Pittsburgh Penguins
Penguins – 
Rangers What We Learned
Winning Games you shouldn’t will get you to the playoffs, especially in a shortened season. And here are the Penguins sitting at a very fortunate 3-2-0, 6 pts, after five games, earning six out of a 10 possible points thus far.
Like the Washington game on Tuesday night, the Penguins played a more structured game in the third period against the Rangers, but the Penguins have to be careful not to let these rallies overlook the atrocious defensive lapses they continue to have that are eventually going to sink them.
Showing resolve, resiliency is great as they’ve shown, but these comebacks continue to be driven by fluke goals. Jared McCann’s power play goal to cut the Rangers lead to 3-2 in the second period saw McCann record his first goal since January 14, 2020, and officially not be awarded a shot on goal as Ryan Lindgren put the puck in his own net as he tried to push the puck back to Shesterkin to cover up. The Teddy Blueger game tying goal came off a missed shot that bounced off the boards behind the net and right on Blueger’s stick for the goal.
It’s good to be lucky sometimes.
Still, there’s just no sense the team see’s the constant breakdowns defensively as being as big as an issue as it really is and it’s going to be their eventual downfall. There’s personnel issues that likely can’t be fixed this season but the massive defensive breakdowns are not talent issues. This is a below average team away from the puck and we’ve seen the same story for a while now. This team isn’t talented or good enough to get away from not being a structured disciplined team. At the end of the day, the story of whether the Penguins evolve into anything more than a one round capable team this season is going to be whether a disciplined structure emerges. They have to find an identity of turning defense into offense.
More boring is going to be better and it’s going to be the only way the team overachieves. Evgeni Malkin isn’t getting any younger and Phil Kessel isn’t come back through that door. The days of being some great dynamic offensive team that’s going to be able to get away with trading chances every night and can bury you with any slip up defensively isn’t going to be this group.
It’s too much of a perimeter team with a lack of true finishers.
MORE BUZZ
— Monster game from Bryan Rust. Scored the opening goal and had 11 SHOTS ON GOAL, all at even strength. The Penguins had 22 shots in the game 5 vs 5 with Rust counting for 45%. Only six Penguin forwards recorded a shot on goal (5 vs 5). Rust was the only forward with more than one shot on goal 5 vs 5.
Bryan Rust – 10 SOG, Goal
Evan Rodrigues – 1 SOG
Mark Jankowski – 1 SOG
Teddy Blueger – 1 SOG, Goal
Jake Guentzel – 1 SOG
Sidney Crosby – 1 SOG
— Encouraging start for Tristan Jarry. Much more composed and the athleticism shined in the win. Jarry was forced to make a number of side-to-side saves due to the Penguins gap control woes among the d-men and forward group. The scoreboard could have easily said 6-3 Rangers instead of 4-3 Penguins.
— Penguins goaltenders are now 7 of 8 on shootout attempts for the season. Tristan Jarry censored Tony DeAngelo to seal the win.
— Head coach Mike Sullivan called it a terrific debut for Pierre Olivier-Joseph.
I thought he had a terrific first game in the NHL, said Sullivan. He was skating, made some nice subtle plays to help us get out of our end. He played within himself.
Moving forward Olivier-Joseph is going to have some rough nights as all young defensemen do, but when Juuso Riikola is back, there’s is no reason not to keep plugging Joseph in the lineup.
And here’s an observation I feel comfortable already making.
The decision to take on Mike Matheson is going to look even worse when you could have just been putting Joseph out there on a rookie contract instead and who will be cheap for the next couple seasons.
— Really rough start to the season for Jason Zucker. He is fighting the puck and the confidence looks shot. Rushing things and just doesn’t look comfortable with the puck when defenders are pressuring him. Zucker had no shots on goal for the second consecutive game. Jim Rutherford has a tendency to sour on players he acquires quickly and the GM To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!……….
— The Penguins through two games have used Kasperi Kapanen mostly in a bottom-6 role and it’s paid dividends as he’s made the 4th line much more playable. Kapanen on the Blueger goal drove defenders back with his speed to open a shooting lane for Olivier-Joseph.
To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!
Looks like young power forward Drew O’Connor may get in to the line up tomorrow….
Watching Murray for the first time in a senators uniform. Boy is he a mess. Good riddance
He looked awful tonight I also watched that game. Brandon Sutter ex penguin hat Trick…
Weak attempt at that 7th goal (Sutter break away) and he is so far back in the net all the time…
Well, wouldn’t we all be pretty smart if we were able to look into the future and know PO was going to make a nice transition to the Pens defense.
i have never seen a hockey player float and give less effort than malkin. he turns the puck over every time he touches it. wow he needs to go back to russia immediately.
YODA….Spot on about Malkin!! He is so lazy, moody, and such a mystery. If he ever had the drive of Crosby, Ovechkin, Jonathan Toews, Nathan Mckinnon, or Patrick KANE HE WOULD BE UNSTOPABLE..
H e doesn’t which is why he was left out of the top 100 of all time….
Grad the average fans are finally seeing it now convince Ron Klatt and donut boy Stan
I have seen Malkin decline for years…. He has no heart, no drive, just tons of talent he hasn’t FORGOT how to use.
it was nice to see sid skate with rust and guentzel after rodriguez went down. i wonder what minor leager they are going to skate with sid next game and relegate rust back to malkin?
I would love to move Malkin but that’s damn near impossible now…so we are stuck with the brooding superstar.
I like Guentzel, Rust and Sid together.. Then go Malkin, MCCann, and Kappy…
I am shocked no one posted this:
Pierre-Luc Dubois and a 2022 third-round draft pick are off to Winnipeg in exchange for Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic. The Jets are retaining 26% of Laine’s cap hit ($6.75 million) and salary ($7.5 million).
Penguins keep finding ways to win. Sid 2 points, Jarry better, and a positive result ding to Boston for two games.
A deal is coming soon for a d-man the questions is who will it be?
– Carson Soucy Minnesota
-Danny Dekeyser Detroit
We will see…
Dekeyser isn’t an upgrade in what we already have
Zero…I believe DeKeyser is an upgrade over Marcus Pettersson. Marcus is a nice player but extremely soft and is consistently out muscled in the corners. Danny Dekeyser is big, physical and strong in the corners…
Lol Dekeyser is a plug making 5 mil a year. Even if the Pens wanted him, that would be an absurd use of cap space.
Not if you trade the weak, soft, over matched and overpaid $4.025 million) Marcus Petterson in exchange. Then add the I’m never going to get back in the line-up when I’m health ZAReese. ($1million)
There you go….
Dekeyser will at least hit somebody
Malkin’s got zero.
Team needed more powerplay for our 9.5m investment to score
Malkin is such a mystery, such an enigma, if he only had a brain.(like the scarecrow)
Team won and he still managed to get -2
BC that never happened to Letang. Lol.. You just never point that out.
“We’re eight months into this pandemic, and Donald Trump still doesn’t have a plan to get this virus under control. I do.” -Joe Biden (10/15/20)
“There is nothing we can do to change the trajectory of the pandemic in the next several months.” -Joe Biden (recently)
I hate talking politics on here but I don’t care who was in office when this hit, no one would have had a plan in place to contain this bc this is an unprecedented situation and no one in the world was ready for this. Trump should have acted like an adult and shown compassion and wore a mask to show actual leadership instead of acting like an invincible jackass and down playing having covid and acting like it was no big deal when he access to ever possible drug on earth. With that said Biden will do no better… Read more »
Or be impeached
Biden was just a way for Harris becomes first ever woman. President this agenda was designed long before
All the legislature he Signed was all the reverse plans of trump this shows the DemocRATS planned this long ago. Funny how it took them many months to send checks to the American people . Yet took 24hours for Pelosi and the Rats impeach trump. This shows how disgusting they are
They talk about defund the police maybe
Media and democRATS should be defund first
Biden will not be impeached. Keep dreaming.
President Obama had a plan for these “unprecedented disasters.” Trump threw it out and disbanded the entire pandemic response team.
Was this while he was spying on the entire country illegally?
And if Obama had it, why did the rest of the world fall victim to Covid?
No one had a response ready for this!
The rest of the world is handling much better than we are look at the numbers…. Geez!!
Ignoring it and lying f about it for months instead of addressing it isn’t a response either…WoW
He was caught on tape with Mr, Woodward admitting so…there you go..
We can’t change the directory right away that.s true. Why because the fat ass orange guy ignored and lied about the pandemic.
Then you have all these dumb ass red necks refusing to wear masks and republicans who still (after the insurrection ) lie for that piece of shit trump
mid summer we should start to see some improvement…if everyone gets on boards
A win is a win but there is A LOT of work to be done and A LOT of problems with this team.
The need to find lines that work. A lot of experimentation right now
How did or Russian do guys ? Maybe penguins needed more powerplay
Almost as bad as your grammar. Almost.
Who was the game winner assist
Letang and Crosby are assists? I thought they were people. Who knew?
PoJo again looking like a player with more than a game on his resume.
Trump pardoned a black rapper. He must be still racist.
Yet he forgot to pardon npl’s friend. Joe exotic
I know Stan and tool hates fleury but apparently the guy has better numbers then fraud murray, desmith and jarry combined.
Oh wait he just got a shut out now
Pretty awesome watching Zucker doing his best Brassard
Go change Trudeau’s socks you.
Have to feel bad for all the workers on the Keystone pipeline. If only they were minimum wage retards, democrats would care.
Npl doesn’t care as long as he thinks he will get his 15$ an hour at the KFC that he works at
Wow liberals in canada don’t waste time they already made a comic book kamala in canada comic book.
Stupid agenda
Sad day for CNN and npl
Larry king died
Random thought. That 2015 draft was really incredible. Thats the only draft the Pens truly missed out on not having a first round pick. Barzal went in that exact spot, then Boeser, Konecny, Aho, and Chabot a little later. I’ll take the 2 Cup wins with Phil Kessel though. Outside of that draft, not seeing any big misses by not having a late first round pick besides DeBrincat in 2016.
Stop talking hockey, politics only here!
Good thing the pens traded a 1st round pick for a guy they are sticking on the 4th line.
Their best trade was few years ago when they traded 1st rounder to get Reeves
And 2 2nd round for Douglas murray
Reeves is your boy on your second favorite team after Montreal.
I think he will be moved up eventually. This team needs balance up front right now especially with the atrocious blue line led by Leturnover. All of Crosby’s points except his OT winner came on the PP. Kap is looking good so far, especially for having no training camp.
Infuriating but Sullivan has outwardly said it’s a conditioning thing. He expects to move him up to the first eventually. I hope he keeps his word here
Trump is racist but Biden isn’t lmao. Hypocrisy and double standards running wild
Apparently Creepy Joe will get impeached
You forgot pedophile