Good evening/morning Penguins fans and welcome to the latest edition of the "View From Where I Sat." Tonight, the Penguins opened up their home stand by taking the first game from the Minnesota Wild. This is my take on the action, enjoy....
The Game in Review
After a dreadful weekend that saw the Pens drop four points to divisional opponents, the Penguins needed to come out with a sense of urgency and play a complete game. The Pens got off to a good start when just 1:58 into the game David Perron netted his second goal of the season. He put in a rebound from Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. Minnesota would answer ten minutes later. Phil Kessel and Brian Dumoulin were fighting along the boards for the puck. It squirted free and caught Ben Lovejoy, Perron and Malkin flat footed and Mikael Granlund scored his second of the year. At 15:41 Minnesota's Jason Pominville took a tripping penalty that gave the Penguins their second of three power play opportunities in the first period. The first unit generated some solid chances but it would be Beau Bennett who would find the back of the net when Evgeni Malkin fed him the puck in the slot. Bennett's third goal came via Malkin and Patric Hornqvist and would give the Pens the lead heading into the intermission.
The Pens have played dreadfully in the second period this year, but not on this night. Evgeni Malkin got things going when he scored a practically wide open goal from the right circle on the power play. The assist went to Kris Letang on Malkin's fifth goal of the season. Just three minutes later, Malkin struck again. Adam Clendening, who replaced a scratched Rob Scuderi on the third pair, put a stretch pass on the tape of Phil Kessel streaking up the left side. He dropped it off to Malkin who did a dipsy-doodle of a move to beat Devan Dubnyk like a rented mule for the second time in three minutes. In the middle of the period, a scary incident occurred when Minnesota's Nino Neiderreiter pushed Pens defenseman Olli Maatta from behind. Maatta went head first into the boards just as the door to the Wild bench was opening. Maatta's lower half struck the opening and he would need to be carried off the ice. The injury definitely had an affect on the team. The Wild would answer back at 16:23 when Jared Spurgeon slapped a one-time pass past Fleury on the power play. Minnesota would trail 4-2 going into the second break.
The Penguins would be down a man going into the third, and honestly down three men when Coach Johnston stopped playing Sergei Plotnikov and Daniel Sprong. The Penguins were a little sloppy in this period, taking three penalties, but Marc-Andre Fleury was solid. He would allow only one goal in the period, a power play tally by Mikko Koivu at the 2:24 mark. Otherwise, Flower shut the door and the Penguins took down the Wild by the score of 5 to 3.
My 3 Stars
2. Marc-Andre Fleury: The bobblehead Fleury was a star for sure, as was its human counterpart. Fleury was great in this game. Made some big saves and was really good even strength. He got beat for a pair of power play goals, but overall he was solid. Without him and Geno, the Pens probably don't win this game.
3. Phil Kessel: I thought Kessel was really good tonight. He posted five shots on goal, assisted Malkin's sexy goal and had two takeaways. His chemistry with Malkin and Perron was on full display tonight and they continue to play incredibly together. The Pens may switch up lines down the road, but this is one that should not be touched.
Making the Grade
Adam Clendening (B): I thought Clendening played incredibly well for being thrown in the lineup at the last minute. He took one penalty in the first, but got stronger as the game went on. His breakout pass that would lead to Malkin's second goal won't get a ton of talk, but I doubt Rob Scuderi makes that pass. He should see increased time if Maatta is out for any length of time. He is not as talented as Maatta, but he is a solid two-way defenseman and a definite upgrade over Scuderi.
Olli Maatta (N/A): An incredibly scary moment. Maatta had played well until he was forced from the game due to injury. According to PPG's Dave Molinari, Maatta was stretched out of the locker room and taken to a local hospital for possible damage to internal organs. I won't speculate on the injury past that or how long he could be out. Lets just hope that Maatta is ok and it's nothing too serious.
Matt Cullen (B-): He got called for a penalty that should never have been called (more on that later). Otherwise, Cullen was ok on this night. He was good on the PK but struggled in the faceoff circle.
Brian Dumoulin (B-): Dumoulin was consistent tonight, but didn't do much of anything to standout.
Pascal Dupuis (B): Duper was solid tonight. Posted a few shots, was good on the PK and created some chances with Sid and Hornqvist. Typical Duper night.
Ben Lovejoy (B-): He got caught flat footed on the Wild's first goal, but otherwise was solid. He has certainly cooled off after his hot stretch a few weeks back, but he was better tonight than he was in New Jersey.
Chris Kunitz (B-): Kunitz left a lot to be desired offensively, but he was a physical force once again. He registered a team high eight hits on the evening.
Eric Fehr (B-): He was outstanding on the PK, blocking four shots and forcing a takeaway. But he was lousy in the faceoff circle, winning just 36% of his draws. He too has cooled off since his hot start, but he was solid tonight for sure.
Beau Bennett (B): That was a beautiful goal from Bennett. A quick snipe from the slot on a nice pass by Malkin. I really like how Bennett tried to get shots on net at every opportunity. He didn't force too many shots, but when he got the lane he let it rip. I liked that.
Ian Cole (B): Cole's best game in weeks. He had three more blocks tonight but was called for a phantom penalty that resulted in a goal. Otherwise, solid night for Cole.
Daniel Sprong (C+): Didn't get much playing time. 8 total shifts if it was even that much.
David Perron (B+): I thought Perron was really good tonight. He got a goal early which helped his confidence, but then he went on to be a complete pain-in-the-ass for the Wild. He had four penalty minutes, which isn't good, but he was very solid out there and created numerous chances with Malkin and Kessel.
Kris Letang (B): I give him this grade because of what he did offensively. The two assists were big. After that, he struggled again defensively. He really needs to tighten up that part of his game. That being said, I'm wondering if he is running a little on empty, he played 29-plus minutes tonight.
Sergei Plotnikov (C+): Took another penalty, which was bad. Did have a couple decent hits, but like Sprong, didn't see the ice in the third period.
Evgeni Malkin (A+): See above
Patric Hornqvist (B+): I thought Horny was great again. Had the assist on the Bennett goal and also posted four hits. He was a monster in front of Dubnyk, which drew his eyre in his post game comments. That's what Hornqvist is here to do, create havoc out in front of goalies. He did it to perfection tonight.
Phil Kessel (B+): See above
Sidney Crosby (B): The Captain definitely got better as the game went on. Phil Bourque was very complimentary of him on the post game show and looking at the numbers Sid was solid. He didn't register a point, but he had three shots, four hits and a takeaway. I'd have loved to see a point, but Sid definitely had more jump tonight than we saw all weekend. So I'll take it.
My Thoughts on the Game
That being said, besides a few guys, I did not think this was an outstanding game by the home team. Don't get me wrong, Malkin and his line, Crosby and Hornqvist were really good. Flower was really good, but everyone else was pretty average. The Pens could have easily let this one slip away had it not been for Fleury and Malkin's big night.
I'm not saying they played poorly, but I don't think this is the earth-shattering win everyone will make it out to be. There are still a plethora of problems with this team, from player usage to the power play, that need to be worked out. Wins are always great, but they can often mask the negatives in the flow of the game.
The last minute scratching of Scuderi and Bonino were felt tonight. In the case of Bonino, it was a blow to the bottom six. Plotnikov has been far from good thus far, especially since he takes a lot of penalties, but he is no replacement for Bonino. On the other hand, Clendening's insertion in the lineup was a big positive. He looked very good tonight and the pass he made on the Malkin goal was beautiful.
Malkin, Fleury and Crosby were all very good. I loved that Malkin backed up his talk the last few days with a big night. Crosby looked better, but still didn't register a point. The latter sucks, but Sid was very good all-around on this night. Fleury was the reason the Pens won, again. He has been outstanding and better garner some Vezina votes come years end.
I am a little worried about the penalty kill. Not having Bonino hurt, but the PK let up two PP goals tonight and hasn't been very good over the last week. I hope that works itself out, but lets hope it doesn't take after the power play.
The power play was better tonight at times, but still struggled to enter the zone and forced passes. I know everyone will say, "But they scored two goals," which is true, but they still had problems that they have yet to work out, i.e. those cross-ice passes and their zone entries.
The Penguins got the win. It was a decent win, but I don't think this lets Mike Johnston off the hook just yet. Dejan Kovacevic wrote this morning that everyone in the organization is disenfranchised with the head coach. If that is the case, I can see a change still imminent.
My final thoughts are on the referring. That was one of the worst officiated I have ever seen. The play that Maatta was injured on should have been a penalty for boarding or whatever. Mikael Granlund dove twice, as did goaltender Devan Dubnyk. Both of them deserved Oscars for their performance. The worst part is is the refs bought it. I don't know the rule book front to back, but even I know an embellishment when I see it. The NHL needs to be held accountable for the ineptitude of their officiating crews. Unfortunately, the league is as clueless as the officials and nothing will change. As many say, hockey is the best game, but the NHL is the worst league. It's sad, but 100% true.
That will do it for me tonight. Thank you all for tuning into the Pregame and post game show. I hope you enjoyed it.
I will return Thursday night with a Pregame, so check in for that.
Have a good one everyone!