Hello Penguins fans, and welcome to the latest edition of the View From Where I Sat. The Penguins hosted the Montreal Canadiens tonight at Consol tonight. The took this game to make it 10 wins in their last 12 games.
This is the View From Where I Sat on Penguins/Habs tonight...
The Game in Review
Sidney Crosby found Pascal Dupuis in front of the goal just 13 seconds into the game. Dupuis, who missed the last two games due to health reasons, reentered the lineup and put the Penguins on top with his second goal of the season. His tally was the fourth fastest for a Penguin since 1996. The Pens controlled the flow for a few minutes, before Evgeni Malkin took a stupid, offensive zone penalty which gave Montreal a power play. The Habs would answer, with Andrei Markov netting his second of the year via PK Subban. Later in the period, Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury took an inadvertent Ben Lovejoy stick to the face. The Flower would leave the game for a few minutes while he got repaired, but would finish the period and the game. With forty-four seconds left, Phil Kessel fired a shot from the right circle that was redirected off Olli Maatta's knee. The redirection beat Habs netminder Mike Condon and gave the Penguins a 2-1 lead after one.
Then the Penguins went to hell in a hand basket. The second period would see the Penguins take two stupid, selfish penalties from their biggest stars and the Habs take the lead. Roughly seven minutes into the period, Alexei Emelin boarded Kris Letang into the offensive zone boards. The Habs rushed the puck out of their zone and got a 2-on-1 that ultimately beat Marc-Andre Fleury. In his next shift, Letang came out and went after the Habs' Paul Byron, putting the Pens down a man. Luckily, the Pens killed off that penalty. However, several minutes later the Canadiens took the lead when Bryan Flynn beat Marc-Andre Fleury on a goal that should have been stopped. Following the goal, Sidney Crosby cross-checked Tomas Fleischmann as he went back to the bench. The unsportsmanlike conduct penalty sent Crosby to the box and the Penguins to the end of the period down 3-2.
The Penguins had failed to come back to win a game in the third period under Mike Johnston. Their last win in such a situation was January 2014 against Winnipeg. The streak would finally be snapped tonight.
Patric Hornqvist, who I predicted in the Pregame would score one tonight, fired home a shot at the 13 minute mark. Hornqvist's third goal of the season tied up the game for the Penguins. At the 17:43 mark, Tom Gilbert of the Canadiens took a penalty to give the Pens a late power play. While the Penguins generated a few chances, they couldn't score. Regulation ended with both teams tied at three.
The overtime would see each team get solid chances. At the 2:34 mark, the Canadiens would be hit with a bench penalty for too many men. The Penguins would give it a good shot, but they wouldn't be able to beat Mike Condon. They would have to do it in the shootout.
Alex Galchenyuk was the first shooter. He failed to scored after Fleury poke-checked him just before he shot.
David Perron would be the Pens first shooter and net a wicked wrister past Condon.
David Desharnais was up next for the Canadiens. Unlike Galchenyuk, he would get a shot off. Unfortunately for him, Fleury would stack the pads and block his shot on goal.
Sidney Crosby came up next with a chance to end the game. He would do just that. Crosby netted the winner in the shootout with one of his nastiest backhands. The final would be 4-3 Penguins via the shootout.
My 3 Stars
2. Evgeni Malkin: After taking that stupid first period penalty, Malkin turned it on and was an absolute beast the rest of the game. He assisted on the Olli Maatta goal late in the first and had multiple opportunities of his own the remainder of the game. Malkin ended the night with an assist, four shots and four takeaways. Malkin was running on all cylinders tonight and has been most of the year. I love the way he is playing right now, even if he isn't posting a ton of points.
3. Phil Kessel: Frankly, he had a goal stolen from him in the first, but he gets the assist on it anyway. Kessel was really good again tonight. He also had seven shots on Mike Condon tonight and used his feet to create a lot of chances for himself and for the line. The Kessel acquisition has been great thus far and he is really finding his niche with Malkin.
Making the grade
Olli Maatta (B): Played well tonight. He got a goal on the redirect late in the first, but the biggest thing was him being paired with Letang in the third period. Both looked leaps and bounds better after the switch and I think if Johnston stays with that pair, Maatta will finally get going.
Rob Scuderi (B-): Scuds was petty invisible tonight, which is good for a defenseman to be. He was a plus-one, had a blocked shot and played well on the PK.
Matt Cullen (C+): Cullen was good on the PK tonight, but was hardly noticeable otherwise.
Brian Dumoulin (B): I thought Dumoulin was solid tonight again. He continues to get more and more comfortable with each game and I like when he joins the rush. He had a few solid chances.
Pascal Dupuis (B+): Got things off to a great start with a huge goal just thirteen seconds in. It is always good to have Duper in the lineup and he was solid tonight. Scored the goal and blocked three shots as well. Props to him, he's a true warrior.
Ben Lovejoy (B-): Hard to gage Benny tonight. While the stats say he was solid with 7 hits, 2 blocked shots and a plus-one, I felt this was far from his best game. I'm a bit befuddled with how to grade him tonight, so I'll go with this grade.
Nick Bonino (C): He was invisible tonight. Had a shot and a block but didn't see much else. Must be because he shaved his epic beard...
Chris Kunitz (B): I thought Kunitz played well tonight. He was really using his legs tonight and he looked good on almost every shift.
Eric Fehr (B-): Didn't do a ton tonight, but drew a big penalty in the third period. The power play couldn't convert, but it was good on Fehr to draw that penalty.
Beau Bennett (B): I thought he played pretty well tonight. He assisted on the Dupuis goal and looked pretty comfortable with Sid the rest of the game. I think Bennett can stick on the top line. As I said in the Pregame, he needs to avoid trying to do too much in this role and just let the game come to him. He has the speed and the vision to succeed with Sid, now they just need to do it.
Ian Cole (C): Cole was not good tonight, again. He was a minus-two and finally split from Letang. I think it'll be for the best for both of them.
Daniel Sprong (C): Saw only 8 minutes of him tonight and he created a few chances, but Johnston sent him out for one or two shifts in the 3rd. Unfortunate, he is definitely getting stronger with every passing game.
David Perron (B): Perron has looked much better with Malkin this second time around. He is using his speed to create chances and he was unlucky to hit the post twice tonight I believe. I love the line of him, Geno and Kessel. The Pens best over the last 8 games for sure.
Kris Letang (C+): I was not impressed with Letang tonight and frankly, I am furious with both him and Crosby for taking those penalties in the second period. He hasn't played well the majority of the season, and he was definitely boarded on the play that resulted in Montreal's second goal. That being said, he has absolutely no right to go out there and take that penalty on his next shift. It was completely selfish and he was lucky it didn't cost this team. Look, I love Letang and think he is an outstanding talent, but he needs to put the selfishness aside and grow up. He has no business taking that penalty. His grade is that low because of it. He played better in the third and in OT, but that is without a doubt caused by the switch in pairs to Olli Maatta. That better remain going forward.
Evgeni Malkin (A): See above.
Patric Hornqvist (A): See above.
Phil Kessel (A-): See above.
Sidney Crosby (C+): Just like Letang, Sid is getting a lower grade because of that selfish penalty. He may have assisted on two goals, but as the Captain and soul of this team, he has absolutely no right to take that penalty in the second period. He lost his cool and, again like Letang, is lucky it did not cost his team. I normally wouldn't make a big deal, but tonight I am. It is ridiculous and I am unimpressed.
Final Thoughts
- Again, I am absolutely furious with Letang and Crosby on those penalties. They both have struggled this year and both were frustrated tonight. I get that and I feel for them. However, they have absolutely no right to go and take those penalties. It's completely selfish. There is no place for it. They're lucky Mike Johnston isn't a hard coach because someone like Michel Terrien would have sat them on the bench for an extended period of time for it and I would've also. Keep your head and don't be stupid, period.
- Good on Mike Johnston for going into the room after that atrocious second period and laying into this team. He may be soft spoken and leaves the players to police themselves, but I give him a ton of credit for going in and giving them hell. He should do that more often and I'm very glad to see the Penguins respond to it. They played great in the third period as a result.
- I liked the top line of Bennett-Crosby-Dupuis. I think they played well together and should remain for another game or two. Duper is definitely what Sid needs and I think Bennett and Sid can mutually benefit from time together. We will see what happens on Friday, but I would keep them together.
- The Letang-Maatta pairing needs to remain. I have been disenfranchised with Letang-Cole for about five games now and tonight was the final straw. Maatta needs to be with Letang and Letang needs Maatta more than people realize. Look at Letang's first forty minutes compared to his last 20. Much better with Maatta than without. The pairing needs to remain and if Johnston doesn't do it then I will certainly be questioning him this weekend.
- The power play certainly looked better tonight even if it didn't strike. It still drives me crazy that Crosby goes to the right half-wall, but Malkin, Kessel and Hornqvist had some great chances on the advantage. I hope to see more out of them, for they are too talented to continue to struggle, but they did look a little better tonight.
That will do it for me tonight. I hope you enjoyed the Pregame and my latest edition of the View From Where I Sat.
Just a reminder, I will have Pregame shows for both Friday and Saturday, but NO post games for either one.
Thanks for stopping by and everyone enjoy the rest of their night, or if you're reading this on Thursday the rest of your day!