One down and fifteen more to go. The Pittsburgh Penguins started this year’s playoff run the same exact way they started the last one. The backup goalie played really well and the team was victorious. Last year it was Jeff Zatkoff against the New York Rangers and this year it was Marc-Andre Fleury against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Pittsburgh was victorious by a score of 3-1. Things started dicey with Columbus completely owning the first period. Fleury turned aside all 16 shots to keep the game scoreless. Half of Fleury’s workload was complete by the end of the first period. It was a strong performance by Fleury who wasn't the planned starter. Matt Murray hurt himself in warmups and was seen leaving the arena with a limp. He looked to be injured on a save against Taylor Hall near the end of the regular season. There's a good chance he isn't ready for Friday's game.
Pittsburgh has paid an incredibly high premium (5.75M) for this insurance policy. It was time for that policy to pay out something to the policy holder. Last night it did. There will have to be more of it to make the investment worthwhile.
This kind of game is a worst case scenario for Columbus. They comfortably controlled possession in this game and had nothing to show for it. They couldn’t score and their MVP caliber goalie couldn’t buy them enough time to do so without the team trailing. Pittsburgh was able to make the most of their limited chances. They were also able to earn their looks from closer in
I mentioned in my series preview that Pittsburgh is a little more top heavy than they were last year. I also mentioned that it was something that might not ultimately hurt them against Columbus. Last night the big three forwards all made an impact in their own way.
On a night where the Penguins struggled on the possession front Sidney Crosby did a nice job against the best Columbus has.
It’s nice to have that #71 guy back. Evgeni Malkin finished the game with two assists. He hasn’t played in over a month and you wouldn’t know it. He changes the entire dynamic of the Penguins lineup. Before teams could pour all their resources into the Sheary-Crosby-Guentzel line and probably not get burned elsewhere. It is really hard to shutdown a Sidney Crosby and an Evgeni Malkin line on a nightly basis. Geno is going to get better as time goes on and that should scare Columbus.
Phil Kessel’s goal drought is officially outdated. This shot was ridiculous.
Scott Harrington forgot the old adage stick in the passing lane and body in the shooting lane. Doing the opposite is not going to work on a player like Phil.
Phil showed off his playmaking ability in this contest as well. After Geno earned a controlled zone entry, it was Kessel who creatively kicked the puck over to Bryan Rust to open the scoring
The good news for Pittsburgh is that the guy coaching the Blue Jackets is not likely to focus on the right things to beat the Penguins. Columbus did a lot of nice things last night. If games play out that way over the course of the series they have a real chance of winning. However, this is what they will more than likely focus on
We were so busy with all that winning nonsense that we forgot how to win. Which isn't by scoring more goals than the other team and winning. https://t.co/I1vAgxJ8qF
— Nik Mercaldentepasta (@NMercad) April 13, 2017
Another thing to track as we move forward in this series is the health of Carl Hagelin. His offensive numbers weren't great this year, but he remained one of the top possession players on the team. He could slot nicely next to Evgeni Malkin which would allow Bryan Rust to be slotted appropriately on his right wing and could give some much needed assistance to Matt Cullen who has the scraps right now.
Marc-Andre Fleury and Phil Kessel were two of the best performers of night one of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Best players from last night. Good night for the goalies pic.twitter.com/HpUUOqX38n
— dom 💛 nashville 🤠(@domluszczyszyn) April 13, 2017
Game 2 will be Friday night.
Thanks for reading!