Penguins Report Card: Changes & Structure, Here Come the Pens!

The LA Kings do not give up goals easily. The Pittsburgh Penguins do. Or, at least, they did.

The Penguins retrenched to a defensively structured game and rallied from one-goal deficits twice against a team that has allowed more than two goals only twice in the last nine games—one of those times was Tuesday when the Penguins beat LA 3-2 in overtime at PPG Paints Arena.

Read More: Penguins Finally Reach Breaking(-Even) Point; Beat Kings in OT

The Penguins brought a lunch pail and submitted one of their most blue-collar performance this season. Their defensive acuity has grown from a hot mess in October to being able to compete with the best in mid-December.

“I think it was a discipline. We were very disciplined with the puck. We weren’t trying to force things, weren’t trying to force plays that weren’t there, weren’t trying to run through bodies and sticks,” said goalie Alex Nedeljkovic, who stopped 29 of 31. “We were just making the play that was there, making the simple play … They play a very disciplined type of game, and they don’t force a lot of things … They prey on turnovers and try to out-discipline the other team. So I thought we did a great job of staying with it tonight and beating them at their own game, in a way.”

The Penguins were again flatfooted at the start, and it nearly cost them the game. They’ve graduated from giving up goals on the first shot of the game to making teams take at least two shots. The Penguins’ top line failed to cover Adrian Kempe in front of the net, and he scored just 22 seconds into the game.

Whoops. But for the next 61 minutes and 22 seconds, things were much different.

Those old hot mess Penguins would have folded and left their goaltender to fend for himself, but perhaps the Penguins have given up early goals so often that they’ve become immune to negative effects and continued to plug away. LA tilted the first period, but the Penguins did enough to keep the score 1-0.

In the second period, the best version of the Penguins emerged.

“You know, it wasn’t perfect. We had some breakdowns, but for the most part, we had numbers back. We defended hard. We’re trying to close on people. There’s collective effort,” said coach Mike Sullivan. “There’s a semblance of structure and predictability within our game plan, and that’s an essential part of team play. When we have the discipline and the commitment to stay the course, I think we play games like we did tonight.”

Sullivan made a few tactical tweaks or outright changes in the second period, and the Penguins sprang to life by delivering a dose of the bitter frustration in the form of clogging the neutral zone and taking away the red line. We’ll dissect that part in the Xs and Os section, but the headline takeaway is that Sullivan made some old-school tweaks.

Yet despite the elevated level of the Penguins’ play and enthusiasm, they still trailed by a goal after two periods. Call it a rookie mistake as LA forward Alex Turcotte bolted the defensive zone when he recognized a loose puck would get behind Penguins rookie defenseman Owen Pickering.

Turcotte outskated everyone and turned a two-on-one into a clean breakaway goal. It happens. Pickering was otherwise pretty good.

The Penguins scored on their own two-on-one in the second period when Bryan Rust sprang Michael Bunting and Evgeni Malkin on the odd-man rush. Malkin got the goal in a chaotic sequence near the crease in which Bunting’s shot hit the post behind LA goalie Darcy Kuemper and caromed toward the goalie’s back (Malkin tipped the puck after it hit the post and headed toward Kuemper, who knocked it into the net).

The Penguins scored again later in the third period, this time through hard work on the walls and a brilliant backhand pass from Sidney Crosby to Matt Grzelcyk, who tied the game 2-2.

Crosby is goalless in 10 games, but that’s more the hockey gods testing his mettle, as he could have–should have–scored a few in the third period. He was that good … and that unlucky.

Penguins Xs and Os

Let’s dissect what the Penguins did so well (apologies in advance to the ‘Mike Sullivan doesn’t make any changes’ crowd).

The Penguins pulled back on the forecheck. Instead of the tip of the spear getting after the defensemen deep in the zone, they were able to hold firm higher in the zone, creating a second layer of defenders. And a third layer. The quick change stymied LA, who fumbled to get through the maze of Penguins guarding the red line like they were fighting the Balrog (Lord of the Rings reference).

The Penguins didn’t break or get bored, either. They hunkered down in their structure, attacked after they created turnovers, and pounced on loose pucks. They were able to play with numbers in all areas.

Yeah, the Pittsburgh Penguins matched the LA Kings’ structure and defensive awareness stride for stride. According to NaturalStatTrick.com, the high-dangers chances favored LA 10-8, but it surely seemed Crosby had a handful in the third period.

The Penguins submitted their best defensive game without their best defensive defenseman, Marcus Pettersson, as Grzelcyk and Ryan Graves played some of their best hockey.

“(Pettersson) is such a great player for us and plays in so many situations. You know we’ve got to (fill in) by committee,” said Grzelcyk. “I thought as the game went along, we started playing more simply as defensemen and tried to limit turnovers. They did a good job early, but we stuck with it and came out a big win.”

Penguins Report Card

Team: A+

I hope you enjoyed the game as much as I did. It wasn’t high-event hockey, and certainly not to be confused with the offensive explosions that are more commonplace this season. It was really good hockey as the teams made the other fight for every puck and every inch. It was genuinely impressive to see many of the beleaguered Penguins defensemen submit their best, as well as the drama of Crosby trying so desperately to score. Oh, he generated chances.

If the Penguins play that game more often, they’re going to win a lot of games.

Matt Grzelcyk: A+

Easily his best game with the Penguins. By a country mile. He protected Erik Karlsson, moved the puck well, and knew when to jump into the play. He also had five shots on goal.

He needed to play big because of Pettersson’s absence, and he did.

Drew O’Connor: Under the radar

This was his kind of game. He had his legs beneath him. He had three hits and was all over the puck. No points. No goals. But a very complementary game.

Sidney Crosby: A

OK, Kempe was probably his man, but otherwise, Crosby was as good as he was against Montreal. The hockey gods just won’t let him score, which is probably driving him crazy. He had LA goalie Darcy Kuemper down and out, but somehow his shot missed the far post as it slid through the crease.

Crosby had a couple more glorious chances, which Kuemper swallowed up. When Crosby breaks out of this 10-game goalless slide, heaven help the team they’re playing.

Michael Bunting: A

Perhaps lost in the shuffle of the resurgent Penguins team is just how energetic and vital Bunting has been. He’s on pucks, he’s getting good shots on goal, and he’s playing with speed between the dots.