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NEW YORK— The city may never sleep, but the Pittsburgh Penguins took a few naps in the first, second and third periods. Brutal errors and turnovers gave the New York Rangers at least six odd-man rushes and a breakaway in New York’s 4-2 victory over the Penguins at Madison Square Garden.
The odd man out count was due to the Penguins coach Mike Sullivanand he was probably on the light side…far from it. The Penguins gave New York three unabated chances in the first ten minutes alone and traded strange rushes on multiple power plays in their woeful performance.
Penguins defender Kris Letang wasn’t in the mood to get positive.
“There was nothing good to come out of that game,” he said disgustedly to Pittsburgh Hockey Now.
Sullivan was also in no mood to be positive, and despite answering a few questions, he spoke just over a minute into the game. However, one minute was more than enough for Sullivan to cover every part of the Penguins game.
“Possibly the worst game we have played in a month. Everything we talked about before the game, we did the opposite,” Sullivan said.
And the coach continued.
“We talked about points management. We gave up six two-on-ones and a breakaway,” continued Sullivan’s admonition. “We talked about bringing physicality into the game. We didn’t touch anyone. You know, it’s hard to win when you do things like that.”
Here are Sullivan’s full postgame comments:
Sullivan was right and not exaggerating. The Penguins never applied sustained offensive pressure, although they were able to stay in the game thanks to Nedeljkovic’s saves and goals from unlikely sources, Blake Lizotte and Philip Tomasino.
The Penguins goalie Alex Nedeljkovic was exceptional, stopping 22 of the first 24 shots, but more than a few of them were high-risk chances, including his scramble on Chris Kreider moments after the Penguins scored in the second period.
Even Nedeljkovic was dissatisfied with his performance (although he shouldn’t be). Rangers sniper Artemi Panarin scored a pair of goals, including one through defenseman Marcus Pettersson, with just 1.5 seconds left in the second period. Nedeljkovic kicked himself for allowing the goal.
“Two pretty tough goals that I had to give up there at the end of the second and third periods,” Nedeljkovic said, referring to Panarin’s late goal and Reilly Smith’s game-winner that marked the New Yorker’s third chance at a two- was against one. .
“(Panarin) is a good player, but I don’t think the second one was his best shot, to be honest. I wasn’t really on the puck, I was just on his body a little bit,” Nedeljkovic said. “If I shuffle to the left one more time, I’ll probably get elbowed. It’s not like the post hit the post or anything, so that was tough to swallow, especially the timing.”
WHERE. The turnovers were mind-boggling, from Matt Grzelcyk’s ill-fated pass between the legs at the blue line that turned into a Smith breakaway in the first period, to some whoppers from almost everyone else.
In short, the Penguins were sloppy to the point of unprofessional, soft, and generally played stupid hockey. Otherwise they were fine.
Penguins Xs and Os
New York had success with a flier out of the zone, right in the middle of the ice. The The defenders of the penguins were slow to recognize the ‘too fast’ transition, leading to a few undeserved oddball appearances.
Of course, New York is a very good transition team that didn’t need any help, but the Penguins still gave it by the truckload.
“They’re a team that thrives on (transition), but I think (strange man rushes) were a little more self-inflicted,” Bryan Rust said.
The Penguins offense was largely centered around working the net area, not necessarily the front of the net, but working from the wall toward the net, looking for tip play. It seemed like the Penguins were intimidated by Igor Shesterkin in net and lacked the confidence to challenge him straight up, except for Blake Lizottewho attacked the slot a few times and scored once.
Lizotte should not be the main offensive driver, but the Penguins’ third line, with Drew O’Connor and Michael Buntingwas the best.
Penguins report card
Team: F
I was willing to give them an A, but the sentiment in the locker room was so overwhelming that I couldn’t disagree. I thought the untargeted mistakes happened to a few players, but it spread. Sullivan’s slapdown also spoke volumes.
No one has brought the Penguins into the fight.
Matt Grzelcyk: F
That was a tough task. Defenders sometimes complain off the record that only their mistakes are highlighted, and that’s true. However, Grzelcyk made some big shots on Friday. On a bad night for everyone, he stood out with a silly turnover and a terrible angle on a puck that created a two-on-one (and enough time for three shots) for New York’s game winner.
Owen Pickering: C+
It was noticeable that the game was starting to get away from him. He made a few mistakes, including a bad turnover in the third period, which gave New York the puck in the slot. Ryan Shea saved him just before he was given a deferred sentence. However, Pickering’s reaction was like that of a defeated child, rather than an angry, resilient reaction.
Pickering made several good defensive plays. There was plenty for him to do on Friday. He can’t be so hard on himself. He’ll have to get over that in the NHL or it will lead to more mistakes, not fewer.
Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin: Missing
By Crosby and Malkin standards, things have been quiet lately. The old guard went completely unnoticed for much of Friday.
Blake Lizotte: One?
It’s hard to rate someone a 10 in such a sloppy game, but maybe he deserved it. His target was a large snipe, and he almost had another. He goes after the puck, as do a few others, and he shows more offense than anyone thought he possessed. Five goals in twelve games is pretty, pretty good.