On Saturday, the Penguins came out flying in the first period, scoring a power play goal and dominating possession.
But two bounces for Toronto early in the second period turned that all on its head.
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The Maple Leafs defeated the Penguins, 4-2, in an evening full of weird puck bounces and momentum swings. Less than a minute into the second period, the Penguins had a questionable line change, in large part because the puck hit a ref. Michael Bunting had just stepped onto the ice and tried to find Matt Grzelcyk on the rush, but the pass didn’t connect, and the Leafs capitalized on the resulting two-on-none.
On Toronto’s second goal, the puck took a lucky bounce off the boards behind the Penguins’ net, it landed right on the stick of Matthew Knies in front of the goal, and he didn’t miss. This was directly after Sidney Crosby deflected a shot off the goal post at the other end of the ice.
And after that, the Leafs controlled most of the momentum. The Penguins had a bit of a push midway through the third period, when Rickard Rakell sniped a puck past Toronto netminder Anthony Stolarz off a nice assist from Evgeni Malkin, who earned career point number 1,300 on the play.
Here are some observations from tonight’s game:
– The Penguins didn’t play nearly as well in the final two frames as they did in the first. But, man, was the puck luck against them tonight.
This is one of those losses that can’t really be chalked up to a lack of effort or chances. In a general sense, the Penguins were the better team for much of this game, and they carried most of the play in the first two periods. But the bounces simply didn’t go their way, and the Leafs capitalized on their winning goal off a mistake in the third period.
They should be pretty happy with their performance and carry that into Montreal, but, simply put: The Penguins, as in seasons past, need to finish more when they’re dominating a game. They were in total control during the first period, and they only had one goal to show for it.
This isn’t something that’s going to fix itself, and even if the power play looks a lot better, the Penguins can’t rely on that entirely. They need to be able to capitalize on their chances at five-on-five.
– Speaking of the power play, there were some good looks and some not-so-good looks. But, by and large, this power play looks miles better than it did last season.
Two straight games with a power play goal. If they can keep this going, it will be a huge asset for them.
– Despite Bryan Rust making a return to the lineup tonight, Rutger McGroarty stayed in and slotted on Lars Eller’s right side.
I thought he played a pretty solid game, especially in the first period. He made a few nice defensive plays with his stick and won some puck battles in the defensive zone, and he was strong on the forecheck early on.
His performance faded a bit down the stretch, and he appeared to be injured in the back half of the third period. He did not see another shift after that, so hopefully, he will be good to go. No update was given on his status.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see a bit of a forward rotation with him and, at least, Jesse Puljujarvi, who was scratched tonight. But I think he played well enough to earn a few more looks over the next few games. We’ll see what happens on that front.
– One forward I would keep an eye on as the forward carousel begins is Drew O’Connor. He did score a goal against Detroit when playing with Malkin, but he was relegated to the third line upon Rust’s return.
He is someone who may very well have a bit of a fire lit under him to stay in the lineup. With the depth of bottom-six forwards that the Penguins have, he needs to make himself stand out. Up to this point, I don’t think he’s done much to stand out above other guys like Anthony Beauvillier, Cody Glass, McGroarty, and Puljujarvi.
He needs to stay on top of his game. Otherwise, he may eventually find himself on the outside looking in.
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– Cody Glass’s work in all three zones continues to impress me. I don’t know what more I can say at this point, but this guy has been the best part of what looks like a pretty effective fourth line for the Penguins. And his work on the penalty kill is outstanding.
– Although this was his weakest effort to date, Beauvillier is great at winning puck battles. He kept a few pucks alive in the offensive zone when the first line was pressuring. He’s been a great forechecker, and he uses his speed to drive the net and go to dirty areas.
Overall, I really like what I see so far from him. If I’m being honest, it kind of looked like he was originally going to be the odd man out when Rust returned.
For now, he’s played himself out of that position. He has to continue making an impact, however, to remain in the lineup.
– I want to take a second to talk about the Penguins’ defensemen tonight.
Almost everyone had a great start to this game. Ryan Graves made a nice stick play in the d-zone to stop a rush in the first period, and he was actually pretty good throughout the evening.
Erik Karlsson and Matt Grzelcyk looked good early on, and Letang showed some vintage form on his power play rocket.
But after the first period, the defense corps kind of fell apart again. Marcus Pettersson looks a mess and made a bad read on Mitch Marner’s winning goal, causing him to get beat and Marner to rush in and beat goaltender Joel Blomqvist, who was making his second NHL start in as many games.
All three of Karlsson, Grzelcyk, and Letang had some forgettable moments in the later stages of the game as well.
I do think this group of defensemen has potential to be better than last season’s. I’ve mostly liked Grzelcyk’s game next to Letang, and Pettersson has been rock solid for two consecutive seasons.
But the Penguins are going to need more commitment from them defensively.
– The second line is cooking. They passed up some opportunities to shoot on a strong five-on-five shift midway through the second period, but they were the best line throughout the night.
Malkin’s play on Rakell’s goal was brilliant. He threaded his way between the circles in the offensive zone and laid a soft drop pass right on the stick of Rakell, who got all of his shot and secured Malkin’s 1.300th point.
Those two looked great together in the preseason. I still want to see a little bit more from Bunting, but otherwise, that line seems to have picked up right where it left off last season. And Malkin, in particular, has some extra jump in his step.
Rakell netting his first goal early on this season – and not in December, like last season – could be a big booster for him going forward.
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– Blomqvist was a bit out of position on Marner’s goal, but otherwise, he was very good in this game. I do expect Tristan Jarry to get the net again on Monday in Montreal, but – then again – I also expected him to get the net tonight.
Alex Nedeljkovic traveled with the team and skated with them Saturday morning, so he’s likely not far off from a return. This start may have just been to assure that Blomqvist got another one in before being sent back.
But based on what we’ve seen, I think he’s earned another look. He faced a very good Toronto team tonight and made some timely saves in big moments. He continues to show veteran-level poise despite his NHL career being in its infancy.
I’m very impressed by him so far, and if he does get another start – and perform well – he’s going to force some very interesting decisions from Penguins’ management.
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