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GAMEDAY! Revenge after a 5-3 pasting Tuesday? |
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Pens (47-23-6, 20-14-4 road) at Isles (32-33-11, 15-16-6 home), Nassau Coliseum, 7:00 pm ET
Follow me on Twitter @JohnToperzer
It’s said that loose lips sink ships, but for the Penguins on Tuesday it was loose play rules the day.
Whether it was the Flower playing his worst hockey a day after a Vezina Trophy endorsement from yours truly, or Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby tiring after a crazy two-minute and 20-second shift leading to Michael Grabner’s goal with 3.8 seconds left in the first, the Pens didn’t seem mentally focused against the Islanders.
Perhaps it’s understandable, given that the Pens had won 13 straight games against the Isles in Pittsburgh. Even on Tuesday, the Penguins effortlessly rattled off two goals in less than five minutes to temporarily knot the score at 2-2. Things have come so easily lately that it’s possible the team thought it only needed to show up and turn it on when necessary to beat New York. Sometimes it’s only human to think that way, though a 5-3 loss shows the trouble that kind of thinking can lead to.
For the first time in a while, the Penguins are closer to fifth place (100 points to Philly’s 96) than first. The New York Rangers have 105 points. The Blueshirts have played in one more game than Pittsburgh, 77 to 76, but time is running out. The Pens are no longer in control of their own destiny. They need two points on Long Island if they still are to entertain first-place hopes in the East and for the President’s Trophy as the top team overall (St. Louis has 105 points in 77 contests).
Maybe it’s a good thing if the Pens cool off a bit before the postseason. It’s hard to run the table from January through June. January 11 is unofficially recognized as the date of Pittsburgh’s turnaround, when GM Ray Shero declared his team would make the playoffs after the Pens lost their sixth straight contest, 1-0, to the Capitals. Since then the team has lost only six times in regulation, going 26-6-2.
Focusing on one game at a time is what Pittsburgh needs to do Thursday night. Crosby tussled with PA Parenteau on Tuesday. That needs to stop. Usually opponents target Evgeni Malkin as a means to get the star off his game, but Crosby obliged Tuesday. His two-minute minor cross-check of Parenteau – bad acting not withstanding – was indicative of the Pens’ lack of focus.
For that reason, the rematch takes on additional meaning. Can Pittsburgh simply play its game and put away a lesser opponent? Will the leaky glove of Marc-Andre Fleury firm up? Are the Pens going to limp into the postseason or continue to at least challenge for first place?
Six games remain on the regular-season ledger with only 10 days left. It’s an exciting time of the year to be a Penguins fan. Tightening up the ship will go a long way toward securing Pittsburgh’s longest playoff run since winning the Stanley Cup in 2008-09 and it all begins Thursday night. The talent is there.
*****
Pens-Isles: By the Numbers
Goals For/Against
Pens: 3.25-2.59 (per game)
Isles: 2.34-2.93
5-on-5 For/Against Ratio
Pens: 1.18
Isles: 0.75
Power Play
Pens: 18.2 percent, 24-for-132 (road)
Isles: 16 percent, 19-for-119 (home)
New York ranks ahead of Pittsburgh in overall power-play percentage (19.2 to 19), but its 16 percent rate at home is good for just 20th in the league.
Penalty Kill
Pens: 87 percent, 120-of-138 (road)
Isles: 81 percent, 85-of-105 (home)
Hits-Blocked Shots- Missed Shots-Giveaways-Takeaways
Pens: 974H-477B-481M-243G-258T (38 road games)
Isles: 913H-619B-371M-458G-534T (37 home games)
Record When Leading After 20 minutes, 40 minutes//Trailing After 20, 40
Pens: 22-5-4, 28-0-3/9-12-1, 8-18-2
Isles: 15-1-8, 17-1-8/6-22-2, 2-28-2
Record Scoring First//Trailing First
Pens: 31-7-4/16-16-2
Isles: 21-8-8/11-25-3
Shootouts
Pens: 9-3 overall/5-0 road
Isles: 7-4 overall/1-2 road
Faceoffs
Pens: 50.3 percent, 2321W-2297L
Isles: 48 percent, 2044W-2210L
*****
Treasure life & Let's Go Pens!
JT