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The Pittsburgh Penguins rebounded against the Stars as they soundly defeated Dallas by a score of 5-1.
Here are the game highlights:
The Penguins immediately saw the positive impact that Chris Kunitz has on the hockey team. The first line was buzzing each shift and had a dynamic presence. Crosby, Kunitz, and Stempniak looked like a well-oiled machine and that is a great development for the Penguins as the playoffs inch closer.
Sidney Crosby had 2 goals and 1 assist, Chris Kunitz had a goal and an assist, and Lee Stempniak scored his 1st goal with the Penguins while adding 2 helpers. Making their productive night even more impressive was the fact that they did not even play all that much. Crosby only played 16:13, Kunitz only 11:51, and Stempniak only 11:43. The benefit of the Penguins jumping out to a big lead was that Bylsma could rest his horses and spread out the ice time.
Sidney Crosby's 3 points now give him 91 points on the year and a 17 point lead over Ryan Getzlaf for the scoring lead.
Sidney Crosby took the team goal scoring lead early in the first period with his 32nd goal, Chris Kunitz answered right back with his 32nd of the year to tie him, but Crosby decided that he would rather have the lead and scored his 33rd later in the game. I would wager a guess that there is some healthy competition between the two of those players to see who can score more.
Sidney Crosby is not only the most outstanding player in the NHL, he is the most valuable as well. Regardless of how people vote on the Hart Trophy it is Crosby's to lose.
The Penguins are 3-14 when Crosby fails to register a point. All 14 losses are in regulation. That means 74% of the Penguins regulation losses (19) come when Crosby fails to record a point. That gives off the vibe that Crosby is pretty valuable to his team, at least to me.
The success of the Crosby line against Dallas had many similarities to when Pascal Dupuis was patrolling the right wing before his knee injury. Stempniak is hard on the puck, works hard, plays simple, and goes to the net. All things that made Dupuis a successful linemate. Lee Stempniak was the driving force behind his 1st goal with the Penguins. Let’s take a look at what simple hard working hockey can do for a team:
Stempniak identifies his responsibility on the backcheck and wastes no time in making the decision to hustle back and close off the Dallas player’s angle.
His quick decision and willingness to skate hard has put Stempniak in a situation to cause a turnover in the neutral zone. He is able to poke the puck away to his readily available defenseman.
Stempniak’s job is not done. He realizes that he is the first forward back and further hustles back into the Penguins zone. He does this to build speed and give his defenseman a proper outlet during transition. Without this part of the sequence the goal will never happen.
Stempniak has found a soft spot in which he can receive a pass on his forehand with speed. Stempniak is a perfect outlet option for the Penguins defender; it is well within Despres’ skill set to put a crisp pass right on the tape.
Stempniak enters the zone with speed which draws attention. He immediately dishes the puck to a waiting Sidney Crosby. Crosby does what Crosby does, he finds open teammates. Chris Kunitz does a nice job as the 3rd man high and finds a nice soft spot to receive the pass. Once again, Stempniak does not admire the task he just accomplished; he continues to go hard to the net after passing to Crosby.
Kunitz immediately recognizes that Stempniak has beaten his man and makes a nice touch pass into the green area.
Bang, Stempniak’s first goal. A lot of different things happened during the sequence but none of them were fancy, they all involved simple plays and hard work. This was a beautiful goal and one that exemplifies why Stempniak looks the part as the Penguins top line right wing. Job well done.
The Penguins bottom 6 forward grouping played better last night. That is one of the reasons that Bylsma was able to give the top line a rest during the 3rd period. The fact that Taylor Pyatt was scratched and the bottom 6 played better is not a coincidence to me. It remains to be seen if Pyatt will stay out of the lineup, but I don’t think the Penguins coaching staff should end with just Pyatt’s demotion.
In the case of should happen, but never will, Craig Adams should also find his way into the press box. He shares some of the same characteristics that Taylor Pyatt has. Adams is lacking foot speed these days and also lacks puck skills. The one plus that Adams has is that he is willing and able to play the body as well as block shots. This is commendable but does not make him a unique player on the Penguins. There are plenty of potential bottom 6 options that are willing to play the body and block shots.
The days are over where you need a heart and soul 4th line guy to play PK and block shots. Anybody can do that if they are willing, and there are plenty who are willing. Find the willing players who also have puck skill. Skill should be paramount.
2009? RT @GunnerStaal: When was the last time Craig Adams had a controlled zone entry?
— Mike Darnay (@MikeDarnay) March 19, 2014Case in point Brian Gibbons selling out to block a shot last night that caused him to momentarily make his way down the runway with a potential injury. Gibbons was also the player that sprung Sutter on his shorthanded breakaway last night with a nice little area pass that took puck skills to execute. Guys like Jayson Megna and Beau Bennett are also more than capable to executing similar plays. Give me the guys who can do the simple things that Adams does, but can also do much more. Brian Gibbons may not have been an ideal top line winger but he can play useful minutes in the bottom 6 with his speed. His puck skills are also decent enough to make plays when necessary IE: Megna goal vs Philadelphia.
My bottom 6 forwards would include Goc, Sutter, Bennett, Megna, Gibbons, and Glass. Joe Vitale could always be ready on a moment’s notice. This isn’t going to happen but it makes the most sense given the modern landscape of the NHL. The Penguins aren’t a grit/grinding team; they are a team that can make skilled hockey plays while combining that with a high work ethic, big difference. They need to embrace that identity.
In some bittersweet news, Jayson Megna was sent back down to WB/S. The sweet part of the news is that is most likely means Beau Bennett is ready to play in game action again. The bitter part is that Megna is sent down. My stance is that Megna should be a fixture on the big club now for many of the reasons stated above. I don’t believe that Megna is a foolproof option that is perfect. I believe he will make mistakes, but I strongly believe that he will make less mistakes and offer more than some of the current options, consider this horse beaten to death.
It might look on the surface like Jeff Zatkoff had an easy night but that was not the case. Zatkoff faced many difficult shots and looked very good between the pipes last night.
One of Matt Niskanen’s best skills is his ability to get the puck through the first tier of defenders when shooting the puck. Getting the puck through the 1st tier opens up so many potentially positive things (tips, lucky bounces, and goals that go straight in).
Crosby’s 2nd goal last night is a good example. It’s a simple concept but it’s not a skill that all NHL defensemen do well on a regular basis. Niskanen has turned this skill into two goals in the past two games. The other example was Sunday against the Flyers when he scored himself.
Simon Despres played a very solid game and showed off some of the skills that separate him from some of the other defensemen on the roster. Despres was able to skate assertively and fast out of his own end with the puck that led directly to easy breakouts. His skating skill can be a huge advantage for the Penguins. When combined with his size and his pucks skills it makes you scratch your head why he can’t find more consistency in his game. Only one player had a better CF%(close) than Despres last night and it was Sidney Crosby. Also worth noting that Despres led the team in CF% on Saturday against the Flyers.
Thanks for reading!
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