SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Mammoth punished the Pittsburgh Penguins for most of the first 30 minutes. Utah outhit the Penguins 13-3 in the first period despite having the puck but special teams and another display of genuine character saved the Penguins as the standings pressure mounts.
The Penguins overcame a 2-0 deficit when Noel Acciari swatted a rebound from his knees for a bruising 4-3 win over Utah at the Delta Center. And the importance of it cannot be overstated.
The Penguins had lost five of their last six games (1-3-2) and were fresh from a full-scale 6-2 drubbing by a bland Vegas Golden Knights Thursday. They lost the game before to the Carolina Hurricanes in a shootout, but earned a point only after a near-miraculous two-goal comeback in the final 128 seconds forced overtime.
The other losses were a blowout loss to the Buffalo Sabres on home ice, and a soulless shootout loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, also on home ice.
The Columbus Blue Jackets had all but erased the Penguins’ playoff cushion, and before the second period started Saturday, Columbus’s shootout victory over Philadelphia put them in a dead heat with the Penguins at 79 points.
Sure, no pressure.
Utah led the Penguins 2-0 after the first period, and the Penguins absolutely looked beaten until Anthony Mantha’s 5v3 goal later in the frame. It was a major turning point, but it wasn’t the only one. It seems the Penguins coach Dan Muse provided a little motivation, too.
“Obviously we didn’t have that jump. I don’t want to say lazy, but I think we were not stopping and starting as much as we would like to start the game. Coach let us know that, and then we came out in the second,” said defenseman Ryan Shea. “Special teams were a huge part of that game, but it’s one of those games that you need your special teams to take a huge step, and that’s what we did.”
Penguins Analysis
Special teams later in the second period is how the Penguins forced themselves back into the game. They survived the Utah punishment without retaliating or succumbing. As Utah tried to impose its will, the referees held the line. Calls were not overlooked in favor of balance, and in fact, a non-call on Penguins winger Connor Dewar went in the Penguins’ favor on what became Noel Acciari’s game-winning goal.
The Penguins’ power play had been a flat, stagnant waste of time four chances running until they scored on that 5v3 in the second period. Muse even deployed PP2 over PP1 on their third attempt, which was yet another failure.
And their fourth power play was even a bigger nothing burger with no condiments. As Utah pummeled them, it seemed the Islanders would end the evening in second place and Columbus would have surged up the standings to tie the Penguins.
But then on the 5v3 power play, Mantha continued his career season with a brilliant look-off and shot past Utah goalie Karel Vejmelka for a goal that changed every facet of the game.
Without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the power play has struggled mightily. However, it had gone beyond ineffective to a full-fledged hindrance in recent games. Saturday, with blistering misses lingering, Muse called a timeout before the two-man advantage, and the game changed 20 seconds later.
“I had asked (assistant coach Todd Nelson) if he wanted it. It wasn’t so much (a message). The guys, they definitely know what to do, five-on-three. It was a little more based on the way that we had some (poor) power plays, and it was just want to kind of to settle it down a little bit,” said Muse. “We just talked to the group. Obviously, with the time that you have, if you get one early, you still have some more (power play) time. And, yeah, so I was glad that we did.”
Utah’s penalty kill mirrored its even-strength approach.
As a tactical note, Utah showed no fear of the Penguins. Utah took away the Penguins’ wingers with an aggressive neutral-zone defense of no gaps and heavy hits.
The Penguins’ breakouts were fairly good, but then they hit a brick wall up the ice. Through 40 minutes, the Penguins had a grand total of seven even-strength shots.
“From a D-man’s perspective, I think the breakouts were pretty solid all night long. They do a great job surfing up and getting up on our wingers. So it was a lot of wall-play,” Shea explained. “And once we started keeping it off the wall and making more direct passes, we were able to get out. You saw a couple–(Ben Kindel’s) break away, a couple odd-man rushes. Our forwards were doing a great job getting hold-ups, so we were able to get back and get time and break the puck out.”
The Penguins loosened up Utah’s heavy pressure in the third, but that too resulted from another power play goal when shaving cream victim Bryan Rust scored a rebound goal for a 3-2 lead less than 90 seconds into the period.
The comeback and the lead put enough chutzpah into the Penguins that they won more battles, played down low, and pressured Utah. It was not a simple transition, but even after Utah tied the game a few minutes after Rust’s goal, the Penguins felt like they were the aggressors.
“Yeah, I feel like there were times when we got to our game and even off the rush a few times. I think we were able to create some speed through the neutral zone,” said center Tommy Niovak. “But yeah, they’re a good, fast team, a really fast team, and hard to defend. And think we did a pretty good job.”
Penguins Report Card
Team: B-
The Penguins carried the play for nearly the entire second period but gained just five shots on goal, and a couple of those were on the 5v3 power play. Utah is one of the toughest, most physical teams in the NHL. Until the third period, the Penguins did not do enough to get behind them, get shots from the slot, or get second chances. There was puck possession, but without enough intent.
The Penguins were not good enough in their own zone–lacking definitive defensive stops–to create a good rush out of their end. They just weren’t good enough on the boards to create the offensive zone pressure they needed. If not for Utah’s sloppy, penalty-filled second period, the Penguins were in deep trouble.
But the Penguins overcame Utah and themselves. They didn’t let the opportunities slip away; they fought through it and fought back.
Dewar-Lizotte-Acciari: C
The Penguins’ defensive stalwarts were bad against Vegas Thursday, and they continued their slide Saturday. Blake Lizotte’s overhandling led to Utah’s first goal. Utah pinned the fourth line in the defensive zone at the end of the second period, but goalie Stuart Skinner bailed them out.
However, they had perhaps the biggest reversal of the game in the third period and looked like the determined spitfires that have provided the Penguins with defensive conscience and some bottom-six identity all season. Noel Acciari’s game winner was a “cookie” for their hard work.
Stuart Skinner: A
It’s not how many saves, but how many quality saves. Skinner was the difference between the Penguins being blown out early, being blown out later in the first, and in the second. He made a couple of brilliant saves in the first five minutes–even though Utah led 2-0, it could have been, it should have been worse.
Dan Muse: A+
The Penguins coach had a feel for the game—he didn’t over-coach it. There must have been a great temptation to bench players and shuffle lines early in the game. Muse appropriately limited Ilya Solovyov and Connor Clifton after the first period, but he kept rolling four lines, avoided challenging the second goal when he clearly wanted to, and his use of the timeout before the 5v3 was spot on. He kicked his team after the first period and settled them before the game-changing power play.
The coach didn’t add to the frustration of the game, but kept digging with the players to find a way out.
Erik Karlsson: B+
His grade takes a hit for the power-play failures, but he has been very good at even strength. Watching him dance around defenders on the blue and orchestrate in the offensive zone is a treat.
Koivunen-Novak-Mantha: A
They were the best Penguins line. The social media hate beginning to flow toward Koivunen is incredibly misguided and built largely on confirmation bias. The Finnish winger is gaining on his best game and engaged in the chippiness Saturday. He had a few scoring chances, one in the slot and two down low. He has been one of the Penguins’ best forwards for a few games running.
Mantha? The puck seemed to follow him again. He was very good with the puck in tight spaces, created opportunities near the net, found space in the offensive zone, and the goal was a beaut.
Ryan Shea: Solid
He responded well to the physicality and took good care of the front of the net. It is difficult to grade defensemen in a game in which the forwards are struggling, but he made several notable defensive stops without turnovers or mistakes.
The Penguins get Evgeni Malkin back Monday in Colorado. They may also get another star center back in the lineup any day now, too.
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