Penguins Grades: ‘No Bullsh*t in Their Game,’ Pens Find Something Special

The Pittsburgh Penguins are a mighty juggernaut.

Neither Stanley Cup contender nor division rival can stop them. Not bad penalties, defensive lapses, or turnovers have delayed the most improbable winning streak of their season.

Saturday, the Penguins held the New Jersey Devils to 14 shots in the first two periods, survived some dumb third-period penalties, and galloped to a 7-3 win at PPG Paints Arena, their fourth win in a row.

Read More: Penguins, Jarry Stick a (Pitch)Fork in Devils

Technically, the Penguins are four points out of a playoff spot, but they have played more games than most of the teams ahead of them, including the second wild card-holding Columbus Blue Jackets who have four games in hand. So, the actual playoff deficit is probably at least nine points.

There are two emerging storylines for the surging Penguins: Goaltending and grinders.

Tristan Jarry has won four games in a row and looked stellar in the process. He’s not succumbing to pressure or getting scrambly, he’s not allowing soft goals, and he’s making more than his share of tough saves.

The new story emerging is the grind line.

Dewar-Lizotte-Acciari

Oh, that third line. Connor Dewar, Blake Lizotte, and Noel Acciari have been pretty spectacular.

They are three pretty similar players. Ok, they are almost identical. No one on the line is six feet tall, (they’re all about 5-foot-9 or shorter in real life), but they’re playing BIG.

All three are fast, tenacious, and determined.

“Yeah it makes it easier on us knowing that we’re similar players, and we kind of know what we’re doing before the other guy gets it,” Acciari said. “We are going to read each other and we’re clicking right now.”

Newly acquired Dewar scored two goals, including the game-sealing empty netter. He now has three goals in two games, his first three goals this season. He was goalless in 31 games with Toronto before last week’s trade.

They seem to have captured coach Mike Sullivan’s fancy. Following the game, he was effusive when asked about the crash-and-bang trio.

“I think they play the game the right way. There’s detail associated with their game. They have structure when they don’t have (the puck), so they’re predictable for one another. They don’t go on their own agenda,” Sullivan said. “They have structure. When you play with structure and you’re predictable for one another, you can work collectively as a group on both sides of the puck, and it makes the game a little bit easier for you. And they have it, and they’re competitive guys … They’re willing to go to the net and do a lot of the little things that I think add up to success.”

After a hard-nosed season with little offense to show for it, Acciari had a couple of good looks at New Jersey goalie Jacob Markstrom.

“I need to do more of that,” he quipped to Pittsburgh Hockey Now.

And Blake Lizotte is flexing his offensive muscles, too. Lizotte has four assists in his last three games, but those assists have been play-driving, goal-creating apples.

“We put them in tough situations. They get a lot of defensive zone starts against top lines. They defend when they lose the draw (but) more often than not, they end up in the offensive zone helping us build momentum,” Sullivan said. “They’re chipping in offensively because they just play the game the right way. They go to the net, they go to the blue paint. The goal that I think it was (Dewar) scored tonight is a perfect example of it. It’s not a highlight reel goal, but it’s pretty effective.”

Penguins Report Card

Team: B+

It was a solid, workman-like performance. The Penguins have far too many players who are expected to make mistakes, and there was no shortage of them, but there also wasn’t an abundance. The Penguins’ mistakes were limited and not (usually) catastrophic.

The Penguins limited the injury-ravaged Devils to 14 shots on goal through 40 minutes (the Penguins had only 13, despite a four-minute power play).

Also, Jarry cleaned up most of the mistakes. An inordinate number of missed shots suppressed their shot total, but the Penguins had ample offensive zone time and didn’t hide on the perimeter. They won a fair share of loose pucks and had good puck pressure.

Tristan Jarry: A+

Four straight gems. He’s big in net. He’s holding his ground. And, he’s stopping high-danger chances.

3rd Line: A+

It’s like the Penguins found the missing triplet with Dewar. The line should be a crash-bang fourth-line, but they’re flipping the table and getting out of the defensive zone to provide offense, too. For the second consecutive game, Dewar scored within a few feet of the crease. He knocked a rebound past Markstrom Saturday, but not before Acciari and Lizotte won multiple puck battles.

“There’s no bullsh*t in their game,” said Kris Letang.

Conor Timmins: B+

He was solid. He came out of his shell a bit more Saturday. His step forward to the high slot and shot through traffic on Dewar’s goal was perfect. With numerous defensive mistakes around him, he limited his. It wasn’t perfect, and there was a rough turnover that nearly cost the Penguins in the second period, but, you know, Jarry.

Philip Tomasino: B+

Credit the 23-year-old for hanging in there when Sullivan is pushing him to add layers to his game. It’s easy to half-heartedly do some of the things, some of the time, to appease the coach, but Tomasino puts forth a genuine effort. It’s obviously not his natural state, but he’s digging.

“I feel like over the last two weeks, my game has kind of gone to the next stage, but I think our whole group has been playing really well–maybe we haven’t gotten the results, but obviously, recently we have,” Tomasino said. “It’s been great. I feel pretty good about my game … I think there’s always stuff to continue to work on, but overall, I feel like I’m taking my game to another level here these last few weeks.”

Tomasino raced out of the defensive zone for a two-on-one with Danton Heinen. Tomasino’s pass was deflected (whoops), but the bouncing puck worked in Heinen’s favor. Tomasino played another game with energy and dedication.

His third period goal was just good work being rewarded when his backcheck yielded a loose puck and a quick scoring chance.

Under the Radar Performances

Boko Imama. He had a hand in the first goal, even if he wasn’t on the ice. He had some good puck touches in the first period, and helped create the offensive zone pressure that led to the first Penguins goal. He plays sparingly–that’s his role–but he contributed.

Danton Heinen. He was solid in all three zones and is holding up his end of the bargain by playing beside Evgeni Malkin. That was a pretty goal he scored. Tomasino couldn’t take much credit for it, but he enjoyed it.

“(Heinen) made a heck of a play. It wasn’t the best pass and I don’t even know–I think he kicked it behind him for an open net,” Tomasino recounted. “So (a) great play by him. It wasn’t really the best pass from me but definitely a great goal by him, for sure.”

Rough Performances

Ryan Graves. A few of the mistakes that landed on Jarry’s plate were his. He’s developed a bad habit of leaving his feet too early, or going down to one knee to block a shot before the shooter has committed to shooting.

He made one great defensive play- he charged at New Jersey defenseman Luke Hughes, who had the puck and a wide-open net. Hughes saw the 6-foot-5 Graves and not the yards of twine before him and didn’t shoot.

Vladislav Kolyachonok. He played the puck like a hot potato twice, which led to New Jersey’s first goal. His low-zone coverage is sometimes spotty, if not wandering.

Evgeni Malkin. Brutal penalties, including the four-minute high-sticking penalty in the third period that gave New Jersey its third goal. Yet…YET…he was a plus-3.