Last night, the Penguins traveled to Detroit to take on the Red Wings in a game no one outside of Pittsburgh seemed to give a shit about.
That didn’t stop the Penguins from laying an egg and giving the <3 Ian Cole <3 and Fuck Matt Murray crowds more fuel for their unhinged fires.
Letang said the #pens had a “lack of urgency” tonight. But “we have all the talent in the world in this room. If we focus we’ll be fine.” -SK
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) March 28, 2018
Last night’s 5-2 loss to the Wangs means 3 and only 3 things:
- The Penguins need to play better in April (they will)
- Thursday’s game in Jersey and Sunday’s game against Washington are even more meaningful
- The Pens are still likely going into the playoffs as the 2 or 3 seed in the Metro. No big deal.
Anything else and you’re fishing for more clues than the Hardly Boys.
LINEUP
Welcome back to the lineup, @zreese11! pic.twitter.com/fXEQPSqSYK
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 27, 2018
The inevitable return of the Great White ZAR, replacing Simon in the lineup. No other changes with Murr vs. Jimmeh in the cage.
GOALS
PIT – 1st Pd./0:38– Crosby; A: Guentzel – 1-0
Right off the hop, the Peng looked every bit of the team that could and should beat the wheels off a Tanking SZN/Fallin’ for Dahlin team. Just 38 seconds in, Grendel set that stage by lurking around the D zone to pick a horrid Larkin pass to take off with 87 on a 2v1 on a kid playing his second NHL game. Get real with that pass. 2nyce.
https://gfycat.com/gifs/detail/QuaintTinyDanishswedishfarmdog
DET – 1st Pd./16:43 – Kronwall; A: Helm, Larkin – 1-1
But the Pens in-zone coverage would come back to kick them in the taints 16 minutes later as the Wings recovered from their opening shift woes. Larkin and Helm took the Pens 3rd line to task down low with no one picking up or going after Helm below the goal line as he took the feed from Larkin. Instead, Jultz, Letang, Phil!, and Brassers all stood around and watched, allowing Kronwall to lumber into the slot to take a feed and rip it by Murr to even the score.
https://gfycat.com/gifs/detail/ArtisticForsakenGartersnake
DET – 2nd Pd./14:28 – PPG – Nielsen; A: Frk, Hicketts – 2-1
Despite the Pens tilting the ice in their favor following the goal, midway through the 2nd frame the Wings would turn it back around, grabbing a mid-period PP with Oleksiak in the box for high sticking Helm. It took the Wangs almost the full 2 minutes to break the deadlock, but when they did, it was in sexy fashion. The puck movement and interchanging from Nielsen, Hicketts, and Frk up high put the Pens PK to the sword, eventually opening up a free feed and score from Nielsen to put the Pens PK at 50% for the game.
https://gfycat.com/gifs/detail/AmusingZanyFlyinglemur
DET – 2nd Pd./15:09– Glendening; A: Jensen, Helm – 3-1
Just 41 seconds later, the Pens were toast. After a failed offensive zone shift, the Athanasiou-Glendening-Helm line for the Wings hit the Pens on the break. They looked destined to score on their 3v1, but one pass too many sunk that ship and Malkin was able to get back and get it back to center ice. But the perfect storm kept coming as Malkin took the dump in off the chest, allowing the Wangs to get back onside and counterpunch the Pens as they went for a change, outnumbering them and allowing Glendening the free deflection in front of Murr.
https://gfycat.com/gifs/detail/WellgroomedGentleIsopod
DET – 3rd Pd./6:21– Helm; A: Larkin, Hicketts– 4-1
The Pens would end up taking control of the 3rd period, owning 64.29% of the even strength shot share. But on the one flurry the Wings had, they made the Pens pay on a poor Guentzel d-zone turnover. The clearing attempt ended up on Helm’s stick and as the grenade bounced around, with some help from Larkin, he would get the biscuit to DeKeyser at the point. Deferral to Hicketts to rip it through the seam to Larkin down low as the Pens ran around with reckless abandon for Larkin to hit Helm on the back stick for the finish.
https://gfycat.com/gifs/detail/AdorableRemoteBengaltiger
PIT – 3rd Pd./16:44– Letang; A: Malkin, Hornvist– 4-2
If the Penguins were a snoozing Pokemon that takes up an entire path, that 4th Wings goal was a Pokeflute.
Unreal shift in power dynamics. And HCMS didn’t hesitate to take that power and use it for something good, pulling Murr with over 3 minutes left to try to get back into it. The Big Guns would get a bit of a lucky bounce of the stick of Ericsson as Malkin’s attempted pass to Crosby on the back post got broken up, but it only came as far as Letang stepping in and cranking one through Howard to cut the lead in half.
https://gfycat.com/gifs/detail/AnguishedFalseIlsamochadegu
DET – 3rd Pd./18:32 – ENG – Glendening; A: Daley, DeKeyser – 5-2
That’d be all she wrote for the Penguanos, though, as DeKeyser and Daley would combine to turn the puck over and chip it up the wall to Glendening to hit the empty cage about 2 minutes later to seal the deal for the Wangos.
https://gfycat.com/gifs/detail/LameTameDodobird
Game.
NOTES
- Daily reminder to keep Matt Murray’s name outcha mouths. There were a grand total of zero (0) goals scored against him last night that he could have and should have saved. His glove hand looked good, though.
- Daily reminder that Ian Cole is gone and he ain’t coming back. Time to put your big boy and big girl pants on and realize that Ian Cole would not and could not make a difference in games like last night or against the Devils on Friday night. Just because they lose doesn’t mean you need to fill your diapers over Ian Cole. This is officially gospel.
- Sidney Crosby has officially put the rest of the league on notice with 7 points in his last 4 games (4G-3A) as well as points in 8 of his last 10 games (5G-9A).
- Brassard got hurt last night. So that sucks.
Coach Sullivan says Brassard has a lower-body injury, but there is no additional update on his status.
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 28, 2018
Pens head to Newark as the Devils host them Thursday night before they come back home to host Montreal and Washington on Saturday and Sunday. LGP.
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