The Penguins have taken three out of four points against the Florida Panthers. It is no small task as the Panthers have been one of the very best teams in the league this year. The Penguins have played admirably so far this season given their limited roster due to injuries and illness. They found themselves in a rough patch during their homestand as far as collecting standings points. Two points against the Panthers before they embark on playing 11 of their next 14 games on the road was huge.
The victory came in the shootout which means Tristan Jarry can exhale a little bit. He was very good during regulation and overtime, but the shootout thing has been looming over him. He made an excellent stop on one of the best shootout takers of all-time in Aleksandr Barkov. He then made a save on who is probably the worst shootout taker of all-time as for as aesthetics in Patric Hornqvist.
The shootout struggles for Jarry had been dominating the conversation about him recently. Yes shootouts are important in so far as they count in the standings, but I’m more concerned about how Jarry is playing leading up to the shootout. The answer to that is he has been great so far this year. Per Natural Stat Trick Jarry is 8th overall in GSAA. He is 8th overall in 5v5 save percentage at .940 among goalies w/ 300 or more min. He is also 7th in HDSV% at 5v5 at .892. I had very low expectations for Jarry heading into the season and he is performing well above those low expectations.
While I might not care about the shootout as much as some in regards to Jarry I know Jarry himself cares a lot and by winning last night it will be good for his mindset moving forward.
Pittsburgh got another goal out of Evan Rodrigues who is playing the best hockey of his career. He now has four goals which is tied for the team lead. His 63.79 xGF% is second best on the team. Even with a full roster I’m not sure you can leave Rodrigues out of the lineup.
A huge celebration, but an even bigger goal 👠pic.twitter.com/xgzKikp68I
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 12, 2021
Kris Letang had an amazing assist on Teddy Blueger’s goal
You my boy, Blue..ger! pic.twitter.com/dIlTD12cqc
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 12, 2021
He also finished the game with an xGF% of 39.66. That’s the thing with a player like Letang. They can have an overall performance to forget, but can catch lightning in a bottle because of the offensive skill set. His prior two games were 63.79 and 68.74 so hopefully this was just the case of him not having Brian Dumoulin and facing one of the best teams in hockey.
Guess who has the NHL’s number one penalty kill? It is indeed the Penguins at 93.3%. They needed it in overtime after Jake Guentzel was reckless and ran over Sergei Bobrovsky in overtime. Giving the Panthers and Barkov a 4v3 is never ideal, especially when earlier in the game Barkov displayed his ridiculous ability to receive and release a shot in the blink of an eye.
Aleksander Barkov knots it up at 2 with a wicked wrister from the slot!#TimeToHunt pic.twitter.com/ifTzqp3TpA
— Hockey Daily 365 (@HockeyDaily365) November 12, 2021
It isn’t just the offense with Barkov. He did his best to save the game on this backcheck on Mike Matheson in overtime
Barkov with an amazing backcheck near the end of his shift to bail out the Panthers in OT after one of the worst line changes in recorded history. pic.twitter.com/KCqKnLHxIZ
— Adam Herman (@AdamZHerman) November 12, 2021
How did Patric Hornqvist do outside of his failed shootout attempt last night? Quite well. He had an xGF% of 94.75 against his former team. Here was his video from the team
We couldn’t have won back-to-back without you.
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 12, 2021
Thank you for all the unforgettable memories, Patric Hornqvist! pic.twitter.com/HDTHYl1cdX
The Penguins will be back in action tomorrow night when they visit the 3-9-1 Ottawa Senators.
Thanks for reading!