Game Leaders
Sidney Crosby | Goal, 3 Assists
Daniel Sprong | 2 Goals, Assist
Dominik Simon | 2 Assists
Tristan Jarry | 31 Save Shutout
Lose 4-0 to the Hurricanes with a dud performance on home-ice, come back the next night with a dominating 4-0 win over the Islanders on the road.
The last two games were the Penguins season in a nutshell.
Because of their struggles to even win consecutives games over the last five weeks, you don’t want to have an overreaction to the Penguins great performance Friday night against the Islanders but there were some promising developments:
1. The Penguins played with a playoff mindset and you saw them take over the game in the second period by winning all three zones. Pittsburgh gave up 30 scoring chances in the game and there was still some defensive blunders from the likes of Kris Letang, Ian Cole, but there was a commitment level away from the puck that has been badly missing all season from the forward group on down. You had players supporting each other defensively instead of standing around and puck watching.
That was good to see.
“We’ve got to have a playoff mindset right now and I thought we had it tonight,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “I thought we competed hard.”
Pittsburgh took control of the game in the second period.
After an even first period, Pittsburgh got goals from Daniel Sprong and Evgeni Malkin 3:30 into the second period to jump out to a 2-0 lead and then Sidney Crosby made it 3-0 at 15:50 of the period.
The Islanders are one of the best 5-on-5 teams in the NHL and during 5-on-5 play in the second period, the Penguins out-attempted New York 21-7 with 16-4 edge in shots, 12-3 advantage in scoring chances and 7-0 edge in high danger chances.
The Penguins would out-score the Islanders 2-0 in the second period at 5-on-5 and 3-0 overall in the game.
2. Sidney Crosby has awaken, at least for one night. Crosby put on a dazzling 4-point performance in recording his 31st career 4-point game.
The Simon – Crosby – Sprong line looked like they played together for years.
The continuity from the three in supporting the puck in the offensive zone was really impressive for a line that was just put together. A lot of times when you put skilled players together, they can figure it out. New York had no answers for the line.
The great numbers in just about every category also met the eye test:
3 Goals For, 0 Goals Against at Even Strength for the Simon-Crosby-Sprong line and around 90% Possession.
More #’s:
Sidney Crosby when on the ice with Daniel Sprong: The Penguins had 3 Goals For, 26 Shot Attempts/3 Against, 18-2 Scoring Chances, 6-0 High Danger Chances:
Sidney Crosby when on the ice with Dominik Simon: The Penguins had 3 Goals For, 24 Shot Attempts/3 Against, 17-2 Scoring Chances, 6-0 High Danger Chances.
What the big night from the line did was make the Islanders best players have to play in their end far too often.
With Crosby matched up against John Tavares, shot attempts were 11/2 Pittsburgh and 9-1 Pittsburgh with the Crosby/Barzal matchup.
3. Daniel Sprong showed the element he can add the Penguins can’t get from a number of other forwards:
Elite finish ability around the net.
What frustrates the Penguins with Phil Kessel’s play away from the puck is that they feel the effort is often lacking. At least so far from Sprong’s end, To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!
4. The Penguins have struck gold the past two seasons in young impact forwards emerging on the scene that they weren’t necessarily counting on. Bryan Rust, Conor Sheary in 2015-2016 and then Jake Guentzel last season in how good he was so quickly in being a legitimate top-6 winger and premier goal scorer in the playoffs.
If Daniel Sprong proves his worth as a top-9 forward over the next several weeks it changes a lot in what the Penguins may do with moving a key winger in a trade and even more so if Dominik Simon plays with consistency and sticks.
I still wouldn’t write off Simon. He’s not going to bury a lot of pucks at the NHL level but the playmaking ability and how he drives possession has been one consistent. This wasn’t the first game he fit in well with Crosby.
5. The other significant development from the Islanders game is the goaltending from Tristan Jarry. The Islanders had a few golden opportunities in the first period to strike first and who knows how this game goes if Jarry didn’t shut the door early and the Penguins fall behind.
Is Tristan Jarry for real and a legitimate No. 1 goaltender?
Maybe, maybe not…..
So many young goaltenders who are considered tweeners (somewhere in between a No. 1/No.2 goaltender) like Jarry, come onto the scene with a great month and then eventually tail off and fall back to what most scouts, executives feel they would be.
An unproven backup outplaying a franchise goaltender for stretches is nothing new around the NHL.
It happened a couple times in Chicago with Corey Crawford/Scott Darling, a few times in New York during different seasons recently with Cam Talbot, Antti Raanta outplaying Henrik Lundqvist and taking away some starts.
Jarry’s performance has caught the organization by surprise in how consistent he’s been but there’s also some caution being expressed internally.
Instead of trying to stir up a goaltending controversy, which the Penguins don’t have, what many should be doing is embracing that the Penguins goaltending looks to be in very good hands long-term.
Many are jumping the gun in burying Matt Murray. He is eventually going to start looking like Matt Murray again. It’s hard to imagine he’s going to keep playing at this level. If he still is by March, the Penguins will probably miss the playoffs.
Maybe he’ll never be a guy like Marc Andre Fleury who is built to play 65 games in the regular season, but he’s proven he’s built for the playoffs which is what matters at the end of the day.
There’s too much good tape from him the last two seasons to start questioning him over a rough start to the season. There’s ice in this guys veins during high pressure situations.
Just look back to Games 6, 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals vs the Lightning, and close out games vs the Sharks and Predators of the past two Stanley Cup Final.
The key for Murray in the short-term is fixing his angles and getting back to playing big where the net looks so small to the opposition and opponents feel they have to make a perfect shot to beat him. He’s overplaying shooters right now.
As for who starts Sunday night vs Boston, that’s where things get interesting.
Tristan Jarry deserves to get the start but with the bye coming up (Jan 8-12), To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!
I barley like barley in my beer biitches
Me, I barley like hops in my beer… straight barley for me or it’s barley beer IMO
It’s funny how sam is “barley” on the page when confronted with data that hurts his bullshit; sam still sucks
Firefly has a pretty sweet lineup. Scooping up a pass tomorrow.
Did the Pens play Boston yet?
Oh good, at least D finally posted the Boston game’s score.
Duclair to the Hawks for Pannik and others.
Not sure what AZ was trying to accomplish with that.
Sammich must pick the all stars… Crosby and Letang get the call but Kessel was left off lol
Letang looks like he shouldn’t even be in three league, let alone on an all star team.
Jon Morosi and DePaoli must have the same source
I know really. Great work guys.
Hey sammich, so on top of that goalie riddle I would like you to solve (Who is who 37-39-13 .903 vs 56-24-6 .918) I have another conundrum for you.
JP Pageau has 6 goals and 9 assists
Paul Byron has 11 goals and 5 assists
Combined they are 17 and 14 for 31 points… you have been “drooling” all over the ballsac of these two for awhile now… 18 goals 29 assists 47 points… who does this stat line belong to? Hint: You have suggested either of the above was a better option for a couple seasons now!
Cole traded
Yet?
Gerritt Cole is going to Houston. Does that count?
D is on his bye week
D is “barley” here during a good week
Sam: “DB and his circus system was responsible for fleury career” (sic) His Logic: Everything MAF has accomplished in 100% him; when he has failed it is on everyone else. Currently, however, the goalies here are 100% responsible for rough nights? Reality: Fleury won a cup as a starter with Bylsma at the helm; failure one! MAF was not alone when the wheels came off but he was a major concern for at minimum two seasons in the playoffs, Philly and his 2013 meltdown were more on him than they were the rest of the team despite how poorly the… Read more »
Franson has more value as a trade chip b/c a lot of the teams are at the max contract limit. Not sure if the Pens are. But Cole for Franson or Kempny and a 3rd rd pick seems plausible.
Seabrook healthy scratched for tonight’s game
37-39-13 .903
56-24-6 .918
Hey Sam, you wanna come to the board and put names beside both those stat lines?
Shut up.
Can i say cunty on here?
Good, i can. Sam is real cunty.
see you all in five days after the break. well, maybe i’ll take 7 days. – d (probably)
37-39-13 .903
56-24-6 .918
Hey Sam, you wanna come to the board and put names beside both those stat lines?
What an awesome championship game. Saban is king of college football.
One thing to keep in mind is that 2 of our last 9 games this year are at home against the Canadians, so that’s an easy 4 points.
Sam sucks.
Bad.
and he gargles balls.
And he’s “barley” human.
Report: Astros, Pirates have discussed Gerrit Cole trade
how is Alberta doing ZeroFool
https://globalnews.ca/news/3949024/canada-unemployment-rates-breakdown-by-province/
I dunno… just led the country in growth and GDP AGAIN while Quebec received 11 billion of the 18 billion available in the equalization program… only a billion more than last year! Not sure why you keep trying to play this game, there is a labour shortage in this province right now. We have a lot of bad attitudes about work here because of the high paying jobs… no one will do the menial low paying work that Queebs line up for at home, which is why some you fuckks come here. We could virtually eliminate so called unemployment if… Read more »
Anyone miss fleury yet 1.73GAA so far.
almost 35 years old. Loved him but we couldn’t keep both our goalies.
I missed him when the Pens won their last 2 Cups. #YouSuckSam
You mean Vegas’s right? When you argued his struggles here were because of the team wouldn’t that mean the team was responsible for MAFs GAA?
DB and his circus system was responsible for fleury career
Ohhhh so everything MAF has accomplished was 100% him; when he has failed it is on everyone else. Currently, however, the goalies here are 100% responsible for rough nights… you’re a buffoon.
Barley
#barley
Sams miss rate on this thread is amazing lol
He’s a disaster. His posts would lead you to believe he’s an angry 10 year old that just found out about hockey yesterday.
Thank God pens barley won vs a team that played last night
Throw yourself off a bridge… leave it to Sam to find fault in a solid gut check game! By this logic the Pens wouldn’t be in rough shape if it wasn’t for the record breaking b2b games this year either you stupid fucken racist cuntt
Barley! Murray and Geno had to bail the team out. Remember you said he was supposed to be back in Russia? And that we only needed 3 for Jarry? Clown.
I miss Stan’s game winning assist updates. Sad.
Game winning goal: Russian
Game winner assist: Chubby
#SamSucks
I always enjoy the Geno show.
On your tablet.
No back home from Buffalo on big screen tv 🙂 didn’t feel well enough to go to game tonight.
Feel better dude. Welcome back to the big screen.
So was that the most fun game of the year so far or what?
For kids and for npl must be an entertaining game
No, it was an entertaining game all around you pseudo-elitest fucken turd!
I bet you turned off your TV when bruins made a comeback from 3-1 to 5-3
You mean closed…
What a fucken goal! Kessel and Geno putting on a show
Wooooooooo
Sheahan has really come around into a solid depth guy. He makes the line go and wins a ton of draws
yeah didn’t care for him at first but he has found is game it seems.
Sheahan sucks…..Maloni. #keendekhockeyeye
As a third line center he does. Like everyone else, I like him on the 4th line.
You should listen to everyone else. Then you can learn the game.
Stop posting. No one cares, because you’re an idiot.
Amazing this is -2 already… Sam expects us to believe someone agrees with him 100% as opposed to having two accounts…
All the big guns scored tonight missing Crosby to score one or 2 tonight
In case some bandwagon’s turned off their TV already. Our power play specialist scored before the period end. Maybe pens can come back
Actually Crosby has two points on the PP tonight
Anyone miss fleury yet ?
Only fat frogs such as yourself. How many do we need for Jarry, samtheb1tchboy?
This is bad I would watch the Golden Globes but turns out its not about big boobs
Don’t waste your time on that fixed jew awards
Big dlcks?
Letang in French means terrible defenseman. He gives the puck away then has a front row seat as he lets the guy go right to the net and pick a corner on Jarry. Explain to me again why we can’t trade this guy for whatever?
Whatever had a NTC
Letang is brutal
Who are the announcers for NBCSN?
You guys think pens need 4 in order to win for Murray. Oh wait Murray is not in net so no need to worry about 4 in order to win
rate its going might need 7
Nice call, dumba$$. Didn’t even make it through 2 periods.
Who the hell woke up Haglin he’s playing like its playoff time.
What a start… that’s what, 6 for Sid in his last two? Oleksiak was a great pick up… what was up with Dallas? How do they keep fucken up young blue liners?
This might be the best spot/role for Sid with the kids. He has always thrived with younger players he takes on the role of big brother for the line. Less stress than trying to lead a team.
Simon has struggled a bit tonight but there is definitely something with Sid and Sprong that looks nice
59,43,81 scares me as a combo not right chemistry in my opinion.
They haven’t been too bad, I don’t think it’s ideal and they still need to address the missing 3C… maybe there are some reshuffling of chairs on the 2 and 3 players. I’d still like to see Phil work it out on the 3rd line tho
The ways pens fuckk up by overpaying then when times come
Like how they overplayed Cole? Schultz? Niskanen?
All three of those guys got about 2 million for at least a season after they became RFAs to bridge them and see how they would pan out. Pens walked away from Nisky at 5…
If Sprong shows chemistry with Sid, this will be beneficial to everyone. Sid needs a shot in the arm and these young guns can help. It would be nice to find a third line center. That’s going to be the difficult though without paying a steep price.
Same way drooled once about 43 and 59
Huh?
I think he means Sam sucks
Wait… so you don’t like Sprong either? You’re a fucken retard dude. Dip shit still hoping the Pens land St Louis… or a broken Rick Nash. So fucken dumb
This just may not be the Pens year, so why trade off any quality assets or draft picks.
Next year, 2018-19–after a lenghty rest–may be their time, again.
1 point out of the playoffs, so you don’t play for next year. Not this team or organization. Champs don’t quit.
I don’t think anyone is suggesting they quit on the season. Most are just saying don’t go all-in chasing long odds. Make a few minors moves or moves that help both now and into the future but don’t part part with quality assets for rental players.
Hey npl how did USA do in their tournament I heard Canada won again
Dont know. Dont care.
How is sheary doing tk.2.0 must say pens didn’t rush to give him that contract same for maatta I guess zerotool and gaydogg are happy
He is on pace for 20 goals dipshit lol. The best part of all your smug bitching is that it’s always about players that played a large role in back 2 back Cups. You’re a fucken fool lol
They’re the 2 time defending champs, of course I’m happy. See unlike you I only care about the team, I don’t give 2 shits about the names on the back or where they were born, I just care about winning.
Letang is still a disaster
I liked what i saw from the Simon-Crosby-Sprong line, but the Sam-Still-Sucks line continues to disappoint.
Disappoint? That’s been the most consistent line in Pittsburgh over the last decade.
Very good call. I stand corrected.
Jarry was a very good goalie in the WHL. I think he has the potential to be an above average NHL goalie.
Pedan, Pedan, Pedan…yes, good article D!!
Corrado on waivers
has to pass through waivers to be sent to WBS
Good article D. Keep it up. You’re like the Pens as well. One article and then you are not heard from. This inconsistency must be contagious.
Lol, this gave me a good laugh. Thank you Sir.
Here to please!