LAS VEGAS — In the dressing room, Pittsburgh Penguins winger Bryan Rust lamented a missed two-on-one with Egor Chinakhov early in the third period. Outside the room, Penguins coach Dan Muse had a chat with the very reliable Connor Dewar because the Penguins’ defensive bedrock fourth line was uncharacteristically terrible and got tagged for several goals against.
Penguins center Tommy Novak spoke barely above a whisper in the post game locker room, admitting the team passed up shots and tried to get too cute in a fatal collage that led to the latest Penguins loss, 6-2 against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena.
As Pittsburgh Hockey Now waited to chat with Erik Karlsson after the loss, a piece of his equipment broke. The buckle snapped as he muttered some frustrating thoughts to himself.
It was that kind of night for the Penguins, and it’s been that kind of week, too.
“I mean, they played a good game too. We probably got a little bit frustrated when we couldn’t connect to get the scoring chances we thought we were going to get,” said Karlsson. “Overall, it wasn’t a bad game on our part. We just didn’t have any finish in us today, I think, until there was time to pull the trigger and connect for something, it just wasn’t there.”
The Penguins have lost three of the four games without Evgeni Malkin (1-1-2), who served the fourth of his five-game suspension, and their playoff cushion is now a perilous two points over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
“I think if you look at the goals (allowed) they’re–I know I’ve used this term before–but they were they were loud. I mean, just allowing odd-man rushes and plays into the slot,” said Penguins coach Dan Muse. “And so I thought (Arturs Silovs) came up with some good saves. I think the biggest thing overall for our takeaway is the defensive side–we have to cut down on those big ones.”
Of course, the Penguins played without captain Sidney Crosby and without Malkin, their two best players. But the Penguins’ troubles go much further than simply missing Crosby. And further than missing Malkin.
As exemplified Thursday, the Penguins’ problems are born not of the players missing, but of the players present. The fourth-line allowing three goals with generously spacious defensive coverage and puck management, is unacceptable. Failing to put pucks deep and play behind a vulnerable Vegas defense is bewildering.
Did the Penguins pass up too many shots and get too cute?
“That’s probably true. I think just maybe we could have sent more pucks down low and got our forecheck going for sure,” said center Tommy Novak. “Pucks were bouncy out there as it was. So I think that would have been smart for us just to get our ground game going more and everything really gets that much (better).”
On Tuesday, Carolina swarmed the Penguins for most of the game, and the Penguins didn’t have any sustained answers to their attack. Sunday before that, the Boston Bruins clogged the zone, and the Penguins flailed away from the outside until a spirited third-period comeback. Saturday before that, the Penguins were a lethargic mess in a shootout loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.
Thursday against Vegas, they gave up five before an empty-netter, and those goals against were not the result of soft goaltending by Arturs Silovs.
At no point was Vegas significantly better than the Penguins. Instead, the Penguins fed Vegas glorious opportunities like a spoonful of applesauce for a toddler. After all, Vegas had only 17 shots, including the empty-net goal.
It’s time to worry about the Penguins because in each case, the Penguins gave up four goals in regulation. Going back one week, they lost in regulation to the Buffalo Sabres 5-1, pushing the Penguins’ defensive indifference to five straight games of at least four goals against.
“Some of (the trouble) does come with what we’re doing on either the rush or in the offensive zone, and the recoveries from there,” Muse said. “You know, some of it involves just our (play) in the defensive zone and just making sure that we’re playing tighter and not allowing those types of opportunities. We gave some really good shooters some really clean looks there tonight, and so as a team, I think we can be better in that.”
With a Penguins roster full of players without a track record or experience in primary roles this late in the season, the ghastly mistakes are jarring. The slump should raise concerns of a team that has already peaked and a team that cannot keep pace.
The Penguins are 1-3-2 in their last six.
If there is a chance to stop the increasingly distressing slide, it’s not Malkin or Crosby’s offense that they’re desperately missing, but the basic matter of better defensive coverage, which has been a hallmark all season—until they have desperately needed it.
Penguins Xs and Os
Tactically, the Penguins set themselves up to punish the generally bland VGK.
Vegas really lacks any fizz or energy or excitement. The Penguins defensemen were good at getting out of their own zone, with a lot of middle-up breakout passes that sprang their attack.
The Penguins defensemen also skated the puck forward fairly well, creating more breakout and rush options. However, once they got past the offensive blue line, their troubles began.
Vegas is quite adept at getting their defensemen back toward the goal to guard that fortress heavily, and their forwards collapse to the low zone as well. It’s not uncommon to see all five Vegas players well below the dots.
As the Penguins got to the mid-wall or equivalent, they maddeningly looked for cross-ice passes through heavy traffic or put pucks to the top of the zone, instead of the bottom. The Penguins didn’t make the Vegas defenders turn and defend–instead Vegas was too often able to defend forward.
The game was open for the Penguins to play hard in the low zone, win a few battles to create space and get to the net against goalie Adin Hill, who has bubbled around an .860 save percentage all season.
Compounding their too-cute game, the Penguins cut to the middle in the higher slot where there was space but didn’t take the open shots which could have further broken down the Vegas defense. The same was true on the rush or after establishing zone time—and the extra passes usually meant the end of possession.
Penguins Report Card
Team: C-
The Penguins showed up, but they struggled mightily with the Vegas’s tight defensive game. The Penguins tried one too many passes; they failed to connect on the next pass that would have set up chances, and they didn’t find any space behind the Vegas defense.
“I don’t think it was a horrible night for us. I don’t think we felt that bad, or like we were that far out of it. We just didn’t connect all the way through,” said Karlsson. “And, you know, it was that last little bit–It just wasn’t there for us. And it indicated that tonight wasn’t our night.”
Ville Koivunen: A
We’re grading on a slight curve here, but the rookie had one of his best games. Koivunen flashed his playmaking skills, making several heady passes to create space and opportunity for his line, and on the power play. He was also present in the defensive zone.
He deserved a goal in the first period after he opened Hill’s five-hole and slipped the puck through the front opening, but Hill closed his skates just in the nick of time to make the save.
Kris Letang: A
Letang had his best game in some time. He was moving the puck very well, captained PP2 well, and was a steady, positive presence in all three zones. Until the last couple of Vegas goals, including the empty-netter, he was a plus-2.
In a game of soft and sloppy Penguins performances, Letang rose to the occasion.
Parker Wotherspoon: D
Probably one of his worst games of the season. Wotherspoon was trying too hard. He escaped the defensive zone with his skates several times and pushed the play forward, but in the fun zone, he was pressing too much. His turnovers were costly. Even in the defensive zone, he was a bit out of sorts.
Power Play 1: F
The top power-play unit has been bad. Flat-footed. Perimeter based. And has not created momentum or rising pressure.
In three power-play chances, the Penguins had just four shots, and three were from PP2.
PP2: B+
Letang, Koivunen, Mantha, Ben Kindel, and big…BIG Elmer Soderblom in front of the net.
Soderblom takes away a lot of daylight from the goalies, and Letang distributed the puck very well. They played with urgency and pressure. The scoring chances were from PP2, and that has been the case for several games running.
Similar Performances/Same Grade
Anthony Mantha, Erik Karlsson, Tommy Novak:
Each had brilliant moments with the puck, Thursday. Absolutely amazing. And each over passed, and gave up good scoring chances for passes that didn’t connect, which also led to changes in possession.
Tags: Pittsburgh Penguins Vegas Golden Knights
Categorized:Penguins Analysis