ANAHEIM, Calif. — It was neither a clean nor a low-event hockey game, even if the Pittsburgh Penguins players and coach took positives from it.

The Anaheim Ducks scored a late power play goal–old nemesis Chris Kreider, of course–and beat the Penguins 4-3 at the Honda Center Tuesday.

Defenseman Parker Wotherspoon took a delay of game penalty with 1:34 remaining, and seven seconds later, the Penguins penalty kill allowed Anaheim’s second power play goal of the game, which stood as the winner.

And Wotherspoon was kicking himself hard after the game.

“It was a dumb play. If I make the right choice, I’m just getting it off the glass,” Wotherspoon said with a deep frown and headshake.

We might disagree with the Penguins assesment of the game.

“I liked a lot of things five-on-five,” said coach Dan Muse.

“Yeah, but we have to convert that (play) into wins,” said a salty Sidney Crosby.

Crosby was angry, and the Penguins’ side could say justifiably so not just because the Penguins lost but because they got just one power play and the opponents got six. One of those Anaheim power plays, and goal by Kreider, followed a dubious call on Crosby that replays seemed to dispute.

The Penguins and Anaheim traded not just chances but control for long stretches of the game. The Penguins dominated much of the first period, but the teams exited tied 2-2. Anaheim had firm control for much of the second period, but the teams exited tied 3-3.

The Penguins had a slight edge in scoring chances 28-23, but Anaheim missed 21 shots and the Penguins blocked a whopping 28.

Fluky goals. There were a few.

Sloppy performances. There were a few more.

Fans? There was a record number of those (17,622). In a sign of the changing guard across the NHL as some teams are finally emerging from their rebuilding cocoon, including Anaheim.

Perhaps part of the game was the juxtaposition of the Penguins entering the rebuilding phase and Anaheim exiting it. Young stars with zip against the most accomplished stars with rings.

And perhaps part of the game was the Penguins icing too many players for whom production is hoped and not expected.

Justin Brazeau scored again, and Anthony Mantha was given an “excuse me” goal after he cradled the puck long enough for a second to tick off the clock before the defender closed on the glorious opportunity to all but bock the shot.

In that “all but” part, the puck fluttered past a fooled Anaheim goalie Lukas Dostal. Rickard Rakell had the other Penguins goal with a nifty deflection, but the Penguins opportunities were otherwise met with saves and not a lot of great shots.

Penguins Analysis

Let’s address the officiating.

While Crosby had a right to his beef with referees, the Penguins as whole, did not. Anaheim forced the Penguins into mistakes. Matt Dumba’s holding, Erik Karlsson’s high stick, Rakell’s slash, and Wotherspoon’s delay of game were all legitimate calls.

In fact, they had to be called.

It’s hard to pinpoint too many missed calls against Anaheim.

The more important outlays from the game are the Penguins play. It’s just four games into the season, but there isn’t systematic play yet. In fairness, Muse had 69 players in camp and spent most of his time just weeding out the could-be, the will, and the won’t. Whereas new Philadelphia Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet began installing his new system on Day 1, Muse really had to work through a few layers of decisions before he could cut out the competitive drills and focus on the game he wanted.

As a result, we’re still grasping for Penguins’ systematic play. In the third period, the game finally had structure but until that point, there was a firewagon element.

The teams traded chances and control for much of the game.

“There was a lot that I liked five-on-five. I thought there was some times where it was like the momentum was changing from shift to shift. I think you can control that a little bit better,” Muse said. “It’s not a game where we wanna be–I think the second period–just trading chances. But I thought there was definitely some parts of the five-on-five game that we’re gonna take away and we wanna continue to build on.”

The Muse 1-1-3 system unleashes the defensemen and in the first period, Erik Karlsson was a tornado of puck movement, possesion and driving the play. However, he was also chasing the play a few times.

The Penguins defense corps was revamped Tuesday. Righties Matt Dumba and Connor Clifton comprised the third pairing as the team gave 19-year-old Harrison Brunicke a preplanned rest.

For a system to rely on defensemen, they need to be good or the system suffers. It’s hard to say the Penguins defensemen as a whole played well.

The Xs and Os still seem a bit chaotic and it’s about time to begin to dial those in.

Penguins Report Card

Team: C+

The third period in which they allowed just five shots upped their grade. They didn’t lack energy or enthusiasm, but the execution lacked.

Kris Letang: D

Just another rough night for Letang who should be flourishing in the Muse system but instead isn’t looking like a fresh veteran but one struggling to find his legs.

He had a lot of change-of-possession passes–Can’t call them turnovers, but they essentially are. Letang didn’t have a shot on goal.

Ryan Shea: A

The puck loved Shea Tuesday. It followed him around like a lost puppy. He had a pair of assists in the first period and was active in the play. A simple, clean game bore results. His extracurricular activity was appropriate.

Parker Wotherspoon: Great, Until…

He was really good until that late penalty. If he can continue this level of play, minus the mistake at the end, the Penguins have found something.

Tommy Novak/Philip Tomasino: F

The analytics department might strongly disagree but we don’t think they should be on the same line. It hasn’t worked, it doesn’t work, and the reason why is their games are too similar in both the good skills but inability to get between the dots or be effective on the wall.

To saddle rookie center Ben Kindel with a pair of wingers who aren’t average puck retrievers is a disservice.

Evgeni Malkin: B

Malkin has some hop in his game. He isn’t able to create offense with solo efforts like he once did but he was moving well, distributing the puck, had three shots and one assist. Malkin may retire after this season, but he’s playing well enough now to take control of that decision.

PK: F

Anaheim caved in the Penguins penalty kill. The Anaheim shots were from the top of the circle, not the blue line. The puck moved from circle to net to circle with nary a spectactor.

The PK did little to thwart Anaheim or break the zone time. Bad night for the PK.

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Categorized: Penguins Analysis