PHN Penguins Report Card: Malkin, D-Men, Power Play & More | PHN+

Surprise! The Pittsburgh Penguins scored with a man advantage on Thursday night, though it wasn’t a power play. The Penguins used the extra attacker, and Evgeni Malkin smacked a slapshot through traffic for a tying goal. The Penguins earned an extra point when Sidney Crosby scored in the shootout for a 4-3 win over the New York Islanders.

Let’s dive right in. Here are the postgame story and the postgame show.

Tactically, the Penguins 2020-21 hopes for active defensemen and fast forwards are coming into focus. Believe it or not, the Pittsburgh Penguins are actually getting there. For the second consecutive game, the Penguins outskated New York. They well outshot New York at 5v5.

However, they significantly lost the high-danger scoring chance race, which opens a much larger discussion on the team’s state. For a little while longer, and especially after ANOTHER comeback win (is that No. 6?), we’ll take the glass-half-full approach.

Zach Aston-Reese showed spring in his step and some jam when he beat Andy Greene behind the New York net. Aston-Reese got on Greene before the defenseman could make a play, won the puck battle, and took it straight to the front of the net for a big goal.

More of that. More of that. More of that.