It's not even the four-on-three overtime power play that failed beforehand.
Nope. Truth be told, if there's one facet that all concerned should find most frustrating about the Penguins falling short of the archrival Flyers, 4-3, on this Saturday evening here at PPG Paints Arena, it can be found right here:
NHL
Uh-huh.
See, because while the home team was busy frittering away not one, not two but three one-goal leads, thus setting the stage for the seemingly inevitable doom beyond regulation, the rest of the Metropolitan Division -- the entire Eastern Conference, really -- kept right on keeping on.
And no one's kept on quite like the Blue Jackets, who, after a 5-4 overtime loss to the Mammoth earlier in the day in Columbus, are still 13-2-2 since Rick Bowness climbed behind the bench Jan. 12 and, most pertinent locally, now three points behind the Penguins. But there's also the Islanders, who'd much later beat the Sharks, 2-1 in overtime, out in San Jose, Calif., to leapfrog the Penguins in the Metro by a point.
The top three teams in the division make it. Eight from the conference make it.
I brought it up after this game with Bryan Rust:
"This time of year, there’s a lot of pressure to get points," he'd reply. "Obviously, there is the entire year, but things are getting tight here down the stretch. There’s pressure. But this is what we play for. This is why we’re in this business. This is fun."
Fun, he called it. Kept a straight face, too. And good for him.
Well, if this is fun, what's just ahead promises to be a blast and a half: The Bruins are here Sunday, fresh off barely letting the Penguins take a deep breath the other night in Boston. Then comes a five-game trip that begins and ends in Raleigh, N.C., against the first-place Hurricanes, wrapped around games against the Mammoth and Golden Knights, both of whom have 72 points, and the Avalanche, the league's very best team.
And have I mentioned no Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin for a big chunk of that?
Get it together, gentlemen.
This sure wasn't it:
Like, at all:
• Avery Hayes, a newly arrived rookie, can't be attempting a breakout pass between his own legs, only to watch Owen Tippett finish the first of Philadelphia's three tying goals. And that less than a minute after Tommy Novak had scored the icebreaker.
• Ben Kindel, an oldly arrived rookie, for all his pluses, can't come away a minus-3 in regulation regardless of his regularly changing wingers. He's way better than what he showed here.
• Faceoffs improved as the evening got longer, but it's still not OK that, in Sid's absence, the success rate's been around 33%. That's embarrassing. And collectively so. For example, Kindel did his part in an attacking-zone draw, tying up his counterpart, only to have Ville Koivunen not pursue what was now a loose puck. The Flyers did that instead.
• Kris Letang's metrics were decent, which far outshone his reality. And yeah, the eyeballs still do count. He was unstable with the puck, flat-footed too often. Also and related, whatever honeymoon period's expected to be afforded to his new partner, Sam Girard, has to be expiring sometime soon. I'm not naive enough to think a change will be made from the personnel standpoint on either count, but I find it fair to suggest at least splitting them up.
• Skinner wound up making a couple of Grade-A saves, but he can't be an exception when everyone's being asked for more, and three goals on the first nine shots he faced wasn't it. Felt like it took him a little too long to sharpen his way into the game.
• The shootout ... I mean, I don't know what to say anymore. It's not just that they're 1-9. It's that they're scarcely competitive in these events. If I'd add anything, it's that new faces are needed. Or a new methodology's needed from Dan Muse in his selection. Rather than Mantha (!) or Rakell, why not try Kindel or even Erik Karlsson, whose confidence is erupting all over creation these days?
• More offense is needed from more sources, now more than ever: Mantha has one goal in five games since the Olympic break, same with Brazeau, same with Novak, same with Kindel, same with Egor Chinakhov. And the rightly beloved fourth line of Blake Lizotte, Noel Acciari and Connor Dewar, which dominated the Flyers in possession here, hasn't scored at all since the break.
That might come across as tough criticism in some cases, but this is when those supporting-cast goals are a must. Not just when things are A-OK.
I don't really have anything else from this. Let's see how Sunday unfolds. Or if it keeps folding.
THE ASYLUM
Grind: Terrible time for Penguins’ supporting cast to stall
Good Saturday evening!
• It's not the freaking shootout.
It's not even the four-on-three overtime power play that failed beforehand.
Nope. Truth be told, if there's one facet that all concerned should find most frustrating about the Penguins falling short of the archrival Flyers, 4-3, on this Saturday evening here at PPG Paints Arena, it can be found right here:
NHL
Uh-huh.
See, because while the home team was busy frittering away not one, not two but three one-goal leads, thus setting the stage for the seemingly inevitable doom beyond regulation, the rest of the Metropolitan Division -- the entire Eastern Conference, really -- kept right on keeping on.
And no one's kept on quite like the Blue Jackets, who, after a 5-4 overtime loss to the Mammoth earlier in the day in Columbus, are still 13-2-2 since Rick Bowness climbed behind the bench Jan. 12 and, most pertinent locally, now three points behind the Penguins. But there's also the Islanders, who'd much later beat the Sharks, 2-1 in overtime, out in San Jose, Calif., to leapfrog the Penguins in the Metro by a point.
The top three teams in the division make it. Eight from the conference make it.
I brought it up after this game with Bryan Rust:
"This time of year, there’s a lot of pressure to get points," he'd reply. "Obviously, there is the entire year, but things are getting tight here down the stretch. There’s pressure. But this is what we play for. This is why we’re in this business. This is fun."
Fun, he called it. Kept a straight face, too. And good for him.
Well, if this is fun, what's just ahead promises to be a blast and a half: The Bruins are here Sunday, fresh off barely letting the Penguins take a deep breath the other night in Boston. Then comes a five-game trip that begins and ends in Raleigh, N.C., against the first-place Hurricanes, wrapped around games against the Mammoth and Golden Knights, both of whom have 72 points, and the Avalanche, the league's very best team.
And have I mentioned no Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin for a big chunk of that?
Get it together, gentlemen.
This sure wasn't it:
Like, at all:
• Avery Hayes, a newly arrived rookie, can't be attempting a breakout pass between his own legs, only to watch Owen Tippett finish the first of Philadelphia's three tying goals. And that less than a minute after Tommy Novak had scored the icebreaker.
• Ben Kindel, an oldly arrived rookie, for all his pluses, can't come away a minus-3 in regulation regardless of his regularly changing wingers. He's way better than what he showed here.
• Faceoffs improved as the evening got longer, but it's still not OK that, in Sid's absence, the success rate's been around 33%. That's embarrassing. And collectively so. For example, Kindel did his part in an attacking-zone draw, tying up his counterpart, only to have Ville Koivunen not pursue what was now a loose puck. The Flyers did that instead.
• Kris Letang's metrics were decent, which far outshone his reality. And yeah, the eyeballs still do count. He was unstable with the puck, flat-footed too often. Also and related, whatever honeymoon period's expected to be afforded to his new partner, Sam Girard, has to be expiring sometime soon. I'm not naive enough to think a change will be made from the personnel standpoint on either count, but I find it fair to suggest at least splitting them up.
• Skinner wound up making a couple of Grade-A saves, but he can't be an exception when everyone's being asked for more, and three goals on the first nine shots he faced wasn't it. Felt like it took him a little too long to sharpen his way into the game.
• The shootout ... I mean, I don't know what to say anymore. It's not just that they're 1-9. It's that they're scarcely competitive in these events. If I'd add anything, it's that new faces are needed. Or a new methodology's needed from Dan Muse in his selection. Rather than Mantha (!) or Rakell, why not try Kindel or even Erik Karlsson, whose confidence is erupting all over creation these days?
• More offense is needed from more sources, now more than ever: Mantha has one goal in five games since the Olympic break, same with Brazeau, same with Novak, same with Kindel, same with Egor Chinakhov. And the rightly beloved fourth line of Blake Lizotte, Noel Acciari and Connor Dewar, which dominated the Flyers in possession here, hasn't scored at all since the break.
That might come across as tough criticism in some cases, but this is when those supporting-cast goals are a must. Not just when things are A-OK.
I don't really have anything else from this. Let's see how Sunday unfolds. Or if it keeps folding.
• Thanks for reading my hockey coverage.
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