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The Penguins were back in action last night for the first time in weeks and dropped a decision to the Montreal Canadiens 6-5.
Here are the game highlights:
The game was wide open and exciting. It was a nice contrast to the Olympic style hockey that saw low scoring defensive battles.
The reason for the wide open style was certainly aided and assisted by the rust of many players and the fatigue of the Olympians.
The Penguins and Canadiens were not the only teams to suffer from this. In the NHL this season the average goals per hockey game has been 5.5. Last night in the 12 games played the average goals per game leaped up to 6.33. The sloppiness wasn’t a Pittsburgh Penguins problem, it was a league wide “problem”.
One problem that is still definitely a Penguins problem is their bottom 6 forward group. That is still the status quo. Here is an excerpt from a
Mark Madden column about the bottom 6 forward group last night:
The Canadiens scored once against the Penguins’ third line after Sutter made a bad turnover. The Canadiens scored once against the Penguins’ fourth line. The Canadiens scored on the power play with a fourth-liner (Joe Vitale) in the penalty box. The Canadiens scored on the power-play with a third-liner (Tanner Glass) in the penalty box.
There is no sugar coating it, they stink. The possession numbers don’t lie either:
After watching a "3rd line" of Dustin Brown, David Backes, and Ryan Callahan for the past two weeks it made me forget about just how bad the Penguins 3rd line is/was. It only took one game to be reminded again.
On a positive note the Penguins star players looked like star players. Crosby, Malkin, and Neal all had 2 points, as did Olli Maatta and Brandon Sutter.
It is a lot to ask of the star players each and every game to prop up the other passengers on the roster. It won't work in the playoffs
How long until Olli Maatta becomes a full time member of the 1st power play unit?
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One of the more noteworthy coaching decisions last night was seeing Deryk Engelland once again get playing time over Simon Despres. This decision has frustrated fans of the team for some time and I have been puzzled by that selection as well.
However, on the radio yesterday Rob Rossi reiterated something that he has said in the past. He made claims that Simon Despres has a tendency to tune out the coaching staff’s message and does not actively try to make their adjustments.
I’m not in the locker room and I can’t say if this is true or not, but if it is true I can totally understand why the Penguins brass has treated Despres the way they have. That would drive me crazy as a coach.
Has Despres always been this way? Is Despres this way because of the way that the Penguins have handled him? I say it doesn’t matter. As a younger player you don't have luxury of being that way regardless. Especially on a Cup contender that is deep on defense (when healthy).
I'm not saying what Rossi said is true, but if it is it doesn't matter why Despres is doing it, the fact he's doing it is very wrong and won't get him anywhere (and hasn't).
The Penguins would be a better team with Despres’ puck skill in the lineup instead of Engelland but he will need to correct whatever it is the coaching staff sees as a weakness, and fix it fast.
There has to be more than meets the eye with the Despres situation that we are not privy to. The physical talent gap between Despres and the options the Penguins use instead of him is fairly significant in my opinion.
If Despres can fix whatever it is that is going on it will help not only the Penguins but him as well.
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Jaromir Jagr scored his 699th career goal last night for the Devils. He will soon be joining the 700 club.
Here is a tangible look at the rarefied air that Jagr finds himself in:
I really wish Jagr stayed in the NHL instead of the KHL for those 3 seasons. He could have had a chance at 2nd overall. #JagrbombsForever
What will the Devils do with Jagr? Will he stay or will he go?
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Some injury news from yesterday included status updates for both Kris Letang and Pascal Dupuis
That is scary stuff, no other way to put it. Forget about hockey, get healthy Kris.
Pascal Dupuis tore both his ACL and MCL and the reason they delayed surgery at first was because Dupuis elected to see if the MCL would repair on its own, it did not. Dupuis had to have surgery on both the MCL and ACL and is officially out for the season. He should be ready to go by the time training camp starts. He has vowed to be at 100% with no ill effects from the injury, time will tell. Dupuis is in terrific shape and when you are in great shape your body responds better than when it is not, he has that going for him.
I believe the Dupuis injury will be the straw that breaks the camel's back in the Penguins season. He just can't be replaced.
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Yesterday I asked if the Penguins should be interested in Canucks forward Ryan Kesler, here are the results of the poll:
The overwhelming opinion is yes, I share that opinion as I stated yesterday.
Penguins next game is in beautiful Soldier Field in Chicago against the star studded Blackhawks.
Thanks for reading!
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