Good evening/morning everyone and welcome to the View From Where I Sat. Tonight, I provide my take on the Penguins second straight win as they took out the Colorado Avalanche 4-3. Lets get this show on the road...
The Game in Review
There were six total penalties in the first period tonight and plenty of shots from both sides. Both teams went down a man at 8:08 when Patric Hornqvist went to the defense of Sidney Crosby. Just seconds earlier, Colorado's Cody McLeod elbowed Crosby along the board. Sid took exception to it, as did his linemate. A scrum ensued and Hornqvist and McLeod got two a piece for roughing. Just 30 seconds later, Beau Bennett took a penalty for high-sticking to give the Avs a 4-on-3 power play. Luckily, the Penguins penalty kill was on point, stopping the Avs from producing anything. Pascal Dupuis later went for hooking and Cody McLeod again found himself in the box when he boarded Adam Clendening. Neither team scored on those opportunities, but the Avs would take the lead into the intermission. With just 40 seconds left, Pascal Dupuis was called for a weak interference penalty. Ten seconds later, Matt Duchene put home a rebound from Jarome Iginla to give the Avs a 1-0 lead. The shots were 13-10 Colorado at the intermission.
The Penguins came out hot in the second however. They generated chances early and got to Reto Berra in quick succession. First, David Perron redirected an Ian Cole point shot off his rump and passed Berra. Perron scored his second goal in consecutive games and his third on the season. Bennett got the secondary assist. Just two minutes later, Evgeni Malkin ripped home a one-timer from a perfectly placed Kris Letang pass on the man-advantage. Malkin now has goals in consecutive games as well as he, Letang and Kessel connected on this one at 7:04. Just forty second later, Chris Kunitz in on the action by scoring a wraparound goal on Berra. Kunitz's third of the year came from Nick Bonino at 7:43. The Penguins controlled the period, scoring three goals and outshooting Colorado 10-8.
The Penguins have struggled to control the flow in the final period with a two goal lead this year. They have won the majority of those games, but they have looked shaky. Tonight was another example of that. Tyson Barrie, the Avs stud defenseman, scored on a wrister from the point at 8:49. Former Penguin Jarome Iginla earned his second assist of the night on that goal. With a 3-2 lead with just over 10 to play, the Penguins hoped to control the situation before the Avs could tie it up. Luckily, the Captain took care of that when he beat two defenders to receive a breakaway pass from Pascal Dupuis. Crosby backhanded a shot five-hole on Berra to give the Pens another two goal lead. Dupuis earned his first assist of the season and Ian Cole his second of the night. Colorado would add one more goal late. Avs coach Patrick Roy pulled their goalie with over three minutes to play. At 18:37, Matt Duchene added his second goal of the night on a tic-tac-toe play. The Penguin defensemen were working in front of the net to stop this, but the three forwards decided to be spectators. Luckily, the Pens were able to shut the door and send Elvis home to earn their second consecutive win by the score of 4-3.
My 3 Stars
2. Ian Cole: Cole has been a little disappointing, especially over the last two-three weeks. Not tonight though. Cole played an outstanding game and looked incredibly comfortable paired with Adam Clendening. He added some offense too, posting two assists while blocking two shots in his own end. Cole is a good defenseman, but like Lovejoy last year, was being used in a manner that won't help him succeed. He needs to play 16-20 minutes a night to be a productive player for this team and that's what we got from him tonight.
3. Kris Letang: This is the best game Tanger has played in a few weeks. He got better as the game went on Tuesday, but he was sloppy with the puck and lowsy in his own end. Tonight, he was more stable and played pretty well defensively. He was responsible for losing Duchene on the PP goal in the first, but other than that played incredibly well in his own zone, especially on the PK. For the night, he posted an assist, three shots, four blocks and a takeaway. Letang needs to be better than he has been. He played well with Scuderi tonight, a role I was considerably concerned about before the game, but I still think he won't completely flourish until he has Olli Maatta back or the Pens make a move for a top-4 defenseman.
Making the Grade
Adam Clendening (B): I thought Clendening was really good tonight. He is a solid two-way defender and he showed that he is good at both ends of the ice. He posted two shots, a block, two takeaways and plus-1 rating. Clendening is a solid bottom pair defenseman. I think we will see him the next few games and I am completely fine with that.
Rob Scuderi (B): I won't lie, I was terrified that his pairing with 58 could be a complete dumpster fire. Instead, they provided the Penguins with a steady pair that complimented each other well. Scuderi was very good in his own end, which allowed Letang to join the rush. Scuds still doesn't fit this system and his best days are long gone, but on this night, he was very solid.
Matt Cullen (B-): Very good on the penalty kill, otherwise he was just average.
Brian Dumoulin (B): Dumoulin played a solid game tonight. He will get hit with the goal against, but that was not for a lack of effort. Dumoulin was good jumping into the rush and looked completely comfortable quarterbacking the second power play unit. On the night, he posted a shot, two hits and two blocks. Dumoulin will need to take another step forward in the absence of Olli Maatta. It's not fair to put that on him, but it is necessary at this time.
Pascal Dupuis (B-): He got called for a really weak penalty that led to a Colorado goal. The other penalty was questionable too, but regardless, Dupuis has to be smarter. He got the assist on the Crosby helper and looked ok otherwise. Duper still hasn't found his stride as of yet, but that isn't shocking considering he has missed most of the last two seasons.
Ben Lovejoy (B): Lovejoy is perfect for that second pair, shutdown role. He was solid again tonight, posting two hits, three blocks and even getting two takeaways. His penalty was weak and he was out there for the final goal against, but otherwise he was very good tonight.
Nick Bonino (B): Returned to the lineup after missing Tuesday's game. He played pretty well in his return. He assisted on Kunitz's goal and had three hits on the night.
Chris Kunitz (B): I thought this was one of Kuny's better games. He scored a nice wraparound goal, had two shots, two hits and two takeaways. Kunitz needs to produce more, especially considering the money he is getting paid. Tonight was a good start. He needs more games like this.
Eric Fehr (B-): Besides on the PK, like Cullen, Fehr was average tonight. I would like to see more out of him.
Beau Bennett (B-): Bennett got the assist, but he also took a stupid penalty in the first period to give the Avs a 4-on-3 power play. Bennett has played well overall on the season, so I have no real complaints, but his defensive game was weaker tonight.
Ian Cole (A-): See above.
David Perron (B+): Perron scored another goal tonight. Though it went off what his mama gave him, it still counts all the same. Perron is going to the areas and doing the grunt work. He has played well most of the season, but especially since being reunited with Malkin and Kessel. I think we may see more solid play from him in the near future.
Kris Letang (A-): See above.
Sergei Plotnikov (B-): I thought this was his best game. He had several solid scoring chances and was unlucky not to find the back of the net in the second period. On the night, he had two shots and a hit in just over 7 minutes. Unlike every other game, he did not take a penalty tonight either, which was a step in the right direction. I'd like to see Johnston give Plotnikov and Sprong more ice time, but I doubt that will happen any time soon.
Evgeni Malkin (B+): I thought Geno was solid again tonight. He took a step back from his #BeastMode game Tuesday, but he was still good. He got his seventh of the year and yet another power play tally. That's great for him and the team. He was a minus-two though which were due to his standing around watching the play instead of engaging. Overall, solid night for Geno offensively, but lax defensively.
Patric Hornqvist (B): Another typical Hornqvist night. A complete pain in front of Berra and posted 4 shots and a block that might have rattled his chicklets a little bit. What I wouldn't give for just one more of him on this team.
Phil Kessel (B): Like Malkin, he got another power play point when he assisted Geno's tally. He also posted 3 shots on the night which is always good. However, he was out there for a goal against as well. While I'm happy with Kessel's play to this point, I'm not losing my mind over it. He can be better and I hope he clicks it into another gear soon.
Sidney Crosby (A): see above.
My Final Thoughts
- The Scuderi-Letang pairing was far from a disaster. In fact, it worked quite well. Because Scuds stays back, Letang seemed more free with his joining the rush. That made Letang look more like, well, Kris Letang. I don't like this pairing long term, but for now, I don't have a problem of the polar opposites playing together, at least after tonight.
- The Penguins still take far too many power plays. The refs called a pretty crappy game, again, tonight, but that still isn't an excuse. Giving up five power play opportunities is a cause for concern, because against a good team, it could mean a loss.
- The Power Play is getting better. They got another one tonight, but they still need better zone entries. That is my biggest complaint about it over the entire season.
- I am a still not happy with the player usage of Mike Johnston. He is completely misusing Sprong and even though Plotnikov isn't exactly Boris Mikhailov, he is no scrub either. Johnston needs to trust some of these guys otherwise, he is going to completely defeat the purpose of having four scoring lines. That is all on the head coach, just another reason I don't believe he is a fit with this team.
- To continue on the last thought, I am still not ready to take Johnston off the hot seat. The Pens have gotten two wins and have played better, but they are still underachieving. I put that for the most part on his system. It doesn't work for this group of guys.
- Finally, I am concerned with the Pens third period play. They once again looked shaky come down the stretch and gave up another late goal. I would like to see them tighten up and play better defense in the last 5-10 minutes of the game. They have gotten sloppy the last two games and that will most certainly cost them against a great team.
That will do it for me tonight everyone.
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Alright, that's it. Have a good one everyone and #LetsGoPens.