The Pittsburgh Penguins picked up where they left off in the spring. They were overwhelmed by the opposition and did very little to push back. The Sabres 3-1 victory looked a lot like the Islanders series. This makes sense because the Penguins are trying to do similar things with their lineup as they did in April. It was a microcosm of their hubris. Not only did they return to horrendous deployments with the defense, but the guy they traded Jack Johnson for scored twice. Conor Sheary was able to find the back of the net two times against his former team as a reminder of what a functional 3M cap hit looks like on a roster.
I’m going to start with what little was good last night. Evgeni Malkin was doing his best to make an impact on the game. He scored the Penguins lone goal on the power play and created a few high-danger sequences while at 5v5. Malkin is already in mid-season motivation mode
Malkin: "It's not like we have 20 games to wake up. Season has already started. Every point is important. Every year is harder and harder to make the playoffs." -SK
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) October 4, 2019
Matt Murray kept the game from being laughable. He looked sharp in his season debut.
There wasn’t really much else to discuss that was entirely positive. There are some different characters to discuss, but the plot hasn’t changed all that much from last year.
Let’s start with defense pairings. This has been brought up ad nauseum because you can’t separate the impact it has on the entire team. The Justin Schultz and Jack Johnson combo played even worse than they did on average last year.
They were the worst two shot share players on the roster last night. They held Evgeni Malkin back from potentially taking the game over. It’s the narrative people love to hate, but always gets backed up by the numbers
Those are Evgeni Malkin’s possession numbers with the various defensemen from last night. Same as it ever was. The Penguins brass can keep throwing out that combo in spite of the data and they’ll keep getting the same results. It is one of the worst self-owns in the NHL.
The Penguins power play scored a goal last night. It was also terrible. Malkin’s goal can’t erase the dysfunction we saw on the other opportunities. There was your standard fare of giving up shorthanded breakaways and scoring chances, but without the danger of actually scoring a goal themselves. This is going to be a process. Phil Kessel not being on this power play after four years of basically running it is going to take some time to get used to. There is talent on the Penguins roster to still have a very good power play it just wasn’t in the cards last night. This is one of the more important developments to watch moving forward because this has always been an area of strength. If they lose this strength I’m not sure the 5v5 is going to make up for it.
Let’s talk about Brandon Tanev. He drew three penalties, which is great, and he also found himself in alone on Carter Hutton after a very nice passing sequence with Evgeni Malkin and Alex Galchenyuk. He can skate very fast and effort is never going to be an issue. This isn’t a Jack Johnson situation. Yes, his contract sucks, but unlike Johnson he isn’t going to drag the team down and he is going to mildly contribute throughout the season. This is what is going to make the Tanev discussion difficult throughout his tenure in Pittsburgh. There is nuance needed and I’m not sure a lot of people are interested in it.
Using 3.5M to sign a player like Tanev shut the door on better roster opportunities. Signing a soon to be 28 year old player to a six year deal is hardly ever a good idea let alone when it is a depth forward. This doesn’t eliminate the fact there will be good plays he makes. The issue is you could have found those good plays from somebody on an ELC or definitely not at a 3.5M premium.
As for last night I referenced some of the good things about Tanev (the three drawn penalties was very good), but you could see the limitations. That chance he had on the Evgeni Malkin pass showcased how he attacked open space with his skating and it also highlighted his lack of hands. He just tried to smash the puck past the goaltender ala Patric Hornqvist. He’s a very basic player with a high motor. He is always going to be “noticeable…. Being noticeable isn’t the same as being effective. Case and point Tanev had the worst shot share of any forward last night for Pittsburgh going CF 10 CA 17 (37.04). I am willing to cut him a little slack considering he had to endure the Johnson-Schultz pairing.
Having Tanev in the top six isn’t a wise move for the long term. At the very least it isn’t ideal. There is a chance none of the other middle six wingers steps up to force him down. I don’t think I’ve noticed Dominik Kahun once since the preseason started. The trainer should have an AED on standby because I’m not sure that guy has a pulse.
The Crosby line wasn’t very good last night. This “issue… is easier to wave away because of the much larger sample of them being great. Still didn’t help the cause last night.
Erik Gudbranson had some moments with the puck. They weren’t graceful.
The Penguins should hope the Sabres are actually good this year because if they aren’t…
The good news is that the Penguins don’t have to keep making the same mistakes and there are things they can do to maximize their potential. Will their hubris allow them to do so?
Thanks for reading!