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Penguins Drop to Devils in Overtime

The Pittsburgh Penguins gave up a late 2-goal lead on Friday night against the New Jersey Devils to send it into overtime, before losing with 1-minute left in the extra frame.  The Penguins’ 2-goal lead was broken midway through the 3rd period after Petr Sykora took a double minor (hooking/unsportsmanlike), and the Devils converted just 4-seconds into the powerplay on a blast by Brendan Shanahan.  The Penguins hung on to cancel out the 2nd minor, but gave up the game tying goal with just 31-seconds to go in regulation as Jamie Langenbrunner beat Fleury to send it into overtime.   Marc-Andre Fleury was strong in net for the Penguins stopping 39-shots on goal, but had no chance on the OT game winner by Jamie Langenbrunner.  The Pittsburgh Penguins managed to grab a point out of the game, but really needed both as they continue their quest to claim a playoff seeding.

The Penguins got the early advantage in the game, despite being outshot 19-7 in the first period.  At 9:33 of the period, Max Talbot recorded his 6th goal of the season as he deflected a Ryan Whitney slapshot past Scott Clemmensen to make it 1-0.  Rob Scuderi picked up the other assist.  The goal came just after the killing off the second penalty of the period.  The Penguins pounced on that momentum and immediately cashed in by scoring 20-seconds later on the next shift.  This time it was Sidney Crosby taking an excellent pass from Evgeni Malkin and sending a stifling backhand shot past Clemmensen to make it 2-0.  Petr Sykora also assisted on the play.  At 11:21, the Devils fought back with a sneaky goal by Bobby Holik that quickly found its way between the pads of Marc-Andre Fleury to make it 2-1.  The Penguins went 3-for-3 on the penalty kill and 0-for-1 on the powerplay in the first.

The second period was marked by a much tighter defensive style with the Devils outshooting the Penguins 7-6, but neither team managed to get on the scoresheet.  The Penguins went 0-for-2 on the powerplay and 1-for-1 on the penalty kill in the period, and managed to take a 2-1 lead into the 3rd. 

In the 3rd, the Penguins looked as if they got the insurance goal at 8:35.  In a tremendous defensive play along the boards, Sidney Crosby stopped the puck and moved it up to Evgeni Malkin who powered into the Devils zone and launched the puck past Clemmensen to trickle across the goal line.  The goal was Malkin’s 20th of the season, and 100th of his young career.  With the score 3-1, the Penguins tried to tighten up the defense to protect the lead.  At 11:55, however, Petr Sykora took a hooking penalty near the Penguins’ blue line, and then must have said something that angered the referee who slapped Sykie with the extra 2-minutes for unsportsmanlike.  The Devils immediately pounced on the opportunity as Brendan Shanahan collected the puck off from the ensuing face-off and launched it past Fleury just 4-seconds into the powerplay to make it a 1-goal game.  The Penguins defense redoubled their efforts after the goal and managed to kill-off the back half of Sykora’s double-minor, but it now became a much different game.  With just 31-seconds left in regulation and Clemmensen pulled from the net in favor of the extra attacker, Jamie Langenbrunner threw a backhander from the side of the net that deflected off from the skate of Ryan Whitney and past Fleury to tie the game.  The Penguins then missed on a 2-on-1 scoring opportunity in the final seconds of the game to send it into overtime tied at 3-3.  The Devils again peppered the Penguins goaltender in the 3rd period as they outshot them 13-3. 

In the overtime frame, it appeared as if the Penguins might be able to hold on for the shootout, but a late barrage and offensive zone pressure by the Devils paid off with the game winner.  Skating out from the right boards, Travis Zajac fed a cross-ice pass to Jamie Langenbrunner who unleashed a quick shot that caught goalie Marc Andre Fleury out of position. It was Langenbrunner’s 14th goal of the season and second overtime winner in two games, as he had the OT winner against Boston on Thursday night. 

 

• PHOTOS:  Game Photos
• Game Rosters
• Game Summary
• Boxscore
• Shots Summary
• Faceoff Summary
• Pittsburgh TOI Report

The Penguins head to Toronto on Saturday where they will face off against the Maple Leafs and look to get one back in the winning column.

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Penguins Find the Right Trajectory

The Pittsburgh Penguins appear to have finally found the right trajectory after beating the Atlantic Division leading New York Rangers 3-0 on Sunday afternoon.  Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 33-shots to post his 2nd shutout of the season, and 13th of his career.  With the win, the Penguins have managed to take 3 of their last 4 games after going an abysmal 6-13-1 between December 1st and January 10th.  During that span, the team suffered from inconsistent goaltending, a leaky defense, an unproductive offense, and (at times) ineffective coaching.  Contributing to their maladies, the Penguins have been burdened by more than their fair share of injuries, forcing the team to play as many as 5 AHL call-ups per game.  However, the Penguins have found success since facing off against the Flyers on the 13th by effectively employing a neutral zone trap, injecting the energetic Matt Cooke on the top line aside Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby, and utilizing the chemistry of their AHL call-ups on the lower lines.   They have also benefitted on the 2nd line by the return of Tyler Kennedy and the improved play of a freshly signed Jordan Staal.  While only time will tell if the team has literally turned the page from December, they are certainly on the right trajectory for a change. 

Sunday’s win was marked by a number of encouraging signs.  First, the goaltending of Marc-Andre Fleury was rock solid.  In fact, it was the second game in a row in which he lived up to his potential and skill level, after a month in which he has looked tentative and positionally out of synch.  Perhaps we expected too much from him when he returned from injury this season when compared to how he responded at the end of last season after recovering from a lengthy high ankle sprain.  While he hasn’t had to be brilliant in net, he has only given up 1-goal through 6-periods of play.  Hopefully this will help him regain the confidence that he has been missing.  Secondly, the team was committed to and soundly executed their defensive trap system with few breakdowns.  The excellent positional play of the Penguins enabled them to conserve their energy and increase their puck possession, rather than chasing the puck in their own zone.  By effectively clogging up the neutral zone, they denied their opponents easy entrance into the Penguins defensive zone.  Finally, the team played with a full 60-minutes of passion, focus, and attention to detail.  Passing was crisp, decisions were sound, and everyone seemed to be on the same page.  The Penguins were also disciplined as they gave up a man advantage opportunity to the Rangers just twice.  All of these factors contributed to their success, and will hopefully reinforce in their minds what they need to bring to every game. 

The Penguins have 2 more games in their current home stand before heading out on a 3-game road trip.  The Penguins will host the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night before facing off for a rematch against the New York Rangers again on Wednesday the 28th (after the All Star Game).  The Penguins will then have back-to-back  road games against the Devils and the Maple Leafs on the following Friday and Saturday nights to close out the month of January.

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Penguins Find Something to Build On

The Pittsburgh Penguins put an end to the Philadelphia Flyers 8-game home winning streak, but more importantly found something to build upon in notably well-coached and well-executed 4-2 win over their cross-state rivals.  Despite giving up an early goal on a botched play by Marc-Andre Fleury, the Penguins quickly regained their composure and put up 4-straight goals to gain the 3-goal advantage going into the 3rd period.  The Penguins then hung on, giving up just 1-goal in the 3rd despite being outshot 14-4.  Pittsburgh played a disciplined game, giving the Flyers just 1 man-advantage on the night.  While the Penguins powerplay went 0-for-4, three of the chances came late in the 3rd and prevented the Flyers from getting back into the game.  The game featured a new look as Matt Cooke was moved to play on the top line with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, a combination that appeared to work very well.  The Penguins also reverted to a trapping style of defensive play that stifled the Flyers offensive game. 

In the 1st period, the Flyers got on the board first at 7:36 as Mike Knuble made Marc-Andre Fleury pay for a bad bounce from behind the net.  Simon Gagne and Kimmo Timonen picked up the assists on the play to make it 1-0.  At 9:44, Eric Godard lined up with Riley Cote in a brief, one-sided dance that Cote lost before it even started.  At 16:47, the Penguins tied the game at 1-1 as Tyler Kennedy collected a pass that ultimately came from Paul Bissonnette from along the boards and backhanded the puck past Martin Biron.  Max Talbot picked up an assist, along with Bissonnette’s first of the season.  Bissonnette punctuated the play by squaring off with Arron Asham after the next faceoff, and again the Penguins held the upper hand in the fight.  The Penguins outshot the Flyers 11-7 in the 1st, and were 1-for-1 on their only penalty kill of the game.

In the 2nd period, the Penguins got moving quickly as Evgeni Malkin posted his 17th goal of the season on a blistering shot off from a beautiful pass from Sidney Crosby that caught the corner of the net.  Crosby had the lone assist on the play to make it 2-1.  Then at 12:25, Jordan Staal notched his 14th goal of the season on a nifty backhander that beat Biron high side as he skated into the zone protecting the puck from the Flyers defense.  Miroslav Satan and Kris Letang picked up the assists.  The goal was Staal’s 3rd in as many games, leaving me to believe he could hit a scoring spell now that he is no longer encumbered with contract distractions.  Then, with just 26-seconds left in the period, Matt Cooke drove the net and chipped in a puck thrown to the front of the net by Sidney Crosby.  It was a well-deserved goal by Cooke, who played a gritty, determined game all evening.  Sidney Crosby and Brooks Orpik picked up the assists.  The Penguins outshot the Flyers 11-8 in the period, and were 0-for-1 on the powerplay.

In the final period, the Penguins played to protect their 3-goal lead by not getting too aggressive against the Flyers, particularly on the powerplay.  The Flyers got a goal at 8:07 as Joffrey Lupul wristed a shot past Fleury to make it 4-2.  Scott Hartnell and Jeff Carter picked up the assists.  While the goal could have spelled trouble for the Penguins, they buckled down and got good goaltending from Marc-Andre Fleury through the rest of the game.  The Penguins were ultimately outshot 14-4 in the 3rd, and were 0-for-3 on the powerplay, including a brief 5-on-3.  The Penguins failed to score on the empty net at the end of the period, and skated away with a well-earned 4-2 win on the Flyer’s turf. 

• VIDEO:  Game Highlights
• PHOTOS:  In-Game Photos
• Game Rosters
• Game Summary
• Boxscore
• Faceoff Summary
• Shot Summary
• Penguins TOI

Sidney Crosby led the team with 2-points (2A), while Evgeni Malkin (1G), Matt Cooke (1G), Jordan Staal (1G), Tyler Kennedy (1G), Paul Bissonnette (1A), Max Talbot (1A), Brooks Orpik (1A), Kris Letang (1A) and Miroslav Satan (1A) all had 1-point.  The Penguins were out-hit 23-17, with Matt Cooke and Brooks Orpik each having 4-hits, and Max Talbot having 3.  The Penguins won 52% of their faceoffs with Jordan Staal going 14/23 for 61%.  Tyler Kennedy led the team with 4-shots on net, while Jordan Staal, Matt Cooke and Petr Sykora each having 3.  Kris Letang led all Penguins with 25:34 of ice time and Jordan Staal led all forwards with 21:18.  Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 27-0f-29 shots on net for a 0.931 save percentage.  Mark Eaton, Pascal Dupuis and Philippe Boucher were all scratches for the game. 

The Penguins will look to perform an encore on Wednesday night as they play host to the Washington Capitals at Mellon Arena.  The Capitals will also be playing their second night of back-to-back games after losing to Edmonton 5-2 on Tuesaday night.

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Downward Spiral Continues, Therrien at Risk

The Pittsburgh Penguins continued their downward spiral on Saturday afternoon as they lost 5-3 in a matinee to the Colorado Avalanche in the Mile-High city.  The Penguins have won just 1-game in their last 8, leaving many wondering what it will take to get them out of their on-going funk.  In their last 20-games, the Penguins have gone 6-13-1 and picked up just 13-of-40 possible points.  Coming on the heels of posting one of their best starts in many seasons, the abysmal backslide seems almost incomprehensible.  Some have pointed to the rash of injuries and resulting roster challenges, while others have said that every opponent brings their “A” game when they match up against Pittsburgh.  Unfortunately, while these observations may be true, they are just excuses used to explain what appears to be a lack of focus, desire, effort and execution.  A great team finds ways to pull together at every level and work through adversity to remain competitive for every game.   

A number of things have become fairly evident over the last 20-games:

First, I am convinced that while Miroslav Satan is a generally good player, he is a bad fit for the Crosby line and more so a bad fit for this team.  In 42-games this season, Miroslav Satan has contributed 26-points (12G, 14A) in 42-games.  He has only managed 2-points in the last 10-games, however, and has finally been demoted from the top line.  The problem with Satan is that he is streaky (as advertised), and his inconsistency is punctuated by his incredibly passive style of play.  He appears unable and/or unwilling to get his nose dirty and create the havoc that needs to be created against uber-defensively-minded opponents who are trying to shut down one of the league’s marquee players.  His slow, floating style of play does not complement Crosby’s at all, and it has taken the coach too long to recognize it. 

Second, over the stretch of the past month the Penguins’ defense has at times become lazy and forgotten how to play smart defensive hockey.  We have witnessed the Penguins’ defense often stop skating and start watching the puck and the opponent in their own end.  They then get caught flat-footed and miss an assignment that exposes the goaltender and leads to a goal.  While I would expect to see this occasionally from the young rookie/sophomore defensemen, it is inexcusable when it happens to the more seasoned defensemen.  They need to work harder to tie up their opponents in front of the net and keep the traffic lanes clear.  Also, when given opportunities for a smart clear, they often commit a lazy pass to the open ice or up the wall that never reaches the blue-line before getting picked off and leads to scoring chances and goals against.  The lack of good, consistent defensive coverage has in part contributed to the inconsistent goal-tending that the team has gotten from Marc-Andre Fleury and Dany Sabourin. 

Third, the Penguins’ offense needs to start chipping the pucks along the walls and into the offensive zone while driving to the net down the center of the ice to push back the defense.  They have the speed and talent down the center to be effective.  For too long over this dismal stretch, we have watched the Penguins employ the old dump-and-chase.  Unfortunately, the dump-and-chase is only effective if you skate you butt off and win the chase-race.  If not, you end up just chasing the puck back down the ice.  There is so little puck support breaking into the offensive zone that we often see Evgeni Malkin trying to skate through 3-4 opponents at the blue line only to have the puck stripped away and turned back down the ice.  When the Penguins do manage to get possession in the offensive zone, they often end up playing a tremendous amount of perimeter keep-away, only to see it end in a bad pass attempt turnover and an up-ice rush.  They rarely get traffic and screens set up in front of the goaltender, and they look for the “unexpected pass” play so often that it is now absolutely expected and easily defended against.  Set up traffic in front, fire the puck on net, feed on rebounds and score….especially on the power-play.  Don’t wait for a clear shot at the net when the goaltender has a clear view of the shooter.  He will stop it almost every time. 

These are just a few observations and they can all be addressed in fairly short order within the current roster, with the possible exception of Miroslav Satan who may need to be moved sooner than later.  The coaching staff can fix this if the players buy-in and are responsive.  There-in, however,  may lie the ultimate reason why this funk has continued for so long.  Being on the outside looking in, one has to wonder if the coaching staff still has the ability to instruct, motivate and inspire the players.  Despite closed door player meetings and public comments made by the coach, the continuing inconsistent play and consistently poor results lends to the growing suspicion that the changes will soon come to this organization.  My bets are on a new coaching staff.  While Coach Therrien has done a fine job with this team over the past couple years, one has to wonder if his hand has been played…..as happened when he coached the Canadiens, one has to wonder if his style that was once considered an inspiration to the players has now become a liability, if for no other reason than it is being tuned out by the players.   This was the theory posed by SportsLine writer Wes Goldstein in January 2003when reporting on Therrien’s firing from the Canadiens head coaching position. 

I think we are all looking for answers, but more importantly action from the General Manager.  It is inconceivable to have two of the leagues’ top scorers, and yet have an incurable inability to win games.

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Penguins Look for Answers as Slump Continues

The Pittsburgh Penguins’ woes continued on Saturday as they lost to the Florida Panthers 6-1 and fell to 9th place overall in the Eastern Conference.  The loss was the fourth straight for the Penguins, and their fifth consecutive loss at home.   In just one month, Pittsburgh has plummeted from fourth to ninth place in the Eastern Conference standings and would be out of the playoff picture if the season ended today.  Although the team has shown significant signs of improvement and life in the last 4-games, the results have just not been there.  All of this despite “motivating” public statements by the coach and post-game team meetings by the players.  Chalk it up to a lack of chemistry, lack of 2nd-tier talent, lack of determination, lack of quality coaching, injuries….whatever you want…it just isn’t working for the Penguins right now and something needs to be shaken up, and not just stirred.  If the Penguins don’t find a way to reverse their fortunes soon, they will find themselves in an unrecoverable position in the competitive Eastern Conference.

During the 1st period, it looked as if the Penguins’ forwards were shot out of a cannon and you got the feeling early that this was a statement that they understood the level at which they needed to play.  Everyone except Marc-Andre Fleury, that is, who gave up 2-goals on the first 4-shots by Florida.  The Panthers 1st-goal came at 10:12 as Ville Peltonen wristed his 5th goal of the season past Marc-Andre Fleury on the stick side.  Keith Ballard and Nick Boynton picked up the assists.  Then at 15:20 Nathan Horton wristed another shot past Fleury to make it 2-0.  David Booth and goaltender Craig Anderson got the assists on Horton’s 9th goal of the season.  Pittsburgh ultimately outshot the Panthers 10-5 in the period, but they just couldn’t get the puck past goalie Craig Anderson.  They failed to convert on a lone powerplay 30-seconds into the period, but did manage to kill off two penalties of their own to Gill (interference) and Dupuis (hooking).

In the 2nd period, Coach Therrien sat Marc-Andre Fleury in favor of Dany Sabourin.  The Penguins again came out on fire and you just got the sense that once they found a way to score a goal, the floodgates might open.  That goal came at 1:37 as Ruslan Fedotenko stole the puck deep in the Panthers zone and quickly released it to beat Anderson from a bad angle.  However, despite the apparent momentum gained by the goal, the floodgates never opened.  Instead, the tides turned back on the Penguins after Miroslav Satan took an ill-advised offensive zone roughing call at 7:42.  Just 21-seconds into the powerplay, Bryan McCabe wristed the first Panthers’ shot of the period past Sabourin to make it 3-1.  Cory Stillman and Stephen Weiss were credited with the assists.  Then at 9:29, Evgeni Malkin was called for interference in the offensive zone and the Panthers’ powerplay converted again at 11:24.  This time it was Richard Zednik who got behind Hal Gill and beat Sabourin.  Bryan McCabe and Nick Boynton assisted on the play.  At 11:47, Sidney Crosby and Gregory Campbell got matching minors after exchanging words in the faceoff circle and other pleasantries in the ensuing play.  After the penalties expired, Max Talbot found himself in the faceoff circle with Gregory Campbell and decided to take him to task.  The two whirled around on the ice for a lengthy bout that was largely a draw with maybe a slight advantage to Talbot.  Then, in the ensuing faceoff, Sidney Crosby jumped Brett McLean as the puck was being dropped, pulled his jersey up over his head and drove him face-first into the ice.  While I was happy to see Crosby vent some frustration, I was not happy with the way he went about it.  You don’t jump a guy and then pile drive his jersey covered head into the ice and still expect to get respected by other players in the league.  The officials weren’t too happy with it either as they assessed Crosby 19-minutes in penalties (5-min fighting, 2-min instigator, 2-min unsportsmanlike, and 10-min misconduct).  Then at 18:31, Nathan Horton picked up his 2nd of the night to make it 5-1.  Keith Ballard and Karlis Skrastins got the assists.  The Penguins were outshot 12-11 in the period and were 0-for-1 on the powerplay and gave up two goals on the PK. 

In the 3rd period, Marc-Andre Fleury found his way back into the net for the Penguins as the frustration continued.  At 4:14, Michael Frolik wristed the Panthers’ 6th goal of the game past Fleury.  Cory Stillman and Stephen Weiss picked up the assists on the final goal of the game.  The Penguins outshot the Panthers 9-7 in the final frame, but failed to convert again on the powerplay, extending their man-advantage drought to O-for-24 over the last 6-games.  This is the longest powerplay drought in 5-years. 

• VIDEO:  Game Highlights
• VIDEO:  Coach Therrien Post-Game
• VIDEO:  Crosby Post-Game
• VIDEO:  Fleury Post-Game
• PHOTOS:  In-Game Photos
• AUDIO:  Post-Game Hotline
• Game Rosters
• Game Summary
• Boxscore
• Shot Summary
• Faceoff Summary
• Pittsburgh TOI

The Penguins managed to get Tyler Kennedy back into the lineup for his first game in a month since going out with a sprained knee, and they sat Mark Eaton.  The Penguins have will have Sunday to recoup and reassess before matching up against the New York Rangers on the road on Monday, and then hosting the Atlanta Thrashers on Tuesday.  It is quite clear, however, that there is no quick fix to whatever is ailing the team psyche right now.  The first step is to get a win, and then build from there.

Crosby vs McLean

Talbot vs Cambpell

And For Some Much Needed Comic Relief….

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