The opening of the third period was a bit of a surprise. Stuart Skinner had started, stopping 17 of 21 shots. But it was Arturs Silovs who played the third, stopping seven of nine shots.
Skinner wasn't injured, but it wouldn't be entirely accurate to say he was yanked, either.
"It was something we had talked about before the game," Dan Muse said. "I discussed with the staff about it. Not necessarily saying anything was set in stone, but if there was an opportunity that presented itself to get both guys some work, that's something that we were looking to do. Just decided to, we started giving up more than we needed to."
That's a nice way to put it -- they were making things rough on Skinner. Ilya Solovyov had a turnover that led to a goal. Jake Livanavage, in his NHL debut,got walked and spun around on a St. Louis rush before a goal. Joona Koppanen screened Skinner. Once Silovs came in, that didn't change -- Jack St. Ivany had a turnover that led to a goal, and the Solovyov-Ryan Graves pairing conceded a breakaway that led to another.
Could they have gotten more out of the goaltending than 24 saves on 30 shots? Sure. But they absolutely got hung out to dry.
The good news? None of those players who made those mistakes really projected to be in the Game 1 lineup anyway. The bad news? Hanging the goaltenders out to dry isn't new. Since March 5, a span in which the Penguins' combined save percentage of .851 is the worst in the NHL, they also have the second-most expected goals: 80.58. That's a measure of defense, and the quality and quantity of chances allowed, and it isn't affected by goaltending.
The Penguins need better goaltending. But the defense has been an issue of late, too.
THE ASYLUM
Skinner, Silovs split was (sort of) planned
The opening of the third period was a bit of a surprise. Stuart Skinner had started, stopping 17 of 21 shots. But it was Arturs Silovs who played the third, stopping seven of nine shots.
Skinner wasn't injured, but it wouldn't be entirely accurate to say he was yanked, either.
"It was something we had talked about before the game," Dan Muse said. "I discussed with the staff about it. Not necessarily saying anything was set in stone, but if there was an opportunity that presented itself to get both guys some work, that's something that we were looking to do. Just decided to, we started giving up more than we needed to."
That's a nice way to put it -- they were making things rough on Skinner. Ilya Solovyov had a turnover that led to a goal. Jake Livanavage, in his NHL debut, got walked and spun around on a St. Louis rush before a goal. Joona Koppanen screened Skinner. Once Silovs came in, that didn't change -- Jack St. Ivany had a turnover that led to a goal, and the Solovyov-Ryan Graves pairing conceded a breakaway that led to another.
Could they have gotten more out of the goaltending than 24 saves on 30 shots? Sure. But they absolutely got hung out to dry.
The good news? None of those players who made those mistakes really projected to be in the Game 1 lineup anyway. The bad news? Hanging the goaltenders out to dry isn't new. Since March 5, a span in which the Penguins' combined save percentage of .851 is the worst in the NHL, they also have the second-most expected goals: 80.58. That's a measure of defense, and the quality and quantity of chances allowed, and it isn't affected by goaltending.
The Penguins need better goaltending. But the defense has been an issue of late, too.
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