The Pittsburgh Penguins dropped their second straight game in regulation - and dropped to third in the Metropolitan Divsion standings - with a 6-2 loss against the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday.
Last week, the Pittsburgh Penguins put a 7-2 stomping on the best team in the league in the Colorado Avalanche.
Unfortunately, a week later - after some goaltending and defensive meltdowns as well as another goaltender interference ruling gone wrong - the result was reversed.
The Avalanche ousted the Penguins, 6-2, taking advantage of some defensive miscues by the Penguins as well as subpar goaltending. Arturs Silovs stopped just 24 of 29 shots for the Penguins, and the Penguins were credited with 15 giveaways.
The most prominent one came courtesy of defenseman Parker Wotherspoon, who coughed up the puck at the offensive blue line to Nathan MacKinnon early in the first period, and MacKinnon brought it down on a breakaway opportunity and capitalized to put the Avs up, 1-0.
Not even four minutes later, Egor Chinakhov - who now has four goals and 12 points in his last 10 games - one-timed a puck from the right point and behind Scott Wedgewood to even the score at 1-1. However, Colorado got three unanswered first-period goals from Sam Malinski, Martin Necas, and Parker Kelly to cushion themselves with a 4-1 lead heading into first intermission.
The Penguins came out flying in the second period, and they appeared to cut the deficit to two with 12 and a half to go in the middle frame when Justin Brazeau picked up the loose change in front on a diving play. However - as things have gone for the Penguins all season long - the Avs challenged for goalie interference and won, reversing the call on the ice and keeping the score 4-1.
The Penguins failed to convert on a double-minor by Nazem Kadri for high-sticking after that, and Necas registered his second of the game in the final minutes of the period to make it 5-1. Just past the midway point of the third, Rickard Rakell cut into the deficit and gave the Penguins some life, but Ross Colton’s empty-net goal a little less than five minutes later sealed the 6-2 win for the Colorado.
Here are some thoughts and takeaways from this one:
- I don't know how many more times this needs screamed from the rooftops, but it's malpractice not to have Chinakhov on the first power play unit.
This unit is struggling right now. It started out well in the first three games out of the Olympic break, going 4-for-10. Since then? It has goals in just seven of the last 46 opportunities, and three of those have been five-on-three goals. That’s good for just a 15.2 percent conversion rate, which, stretched over the whole season, would be the second-worst conversion rate in the league.
Chinkahov is a shoot-first player and has one of the best shots in the National Hockey League. He also has excellent vision and can use his skating to his advantage to maintain movement on the unit. He's a "trigger man", if there ever was one.
He should absolutely be with elite playmakers Crosby and Karlsson on that unit, whoever else they’d have to take off. My choice would be Rust (assuming Malkin is healthy and in for Anthony Mantha), but with Malkin out, he should definitely be on it in Mantha’s place.
- It’s not a secret that the Penguins are bleeding goals-against right now.
I wrote a piece on the defensive corps beyond the first pairing being an issue right now, which definitely holds true. But goaltending hasn’t been much help, either.
Silovs has a sub-.860 save percentage in five of his last six starts after a hot run prior to the Olympic break. Stuart Skinner has a sub-.900 save percentage in four out of his last five starts.
That isn’t good enough.
I know a ton of people are clamoring for prospect Sergei Murashov to get some starts down the stretch run of the season here. I’m not sure I agree. I’m still of the belief that it’s never a good idea to thrust your best goaltending prospect into a must-win, high-pressure, high-stakes situation during the stretch run of an NHL season where your team is trying to make the playoffs.
If, on the off-chance, it works out spectacularly, then great. But, if it doesn’t, you risk it permanently stunting the growth of your most prized prospect - and that’s a risk that isn’t worth taking, in my opinion. Especially since Murashov’s last five games in the AHL have not been overly confidence-inducing, either.
- Yes, the members of the Penguins’ top line are producing just fine. Crosby has a goal and five points in his four games since returning from injury. Rakell has four goals and 11 points in his last 10 games. Rust has seven goals and 14 points in his last 10.
That said, I’m not sure I wouldn’t try switching things around.
This has less to do with the top line and more to do with the rest of the lineup. Yes, Chinakhov is producing, as he has four goals and 12 points in his last 10. Yes, Evgeni Malkin is producing when he’s in the lineup with two goals and five points in the four games since his suspension. Yes, Anthony Mantha has mostly been producing despite a goose egg in the last three games.
But it doesn’t look as awesome for others. Brazeau has one goal three points in his last 12 games and none in his last five. Ben Kindel has two points in his last 10. Tommy Novak has one point in his last eight. Connor Dewar has one goal and four points in his last 18 games.
The depth scoring on this roster with Crosby in the lineup needs revived. Give Kindel some 2C minutes instead of Novak. Have Novak center Elmer Soderblom or Ville Koivunen and Brazeau and Kindel center Chinakhov and Rakell. Maybe plug Mantha up with Crosby and Rust. Or, keep Mantha on the second line with Kindel and plug Rakell there, switching him with Chinakhov.
Not having Malkin and Blake Lizotte in the lineup is hurting this team’s bottom-six, but I think they can better-construct these lines in the meantime. If I’m the Penguins, I give this a shot:
Chinakhov-Crosby-Rust
Rakell-Kindel-Mantha
Soderblom/Koivunen-Novak-Brazeau
Soderblom/Koivunen-Dewar-Acciari
- Speaking of switching things around, I’m not really sure how to address these defensive pairings.
You can’t split up Parker Wotherspoon and Erik Karlsson. Messing up the one thing that has worked with consistency is certainly a risk this late in the season, and it’s probably not worth the small chance that the second pairing will improve drastically enough to offset the first pairing being messed with.
I’m not sure Sam Girard and Letang can stay together much longer. You can stick Ryan Shea with Letang, but in all honesty, the results haven’t been much different.
I think the Penguins will be forced to ride this out and hope their backend plays better. They have to start playing better if they want to make the playoffs.
- This goaltender interference thing is truly something else. I’ve never seen anything like it.
Not only are the Penguins 0-for-8 in their own goaltender interference challenges this season, the opposition is also 4-for-5 against them. So, that’s a combined 1-for-13 for the Penguins on goaltender interference this season.
This is absurd. I will say that Tuesday’s had a bit more gray area than others, as Brazeau’s skate did touch Wedgewood’s in the blue paint, even if barely. I don’t think Brazeau’s contact with Wedgewood had much of anything to do with his ability to make the save or not, as I think Devon Toews’s stick was the bigger culprit. But, technically, Brazeau did contact him in the blue paint, so I could see why they might overturn.
However, given the much more blatant goaltender interference on Saturday against the Winnipeg Jets that didn’t go the Penguins’ way? The one in the Blue Jackets-Islanders game on Sunday? The one in the Toronto-Boston game Tuesday?
This is becoming a pattern, and it’s a questionable one, at best. These kinds of numbers stacked against one team simply do not happen. And the goal reversal very well may have affected the outcome of the game because, if that goal stands, the score is 4-2 with 12 and a half minutes still to play in the second period, and the Penguins had all of the momentum on their side.
The league needs to figure out this problem. No, a 35 percent success rate on coach’s challenges this season overall does not mean this is entirely a “Penguins problem.” But it is disproportionately affecting the Penguins, and if things continue the way they’ve been going, it could affect the outcome of their season.
That simply cannot happen.
- The Penguins got lucky on the out-of-town scoreboard on Tuesday. Even though the Blue Jackets leapfrogged them for second place with a regulation win over the Philadelphia Flyers, the Islanders, Red Wings, and Bruins all lost in regulation.
Pittsburgh has the Ottawa Senators on Thursday, a team they've won just two of their last 10 games against. Even though this is the Penguins' hardest week of the regular season schedule-wise - and the Blue Jackets and Islanders have harder remaining schedules than the Penguins, who close out the season with six straight games against current non-playoff teams - it's certainly in their best interest to get two clean points on Thursday. Especially since the Sens currently occupy the second wild card spot just one point behind the Pens.
If the Penguins can survive the rest of this week, a very important contest on Mar. 30 looms with the Islanders. That feels like the one to circle on your calendar, folks.
Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!