The Pittsburgh Penguins are taking care of business. Since Evgeni Malkin went down with injury the team has gone 4-0 and maintained their position in the playoffs.
Pittsburgh is currently in the part of their schedule where they are facing a divisional opponent for nine consecutive games. They are seven games into this stretch and have a 6-1 record to show. Taking 12 out of a possible 14 points is a great accomplishment.
Yesterday the Penguins made mince meat out of their biggest rival in a 4-1 victory. Pittsburgh's speed game was too much for Philadelphia. Penguins players were on every puck fast and able to shut down many of the Flyers ideal passing lanes which limited Philadelphia's ability to attack the offensive zone with speed and possession.
The Flyers could not generate any offense
Pittsburgh led in even-strength shot attempts 60-38.
What looked like the impossible just a week ago is now something that is within reach. Not only is Pittsburgh in a great spot for the wild card but they have a real chance at placing second in the Metropolitan Division. Pittsburgh's incredibly saturated Metropolitan Division schedule at the end of the year could have buried their playoff chances instead it has catapulted them.
Pittsburgh is two points behind the Rangers with a game in hand. New York has not been playing great hockey lately
It is true. New York has a Score-Adjusted Fenwick of 47.9% with Columbus at 48.4%. Pittsburgh leads the NHL in this sample at 56.0%
Part of the reason for Pittsburgh's excellent run has been Sidney Crosby's consistency. He is currently in the middle of his second 11 game point streak of the season
Catching Patrick Kane is out of the question but finishing the scoring race in second place would be quite the accomplishment for Sid considering how the season began. He currently sits alone in third place at 74 points which is only six behind Jamie Benn's 80. Jamie Benn is really awesome but he did just lose his partner in crime to an achille's injury. Tyler Seguin is going to be out 3-4 weeks and that can't have a positive impact on Benn's production.
Another Penguin who is quietly producing has been Chris Kunitz. He has become somewhat of a lightning rod for criticism the last year and a half because at times his production has fallen off a cliff. Throughout his offensive struggles he has maintained his status as a positive influence on possession.
The 33 points in 46 games is a 0.71 points per game pace which is actually slightly above his career rate of 0.68.
I believe Nick Bonino has been underwhelming for the Penguins so far this year. I don't believe he has played the best hockey he has to offer. There are some variables involved that could be to blame such as the prior coach and his injury, but those are in the rear view window now.
Nick Bonino is not a fast skater and that puts him in the minority among other Penguins forwards these days but that doesn't mean he can't be effective. Bonino's strengths are wall play and his underrated passing ability. I see Bonino as a quasi-Ryan Malone type player as far as skill goes but who is less physical than Malone. Bonino is able to make quick and clever plays in tight areas and that can be a great asset to other players who possess speed. He can put the puck in areas for those players to skate through. Trevor Daley's goal is a great example of the kind of play I thought we would see more of this year from Bonino, but haven't.
Phil Kessel did not register a point but he caused some important turnovers with his forechecking. The most notable was on the sequence that led to Carl Hagelin's goal to make the game 3-1.
Pittsburgh doesn't get bask in the glow of their victory over Philadelphia as they are have to play the division leading Washington Capitals this evening.
The Penguins under Mike Sullivan have shown a much better ability to drive play than the Washington Capitals have since December 12th (Sullivan's hiring date). Pittsburgh has a SAF of 55.0% and Washington is at 50.5% which is a sizable difference. In the two games Sullivan has coached against Washington Pittsburgh has had comfortable control of even-strength play with 124 shot attempts versus only 84 for the Capitals.
Washington's bread and butter is their league leading power play. Their power play is unreal but we all know what happens in the playoffs with how the game is called. Teams that rely on the power play don't usually find themselves hoisting the Cup at the end of the year. Since the 2009 season when Pittsburgh won it all the Stanley Cup winning power play has an average of 16.7%. Washington is currently 23.2%. The Capitals will definitely need every bit of it if they are going to advance far in the post season unless they can improve their ability to drive play at even-strength.
If Pittsburgh can stay out of the box they should be able to make it six in a row.
Thanks for reading!
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