In one week, the Pens have gone from losing against two of the worst teams in the league to knocking off the best team in the entire NHL. Last night the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2 after looking terrible against the New Jersey Devils (who are not in a playoff spot) and the last place Arizona Coyotes. Inconsistency continues to plague the Pens just as it did before the All-Star break.
Image courtesy of RawCharge.com
After holding a players-only meeting Tuesday to address their overall frustrations, the Penguins came out fast and confident. Somehow with only 5 (yes, 5) shots on net in the first period, Pittsburgh went into the locker room up 3-0. The Goals came from Riley Sheahan, Phil Kessel, and Sidney Crosby. Evgeni Malkin picked up 2 assists getting to 500 career assists (tied for 5th all-time for Russian-born players).
Penguin’s goalie Matt Murray showed great improvement as well, keeping the Lightning scoreless until the 3rd period. The break wasn’t very helpful for Murray, having just gotten back from injury before All-Star week. Hopefully, in the coming games, he can continue to improve.
Tampa Bay has been a dominant force the entire season so far with Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos leading the way. Their goalie Vasilevskiy played uncharacteristically poor allowing 3 goals on 5 shots early in the game.
The game was fast-paced throughout. Tampa seemed to think the desperate Penguins would be an easy win, but that was not the case. The Penguins were psychical from the puck drop and seemed to play much sharper than earlier in the week.
This point in the season is make-or-break time for a lot of playoff-hopeful teams. For Tampa Bay and other top teams, they are fast approaching their playoff-clinching point levels. For teams like Pittsburgh, from this point forward every game matters.
On the injury front, defenseman Justin Schultz has begun skating after breaking his ankle in October. His addition back into the roster will be a huge boost to the Penguin’s weak D-core. Kris Letang, though having a career year, has really been the team’s only saving grace in the position. He contributed with a goal against Tampa Bay, to match Penguin-great Paul Coffey at 396 career scores.
Pittsburgh has a few questions as the second half of the season continues that need to be answered for them to succeed. With the return of Schultz, will the defense strengthen up? Can Matt Murray and Casey Desmith become more consistent with their goaltending? Can the team as a whole stay motivated?
Highlights from the game can be found here. If my NHL talk is boring you, check the blog out next week when I cover Penn State Hockey. Comment below with who your favorite Hockey team is!
I am excited to hear about Penn State hockey! Are you from Pittsburgh? I think the Penguins are my favorite team also but honestly it is just because I like the mascot. Getting 3 out of 5 attempted goals is so good!
Never in a million years would I have guessed that a team based on Florida would be the best at a winter sport. That said, as someone who isn’t a huge hockey fan, I’m definitely looking forward to your post about Penn State hockey. I know we clapped Michigan, so I’m hopeful for the future of our school’s team. We are!