Penguins Grades: A Scrappy Point, Encouraging Signs

SUNRISE, Fla — The Pittsburgh Penguins seemed to be fighting an uphill battle for most of the first 40 minutes against the Florida Panthers. Despite the slog, the statistics were largely even after 40 minutes, and the scoreboard showed a low-event 1-1 game.

The Penguins kept fighting, and the locker room felt pretty good about earning a point with a late power-play goal by Rickard Rakell in a 3-2 shootout loss to Florida at Amerant Bank Arena.

Sidney Crosby scored the Penguins’ first power-play goal in the second period.

Florida had a 9-3 high-danger chance advantage after two periods and finished with a 12-5 advantage, according to NaturalStatTrick.com. Florida’s relentless chip-and-chase-forecheck attack kept the Penguins off balance, but the Penguins did enough to give themselves a chance to win.

“It’s a shootout. It could go the other way, and we’re having a much different conversation,” said Bryan Rust, whose second-period assist was his 400th career point, which was earned in his 600th career game.

Read More: Penguins Fight Back Against Champs, Lose in Shootout

The Penguins’ defensive configuration was less than optimal, as injuries forced coach Mike Sullivan to use both P.O. Joseph and Owen Pickering on the right side. Both are left-handed and while Joseph has a few games of experience on the right side, Pickering has none at the NHL level.

“I thought they did well. It’s not easy, especially (Pickering). He’s coming back from an injury, and we put him on the right side, which isn’t ideal for him. He’s a 20-year-old kid, (and) he’s trying to find his way out there. We really like how (Pickering) is playing,” said Sullivan. “He competes hard. He battles. He’s pretty good with the puck (and) has a quiet confidence about him. (Pickering) doesn’t get overwhelmed, and what I love about him is if he makes a mistake, it doesn’t affect him. He comes back to the bench, and he’ll talk to (assistant coach David Quinn) about it. Then, he goes and keeps playing.”

Pickering does have experience on the right in juniors and some at the AHL level, but in only his first pro season, Pickering has comparatively little experience at anything.

The Penguins battled at every level, even as the chalkboard showed a bit of a titled game at even strength. The Penguins’ saving grace was, in fact, the power play, which scored twice. Yet even as they struggled to light the lamp at even strength, the Penguins pushed and attacked without surrendering.

It was yet another sign of the growing confidence or even hunger within the room.

“I think that when we’re on top of our game and we follow our game plan, we can play and compete with every team in this league,” said an upbeat Rakell. “It’s encouraging (but) we need to make sure we get the two points.”

Penguins Xs and Os

The Penguins needed to slow down Florida’s forecheck. The champs are the best in the league at retrieving dump-ins, and they made the Penguins work for all 60 minutes. The Penguins had very little offensive momentum, but to their credit, they also kept Florida from establishing control between the dots.

There were plenty of rough moments, failed clears, and some chasing the game, but the forwards largely did an admirable job of sorting out and covering potential threats. I think the forwards could have done more to slow down Florida’s forecheck, but as Sullivan noted, they did much better this time than their 5-4 OT win over Florida on Dec. 3 at PPG Paints Arena.

“I thought we handled it better in this game than we did the last time we played them. Obviously, it’s one of the strengths of their game. To their credit, they’ve they’ve bought in. They’ve bought into playing north-south games and put a lot of pucks (into the offensive zone),” said Sullivan. “We knew that was going to be one of the challenges … And I thought we did a better job tonight.”

The Penguins didn’t let the superior Panthers own them in the important areas. Call that a win. The locker room seemed to feel that, too.

On the offensive side of the rink, however, the Penguins didn’t get between the dots or get any second chances, either. Except for the top line with Rickard Rakell, Sidney Crosby, and Bryan Rust, the Penguins were overmatched. No other line generated much pressure.

The Penguins shots were largely from the perimeter and one-and-done. What a difference an effective power play makes, eh?

Penguins Report Card

Team: B

It’s a tough grade to deliver because this writer wasn’t enamored with most of the team. Remove the power play goals, and there was very little offensive pressure. I also thought the forwards needed to be better in slowing down the forecheck, keeping Florida forwards off their defensemen.

Then again, Florida is the best.

But the team gets a solid B for absolute scrappiness. They essentially went toe-to-toe with the champs and lost in a split decision.

Defense: A? C?

If we’re grading on the curve, the Penguins’ defense gets an easy A. They were overmatched yet didn’t buckle, didn’t make the crucial mistake, and kept fighting. By keeping it simple, they stayed in the game.

Not making bad mistakes and earning a point–it’s not a groundbreaking formula, but it’s one that took this team a few minutes to learn.

The personnel makeup is far from optimal, but they made do with what they had available. Also, it’s important to note that Sullivan found a place for Pickering in the lineup. They clearly want the 20-year-old to continue developing at the NHL level and are giving him the runway to make mistakes, grow, and learn.

(Important distinction–some players get that runway because a team believes they’re worth the investment).

Tristan Jarry: B?

No one battled as much as Jarry. He was fighting the puck from the outset. His rebounds were big. He allowed straight shots to hit him, and the rebounds bounced to dangerous spots.

The team protected their goalie, and then the goalie made some big saves in the third period.

Kevin Hayes: B+

I liked his game. He played quickly despite not being a fast skater. Hayes and Philip Tomasino had some chemistry and created a couple of chances. Hayes had five shots on goal and adequately filled the third-line center spot.

Drew O’Connor, Cody Glass, Evgeni Malkin: C

The same grade for all three. Didn’t look like any of the three had their best legs. In O’Connor’s case, he was out of sync with Hayes. Glass didn’t provide much offense beside Malkin, who was also not at his best.