The New York Rangers are not the Detroit Red Wings and the Penguins were not able to put up eleven goals. They were only able to muster up two goals. It wasn’t enough and the Rangers have beaten the Penguins in consecutive matchups. With the victory the Rangers take over second place in the Metropolitan Division with a game in hand on Pittsburgh.
The Penguins were better than they were on Friday. That isn’t saying much, though. They were not very assertive with the puck. They passed up quite a number of shots. I can’t help but think it is because of Igor Shesterkin and they wanted to try and make the perfect shot/play to beat him. Their two goals on the night were simple plays with screens. The magic formula to beat great goalies is to take their vision away and shoot. It is time tested and last night was the only way the Penguins could score. Both teams are capable of beating one another on any given night and this playoff matchup is more of a tossup than it was a few weeks back. The Rangers polished up their depth by acquiring Andrew Copp, and Tyler Motte. They have the best goalie in the league. It should be a very competitive series.
I think Mike Sullivan tipped his hand for how the lines are going to be on Thursday. The Guentzel-Crosby-Rust line was reunited in the third period. Jason Zucker is likely to make his return against his former team Thursday. I think we are looking at a Zucker-Malkin-Rakell line perhaps not the next game, but in the near future. I’m not in love with the Zucker-Malkin duo but getting Jason Zucker back will be a big help. He has played good hockey this year with a low shooting percentage. He was playing decent with an injury. It seems as though the team has taken their time with Zucker making sure he comes back 100% healthy. I would like to see some Zucker and Crosby time together. I don’t think it is in the plans even though it would make for some interesting options in the lineup.
With Zucker’s return we’ve probably seen the last of Evan Rodrigues in the top six. I liked giving him a look to see if it would work. He has two goals in 34 games. It isn’t good enough. He can still be a useful bottom six player. There’s not need to shoehorn him up there with Zucker coming back. Somebody dropped the bottle on the ground Rodrigues’ lightning was caught in.
Brian Dumoulin is doing a pretty good Jack Johnson impression lately. His minutes should be cut. If he plays better then re-evaluate. There’s no reason he should be playing top four minutes based on merit. He looks slow and he is making multiple errors each game. You don’t like to see a player like Dumoulin go down this path, but given the injuries and age it was always a possibility. I did notice Mike Matheson joining Kris Letang for shifts in the third period although I think it is because Letang was on a long shift and perhaps not by design. It should be by design next game. Reduce Dumoulin’s minutes and let him collect himself. If he gets better reward him. If he doesn’t… don’t.
Sidney Crosby is a point per game player for the 17th time in his career.
Sidney Crosby, who can appear in a maximum of 70 games this season, has clinched his 17th-consecutive point-per-game season with his 70th point of the year.
— Penguins PR (@PenguinsPR) March 30, 2022
Only Wayne Gretzky (19) has more point-per-game seasons in NHL history. pic.twitter.com/fn30WcmC6B
Very impressive and well earned by the captain.
The Penguins have Marc-Andre Fleury and the Minnesota Wild on Thursday. That was weird to type.
Thanks for reading!