Penguins Grades: The Really Good and Really Bad of Unlikely Pens’ Win

When does a team not need many shots to win a game?

The two easy answers are when you’re playing the Pittsburgh Penguins or the Penguins when Sidney Crosby is having a game.

Tuesday, the Penguins were badly outshot, 38-17, but the last one counted. Crosby was on top of the play. Goaltender Tristan Jarry continued his comeback with a second-straight stellar performance. And, Erik Karlsson couldn’t find anyone to open for a pass in overtime, so he netted the game-winner.

Karlsson’s wicked wrister beat Vegas goalie Ilya Samsonov for the Penguins’ 3-2 overtime win at PPG Paints Arena.

Read More: Crosby, Jarry, Karlsson Help Penguins Hit Jackpot Against Vegas

When the rest of the Penguins weren’t very good, Jarry was and won his second straight game.

“The vantage point I got from the bench, you just didn’t see a whole lot. And that’s usually a sign that he’s playing a confident game,” Sullivan said. “You know, (when) he’s big in there, he’s tracking pucks, he’s playing with confidence, he’s got a calm demeanor. His handles, as far as when he comes out and plays a puck, have been simple and efficient. I thought he was spectacular again tonight. He was the difference.”

So much for a rag-tag lineup losing and the team getting a better draft pick, eh?

The Penguins are solidly in the sixth spot, and two wins in a row will help the locker room far more than the organization.

On the ice, Vegas pummeled the Penguins for most of the final 30 minutes, but they oddly didn’t seem to be out of control. While the Penguins’ shots were few and far between for the first 40 minutes, they did well to limit the rips at Jarry–at least until the final 10 minutes of the third period. Make no mistake, they proportionally gave up too many good looks, but they limited Vegas to just 18 shots after 40 minutes before Vegas attacked for 19 shots in the final 20.

“(Jarry) played unbelievable for us, and that’s probably the main reason why we even got to overtime,” Karlsson told Pittsburgh Hockey Now. “But I think we hung in ther,e and we tried when we had the puck. We tried to make a difference out there and keep playing even though we were up for most of the game. And even though they came back, it still felt like we were in it.”

On so many nights before this, the Penguins would have trailed by several goals and slowly lost the will. Or they would have buckled in the third period and talked about the good things they did in the first period. Not Tuesday. It may not matter much in the chase for greater goals, and it may have made a better pick just a little tougher, but it was the kind of win that sends a message to the rest of the lineup of what is possible and what is expected.

Penguins Xs and Os

The Penguins didn’t keep or play with the puck very well Tuesday. They weren’t entirely careless with it, and they didn’t play frivolously, either, but they were otherwise not able to break the hard candy shell of the Golden Knights defense.

Few teams guard their net and the low zone as well as Vegas–they won a Stanley Cup on a remarkable run of timely goals by (former VGK) winger Jonathan Marchessault and taking away the net.

The chalkboard is a bit skewed because Crosby scored a power-play goal in the first period and took advantage of a turnover and then a blown Vegas coverage for his second goal early in the second period. With a 2-0 lead, the Penguins didn’t attack–which worked as poorly as you might expect.

It wasn’t exactly coach Mike Sullivan’s decision to crawl in the bunker, but the Penguins did just enough.

“I didn’t think our game tonight was very strong. As the game went on, we got on our heels,” Sullivan said. “I thought the game in Minnesota (Sunday), we competed hard. Tonight was a little bit of a mixed bag. We had moments where I thought we were trying to dictate the terms. But I think we’re capable of being better than we were tonight.”

Tactically, the Penguins’ inability to get the puck low took away their low-to-high game.

The Penguins were chasing loose pucks stopped by Jarry or blocked near the net. Vegas kept blasting away.

Tactically, the Penguins’ inability to create turnovers with tight defensive gaps at the top of the zone—needing bodies in the low zone for loose pucks—also negated any sort of rush game.

In short, the Penguins did little but were able to keep Vegas from getting their second goal for 59 minutes and 54 seconds.

Vegas teed off on the Penguins in the third. If it were a boxing match in Las Vegas, the Penguins would have been covering up in the corner.

Jack Eichel had a breakaway. Tomas Hertl had a glorious wraparound chance. Each slammed their stick in a combination of disbelief and irritation at being stopped.

Penguins Grades

Team: C-

Crosby and Jarry saved the Penguin’s bacon. On an average night, the game would have been a 5-1 or 7-0 blowout. The Penguins mustered 16 shots in regulation and only six high-danger scoring chances at 5v5, according to NaturalStatTrick.com.

The Penguins lacked a good push. They didn’t find space in the offensive zone and didn’t adjust. By the middle of the second period, they were under an avalanche and focused on clogging their defensive zone, which they did just well enough.

The good and bad: The Penguins had 16 turnovers (bad), four takeaways (worse), and 21 blocked shots (It was good that they blocked them, but bad that they had to block so many because they didn’t have the puck).

Sidney Crosby: Yep

It wasn’t his best game, but he delivered. Crosby is no dummy–he understands the Penguins offense begins and ends with him and his line. So, he channeled his inner Patric Hornqvist and battled hard in front of the net on the power play. He also made sure to snap his best shot when Vegas made their one mistake.

Tristan Jarry: A+

Hockey is funny. Often, you can feel what’s going to happen before it happens. Jarry’s confidence spread through the arena like his lack of confidence did before his demotion.

You could feel Jarry in control, and as such, the game never felt chaotic, even as it looked like it.

Jarry was good, really, really, good.

Now, the bad performances

Danton Heinen/Emil Bemstrom: F

The line with Evgeni Malkin generated two shot attempts. They didn’t win many good puck battles or transition to offense, and when they got to the fun end of the rink, they didn’t do much with the opportunity.

Each needed to be stiffer on the walls and better in the defensive zone.

After some initial hope that he could break through this time, Bemstrom is regressing.

Ryan Graves: F

He’s much stronger than he showed Tuesday. He was weak on the puck, and coaches benched him. He played just 10 minutes. Helping to protect a lead should be his bread and butter.

Defense partner Connor Timmons only played 10 minutes, as well. Coaches essentially skipped the third pairing except for quick shifts.