Penguins Blog: Putting It Into Perspective

SEATTLE — “If you can keep your head when everybody around you is losing his, then it is very probable you don’t understand the situation,” — Origin unknown.

Pittsburgh Penguins fans have pounded the table and banged the gavel over shootouts and goaltender Arturs Silovs.

As if on cue, just minutes and hours after a Penguins employee complimented the Pittsburgh Hockey Now audience and commenters as generally keeping their heads and providing a higher degree of sane comments, Penguins fans broke through the gates of rationality and wanted shootout fixes.

Immediately.

“Sid is a shootout jack ass. Stupid same play. Slow down the left side and cut over for a silly shot. Got anything else?” — @1pbdecoded1pb

We went that far as to insult Sidney Crosby harshly, eh? … Sidney Crosby?!

It is indeed true that Crosby is only 1-for-7 this season and has not been above 20% for a few years running, but you’re going to insult him? Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.

Oh, but it didn’t stop there. Dozens of people had the same idea. Likes and seconding followed.

“My shootout idea… the moment you get possession in OT, pull your goalie if you are the Pens. Force the issue. Make sure it doesn’t go to a shootout, even if you give up the empty netter, because the result seems inevitable once the 5-minute OT expires. Completely serious here. Why not? Would it really decrease your odds?” –@skippy675

And so many more.

First, let’s untangle the former assertion. If a team pulls its goalie in overtime, they forfeit a loser point. It’s two points or none. The NHL thought ahead and included that rule in 3v3 OT.

So, NO, that’s not happening. NO.

In the throes of frustration and calls to upend everything following the Penguins’ seventh shootout loss this season, there were calls for three new shooters. Demands that Silovs play well above the crease. And some sort of weird blame for coach Dan Muse for not practicing it enough.

In fairness, the team practices shootouts at least once per week.

Cutting to the chase, there isn’t a point to ask about this player or that; how dare Muse not use Ben Kindel! Surely, since he’s a young, good player, he could do better.

While it is true that Kindel couldn’t do worse than the Penguins’ best–because not even the Penguins’ best are scoring–the secret is that coaches are watching the shootout practice. That’s why Kevin Hayes got a turn when he was in the lineup. That’s why Egor Chinakhov has been in the last two, as well.

Those players showed some moves in practice.

If other players want the puck on their stick in the next shootout, they would do well to learn a new move or two.

As a side note, the Penguins’ goaltending and their overall game in overtime have been exponentially better than it has been in several years. Part of the reason the focus has shifted to the shootouts is that the Penguins’ goalies are making crucial saves in overtime.

Silver linings.

And to put it all in perspective. The wailing, the gnashing of the teeth, the hate that even extended to Crosby, if the Penguins were average in the shootout, they would have a grand total of TWO more points in the standings. A 3-4 record would mean only two points.

Dan Muse

Another issue to put in perspective is the Penguins’ lineup. It is still heavy with second-chance players who continue to perform well above expectations. Justin Brazeau has 13 goals, Parker Wotherspoon has become a pillar, and Ryan Graves is resurrecting his Penguins career.

There was a Penguins player in the locker room hallway last weekend in Boston who was speaking loudly. He was not speaking to reporters, but he was clearly audible even from a distance.

Without going too far out of school, the player praised with absolute conviction the job that Muse is doing in empowering players and building relationships with them. It dovetailed to what a defenseman told us early in the season–he felt encouraged and supported.

Muse does not make the short list and has not entered into the conversations for the Jack Adams award, and that is probably a good thing. Jack Adams winners usually have a shelf life only slightly longer than a carton of eggs.

However, if the Penguins make the playoffs, Erik Karlsson continues his stellar season, and Brazeau, Anthony Mantha, Wotherspoon, Ryan Shea, Graves, and more complete career years, Muse will have undeniably submitted one of the best coaching performances in Penguins history.

Not bad for a guy that no one had on their shortlist in the first days of the coaching vacancy

The post Penguins Blog: Putting It Into Perspective appeared first on Pittsburgh Hockey Now.

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Penguins Blog: Putting It Into Perspective

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