It was not necessarily a mudstomping performance, nor a blowout, but neither was it a hard, competitive game. The Vegas Golden Knights went through the motions, and the Pittsburgh Penguins showed they are learning how to win without having their best.
The Penguins snapped a couple of nasty wrist shots past Vegas goalie Adin Hill and scored a pair of power-play goals from around the net in a 5-0 shutout win.
Ben Kindel, Egor Chinakhov, Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell, and Justin Brazeau scored, in that order.
Penguins goalie Arturs Silovs returned to his dressing stall with a towel around his neck, but he barely broke a sweat, stopping all of the 22 shots he faced. The Penguins denied Vegas a high-danger scoring chance over the entirety of the final 40 minutes.
Zero-point-zero.
In the ever sleepy battle that raced through the TV timeouts in the first period without a whistle and didn’t crest 40 total shots until deep into the third period, not even the wildly popular scoreboard donut race seemed to enthuse the paying patrons.
It wasn’t the fans’ fault; the Penguins are playing stern defense without their captain, Sidney Crosby, who will be out for a few more weeks after suffering a lower-body injury during the Olympics.
In fact, the Penguins have given up fewer than 10 shots by the halfway point in each of the last two games and an impressively low total of three goals (the awarded shootout winning goal notwithstanding) in the three games since the Olympic break, though coach Dan Muse quickly rejected any idea that the team was playing more defensively without Crosby.
“No, we haven’t changed anything we’re doing. We haven’t changed the language. We haven’t changed that in terms of the things we talk about. When we have the puck, we want everybody working together and connected to work together to score goals, and when we don’t have the puck, we want everybody back–back and working together to prevent goals,” said Muse. “And so, no, this wasn’t something we’re coming out of the break (and) we changed our focus point, or we changed anything that we’re doing.
“This is the way we want to play. I thought today was a good example for the most part, too. I think when we’re playing connected, that’s how it can look.”
The Penguins’ power play has also chipped in offense at an even greater rate since the break. The Penguins tallied two power-play goals, including one by Rust, which was his 20th of the season, and marked the seventh straight year in which he has scored at least 20.
The kid who was a third-round pick and a fourth-line grinder when he arrived from Notre Dame has become a bona fide offensive threat.
“It’s just kind of one of those benchmark things that usually, guys who score 20 are offensive players and they’ve helped contribute to the team offensively over the course of
of the year,” Rust said humbly.
Muse also heaped praise on Rust.
“When you get to know the person, it’s no surprise that he’s been having that many seasons with 20 plus. He puts in the work every day. This guy–he does all the right things, plays the game the right way,” said Muse. “I can’t say enough. As a coach, you just love working with him every day. You know what you’re going to get. You know he’s going to do everything he can on any given night to help the team win. Selfless. He’s a guy (who) adds a lot in the locker room.
“It has become really clear to me, just the level of respect he has from every all of his teammates and everybody in this organization.”
Penguins Analysis
Some games are colorful dives into coaching tactics, structure, and systems. And then, there are games like Sunday when simply finding a game worthy of winning is the chore.
The Penguins outshot Vegas 6-5 in the first 20 minutes, and yet that was Vegas’s best period. They spent considerable time in the Penguins’ zone. However, the Penguins took care of their net, got sticks in lanes and on pucks, shoulders on shoulders where it mattered, and Silovs didn’t have to face much rubber.
What the Penguins did well was generate some speed in the neutral zone for zone entries. When the Penguins are playing well, you’ll notice plenty of short passes. Sunday, the Penguins executed well with little touch passes near the blue line from the head-man to a player with speed.
“(We had) a tough back-to-back. But I think just coming out of the gate, we were flying today and playing as a team, that’s kind of a statement,” said rookie Ben Kindel.
Vegas is a tough defensive team that takes away the slot, but the Penguins scored a couple of goals with center drives–Kindel didn’t have a drop pass option and shot it himself for a 1-0 lead in the first period.
“I mean, just good forecheck by (Anthony Mantha), and the puck popped to me in the neutral zone. I just kind of skated and tried to get a shot off,” said Kindel modestly. “I mean, I don’t think I got much on it, but maybe (I) surprised the goalie a bit or something, but I got lucky.”
The shot was better than he let on. It was deceptive and went through the defenseman’s legs, adding a screen. Good goal scorers know how to use defensemen to their advantage, so add that little trick to the growing repertoire earned through Kindel’s rookie season.
In the third period, Kindel did have an option, so he dropped the puck back to Justin Brazeau and took the defenseman toward the net. Brazeau had space to pick his spot on Vegas goalie Adin Hill.
Penguins Report Card
Team: B
The victory earned them extra points, and so, too, did playing a hard defensive game and not letting Vegas back into the game. There were no bad performances, though not many standouts either.
Ultimately, the team kept Silovs comfortable, and that’s winning hockey.
Ben Kindel: A
After a slightly out-of-sorts performance Saturday, Kindel very quickly redeemed himself Sunday. He was moving his feet, backchecking, but also orchestrating the offensive attack on the rush. Kindel had three shots on goal, but six more attempts.
Egor Chinakhov-Tommy Novak-Evgeni Malkin: B+
Malkin’s career average, according to the TNT broadcast, when Crosby is out of the lineup, is an impressive 1.35 points per game. Malkin had one assist Sunday, but it seemed the puck followed him around the ice like a puppy. It was his puck, and he played on his toes.
Chinakhov was quite good and scored on a filthy wrist shot, while Novak was slick with the puck, too. The line gave up six scoring chances, so that’s why the grade isn’t an A.
However, the connectivity between Novak, Chinakhov, and Malkin continues to grow. The line is both dangerous and, at times, plays effortlessly beautiful hockey.
Parker Wotherspoon: Scrappy
Wotherspoon creating, ending, or at least being involved in net-front scrums is becoming a frequent occurrence. Wotherspoon takes care of the house while D-partner Erik Karlsson covers higher in the zone or away from the net.
Categorized:Penguins Analysis
