Penguins/NHL
For the Pittsburgh Penguins unfortunately Game 1 was a carry over into Game 2. The Philadelphia Flyers once again stymied the Penguins in all areas of the rink, en route to a 3-0 shutout win over the Penguins on Monday Night at PPG Paints Arena to take a command 2-0 series lead as the series shifts to Philadelphia for Game 3.
The intensity picks up, the ice gets smaller with playoff hockey but the way the Flyers have bottled up one of the NHL’s highest scoring teams has been something to see.
Through six periods the Flyers are coming at the Penguins at every angle in giving them no time and space with a furious second wave of pressure that the Penguins just have no answers for in how to get to the inside. And on top of the that, the Flyers are turning defense into offense to make the Penguins indecisive and unsure what to do in critical pressing areas.
The Flyers have made the likes of Sidney Crosby look pedestrian and a non-threat and they’ve neutralized Erik Karlsson to great measures; Leading goal scorer Anthony Mantha is never thought of a speedster by any means, but the Flyers have been so perfect with their structure, players like Mantha look like their stuck in quicksand.
Rick Tocchet got crushed by some in Vancouver for his style of boring coaching. Talk about life comes at you fast in hockey circles. We’re witnessing some actual Big Boy Coaching compared to amateur hour behind the Penguins bench, a group that looks majorly overmatched.
This chip-and-direction chase game Pittsburgh operated in Game 2 was as expected a disaster that is not to the Penguins strength for a hockey club that attacked the opposition in waves with strong puck support and possession for large portions of the regular season. That plan went awry and saw Pittsburgh muster just two shots on goal in the first period and many opportunities afterwards coming from the outside.
The Penguins staff has looked everything of inexperienced and overthinking the home matchups. This desire to have the Connor Clifton D-pairing linked with Sidney Crosby’s line in Game 2 to try to have a physical presence on the ice with 87 is just a situation of ‘what are we doing’. It took until closer to the middle of the second the staff started getting Erik Karlsson and Crosby on the ice together more regularly. Reuniting the Rakell-Crosby-Rust line was also a little too late for the staff as personnel wise No True #2 center is starting to show when you’re #1 center is hunted on every shift and is failing to find time and space.
A slight favorite coming in, if the Penguins were go down in this series the goaltending disadvantage figured to be the biggest area that would derail Pittsburgh. While Flyers netminder Dan Vladar has been as advertised, Vladar is four or five down on the list why the Penguins have a daunting task to come back and win four of five games which just shows how good the Flyers have been away from the puck. This series has been really about the Flyers transforming into 18 Rick Tocchet’s on the ice. There’s an identity in Philadelphia’s game to be physical at every turn mixed with skill, while bullying the Penguins behind the play while within the rules. When you factor in how out-of-sync the Penguins look on the man-advantage, this has truly been a coaching master-class by Tocchet combined with execution on the ice. All from a guy who wasn’t deemed the right fit by the Penguins to even get a zoom call this summer when his inner circle reached out. Not that Tocchet was ever going to consider coming here for a Dan Muse type salary, but still, Tocchet interviewed in four other places and the one place he won three Cups with as a player/coach didn’t even give him an interview. Think again that he isn’t loving this……..
The fascinating long-term picture for the Penguins is if they go down in this way, how will it affect the off-season? To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!
Penguins – Flyers Game 1: What We Learned