They aren't dead yet.
The Pittsburgh Penguins were able to stave off elimination with a 5-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning which was a lot closer than the score indicated.
Here are the Mike Lange goal highlights
There were some things that people wanted to see from the Penguins in Game 6 and they seemed to check off all of those requests.
Will the stars show up? What will goaltending be like? Will the Penguins get some good bounces?
A lot of people were primed and ready to scathe the Penguins stars if Game 6 didn't turn out the way it did, but they'll have to wait at least another day. The stars showed up.
Sidney Crosby scored his third game winning goal of the series.
Phil Kessel scored again.
Evgeni Malkin had his gallop on and added an assist.
Kris Letang did the opposite of whatever it was he did in Game 5.
Sidney Crosby gave us one of his wow moments as he reached all the way back to his 2010 bag of tricks and put on his afterburners to beat one of the best defensive pairings in hockey.
Adios
Nothing fancy there. See space, take space. When you have the physical skill set of Sidney Crosby it looks a lot easier than it is.
Phil Kessel keeps scoring goals. His eye hand coordination on the Crosby feed was really nice. It isn't an easy play and most times it probably doesn't work out like that, but it wasn't an accident. The goal was huge and taking advantage of an early significant power play was something the team didn't do in Game 1 and it came back to bite them in the ass. It might not feel like it but the Penguins power play is clicking at 21.0% in the series. Phil Kessel's nine playoff goals are the most since Crosby (15) and Malkin (14) in 2009.
Evgeni Malkin was doing everything in his power to make things happen. There were some great moments and there also some isolated moments which weren't great. There were shifts where he took the puck and wasn't going to give it back which led to a ton of sustained zone time. There were zone entries which led to the puck getting in the danger areas. There was also a two handed slash which could only be described as something that would make Mike Milbury proud. One thing worth noting is that Malkin has been turning down opportunities to shoot. The injury he sustained against Columbus two months ago is more than likely still lingering. After going six games without a point Malkin now has points in four consecutive games.
Kris Letang was great. He literally did the opposite of his performance in Game 5. He drove possession and even managed to score his second goal of the playoffs. It is worth noting that he only played 23:48 in Game 6. That is the lowest amount of ice time he has received since February 6th against Anaheim where he played 23:28. The quality over quantity approach worked last night. His 40% turnover ratio was significantly reduced in Game 6. Last night was the Kris Letang the team needs to have in order to beat good teams.
Goaltending has been a big issue for the Penguins in this series. Last night it was great. Matt Murray survived the third period onslaught from Tampa Bay and was able to turn in a save percentage of .933 on a night the team had to have it. The three games the Penguins have been able to hold Tampa Bay under three goals have been three victories. Matt Murray's last game as a 21 year old was a good one. There won't be any goalie discussions leading up to Game 7.
Pittsburgh was able to find some luck in their victory. Early in the game Jonathan Drouin was wide open and found the back of the net. He was also offsides. I don't like the coach's challenge in hockey for offsides. I don't think anybody who follows the sport was clamoring for an offsides challenge, but here we are. It is in the game and it is a real tactic. On this occasion it benefited the Penguins. Kudos to Pittsburgh's video coach for being on the ball.
It was said a few games ago that one of the biggest factors in Pittsburgh's success moving forward would be if Olli Maatta could tread water in Trevor Daley's absence.
He looks a lot better than he did and that will have to continue.
Conor Sheary looked more like the player from the Rangers series than the one who hasn't looked right since being kneed by Tom Wilson. He set up Kris Letang for the second goal of the game and was one of three Penguins forwards to be above 50% in the shot attempts department.
I still don't think Bryan Rust is a good fit for the Malkin line, but that doesn't mean he can't contribute positive things to help the team. His goal late in the third period could only be described as relief for people of a Penguins persuasion. He was able to take advantage of Tampa's incredibly aggressive tactics and found himself with a breakaway which included a confident finishing move. Huge moment for the young man.
Chris Kunitz continued his renascence. He continues to serve up his vintage area passes which lead to great scoring chances. It was his assist that sprung Rust on the breakaway. Kunitz has three goals and five points in the last four games.
Pittsburgh has shown throughout the series that they can score goals on Tampa Bay. They have a goals per game average of 3.16 in the Eastern Conference Finals and for context during the regular season only Dallas had a better mark at 3.23. Pittsburgh has a mark of 3.29 during the current playoff run and the Sharks 3.41 are the only team better.
There were a lot of positives through two periods for the Penguins, but the third period was a complete mess. The Penguins abandoned everything that makes them the team that they are. Shot attempts were 31-9 in favor of Tampa Bay and while you certainly expect a push back by Tampa Bay it should never be that lopsided. Interesting how Tampa Bay didn't need to make a goalie change in order for score effects to take over.
The disheartening part of the third period for the Penguins was the fact that their skill players had absolutely no interest in making skill plays. Guys like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang weren't looking to make any controlled plays. Everything was about getting the puck off their stick as quick as possible. High off the glass, rinse and repeat. The entire Penguins team adopted Rob Scuderi's style of play.
I do understand that when teams activate their defense as aggressive as Tampa Bay did last night you aren't going to have a ton of time on the wall and that limits what you can do. However, there were many times where a Penguins skater did have time to pick up his head and make a play and chose not to. The only way to relieve the pressure on the wall is to have your wingers come down lower to make the pinching defensemen travel further. You also need to trust your center outlet. Easier said than done but that is the way to avoid being bottled up and getting slaughtered for an entire period.
Risk averse hockey is actually the riskiest approach and that third period is a prime example of it. Pittsburgh survived last night, but I wouldn't make a habit of allowing that kind of shot volume.
Speaking of shot volume. Here is how the final four teams fared in that department heading into the playoffs
A ticket to the Stanley Cup Final will be punched on Thursday night for either the Penguins or the Lightning. Don't miss it.
Thanks for reading!
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