The Tampa Bay Lightning started Game 3 dictating play and creating scoring chances. They were unable to cash in during this small window. As the game went on the Penguins even-strength dominance returned and ultimately culminated with a vicious quick strike at the end of the second period that could be referred to as sweet chin music. HBK had struck again.
Phil Kessel continues to dazzle in these Stanley Cup Playoffs. He had a goal and an assist in Pittsburgh's 4-2 victory on Wednesday night. Kessel is now three points off of the playoff scoring lead (19), two goals behind leader Joe Pavelski (9)and there are some rightful whispers about his Conn Smythe candidacy.
HBK is a perfect moniker for the line because of their ability to strike out of nowhere with blazing speed and lethal accuracy. Just look at the first goal. Blazing transition game and before you know it you have a boot to your chin.
The guy that Kessel torches down the boards is none other than Victor Hedman. One of the very best players in the world at his position. Even if you have a step on Hedman that doesn't mean you have him beat as evidence the other night when Tom Kuhnhackl was pokechecked out of nowhere by the big Swedish defenseman. Kessel burned him to the point where that pokecheck just wasn't a possibility.
The Kessel goal was a thing of beauty, too. Kessel acted as though he was going to corral a cycle in the corner but dummied the play letting the puck go all the way to Nick Bonino. Kessel immediately went to the far side and found a soft spot. Nick Bonino's pass was so skilled and the finish was a no doubter.
The home crowd in Pittsburgh is going to have a nice treat for Game 5. The namesake of the HBK line will be in attendance.
Is it too much to ask to have a personalized goal song for the HBK line? Sexy Boy definitely needs to be played in the future for their goals.
Coming off of his game winning overtime goal in Game 2 the Captain was at it again in Game 3. Sidney Crosby scored a vintage one timer goal on a 4 on 3 power play to ice the game away. It was a thing of beauty.
Braydon Coburn took a needless penalty which led to a 4 on 3 power play for the Penguins. It is no secret that I want the Penguins to use Evgeni Malkin's one timer as their main weapon on the man advantage. While the goal was not a Malkin one timer his presence being in a shooting position up top struck fear in the Tampa penalty killers and they all forgot about that other great player off on the side.
Before the game a certain analyst who is obsessed with line matching kept trying to sell the merits of Brian Boyle as a shutdown player that the Penguins needed to get Crosby away from. To nobody's surprise the Penguins had no problem with that matchup.
Crosby is dictating play at even-strength but that isn't to say that he can't be even better. Would it surprise you to find out that he only has a 5v5 points per 60 of 1.16 in the playoffs? I know that number surprised me. The Penguins have two superstars who are probably not producing as much as they can at even-strength. If only there was a way to get them both going...
To Mike Sullivan's credit he did up the 5v5 minutes that Crosby and Malkin received together in Game 3. Last night the duo saw 4:51 of ice time together which was up from 1:22 the game before. This did result in the Penguins scoring an even-strength goal. Chris Kunitz was able to find the back of the net which shouldn't be taken for granted considering it is only his fourth even-strength playoff goal in the last 59 games. I would up Crosby and Malkin's minutes together even more. I would also leave Kunitz with them considering his positive impact on possession.
If the Penguins lose Patric Hornqvist for any extended period of time that will hurt the team. They don't have another player to come in and play minutes that aren't considered a liability. However, I do believe that Hornqvist has been leaving a lot of plays on the ice when playing with Sidney Crosby lately. Crosby is flying out there and he needs somebody more focused on making controlled plays to maximize his tangible results. My thoughts on this matter were actually backed up with some information from @TempoFreeHockey
This is important because the numbers in the playoffs are showing that dumping the puck in is an incredibly low percentage play for the Penguins.
Basically that means the Penguins are only getting one out of ten pucks they dump in. Controlled entries are the lifeblood of sustained offense and at this point in time I think Crosby and Malkin together is the only way to get those two players a bevy of controlled entries.
For those looking for more in-depth breakdown on this topic I encourage you to check out the following link
The dumping of the puck by Hornqvist touched on some nerves and there was an argument between Crosby and Hornqvist on the bench. That is fine. Everybody who has played competitively has had one of those with a teammate on the bench. No biggie. What wasn't cool is what Hornqvist did to equipment trainer Dana Heinze.
Not a good look.
Another not so good look was when Sidney Crosby committed a slew foot in front of the Tampa Bay net. He definitely should have been penalized for the infraction, but wasn't. Add it to the list of non-calls in this sport.
Jonathan Drouin was the subject of scrutiny because of his turnover which led to the Carl Hagelin goal. Those are the kind of turnovers you live with because it is a skilled player trying to make a play. It wasn't high risk it just didn't work that time. Over time you'll be on the right side of things when you have guys trying to make things like that happen. That "thing" was trying to get Victor Hedman the puck inside a huge pocket of space inside the Penguins zone with a full head of steam. What does deserve criticism is Drouin's overall play in the series. He is getting crushed at even-strength with a CF of 26 and a CA of 57. Not good. He certainly isn't alone on that front though because Pittsburgh has owned even-strength in the series to the tune of 180-122.
Matt Murray quietly went about his business. He stopped 26 out of 28 shots. Murray's counterpart Andrei Vasilevskiy is doing everything humanly possible to keep Tampa Bay in these games but the volume is just too much at this time. He has played great.
Jim Rutherford was nominated for the general manager of the year. There is no denying that the moves made by the Penguins boss throughout the course of the year have paid off. I have more in-depth thoughts about Rutherford's tenure with the team but that is not a conversation for right now. That is for the offseason. For now, congratulations on the recognition.
Lastly with the Baby Penguins season officially over the Big Penguins have called up some of their players
Daniel Sprong is among those that have been called up and naturally there will be some questions about if he can help the club. I would have reservations about that. You have to take into consideration the role you would be putting him in. Unless the Penguins hand him a spot with Crosby or Malkin (not likely) there wouldn't be a point. He would drown in a depth role because the things that he does well wouldn't be on display with lesser skilled linemates. Almost all of Sprong's time in the NHL came with Mike Johnston and not Mike Sullivan but the time he was in a depth role wasn't great. Only Pascal Dupuis, who for obvious reasons, was worse this year in the possession department. Sprong has a bright future but I don't think he's quite ready to be plopped into the Eastern Conference Finals whether Hornqvist is able to go or not. Another year of AHL action would be great for him, but that isn't an option. It is NHL or juniors for him in 2017-18.
Friday night the Penguins will look to take a strangle hold on the series against the Lightning and if they continue to dominate even-strength action chances are high that they will.
Thanks for reading!
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