LOS ANGELES — The Pittsburgh Penguins‘ penalty kill aggressively stemmed the momentum of their recent anemic performances that brought disaster over the last two games. Arturs Silovs was not exactly quiet or pretty, but he made just enough saves, and the Penguins witnessed one of their rookies score his first NHL goal for the third time in five games.
It was not pretty, and it was certainly not their best, but the Penguins beat the LA Kings 4-2 at Crypto.com Arena.
And Filip Hallander scored his first NHL goal, a shorty that stood as the game-winner.
The report card will read as a tale of two different teams, or rather one team with a chasm between the players who are playing well and those veterans who are swimming against an increasingly stiff tide.
There was no denying that some of the Penguins’ most esteemed veterans and others over 30 were culprits, while the bottom of the lineup and those tasked with the dirty jobs lifted the Penguins out of a 2-0 hole and eventually to the win.
Penguins Analysis
Penalty killing and goaltending.
Throughout the first 40 minutes, the Penguins were not the better team in any of the three zones.
The Penguins returned to their forms of old and yielded something close to a half dozen odd-man breaks. A couple of those resulted in shots behind Silovs that loudly clanged the posts.
“I mean, they hit the outside of the post twice, so they’re not hitting the net–there’s not much you can do about that,” said Silovs. “They hit like one post in the third, it was through good traffic. Yeah, I thank the post, you know, like a goalie’s best friend.”
While Silovs could breathe a sigh of relief as the pucks took red paint and did not create red lights, the play in front of the goalie should give coach Dan Muse pause. For it was not rare mistakes or players prone to responsibility making a one-off error, but players who have struggled this season or throughout their careers with maddening mistakes.
LA’s first goal was a funhouse of horrors for the Penguins’ five. Connor Dewar was stripped from behind at the red line. Silovs kicked a few pizzas into the slot, totaling three big rebounds on the specific sequence. And Kris Letang watched flat-footed, and could only lunge unsuccessfully with his stick as Warren Foegele charged for the third-chance rebound goal from about 10 feet from the net.
The play was as haphazard and loose as one team could perform.
LA’s second goal was the result of an odd-man rush started when winger Anthony Mantha casually tried to stickhandle around Joel Armia. The cavalier nature stood out against the backdrop of the Penguins’ fourth line, with Noel Acciari, Dewar, and Blake Lizotte playing aggressively hard and fast for the entirety of the game.
The second line with Mantha, Malkin, and Justin Brazeau had its worst game of the season–getting just one high-danger chance, but yielding several.
Structurally, it was not a good night for the Penguins to say things are trending in the right direction, at least until the third period, when they yielded nearly twice as many shot attempts, but largely kept LA to the perimeter.
Indicating where the game was played, the Penguins allowed 52 shot attempts, compared to getting just 38.
However, Thursday the penalty kill was able to defend the net and attack, a stark contrast from being bullied by Anaheim’s razor-sharp power play on Tuesday.
“I think we put a little bit more pressure on them, didn’t let them set up. I thought the other night in Anaheim, we gave (their power play) a little bit too much time,” said Rickard Rakell. “Yeah, especially at the top (of the zone), Anaheim changed positions too much and got looks. So. You know, I think we gave (LA) a much harder time, especially on the entrance to setting it up, and they were rimming a lot more pucks.”
Penguins Report Card
Team: C+
There were enough good performances and the team plugged the holes in the final 20 minutes, but there were not the better team Thursday. Too many sloppy or lethargic plays, too many reaches replaced good defense, and not enough speed out of the D-zone or into the offensive zone.
Arturs Silovs: B–
He allowed only two goals. The results look much better than the performance as he sprayed rebounds, allowing LA to extend plays and pressure. LA hit three posts, including a shot by defenseman Cody Ceci, whose point blast hit the crossbar flush from about 50 feet.
Fourth Line: A
Muse relied on Blake Lizotte Thursday, shuffling him up in the lineup, or rather dropping other defensively responsible players down in the lineup. Lizotte played over 15 minutes.
After being scratched Tuesday, Acciari submitted one of his best games as a Penguin. His aggressive puck pressure, forecheck, and defensive pressure indeed made an impact.
“He put in the work on the day that he was not playing. He was a great teammate and set himself up there and was ready to go there tonight,” said Muse. “And I thought he made an impact in tonight’s game for sure.”
Third Line: F
Thursday was rookie Ben Kindel’s turn for a maintenance night and a healthy scratch. Tommy Novak centered Philip Tomasino and Hallander. Novak and Tomasino combined for zero shots and only a couple of attempts. Overall, the line had just five shot attempts and was used less and less throughout the game.
No one on the line played more than 12 minutes.
One bad game is easily forgettable, but two of three members of the line have been invisible this season despite needing rebound years to keep their NHL careers going. The other member is Hallander, who is proving to be steady, reliable, and capable in all three zones, albeit unspectacular.
The line was Invisible.
Kris Letang: D
Letang is uncharacteristically not moving his feet and has been uncharacteristically quiet. He was scored with a pair of turnovers but isn’t making much of an impact to the positive.
Harrison Brunicke: Learning
Brunicke allowed Alex Lafferiere behind him in the first period. Lafferiere hit the post on the angled breakaway, but that was Brunicke’s only big mistake. He handled the bigger LA lineup well–he also played a little more conservatively.
Penalty Kill: A
The PK was two-for-two after giving up a pair of power-play goals in each of the last two games. From Muse:
“It was just making some adjustments in the reads that we have, especially in the D-zone. But I thought the entry pressure was better. I thought the end zone was better. And, I think the guys were going over the boards–They went over with something to prove. They weren’t happy about the way it went there the other night.”
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