The Penguins dropped their third straight game in regulation to the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1. Once again the Penguins dominated play for a solid stretch of time but were unable to beat the opposing goaltender.
The Penguins Fenclose% in the game was a very high 63.8%.
The Maple Leafs did what they do best, battle it out during the rough patches and survive. The Leafs kept the game manageable and were able to strike on the scoreboard when given their opportunity. James Reimer, in his first start since October 17, played terrific. Reimer finished with 38 saves and the #1 star of the game. Phil Kessel scored his 5th goal in 3 games and is currently on one of his unstoppable hot streaks.
It is becoming problematic for the Penguins to play a good brand of hockey for a large portion of each game, yet come out of it with no goals to show for it. To me this is clearly a sign of the Penguins forward depth, or lack thereof, finally catching up to them. It’s one thing to have the puck a large portion of each game; it’s completely another thing when you have that puck with people who know what to do with it.
The Penguins current forward grouping is going to struggle to score goals if the Crosby line goes cold, like it did last night. Evgeni Malkin is desperately missing his usual right winger James Neal. The Malkin line has struggled to show a consistent ability to maintain offensive zone time early on this season. That is large in part because Chuck Kobasew has not been able to provide enough support in that 2nd line role. To overcompensate for his struggling line Malkin has been more prone to making risky plays that have cost the Penguins goals. The 3rd and 4th lines do not have enough talent to sustain an offensive attack right now.
Tanner Glass has had a renascence this season compared to his dreadful 2012-2013 season, but he should not be a regular option on the third line. The Penguins seem content on dressing a below average defenseman on their 4th line for the time being. These kinds of roster moves are not going to facilitate the scoring of many goals.
With the artificially lowered salary cap it makes it incredibly difficult to replace injured players this year. More and more teams will have to suck it up this year and find a way while their injured players are out. This is not a problem specific to the Penguins; it will be a problem for any team who has spent up to the 64.3M salary cap. For now it’s the Penguins turn to deal with this issue, better now than later in the year.
The biggest thing to come out of last night’s game was Rob Scuderi’s injury. Scuderi was finished off on a check by David Clarkson that brought back memories of the Franzen-Crosby hit from Game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Final. Scuderi got crunched and sometime during his fall to the ice he hurt something on his lower body and was unable to bear his own weight. Rob Scuderi missing for any extended period of time is certainly not a good thing. A high ankle sprain or a sprained MCL would put Scuderi's recovery in the 4-6 weeks range. The Penguins have the day off and any update pertaining to Scuderi's injury will most likely come on Monday
Scuderi has been everything the Penguins have wanted so far this year. Helping out any long term absence by Scuderi is the fact that the Penguins still have Matt Niskanen on the roster. Niskanen is more than capable of jumping up and playing top 4 minutes in the regular season. Robert Bortuzzo and Olii Maatta would be a more than acceptable bottom pairing.
Kris Letang scored his first goal of the year on the power play but he was directly responsible for the shorthanded goal against the Penguins. Letang has gotten his shot blocked by defenders twice in the past two games which has led to goals against. Chalk it up to rust right now, but he will have to get the puck deep moving forward.
One positive thing to take away from last night’s game was the fact that Matt D’Agostini seemed to be an upgrade over Chuck Kobasew on the second line. D’Agostini played quick and was not afraid to fire off shots. D’Agostini also did a nice job of finding the soft spots on the ice so that he could have the opportunity to shoot. If D’Agostini can come in and provide a similar role to what Tyler Kennedy provided over the years on the third line that will be a positive for the Penguins.
Eventually when the Penguins get a healthy forward unit they will have some nice options to fill out their bottom 6. A third line of Bennett/Jokinen-Sutter-D’Agostini and a 4th line of Kobasew-Adams-Vitale-Glass is a lot more appealing than what the current options are and will lead to more lines being able to contribute offensively.
Losing three games in a row is never ideal but in the big picture it really does not mean much for the Penguins. The Metropolitan Division is the weakest in hockey as it currently stands. The regular season is just one big tryout for the playoffs. The coaching staff will continue to evaluate what players belong in what roles. The lineups you see right now are not going to be the lineups come April.
If the Penguins continue to go on 3 game losing streaks when Neal, Bennett, and Scuderi return to the lineup consider me concerned, until then the losses are just an annoying inconvenience.
Here are the game highlights:
Thanks for reading!
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