The Pens dropped the first game of the Mike Sullivan era, but that may be the furthest thing from their minds at this time with the other news that came out tonight. Lets jump right in and get through it all folks, we have a lot to talk about. A debut, a touching tribute, a loss and a trade. Strap yourselves in...
The Game in Review
The Penguins took warmups with the intentions of not having any changes to the lineup. However, just before puck drop, the Penguins announced that defenseman Rob Scuderi would be a late scratch tonight in favor of youngster Adam Clendening. The Penguins jumped out in this first game under a new coach Mike Sullivan, creating several outstanding chances early but being stoned by Washington netminder Braden Holtby. About four minutes in, the Pens would fall behind when Nicklas Backstrom beat Marc-Andre Fleury. TJ Oshie got his first of many points tonight when he assisted Backstrom along with Karl Alzer. Three minutes later, the Caps would add another to take a 2-0 lead. The second goal came from defenseman John Carlson at the 7:04 mark. During the first break in play, the Penguins played an outstanding tribute to Pascal Dupuis who was in attendance tonight with his entire family. An excellent seen to behold, he got an incredibly loud ovation from the Consol faithful and you could tell he was fighting back tears. A few minutes later, the Penguins cut the lead in half when Ben Lovejoy released a shot from the right circle that was redirected by Evgeni Malkin. Malkin's 14th goal of the season gave the Penguins some renewed life but the Pens would go into the intermission down by one. Before the period was out, Beau Bennett would be hit awkwardly into the boards by TJ Oshie. Bennett would come up holding his shoulder and would not return to the game.
The second period saw the Penguins level drop a bit. They were definitely running high on adrenaline in the first, but were more down to earth in the second. Neither team scored, but that doesn't mean there weren't plenty of chances. Washington posted 14 points in the period; the Pens peppered Holtby with 16. Regardless, the period would remain relatively quiet and no goals would be scored.
The third period saw the Capitals deliver the fatal blow. TJ Oshie continued his big night when he got his first goal of the period at the 8:50 mark. Nicklas Backstrom would assist Oshie's ninth of the season, and his 10th when he scored again at the 19:11 mark. The 4-1 scored would be enough and the Penguins would drop the first game in the Mike Sullivan era.
During the third period, it was announced why Rob Scuderi was a late scratch tonight. He had been traded to the Chicago Blackhawks for defenseman Trevor Daley in a straight-up deal. I'll look more into that later in this piece.
My 3 Stars
2. Evgeni Malkin: Geno scored the lone goal in Sullivan's debut. He posted 4 shots and added a block too. His 14th goal tonight was also his 12th goal at home this season, which is a great thing to note as well. Malkin needs to be huge going forward. He is going to have to use his speed and skill and create chances for himself to take games over. It will be huge for the team and could be reminiscent of what he did in 2009 when there was a mid-season coaching change and he went on to win the Art Ross. He may not win that trophy, but he needs to play at that level going forward.
3. Marc-Andre Fleury: Didn't really know who to give this star to, but I went with Flower even though he gave up four goals. Flower was left out to dry often by his defensemen tonight, who often pinched and led to Washington odd-man rushes. He held his own pretty well, but he can't be ironclad every night. He played well, even if he gave up four goals.
Making the Grade
Adam Clendening (C+): The young defenseman played alright considered he was tossed in the lineup at the very last moment. I don't know if he even took the warmup. He played only 10:01 tonight, but he was pretty good when he was out there. I want to see this kid get more playing time, but the trade for Trevor Daley could limit that going forward. Time will tell, but I'm not disappointed with what Clendening gives us in his limited play.
Olli Maatta (A): see above.
David Warsofsky (B-): He was a bit too sloppy defensively tonight. I love the way he joins the rush and tries to create offense, but he needs to pick and choose his spots a little better. I should also note, he wasn't the only Pens defenseman guilty of that. He played 20:47 tonight, which is big and over 2 minutes on the PP. Warsofsky will likely remain in the lineup because of his power play acumen, but I wouldn't mind seeing him sit for Clendening every now and then.
Matt Cullen (B-): I thought Cullen was solid tonight. He was solid defensively and good on the PK. His 73% success rate in the faceoff circle was best amongst the Penguins. Cullen is playing solid hockey and I expect him to play at this level moving forward. He is capable of doing that.
Brian Dumoulin (B-): I really love how Dumoulin has evolved this season. Tonight, he was really jumping up into the rush and trying to make things happen offensively. I have absolutely no problem with him doing that, especially if that is was Sullivan wants him to do. However, he needs to be a little smarter for tonight he got caught often that led to odd-man rushes. He needs choose those moments better. But overall, I love what Dumo is doing. He led the team in ice time with 26:11 with two shots and a block.
Ben Lovejoy (B-): Lovejoy was guilty of jumping up into the offensive zone a little too much. He got exposed because of it often tonight. He did get the assist on Geno goal and had four blocks on the night, so it wasn't all bad for him tonight. Like Dumoulin, he just needs to pick his spots more carefully.
Nick Bonino (B-): Bonino was alright. I loved that he dropped the gloves in the second, and he threw the body around a bit too. But he didn't post any points again and even with the revolving door of wingers he needs to be more present offensively moving forward.
Chris Kunitz (B): Kunitz wasn't bad. He led the team with hits again with 8, and posted 4 shots, but he once again missed a prime, open net opportunity that could have tied the game in the second period and changed the whole game. Kunitz gives Crosby comfort, but he doesn't have the hands to finish like he once did. With Bennett's injury, I doubt he gets moved to a different line, but I'd rather see him with Bonino, than with Crosby.
Eric Fehr (C+): Fehr was solid tonight, but I feel like I didn't see a ton from him. He only had one hit and two shots, but other than on the PK I don't feel like I saw him much.
Beau Bennett (N/A): Bennett left in the first and did not return. The report is he will miss some time with an upper-body injury which is unfortunate because he has played well of late and with Sid.
Ian Cole (B-): Like the rest of the defensemen, Cole was guilty of jumping up a few times. He got caught and it ended up costing the Penguins. He had four shots and two blocks, but he was a minus tonight. He has struggled of late, and I wouldn't be shocked to see him get scratched to get his head right over the next week.
Daniel Sprong (C+): The kid was alright tonight. We saw him play 8:58 tonight, which was a little less than I expected. He was a little sloppy with the puck, but he wasn't as dynamic as he has been in other games. With Bennett out, I wouldn't be against seeing him play up with Malkin or Crosby, at least for a little while to see what he's got.
David Perron (B-): Perron was his typical self tonight. Four hits, four shots, used his speed. No points to speak of, but he was not bad to say the least.
Sergei Plotnikov (C+): Didn't really see him tonight besides for a few hits. Didn't make much of an impact.
Evgeni Malkin (B+): see above.
Patric Hornqvist (B): I thought Hornqvist was solid tonight. He had four shots and four hits, which was great. However, he did not post any points and if he's going to be with Sid he's got to start posting up points. I hope they get a chance in a freer-flowing system to replicate how they played at the beginning of last year.
Phil Kessel (B): We saw Kessel use his speed tonight, but we still aren't seeing him shoot enough. Just two shots tonight and he fanned on a couple chances. I'd love to see the lines switched up and see him back with Sid for a while. If the system is more free-flowing, maybe they can find something and start pounding pucks into the back of the net.
Sidney Crosby (B+): I thought Sid was really good tonight. He had three hits and four shots, but more importantly, he was flying tonight. Sid was really using his legs tonight and created a bunch of quality chances. It will be interesting to see who will be on his wing now that Bennett is gone, but regardless of who it is, Sid, like Geno needs to be like the MVP he was just two years ago.
Daley In, Scuderi Out
Rutherford spoke with the media after the game that he wanted to get a puck moving defenseman and Daley has been available for about a month now. Rutherford said they have been interested since the name became available and trading Scuds in this deal was put together in the last 48 hours. Scuderi did not need to waive his no-movement clause to make this deal happen.
The deal works out well for both teams. The Blackhawks like stay-at-home, veteran defenseman who can be great in the room. They get that in Rob Scuderi. While he is past his prime, especially in the Penguins system, he can fit in to what the Hawks like to do. I'm sure he will find some success in Joel Quenneville's team.
Now, what are the Penguins getting in Trevor Daley? Here is everything you need to know about Daley:
- 32-year-old, two-way defenseman. He has good speed and can move the puck very well, perfect for what the Penguins are looking to do.
- 11-year veteran of the NHL. Daley played for the Dallas Stars from 2003 until 2015 when he was traded to Chicago in the Patrick Sharp deal.
- He is a big-bodied defenseman. He comes in at 5'11" 200lbs which is good for the Penguins.
- He is a veteran presence and had served as an alternate captain in Dallas.
- Daley had 16 goals last season for Dallas, 5th most amongst defenseman in 2014-15 and 6 of them came on the man advantage.
- For his career, Daley has played in 756 games, scored 67 goals and 237 points over 12 seasons.
- This season with Chicago he had six assists and a plus-one rating in 29 games.
- His contract runs through the 2016-17 season and will be a cap hit of 4.425 because of the retention of the Scuderi contract.
I think this could be a good move for the Penguins. Daley gives them the puck moving defenseman with good speed that they required. He is a left handed shot that can play both sides comfortably.
I see Daley pairing with Ian Cole and creating a solid third pairing.
I don't know if this should end the Penguins search for a top-4 defenseman. Rutherford said he won't make any more moves in the immediate future so Mike Sullivan can get this group settled and working under his vision. That is fair, and it will give the Pens an idea of what Daley brings. If they need to make a move afterward, then they will know exactly what they need and what they can get.
My Final Thoughts
- I really liked the way the Penguins forwards played tonight. They registered 41 shots on net and fired 79 total shots tonight in this game. That is fantastic and definitely more free-flowing than what they were doing under Mike Johnston. I want to see them continue to play this way in the offensive zone every night.
- I also like the fact that the Penguins defensemen were pinching more, but I think they need to be smarter about doing it. In the first period, they gave up too many odd-man rushes with their pinching, but as the game went on they did better with it. I think that will be huge going forward for the Pens. We will see.
- Overall, I really like what the Penguins did. I can see what Mike Sullivan wants this team to do and we saw the foundations of what they will build to do. Remember, Rome was not built in a day and the Penguins will not right this ship in one or two games. They will need a few more practices and a few more games, but they should be able create a system that should benefit the likes of Crosby, Malkin and frankly, everyone on the roster.
- The injury to Beau Bennett hurts. He may not have been a point-per-game player, but he has been creating chances and shooting the puck on net. It is disappointing to see him hurt again, but it gives the Penguins an opportunity to change up their lines and try to create something new with Sullivan pulling the strings.
- I would like to see the Pens move Kessel back up to Sid's line for a few games and see what happens with them together in this style of game. Move Hornqvist up to the second line with Geno and Perron and let Kunitz stay with Sid for now. On the third, I'd go with Bonino and Sprong and whoever they call up from Wilkes-Barre to replace Beau. Then leave Plotnikov-Cullen-Fehr resume their solid play together.
- Speaking of call ups, the Penguins will need to call someone up from WBS now with Bennett out. I'd like to see Connor Sheary come up and play with Sprong and Bonino. If not Sheary, then Scott Wilson who has been outstanding for the Baby Pens.
- The Trevor Daley deal will be interesting. He isn't Nicky Lindstrom, but he can score and has good feet. If he can be solid in his own zone, the Penguins should have a solid option to pair with Ian Cole for the remainder of the season.