The Penguins won a sloppy game last night, but two points is two points, and the Pens are slowly climbing into the thick of things in the Eastern Conference. Some numbers going into last nights game:
The Penguins PP was clicking at a lowly 12.8% good for 25th in the league.....given the talent they put out on the ice for the PP, that is a travesty;
The Penguins PK conversely was killing penalties at 88.2%, good for fifth in the league;
The Penguins entered last night leading the league in points from defensemen;
The team had also allowed the fewest shots per game in the league;
Crosby came into the game riding a seven game point scoring streak, and 5 points behind Stamkos for the league lead in scoring. He left the game with an 8 game streak, and his 4 point night put him only one point off of the league lead in scoring;
Evgeni Malkin recorded career points 399,400, and 401 last night;
On to the game itself, it had an ominous start with Fleury allowing a goal on the game's first shot, just 42 seconds in. The Penguins then took the lead 2-1, before the teams traded goals ending in a 4-4 tie in regulation. Crosby, well what can you say right now? He is all over the ice, creating offense, and dominating play. He easily could have added two goals last night, getting into great position and missing two huge semi empty net shots from close range. Malkin had another productive evening, but for the third game in the row made a VERY POOR decision late in a game leading to a turnover that could have altered the game, as it did against the Rangers. Fortunately his careless play with a lead did not cost the Pens the games against Vancouver and Carolina as it did that night against the Rangers. Kris Letang also continues to dazzle with great skating, solid hitting, good scoring chances, and an awesome shootout presence. He is also plagued with making one or two very bad decisions per game, and needs to focus more on details. Once he does, I am not sure you will find many better defensemen in te league. I am beginning to see what I had expected to see from Zybnek Michalek,and expect that by the time we hit December, we will see the shutdown, shot blocking machine Shero bought on July 1. Martin, remains a bit of a disappointment to me, but it may just take time. He comes in with a great pedigree, and again Gonch sucked most of his first year here, so it is early to get too worried about Martin. I thought Derek Engelland looked a little bit out of sync last night, and Brooks Orpik, maybe my favorite player does not seem quite right to me. I suspect some injury carry over for Orpik, as he is just not the soul crushing physical presence I am used to seeing right now. He will be when all is said and done though. Despite being written off this season, Tyler Kennedy seems to be contributing for the Pens, netting his fourth goal and providing some momentum swinging shifts on a very speedy third line that also includes Chris Connor and Mark Letestu. How about Chris Kunitz? Last night we saw a display of what he is capable of. He was blocking shots, finishing checks, keeping pucks in the zone, digging pucks out of the corners, and he scored two goals. We see the shot blocking, check finishing, corner busting puck retriever night in and night out, yet it is funny how much more THAT is appreciated when Coon manages to finish some of the chances he gets. If he can chip in 25 goals AND maintain the rest of his game, he will be viewed in an entirely different light in this town. I think that this is the year that he does that. My final observation is that the Penguins are heading in the right direction, but I still have some concerns with the team and how they are handled. The trend for all players, Crosby included to make sloppy, overly fancy plays like drop passes all over the ice annoys me. Letestu even tried a no look behind the back pass at the Canes blue line that was intercepted and almost put in the net. A guy of that caliber trying make that play at that juncture needs a message sent, but I am doubting that it will be. This team needs to simplify the play through the neutral zone, make simple plays to get the puck behind the D, get to their game which at its best is mind bending forechecking and a down low cycle. Then take the shots that are available and CRASH the net for rebounds. They cannot get to that game as the turnovers in the neutral zone do not allow the forwards to get through the zone with any speed. The same general message of simple play, getting shots on net and crashing it for rebounds would make a big difference there too. I hope they get the message in time to challenge for a top seed in the conference, as there is no reason that they should not. Also, another game with Comrie on the bench, and another win.
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