Penguins/NHL
All of the fuss after Penguins 5-2 loss to the Maple Leafs centered around goaltender interference after a Brian Dumoulin second period goal was waved off and resulted in Dumoulin somehow getting a 2-minute minor for interference that went from Pittsburgh being down 3-1 (if the goal stood) to 4-0 moments later as the Maple Leafs scored a power play marker on the Dumoulin penalty.
It was insane that the Dumoulin goal was disallowed but the Penguins didn’t lose because the goal didn’t stand. Pittsburgh was already in a 3-0 hole at the time of the Dumoulin controversy.
This was just a classic game where a skilled Maple Leafs team finished their chances and Pittsburgh didn’t.
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The Penguins top-3 lines were all 57% or better in driving possession during the loss. The 4th line of Kuhnhackl – Jooris – Rowney was at 37%.
— An opportunistic team, Toronto did a very good job minus star center Auston Matthews of making it a tough defensive night for Kris Letang in particular who had great possession #’s (32-11, 71% all-situations) but was on the ice for 4 goals against.
There’s not much that should be overanalyzed in this one. One highly skilled team getting the better of the other with Toronto getting strong goaltending from Frederick Andersen and Tristan Jarry failing to make timely saves.
— One clear edge Toronto had in the game was a major skill advantage on their 4th line. For Pittsburgh in a back-to-back situation this weekend against two skilled teams (Toronto & Dallas) would have been a nice opportunity to get Daniel Sprong some NHL games.
Penguins heavy in the college free agent D-Man Market on 2-particular targets
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Tom Fitzgerald a serious contender for Hurricanes GM Job
Former Penguins assistant GM Tom Fitzgerald, now with the New Jersey Devils, will be a strong contender for the Carolina Hurricanes GM opening and said to be a very serious candidate as interviews are underway.
Don Waddell, who worked under the Shero regime as a scout for a few years, is among the leading voices in the Hurricanes GM search and has Fitzgerald To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!
