After a rough outing in a 2-1 shootout loss to the New York Rangers on Saturday, the Pittsburgh Penguins had a quick turnaround for a matinee matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights Sunday.
And they responded with one of their best games of the season.
The Penguins beat the Knights, 5-0, in a clinical effort both offensively and defensively. Five different players scored goals for the Penguins, while goaltender Arturs Silovs continued to stay hot with a 22-save shutout.
Vegas came out ready to play, but beyond the first five minutes of the game, the Penguins were the better team. The scoring kicked off when rookie Ben Kindel sniped one from the slot with five minutes remaining in the first for his 15th of the season, putting the Penguins up, 1-0.
Then, the floodgates were opened in the second period. After gaining come momentum on a preceding power play, Egor Chinakhov snapped home a top-shelf shot from the right circle to make it 2-0. Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell followed that up with a pair of power play goals before the end of the period - and Rust's clinched his seventh-consecutive 20-goal season.
With five minutes remaining in regulation, Justin Brazeau sniped one from the right side off the rush, capping off a comfortable and dominant 5-0 victory.
Here are some notes and observations:
- Chinakhov is a good hockey player. I mean, what else can I say at this point? His release is utterly ridiculous, he's always in position to create a scoring chance, and he's always one of the first guys on the backcheck and covering for pinching defensemen.
This guy continues to amaze.
- On a similar note, Kindel was, once again, one of the game’s best players. Not even surprised anymore.
He is a future star.
- As of now, the Penguins are on pace to have six players score 20 or more goals. But they could end up with more than that.
Sidney Crosby has 27. Anthony Mantha has 21. Rust has 20. Justin Brazeau is on pace for 24. Kindel is on pace for 21. Evgeni Malkin is on pace for 20.
However, Chinakhov is pacing 19, and - at this rate - will pass 20 with flying colors. Rakell is currently on pace for 18 despite having missed 21 games and is one hot streak away from, like Rust, securing his seventh 20-goal season. Connor Dewar is pacing 18 and could also hit 20. Same with Tommy Novak, who is pacing 17 but is playing in an elevated role as the top-line center right now without Crosby.
There is a possibility that the Penguins could end the season with 10 20-goal scorers. No team has done that since the 1980-81 St. Louis Blues, and the NHL record is 11 set by the Boston Bruins in 1970-71 and 1977-78.
- Even if he wasn’t very busy, this was another outstanding performance from Arturs Silovs. He has now won six of his last seven and has a .934 save percentage in his last nine games.
Of course, aside from a few iffy starts prior to the Olympic break, Stuart Skinner has been playing very well for the Penguins, too. But Silovs is really beginning to assert himself as a legitimate starting goaltender at the NHL level. His overall season save percentage is now .902, and he's still a rookie.
I imagine, for the most part, we'll still see a split down the stretch run, especially with a hefty March schedule ahead. But Silovs is a proven performer in high-leverage situations - including the NHL and AHL playoffs as well as internationally - even in his young career.
If the playoffs started today, I'd give Silovs the first game. And if he continues this, he will be their starting netminder in the playoffs.
- The Penguins’ net-front defense has improved a great deal since the holiday break, and it was especially good against Vegas. The Penguins' blueliners are doing a better job boxing players out, winning physical battles, and getting pucks out of danger.
And they also keep making some potential game-saving plays.
In the first period, Connor Clifton was in the blue paint, and Silovs was out of his net. Clifton blocked a shot to prevent it from going in a wide-open cage. Then, later in the game, a puck got loose behind Silovs, and Parker Wotherspoon dove into the crease to get his stick in there and swat the puck out of danger.
The team continues to improve on its net-front defense game in and game out, and head coach Dan Muse says that although it's been much better, it's still a work in progress.
"I think it's an area that's gotten better over the course of the year," Muse said. "I think guys have done a good job in their positioning. Over the course of the year, it's been pretty consistent. Guys have been willing to block shots. Those deep ones are the harder ones, too, like it's a little bit easier when you're actually skating out there and when you're that deep.
"I think they've shown a willingness right from the start of the year, and just the play around the net is... there's always plenty that we'll continue to look at and say that we need to keep cleaning up and keep improving and keep adding layers, too. But, I think it's gone in the right direction, and now we need to keep that part of the game continuing to improve."
- The Penguins now own the sixth-best points percentage (.636) in the NHL. They are sixth in regulation wins (27). Only four teams own a better goal differential than their plus-30.
In case you weren't already convinced, this is a damn good hockey team.
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