With the early nineties Stanley Cup teams in attendance the Pittsburgh Penguins were able to put together a 5-3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings. Fittingly with those former players in attendance the Penguins found themselves in a 3-1 hole before revving things up and putting up a four spot in the third period. The 1991 Stanley Cup champion Penguins had a knack of falling behind in series and then firing back to win them. Last night was a microcosm of that.
Here were the ceremonies that took place before the game
A big reason the Penguins were able to climb back into the game was their strategy of aggressively activating their defensemen on the forecheck. They gave the green light for the d men to pinch on the strong side boards and it kept a lot of zone time alive. This is a great strategy especially when you know the other team is in "play it safe" mode. The only way to beat that forecheck is to utilize a center breakout but teams in play it safe mode are allergic to the middle of the ice in their own end. The result was relentless pressure by the Penguins which fueled their four goal third period.
Justin Schultz is on a hot streak. He has four points in his last three games which has been much needed. The defense has not generated a lot of offense this year and with Schultz adding some tangible offense it has definitely helped. His partner is right there with him. Ian Cole has five points in his last three games. The pairing has played well this year. Mike Sullivan's usage has given them a chance to thrive. It isn't just the offense. Relative to their teammates they are driving play. Justin Schultz has a rel FF% of 5.17 and Cole is 5.04. Raw Fenwick For percentages are 57.34 for Schultz and 57.12 for Cole. Can't ask for much more from the bottom pairing.
Phil Kessel has destroyed the Red Wings as a Penguin. In three games last year he had three goals and five assists. Last night he added another two goals including the game winner.
Very pretty play.
Evgeni Malkin had two helpers and he is quietly on a tear right now. In his last five games he has eight points. He has also gone five games without picking up any penalty minutes. His work on the Schultz goal was superb. He jumped off the bench as the extra attacker and immediately created a zone entry, generated offense, picked up his own rebound, and facilitated the puck to Cole which led to the Schultz goal.
Matt Cullen iced the game away by "scoring" when the Red Wings pulled their goalie. The quotation marks are there because he never actually put the puck in the net. He was hauled down when he had a clear path to the net which can be awarded as an automatic goal by the officials and was. Here is the funny thing about Cullen scoring without shooting.
Nick Bonino scored on a great snap shot from the right circle to get the Penguins within a goal of the Red Wings in the third period. He has had his share of struggles to start the year, but is he turning a corner? Out of the ten points he has on the year five of them have come in the last six games. Possession wise he has been poor for the majority of the year, but perhaps there are signs of life on that front as well
The lows aren't as low lately and there seem to be at least a few more in the positive range. The Penguins need him to be effective and if he can turn the corner that will help out a lot.
Sidney Crosby has been racking up the primary points this year (goal or primary assist) and hasn't been relying on the secondary assists. Last night he picked up a cheapie assist on the Cullen goal that never went in the net. That brings him to 26 points and he still trails McDavid by eight.
Being so close to the top of the league is obviously a great thing, but the fact that last night was the first time since early November they have won back to back games shows that nobody is running away from the pack in the NHL thus far.
Pittsburgh returns to game action tomorrow night when they host Erik Karlsson and Penguins legend Mike Condon who is coming off of a shutout.
Thanks for reading!
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