Penguins Grades: Grinders, Bombardment, & the Jarry Wall

A bizarro world has enveloped the Pittsburgh Penguins over the past three games.

Goalie Tristan Jarry is stopping everything from the first shot of the game to high-danger scoring chances in the final minute of the period. The Penguins are not badly outshooting teams and losing. And just to provide further proof that we may have indeed jumped timelines to alternate reality, Ryan Graves is scoring points.

The Penguins got great goaltending, unlikely goals, timely goals, and just enough defense in the end to beat the St. Louis Blues 5-3 at PPG Paints Arena.

Get this, there was again a first-shot, first goal, but … the Penguins scored it.

In fact, the Penguins were outshot 16-5 in the first period but led 1-0 on Graves’ first goal of the season.

“Without a doubt, the last three games are three of the best games (Jarry) has played all year for us,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “He’s ultra competitive in there. He’s battling on pucks. You know, at the end of the day, when you look at our last three games, he’s the main difference in all three of them. He’s made timely saves for us and competing hard in there.”

Into the second period, the Penguins were being outshot 20-7, yet they led 2-0 on defenseman Conor Timmins’ first goal as a Penguin.

Sullivan rewarded tough winger Boko Imama for a good shift with some ice time with Evgeni Malkin midway through the second period, and Imama nearly scored.

Read More: Imama Might Have Fighting Chance to Stick With Penguins.

It would have been Imama’s first NHL goal of the season, but instead newly acquired Timmins scored a couple of minutes later with a nice keep on the wall and step to the circle for a well-placed wrister past St. Louis goalie Jordan Binnington.

And Connor Dewar–like Timmins, newly acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs–earned his first goal of the season in the second period when he neatly deposited a great pass from Blake Lizotte.

Despite the Penguins’ surprises, there were also hard reminders of reality. The Penguins’ defensive zone coverage was abysmal for much of the game, with loose gaps and soft battles. Graves missed an assignment that led to a goal, and Jarry allowed at least one stoppable goal.

With Naked Eyes, there is always something there to remind me.

Rickard Rakell appeared to score his 30th goal of the season seven minutes into the third period when his low wrist shot skipped past Binnington, but despite players congratulating Rakell, scorers gave it to Bryan Rust. And then to Rakell. And then back to Rust.

(There’s not an angle we’ve seen that made it conclusively Rust’s goal, but we assume scorers have more angles. Of course, last week, Ryan Shea had a goal taken away in favor of Cody Glass, but locker room sources were playfully dubious).

Penguiuns Xs and Os

Like their game against the Golden Knights, the Penguins were unable to establish high-pressure offensive zone time. St. Louis took away the Penguins primary weapons–the low game, and the low to high game.

The Penguins, who have struggled to convert chances for much of this season, suddenly have the Midas touch. With just four high-danger chances at even strength, the Penguins still netted four goals (and one empty netter).

“I feel like we’re finding different ways to score, (whether it’s) just off the rush or on the powerplay or just off of faceoffs,” Rakell said. “I think that we’re trying to go to the net a little bit more and bang some rebounds and just have a more attacking mentality for that.”

That’s the good.

The bad is that the Penguins are not playing well, not even a little bit.

The Penguins are not flipping the territorial battle to make opponents play 200 feet. Turnovers continue to make life easier for the other team, and denying the Penguins forecheck a chance to create some chaos or stack layers in the neutral zone (to slow opponents or create turnovers and counterattacks).

The Penguins are akin to sitting ducks at their own blue line as they race to catch opponents or have little defense to their speed into the zone.

Worse, the Penguins’ gaps were awful, they weren’t physical or tough on the opponents, except for the  fourth line with Dewer, Blake Lizotte, and Noel Acciari.

Timely goals and timely saves. It is a bizzaro world.

Penguins Report Card

Team: C-

They were outshot 16-5 in the first period and a rally lifted them to 12 shots in the second period. However, the Penguins still gave up 36 shots total.

The defense corps has not improved and when the forwards are playing “soff” they’re in trouble.

Jarry, Jarry, Jarry.

Tristan Jarry: A

There was a stoppable goal amongst the Blues trio of tallies, but Jarry was the brick wall between the Penguins winning and getting blown out by midway through the first period.

“In the first period, we didn’t have the legs, the energy, whatever it was. We were late on pucks all over the rink,” Sullivan said. “He made some big saves for us, allowed our guys an opportunity to find (their game). And I think when he’s at his best, that’s what he’s capable of doing.”

Penalty Kill: F

Two goals on three shots and each missed positional coverages.

“Not good enough,” Sullivan said. “But that’s probably obvious.”

It seemed like Sullivan was done, but then he elaborated further. He didn’t need to.

Hayes-Bemstrom: 

It wasn’t a good night for them. Not even a little. Sullivan essentially deployed them as a seldom used fourth line. Hayes played just 7:14. Bemstrom played 7:29. Linemate Imama began earning shifts higher in the lineup and played over eight minutes.

Hayes didn’t have a shot attempt and lost six of nine faceoffs. Bemstrom had one shot on goal.

Philip Tomasino: B+

He had some wheels in the first period when everyone else was stuck in second gear. He had one assist in nearly 18 minutes of ice time, four shots, three attempts and three hits.

That’s the Tomasino that Sullivan wants to see. He used his offensive skill to win a couple of wall battles, not with braun, but with brains and keep speed in the zone.

New Guys

It’s tough to get a full picture on the newbies. Dewer is a sparkplug player just like Lizotte. They’re not big, but they’re impactful at both ends of the ice with energy, grit and unrelenting drive.

Timmons is tougher to gauge because he’s a quiet defenseman. If you don’t notice him that’s probably a good thing. One shot, no additional attempts, but a plus-3.