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A taste of their own medicine |
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The Penguins got a taste of what they used to dole out to the rest of the league. The Avalanche leaned into their star power and overwhelmed the Penguins. For close to two decades Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin ripped through teams and were able to pour it on offensively. Last night, the Avalanche returned the favor with both Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen putting up five point nights.
The Penguins have won five out of the last seven games which is a nice run for them. Last night was a reminder they can’t really keep pace when the other team’s superstars are playing like superstars. It is an unfair ask of the current day Crosby and Malkin.
Avs players bullied their way through defenders much of the evening using their speed. On both of the following examples it was set up by the defenseman putting themselves in a bad spot. On MacKinnon’s goal we have a failed pinch by Grzcelyk and on the Nichushkin goal Pettersson attempts to close the gap, but did so being flat-footed and never had a chance once Nichushkin took the puck wide on him. Speed kills and when you miss your spot on gifted players, it is game over
The Penguins don’t have a lot of team speed so you don’t see them attacking like this on a regular basis. To compete in this era you have to be able to move. For now, the Penguins will have to rely on their stars having individual moments like the Karlsson assist from last night
Really awesome play, not a sustainable approach to piling goals up.
Tristan Jarry had been better since his AHL stint, last night wasn’t great. Five goals on 26 shots isn’t something the current Penguins team is going to overcome. Goalies are allowed to make hard saves. Among goaltenders with 450 minutes played this season Jarry is sixth worst in 5v5 HDSV% at .787 out of 46 eligible goalies. Mackenzie Blackwood, recently traded to Colorado, has an .818 HDSV% playing behind the San Jose Sharks. It can be done.
The Penguins couldn’t ask for a better bounce back opponent. They get the bottom dwelling Montreal Canadiens next. They’ve beat them twice already this season. There are really no excuses to not show up and put up a quality performance. Hockey is weird and the better team doesn’t always win. At a minimum, the Penguins need to look like the better team.
Thanks for reading!
Pittsburgh Penguins Blogger • 
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