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We’ve all had a day to digest the Penguins and Blue Jackets Game 1 outcome and it feels like the action should pick back up again tonight, alas the schedule says otherwise. This series will pick back up tomorrow night in Pittsburgh.
Game 1 had a little bit of everything and I was left with some things that I thought were very good and I was also left with some things that are concerning from a Penguins perspective.
Some of the good things included the Penguins overall discipline, Marc Andre Fleury’s play, power play, willingness to make adjustments, accountability.
I think the discipline is one of the more key dynamics for this Penguins team. When the Penguins get unhinged their advantage in talent goes kaput. Sidney Crosby led the way with his calm demeanor even though he was on the wrong end of some abuse from Brandon Dubinsky.
I understand that you don’t want to see your best player take that kind of abuse but if Sidney Crosby focused on retaliation instead of ignoring Dubinsky’s actions the fallout would have been the rest of the Penguins team becoming unglued. Crosby sets the tone; he was being a great leader in this case. He knows the demons that have plagued this Penguins team in recent memory, he knows because he was guilty of getting unhinged himself.
Bylsma needs to channel his inner basketball coach and start planting the seed about the slew foot and the hitting from behind in order to get the benefit of the calls moving forward. If the referees start to call infractions the Penguins can take advantage on the power play. Retaliation will only lead to a best case scenario of the Penguins evening up the penalties or a worst case scenario where they take the extra minor penalty.
Crosby displayed top end leadership in his demeanor in Game 1.
Another positive was Marc Andre Fleury’s play. He made the necessary saves and gave his team a chance to win. The guy who everybody said gives Columbus the advantage in net was the one who imploded in Game 1. Last year Marc Andre Fleury started the playoffs with a shutout and we know how things ended up. I like the fact that there were goals scored on him early on, the voices in his head could have been conjured up again, but he stayed the course and did not allow a goal for the last 39:17. He made some big saves in the 3rd period to preserve the lead.
Adjustments and accountability were also a positive for the Penguins. In the past the higher skilled Penguins players would get a little more rope than some of their other teammates when it came to undisciplined play. This was not the case in Game 1. Kris Letang was benched from the power play and he saw the least amount of ice time in the 3rd period amongst defensemen. This kind of accountability is the best way to keep players in c heck and keep them on task. Playing time is a coach’s best asset he has to hold over the modern day player.
Today it was Matt Niskanen practicing on the Penguins #1 power play, not Kris Letang.
The power play turnover that led to a shorthanded goal was probably the main catalyst in why Letang was bumped off of the Penguins power play but this kind of infraction is probably what cost him his even strength ice time.
Letang has to take his cue from Crosby and just keep on playing. The Blue Jackets are rightfully going to try and “punch the Penguins in the mouth… it’s the playoffs. Take your medicine and keep trucking along. This isn’t the hardest trophy to win in sports for nothing.
Not everything was great for the Penguins. The Letang stuff mentioned above needs to change for the Penguins to reach their potential ceiling. Additionally, I thought their penalty kill still looks shaky and it hasn’t been right since the Olympics.
Before the break, the Penguins were killing 86.7 percent of their penalties, an outstanding number. Since returning Feb. 27, they have killed only 80.2 percent of their penalties.The loss of right wing Pascal Dupuis was a damaging blow to the penalty-killing unit. With Dupuis in the lineup, the Penguins killed 87.5 percent of their penalties, which was on pace to give the Penguins their second-best penalty-killing season in franchise history.
Without Dupuis, who sustained a season-ending knee injury Dec. 23, the Penguins have killed just 82.5 percent of their penalties.
The Penguins have to be great on special teams if they are going to have questions about their bottom 6 forward groupings. 80.2% on the PK since the Olympic break is woefully short of what is acceptable moving forward.
Rob Scuderi is also a question mark in these playoffs. He has not played at a high level since returning to the Penguins. I was bullish on his return to Pittsburgh and he has not lived up to the expectations placed on him. It remains to be seen how much of his struggles can be traced back to his broken ankle suffered this year. The Penguins don’t have the luxury of carrying dead weight on the roster.
Scuderi is consistently a negative possession player. Alarming is the fact that he is not facing the uphill battles that Brooks Orpik has had to deal with. Orpik gets thrust into a classic shutdown role, Scuderi has been somewhat protected. With Letang struggling in Game 1 Scuderi does not have a guy to lean on like he did in Los Angeles with Drew Doughty. Can Scuderi turn it around this year? I have my doubts.
Craig Adams played what I believe is to his ceiling in Round 1? Is that good enough? I say no. A guy like Gibbons has shown that speed is the more valuable asset in the playoffs. Adams has lost a majority of his foot speed in the past year and a half and he wasn’t known for his speed to begin with. With the PK struggling like it has, I see no point in keeping around a PK specialist. Jayson Megna and harry Zolnierczyk would be better options at this point in time. Speed kills. Grit is icing on the cake if the player who has it can actually play hockey. The team only has room for one grit guy who lacks skill and that spot is being used up on Tanner Glass.
So those are just some observations based on Game 1. What are the things you are encouraged by, what are the things that leave you worried?
Thanks for reading!
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