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Penguins Report Card: Resilience, Goaltending and an Emerging Heart
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- Penguins Report Card: Resilience, Goaltending and an Emerging Heart
Penguins Report Card: Resilience, Goaltending and an Emerging Heart
SUNRISE, Fla. —The Pittsburgh Penguins were outshot by the Florida Panthers 37-16. Florida had 81 shot attempts compared to just 43 for the Penguins.
Florida outchanced the Penguins 25-11, and had 11 high-danger chances compared to just six for the Penguins.
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Yet the Penguins have five goals and Florida scored just three in the Penguins' resilient 5-3 win over Florida at Amerant Bank Arena Thursday.
"They capitalized on their opportunities,'' said Florida Panthers winger Brad Marchand . "After the first period, we really controlled that game. But every time we pushed, they made one play. When you have the caliber of players they do–some of the best-ever to play this game–that's what they do. They show up in those moments."
Penguins captain Sidney Crosby had a pair of goals, but Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry had quite a bit of say in the outcome, especially his acrobatic performance in the third period.
The game story can be quickly summarized as Florida dominated, and the Penguins scored. The Penguins had four two-goal leads, and only the last one stuck. With a raucous crowd behind them, the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions unleashed the hounds on the Penguins.
"You know they're not going to go away. I mean, there's a reason they've done what they have in this league, and where they've been the last couple of years–Stanley Cup champions," said Penguins coach Dan Muse . "They don't quit. They're not going away. You've got to know that. You've got to expect that. But we wanted to respond to things."
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In addition to the lopsided shot totals, Florida also outhit the Penguins 26-17, despite having the puck on their sticks far more often.
And yet the Penguins are 6-2-0 and have won four straight.
Penguins Analysis
Florida attacked. They knocked down the Penguins. They swarmed the net. They peppered Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry from near and far.
The third period may have been one of Jarry's finest as a Penguin. The quality of saves he made with the game on the line cannot be overlooked to fit past criticisms.
Toe saves on Anton Lundell , sprawling saves on Brad Marchand, and tall saves on several more Florida players kept the Penguins in the game, but also kept the Penguins' emotions in check.
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When a goalie is panicking, even while making saves, teams can feel that. They take cues from it. Jarry's aggressive presence on Thursday also rubbed off on the team.
Florida dominated the Penguins after the first period. Even without several injured players, including top center Aleksander Barkov , Florida is still one of the best in the league. The Penguins' defensemen were on their heels, often being forced to shovel pucks towards center ice simply to relieve pressure rather than transition to offense.
Florida chipped the puck into the zone, and their forecheck must have looked like a mile-high tsunami. The Penguins are still settling into their breakout patterns and roles, so Florida's long-established forecheck gobbled them up.
Every Penguins' mistake was magnified. Every missed pass, failed clear, and loose gap exacerbated a growing problem. Yet, the Penguins neither crumbled nor folded.
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They didn't surrender.
After a while, there was an admirable quality about the Penguins' resilience and their stiff jaw. Florida kept coming and kept inching closer.
Would anyone argue that the weak-willed Penguins of last season would have imploded spectacularly?
The Penguins scored timely goals, but they also earned them. Ben Kindel's goal to increase the Penguins' lead to 3-1 was a tapestry of skill and smarts.
Sidney Crosby 's power play goals were how it's supposed to be done.
"We got some timely goals. When they scored, we were able to bounce back. That's big," Crosby said. "When teams get momentum like that, we need to be able to respond, and we did a good job of that a few times. Hopefully, we can carry the play a little bit more. We did a good job defending, and (Jarry) was really, really good and bailed us out of a lot of mistakes."
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Xs & Os
Tactically, the Penguins' catch-and-release defensive system was shaky. In the defensive zone, the Penguins play a man-to-man defense below the dots and zone defense above the dots, so as opponents move, the coverages change.
Florida's pressure and high-tempo movement away from the puck was a challenge for the Penguins, who seemed a little overwhelmed trying to keep up.
On the penalty kill, the Penguins were alternatively very good and Charmin soft. Their 1-3 presented Florida challenges to enter the zone, but as Florida navigated the blue line wall, they had far too much success getting players free near the net, including an uncovered Brad Marchand.
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Penguins Report Card
Team: Glass Half Full?
They were dominated but undeterred. They were pummeled but kept fighting. They converted their few chances while Jarry denied Florida theirs.
A hot goalie counts.
Sidney Crosby: Emerging
Crosby still isn't on his A-game, but he's getting there. The game's greatest active player scored a pair of clutch goals, but Anton Lundell triggered Crosby's temper with some good old-fashioned extra-legal interference.
Tristan Jarry : A++
A goalie's job is to make the saves he should make and give the team a chance to win. Check.
Thursday, Jarry went beyond that and stole two points for his team and slipped into the South Florida night like a masked bandit.
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"He was outstanding. I mean, some of the saves, especially throughout the entire game, he got tested," Muse said. "There were some huge saves, but especially late, just to see him stick with it, and some of the battles there from that net front. It was great to see."
Parker Wotherspoon & Erik Karlsson : B
Among the Penguins' defensemen, they were the best. Karlsson was clean, conservative, and effective.
Wotherspoon, besides his flying shoulder tackle on Niko Mikkola , he's establishing himself as a solid defenseman. He gets bonus points for sticking up for a teammate, but also for dealing with the Florida siege.
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Ben Kindel: B
Kindel won a crucial faceoff late in the third period (though I don't believe scorers gave him credit for it). Kindel scored a beaut with the give-and-go he orchestrated with Tommy Novak .
This was the type of opponent and game when you see what the kid is made of. Yeah, he passed with flying colors.
Connor Clifton : D
His game was haphazard. There were good shifts, but bad ones. His penalty sparked Florida's surge. The game played Clifton, not the other way around, Thursday.
Special Mentions
Connor Dewar : Gets so little recognition, but the little engine that could is adding some offense from his defense-first fourth line role, as well as winning a lot of pucks. A lot of pucks.
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Bryan Rust : Not quite in sync, yet. He is clearly playing hard and pushing, but he's also fighting the game a bit.
Tommy Novak: Zero shots. Zero attempts. Zero misses.
Filip Hallander : He's quiet, solid, vanilla, and reliable.
The post Penguins Report Card: Resilience, Goaltending and an Emerging Heart appeared first on Pittsburgh Hockey Now .
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