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Sidney Crosby provides heroics for comeback victory |
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The script of the game last night was following the same one from the prior Saturday. Pittsburgh was dominating, the other team's backup goalie was playing great, and the game went to an overtime session and a shootout. This time around the Penguins were victorious.
Keith Kincaid was on fire and kept the Devils alive as long as he could in this one. He stopped 46 out of 49 shots in regulation with one goal against on a breakaway and another where the Devils decided to let the league's best player hang out by himself as the time ticked away.
It isn't often you see an expected win percentage of 87.9%.
Last night was a record against the Devils
Despite how well the Penguins played they were in real danger of losing if not for Sidney Crosby's heroics. He patiently waited alone on the side of the net until the puck got just close enough for him to surgically toe drag the puck and deposit it into the upper corner in one seamless motion.
That is goal 15 on the year in 16 games for the Penguins captain. This is his best goal scoring pace since the 2010-11 season when he has 32 goals in 41 games before David Steckel's "accidental" bump at the Winter Classic.
Evgeni Malkin had an assist on each Penguins goal last night and it came in his 666th career game, fittingly against the Devils. He also put aside his own devilish ways and for the second consecutive game did not take a penalty. That ties a season high.
Jake Guentzel scored his third goal of his career to get the Penguins on the board. He has acclimated himself nicely to the NHL and quite frankly he deserves to stay in the lineup even when Kunitz and Hornqvist get back. The goals and assists are obvious but he plays with decent speed and hasn't been overwhelmed in the corners. He is able to facilitate a cycle and keep plays alive which is the lifeblood when playing with players like Evgeni Malkin. The longer the play is alive the more time it gives a superstar to create something special.
During one of the TV timeouts Root Sports put on a highlight from a few years back. The highlight was a Chris Kunitz goal from an incredible Sidney Crosby assist. That has happened plenty over the years and not why the clip was interesting to me. The interesting part was who their other linemate was. It was Evgeni Malkin. I believe the clip was from 2013 and that would be from the Dan Bylsma era. One of the smart things Bylsma would at certain times throughout the game would be to load up an even-strength line. This was something predominately done at the ends of periods. It hasn't happened often since Bylsma's departure and I'm not sure why. It makes too much sense to not use on a regular basis. The benefit of having a four scoring line approach (when healthy) is that you can afford to do things like that and still have a quality line ready to go. If Sullivan is going to keep rolling with HBK why not give Sid and Geno some time together the last three minutes of a period and follow it up with HBK?
Not everything was great in the game. The power play wasn't very good. The team is clearly feeling the loss of Chris Kunitz and Patric Hornqvist. I don't think it matters which player the Penguins use on the power play out of those two when they are healthy, but to have both out leaves them searching for a replacement. What the team shouldn't do is try to exactly match that role. Hornqvist and Kunitz are unique in that they combine their sandpaper crease going ways with their skill sets to maximize their ability. You aren't going to find other players on the Penguins roster with that makeup. You also don't need a big body to play that role. Using Eric Fehr on the first power play is a complete waste of time. He is currently the second worst possession player in the NHL and isn't going to win puck battles to keep the power play alive. If you're going to go with a slower player with a big body you might as well use Nick Bonino who at least has great hands in tight. My choice would be to put Jake Guentzel in that role. He's skilled and it doesn't take talent to screen a goalie. You don't even need a player to stand in front of the net the whole time to screen. You can time your screen so at the moment the shot is released you slide into the goalie's vision. A good power play will have player movement and each player should have the puck skills necessary to play each role. Play the five most skilled in the absence of Hornqvist/Kunitz.
Brian Dumoulin was given the night off. His 2016-17 season has not looked like his 2015-16 season. Here is the coach's rationale.
It is what it is. Hopefully he can get back on track because if the Penguins have championship aspirations for this season he is going to have to play an important top four role in the team's defense corp.
The team has three days off and do not play until Wednesday against the New York Islanders.
Thanks for reading!
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