Penguins Get to the Choppa, Beat Predators 4-2
Last year, on Fan Appreciation Night, the Pittsburgh Penguins hosted the Chicago Blackhawks. They had full control over their playoff destiny. They lost that game 5-2, and were eliminated from playoff contention while idle the next night.
Tonight— Fan Appreciation Night once again— was slightly different. After losing to the Bruins on Saturday and falling one point behind in the wild card race, tonight was a must win game for Pittsburgh. And by God, did they ever rise to the occasion.
The first period might’ve been the best they’ve played all year. They outshot Nashville 20-5, and had a 2-0 lead. But it could’ve been more. Twice in the first period, Pittsburgh had goals called back after successful goaltender interference challenges. Both, humorously enough, were on the power play.
In the second, Nashville pushed back. And it looked like Pittsburgh might let them, too. But goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic, starting his 12th consecutive game, was thankfully up to the task for the most part; Nashville outshot Pittsburgh 16-8. And when Nashville scored 7:24 into the period, this time, it was Pittsburgh that scored an ever-important response goal that would end up being the game winner.
The third was perfect. After an early goal to restore their two goal lead, the Penguins were defensively sound, holding Nashville to nine shots on net. Nedeljkovic stopped every one. Facing a two goal defecit, Nashville pulled Saros, but the Penguins defended well, and held on to win 4-2.
Let’s recap:
PIT 1-0: This goal was reversed. But it was such a beautiful, satisfying goal, I’ll throw it in as a bonus. On the power play, Erik Karlsson and Evgeni Malkin played catch. Michael Bunting, in his usual spot atop the blue paint, presented his stick for Malkin, and Malkin obliged. Bunting received the pass, then went between his legs to put the puck past Juuse Saros.
PIT 1-0: The crowd in PPG Paints Arena was none too happy about the disallowed goal; not to worry, the Penguins scored 39 seconds later— and this one counted. At the blue line, Erik Karlsson sent a pass to Bryan Rust, who backhanded the puck to Sidney Crosby below the goal line. Crosby stick handled, and threaded a pass to Michael Bunting in the left circle, who fired on net. Saros made the save, but the puck bounced through his pads and came to a stop in the paint. Crosby, still behind the net, threw himself forward onto the ice, swiping the puck over the line as he fell.
PIT 2-0: Karlsson was flying all night. All season, he’s seemed hesitant to shoot. Tonight, with seven shots on goal, he was anything but. Marcus Pettersson entered the zone, dumping it deep and around the boards to Crosby. Crosby tipped it back to Karlsson, who collected and wristed it on net. Saros blockered it away, and Pettersson slapped it towards Crosby at the right dot. Crosby threw it back towards Karlsson, who let it fly for his 11th goal of the season.
PIT 3-0: Once again, a power play goal that didn’t count because of a questionable goaltender interference call. It’s a pity, really, because this power play was humming as well as it has all year. The second unit entered the zone, and Reilly Smith found Marcus Pettersson in the slot from below the goal line. Pettersson shot it wide, and Smith collected, bumping to Kris Letang. Letang shot, beating Saros far side, but it was determined that Lars Eller interfered with Saros. Once again, PPG Paints Arena disagreed with this decision.
PIT 2-1: Ah, the dreaded two goal lead. Sidney Crosby suffers a rare face off loss to Ryan O’Reilly. Filip Forsberg collects and fires the puck cross ice to Ryan McDonagh, who one touches it to O’Reilly. O’Reilly sweeps a clapper on net that’s blocked and deflected up into the air by the skate of a sliding Pettersson. The puck hits Gustav Nyquist squarely in the chest, and he swipes it on net. Nedeljkovic makes the first save, but can’t cover and Nyquist jams it home.
PIT 3-1: Who doesn’t love a good response goal?This whole sequence started when Reilly Smith negated an icing and bumped the puck back to Eller, who chipped it to P.O. Joseph at the blue line. Joseph sent the puck cross ice to Kris Letang, who fired on net. Roman Josi blocked the shot, and Reilly Smith collected the rebound. He circled around and found Eller by the right face off dot. Eller received, faked a pass back to Letang, and then sent the puck back to Smith, who was completing his circle down into the slot. Smith beat Saros blocker side, wristing it off the post and in.
PIT 3-2: Ryan McDonagh intercepts a weak pass from Reilly Smith, and banks it ahead through the neutral zone to an unmarked Filip Forsberg. Forsberg skates into the zone relatively unchallenged, and fires a shot that beats Nedeljkovic over the glove. The puck appears to have grazed Marcus Pettersson’s stick and changed directions slightly.
PIT 4-2: After Karlsson’s shot is blocked, Pettersson steps into Jeremy Lauzon’s clearing attempt and holds the line. Pettersson sends the puck across to Karlsson. Karlsson, with room, steps up and fires a gorgeous fake-shot no-look pass across to a wide open Emil Bemström at the left dot. Bemström doesn’t hesitate, and he doesn’t miss, either, ripping a one timer just past Saros’ outstretched blocker.
Here are some takeaways:
Sidney Crosby was, once again, magnificent. He opened the scoring with his 42nd on the year, a desperate, sprawling goal that showcased his passion and determination. He set up Erik Karlsson’s tally for his 50th assist. He won 18 of 23 in the face off circle. He had seven shots on net. Essentially, he was once again the driving force of all Pittsburgh’s success.
I once again feel the need to talk about Michael Bunting. What a player he’s been through 20 games in a Penguins sweater. He has six goals and 17 points. He’s only taken one penalty— he was high-sticked on the same sequence, and thus the penalties evened out into four-on-four play— and drawn eight. He provides something that the Penguins desperately lacked in net front presence.
Erik Karlsson, who played very poorly against Boston, was fantastic tonight. His skating was elegant and graceful. He was good defensively. He scored the second goal of the game, and set up Emil Bemström’s third tally in a Penguins sweater. And, to reiterate, he had seven shots on net. He also attempted to shoot five or six t-shirts up into the Upper Bowl during the “Shirts Off Our Backs” event. He even went so far as to jump while firing the t-shirt cannon. A man of the people.
“Well, fans,” said Dan Potash after Pittsburgh’s 4-2 win over Nashville, “did you think that the Penguins would go quietly into the night?”
Potash didn’t mean it as a question, but rather a rousing battle cry for the Penguins faithful. But, in any other context, it would have been a perfectly fair question to ask.
This Penguins team has blown thirteen multi-goal leads this year, starting with a home opener 4-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. Seven of those blown leads resulted in losses. Six of those losses came in regulation. If the Penguins once again miss the playoffs by one point, heads will likely turn to the 6-5 OT win against Detroit, where Erik Karlsson made two costly blunders that allowed Detroit to storm back and steal a point. But that’s just recency bias. There is plenty of blame to go around, and it cannot all fall onto the shoulders of the 10 million dollar whipping boy.
Pittsburgh’s season is likely done. To make the post season, the Penguins need the Philadelphia Flyers to beat the Washington Capitals, and the Montreal Canadiens to beat the Detroit Red Wings. Then, they’ll need to beat the Islanders on Wednesday on Long Island. If both the Capitals and Red Wings lose, and do so in regulation, the Penguins can get in with an overtime loss. If either the Capitals or Red Wings win, then that’s it.
No matter what happens tomorrow, let’s give the Penguins their flowers. They went 8-1-3 in their final 12 games, beating five playoff teams along the way— or six, if the Capitals or Red Wings make it. Sidney Crosby recorded 23 points over that 12 game span, tying him with Wayne Gretzky for consecutive point-per-game seasons. That cannot be taken for granted.
After last year’s Fan Appreciation Night debacle, I wasn’t sure what to expect from tonight’s game. But the Penguins came out hard and fast, and they did not let up until the final horn. So, yes. Game 82 might not mean anything. But unlike last year, it’s not because the Penguins lost game 81 in embarrassing fashion. And while it won’t necessarily leave a sweet taste in the mouths of Penguins fans… it might not exactly be a sour one, either.
It’ll just be a shame that 36 year old Sidney Crosby, with 92 points through 81 games, will not be part of the postseason for the second consecutive year.
