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The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Washington Capitals by a score of 4-3. The Penguins gave up the 1st goal of the game and also fell behind in the 3rd period but kept working and were able to come back and earn the victory.
The key for me was for the Penguins to skate like it was their only game of the week, I believe they did. Mistakes were made but it was never for a lack of effort and that was a nice thing to see. Given the time off the Penguins have had and all the call-ups in the lineup it is unreasonable to expect mistakes to be limited. If you have Crosby and Malkin with a team that is working extremely hard you always have a chance to win.
Bylsma on #Penguins win: "There wasn’t quit in our game. A 60-minute game. We kept playing, kept going. "
— Shelly Anderson (@pgshelly) January 16, 2014The victory marks a franchise record for the Penguins as they have now won 13 consecutive games in a row on home ice.
The loss for the Capitals marks two tough defeats in a row to quality teams. The Capitals dropped a shootout decision to the Sharks and then lost in regulation to the Penguins. The Capitals will be fighting it out to stay ahead of the other teams in the division who are all gaining ground. The Metropolitan will more than likely only have 3 representatives this year so it is important for the Capitals to keep winning. Taking 1 out of 4 points is a tough pill to swallow when both games were decided by 1 goal.
Here are the game highlights:
Here is the possession chart:
The big story of the game for me was the impressive play of Olli Maatta. Maatta was guilty of going through a mild rough patch recently and the Penguins brass decided that he needed a night off to recharge his batteries. Recharge the batteries he did. Maatta has asserted himself more and more offensively as the season has worn on and last night gave a glimpse into the kind of potential he has on the offensive side of the ice.
Maatta single handedly earned Taylor Pyatt a goal by selling a beautiful fake shot at the blue line and then smoothly used his pterodactyl reach to go around the defender which led to his simplistic but highly effective pass to Pyatt’s wheel house.
Later in the game Maatta revisited his fake shot and was able to once again go around the defender but this time he elected to shoot and the result was the game winning goal.
The best part about Maatta showing off those kinds of moves is the fact that other teams now have to respect that he can walk around them with ease. This in turn will open up more shooting lanes for Maatta as defenders will be back on their heels at times so that they are not left in the dust. Given Maataa’s ability to keep his head up at all times he will be able to recognize whether to shoot or deke. The more confidence the kid gets, the better he will get, the skill set is there.
The young kid has been watching the right players growing up because it appears he stole that move from one of the hockey’s best players ever at the position (at least that is what he thinks):
I just asked Maatta who that move reminded HIM of. "Lidstrom." I win, everyone, but thanks for playing. We have some nice prizes out back.
— Dejan Kovacevic (@Dejan_Kovacevic) January 16, 2014Maatta’s partner also had a terrific evening. Matt Niskanen chipped in two assists of his own to help lead the undermanned Penguins to another victory. Even when the Penguins are completely healthy I’m not so sure that the Niskanen/Maatta pairing isn’t the best one the Penguins have to offer. I really do believe the Penguins should lean towards keeping Niskanen around for the long term. Niskanen consistently makes good decisions on the ice and that is what the Penguins need the most from the back end.
Spoke with Todd Reirden last week. Said if Maatta-Niskanen are playing the best of the D-men, their minutes will rise.
— Josh Yohe (@JoshYohe_Trib) January 16, 2014Niskanen and Maatta could be a very good pairing for a number of years, if the Penguins choose to go that route
The poll I had in my blog the other day seems to have a lot of like-minded people:
On the other side of the spectrum young defenseman Simon Despres was sent back to WB/S today. On the surface it looks like the Penguins are sour on him but I don’t believe that is 100% true. Sure they probably want him to shore up some things, because let’s be honest, he didn’t have his best two games of the year the last two times he saw game action. There are however other dynamics at play with his “demotion….
Paul Martin is returning to practice and should be ready to go against the Panthers on Monday. This takes another potential spot to play away from Despres. When the Penguins are fully healthy there isn’t a spot on defense for Bortuzzo or Engelland either:
Scuderi-Letang Orpik-Martin Maatta-Niskanen
Despres does not have to pass through waivers which makes his demotion a logical move from a roster management standpoint.
Most importantly, with the Olympic break coming and the Penguins not playing many more games before that break, Despres can now get a ton of ice time playing for the Baby Penguins. Despres gets nothing by sitting out, he needs to play. WB/S provides him the opportunity to play. Robert Bortuzzo and Deryk Engelland are better suited to be players that sit in the press box for extended periods of time, not a guy like Despres.
Could Despres be traded? Sure. Do I think it’s the same situation as the Penguins moving on from Ryan Whitney, Alex Goligoski, or Joe Morrow? No, I don’t. If Despres is moved it’s because he happens to be an asset where they are strong organizationally and the team has glaring needs up front.
One thing I am absolutely sure of, Ray Shero will not be moving Despres for pennies on the dollar. Shero will get a solid return if he indeed chooses to trade Despres. His track record in moving young defensemen has been as good as it gets. He knows when to hold them and when to fold them.
Letang was Letang. Take the good with the bad.
I thought the Penguins did a great job on the PK in limiting the amount of looks Alex Ovechkin got on the power play. The Penguins were content to let the Capitals operate out of the right side with Nicklas Backstrom. Even though Backstrom did ring the post with a very nice shot I 100% believe that is the approach you take with the Capitals power play. Let Nicklas Backstrom beat you with his shot, not his upper echelon passing ability that he is known for.
The Penguins did find out how difficult it is to shut off the lanes to Ovechkin. Ovie was able to sneak into a soft spot for a one timer goal in the third period which put the Capitals up 3-2. Orpik knocked Ovechkin’s stick out of his hand (probably should have been a penalty) and he calmly picked it up and slip back into a vacancy in the slot. Orpik had his stick down but it wasn’t quite in the lane to block the pass from getting through.
For all of his flaws Alex Ovechkin can wire the puck better than anybody alive and he is also terrific at finding soft spots to open things up for his shot. A shot isn’t worth a damn if you aren’t able to get it off. Ovechkin plays to his strengths and is able to get it off consistently. To that, he deserves his kudos.
He also has an incredible amount of old man strength; he tossed Robert Bortuzzo aside like he was Chris Conner. He is an incredibly physically gifted athlete.
With the plethora of non-game days coming up I’ll do my best to get creative and provoke discussion. Stay tuned.
Thanks for reading!
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