The Pittsburgh Penguins took care of business against the New Jersey Devils in their first game back from the Olympic break - and in their first game without Sidney Crosby.
If anyone was worried about the Pittsburgh Penguins coming out of the Olympic break without their best player and captain, this team sure had something to say about it when they faced the New Jersey Devils on Thursday.
Despite coming out of the break without the services of Sidney Crosby, who sustained a lower-body injury during the Olympics that will keep him out around four weeks, the Penguins came to life in the third period of Thursday's game to beat the Devils, 4-1, in Pittsburgh.
Penguins' goaltender Arturs Silovs - who played for Team Latvia at the Olympic games in Milan - was outstanding, allowing just one goal on 29 shots and staving off some early pushes by New Jersey. Tommy Novak, Connor Clifton, and Egor Chinakhov got on the board for the Penguins before Blake Lizotte added a shorthanded empty-net goal at the end of the game to cap it off.
Pittsburgh was first to get on the board, as a late power play goal by Tommy Novak - a shot from the point by Kris Letang that was tipped on the way in by Novak - in the opening frame gave them the 1-0 lead. With a power play in the first part of the second period, though, the Devils started to gain a bit of momentum, and shortly after that man advantage, Paul Cotter tipped a Dougie Hamilton shot at the net-front to tie the game.
The Penguins and Dan Muse challenged the play for goaltender interference to no avail - making Muse 0-for-6 this season in coach's challenges for goaltender interference - putting the Penguins back on the PK. Avery Hayes - playing in just his second NHL game - took another penalty midway through the period, too, but the Penguins wouldn't surrender. In fact, they were getting ample chances on their penalty kill throughout the game, including a shorthanded breakaway by Connor Dewar and several other odd-man breaks.
And this seemed to help turn the momentum back in the way of the Penguins, who were clearly struggling to find rhythm with their four-line attack early on without their captain.
The Penguins were pressing heavily in the third, and six minutes in, the third line of Ben Kindel, Justin Brazeau, and Anthony Mantha was cycling in the offensive zone. The puck came to Ryan Shea at the left point, who pinged one off the crossbar on a heavy slapper. And, luckily, it trickled over and ricocheted off the right wall directly to Clifton, who one-timed it home to give the Penguins the 2-1 lead.
And, just as they have done many times this season, the Penguins quickly built their lead. Just 50 seconds later, Egor Chinakhov took a stretch pass from Evgeni Malkin, breaking into the offensive zone at full speed. He burst in deked backhand to forehand and laid one over the pad of Jacob Markstrom to put the Penguins up, 3-1.
New Jersey got a few opportunities later on, but nothing Silovs couldn't handle - even on the late penalty kill that Lizotte scored his shorthanded empty-netter on.
"It was huge," Clifton said. "I don't think we were very good in the first. We weren't very sharp. But we had a long [what felt like] training camp for the past couple weeks here. It felt like a long time. But I thought in the second and third, we were good, man. We didn't miss a beat.
"So, yeah, obviously we were playing really good before the break, and we got that long break, but we're right back in it. So, another big one on Saturday."
Here are a few thoughts and takeaways from this one:
- This was the best game that Clifton has played as a Penguin. And he earned that goal.
Not only did he finish the game with a team-high seven hits - as he often does - he scored the game-winning goal and made several big defensive plays throughout the evening, including a stick play in the blue paint at the end of the first period that prevented a New Jersey goal.
Clifton is well-liked in the locker room, and he has been playing much better hockey as the season has bore on. It was good to see him rewarded in this one.
- Aside from Clifton and Silovs, I thought the best players in this game were Ben Kindel and Erik Karlsson.
Karlsson was simply outstanding, and it was easy to tell there was carryover from the Olympics. He didn't end up on the scoresheet and was a plus-1, but his defense was what really stood out in this one, especially in the first period, when the Penguins and Silovs were under siege for a bit.
Then, there's Kindel. I'm running out of adjectives to describe this guy, and with Crosby out longer-term, I don't think it's going to be long before he sees an elevated role in the lineup. Everything comes so natural to him, and he's so good in all three zones. If I'm the Penguins, I'm also putting him in Crosby's spot on the first power play unit - because he is the one who directs the traffic on a second unit that was very effective Thursday.
There was a play in the first period where the Penguins were in the offensive zone, and Nico Hischier got the puck near the right point. Kindel just took Hischier out and won the physical battle and the puck battle, created a two-on-one opportunity, and put a perfect seam pass on the stick of Brazeau for a scoring opportunity. It was fun to witness.
- Another guy I'm running out of adjectives for? Chinakhov, who now has nine goals in 19 games with the Penguins, which is a 39-goal pace. In addition, Malkin has six assists on Chinakhov's goals, with five of them being primary assists.
That duo is just magical, and Chinakhov truly has a gift for finishing plays. If the Penguins make the playoffs mostly Crosbyless, they will be a huge reason why.
- I mentioned it in passing before, but this penalty kill is simply outstanding. Not only did it kill off all six New Jersey opportunities, it is now ranked second in the league at 84.5 percent behind only the Chicago Blackhawks, and it actually spends a fair amount of time in the offensive zone.
You have units that can kill penalties and stymie chances in-zone - which the Penguins certainly do - and then you have units that are a constant threat to take it the other way. The Penguins do both so well, and it makes them a legitimate threat shorthanded.
That's why it kind of makes me wonder if the unit is, at all, a factor in the decision-making for Muse when it comes to coach's challenges. Perhaps the Penguins aren't uncomfortable being shorthanded, so the stakes aren't as high as they would be otherwise if they challenge and lose (situation-dependent, obviously).
Just impressive stuff from them, all the way from Noel Acciari to Karlsson.
- This was a really, really big win for the Penguins. Not only did it put them seven points ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets, five points ahead of the Washington Capitals, and maintain their one-point lead on the New York Islanders, it was also a statement win without Crosby.
Everyone knows what lies ahead. This team has a packed schedule with a high degree of difficulty, and this team found their footing within this game and managed to take over the game completely once their legs were found. And they did it without 87.
That's a statement that they're not going anywhere, and it's a confidence-booster for a locker room that was already confident.
So, if you're one who doubts the Penguins' chances without Crosby, just stay tuned. They might surprise you.
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