Takeaways: Penguins Make Statement With 6-2 Stomping Of Oilers

Well, folks, it may be time to talk about the Pittsburgh Penguins. 

Because after yet another win on Thursday, I think it's safe to say that this is a pretty good hockey team. 

On the second leg of a back-to-back, the Penguins earned their third straight win when they beat the Edmonton Oilers, 6-2, to continue what has been a perfect Western road trip so far. They got two goals from Anthony Mantha as well as tallies from captain Sidney Crosby, Rickard Rakell, Evgeni Malkin, and Egor Chinakhov.

Goaltender Arturs Silovs stopped 30 of 32 Edmonton shots on the night, while Oilers' netminder - and ex-Penguin - Tristan Jarry stopped just 16 of 22 shots. 

This was an impressive win for the Penguins, who have largely struggled against the Oilers. In fact, they were 2-8 in their last 10 games against Edmonton coming into Thursday's matchup. 

But they came to play. And they set the tone from the start.

Just 2:20 into the game, Justin Brazeau found Mantha crashing the net off the rush, feeding him a pass that he put home to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead. Then, just 22 seconds later, Mantha - again - was sprung by Brazeau, this time on a breakaway. Mantha beat Jarry backhand and put the Penguins up by two early.

And they weren't done. Only 15 seconds after that goal, Ryan Shea threw a shot-pass toward the slot area, where Crosby was waiting to redirect it. Crosby successfully found the back of the net on the deflection, and within 35 seconds, the Penguins had scored three on the Oilers and had a commanding early lead.

The Oilers did respond early in the second period, as Jake Walman capitalized on a shorthanded odd-man break from the slot to cut the lead to 3-1. But the Penguins never really let up, even if the Oilers were getting a few chances. Later in the period, the Penguins put on the extra attacker on a delayed penalty call, and Rakell sniped a shot from the left circle past Jarry after a gorgeous feed from Malkin to restore the three-goal lead. 

Then, just under two minutes later, Malkin had a breakaway opportunity, and he beat Jarry five-hole on the backhand to put Pittsburgh up, 5-1.

The Penguins still had more in the tank, too. Early in the final frame, Tommy Novak carried the puck from the neutral zone into offensive zone traffic, and he managed to forward the puck to a breaking Chinakhov down the left side. The 24-year-old Russian winger placed a bullet of a shot top-shelf for his fifth goal in 12 games as a Penguin to make it 6-1.

Matt Savoie did add a late tally for the Oilers, but it wasn't nearly enough, as the Penguins were able to shut down Edmonton late and not give them anything to work with. They also managed to blank both Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, who was playing in his first game since Jan. 15 after attending to family matter in Germany.

Here are some takeaways from this impressive win by the Penguins:

- The fact that the Penguins came into Edmonton, where they've historically struggled, on the second leg of a back-to-back and absolutely controlled the entire 60 minutes against this Oilers team is massively impressive. 

Sure, the Oilers had a few chances, and some puck luck didn't go their way. But there was never really a point in the game, aside from a late power play in the first period, where it felt like they were in control. The Penguins were frustrating the heck out of them. They were disrupting plays and getting their sticks on everything. Their goaltender was making big saves, and their defensemen were blocking shots. 

The Penguins' stick detail around their own net and in the defensive zone as a whole has been wildly impressive since the holiday break, and that continued into Thursday. They didn't give the Oilers much in terms of high-danger chances - save for a five-on-one opportunity that Edmonton managed to botch entirely - and they largely controlled possession.

The all-around game from the Penguins right now is something to marvel at. In October, they were scoring at a ridiculous rate while still displaying some warts on defense. Now, those warts are all but gone, and the Penguins are all of a sudden a pretty dangerous hockey team. 

- Anytime the Penguins have a bit of an onslaught, it seems like Crosby doesn't show up on the scoresheet much. The same thing happened on Thursday, as the captain only recorded one point.

But that's not necessarily a bad thing. 

The Penguins are getting contributions from up and down their lineup, and it seems to be a different line every single night. The fourth line has had their flowers. On Thursday, it was the third line. Wednesday against the Calgary Flames, it was the second line. 

The Penguins not needing to rely on their first line for production - which has been a consistent theme for the previous three seasons - is a very big deal. And it's simply a bonus when Crosby, Rakell, and Bryan Rust are clicking, too.

This team can roll four lines, and they're all a threat to deliver on offense. That's a massive development.

- I think I've mentioned Chinakhov in just about every takeaways piece. 

But, wow, was that shot something else. 

Chinakhov sniped that one top-shelf, and it was in and out so fast that no one - including Jarry himself - even realized it went in other than Chinakhov and Ryan Shea.

I have no idea what was going on in Columbus or why things didn't work out for Chinakhov there. But between his unrivaled shot, his speed, his defensive conscience, and awareness in all three zones, this guy is legitimate.

What a get by Dubas. A guy with a shot like that isn't good by accident.

- Malkin was, once again, flying on Thursday. He now has 39 points in 35 games this season, and he, Chinakhov, and Novak are operating from the stratosphere right now.

He's hit another level. And he deserves another contract next season if that's what he wants.

- Jack St. Ivany deserves a lot of credit for how he's played in these last couple of games. Not only is that two multi-point games in a row, he also blocked a shot with his left foot on that late first-period power play by the Oilers, and he was in substantial pain afterward. He wasn't putting weight on his leg and was forced to continue his shift.

Well, he finished his shift by contributing to a zone clear then finally making his way to the bench, when he went down the runway. He returned for the second period and played the rest of the game. 

That was a pivotal block in this game, and he's been much, much better in the last couple. Hopefully, that can continue. 

- Much has been made about Stuart Skinner's run with the Penguins as of late, and deservedly so. 

But Silovs deserves his flowers, too.

Walman's goal is probably one he'd want to have back. But, otherwise, this was one of the best games he has played as a Penguin. There was a sequence just before the end of the first period when Zach Hyman crashed the net on a breakaway and nearly tucked the puck in. Silovs stopped it with his right pad against the post, but the puck was laying on the goal line.

Instead of panicking, Silovs maneuvered carefully and allowed defenseman Parker Wotherspoon to aid him with his stick, and he managed to not let the puck cross the goal line.

Silovs has been much better as of late, as three of his last four appearances have seen save percentages of .920 or above. But he has a knack for coming up big in the game's biggest moments, and he did that again Thursday.

If the Penguins can continue to get this goaltending from their tandem, they'll be fine the rest of the way - and they may just have a run in them.

- So, let's talk about these Penguins.

They're playing well defensively. They're getting scoring from up and down their lineup. They're getting good goaltending. They're top-five in both special teams categories. 

At this point, it might be okay to say that this is, simply, a good hockey team.

Nothing they're doing is by accident anymore. They're not on a PDO bender. They're not getting lucky. They're not just opportunistic. 

No. They're legitimately outplaying some of the best hockey teams in the league at five-on-five, and they're not only outplaying them, they're outworking them and controlling the vast majority of the 60 minutes per game. 

The process is there for this hockey team. The underlying metrics support that, too, and I'll have a piece on that Friday. They are playing a sustainable brand of hockey, and it happens to be a winning brand of hockey.

Now, we shouldn't just be talking playoffs. This team could very much compete for the division. They're two points ahead of the New York Islanders for second place in the Metro, six points in front of the next divisional team in the Philadelphia Flyers, and just six points back of the division-leading Carolina Hurricanes with a game in hand. 

This isn't a mirage. This is real. The Pittsburgh Penguins are a competitive hockey team, and if they can keep this up, it may be okay to set sights even higher by the end of the regular season.

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