Pens (3-3, 3-1 Road) at Rangers (3-3, 3-1 Home), Madison Square Garden, 7:00 pm ET, ROOT Sports
Here we are on January 31 and Thursday night in Madison Square Garden already presents itself as a Game 7 for both the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers. The Pens and Rangers enter the contest with identical 3-3 regular-season records.
Okay, so perhaps the ”Game 7” hype is a bit misleading, but the mentality of a must-win situation is not. The Penguins have mostly struggled since jumping out to an impressive 2-0 start. New York, meanwhile, has won four of six since being unceremoniously dumped by the Pens in a 6-3 Pittsburgh victory back on Jan. 20.
In Wednesday’s Hockey Buzz reader poll, 33 percent of respondents named “No life or energy on team” as the greatest area of concern with the Penguins. On one hand, the popular answer reflects a lack of perceived caring or general on-ice interest by the team. On the other hand, the belief is something which theoretically can be addressed without overhauling personnel.
Whether or not Pittsburgh pushes its panic button, the playing of six games in a 48-game schedule is the equivalent of 10 games in a normal, 82-game regular season.
As mentioned earlier, the Pens thoroughly handled New York the first time the teams played. A second win in 11 days at the Garden would go a long way toward righting the wrongs of a team which can’t seem to get out of its own way.
Picking up on Wednesday’s spirited polling, a number of other issues concern the Penguin faithful. Twenty-seven percent of voters take issue with the team’s puck management. Whether it’s making ill-advised passes within the system or not executing dumps and chases in the offensive zone, observers feel that turnovers are a big problem. Evgeni Malkin likely agrees – or at least he should.
Coaching is third on the list of concerns. There’s the axiom “you can’t fire all the players,” and in that case it’s the coach that gets the axe, deservedly so or not deservedly so. Teams coached by Dan Bylsma have won only one playoff series in the last three seasons. That’s an eternity for most coaches not named Lindy Ruff.
Legitimate questions need to be considered, if not outright asked, about the effectiveness of coach Bylsma’s system. Forechecking is at the center of Bylsma’s system. Keeping the puck in the offensive end is another staple. Can the Penguins maintain that aggressiveness on a nightly basis when some of its best forecheckers are on the wrong side of 30? And even if they can, does the system wear them out come playoff time?
Teams have been successful with the stretch pass, beating the system when it counts. Pittsburgh has shown an inability to make adjustments and that falls directly on the coaching staff.
Islanders coach, Jack Capuano, had this to say about Tuesday’s game.
"I'm sure nobody gave us much of a chance against a really good hockey team, but you know what I thought systematically we were a little more structured, over the last game for sure," Capuano told
ESPN. "We were a little more sound in a lot of areas tonight."
By the same token, Bylsma hasn’t had Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin both healthy in the postseason since 2009-10. That year, the Penguins defeated Ottawa in the first round before falling to red-hot Jaroslav Halak and the Montreal Canadiens in a seven-game, second-round defeat.
Lack of secondary scoring finished third in the voting. When two players make up nearly 20 percent of a team payroll, having adequate resources to find complementary pieces is not going to be an easy chore. The draft is one way to help counteract those financial constraints. However, the Pens have chosen defense with their first-round picks more often than not.
Forwards have accounted for 11 goals through six games, with only one coming from the third or fourth line. Tyler Kennedy netted once such goal in the second game of the season – coincidentally against the Rangers. It’s a stretch to think that Matt Cooke and Pascal Dupuis will once again score at the 19-goal and 25-goal rates of 2011-12, respectively, but some production is necessary. On a side note, Dupuis was the most dropped forward in Yahoo! fantasy hockey last week – not a ringing endorsement for Super Duper.
Having too few NHL-caliber defensemen was another concern for 19 percent of voters. NHL first-round draft picks certainly aren’t like the NFL. In football, a large percentage of first-rounders see time the same year they’re drafted. In hockey, it’s unusual for a No. 1 pick to take regular shifts in the NHL. Defensemen, in particular, typically take a long time to develop. Even Kris Letang, who has exceeded nearly all expectations, netted only three goals in 73 contests during his third full NHL campaign. What is it fair to expect from the likes of Joe Morrow and Derrick Pouliot right off the bat? Blueliners like Brian Dumoulin and Olli Maatta have skillsets more apt to make immediate impacts, but the learning curve tempers their contributions, too.
Right now, Brooks Orpik, Kris Letang and Paul Martin could serve as top-four defenders for most organizations – Orpik and Letang, for sure. After that, there’s depth but not high-end quality. Matt Niskanen looked alright with Letang. But he’s out for anywhere from 2-6 weeks, based on whichever report one believes.
Simon Despres, he played quite possibly the best game of his young career, Tuesday against the Islanders. Counting on him night-in and night-out would be a mistake. Deryk Engelland has value as the only defender capable of pushing opposing players away from the net and Ben Lovejoy competes at a high level, but neither are top-four quality.
Thanks for voting. Opinions from old friends and new faces are always welcome in the comments section.
We’ve got a game at the Garden tonight, so let’s get to some particulars.
*****
-- Henrik Lundqvist is 3-1 with a 1.51 GAA and .925 save percentage since getting pulled against the Penguins.
-- Ryan Callahan will miss Thursday’s game with a shoulder injury, thanks to a fight with former Penguin Max Talbot.
-- Sidney Crosby holds a 14-game point streak against the Rangers which includes 10 goals and 27 points. He lost 15 of 21 draws in the first meeting.
-- Tomas Vokoun stopped 31 of 34 shots against New York in the Pens’ 6-3 win, earning his first “W” in a Penguins’ sweater. He'll likely start Thursday.
-- Evgeni Malkin went 2-8 on faceoffs against NYR, but scored half of his season’s point total – three assists – in the first game.
-- James Neal netted two goals.
-- The Pens’ power-play is 1-for-14 since scoring two goals in four attempts against the Rangers.
Links 'n At
Penguins make some changes, fight frustration.
"It's not perfect," coach Bylsma said. "Players are trying to be at Game 65 or Game 40, and they're not there."
They are as emotionally revved up as ever going into a game against the Atlantic Division rival Rangers at the end of January, even if that is based on what has happened in the short term.
"After [Tuesday] night's game, I don't think it matters who you play," center and team captain Sidney Crosby said.
"You should be able to get up for anything. That [game was] not a reflection of our team. Everyone should be champing at the bit to get back to playing the way we know how."
Malkin still trying to re-adjust to smaller NHL rinks.
"It's so much tougher," Malkin said Wednesday after practice at Consol Energy Center.
"The bigger ice is so much different. You need a little bit of games to have more confidence on the [smaller] ice. I feel pretty good. I have lots of scoring chances, but I'm not scoring. A couple more goals scored, and I'll have more confidence."
Malkin isn't longing for the KHL, though.
"I like [the smaller ice] more because you have lots of scoring chances, more shots," he said. "It's dangerous around the net. It's a more interesting game. I like it more on the [smaller] ice."
Penguins’ Practice Lines.
Chris Kunitz-Sidney Crosby-Pascal Dupuis
Dustin Jeffrey-Evgeni Malkin-James Neal
Tanner Glass-Brandon Sutter-Matt Cooke
Tyler Kennedy-Joe Vitale-Craig Adams
(Eric Tangradi)
Dustin Jeffrey gets his 10-15:00 TOI minutes of fame with Malkin and Neal.
Pens Tweak Power Play.
The big news is that James Neal and Evgeni Malkin switched spots, with Neal playing down low and Malkin moved to the right point.
Neal led the NHL with 18 power-play goals in 2011-12 playing down low.
“I had success on the power play in that spot last year,” Neal said. “It’s a spot I’m familiar with and I feel comfortable. I’m more comfortable there than on the point.”
“Neal playing low is better because he likes playing lower,” Malkin said. “Last season he scored the most (power play) goals in the NHL. He’s comfortable lower.”
*****
Treasure Life!
JT
Pittsburgh Penguins Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»