Penguins Been Hanginaround Way, Way Too Long
Well, well, well. Currently, for the first time since November 14th, the Pittsburgh Penguins occupy one of the two remaining Eastern Conference playoff spots. Just twelve days ago, they were nine points out of a playoff spot. But that doesn’t matter anymore.
Two weeks ago, this team was dead to rights. In their previous 14 games, they had gone 3-9-2, and were outscored 59-32 in that timespan. They sold at the trade deadline, sending Jake Guentzel as Chad Ruhwedel to the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers, respectively. They looked lifeless and miserable.
Now, the Penguins are the hottest team in the National. The stars are shining bright. They’re getting depth scoring. In their past three games, the Penguins have gotten four goals from their blue line. They’re playing looser, and they just look like they’re having fun out there on the ice.
So, what happened?
Honestly, I can’t answer that. But what I can say is that ever since they blew a 4-0 lead against the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday, March 24th, the Penguins have simply looked like a different team. They’ve looked like a better, more confident version of themselves. After struggling to finish all year, they’ve scored thirty goals in their last seven games.
On Friday, the Penguins got a huge break when the Red Wings, Capitals, and Flyers all lost in regulation. So, they entered a pivotal matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning just two points out of a playoff spot. And what a game it was.
Let’s recap yesterday’s 5-4 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning:
PIT 1-0: Steven Stamkos enters the Pittsburgh zone, and Erik Karlsson puts pressure on him. Karlsson wins a board battle, and chips it ahead to Bryan Rust, who takes off, resulting in a 2-on-1 with Sidney Crosby. Lightning defenseman Darren Raddysh goes down, but Rust outwaits him, forcing Andrei Vasilevskiy to commit to the shot. Rust threads a pass across the crease to Crosby, who tucks it in backdoor for his 40th of the season.
PIT 2-0: Marcus Pettersson carries the puck into Tampa’s zone and fires it around the boards. Rickard Rakell steps up and prevents Nick Paul from cleanly gaining possession. Michael Bunting taps it back to Erik Karlsson, who steps in and fires a wrister on net. Evgeni Malkin cuts into the middle of the ice and deflects it home.
PIT 2-1: Many announcers and fans call the left circle “Ovi’s Office.” But if Alex Ovechkin is the CEO, then Steven Stamkos is the Director. Brayden Point enters the zone on a Tampa power play, and chips it to Nikita Kucherov. Kucherov maneuvers around Lars Eller and backhands it to Victor Hedman. Hedman one-touches it to Stamkos, who fires an absolute missile of a one-timer that just manages to beat Alex Nedeljkovic blocker side.
PIT 3-1: Crosby cleanly wins a neutral zone faceoff against Nick Paul. Kris Letang collects the puck and passes cross-ice to PO Joseph. Joseph passes to Rust, who directs the puck into Tampa’s zone. Haydn Fleury tries to clear the puck, but it’s collected and kept in at the blue line by Letang. Letang throws a seemingly harmless wrister in the direction of the goal, and it trickles through Vasilevskiy’s pads and into the net. The puck appeared to slightly change directions as it passed by Drew O’Connor who was battling Matt Dumba in front of the net, but Letang was credited with his ninth tally of the season.
PIT 4-1: Michael Bunting has been a hell of a player through his first 16 games in a Penguins sweater, and this goal showcases his skillset. Deep in the zone, he and Malkin fight with Luke Glendening and Nick Perbix for the puck, which rolls loose towards the back boards. Bunting scrambles behind the net after it and backhands it to Malkin. Vasilevskiy makes the initial save, but Malkin collects his own rebound and fires it home. This was Bunting’s 100th NHL assist.
PIT 4-2: In this league, no lead is safe. Nick Paul wins a defensive zone faceoff, and Erik Cernak sends the puck around the boards to Mitchell Chaffee. Chaffee taps it up to Mikey Eyssimont, who throws it cross-ice and into the Pittsburgh zone. Paul catches up to the puck and fires it on net to beat Nedeljkovic glove side just 25 seconds into the 3rd period.
PIT 4-3: Anthony Duclair collects the puck at Tampa’s goal line, and flips it up and into the neutral zone. Victor Hedman collects it and skates into Pittsburgh’s zone before passing it to Nikita Kucherov. Kucherov passes to Duclair, who collects and fires the puck past Nedeljkovic blocker side. What an addidtion Duclair has been for Tampa. He slots in perfectly on their top line alongside Kucherov and Brayden Point. He’s got 13 points— six goals and five assists— through his first 15 games as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
PIT 4-4: Is it possible to copy and paste a play in a hockey game? Because if so, Tampa did just that on their third power play opportunity of the game. Victor Hedman corralled the puck at the left point, and sent it across the ice to Kucherov. Kucherov stepped up, forcing Pittsburgh’s penalty kill to collapse, and sent it back to Hedman. Hedman sent it towards Stamkos, who promptly tied the game with his second power play goal of the day. And what a shot it was, too.
PIT 5-4: What an electric sequence this was. Karlsson fires the puck on net, and both Malkin and Rakell whack at it. Somehow Vasilevskiy keeps it out. Rakell collects the puck behind the net and bumps it back to Karlsson. Karlsson once again throws it towards the net, but this time, Malkin tips it on net. Vasilevskiy gets a piece of it, but the puck bounces to Bunting, who kicks it to his stick and deposits it into an empty cage. Isn’t it nice having a net front presence again?
Here are some takeaways:
The Penguins have been victim to third period collapses far too often in recent history. They squandered a two goal lead against the Columbus Blue Jackets last Saturday, and lost in a shootout. In the aforementioned 4-0 blown lead against the Colorado Avalanche, they allowed five consecutive goals against in what would be an overtime loss. This time, they didn’t cave. Mike Sullivan called a timeout to settle the team down after Steven Stamkos tied the game, and it worked. They regrouped. Their mental fortitude has been criticized, but today, they held firm. They’ll need to build on that to keep their playoff spot.
The Traveling Crosbys, a group of the captain’s friends from Cole Harbour, made their yearly trip to PPG today. They always have a group costume— last year they were dressed as penguins— and today they showed up in custom Crosby Pittsburgh Pirates uniforms, complete with a C on the chest. Just a fun bit of info.
The Traveling Crosbys
Pittsburgh’s winning ways are due in no small part to Evgeni Malkin’s recent heroics. He’s been dynamite. In his past six games, he has six goals and three assists. He’s up to 25 goals and 62 points on the season.
Let’s talk about Jack St. Ivany. I’ve been very impressed by him. It seems that Mike Sullivan has the same thoughts, because he’s deployed St. Ivany in some big, high pressure moments— like today, for example, where, in just his ninth NHL appearance, St. Ivany was out with Kris Letang in the waning moments of the game. Sure, this was in part due to Marcus Pettersson being in the box. But St. Ivany was a warrior today. He blocked six shots— a personal best— and logged 14:36 of ice time, which included 1:39 shorthanded. I don’t know what his ceiling is. But I really like what I’m seeing.
And, speaking of penalties… yeesh. It was a bad day for Pettersson, who set a personal record with six penalty minutes in one game. And they were all costly; the first two resulted in power play goals for Tampa, and the third gave Tampa a 6-on-4 for the final 1:36 of the third period. The Penguins managed to hold them off, but, man. Pettersson is Pittsburgh’s best penalty killing defenseman. The kill simply cannot afford to lose him, especially against the best power play in the league.
Alex Nedeljkovic came up big once again. The stat sheet will say that he allowed four goals on 34 shots, which is a .882 SV%. But that’s not the full story. When they needed him most, Nedeljkovic came up big— especially in this play in the last three seconds of the game. Nedeljkovic made the save on Darren Raddysh’s one-timer, and, instead of covering the puck, chose to shove it towards the corner. This effectively ended the game; had he chosen to cover the puck, Tampa would’ve had one more chance to tie the game off the draw. Talk about poise under pressure.
Nedeljkovic has started eight straight, including a back-to-back. He was huge today, but he’s played eight games in 14 days. He’ll need a night off soon.
Somehow, someway, the Pittsburgh Penguins are in a playoff spot. But it’s far from over.
The race for WC2 and 3rd in the Metro, as of 4/6/2024
The Penguins and the Islanders have five games to play. The Flyers have four. The Red Wings and Capitals both have six. And dark horse candidates— yes, they’re long shots, but who knows? The East has been weird this season— the Devils and Sabres both have five games to go.
The final five games will be a gauntlet. The Penguins play the Maple Leafs in Toronto. Then, they have a three game homestand against the Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, and Nashville Predators. They’ll finish off the season doing battle with the New York Islanders on Long Island.
It’s been a season of highs and lows for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Sidney Crosby has been extremely good. The power play has been embarrassingly bad. Goaltending has been a mix of both— although much more good than bad. If, somehow, they occupy one of the final two playoff spots after all the dust settles… I think they’ll deserve their ticket to the dance.
