The Penguins hadn’t played since Sunday and it showed a little bit on the scoring front. They were only able to muster up one goal and dropped the extra point to the Flyers in a shootout loss. In the grand scheme of things not a horrible result considering how far back Philadelphia is in the standings with so few games left in the season.
The theme of the night was Carter, both Jeff and Hart. Carter Hart turned in a great performance in what has been a pretty bad year for the netminder. I feel like he’s only had a handful of good games and at least two of them, including last night, have come against the Penguins. Hart stopped 32 out of 33 shots in the game and went two for three in the shootout to help the Flyers earn their extra point.
The other Carter wasn’t too shabby either. Jeff Carter had a very successful Penguins debut. He looked good and the results were good. He finished with 56.52% of the shot share on the ice and flashed some good old man speed when he dusted Justin Braun on the outside.
Carter with a big stop on Carter. pic.twitter.com/NDPLLCLlZW
— Broad Street Hockey (@BroadStHockey) April 16, 2021
Perhaps Carter had a lot of adrenaline going while making his debut, but I’d like to believe his arc will go a lot better than what Mark Jankowski’s has after his strong debut.
I think Carter is going to fit in nicely with the Penguins. When you look around the trade deadline and what the cost to acquire players was and what the Penguins had to offer up I’m not too sure they could have done much better than they did while balancing the short term and the long term windows. I really like how Carter is an acquisition with an offensive pulse. I didn’t want another low ceiling offensive player in the lineup. I like how Carter can play both center and wing and move up and down the lineup. I also ike the odds of him improving his 14 year low shooting percentage as well. When the lineup gets healthier he should have some favorable usage and if he doesn’t, that just means Crosby or Malkin will so it is a win win. So far so good for Jeff Carter as a Penguin.
The Penguins only scored once. Although, it was memorable. Sidney Crosby cleaned up a rebound, but it was the lead up which made it a great goal. Crosby had to give his stick to brian Dumoulin in the defensive zone and then the puck transitioned up ice. Crosby sprinted to the bench while equipment trainer Jon Taglianetti was on point and ready with the new stick. Sid took it in stride made his way to the net and buried the goal. Great moment for Taglianetti and the bench.
sidney crosby gives up his stick in the defensive zone, races the other way, gets a new stick from the bench, & scores a goal pic.twitter.com/iuP3ad0X3f
— ego (@notmalkinego) April 16, 2021
FULL. TEAM. EFFORT. pic.twitter.com/pUjTJrUtCx
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 16, 2021
I have a couple of friends who are equipment trainers in the NHL and I know how hard they work on a day to day basis. Getting a moment like that sure makes those long hours feel good. After the goal the stick was brought in the back so Jon should have a pretty cool memento to hang up at his house/apartment.
Taglianetti’s have now assisted on goals by Lemieux, Jagr, Francis and Crosby 😉
— Nick Hart (@_NickHart) April 16, 2021
Lolol. The PA guy Ryan Mill just announced the goal and gave an assist to Associate Head Equipment Manager Jon Taglianetti.
— Mike DeFabo (@MikeDeFabo) April 16, 2021
After the game Mike Sullivan had this to say
Coach Sullivan: "It's hard to score your way to success in this league. You've got to be willing to defend and play on both sides of the puck if you're going to win consistently. I think this group understands it and they're willing to make the commitment." pic.twitter.com/eqYQs0rytK
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 16, 2021
I thought it was a strange comment to make after a game you lost when only giving up one goal. I’m not saying defending isn’t important, but I think the premium should be put on generating rather than defending.
Hell, even the Sabres are starting to understand that
Granato: "When you have the puck more, you obviously defend less. Our guys are getting better and improving and enjoying the fact of possessing the puck longer. That's really helped their confidence, but it's also helped us and will help us progressively on the defensive side."
— John Vogl (@BuffaloVogl) April 16, 2021
In the 10 games since March 29 the Sabres are fourth in the NHL with 13 points, one point behind the Rangers and Toronto for second place. They're 7th in points percentage at .650. They've averaged 3.60 goals per game which is fourth overall behind Col, Pitt and the NYR
— Paul Hamilton (@pham1717) April 16, 2021
Ralph Krueger really did a number on this team and their offensive players. Truly one of the worst coaching jobs in recent memory.
Penguins are back in action on Saturday against the resurgent Sabres at 3PM.
Thanks for reading!