All the attention was on Phil Kessel taking on his former team but it was Evgeni Malkin who stole the show.
Geno Machino scored a beautiful goal on an individual rush and showcased why playing him on the penalty kill is probably not such a bad idea. Here is the goal
Malkin goal pic.twitter.com/KmlcBR5cNb
— Stephanie (@myregularface) October 17, 2015
Evgeni Malkin also exhibited his high end skill while stickhandling around Toronto players on the penalty kill which ended with a great pass to spring Kevin Porter on a shorthanded breakaway. The bid for a goal was unsuccessful but showed you don't need to have cement hands to qualify for penalty killing duty.
Not always known for his faceoff prowess Malkin borrowed a page out of the Mario Lemieux handbook when he pushed the draw forward on the left faceoff dot and then threaded a quick pass to Patric Hornqvist on the back door. Only an amazing Jonathan Bernier save kept the play from being successful.
Pittsburgh's other superstar center has tied a career high in games without a point (5). It is certainly surprising to see Sid without any points but last night he made a number of great passes that could have easily earned him a point. The most obvious example was when he sent Phil Kessel in alone on Jonathan Bernier. Kessel deked Bernier out but the puck rolled and his backhand attempt went wide.
Even without points Sid can still do things on the ice that make you smile at how good he is
@GunnerStaal pic.twitter.com/QCZ3baK83x
— Stephanie (@myregularface) October 18, 2015
Pittsburgh was fortunate enough to play a team that played the night before yet again and if you look at the game flow that appears to have played a role in victory.
With Toronto down a goal in the third period it was the Penguins who dominated the flow of the game. In most cases the team trailing will be the one generating more shot attempts.
Marc Andre Fleury played another good game in net which is imperative when you only score two goals. It was his 600th career game as a Penguin. Only seven other Penguins have played in that many games.
Olli Maatta scored his first goal since October 23rd last year against Detroit. For a player that is looking like he is still getting his bearings a goal seems like a good thing to help in that process. Maatta has shown flashes of his former self but it has been inconsistent to this point. Here is his game by game possession this year
In the ~38 minutes Maatta has played with Ben Lovejoy this year (his most common partner) they have a pretty terrible CF% of 41.2.
Kris Letang isn't going to last the season if this trend continues: 29.9, 26.0, 28.1, 26.3, 28.4. Those are the minutes that he has played in each game this season. That will eventually catch up with him even if his fitness levels are among the best in the NHL.
Patric Hornqvist displayed why he is a fan favorite last night as he raced down the ice to negate an icing call late in the game. It is his work effort and style of play that has endeared him to the fans of Pittsburgh. However, he is currently playing with Pittsburgh's hottest player and is not coming up with any tangible offense. Similar to the complaints about Chris Kunitz, if you are going to play with the big boys you have to eventually put up some offense. He only has one point in five games so far this year. The good news is that Hornqvist is starting to get some looks and this will turn itself around naturally.
The power play stinks. At first it was definitely a personnel problem but now it is also an execution problem. Numerous times I saw Sidney Crosby popping out in the high slot which effectively took the same passing lane from Evgeni Malkin. You shouldn't have players in the same passing lanes on a power play. This is a design flaw and one that is unacceptable at the NHL level. Whether this is a coaching problem (which most fans think) or a player problem (which shouldn't be discounted) they need to figure this out because two even-strength goals in a game isn't going to be good enough to win most nights with no power play help.
Guess who leads the Florida Panthers in possession and is currently in the top ten in scoring with four goals and three assists?
The legend himself will be in Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins Tuesday night.
Thanks for reading!