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Penguins Report Card: Saddle Up and Ride Crosby & Malkin

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Pittsburgh Penguins, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin

For most of a period, it appeared the Pittsburgh Penguins would deliver a Halloween treat to a mostly full PPG Paints Arena. The Penguins completed tape-to-tape passes, won every puck battle, and swarmed the Anaheim Ducks’ net with 18 shots and 15 scoring chances in the first period.



And then the Penguins’ mask slipped off. Or did it?

Read More: STREAK OVER! Penguins Dominate, Crosby Plays Hero with Tying & OT Winner

In the end, Superman saved the day. Sidney Crosby scored a perfect deflection early in the third, then executed an unstoppable breakaway move in overtime for the winner. The Penguins won in overtime 2-1, despite firing 45 shots on Anaheim goalie Lukas Dostal and heavy pressure for what seemed like most of the game.

“Oh man, that was cool,” said Penguins forward Cody Glass, who was on the ice for the overtime winner. “That was a dream come true. I can tell all of my friends I was on the ice.”

After a sleepy second period and another gaffe that led to a goal against, the Penguins again dominated throughout the third. However, more mistakes gifted Anaheim three glorious chances in the final few minutes.

“I thought it was one of our more complete games. We controlled territory and played more of a North-South straight-ahead game. We put pucks behind their defenseman when there wasn’t any ice on the entries,” said coach Mike Sullivan. “We managed the puck better in those critical areas of the rink, for the most part, all night long. As a result, we got a significant amount of offenses and we had a significant amount of scoring chances. We weren’t compromising our offense by playing a more calculated game.”

Oh, the mistakes were there, but not as many.

Anaheim scored later in the first period when Ryan Graves incorrectly went behind the Penguins’ net, abandoning the net front while defense partner Jack St. Ivany was in the corner. The end result was Alex Killorn was wide … WIDE … open, and he seemingly had unlimited time to carve a shot past goalie Alex Nedeljkovic.

Winger Michael Bunting also chased the puck to the corner. He, too, could have defended in the scoring zone instead of hanging his head at lit goal light from the wall.

“We’ve got to shore up our rush coverages, our rush defense, and our end zone defense,” Sullivan said. “There are areas and details that we’ve got to pay more attention to, and everybody’s got to buy in so that we become harder to play against. I said this the other day. I want to say it again. We’re not going to score our way to success. We’re going to defend our way to success. And that’s the message that we’re preaching to the group.”

At least the Penguins didn’t surrender multiple goals in rapid-fire. They kept Anaheim to just one goal.

Penguins Xs and Os

What the Penguins faced

With the lead, Anaheim knew what to do. They largely protected goalie Lukas Dostal. Anaheim proved to be a patient, disciplined team, not opening up or making deflating mistakes.

Instead, Anaheim stayed between the puck and the net. The Penguins were not able to get second chances, and the Penguins forwards were not able to overpower Anaheim defenders near the net.

The Penguins needed the win much more than Anaheim, which was finishing its fourth game in six days. The Penguins’ urgency, with Crosby and Malkin bearing down on Anaheim and new second-line center Lars Eller dishing hits in overtime to steal the puck and create momentum, eventually tilted the scales.

“We’re getting zone time, some good chances. We’re just going to continue to work, and when we work, we get chances. So it was good to get some more looks tonight,” Crosby said in perhaps the understatement of the evening.

What the Penguins did well

The team had their A-game for much of the contest. They were able to break out of the defensive zone with short area passes, tape-to-tape with speed. There was puck support and forward momentum.

When the Penguins tracked back, it wasn’t often the chaotic fire drill that had dogged them for the first 11 games. The forwards got back into position, and the defensemen limited the mistakes for 55 minutes.

The Penguins also kept the turnovers to a minimum, though the late mistakes were glaring. This time, Alex Nedeljkovic bailed them out with a trio of game-saving saves in the final minutes.

Defense. Goaltending. And a heaping side of Crosby and Malkin, who were dominant.

“We did lean on them a lot tonight, and based on where we were at, we thought it made sense to try them together. They certainly command the puck when they’re on the ice together. They had some dynamic offensive zone shifts,” said Sullivan. “They can make plays. And I think (Rickard Rakell) is playing extremely well right now. He’s playing a 200-foot game. And so he’s been complimentary there … They’ve had two pretty solid games since since we’ve had them together. We’ll see where it goes moving forward. It’s not etched in stone, but it’s certainly something that they will continue to consider.”

Penguins Grades

Alex Nedeljkovic: A+

His stat line won’t earn him a raise because he stopped only 22 shots, but too many of those 22 were dangerous shots. Crosby and Malkin will get the glory on Thursday, but Nedeljkovic is equally commendable.

Malkin-Sidney Crosby-Rickard Rakell: Wow

Check this stat line for the Penguins’ top line: 35 shot attempts, 21 shots on goal, a 17-8 scoring chance ratio, eight high-danger chances, and a 66% xGF.

Right now, the Penguins need to ride the greats, and the greats are wearing the saddle well.

“I think it was (Crosby’s) most complete effort on both sides of the puck,” Sullivan said. “I think his defensive game tonight probably gets overshadowed by how good he was offensively.”

All stats are according to NaturalStatTrick.com.

Erik Karlsson: B+

Karlsson had 21 shot attempts, and he was all over the ice, in a good way. Karlsson played his best game of the season as he commanded the puck without hogging it. He moved it well, and he was involved in the play, usually responsibly.

Michael Bunting-Cody Glass-Noel Acciari: B+

Glass said he “fell asleep for two seconds” and thus didn’t cover the spot when Alex Killorn snapped Anaheim’s goal. However, that’s a teammate taking the blame for not going above and beyond.

After coaches put Anthony Beauvillier on Glass’s line, the line had eight scoring chances in just over three minutes of 5v5 play without allowing one. Glass isn’t flashy. He’s a subtle player, but he’s building a resume worth keeping in the lineup, albeit without being spectacular or always immediately noticeable.

Bunting had his best game of the season, too. Bunting got to the net and created some chaos. Though he didn’t score, he had five shots on goal.

Other Good Games to Note

Valtteri Puustinen. Drew O’Connor. Lars Eller. The trio nearly connected on a goal in the first 90 seconds. Eller won a couple of pucks, and O’Connor fed Puustinen near the net. Both played solid games. Eller was strong.

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Robert Shoemaker
Robert Shoemaker
3 days ago

Good game, albeit against a tired opponent. Can the team build off of this win, or will they all go back to their mistake-prone ways?

Jeff Young
Jeff Young
2 days ago

Reading the article I got the sense that a bit of perspective was lost. It was the Ducks, right? And just two goals on how many shots?

Stanley Kupp
Stanley Kupp
2 days ago

They are who they are. They weren’t ever going to be a good team this year. If they finish last rather than the mushy middle, all the better!

Steve Boyce
Steve Boyce
2 days ago

The big difference I saw last night was a great reduction in the number of no-look passes to empty ice which have usually resulted in giveaways and high danger chances for the opponent. Last night they seemed to see the pass and know where they were trying to get the puck. It really helped with possession and control of the game. Very encouraging game! Time to put this rough stretch against a very tough part of the schedule behind us and pile up some wins moving forward.

Stanley Kupp
Stanley Kupp
2 days ago

Sullivan doesn’t ever make changes…or does he?

Jstripsky
Jstripsky
2 days ago

Amazingly you don’t give up countless odd man rushes against when you don’t continuously try forcing cross ice passes through 3 defenders skates and sticks, failing to get the puck out of the defensive zone or carrying the puck into the offensive zone where there isn’t room. These are the things you usually see from a young team or players not realizing what worked in college or juniors doesn’t work in the NHL and not from a team of veterans. Maybe they’re tired of hearing Sullivan talk about it while reviewing video after a game.

Steve301
Steve301
2 days ago

I’m very happy for the win but I think it will be almost impossible for this team to make the playoffs this year. To be honest I don’t have the hockey knowledge of alot who post here as I am only a fan without any hockey playing or coaching experience. What I do see as a problem is we have two offensive defensive players who take alot of risk, some good, some…… To fix this problem I think one needs to go. I am biased and loyal to the guys who have actually won the cup for us so I’d… Read more »

Espo33
Espo33
2 days ago

Where is the guy who said Neds has never stole them a game? Yes Crosby got 2 goals, but Ned played extremely well.

Brandon
Brandon
2 days ago

Great game..good to see us keeping up with younger teams..the only issue I have is I just don’t think keeping Malkin and Rakell with Crosby is sustainable when you look at the rest of the lineup. This was the issue of having nearly 17 mil in Cap space ( after moving Riley Smith) and noth either signing Guentzel or finding a suitable replacement Rust is always hurt and to be real even when in the lineup just is no Guentzel. Maybe they are hoping for Mitch Marner, idk, but you have to surround Crosby and Malkin with a little more… Read more »