Goal Assessment: Game 42 - Pens 3 Panthers 1

Link to Game 42 Thoughts:  The PensNation



+/- Assessment

1st Goal For (Letang): + for

• Dupuis – chases down a loose puck and taps it over to Morrow behind the net, clears Letang’s shooting lane
• Morrow – feeds the puck back over to Bennett who rotated into the corner, goes to screen Markstrom
• Bennett – passes the puck to Letang at the point
• Letang – fires a wrist shot that beats Markstrom

2nd Goal For (Morrow): + for

• Letang – dumps the puck into the zone
• Vitale – chases the dump-in and keeps the puck in the zone, then clears out the crease area for Morrow
• Bennett – follows Vitale and picks up the puck, takes it around the net, and feeds Morrow in front
• Morrow – banks the puck in off of Markstrom

1st Goal Against (Upshall): - for

• Murray – fails to clear the puck when he gets a chance in the corner
• Sutter – fans on the puck when it goes back to the corner          
• Kennedy – drifted past all 5 Panthers waiting for the clear attempt, wasn’t near anyone as Upshall sneaks in with no one paying attention
• Cooke – follows Skille towards the failed clear but then never goes back to his position (where he would have seen Upshall coming in)
• Niskanen – hits Upshall after the initial shot but gives him the inside lane to the net instead of protecting the net

3rd Goal For (Morrow): + for

• Dupuis – picks off a pass in the neutral zone after Florida pulls their goalie, passes it up to Morrow
• Morrow – skates into the zone and scores on an empty net

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

Goal Assessment: Game 41 - Pens 6 Lightning 3

Game 41 Thoughts: The PensNation



+/- Assessment

1st Goal For (Jokinen): + for

• Niskanen – pins Purcell with the puck against the boards so he can’t move it anywhere
• Dupuis – steals the puck in the defensive zone on the boards and chips it up to the neutral zone
• Morrow – chips the puck into the offensive zone, then wins a race to get the puck, drives to the net, and puts a shot off of Bishop’s pads
• Jokinen – has the rebound go off of his skate and into the net

2nd Goal For (Dupuis): + for

• Niskanen – sends a breakout pass to Kennedy in the neutral zone
• Kennedy – skates into the offensive zone and fires a wrist shot on Bishop that creates a rebound
• Dupuis – drives to the net and puts the rebound past Bishop

1st Goal Against (Purcell): - for

• Malkin – in the penalty box for tripping
• No one else - on replay it was just a beautiful setup and goal by TB’s powerplay. Everyone was in position.

3rd Goal For (Kunitz): + for

• Letang – brings the puck out of the defensive zone, passes it to Kunitz entering the offensive zone, takes a pass back and sends it over to Iginla, eventually takes another pass from Iginla and feeds him for a one-timer
• Malkin – passes the puck back to Iginla
• Iginla – fakes a one-timer and then passes to Malkin, gets it back from Malkin and passes to Letang while shifting into one-timer position, then one-times Letang’s pass back
• Jokinen – draws the crease defenseman off of the crease and away from Kunitz
• Kunitz – takes the puck into the offensive zone and passes back to Letang, tips Iginla’s one-timer into the net

2nd Goal Against (Connolly): - for

• Bennett – in the penalty box for hooking
• Jokinen – gets drawn out of position on the initial rush into the zone and never quite gets back into position
• Dupuis – doesn’t cover the 4th man in the zone wandering to the slot even though he’s the 4th defender on the play
• Murray – gets too far away from his crease position and doesn’t have the quickness to recover

4th Goal For (Malkin): + for

• Malkin – in position to steal a bad pass by Killorn and beats Bishop on the far side

5th Goal For (Jokinen): + for

• Morrow – retrieves his rebound in the corner and passes it out to Jokinen
• Dupuis – sends the puck to Murray at the point
• Murray – takes a wrist shot from the point
• Jokinen – taps Morrow’s pass to Dupuis, redirects Murray’s shot past Bishop

6th Goal For (Glass): + for

• Iginla – helps out on faceoff to win the puck back to Malkin, eventually passes the puck across the crease to Jokinen
• Malkin – passes over to Letang at the other point
• Letang – fakes a pass to the right to open up a passing lane and sends the puck down to Iginla in the corner
• Jokinen – puts a shot on net that rebounds out in front
• Glass – buries the rebound

3rd Goal Against (Purcell): - for

• Engelland – in the penalty box for roughing
• Glass – standing flat-footed in the slot, doesn’t follow Purcell to the crease
• Murray – moves to hit St. Louis instead of looking for or playing the puck

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

Goal Assessment: Game 39 - Pens 2 Rangers 1 (SO)

Link to Game 39 Postgame Thoughts: The PensNation



+/- Assessment

1st Goal For (Jokinen): + for

• Dupuis – throws the puck behind the net for Kunitz
• Kunitz – settles the puck down and feeds Jokinen at the left circle
• Jokinen – beats Lundqvist high, glove side

1st Goal Against (Nash): - for

• Dupuis – just getting out of the box for his unsportsmanlike conduct penalty **I realize the penalty was iffy at best, but he’s still the reason it’s 5 on 4**
• Sutter – loses the faceoff cleanly in the defensive zone

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

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 32 - Pens 4 Isles 2

Link for Game 32 Thoughts:  The PensNation

+/- Assessment

1st Goal Against (Streit): - for

• Jeffrey – clean faceoff loss
• (everyone goes where they are supposed to go, Vokoun looks off of his angle a bit)

1st Goal For (Vitale): + for

• Adams – takeaway at the offensive blue line
• Glass – makes it a 2 on 1 with Vitale and pulls Hamonic a little bit out of position away from Vitale
• Vitale – snipes the corner on Nabokov

2nd Goal Against (Bailey): - for

• Dupuis – failed clear with the puck sitting in front of him
• Crosby – failed clear, then doesn’t skate out to Hamonic at the point OR shadow Bailey (lack of attention to what Kunitz is doing)
• Kunitz – gets caught wandering in the zone, too far away from Hamonic at the point OR Bailey skating to the crease (lack of attention to what Crosby is doing)

2nd Goal For (Kunitz): + for

• Crosby – wins puck battle in the defensive zone to Dupuis, eventually sets up Kunitz
• Dupuis – takes puck from defensive zone and passes it along to Crosby, then drives to the net causing a 3 player screen on Nabokov
• Kunitz – beats Nabokov 5 hole as the screen clears away

3rd Goal For (Sutter): + for

• Orpik – retrieves puck in the defensive zone and clears it out to Neal
• Neal – passes the puck from the neutral zone up to Cooke heading into the offensive zone
• Cooke – patiently waits for Carkner to go down and end up out of position before passing the puck across the crease to Sutter
• Sutter – beats Nabokov from point blank

4th Goal For (Dupuis): + for

• (Vokoun – clears the puck to the blue line)
• Crosby – knocks the puck to the offensive blue line where Dupuis picks it up
• Dupuis – smacks the puck into an empty net

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

Goal Assessment: Game 30 - Pens 2 Bruins 1

Link for Game 30 Thoughts:  The PensNation

+/- Assessment

1st Goal For (Crosby): + for

• Dupuis – beats Chara to the puck behind the net and spins away from him, passing to Kunitz
• Kunitz – makes a quick pass across the slot to Crosby
• Crosby – shoots the puck past Rask, who was sprawling out of position

1st Goal Against (Seguin): - for

• Eaton – extended sequence begins when Eaton clears it up the middle directly to Boston so everyone starts scrambling in coverage, eventually covers the same guy as Sutter leaving Seguin by himself
• Cooke – not playing anywhere near the points for defensive coverage
• Kennedy – not playing anywhere near the points for defensive coverage
• Sutter – slides towards Eaton’s position where neither one of them adjusts

2nd Goal For (Vitale): + for

• Orpik – makes the lead pass from the defensive zone up to Vitale
• Adams – takes a shot that Rask can’t handle with his glove that leads to a rebound
• Vitale – drops puck off for Adams, skates in for the rebound and puts it over Rask

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

Goal Assessment: Game 29 - Pens 3 Rangers 0

Link for Game 29 Thoughts:  The PensNation

+/- Assessment

1st Goal For (Bennett): + for

• Kennedy – passes the puck up the right boards from the defensive blue line
• Jeffrey – chips it along to Bennett into the offensive zone
• Bennett – takes a quick shot that beats Lundqvist on the far side

2nd Goal For (Kennedy): + for

• Letang – good keep on the powerplay when the Rangers almost block the puck out, passes around with Martin and Bennett
• Martin – quarterbacks the powerplay and keeps passing from the point
• Bennett – rotates around with Martin and Letang at the points to keep the Rangers back
• Sutter – draws two defenders next to him at the crease
• Kennedy – one-times a pass from Letang past Lundqvist on the far side

3rd Goal For (Dupuis): + for

• Orpik – stands up Richards with the puck to force a turnover
• Cooke – retrieves the loose puck and passes it up to Jeffrey
• Jeffrey – passes across to Dupuis on a 2 on 1
• Dupuis – waits til Lundqvist goes down, takes the puck to his backhand, and scores

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

Goal Assessment: Game 28 - Pens 3 Leafs 1

Link for Game 28 Thoughts:  The PensNation

+/- Assessment

1st Goal Against (Bozak): - for

• Crosby – bad line change leads to an uncovered defenseman entering the Penguins zone
• Dupuis – bad line change leads to an uncovered defenseman entering the Penguins zone
• Kunitz – releases coverage on Bozak when he’s unsure of what to do with the open man

1st Goal For (Dupuis): + for

• Martin – moves the neutral zone faceoff win over to Niskanen
• Niskanen – slaps the puck in around the boards for Kunitz forechecking on the other side
• Kunitz – wins the forechecking battle and feeds the puck to Sid at the faceoff circle
• Crosby – makes a ridiculous backhanded spin pass to Dupuis
• Dupuis – turns the pass to his forehand and scores

2nd Goal For (Dupuis): + for

• Crosby – gets a clutch stick deflection on a Leafs cross-crease pass in front of Fleury in the D zone (puck deflects to the glass and rolls up the boards)
• Kunitz – retrieves the puck off the boards in the D zone and takes it into the O zone, pulls up and feeds the puck to Dupuis in the high slot
• Dupuis – takes a quick snap shot that beats Scrivens

3rd Goal For (Adams): + for 

• Adams – blocks a shot, gathers the puck, and shoots it into an empty net from his own zone

Get the full season +/- here:  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 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

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

ESPN Recap: http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=400442721

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

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    

ESPN Recap: http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=400442708

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