Happy Saturday Pens fans and welcome to the latest edition of Big Dave's Pens Pregame. Glad to have you along as we prepare for Game Two of the Eastern Conference Semi Finals. Tonight, our Pittsburgh Penguins engage with the Washington Capitals in the Nation's Capitol once again.
Puck drops on the action tonight at 8:00pm, but the Pregame is live now...
@pensfan2259 continues to pick my "Big Dave's Gameday Jam" and this one very well might be his best selection of all. This is one of my absolute favorite rap songs of all time and I cannot help but rap along to it when it comes on the radio or my iPod. You all know it, you all love it. It's DMX's "X Gon' Give It To Ya." ENJOY!!!!!!
The State of the Penguins
The Penguins overtime loss to the Capitals in Game One of the Eastern Conference Semi Finals was a sloppy affair. The five days off between games certainly had a negative affect on this team, as they were a little tentative, lazy and made some mental mistakes we really didn't see at all during Round One v. New York. Ultimately, the Penguins just didn't do enough to win this game, and they were lucky that it wasn't a much uglier affair.
The majority in the nation wished to blame Matt Murray for the Penguins loss on Thursday night. An easy person to blame, but ultimately the wrong one. Murray let up one soft goal, Oshie's second of the game in the 3rd period, but otherwise was quite solid. Many point to Murray letting up a wrap-around goal in OT to win it as a huge blunder on his part. For those who have played hockey, and especially the goalie position, they would know that Murray played that situation how he was supposed to. If a defenseman was on the far post to challenge Oshie in that spot, maybe the Penguins don't lose that game. Regardless, to blame Murray for the loss is the lazy option.
If you want to name blame, look to the likes of Olli Maatta. Maatta was beat on two different plays that led to goals. He completely flubbed a dump in which led to a brilliant offensive chance by Oshie on his first goal. Maatta couldn't catch up and Oshie only had to bury it, which he did. Later, Oshie beat Murray again, on what was in my opinion, the only bad goal Murray let up. But if you watch the replay, you'll see four Penguins attacking the Capitals, and Olli standing flat footed in front of Murray watching the play. Maatta is an incredibly talented player, no question about it. But he is out of gas and he is hurting this team. He may be the better player overall than Justin Schultz or Derrick Pouliot, but I don't think he is at this exact moment. It's a change HCMS should seriously consider for tonight.
But what ultimately loss this game Thursday night for Pittsburgh was their overall tentative play. The Penguins rarely sustained the attack in this one. For lack of a better term, they played to "not lose the game." This is not a strategy that often leads to success, especially for this team. It was a style that cost Mike Johnston his job in December and though the Penguins team is better today, their defense still isn't good enough to win that style of game. They need to be on the attack and control possession, which is what allowed them to win 18 of 21 heading into Game One.
What the Penguins needed to do was take the game to the Capitals. When they played that way for the majority of the second period, they scored two goals and controlled the pace of play. When they didn't do that, such as in the first period or in OT, they looked lost, disjointed and were constantly pressured by Capitals offense. The Penguins did not play their game for the majority of Game One and if they don't get to it in Game Two, they could really dig themselves a hole.
The Washington Capitals
While the Penguins played defensive and tentative for major chunks of this game, the Capitals went out and did exactly what they needed to do to earn a Game One win. They attacked the Penguins defense and did a good job of keeping the puck in the offensive zone with sustained pressure. They got 40-plus shots on goal and shot numerous juicy opportunities just wide. And lest we forget, Alex Ovechkin was stopped on two prime breakaway chances by Matt Murray, which could have give the Capitals a 6-3 win in reality, not a 4-3 OT win.
While the likes of Ovechkin, John Carlson and Nicklas Backstrom played well, it was the secondary guys that made the difference on this night.
First was Andre Burakovsky. The Russian winger was outstanding all night long. He scored the Capitals first goal in the opening period, but could have had a hat trick of his own, missing two prime opportunities in the third period and in overtime. He had three shots on net, but the other two chances were the ones that could have sunk the Penguins as well. This is a name to remember in this series going forward, because I do not believe this was a "one-hit wonder" kind of night for him.
And then their was TJ Oshie. The US Olympian played perhaps his best game in a Captial sweater on Thursday night. He scored a hat trick, including the overtime game-winner. He posted five shots on goals, blocked three shots and played a hell of a solid two-way game. While I don't think Oshie is as good as he gets credit for, he was certainly a star on this night and a thorn in the Penguins side for sure.
Tonight, the Capitals will look to continue this style of play. Despite a 1-0 series lead, the pressure remains on their shoulders, for now. They are still the President's Trophy winners and the favorites in the series. They need to continue to play this way if they hope to move on.
Capitals Playoff Scoring Leaders:
- RW TJ Oshie - 7pts (4G-3A)
- C Nicklas Backstrom - 7pts (2G-5A)
- D John Carlson - 7pts (3G-4A)
- LW Alex Ovechkin - 6pts (3G-3A)
- LW Marcus Johansson - 6pts (1G-5A)
Injury Report:
- No injuries entering this game.
Projected Lines:
- Alex Ovechkin - Nicklas Backstrom - TJ Oshie
- Andre Burakovsky - Evgeny Kuznetsov - Justin Williams
- Jason Chimera - Mike Richards - Marcus Johansson
- Daniel Winnik - Jay Beagle - Tom Wilson
Projected Pairs:
- Karl Alzner - Matt Niskanen
- Nate Schmidt - John Carlson
- Taylor Chorney - Brooks Oprik
Braden Holtby is expected to start in net tonight.
News & Notes From Around the Penguins
- F Chris Kunitz is day to day with an upper body injury. He took a puck to the head while on the bench in OT Thursday. I think he'll play, but if he doesn't, it'll be interesting to see the lines.
- No updates on G Marc-Andre Fleury or F Beau Bennett
Penguins Playoff Scoring Leaders:
- C Evgeni Malkin - 8pts (3G-5A)
- C Sidney Crosby - 8pts (3G-5A)
- RW Phil Kessel - 7pts (3G-4A)
- C Nick Bonino - 7pts (1G-6A)
- D Kris Letang - 6pts (1G-5A)
Miscellaneous Notes:
- The Pens haven't lost back to back games since Mid-January.
- C Evgeni Malkin has a 7-game point streak in the Verizon Center entering tonight.
- D Ben Lovejoy scored his first career playoff goal as a Penguin. He had two as a member of the Ducks.
#AskBigDave
It is a funny thing Joe, because the problem the Penguins defenseman had Thursday night was "tightening up" to an extent. The Penguins as a whole decided to play back and try not to lose this game. That style is actually supposed to make them play a "tighter" game defensively to prevent chances.
Well, that sure as hell didn't work.
Joe, what I want to see the Penguins do is play their game. They got a little to lazy and played east-west just a little too much for my liking. Because of this, the Penguins did not play their north-south game, didn't take advantage of their speed and thus didn't have the transition game that alleviates the pressure off the defensemen and goaltender.
If the Penguins play their game, get the puck deep, good transition, a north-south game, then the Penguins defense will "tighten up" because they won't have to spend much time playing defense. That is when this team is at it's best because, in all honesty, this defensive corps is really not that great in its own zone. The less time they spend in their end, the better this defense is going to look and the more likely the Penguins are going to get a result they want.
From Jonathan M. on Twitter: "Do you sit Olli Maatta, or do you play out his young struggle? Also when will NHL learn with guy like Tom Wilson?"
Jonathan, I'll start with Tom Wilson. The NHL and NHL Player Safety will never, NEVER learn what to do with guys like Tom Wilson. They are so piss-poorly run that they don't even know their own rules. To them, Tom Wilson is just playing "old time hockey," despite the fact that they are supposedly trying to get that kind of play out of the game. Things won't change with the refs, NHL or Player Safety until someone is either permanently injured or killed on the ice. Then they will act like it's the players fault and that they have been trying to change things. They are to blame solely.
Now, as for Olli Maatta. Yeah, I'm sorry but he's got to sit. I absolutely love the kid, and I think he is one of the team's most talented defensemen, but he is a complete dumpster fire right now. I give Mike Sullivan a ton of credit, he is trying let the kid work through his struggles, but the problem is he is struggling because he is out of gas. He is so fatigued that it is causing this level of play. He can't work through it, and the only way, besides being scratched, that he won't get exposed as often is if the Penguins play their game and don't fall back to not lose the game.
As I said, I think Maatta is the best player not named Letang on the blue line, but he isn't right now. I think Justin Schultz is more than capable to jump back in the lineup. He was solid with Ian Cole defensively and he provides a little more offensive fire power. I know he plays the wrong side, but then you simply move Daley to Letang's left, Lovejoy up with Dumoulin and then Cole and Schultz on the bottom line. Is it ideal? No, you'd prefer Olli in there, but not this Olli and not at this time of year.
From LetsTalkPens on Twitter: "Assuming #Pens lose this series. Or any series before the Cup, do you see any changes coming?"
To be quite honest, I don't really see any big moves coming. You have guys like Lovejoy, Cullen and Zatkoff as UFAs, and then guys like Schultz and Bennett as RFAs. Everyone else is under contract for a couple more years.
I don't see Lovejoy coming back. I think there are plenty of guys to fill his spot. Same with Zatkoff. I think Z may come back and end up in Wilkes-Barre, but with the likes of Murray, Jarry and, of course, Fleury, Zatkoff really has not spot anymore. I would love to see Matt Cullen come back, but I think there are several factors in that one happening.
Bennett should be gone too. He is completely worthless in my eyes. Let him walk. Schultz I would bring back at the right price. I think he is a solid bottom pair defenseman and could really be an asset moving forward, IF the price is right.
I don't see any huge deals coming either. Perhaps the Pens look to deal Kunitz to free up some cap room for down the road, but other than that I don't see any big deals coming.
But I have been wrong before...
Projected Lines and Pairs
- Conor Sheary - Sidney Crosby - Patric Hornqvist
- Carl Hagelin - Nick Bonino - Phil Kessel
- Chris Kunitz - Evgeni Malkin - Eric Fehr
- Tom Kuhnhackl - Matt Cullen - Bryan Rust
Pairs:
- Olli Maatta - Kris Letang
- Brian Dumoulin - Trevor Daley
- Ian Cole - Ben Lovejoy
Matt Murray should be between the pipes again tonight.
My 3 Keys to the Game
2. Attack!: The Penguins were playing not to lose Thursday, and they lost. Tonight, I want to see them on the attack from the opening puck drop to the final whistle. If the Penguins can spend the majority of time in the Caps zone and continually pressure Holtby, they can earn a win.
3. Don't Mess with the Lines: Sullivan was doing some line dancing over the last 20 minutes and the OT. I don't like that. I know Kunitz went down in the OT after taking the puck to the ear, but the Pens shuffled lines to the point where it took them out of their style of play even more. Go with the lines that work and be done with it.
My 3 Penguins to Watch
2. Ian Cole: Cole was solid in game one, but he can be better. I'd like to see him take more lanes away and get in front of a couple more shots. His blocking skills are best on this team, I'd like to see him block a few more tonight.
3. Eric Fehr: The former Capital needs to play like he did with them. He needs to be a physical presence, wear down the other side and be strong through the neutral zone and on the forecheck. Fehr has the game, he has the size, he needs to use it.
What to Know for Watching/Listening
- The game is NATIONALLY televised on NBCSN at 8:00pm tonight.
- Coverage should begin at 7:00pm on NBCSN with pregame coverage.
- ROOT Sports coverage is over for the season.
Here is what you need to know if you're LISTENING to tonight's game:
- 105.9 The X, the Penguins app, the Penguins website and iHeart Radio app are all places you can pick up the game tonight.
- Mike Lange and Phil Bourque will have the game call beginning at 8:00pm.
- Penguins Pregame will precede the game coverage at 7:00pm. Josh Getzoff will host.
- Penguins Hot Line will follow the game action.
Pens Points:
- Pens Radio Keyword: 5pts