In the second game as head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins (15-11-3) Mike Sullivan drew another tough hand in matching up against the Boston Bruins (16-9-4). The visiting Penguins ended the game with 34 shots on goal, 16 more than Boston.
An early neutral zone turnover dished out to former Penguin Max Talbot would be all that was needed. Replacing Marc-Andre Fleury who is suffering from a concussion, Jeff Zatkoff finished the game with 24 saves and allowed only two goals in tonight’s 3-0 loss.
Where are the goals?
For the second straight night Pittsburgh outshot their opponent, but failed to generate many scoring chances. Patrick Hornqvist led the team tonight in shots with five, but was unable to help get a puck past Tuukka Rask, who finished the shutout.
The Penguins’ offense has only scored one goal in the last six periods, but has managed to outshoot their opponent 79 to 63 during that same times span. The offense had several pushes that left the offense on the cusp of making it a one goal game A good Boston defense and mishandled neutral zone passes killed momentum and left Pittsburgh without anything to show for their efforts.
Frustration has continued to set in with an offense that has struggled for large parts of the season. Dealing with rapid changes, Penguins players have seemed to embrace the new offensive philosophy, and, in general, have showed sparks of improvement. The only problem? The shots aren’t turning into goals.
“Part of the solution is to simplify,” Sullivan said through the team’s social media accounts. “We need to shoot the puck more. … We’ve got to become a resilient group. No excuses.”
Playing with energy
A clear difference in the pace at which Pittsburgh played has been observed following the past two games. Coughing up the puck far too often and hesitation by shooters has created an imbalanced offense that cannot seem to stay on the same page.
The Penguins played their best in the second period when the team really hit their stride. The Penguins flowed well and generated chances on net, but couldn’t capitalize.
Lack of discipline
The Penguins found themselves in the box four times in the game. Under the national spotlight, fans saw a very emotional team play, but a team that also found themselves far too often on the short end of the stick.
“Our effort is there, but we don’t play as smart as we can,” Sullivan said. “We need to focus on the details of playing the right way.
A soft penalty called on Hornqvist later in the third period led to Sullivan pulling Zatkoff from the net that ended up putting the final nail in the coffin. The risky call by Sullivan eventually finished with Boston’s Ryan Spooner casually skating to finish the Penguins, 3-0.
What’s Next?
The Penguins will come back home to host the same Boston Bruins this Friday December 18, at 7 p.m.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
