The Nashville Predators will be competing in the Stanley Cup Final. The Pittsburgh Penguins will have a chance to join them if they are able to defeat the Ottawa Senators tonight.
Things have been trending in the right direction overall. I have been critical of the Penguins defensive abilities for much of the season, but they are showing some signs of improvement on this front at even-strength. Here is the game by game shot attempts against for the playoffs so far
Improvement! I mean it helps that that they aren't facing the Washington Capitals anymore, but even within that series Pittsburgh got better as it went along. The Penguins have been getting healthier and that includes getting their starting goaltender back in net. All good signs heading into Game 6.
Today's morning skate was very optional. I would imagine that we will be seeing the same forward lineup as Game 5. That will include Scott Wilson who survived the elbow to his head from Tommy Wingels
While it is embarrassing that the league did not suspend or even look at Wingels for his elbow, the Senators have rendered his services useless as he will be a healthy scratch in Game 6.
Mike Sullivan talked a little bit about Conor Sheary and why he was a "healthy scratch"
He's probably got some confidence issues going on, but I still believe that the slash back in March is the root cause for his struggles. The tweet I included in yesterday's blog had some fairly convincing evidence using before and after stats.
Defensively, it also looks like things will remain the same
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You know all those mid-round picks the Penguins have been successful with? The people responsible for those picks are starting to depart
Jason Botterill is in the process of acquiring Randy Sexton who has been the Penguins director of amateur scouting since 2015. He has had a role in amateur scouting with the team since 2010. He and Botterill have worked together for a while and now it appears that is a working relationship that will continue. Jim Rutherford is on record saying that the team will not directly replace Botterill, but will absorb Botterill’s duties by committee. That gets more difficult with each person that gets poached by the Sabres.
Here are Heinbuck's three drafts
Not much there after round one besides Jake Muzzin who never played for the team.
Here's a look at the Penguins draft results since Sexton took over
You have quite a few contributors to last year’s Stanley Cup championship and also players contributing to this playoff run that were drafted in the mid-rounds. Players like: Matt Murray, Jake Guentzel, Bryan Rust, Scott Wilson, Tom Kuhnhackl, Oskar Sundqvist, and Josh Archibald. Then there are some other guys who either contributed to the Kessel trade or are on the cusp of promotions like Daniel Sprong, Kasperi Kapanen, Scott Harrington, Dominik Simon, and Tristan Jarry.
Getting cheaper contributions from players on ELC contracts was a big part of the Penguins returning to dominance. They ignored this for quite a while and the results weren't great. Losing Botterill and Sexton is not meaningless. Pittsburgh will have to figure out a way to keep the pipeline going. This task only grows in importance as Crosby and Malkin get older.
Here is the latest podcast
Thanks for reading!
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