Dull Devils Look To Pass Paradoxical Penguins In The Standings (Mike Johnston)

Mike Johnston

Dull Devils Look To Pass Paradoxical Penguins In The Standings

By Ryan Wilson

Nov 14, 2015 • 12:24 pm

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Pittsburgh dropped a 2-1 decision to the Columbus Blue Jackets last night in a fairly uneventful game.

Pittsburgh played a pretty miserable first period but Columbus was not able to make them pay for it. It wasn't until the second period where Columbus scored the only two goals they needed to get by.

Pittsburgh Native Brandon Saad had a very nice backhand shot that beat Fleury over his shoulder

Pittsburgh went 0-6 on the power play and it never really looked like it was going to figure it out. In a game that is lacking goals you need to make the most of the few opportunities where time and space are granted. In fact if the Penguins would just use the same concepts that they used to score their lone even-strength goal on the evening the power play would find a lot more success

Kris Letang shooting a simple wrist shot with somebody like Patric Hornqvist near the goal mouth as a screen/tipper. Why they can't do that on the power play is one of hockey's biggest mysteries. Hornqvist was also at the center of attention when the Penguins appeared to tie the game. Hornqvist clearly kicked the puck into the net but it was another example of having a simple shot get through and allow the forwards down low to battle.

Tonight the Pittsburgh Penguins will face off against Ray Shero's New Jersey Devils for the first time. New Jersey is the best shot suppression team in the NHL with a CA/60 of 45.6. They are also the worst team in the NHL at generating shot attempts with a CF/60 of 42.9. What this tells me is that the Devils aren't very good and their games are likely going to be boring due to the low event totals.

This is very smart of New Jersey to get themselves into low event games because they have one of the best goalies in the league in Cory Schneider. Limiting events with the combination of a good goaltender can be a frustrating viewing experience for fans of the opposition.

Pittsburgh is a middle of the road team that plays higher event hockey which is good if you like seeing more scoring chances when you watch hockey.

Nobody wants to say it but Pascal Dupuis isn't playing good hockey. It should have been Dupuis who was dropped from the Crosby line instead of Bennett. Dupuis has a dCorsi of -10.45 so far this year which is one of the worst marks on the team. He is in over his head in that top line role. It isn't his fault. He is going to play where he is told. It is up to the coaches to make that change. On the flip side Beau Bennett has outperformed the roles he has been given so far this year with a dCorsi of 14.94 which is extremely high and leads the team.

Remember dCorsi is just a measurement of how a player is handling the role that they are put in. Sidney Crosby having a dCorsi of -5.72 this year doesn't mean Bennett is a better player. It means that Crosby is falling short of expectations in the role that Mike Johnston has given him. This tool should be used to help figure out who needs a bigger and more difficult role and which players could use some assistance in a lesser role. Bennett can handle more and Dupuis needs less.

Both the Penguins and Devils have played in 16 games so far this year. Pittsburgh has one more point than the Devils (20 vs 19). A regulation win by the Devils and Pittsburgh will be jumped in the standings.

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Bigger nets? Get out of here with that nonsense. Hockey Hurts podcast discusses real solutions to the NHL's entertainment problem. You can find that here

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