Second Goal More Important Than First for Penguins
In a regular hockey game, scoring the first goal is a great way to set yourself up for a successful night, but that hasn’t been the case for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2023-24.
According to stats from Penguins historian Bob Grove, Pittsburgh leads the league in first goals, but that tally hasn’t been a difference maker.
Grove notes that if the opposing team ties the score, the Penguins struggle with a record of 2-5-0.
Considering the current 9-8-0 record, they could be in much better positioning if they were able to extend early leads, rather than let them slip.
When the Penguins do record that second goal, prior to their win over the Vegas Golden Knights, they are 5-1-0.
For the Penguins this season, that second goal has proven to be more important than the first.
During that contest against the Golden Knights, the Penguins not only recorded the first goal, but followed it with the second to push that record to 6-1-0.
There were a few moments that the Penguins almost allowed their first goal slip, but Alex Nedeljkovic and his defense stood strong and eventually capped off his first shutout of the season.
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With that 6-1-0 record, the Penguins have proven that the first goal is good, but not great; they truly need to seal that second goal to really set themselves up.
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