The Penguins escaped North Carolina with two points after a 3-1 victory over the Hurricanes. It wasn't a game that saw the Penguins do many things right. Carolina was the better team throughout the night and were ultimately shut down by Matt Murray.
The Penguins also lost yet another defenseman to injury. This time it was Trevor Daley and the assumption is that it is a lower body injury. He tried to come back from it, but he tested whatever was ailing him at the beginning of the second period and came to the conclusion that it wasn't happening.
Pittsburgh is down to three regular defenseman with Kris Letang, Brian Dumoulin, and Ian Cole still healthy and active. Jim Rutherford was probably heading into the trade deadline with thoughts on acquiring a defenseman even before the injury bug hit so we will probably see a move in the next eight days on that front.
Yesterday the Arizona Coyotes shipped off Michael Stone to the Calgary Flames. The Flames received Stone while Arizona retained 2M in salary. Arizona received a 2018 third round pick and a conditional 2018 fifth round pick that is reliant on whether or not Stone re-signs in Calgary. Does this set market value for middle tier defense trade targets? Michael Stone was on my do not trade for list so it's tough to say. It isn't easy to peg a player's value when general managers around the league still place value in players who don't really help a team. Are the Red Wings going to look at this trade and feel like that is Brendan Smith's value? Does Tim Murray look at that and see fair value for Cody Franson? If yes, then the Penguins will be able to make a sensible trade to shore up their defense depth. If no, we might see the Penguins and Jim Rutherford being forced into an overpay because of the injuries. Not exactly the leverage you want heading into the deadline.
The Penguins don't have a game until Saturday so getting a player via trade before that day will provide at least a little bit of practice time with the team. I have a feeling that the idle schedule will expedite a trade.
Outside of Matt Murray there weren't many positives to take away from the game last night except for one sequence which I thought was brilliant. That sequence came on the 5 on 3 power play that Sidney Crosby scored on.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have one of the most skilled power play units in the league. Their go to number one unit has consisted of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel, Kris Letang, and Patric Hornqvist. When they get player movement and look for 2 on 1's they are a goalie's worst nightmare.
If the Penguins use their personnel grouping and power play structure from last night it will be near impossible to stop them. Instead of sitting stationary waiting for a one timer lane to open up the Penguins have done something so incredibly simple, yet effective, with how they attacked the Hurricanes triangle. Let me illustrate what I am talking about:
Again, the simplicity of their setup and how marvelous it is at maximizing each player's individual skill sets is great.
When you have a 5 on 3 advantage you will have free rein on the perimeter to do whatever you want. Nobody plays an aggressive triangle on a regular basis at the NHL level. The passing skill is too high and leaves the penalty killers too exposed. This allows for Pittsburgh to start a designed play. Phil Kessel will get the puck and because of the passive penalty kill he is able to skate the puck way up high by the blue line and curl back towards the net. Kessel will have forward momentum during this entire process. Kris Letang is going to switch places with Kessel, but not before he creates some extra time and space for Phil.
You can see the Letang "accidently" gets in the same path as Carolina's top PK guy. This gives Phil just a little bit more time than he otherwise would have had. The key to keeping this legal is to release immediately as Letang does. Letang will then fill in where Kessel came from creating a potential passing outlet if necessary.
The best part is now you have Phil Kessel skating towards the net with momentum and options. Kessel does an amazing job of keeping the puck in both a shooting and/or passing position which is incredibly important. At any point he can release the puck for a shot, a shot pass, or a regular pass. The goaltender and penalty killers have to respect shot here because Phil is one of few players who can beat an unscreened goalie with a snap shot from that distance. Here is how last night's version played out.
This is perfect. Phil has a plethora of available options and he just needs to read the penalty killing triangle. In this sequence you can see how Letang's interference provided ample opportunity for Kessel to let it rip towards the net. He has a clear lane to Crosby's stick because the penalty killer on the left side of the triangle has to respect Evgeni Malkin's one timer. The other killer is left to deal with a 1v2 situation with Crosby and Hornqvist in front, not ideal. On this evening Phil was able to utilize a shot pass to Sidney Crosby for a tip in goal. Here is what it looked like in real time
Nothing about this sequence is complicated. This setup gets Pittsburgh players moving and allows a highly skilled player to put himself in a very dangerous position with multiple options. When I say this setup maximizes each players' skill set this is what I mean.
Phil Kessel: Not a one-timer guy. Having him stationary on the left side of an umbrella does not put him in the best spot to succeed. Him curling off of the left side with momentum opens up potential for his deadly snap shot. Phil is also a smart player with quality passing skills. If the shooting lane isn't there that means one of his one-timer passing outlets will be. Give a player like Kessel this kind of time and space and goals will be scored
Evgeni Malkin: He has one of the best one-timers in the sport even though he doesn't utilize it as often as he used to. Penalty killers can either honor that shot by spreading their triangle out (like they did above) or leave Malkin open for hammer time. Additionally, Malkin's long reach can help keep pucks in on shots fired wide from the opposite side. If there is a puck battle along the wall Malkin has the strength and finesse to settle things down and maintain possession. In this setup he is properly on his off wing which maximizes his ability to make plays.
Sidney Crosby: This kind of setup allows Sidney Crosby to do one of the things he is best at and that is tipping pucks on goal. Last night was an obvious example of this, but it isn't the only plus of putting Crosby there. Sid is going to win the majority of his puck battles and having him down low gets him closer to where a lot of those 5v3 puck battles will take place. Remember the penalty killers aren't going to be playing a ton on the perimeter. Having Crosby at the center of the triangle gives Pittsburgh higher potential to maintain the puck in the zone and keep their lethal power play on the attack. #SidDownLow is just another way of saying that a goal is going to be scored soon. He is one of the best in the sport in those areas.
Patric Hornqvist: He's going to do what he does best and that is to take up real estate in front of the net for screens, tips, and garbage. Having Hornqvist and Crosby on a double screen allows for Sid to slip just a little bit to the side so he can redirect the puck in the net. It is difficult enough for the goalie to see through Hornqvist for normal shots let alone tip plays from the side. His job is simplistic, but he is effective at it and there is definitely a role for him on this setup.
Kris Letang: If by chance the puck gets cleared he is going to have the speed to get back and start up a controlled entry in quick order. Letang has a simple job with this setup by creating interference, but if done improperly it could lead to a minor penalty. His skating allows him to open up quickly after setting a pick and give Kessel options. If the puck does get back to Letang he is more than capable of shooting, hitting Malkin on an east to west pass, or find Sid after he slides up into a soft spot in the triangle. He will be on his off wing and that increases the probability of being able to connect on one of those options.
This setup is ingenious and I hope it becomes their common go to look anytime they get a 5v3 advantage. Even if you know what the Penguins are trying to do there are too many options and too many players put in spots to succeed to stop it on a regular basis. The good news for the opposition is that the NHL struggles to give teams 5v4 opportunities let alone 5v3 chances so Pittsburgh won't have too many looks at utilizing this masterpiece.
You also don't have to be the Penguins to do something like this. Conceptually any team could do something similar. Just don't be the team that wastes the entire 5v3 playing the perimeter passing game and then settle for a wide angle shot hoping for a bounce because the penalties are expiring.. Put players in roles that get the most out of their skill set and create options through player/puck movement and assertive decision making.
Last night the Penguins did this to perfection.
Thanks for reading!
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