COLUMBUS — Like many Americans, the Pittsburgh Penguins may have enjoyed their Thanksgiving holiday so much so that they took off the next day, too.
The Penguins went through the motions, sometimes barely achieving that level of engagement until the third period, but then returned fire on the Blue Jackets’ three unanswered goals with three unanswered goals of their own for a 4-3 overtime win.
Sidney Crosby had a pair of goals (14,15). Bryan Rust scored, and Kris Letang netted the OT winner.
Yes, that was the Penguins’ first OT win this season. They were 0-2 in OT and 0-3 in shootouts previously.
No, the Penguins weren’t bad. They simply weren’t there for most of 40 minutes. The lights were on, the fans were in their seats, the music blared, and players were in uniform, but the team barely put forth their B game.
And then, the players had had enough … of themselves. A few words were delivered both by the coach and by the players after the second period. Though no one was too loose-lipped to share exactly what was said, the intimations were that the message was sternly clear and received.
Not good enough.
“I think we all know that we have got to be better. Some people get angry about it, some people get calm about it,” Rust said. “Everybody’s got their own approach to kind of get them fired up and ready for the third period, knowing that we’ve got to get better.”
That has been a running theme from Muse over the last week. His team has played some extraordinary hockey in November, but lost too many of those games, and Muse’s message has evolved from “things to like” to a very decisive, “not good enough.”
The team was just short of non-existent for 40 minutes, and Muse again said, “Not good enough.”
The Penguins were trailing 2-1 late in the second period, but Kris Letang’s bad clearing attempt and failed puck battle, combined with Hayes’s late attempt to join that fight, created an ugly Columbus goal with just four seconds remaining in the second period and a 3-1 Columbus lead.
And that’s when the Penguins revived themselves.
Rust scored 13 seconds into the third period. Crosby scored his second goal of the game midway through the period when he outraced everyone for a generic dump-in and took it straight to the net. And then, Tommy Novak fed Letang at full speed in the offensive zone for the game-winner.
Make no mistake, the Penguins were flat in the first and awful in the second, but they were in the game.
PHN learned a few players spoke at second intermission, too.
“When you give up a goal like that, at the end of the second, you come in here and kind of just quick speech (by the coach), it’s not good enough, and one goal, shift by shift, wave by wave,” Kevin Hayes said. “Rusty and Sid did that. And then yeah, when you go to overtime, it hasn’t been pretty lately, but I actually think the last overtime, we kind of dominated and then, uh, yeah, it was nice to get two points.”
Hayes clarified to PHN that a few guys did the talking, and it didn’t need to be a long talk.
It was the Penguins’ first win in overtime or shootout this season, but more importantly was the reward for shedding their listless effort in favor of the energetic performances of which they’re capable.
The third period was indeed good enough.
“Yeah, the third period was great. I mean, just the start of it, the way we came out there, just to turn the momentum. For us to start that period, especially after the way the second ended, that was a huge shift, a huge goal,” Muse said. “I thought we had some good follow-up for it. Sid’s goal there was massive, obviously. But I also thought we had just more time (with the puck) there. We were starting to put multiple shifts together.”
Penguins Analysis
The Penguins players kept the whos and specifics of the locker room awakening to themselves. Those words were also effective.
The team finally won back-to-back games again.
Muse also had to chide his team during the morning skate. There were plenty of passengers and mistakes during the game that should not have been.
Certainly not deserving of a disproportionate helping of blame, Tommy Novak’s absence on the first Columbus goal was indicative of the slog Friday. It was the second time in a few games that Novak’s responsibility scored an important goal. The Penguins sorted well in a broken play, but Novak played zone coverage when everyone else was man-to-man, and Sean Monahan had an easy one.
Tactically, the Penguins abandoned the pretty game and played the type of ugly, gritty hockey they needed to buckle the injury-ravaged Columbus roster.
The Penguins’ goals, with Letang’s exception, were brute force. The Penguins won wall battles, jumped breakouts, and Crosby crashed the net, in very different ways, twice.
Also, Muse’s new lines paid dividends on the top line with Hayes beside Crosby and Connor Dewar in his more natural spot on the fourth line. Both lines were good, and the fourth line was easily the Penguins’ most consistent.
The puck followed Blake Lizotte and Dewar. Often playing against Columbus’s top line with Adam Fantilli and Kent Johnson, the Penguins’ fourth line had a clear advantage with seven scoring chances to just three Columbus opportunities, and an 11-7 shot attempt advantage (all stats courtesy of NaturalStatTrick.com).
The fourth line’s eye test was a bit better than their numbers. Muse would be wise to lock that duo together.
Hayes was pretty good with Crosby, too. The line held the puck–something Hayes was very careful to do and to note after the game. It was a stark contrast to recent games with Dewar on the line.
Hayes made a few nifty passes to spring his linemates and to create space.
“I thought (Hayes) did a good job … I thought he had some good moments there in the offensive zone, some good puck pressures there when we were getting on it, they were able to disrupt the play,” Muse said. “So, I think any time you have a first game where the lines are a little bit different, too, it might take a little bit of time to get going. But you know, I thought there were definitely some good moments there.”
Penguins Report Card
Team: C
It was clearly an F, of F- after 40 minutes. The Penguins owed an apology to every fan who traveled from Pittsburgh to watch that, and some of the Columbus fans, too. Lifeless, listless, awful, lazy, lethargic, and generally terrible. However, they did just enough to have a chance.
And then, they sprang to life. The Penguins didn’t dominate Columbus as they’ve boatraced others, but they capitalized on a few chances.
It seems this team is better when they’re not at their best. Go ahead, figure that one out.
Tristan Jarry: A
Rather than breaking down his performance, here’s the quote from Hayes:
“He’s the backbone of our team. He was great.”
Let that sink in for a moment. Jarry stopped 26 of 29, but presided over the comeback with a few key saves and an aura of calm.
Hayes-Crosby-Rust: B+
They were roughly even in shots and scoring chances with their hosts, but three goals are pretty good. Since they did not clearly win the battles with Columbus, we can’t give them an A, but they scored. And scored. And scored again.
Kevin Hayes: A
Hayes with Crosby might just work. PHN spoke to him for a few moments in the room before you may have seen Pittsburgh Sportsnet join the conversation. The feeling he conveyed was one of gratitude or awe in playing with Crosby.
It was a little bit surprising from one of the room’s wisecracking cutups.
“I thought it went pretty well. I mean, it’s an honor to play with Sid and Rusty, two elite guys in this league,” Hayes said. “And I just tried to hold on to pucks and make plays and get them the puck. And I thought today was one of my better possession games.”
He’s right. He knew his role–make plays, create space, and let it happen. He executed.
Blake Lizotte-Connor Dewar: A
Their legs don’t stop. They were all over Columbus.
Matt Dumba: B+
He was combative in the defensive zone. He doesn’t fear stepping higher into the zone or slot to defend or block shots. He played a quiet but stout game.
Up and Down
Kris Letang: Scored the game winner. He was perhaps the most impactful defenseman, but that also included a couple of giveaways, one of which went directly into the Penguins’ net.
Tommy Novak: A game-winning assist. A game-tying assist. Those will look good on the baseline stats, but his defensive work was soft. He didn’t help the Malkin line generate much 5v5.
Erik Karlsson: Where did he go for most of the game? He made a couple of nice defensive stops and clears in the first period, but was invisible for the second.
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