The better team won Game 2 of the series. The New York Rangers have actually put together two solid games even if Game 1 was a 5-2 loss. They are controlling even-strength play. That is the #1 variable in sustaining success. It was something they've been absolutely terrible at leading into the playoffs. When you combine the solid possession with Henrik Lundqvist it makes for a tall hill to climb as the opponent.
The Penguins had a Score-Adjusted Fenwick of 45.1% in Game 1 and 47.1% in Game 2. That flies in the face of what has made this team so successful down the stretch.
Mike Sullivan likes to use the Cullen line in defensive situations. In the regular season they only saw 4.3% of their faceoffs in the offensive zone while seeing 64.5% in the defensive zone. He may have to start leaning on them less in this role because in the first two games of this series they have gotten crushed. So far through two games:
Most of that time is up against the Brassard line. That line really hurt the Penguins today. JT Miller had three primary assists, Brassard had one goal and two assists, and Rick Nash generated some high quality opportunities but did not cash in.
People criticized Dan Bylsma for not adjusting in the playoffs. This is potentially an area that Mike Sullivan should look into and adjust. Keep an eye on Sullivan's deployment in this area during Game 3.
On the defensive side Olli Maatta just doesn't have it. He is noticeably slow out there and if playing time is being doled out via performance he should probably take a game off and let somebody else jump into the lineup for at least one game. He's certainly a better player than he's showing but whatever injury he has seems to be killing his mobility.
Here was Mike Sullivan's rationale for his defensive lineup in Game 2
Any time you make lineup decisions based on penalty killing ability you're going to have a bad time.
Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust made their return to the lineup after elongated stays on the injured list. Malkin flashed a lot of skill and reminded everybody why he's one of the best but it failed to translate into anything tangible on this day. I though Mike Sullivan did a nice job of mixing and matching Malkin with Sidney Crosby at various points during the game.
No doubt some will actually believe Malkin's return led to the loss. We all know Oskar Sundqvist was the glue holding this operation together.
One of the bright spots in the game for Pittsburgh was the play of Phil Kessel and Nick Bonino. Kessel scored two goals and contrary to the belief of many he shows up to play on a regular basis in the playoffs.
Bonino may not be the fastest guy out there but he understands time and space extremely well and uses his body to shield the puck in order to buy more time. His passing continues to impress.
Bonino also assisted on Kessel's other goal on another excellent feed.
Jeff Zatkoff did not have another amazing performance in Game 2. It wasn't the kind of performance where you blame the goalie for the result of the game, but four goals is four goals and an .857 save percentage is an .857 save percentage. We'll see if Marc-Andre Fleury is available for Game 3.
On the flip side Henrik Lundqvist rebounded nicely from his eye scare to stop 29 out of 31 shots.
So far through two games I think the Rangers have been the better team in the series yet the Penguins were able to manage a split. I do believe the Penguins will improve upon the first two games. All things considered it isn't awful to have a 1-1 split based on how things have played out so far. It is certainly a lot better than the alternative of being down 0-2.
Another two day layoff for the teams. Next game is on Tuesday.
Thanks for reading!
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