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Penguins Report Card: Stars Rise, but Brunicke Struggling, Now What?
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- Penguins Report Card: Stars Rise, but Brunicke Struggling, Now What?
Penguins Report Card: Stars Rise, but Brunicke Struggling, Now What?
The Pittsburgh Penguins scored a pair of goals before the game was a minute old. By the end of the first period, the Penguins gave back their lead before again reclaiming it and again putting it in jeopardy before pulling away for a 6-3 win over the St. Louis Blues at PPG Paints Arena.
First, Pittsburgh Hockey Now would like to extend our sincerest prayers and thoughts for the recovery of the fan who fell from the upper deck Monday night. As of publishing, he was in critical condition. If you'd like to read that story, you can here .
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"We just heard someone fell tonight. Doesn't feel right to be talking about points. My thoughts and prayers to that person and their family. I hope they're all right," said Penguins captain Sidney Crosby .
Crosby scored three points and became the ninth player all-time and fourth fastest to 1700 points, but as he wisely said this night, hockey is unimportant. We want to acknowledge that and the uncomfortable position of reporting on a game, and because of our reporting on the upsetting incident, our Report Card will be abbreviated.
Penguins Game
The Penguins are now 7-2-1, racing to the top of the Eastern Conference with points in six straight games. There is plenty of optimism as the stars shone and the supposed "depth" players, such as defenseman Parker Wotherspoon , who signed bargain deals this summer, again laid waste to their lesser labels.
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Wotherspoon was really, really …. really good Monday. His ability to read Karlsson, but also read the play and find soft spots in the offensive zone for scoring chances, is both shocking and a revelation.
To the game and the bigger hockey issues…
It was a wild game, even as the teams alternated between boring and track-meet hockey. Eventually … the Penguins pulled away in the final minutes of the third period for the win.
The Penguins' offense came exclusively from the veteran players who were pluses on the scoring sheet. The mistakes were from the rookies, who were minuses, especially Harrison Brunicke , who watched a couple of his mistakes immediately become goals against.
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It was the third straight shaky performance from the rookie defenseman, including the two games before a pair of scratches and his reinsertion into the lineup Monday.
The first goal was a breach of Defenseman 101 as Brunicke made a great headman pass to Tommy Novak , but as Novak couldn't settle it, St. Louis quickly transitioned against the Penguins. Brunicke inappropriately jumped forward in the neutral zone without disrupting the play, but then compounded the error by casually coming back to the defensive zone.
Brunicke should have covered Nick Bjugtad one-on-one, but he coasted into space. The goal visualizer shows it better than video–Brunicke made one mistake, but stopped moving his feet, creating an easy goal. He could have easily covered Bjugstad.
In the video, you can see him coast.
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That is the type of play that puts his immediate season in the NHL into question. Will the Penguins, who are now 7-2-1, work with the defenseman on the fundamental mistakes, or will they send him back to juniors to do so? The answer is no longer crystal clear.
Brunicke has had issues holding the puck in the wrong situations. As the 19-year-old and I have spoken a few times in the last few weeks, he has used the term "pro game" to describe his need to move the puck quickly in certain situations.
He continues to get burned with trying to stickhandle around NHL players in tight situations instead of moving the puck. His turnover in the third period put the game in doubt as Matheiu Joseph ripped the wrister past goalie Tristan Jarry . The goal made the score 4-3.
The correct plays were to move it laterally, shoot, or move it back to Crosby coming off the wall. He tried to do too much, again, and this was not "the pro game." It's becoming a habit he badly needs to break.
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While this writer believes the Penguins will opt to keep Brunicke in the NHL past the nine-game cut-off when his entry-level contract would kick in, his recent play has put his NHL season in some jeopardy.
It's no longer a slam dunk, or even a probability that he stays. We showed the above examples not to harp on the player but to explain the reasons the organization may decide he is not ready.
Brunicke made a few good plays in the second and third periods, which should make coaches and general manager Kyle Dubas breathe a little easier, but not much. His skill and talent are evident, but those elementary-level mistakes can't happen as often as they have.
Monday was Brunicke's seventh game; he only has two more to show a course correction because those mistakes can't happen as often as they have in his last few games.
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Penguins Report Card
Team: B
The start was phenomenal, and the finishing kick was killer instinct. The Penguins scored two goals in the first 55 seconds and six goals overall, as the old lions roared. Sidney Crosby (1-2-3), Bryan Rust (2-1-3), and Erik Karlsson (0-3-3) had three points each. Evgeni Malkin had a goal and an assist. Most of the top of the lineup was plus-3.
The Penguins are showing a quick strike capability and keeping opponents from seizing too much momentum or the game (the Columbus game on Saturday notwithstanding).
The Rookies
No one ever said the rookies would be great every game and grow steadily, eh?
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Brunicke won't get a passing grade.
There were only five Penguins with a minus rating on Monday, and three of them were the rookies. Brunicke, Kindel, and Ville Koivuen were minus-2 ( Tommy Novak and Matt Dumba were the other two).
Hallander had a pair of scoring chances and held his own on the top line with Crosby. He played a solid game and notched one assist with two high-danger chances, according to NaturalStatTrick.com .
Koivunen was not good again on Monday. His struggles at the NHL level are bewildering after such a splash at the end of last season and a very good preseason. Koivunen was tentative with the puck and did not flash his "step ahead" playmaking ability. He had no shots, no attempts, no hits, no takeaways.
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The Stars
Sidney Crosby notched points No. 1699, 1700, and 1701, and all of them were vintage Crosby. He made some beautiful backhand saucers across the zone and was dominant. It took a few games, but it's fair to say this was Crosby's best of the season, and he looks dialed in.
Bryan Rust finally got a couple across the line. He, too, has been building to the A+ game.
And…wow, Evgeni Malkin . If this is his last ride, he's going out with a gallop. He was spectacular Monday. Malkin froze everyone on the two-on-one. He deked the defensemen, St. Louis goalie Jordan Binnington , and had the 13,000 fans' rapt attention. Anthony Mantha read the play and patiently waited near the crease for Malkin to clear the table.
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Malkin is getting after defenders on the forecheck, he's dancing with the puck, and he's limiting mistakes. He's also got 14 points (3-11-14) in 10 games.
The post Penguins Report Card: Stars Rise, but Brunicke Struggling, Now What? appeared first on Pittsburgh Hockey Now .
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