"Intimidation?" In today's NHL? Please.
Fighting is nearly extinct. Despite Tom Wilson's latest hit, physical play is markedly down. Even the cookie cutter arenas are all the standard 200 x 85 dimensions. Right?
"Intimidation in today's game is more about the threat to score and the threat to win and how good a power play is or the speed of a team," Mike Sullivan was saying Saturday morning. "Those things, to me, can be intimidating factors. I think the game has evolved so much, it's a different game today."
The Penguins' opponents tonight, the Flyers, had long prided themselves in intimidation and physical play. But even they have gotten away from their Broad Street Bully past.
The Flyers went 21 games -- Nov. 21 vs. Buffalo -- before even earning their first fighting major this season. They've now had three scraps, meaning that 26 other teams have had as many or more. Though they are the sixth-most penalized team at 10:02 per game, they are 13th in hits (560) .
That lack of passion, grit and wins -- they are 10-12-2 and in last place in the Eastern Conference, six points out of a wildcard spot -- helps explain this week's shakeup in Philadelphia, where the Flyers are being tuned out in droves. Ron Hextall is out as GM and coach Dave Hakstol is likely to soon follow.
With the Flyers fighting for their playoffs lives and many of them for their jobs, it's fair to believe the Penguins can expect a return of some vintage Flyers tonight, right? Ah, maybe not.
"Not a team that's desperate but a team that's trying to prove themselves," is how Jamie Oleksiak put it to me. "We're kind of in the same boat in terms of proving what we can do. Both teams are trying to prove something and, obviously, a little bit of an in-state rivalry there."
Indeed, it was just 10 days ago that some in Pittsburgh were calling for wholesale changes during the Penguins' skid of nine losses in 10 games. Though the Penguins appear to have gained some traction, winning three of their last five, they, too, are still on the outside of the playoff field.
With that in mind, could we see a fight or two tonight? Perhaps.
But intimidation won't be a factor. The Flyers have no one on the roster who checks that box. There's no Dave Shultz, Paul Holmgren, Dave Brown, Rick Tocchet, Craig Berube or Dan Carcillo to be found.
In an informal poll of Penguins players, they named Ryan Reaves, Dustin Byfuglien, Zdeno Chara and Oleksiak -- all large people -- as the few players who are still capable of intimidating.
"There's a few guys who have that presence but with teams trying to get faster and deeper up and down their lineup, that's kind of gone away with," Bryan Rust said.
"I think you can demoralize teams or frustrate teams, but you're not going to be intimidated," Jack Johnson said.
Has hatred, as John Tortorella recently opined, been lost from the game forever? No, it's still Flyers and Penguins. No matter the record or circumstances, it's still a rivalry.
"He's always good for sound bytes here and there, right?" Oleksiak said. "I don't know. I can't speak of what the NHL was like before. I'm sure back in the day, he 's more familiar with what it was like. There's still emotions out there. Guys are still very competitive. You have to be to be in this league. I don't know about hatred but there's definitely emotion that can run through a game. I don't think rivalries have been lost."
THE ESSENTIALS
THE INJURIES
• Penguins: Matt Murray, goalie, is out longer term with an upper body injury. … Matt Cullen, center, is out longer term with a lower-body injury. ... Justin Schultz, defenseman, is expected to miss four months after fracturing his leg Oct. 13 in Montreal.
• Flyers: Corban Knight, center, has missed 13 games with a dislocated collarbone and is expected to be out another three months. ... Brian Elliott, goalie, has been out since Nov. 16 with a lower body injury.
THE SKATE
• Word and video of Wilson's latest misdeed certainly made the rounds around the Penguins' dressing room but no one had much to say about it.
The Capitals' uber-pest, who was nine games removed from serving a 20-game -- reduced to 14-game -- suspension, was dealt a five-minute major for an illegal hit to the head of the Devils' Brett Seney on Friday night. The league announced on Saturday that Wilson would not face supplementary discipline.
Crosby on Tom Wilson non-suspension: “it is what it is.” #dkps #penguins pic.twitter.com/j85picEjV1
— Chris Bradford (@PghBradford) December 1, 2018
Obviously, the Penguins have had their own past issues with Wilson, who notably concussed Brian Dumoulin and Zach Aston-Reese in last year's second-round playoff series.
"He's got a rap sheet," said Johnson. "Everyone views him as a dangerous because he can do things like that. You don't really know, any position if you're going to get hit. You're also aware him of when he's out there."
• A day after returning to practice in full, Patric Hornqvist participated in the morning skate, clearing the way for his return after missing the previous two games with a concussion. Technically, he's a game-time decision. Though the Penguins' first power play unit was still loaded with talent, it went 1-for-5 in his absence.
"Just getting loose pucks and competing in front of the net, that's what he's really good at," Crosby said.
• Crosby, who has 93 points in 63 games against the Flyers, says he expects to see a lot of Philadelphia's top line which pairs left winger Claude Giroux with center Sean Couturier.
"They both got a lot of offense to their game, but they play well defensively and they're responsible there too," Crosby said. "You just have to be ready to compete like anybody. Defensively you have to be aware too."
Giroux has 45 points in 44 games against the Penguins while Couturier had a five-point game against Pittsburgh in last spring's Game 6 series-clincher at Wells Fargo Center. Couturier played that game on a torn MCL.
• After not taking the ice Friday for maintenance, Tanner Pearson practiced and will play.
• Only Kris Letang, Dumoulin and Phil Kessel did not take the ice for the morning skate.
• Once Johnson returned from Denver on Thursday morning, he was immediately whisked away to the dentist's chair where he had to have three of his teeth repaired after taking a high stick from the Avalanche's Alexander Kerfoot. Johnson, who didn't get home until 7:30 a.m., believed his mouth guard saved him from further damage.
• Casey DeSmith will start in goal. It'll be his third start in the last four games and the first of his career against the Flyers.
THE OTHER SIDE
• The Flyers held a brief optional skate Saturday morning at PPG Paints Arena.
• The Penguins will get their first look at Flyers goalie Anthony Stolarz, a "veteran" of all of five career starts. Sullivan said it doesn't affect his team's preparation, no matter if Bernie Parent or Stolarz is in goal.
"With all due respect to our opponents, the main focus has always been on our own team and how we play in order to give ourselves the best chance to win regardless of who we play or who is in goal," he said.
Stolarz is one of two North Jersey natives on the Flyers. James van Riemsdyk is the other Garden State native.
• In a sign that the Flyers might be beefing up for a more physical game, Jori Lehtera is back in the lineup after being scratched in five of the last six games. Jordan Weal is out and Dale Weise is in.
THE COMBINATIONS
• Here's an educated guess at the Penguins' lines and pairs based on what was seen in practice and who's available:
Guentzel — Crosby — Simon
Pearson — Malkin — Hornqvist
Aston-Reese — Brassard — Kessel
Rust — Sheahan — Grant
(Sprong)
Dumoulin — Letang
Maatta — Riikola
Johnson — Oleksiak
• The Flyers lines and pairs:
Giroux -- Couturier -- Konecny
van Riemsdyk -- Patrick -- Simmonds
Voraceck -- Laughton -- Raffl
Lehtera -- Lindblom -- Weisse
Provorov -- Hagg
Gostisbehere -- Folin
Sanheim -- Gudas
THE SCHEDULE
Faceoff tonight is at 7:08 p.m. The Penguins are off Sunday and will practice Monday at at PPG Paints Arena then host the Avalanche at 7:08 p.m. on Tuesday.
THE COVERAGE
Visit our Penguins team page for everything.