Penguins/NHL
Penguins – Panthers Fallout
Highlighted by a Sidney Crosby hat trick in a 10:45 span, Crosby and his line took over the game in a Penguins 4-0 win over the Panthers on Sunday afternoon.
Jake Guentzel (3 primary assists) and Conor Sheary assisted on all three Crosby goals.
“They’ve been a dynamic line for us,” Mike Sullivan said afterwards…..”The three of them, to a man have all played terrific for us,” said Sullivan.
As was the case today, the Crosby line was unstoppable again.
What all three continue to do so well is support each other away from the puck below the dots that is making the line so hard to defend, despite the smallish stature of the line.
“Biggest thing that makes them is how well they support each other down low,” said Sullivan. “They play that give and go game.”
— A big sidebar in the victory was the Penguins defensive coverage.
What made the Penguins so hard to beat last post-season was their defensive play through the neutral zone. That showed up today for the shorthanded Penguins where Pittsburgh’s forwards limited the Panthers skating lanes and the forward group as a whole tracked the puck extremely well [hide] where the Panthers couldn’t get many zone entries with speed.
“We’ve got to become a team that stingier defensively and we did a pretty good job of that tonight,” said Sullivan. “Thought we did a good job of taking their speed away in the neutral zone.”
A weakness of the Penguins defensively is when they get matched up against bigger forwards.
They combated that well today in not letting the Panthers create much off the cycle, despite missing the likes of Kris Letang and Ron Hainsey.
“They’ve got big forwards. Like what we did down low against them,” said Sullivan.
— Marc Andre Fleury didn’t need to be great but in earning the 21-save shutout, he’s starting to apply a little bit of pressure with a save percentage over .940 in his last five starts.
What stood out with Fleury was how well he was reading the play which has been a positive for him of late and with his angles.
“It’s great, we’re so happy for him,” Sullivan said of Fleury’s recent hot streak following the deadline. “Such a great person and pro. Both of those guys [Murray and Fleury], they’re just good people.”
— The Panthers were not able to take advantage of offensive zone time/attempts they created against the Penguins bottom players.
Derrick Pouliot was on the ice for just 5 attempts for and 13 against, while Tom Sestito, Carter Rowney were also under 30% in shot attempts for percentage.
Despite the poor possession numbers, thought Pouliot was a little better in all facets today. He did a nice job on the Vince Trocheck 2-on-1 in taking away the pass.
NHL SCORING RACE
- Sidney Crosby | 40 Goals – 40 Assists – 80 Points
- Connor McDavid | 25 Goals – 55 Assists – 80 Points
- Brad Marchand | 37 Goals – 42 Assists – 79 Points
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Related posts:
X’s & O’s: Key adjustments from Rangers in neutral zone has slowed Penguins’ attack 5 v 5
Penguins lacked adjustments to Flyers neutral zone play, superior wall play in 5-3 loss
Round 1: Neutral Zone Play will be a telling point on how Pens – Isles goes early on
Game 3 Chess Match: Pens quicker in exiting zone, solve Rangers in Neutral zone
