Much like the best way issues performed out in Pittsburgh’s season-opening loss in opposition to the Rangers, it was a divisional matchup for the Penguins to neglect on Friday night time.
The Penguins fell the the Carolina Hurricanes, 4-1, in a recreation that was nearly totally managed by the group in purple. The Canes outshot the Penguins, 39-26. In accordance with Natural Stat Trick, they outchanced the Penguins 46-30. They dominated play within the impartial zone and drove the Penguins to the perimeter within the offensive zone.
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Goaltender Joel Blomqvist gave the Penguins an opportunity early on and thru the top of the second interval, however ultimately, even the Canes have been an excessive amount of for him. He stopped 35 of 39 Carolina photographs on the night time.
Merely put, the Hurricanes performed their recreation all night time. The Penguins by no means acquired to theirs as a result of they by no means even had the possibility to.
“When you can dictate the phrases, you possibly can play of their finish. When you allow them to, you are gonna play in your finish,” head coach Mike Sullivan stated. “We performed in our finish tonight.”
Listed below are just a few different observations from Friday night time’s loss:
– Regardless of giving up 4 objectives, I believed Blomqvist nonetheless performed a reasonably good recreation.
The Canes had a ton of possibilities early on within the recreation. They outshot the Penguins 10-3 within the first interval, and Blomqvist needed to be good to maintain the sport inside attain. He was, and due to him, the rating was tied, 1-1, heading into the second interval.
The one aim he would probaby need to have again is the fourth aim, however at that time, the sport was already properly out of attain.
– Zone entries are nonetheless pitiful for the Penguins’ energy play, which went 0-5 on the night. And, actually, the ability play as an entire appears to be like horrendous proper now.
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It is scored some objectives in current video games, however the optics usually are not nice. It appears to be like like final 12 months’s. Gamers transferring with cement of their skates. Indecisiveness. Only a lack of urgency and fast passing. General, a large number.
Once more, they should get again to what they have been doing with the unit within the preseason. Fast, quick passes, participant motion, and never holding onto pucks. They’re reverting to previous habits method too shortly, and they should pivot quick earlier than it turns into unfixable once more.
– The Canes performed a completely scientific recreation. There was no time and house for the Penguins to generate something. They’re terrific within the impartial zone, getting sticks on every little thing and suffocating with their one-on-one protection and taking part in on prime of opponents.
They’re a extremely good defensive group and an opportunistic offensive group, and so they swarmed the Penguins in their very own zone just a few instances.
I feel their defense-first type might be why they appear to battle within the postseason, however they are a heck of an everyday season group.
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– Penguins want a jolt on each of their prime line left wings. Anthony Beauvillier and Michael Bunting are just too quiet proper now.
Drew O’Connor – who scored the Penguins’ lone aim to place the Penguins up 1-0 within the first interval – bumped up in favor of Bunting through the second interval. However with the upcoming highway journey, I feel it is a good time to offer another guys a shot within the top-six and within the lineup.
Put Valtteri Puustinen, who has been scratched for all six video games to this point this season, in on the third line. Transfer Jesse Puljujarvi up, who has confirmed he can put the puck at the back of the online. Since groups sometimes like to hold an additional ahead on lengthy highway journeys, it is attainable that we both see a call-up or one in every of Blake Lizotte or Vasily Ponomarev activated off injured reserve through the journey.
They only want to vary some issues up within the top-six – particularly on the highest line, which has been largely ineffectual on all fronts – and I am unsure the very best resolution to filling out the remainder of the depth is essentially within the lineup proper now.
– Ryan Graves has been taking part in fairly properly for the higher a part of these first six video games. In truth, I believed he was the group’s finest defensemen tonight, and it reveals within the metrics:
I wrote about the Graves-Jack St. Ivany pairing during training camp. I feel some sheltered minutes and consistency alongside a reasonably sound companion are actually doing wonders for Graves proper now.
Hopefully, his recreation can develop from right here.
– This was the shortest Mike Sullivan press convention that I’ve attended. Loads of one-word solutions. I might virtually see the steam popping out of his ears.
This was only a rotten recreation from prime to backside from the Penguins. It would not get any simpler on Sunday, when they’ll face the Winnipeg Jets, who’re one of many higher defensive groups in hockey.
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It will likely be the primary of a four-game Western Canadian highway swing, so the Penguins must convey their A-game. It definitely is not getting simpler because the week goes on, as they’ll face Edmonton – a group that has given them matches – and Vancouver to shut out the highway journey Friday and Saturday after going through Calgary on Tuesday.
“It is a lengthy 12 months,” Graves stated. “We will not dwell on sure issues. We’ll watch stuff tomorrow, we’ll study from it, and transfer on. That is what it’s important to do. You are simply making an attempt to get higher because the 12 months goes alongside. You need to be at your finest, and are available the top of the 12 months, you need to be in a playoff spot. So we’re simply going to should attempt to get higher every day.”
I anticipate a significantly better, extra energized recreation on Sunday. The Penguins performed two of their finest video games of the 2023-24 season in opposition to the Jets.
