For the first time since December 20th the Pittsburgh Penguins have won a game. They did what they needed to do and picked up two points against the tanking Arizona Coyotes. It wasn’t domination and it didn’t need to be. They just needed to stop the bleeding and they did. The win puts the Penguins back on the right side of the probability scale as they are not 51.6% to make the playoffs per moneypuck where they dropped all the way down to 44% earlier in the week. They currently sit in the second wild card spot.
It was a unique setting for the game. The Arizona Coyotes are currently playing out of Mullet Arena which is Arizona State’s brand new facility. Two things can be true at the same time. One, it is really pathetic the NHL is playing out of a college arena because of the inability to secure a full sized arena. Two, it is probably one of the most unique and cool venues to go check out an NHL game.
Good evening from a venue unlike any other. pic.twitter.com/0bAoxKAxr8
— Josh Yohe (@JoshYohe_PGH) January 9, 2023
Notable from the game was seeing Jake Guentzel score his first 5v5 goal since November 5th. It is a really crazy stat given how good Jake Guentzel has been at scoring goals. From 2018-22 Guentzel was seventh best in hockey at scoring 5v5 goals, his goals/60 was 1.23. It just goes to show how there are ebbs and flow in goal scoring even when you are dealing with a player that has an excellent track record of scoring goals. In classic hockey fashion Guentzel getting one 5v5 goal wasn’t enough once the dam was broken. He added a second 5v5 goal in this game as well. Here’s the elusive first 5v5 goal
Guentzel waited patiently, away from coverage, and next to the blue paint. He made no mistake once the puck got to his stick 🚨 pic.twitter.com/7VnbyuNAcC
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) January 9, 2023
Jason Zucker’s bounce back season continues to roll on. On most nights he has been very noticeable in a positive way with his skating and ability to create chaos. He now has 24 points in 35 games which is a 56 point pace over 82 games. This is really solid production considering he does not get a lot of power play time. They needed him to be a top six forward this year, he has been.
Backhand shot from a tight angle, top shelf? No problem for Jason Zucker! pic.twitter.com/UeNOlboLVf
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) January 9, 2023
It is Evgeni Malkin’s turn for a feature story in The Athletics NHL99 series. Malkin comes in at #26 overall
ICYMI from weekend, latest â¦@penguinsâ© player to appear on â¦@TheAthleticNHLâ© 99 list was â¦@emalkin71genoâ© at No. 26. His early-career dominance and lifelong determination cemented his legacy as an all-time Russian player. https://t.co/V8M1LN2cla
— Rob Rossi (@Real_RobRossi) January 9, 2023
Tomorrow the Penguins will host Jim Rutherford and his Vancouver Canucks. I’m sure everything is going well for them and absent drama.
Thanks for reading!