The Penguins are on a warpath, gang.
Winners of their last 8, they’ve officially climbed from the depths of missing the playoffs to being level on points (52) with the Caps atop the Metro (Washington has played one fewer game).
https://twitter.com/Rick_City/status/1081381366422487041
You don’t say!
Let’s take a look at October/November Penguins vs. now:
https://gfycat.com/BitesizedSickFly
Seems important to note that Matt Murray and the Penguins might actually be good at the hockey. More on that at 11.
LINEUP
https://twitter.com/penguins/status/1081334219710889985
Only one change made to the winning lineup that shellacked the Rangers on Wednesday night as Oleksiak drew back in, replacing Riikola alongside Maatta. Between the pipes, we got a nice little battle between two of the best young netminders in the league as Murr went head-to-head with Connor Hellebuyck.
First Period
The Pens came out buzzing right off the hop. Felt like they knew this was a big litmus test for them and they were all about hanging dong and establishing dominance on a very good hockey club, holding the Jets to just one shot until about 6:48 left in the period.
That second shot came shorthanded though after they got caught with too many men with 7:03 remaining in the period to put the Peng on their first PP of the game. You know what that means.
PIT – 1st Pd./14:19 – PPG – Maatta; A: Pettersson, Guentzel – 1-0
It meant a 9th PPG in the last 11 chances. Not a big deal or anything.
And it came by way of the 2nd unit in the second half of the penalty after PP1 couldn’t get shit going their way. Following a lost neutral zone draw and a subsequent Jets clearance, Maatta went back to retrieve and hit Brassers with a stretch pass to center ice to get a clean entry through Money Bag. Jake drove to the corner, pulled the focus of the PK down low to him and swung it back up high to Maatta joining into the fray.
Picture perfect here from Maatta: he holds onto the puck enough to get Wheeler, coming back from chasing Guentzel, to give chase. With Wheeler running around, Maatta shifted the balance himself by going point-to-point to Pettersson. Once Wheeler settled back into position at the top of the box, it reopened Maatta to take a pass from Pettersson, who had moved into the faceoff dot to isolate Scheifele and compress the PK setup.
https://gfycat.com/EquatorialRequiredIbis
Maatta’s shot had eyes to get through, but eyes are good and so is Maatta.
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In this run of 9 PPG in 11 chances, the second unit has produced 3 of those goals (Riikola, Pearson, Maatta). Others by Kessel (2), Crosby (2), Malkin and Hornqvist.
— Bob Grove (@bobgrove91) January 5, 2019
PIT – 1st Pd./14:52 – Cullen; A: Aston-Reese, Johnson – 2-0
Took just 33 seconds to get you another goal blurb.
Right off the opening draw, it took some settling down from Winnipeg to set themselves up for a controlled breakout, but the Pens 4th line welcomed them to the skirmish in the neutral zone. Watch the Pens forecheckers here. Winnipeg has two options to move the puck, both left and right. On the left, Cullen is there keeping tabs and on the right, it’s ZAR. As the puck is moved left, ZAR quickly pinches to force a rushed pass up the wall that not even Jack Johnson could fuck up.
JJ73’s got no one around him, but has Cullen circling back into the neutral zone to pick up the pass and turn defense into offense before the Jets knew what hit them.
Cullen did get a little lucky on his pass to ZAR- it bounced around more than its fair share of times, but none the Jets forwards took that opportunity to help their D out and ZAR was in with Sheahan on a 2v2.
Fortunately for the Pens, one of those 2 was Kulikov, who inexplicably tries to step up on bury ZAR and as soon as he does, he leaves Joe Morrow to die.
https://gfycat.com/CheeryPlumpGlowworm
Shifty little move from ZAR to avoid being decapitated and schwifty little move just to throw it towards Cullen, getting a little bounce off his ear.
https://twitter.com/G_Off817/status/1081349089957240834
Who said this team lacks depth scoring? The last 11 goals to that point had come from 11 different players.
SECOND PERIOD
All in the first 6:38 of the period, Matt the Murr continued to be dialed in, Rust took a shot off the balls (where pee is stored), and the Jets went to the PP for the first time after Brassard went off for holding Tanev.
https://twitter.com/G_Off817/status/1081357567262109696
Pens were all business on the PK between Murr being Murr and the rest of the gang selling out to block everything else. Crosby and Guentzel even got in on the shorthanded act, setting up Maatta for what was nearly his second.
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PIT – 2nd Pd./14:39 – Simon; A: Malkin – 3-0
But late in on the 2nd, the Pens would find that elusive third goal with that quick strike transition that decimated the Rangers on Wednesday.
The Jets were threatening, too, following a rimmer from the neutral zone. Johnson and Pettersson actually dealt with it well, but Simon’s little touch pass from the wall just didn’t connect with 71 and it gave the Jets left again.
That is until Murray’s quick little kick save on Perreault’s shot came straight out to Malkin in the slot with all 3 Jets forwards below the faceoff circles. That is, in a word, bad!
Simon is brilliant here though. Instead of being a passenger with Malkin picking up the pass by just skating up the left wing wall with him, he pivots and cuts to the middle to split the D later on. With Hornqvist a threat on the far side, Johnson trailing, and Simon burning up the middle, the two lone Winnipeg defenders were fucked. If one engages with Malkin, it creates a 3v1 on the far side. They didn’t, allowing 71 to skate freely to the faceoff dot. By that point, Simon is in the slot, powering through the check to get into a scoring position. The way he just dummies Joe Morrow should not go unnoticed. The last time Joe Morrow was embarrassed this much, he was traded for the corpse of Brenden Morrow.
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Don’t sleep on that Malkin pass though. It’s beyond sexy. But how Hellebuyck gets over to catch this puck will never process in my mindbrain.
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You watch that overhead and literally every other angle and it’s damn near impossible to tell if that puck crossed the line or not. It would’ve been a save for Hellebuyck’s highlight reel.
Then, like an RKO, we got hit out of nowhere with the crossbar cam.
This is one of those camera angles that’d cause you to call your doctor because your blood was directed to your unit for longer than 4 hours. It’s such a great angle that if cam girls had it, they’d all be zillionaires.
You don’t take this camera angle to Olive Garden and blow your rancid seed onto it’s belly in the back of your 97 Monte Carlo.
No.
You take this camera angle home to meet your parents.
It’s the perfect angle.
https://twitter.com/G_Off817/status/1081364489289809920
Pens back to the PP just over a minute later after JoMo closed his hand on the puck following a Crosby look, but the Pens just had to settle for 9 out of their last 12. Whatever.
THIRD PERIOD
The third period was a quest to get Murr his shutout and shoot down the Jets. Give Letang the gimme goal (from Crosby and Cullen) and give Murr that shutout, baby.
https://gfycat.com/GlamorousFeistyAnkolewatusi
https://twitter.com/G_Off817/status/1081379735106711552
Game.
NOTES
- Matt Murray improves to 7-0-0 in his last 7 with a .962 SV% and two shutouts. All of the losers and haters (of which there are many) that doubted this kid or still hope he fails can eat a dick.
- Big boy game from Letang again. The play he and Dumo made to break up the play and get the empty net goal rolling was something special. He was just all over the ice all night.
https://twitter.com/jtarbett/status/1081367797672726528
- Another point for Crosby. Another 5v5 point for Malkin. Seems good.
The homestand continues Sunday night when the Blackhawks come to town before wrapping up on Tuesday as the Pens play host to the Panthers. Go Pens.
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