Quite the win for the flightless fowl. Missing Sidney Crosby right after getting him back and on the heels of a three-game losing streak the Penguins were able to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers by a score of 3-2 in overtime. It was a great win to halt the losing skid against their biggest divisional rival. It was certainly not a must win, but losing four in a row after the start they had would have been quite deflating with the knowledge Crosby will be out another week. The win also came without Mike Sullivan behind the bench who is now also caught in the web of COVID.
The good news was getting Kris Letang back after his time away from the team. He ended up scoring the winning goal in overtime.
KRIS LETANG IS BACK AND HE'S MAKING US SO, SO HAPPY! pic.twitter.com/2Kmgz9r8LS
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 5, 2021
They didn’t ease Letang back. He played 28 minutes. His xGF% at 5v5 was 48.13, which is the best game he’s had since the first game of the season. All in all a good first game back. Eating huge minutes, producing tangible offense, and showing signs of life in his underlying numbers. He’ll need to up the xGF% as we go, but at least it wasn’t close to single digits like it had been.
After two mediocre games Tristan Jarry had another great outing stopping 36 out of 38 shots. He’s a .930 goalie on the season so far. This is the goaltending the Penguins needed to navigate the injury/illness woes they’ve had so far this season. This season could look way different at the moment if not for Jarry showing up and doing what he has so far.
We are nine games into the season and Kasperi Kapanen has zero goals. Goal scoring is fickle in the league, but this wasn’t entirely unpredictable. Kapanen’s shooting percentage was goosed up last year and a lot of those goals came off the rush. Rush goals don’t seem as repeatable as some of the other ways of scoring. Kapanen hasn’t been a player known to have an all-around game so the goal scoring is kind of the thing that makes you look past the other flaws. Kapanen has recently admitted to needing to work harder
Kapanen continued: "I think also my work ethic and other stuff away from the puck needs to get better for me to get more chances, and hopefully eventually it’ll bounce in. ... Tough times right now, but still plenty of hockey left."
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) November 3, 2021
He certainly had some chances last night and eventually this goalless drought will end, but it has been a frustrating start to the season for Kapanen without Crosby and/or Malkin in the lineup to help. That said, the other stuff he has historically been not as great at have been going better to this point. He’s a 56.15 xGF% player this year and the previous two he was at 47%. My prediction is the xGF% will drop and the goal scoring will go up which is fine. If he somehow keeps the xGF% and the goal scoring comes back it would be quite the development for the Penguins. Especially, with Crosby and Malkin in the lineup.
Jake Guentzel scored his second goal of the year. He’s a player with a better track record of being able to score goals in multiple ways. Last night’s goal wasn’t the most aesthetically pleasing, but Guentzel is one of the players I worry the least about on the roster.
Jake Guentzel on scoring his second of the season: "Just kind of a fluky goal. When you go on those streaks, those are the ones it takes to find the back of the net. It definitely felt nice and hopefully they can keep coming now."
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) November 5, 2021
The Penguins will host the Minnesota Wild tomorrow.
Thanks for reading!