang, Orpik, and Bennett each blocked 2 shots

The Good:

Well-deserved goal for the 4th line.

• Marc-Andre Fleury:  Unquestionably the number one star of the game, Fleury stopped 25 of 26 shots and that doesn’t even begin to describe how well he played for the Pens.  He survived numerous odd-man breaks and scrambles in front of the net, only losing his shutout with less than 2 minutes left.  The Pens had major problems getting trapped in their own zone for shifts over a minute long and Fleury is the only reason none of them ended in disaster.
• Craig Adams:  The fourth line finally got some deserved production as Adams put in the hard work for a garbage goal early in the game and added an empty netter in the final minute.  Beyond the goals, he also stood up for his team in a fight with James Wright after Niskanen was boarded (penalty not called).  Adams led the team with 4 shots and added 2 hits to play a very well-rounded game.

Noteworthy:

• Kris Letang:  Letang looked much better with his timing and skating than he did on Thursday, so it appears that he is fully healed and ready to go now.  He played a team high 27:54 and played the large majority of that well.  Two red flags came into play though: 1) He is shooting into defenders way too frequently.  He had at least 3 shots blocked high in the offensive zone, so it’s time to either make better pass/shot decisions or change the shooting angles. 2) His icing call that led to the Jets only goal was flat out stupid.  He had room to get the puck to center or at least softly dump it in – that’s a horrible lapse of judgment for a “Norris candidate.” 

The Bad:

• Line Changes:  The forwards as a whole were getting very out of control with their shift lengths and line changes, especially in the second period.  The 2nd line got caught twice going for line changes after shifts that lasted almost two minutes.  Both times, the puck was going back to the defensive zone and they resulted in a 3 on 2 break and a 5 on 2 break for Winnipeg.  If that happens every so often, it’s understandable, but it is an awful trend to set.  Forwards need to be much more mindful of their shifts because the defense and Fleury won’t be able to bail them out every time like they did against the Jets.

The Ugly:

PP goal with a partial assist to the refs, admit it.

• Officiating:  Both teams felt the effects here, but the refs really put a dagger into Winnipeg towards the end of the game.  The first questionable call (non-call) was no boarding when Wright hit Niskanen.  For as many ways as boarding has been defined and called, I can’t find a single way that Wright’s hit wasn’t boarding.  The second, and arguably worse call because of how it affected the game, was when Redmond was called for interference on Adams.  Redmond had positioning, had “ownership” of the ice he was on, and he barely touched Adams.  There is no way that should be interference and it led to the eventual 2-0 lead for the Pens.  The inconsistency of calls is mind-numbing right now.

+/- Assessment:

Bye bye shutout.

• 1st GF (Adams): + for Glass (helps with faceoff win), Despres (moves puck to Letang), Letang (finds streaking Vitale), Vitale (shot on net), Adams (rebound goal)
• 2nd GF (Neal): + for Kunitz (takes puck deep into zone), Letang (rotates puck to Crosby), Crosby (rotates puck to Neal), Malkin (pass to Neal), Neal (one-timer goal)
• 1st GA (Ladd): - for Letang (unnecessary icing, loses battle in corner), Malkin (leaves D position for breakout without puck), Cooke (leaves Ladd in front of crease)
• 3rd GF (Adams): + for Orpik (clears zone to Kunitz), Kunitz (finds Adams in the middle), Adams (empty net goal)
• Season +/-:  Click here for the Season +/- Spreadsheet

Thoughts:

Bennett will hopefully be a top 6 winger
and hit puberty soon.

• 2nd Line Wing:  The lines rotated frequently last night and Cooke, Bennett, Glass, and Kunitz all spent time next to Malkin at one point or another.  I liked what I saw out of Cooke – he certainly did a strong job battling for the puck in the corners with that line.  While I would still like to see Bennett playing on a top 2 line instead of with Sutter and Kennedy (ugh), I would not mind seeing one more game with Cooke on the 2nd line to see if something more can come out of it.
• Bennett’s Debut:  Bennett was very impressive in his debut even if it wasn’t on the scoresheet.  He demonstrated strong awareness all over the ice, highlighted by his 2 shot blocks and covering for Letang pinching twice.  He played 11:37 (missing a chunk of the 2nd after a shot block) and grew more comfortable with every shift after having trouble accepting passes in the 1st period.  It was a very promising debut.
• Bortuzzo Scratched:  As usual, I will continue to complain until Bortuzzo is in the lineup for Engelland.  Engo didn’t help his cause any with a turnover that Fleury had to make a great save on either.  Bortuzzo can do everything Engelland does, but is better and has more potential.  I also like that he has a sandpaper quality to him to get under the skin of everyone.  Engelland can fight and certainly has toughness, but Bortuzzo clearly annoys the hell out of opponents and can back it up with his fists.  That’s a quality the Penguins don’t have a lot of nowadays.
• Tyler Kennedy:  I honestly thought TK would get traded before Tangradi, but here we are with TK still in the lineup and Tangradi gone.  Shero has made comments about Kennedy that insinuate he needs to take advantage of his chances soon.  He played 13:47 against the Jets, recording 3 shots and 2 hits in what was generally a decent game.  I highly question why he keeps getting chances when Dustin Jeffrey can’t touch the lineup though.  Even if it’s just for a game, it’s time to sit TK and send a real message.

Pens Record: 10-5-0, 20 pts

Next Game:  2/17 @ Buf, 12:30pm

Penguins Wake Ovechkin Up, Proceed to Beat Him

Main Storylines:

• Ben Lovejoy was traded to Anaheim for a 2014 5th round pick.  Dylan Reese was recalled from WBS.
• Kris Letang will miss tonight due to an unknown ailment (I bet it’s a body injury, maybe even inner).
• Dylan Reese makes his Penguins debut, paired up with Simon Despres

Result:

Pens 5  Caps 2

Goals:  Malkin (3) (PP) from Crosby, Martin

            Dupuis (4) from Crosby, Kunitz

            Neal (7) (PP) from Kunitz, Malkin

            Cooke (2) from Sutter

            Crosby (5) (PP) from Malkin, Neal

ESPN Recap:  http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=400442619

Stats:

• Most playing time: 28:08 for Paul Martin followed by 23:14 for Brooks Orpik
• Least playing time: 11:07 for Tyler Kennedy and then 11:38 for Zach Boychuk
• The Pens went 36 for 62 on faceoffs (Big 3 - Crosby: 12/23, Malkin: 10/16, Sutter: 8/13)
• Robert Bortuzzo led the team in hits (3) and penalties (2)
• The powerplay went 3/4 to increase their season total to 12/41 (29.3%)

The Good:

All smiles for the powerplay.

• Evgeni Malkin:  Geno seems to have shaken his KHL rust off completely at this point. Aside from his top corner snipe on Neuvirth and 2 powerplay assists, he’s demonstrating an increasing level of comfort in his skating and willingness to attempt various moves.  You can really tell when Malkin is feeling it based on his “swagger” on the ice, which tonight included a spin-o-rama shot (wide) and tape to tape passes.  I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the start of a goal streak for him.
• Powerplay:  While many of us (myself included) had suggested put Martin on the point and [foolishly] take Kunitz off the powerplay or split Malkin and Crosby up, Martin finally got his chance due to Letang’s absence tonight.  He ran the powerplay with poise and confidence and was certainly a factor in their 3 for 4 performance tonight.  The powerplay was clicking all over tonight as everyone made tape to tape passes and retrieved rebounds and pucks on the boards.  High skill + high effort + accuracy = lethal powerplay.  The usage of Crosby and Malkin across from each other on the left and right half boards (both had turns on each side) gave the Capitals fits and should be a fixture moving forward.
• Sidney Crosby:  All of a sudden, Crosby is tied for 3rd in points in the league and has put together a 6 game point streak.  Not bad for a guy that “started slow”, “would never return to form”, and “passed the baton.”  No matter what your feelings were going into the season, there is no doubt Crosby is playing at his elite level right now and wasn’t even slowed down by a puck to the face.  Good luck finding many players that scored the way he did tonight.  On a defensive note, his penalty killing has been quite strong too.
• Paul Martin:  As mentioned under the powerplay, Martin continues to move the puck with poise and has just simplified his game to a point of mastery.  He played a whopping 28:08 tonight, almost 5 minutes more than anyone else on the team.  Odds are you didn’t even notice it because he played that well.  I’m starting to run out of specifics to compliment Martin on because he has elevated his game that much.

The Bad:

• 2nd Line:  While Neal and Malkin looked great on the powerplay, the 2nd line still needs some work.  Neal was pass-happy, no wait, make that blind pass-happy and had issues turning the puck over.  Boychuk still had great bursts of speed and looked very much in sync with Malkin but his puck control could use some help.  The line as a whole seemed to make far too many short passes (we’ll say less than 3 ft) that were either unnecessary or too tough for someone to handle.  This line still hasn’t found their rhythm yet and I still think Jeffrey will return to the lineup sooner than later.
• Brandon Sutter:  This is certainly nitpicky because Sutter wasn’t bad; he just wasn’t up to par either.  His flaws were masked by the 5-2 win and his perfect faceoff win on Cooke’s goal, but he has had trouble controlling the puck and getting it out of the zone.  To a degree, I trust Sutter more without the puck than with the puck in the defensive and neutral zone right now.  That being said, he is still a stud when it comes to covering guys and blocking shots.  He just needs to be stronger on the puck on clears and passes.

The Ugly:

Wasn't Oates supposed to "unleash" Ovi?

• The Caps:  I had nothing marked badly enough for the Pens to put in this section (heck, I nitpicked to make a “Bad” section), so let’s attack what was ugly – the Washington Capitals.  Many fans had a bad feeling going into this game.  The Caps always play the Pens well in Pittsburgh, they had a big point to prove, and they were looking for a revenge game.  It started out strongly for Washington with the Ribeiro goal (don’t blame the refs, don’t blame the rules, Orpik got his stick under Fleury’s mask and knocked it off - lack of awareness on both of their parts).  Then there were just bizarre moves.  Pulling Neuvirth after the 2nd goal seemed foolish (and indeed did backfire) even if it was a soft goal.  The Caps as a team looked disgruntled after that happened instead of showing a renewed energy.  Why didn’t Oates use his timeout instead of going to Holtby who had gotten destroyed just days ago?  Then, why didn’t he use it after Holtby got blitzed twice in 11 seconds?  I thought Ovechkin played a strong game and looked awake again but the team as a whole just looked frazzled after the 2nd goal and had no rallying point.  What is the identity of the Capitals?  I don’t think anyone knows right now.

+/- Assessment:

Just glad the puck didn't hit Fleury's head.

• 1st GA (Ribeiro): - for Sutter (knocked off puck), Cooke (too deep in D zone, not covering point), Orpik (gets under Fleury’s mask with his stick)
• 1st GF (Malkin): + for Martin (pass to Crosby), Crosby (pass to Malkin), Kunitz (interferes with Carlson), Malkin (goal)
• 2nd GF (Dupuis): + for Engelland (breakout pass), Kunitz (passes up to Sid), Crosby (pass to Dupuis), Dupuis (goal)
• 3rd GF (Neal): + for Malkin (stretch pass to Kunitz), Kunitz (pass to the goal line to Neal), Neal (goal)
• 4th GF (Cooke): + for Sutter (faceoff win), Cooke (goal)
• 5th GF (Crosby): + for Neal (passes to Malkin), Malkin (shot that creates rebound), Crosby (retrieved puck originally, goal)
• 2nd GA (Ovechkin): - for Orpik (penalty)
• Click here to get the Season +/- spreadsheet and totals

Thoughts:

Nice and simple debut.

• Lovejoy Trade:  As you likely know, Lovejoy was traded to the Ducks for a 5th round pick.  I think it’s a fair trade, and honestly a generous trade since Lovejoy likely would have been put on waivers.  The Ducks are tearing it up right now and Lovejoy would have been claimed before he made it to them.  Pittsburgh gains compensation and the Ducks pay for depth.  It’s a solid trade for both teams.
• Dylan Reese:  I was very impressed with Reese, who played over 14 minutes in this game.  He played smart and simple hockey to perfection.  He didn’t take a single risk in passing or shooting the puck, and even made some superb line changes (I’m serious).  I noticed twice that he refused to change until his other D partner had changed and the new defenseman had already shifted over to cover him for his change.  It sounds natural and simple, but natural and simple is what wins hockey games for 3rd pairing defensemen, so good for him.
• Robert Bortuzzo:  Bortuzzo played well as usual and I had to give him credit for showing absolutely no fear with Ovechkin in the 3rd period.  The second penalty he took was certainly interference and I could have done without that (kept him out of the good section) but the first penalty was a good one.  He clearly stood up to Ovi and got into his head.  Not only that, but I will take a Bortuzzo for Ovechkin trade to the penalty box any day of the week.  Bortuzzo has quickly acclimated himself to the NHL and is showing he really belongs.

Pens Record: 8-3-0, 16 pts

Next Game:  2/9 @ NJ, 1pm