Across the board, the Penguins' defense didn't have a stellar game during Tuesday night's 6-5 overtime loss against the Bruins.
Standing out among the rest was P.O Joseph, who might have played his best game of the season. With him on the ice at 5-on-5, the Penguins outscored the Bruins 1-0, and out-attempted them 20-6 while controlling a stellar 95% of the expected goals.
It's apparent that Joseph is becoming increasingly comfortable as he settles into being an everyday player. Just look at his subtle -- but oh-so important -- work to prevent the Bruins from breaking out of the zone cleanly in the first period:
Controlling both blue lines is of paramount importance in every hockey game, but is sometimes overlooked. Here, Joseph shows how doing so can have such a big impact.
With the Bruins gaining possession, Joseph essentially had to staple himself to the boards at the blue line in case of an attempt to chip the puck past him. When the puck was moved to the middle of the ice, Joseph quickly shaded over to make a play on the carrier. The important thing here is that he stood his ground and didn't sink very far into the neutral zone as he shifted over. He also positioned himself as to funnel the carrier wide if he were to get beat.
With strong back pressure from the forwards, the Penguins were immediately able to counterattack the other way. A nifty passing sequence later and Bryan Rust was all alone and nearly found the back of the net. All because of a seemingly insignificant play from Joseph to clamp down on the Bruins' transition.
Next time a team is struggling or playing well, pay close attention to whether or not they are making it difficult for the opposition to gain both blue lines, and whether or not they are able to gain both blue lines themselves.