SAN JOSE, Calif. — An extraordinary first period was buttressed by careless turnovers and lapses in the defensive zone. The Pittsburgh Penguins had nearly a dozen high-danger scoring chances in the first period.
But they also handed the San Jose Sharks a half dozen unfettered rips at goalie Tristan Jarry. After 20 minutes, neither the Penguins nor San Jose could light the lamp.
“I think just the last couple of games I’ve been working on getting a good start. I think that was one of the things that I wanted to improve from last year was improving my starts, improving my starts for the team,” Jarry said. “And I think this year Artie (Silovs) and I have done a good job of that.”
In the second period, Sidney Crosby made an extraordinary deflection for the first goal, and Justin Brazeau’s beauty of an assist set up Anthony Mantha for the second goal before Evgeni Malkin netted the third goal via an empty netter for the Penguins’ 3-0 win over San Jose at the SAP Center.
“Some key special team situations there at the end, some really good situations for us to be in for this time of year and to come out of there with the points again tonight,” Muse said. “(It’s) something to build off of, and the season’s still really young–we’re still in the early stages–but I think that we’re seeing some of that foundation being built.”
There were plenty of standout performances on Saturday, including a “wow” effort from rookie center Ben Kindel, who led all players with five shots, and led all players with “ohhs” from this reporter.
Kindel was exemplary, but the primary story was in the net.
Jarry vs. Alex Nedeljkovic. A goaltending duel. Sometimes, the fates just douse the script in lighter fluid and set it afire.
Jarry stopped 30 shots, and plenty of them were high-danger chances. He very much earned the shutout–that was a great Penguins effort, but it came with plenty of mistakes.
Kindel had four shots in the first period, and three of those were dangerous chances in front of the net on the same shift. He couldn’t sneak that piece of frozen vulcanized rubber past Nedeljkovic, who made a couple of flipper saves.
But his puppet master plays in the offensive zone put him in perfect positions for scoring chances. The hockey gods probably banked a couple of goals for him in the future.
There was no shortage of Penguins on top of their game. The A grades on the report card would be many from Erik Karlsson, who was his very best, Kindel, to Anthony Mantha and Justin Brazeau, who looked like silky mitted skyscrapers towering above the young Sharks.
Penguins Analysis
From a tactical analysis, the Penguins showed the best of coach Dan Muse’s system, especially in the first 30 minutes. With a good push from the back, the Penguins were connected. Defensemen were crisp with breakout passes, and the Penguins created a lot of rush pressure on San Jose, which resulted in extended zone time and scoring chances.
San Jose was racing to keep up, and the Penguins’ zone movement and puck support kept plays alive inside the fun side of the blue line.
One of Muse’s pet terms is “connected play,” and most of the team was connected as pucks were tape-to-tape from the end zone to the opposing goal.
However, the Penguins also faltered. They got ahead of themselves and had a particular problem covering the rush defensemen. The F3s were not connected to the defensemen, and San Jose had a few odd-man rushes and plenty of breaks.
Despite a big early advantage, the scoring chances finished at 24-24, according to NaturalStatTrick.com.
Were the defensemen, especially Harrison Brunicke, overaggressive, or were a few of the forwards, including Anthony Mantha, too greedy?
We’re leaning toward the forwards at fault because Muse has made a point to unleash the defensemen. There were far too many instances with Penguins wingers propped up the midwall instead of cycling high to protect a pinching or rushing defenseman.
Far too many moments of spectating instead of covering.
In the end, the Penguins were a superior team to the hollowed-out San Jose roster that is finally on the upswing after years lost in the abyss. San Jose will be quite good very soon, but they’re not there yet, and the roster is still thin with only talented rookies at the top.
Penguins Report CardTeam: B
There’s no way to camouflage the voluminous mistakes. There were so many good things–the speed and tempo of play, the zone entries, and the chances near the net, but the mistakes with the puck by the usual culprits, especially Letang, and absentee F3s, were a problem that other teams would have exploited to bury the Penguins.
Ben Kindel: A+++
The kid can play. He’s not wilting, he’s getting better and better. His plays sometimes escape the casual observer, but little touch passes, quick steps in the right spots to create space for himself or teammates, his work in the defensive zone, and his work on the walls only serve to enhance his very visible offensive chances.
“We had a feeling–it was a little bit more of a track meet feel, but I thought he did a good job on both sides of it,” said coach Dan Muse. “I think he’s not getting enough credit for how well he can play there and how much he’s growing away from the puck.”
Kindel was brilliant on Saturday.
Justin Brazeau: A+
It seemed Brazeau had the puck on his stick on every shift. That’s obviously not entirely true, but the number of smart plays in the offensive and defensive zone paired nicely with his wall work. And that assist on Mantha’s goal was pretty.
This acquisition is starting to look like an absolutely brilliant stroke by GM Kyle Dubas. Brazeau has five points (4-1-5) in six games. His two-year contract is worth $1.5 million per season–the Penguins are getting close to breaking even already.
Tristan Jarry: A+
That was as good as Jarry has been in a long time. He was good from the opening minutes when he had to make a few tough saves, and did so with a calm, confident demeanor. He was tall throughout the game and never gave a hint of scrambling or tension.
“I think it’s just a mentality. Going out there with the confidence and standing tall and being able to know that you’re gonna make those first saves, and I think that’s something that’s changed as well.”
Caleb Jones: A+
Jones was very good–his best game this season. As Brunicke got a bit shaky at different points in the game, Jones was there to bail out his partner. Jones was also very good at pushing the play forward and interrupting the San Jose plays; no mistakes and a lot of sneaky good plays.
He and Kindel connected on a few plays in the offensive zone that weren’t readily visible, except to them.
Kris Letang: F
Letang earned his 598th career assist, but it was otherwise an adventure for the tenured defenseman. On one shift in the first period, scorers should have tagged Letang with a pair of turnovers. In total, we counted at least four giveaways and, more importantly, twice players easily skated past him in the defensive zone.
William Eklund did so in the first period for an uncontested scoring chance. In the second, Jeff Skinner got behind Letang, who defended the play by popping Skinner in the head. It worked, and there was no penalty call in a loosely officiated game.
Harrison Brunicke: C-
Brunicke made a few special plays in the first period, but he was chasing the game in the second and third periods. Mistakes mounted, and he appeared to be forcing things.
He needed to take a breath and refocus. All part of the learning curve.
Erik Karlsson: A+
It was fun to watch Karlsson Saturday. He was dealing. Every so often, you see the absolute best from Karlsson, who can outskate everyone, see the game before it happens, and create his vision. This was such a game. He was also engaged at the defensive end of the ice.
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