Matt Nieto had choices.
Hang on, let me rephrase that: He had one choice. One. He needed to dump the puck deep.
Instead, he did this:
— DK Pittsburgh Sports (@DKPSvideos) October 25, 2023
A fourth-liner with no points and, really, no palpable purpose in the lineup has no choice but to dump that puck deep. Double that with his team down a goal in the third period. And he still chose wrong.
Erik Karlsson had choices, too.
Three fine ones, actually, in Sidney Crosby, Bryan Rust and, as a trailer, Jake Guentzel. But he'd eschew all of them in favor of this:
— DK Pittsburgh Sports (@DKPSvideos) October 25, 2023
Even someone of his titanic talent isn't about to Denis Savard his way through a triangle of defenders. And another possession went poof.
Sid had choices.
He took this shot on the power play ...
— DK Pittsburgh Sports (@DKPSvideos) October 25, 2023
... even though a living legend of his elite vision and awareness had to know he had no chance of sneaking a long-range, unscreened wrister past a goaltender of Jake Oettinger's caliber and, more relevant here, even though Rust wasn't close enough for a tip, and even though Guentzel and Evgeni Malkin made no move toward Oettinger. Guentzel actually just kinda glided away. No skate-stop. No snow. No semblance of net-front urgency.
Geno had choices:
— DK Pittsburgh Sports (@DKPSvideos) October 25, 2023
A veteran NHL evaluator, someone who knows more about hockey than the rest of us will ever forget -- combined -- shared with me an observation about this sequence that was too profane to print. And that evaluator was completely correct: This power play, with this obscene level of talent, constantly kills itself by kicking the puck backward rather than ... you know, whipping around and ramming it on net. As Geno could've done. As others out there could've pounced up, had they been operating with their semblances of urgency.
Crap. Absolute crap. All of the above, and still so much more from this third lousy loss in a row Tuesday night at PPG Paints Arena, not least of which that the season record's now 2-4.
I don't care that the home team was "terrific" in the first period, per Mike Sullivan's accurate assessment. I don't care that Oettinger was a deserving No. 1 star with 38 saves or that Reilly Smith saw him as the singular difference, telling me, "He's a world-class goaltender. I don't think we had bad looks. I think he made big saves." And I definitely don't care that the Penguins outshot the Stars, 39-35, and out-attempted them, 73-62.
The object of the game, since road trips spanned Canada by dog sled, has been to score more goals than the other guys.
And within that, no less consistent throughout hockey history, there are places where the game's won and where the game's lost.
Lars Eller, one of the few Penguins who performed as if he'd ever heard of any of this, told it like it was afterward.
“Gotta go home, come back tomorrow, go to work and look at areas we can improve," he'd begin his session at his stall. "Get our attitude and work boots on for next game.”
I asked him to clarify:
— DK Pittsburgh Sports (@DKPSvideos) October 25, 2023
“I think today, the difference was that they win two battles inside the blue paint. The times the puck was there for us, we didn’t win those battles. I also don’t think we got the puck there enough. I think today that was the difference. A couple battles inside the blue paint, they win, we don’t, and shows on the scoreboard.”
Yep.
This was the lone Pittsburgh goal, highlighted by an aggressive zone entry and Rust driving for the net as if his life depended on it:
— DK Pittsburgh Sports (@DKPSvideos) October 25, 2023
That's how to beat Oettinger. Or anyone.
Hockey can be beautiful like that, but it also can be ugly ... with beautiful results, as the Stars would illustrate with three of their goals coming off broken or semi-broken plays within millimeters of Alex Nedeljkovic's crease.
Count the white sweaters, then the black sweaters in each scene:
— DK Pittsburgh Sports (@DKPSvideos) October 25, 2023
— DK Pittsburgh Sports (@DKPSvideos) October 25, 2023
— DK Pittsburgh Sports (@DKPSvideos) October 25, 2023
That's how an early 22-9 edge in shots transforms into a three-goal loss.
"Yeah, it was a good start," Marcus Pettersson would say. "But they're a tough team. They're a big, physical team. I think we didn't really get on the inside on them, and we couldn't keep them off the inside on us. That was the difference tonight, I think, in front of the net."
Yep again.
I ran the concept past Rust, too:
— DK Pittsburgh Sports (@DKPSvideos) October 25, 2023
“I think we needed to try to get some dirtier goals," he'd respond. "I think we needed to try to get some more bodies in front, try to get some rebound chances, try to get some screens. We had a little bit of it, but we didn’t have enough.”
Yep, Part III.
I asked Sullivan, who'd previously stated already this season that he didn't see the net-front as the Penguins' main issue in scoring only 17 goals through these six games, not to mention the power play being 2 for 16, what's now got to happen to improve the finishing.
"I think there are things that we can do to increase our chances, like fighting for the blue paint, making the goalie’s sight-lines difficult, creating broken plays," he'd reply. "A lot of times, those broken plays are the hardest ones to defend, because it forces a lot of decision-making and hesitation. The goaltenders have to fight to find the puck in the chaos."
Like Dallas' goals, I interjected, in this one?
"Yeah. When you looked at the goals that they scored, they're right at the blue paint. I think we can do a little bit of a better job as far as getting there, and I think if we do, we'll create more of those broken-play opportunities. I think our guys do their best work when they fight for those loose pucks, because they have good instincts and they can see the opportunities that are created off of it.”
OK, but that sure comes across as more complicated than it needs to be.
The team's got a practice scheduled for Thursday, noon, at this same place. And if I'm the one with the whistle about my neck, here's what I've got going:
• Nieto, Noel Acciari and Jeff Carter, the distant-fourth line, get a collective reminder that zero goals and zero assists isn't exactly OK for any forwards on any line through a half-dozen games. And that, if they don't at least start posing as a fourth line in any way at all -- defending, checking, anything -- they'll be out of the lineup faster than Nieto gave that puck away up there.
• I'm sending everyone in the entourage, even the equipment guys, into the goaltenders' respective kitchens. Every drill. Every shot of every drill.
• I'm meeting with the power-play participants afterward and letting them know they've had their time to do it their way, and now we're doing it my way: Karlsson shoots, and forwards mass in front. Kris Letang, who'd be back on my top unit, shoots, and forwards mass in front. Acquiring someone of Karlsson's magnitude, then not working with his trademark skill -- finding forwards down low for tips, redirects, rebounds -- is stupidity on a scale that rivals trying Jarome Iginla at left wing. And any forward who doesn't follow this plan gets to partake in all 20 seconds of PP2's time on the ice.
Egos be damned.
Playing like stars isn't working. Playing like the Stars would.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Live file
• Scoreboard
• Standings
• Statistics
• Schedule
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE THREE STARS
As selected at PPG Paints Arena:
1. Jake Oettinger, Stars G
2. Jason Robertson, Stars LW
3. Thomas Harley, Stars D
THE INJURIES
• John Ludvig was hurt midway through the second period upon colliding face-first into the helmet of the Stars' Radek Faksa. He didn't return. Taylor Haase has details in our Penguins Feed.
THE LINEUPS
Sullivan’s lines and pairings:
Jake Guentzel-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust
Reilly Smith-Evgeni Malkin-Rickard Rakell
Drew O'Connor-Lars Eller-Radim Zohorna
Matt Nieto-Noel Acciari-Jeff Carter
Ryan Graves-Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson-Erik Karlsson
Ryan Shea-John Ludvig
And for Pete DeBoer's Stars:
Jason Robertson-Roope Hintz-Joe Pavelski
Jamie Benn-Wyatt Johnston-Evgenii Dadonov
Mason Marchment-Matt Duchene-Tyler Seguin
Ty Dellandrea-Radek Faksa-Craig Smith
Ryan Suter-Miro Heiskanen
Esa Lindell-Nils Lundkvist
Thomas Harley-Jani Hakanpää
THE MULTIMEDIA
THE SCHEDULE
The Penguins will practice Wednesday, 12 p.m., at PPG Paints Arena. ave Monday off. The next game's Thursday night, same place, against the Avalanche.
THE CONTENT
Visit our Penguins Feed for everything.