RECAP 29: Hunting Season. Pens Overcome 1-0 Deficit, Actually Win In Shootout

Hello and welcome to the pilot episode of “The Penguins Actually Won a Shootout.”

In this episode, we’ll examine how the Penguins hunted their way to gathering their first shootout of the season while moving to 3-6 when games extend beyond regulation (2-4 in OT) and how they managed to draw level on points with the 3rd place team in the Metro.

It seems weird, given all of the skill and talent this team has that they can’t seal the deal this year after 60 minutes whether it be 3v3 or in the skills competition, but them’s the breaks sometimes.  Then again, who among us has ever really been able to seal the deal after just an hour?

With that win, and the loser point going to the Isles, both teams now sit on 32 points.  If you looked in the right places on the internet, you’d have thought just last week that feat would’ve been unthinkable, but just like that, the Pens are now 6-2-2 in their last 10 while extending their point streak to 4 games.

It was a rather boring, disjointed affair last night in the early going, too, largely because we got a total of 9:35 of 5v5 action in the first period.  It took both sides a decent chunk of time to really settle into the game, but when they did, it was the Pens dominating the puck while the goaltenders put on a show.

To that end, over the course of the 45.35 of 5v5 play, the Penguins controlled 60.24% of the shot attempts (50-33), 60.38% of the scoring chances (32-21), and an even split of the high danger chances (13-13).  At all strengths, the Pens walked away with 4.03 expected goals compared to that of the Islanders 3 (3.19-2.05 Pens at 5v5), despite having given up 12 high danger shots against at 5v5 on 19 total shots.

Yet with both teams combining for 7+ expected goals, Lehner and DeSmith had other plans, leaving us with 2 actual goals and 48 total saves.

LINEUP

Lookin' to make the Dads proud! pic.twitter.com/xk5QNjcucO

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 10, 2018

For the third game in a row, we got to see Phil! riding shotty with 87 and 59, albeit only for the first two periods.  With Hornqvist out injured, Sheahan got his chance alongside Malkin and Pearson, leaving Rust and Dea to round out the right side just as we saw in Ottawa, also only for two periods. No changes to the personnel on the blueline or blue paint, either.  The Smith vs. Lehner in net.

First Period

Right off the hop, the Pens top line had the engine burning that high octane racing fuel, throwing the puck around like they were over in Harlem with Sweet Georgia Brown playing, forcing Lehner to make a big save on Phil! at one end before Maatta made a nice play to break up a sure goal at the other.

https://gfycat.com/UnkemptClearIrrawaddydolphin

Question: How good has Olli Maatta been lately? Answer: Very.

https://twitter.com/G_Off817/status/1072491332621471744

Then the Pens went to the kill as Oleksiak went off for slashing Komarov 3:14 into the game.  Then again with Malkin going off for “holding” on a Boychuk dive with 11:08 left.  Then again with 7:00 left as Johnson went off for interfering with Barzal as he chased a hit.

https://twitter.com/G_Off817/status/1072288384092176385

Finally, with 4 minutes left, the Pens went to the PP as Lee went off for a double minor “high sticking” penalty on Guentzel that was actually an elbow that happened to draw blood.  With 5.8, the Pens PP2 nearly gave up the 957th shorthanded goal against the Isles this season as Maatta’s shot was blocked, sending Matt Martin and Brock Nelson back the other way for the latter to be stoned in tight by DeSmith.

https://gfycat.com/ScornfulDarkFlee

Second Period

Bunch of shit to open the 2nd.  Then a goal.

NYI – 6:32 – Beauvillier; A: Bailey, Barzal – 1-0

After some back and forth, the Pens managed to fuck themselves by turning the puck over just inside the offensive blue line, turning the Isles lethal line of Bailey-Barzal-Beauvillier loose.

As the puck kicked out to Bailey, he swung towards the near side of the ice, pulling all three Pens forwards with him and moving Maatta and Oleksiak, holding the Pens blue line, all the way over to that half of the ice.  Bailey saw this and saw all of the open ice on the far side by the benches, throwing the puck over that way for Barzal to win the footrace he was always going to win against Maatta.

When that kid gets going, look the fuck out.  He circled the wagons with Maatta in tow, the latter of whom did well in pursuit, keeping him to the outside enough for the forwards to get back and Brassard to steal the puck.  However, Brassers got jack dick on the clearing attempt, giving it right back to Barzal at the blue line.  With Rust and ZAR expecting the puck to make it to them and Maatta activating with them, it left Oleksiak and DeSmith exposed at the back.

https://gfycat.com/AmpleWebbedBluebreastedkookaburra

Tic tac taco.  No chance for The Rig or The Smith.

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Two minutes later, the Pens went back to the PP when Hickey went off for interfering with Guentzel.  The top unit couldn’t get out until a little later with Guentzel-Crosby-Phil! being on the ice for the penalty, but when they did, they really forced Lehner into a huge save to deny Guentzel and Crosby on the doorstep for what should’ve been the equalizer.

https://gfycat.com/ChiefDigitalFinwhale

After the Isles got the kill, they started threatening, mostly because the Pens keep turning the puck over in their own zone after a decent shift from the 59-87-81 line.  The top line was just gassed after spending substantial time in the o-zone, but it was Casey DeSmith whomst saved their bacon.

https://gfycat.com/CourageousImpeccableKiskadee

Isles only had 4 shots in the 2nd until the last 2 or so minutes, but felt like they were all beyond dangerous.  The Pens, on the other hand, had 11, but just couldn’t solve Lehner.

Pens have 2 goals in their last 6 periods.

— Bob Grove (@bobgrove91) December 11, 2018

Third Period

HCMS shuffled the lines to open the third, moving Phil! back down to Malkin’s RW, Sheahan off of Malkin’s RW down to 3C, and moved Brassard up to Crosby’s right flank.  It immediately paid dividends.

PIT – 2:13 – Brassard; A: Guentzel – 1-1

Following a dump in, Bake got himself in on the forecheck.  Shades of Hagelin, baby, except the Pens weren’t able to get that turnover this time around.

The Isles moved it out and switched the point of attack over to the far side of the ice so they could go right at Jack Johnson, a traditionally good maneuver.

But 1-on-1 with Pelech (and Barzal trailing), Johnson made a nice play to stand Pelech up and poke the puck free and beyond Barzal for Guentzel to pick it up and transition transition transition.

Grendel and Sid stormed back the other way and crossed the streams, allowing 59 to slip a sneaky good pass down to 87 for the one-timer from a tight angle.  Sid collected, got it back to the front of the net where Brassers was lurking, only for 19 to be turned aside as well.

But as Not Baker Mayfield tried to clear the puck out from in front of Lehner, Guentzel had other plans.

https://gfycat.com/SolidFarCaracal

The play Jake makes here is 2nyce.  Gets his stick on the clearing attempt, but still managed to knock the puck out of the air like 24 more times (rough estimate) to get it to Brassard at the side of the net for the little chip shot to make it 1-1.

https://gfycat.com/ColorlessGratefulKakarikis

Pens then got their 4th PP of the night after Malkin took a dive to draw a hooking penalty on Barzal’s fly by with 8:58 left.  Just under 90 seconds into it, Malkin took a clapper that took off on him and smacked Hickey in the head.

https://gfycat.com/TestyTenseIslandcanary

The refs rightfully blew the play dead because of a head injury and as Letang glided in to grab the loose puck, Clutterbuck would take exception to him literally skating after the whistle, cross-checking Letang in the arm/kidney area.  Letang retaliated with a short jab that just buckled Clutterbuck.

https://gfycat.com/PleasantPlaintiveIzuthrush

Fuck Cal Clutterbuck.  Brain injuries are no joke, but if you’re going to pull some shit like that, you’re going to get popped in some way, shape, or form.  Dick.

DeSmith is 0-5 in his career in games decided beyond regulation.

— Bob Grove (@bobgrove91) December 10, 2018

Overtime

All Pens to open the OT, but at the halfway point after a nearly converted wraparound from Brassard, he tripped up ValFil to give the Isles a 4v3 for basically the rest of overtime.  Warrior Mode: Engage.

https://gfycat.com/DeterminedThankfulGnatcatcher

Full marks to Rust and ZAR for getting in the way of a Ryan Pulock shot.  Dude basically has a neutron star in his stick.

https://twitter.com/zreese11/status/771813038794080256

Shootout

With as good as Lehner and DeSmith were, of course it would come down tot the ultimate duel.

DeSmith got the better of Lehner in Round 1, stopping Barzal before Phil!

https://gfycat.com/HeartfeltPerfectIndianrhinoceros

At the other end, Komarov was shoot #2 for reasons?  Sid for the Pens.  No dice for either meant that it was on Josh Bailey’s stick to keep it alive on the Island.

https://gfycat.com/vasttensegavial

Malkin couldn’t seal it for the Pens, so we were on to extra innings, where neither Beauvillier nor Letang could give their respective teams a leg up in the 4th round.

But in the fifth, after DeSmith robbed ValFil blind with the glove, it was on Jake Guentzel’s stick.

https://gfycat.com/SpiritedFearlessGlassfrog

Bang.

https://gfycat.com/GentleImmaterialCrustacean

Silky ass move from Bake.  Give DeSmith his first OT/SO win.

Game.

NOTES

• Can’t stress enough how good both goaltenders were.  As mentioned, DeSmith faced 12 of the 19 5v5 shots against from the high danger areas of the ice (and only 1 medium danger shot), with the lone goal against coming from the HD area.  In total, it was 14 HD shots on 26, good for a .962 SV%.
• On the other side, Lehner faced just 24 shots in total with 18 coming at 5v5.  The Pens didn’t get the same penetration the Isles did for the first shot.  Of those 24, 11 came from the high danger area (7 at 5v5), scoring their lone goal as well from there.  But where the Pens really showed up was putting their rebounds back on net, generating 4 shots directly from rebounds.
• It makes total sense why HCMS broke up Guentzel-Crosby-Phil! because it really felt like the middle 6 needed a little shakeup, but in the 8:57 of 5v5 time they played together, they generated 13 shot attempts for and 9 against (59.09% share), owned 75% of the unblocked shot attempts (9-3), doubled the Islanders up on scoring chances (12-6, 66.67% share), and murdered the Isles on high danger scoring chances 5-1.
• Meanwhile, in the 5:22 Guentzel-Crosby-Brassard played together, they put together a 10-2 edge in shot attmepts (83.33% share), 5-2 in scoring chances (71.43%), and 3-2 in high danger chances.  So it seems like lines with Crosby (and Guentzel) just work.

https://twitter.com/G_Off817/status/1072494514193993728

• Just another casually good game out of Letang.  No big deal.

Dads trip wraps up tomorrow night in Chicago before the Pens head back home for 3 straight starting Friday when the Bruins come to town.  Do it.  Go Pens.