After a hideous first 20 minutes on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden, the Pittsburgh Penguins found a way to play two decent periods of hockey, something that seemed unfathomable after watching their parade to the penalty box in the opening frame.
It was a good sign. The first period was so lopsided; it may as well have been scored Christians 2, Lions 0. The second and third periods proved that the Penguins and Rangers do in fact play in the same league. If the Penguins can limit mistakes and capitalize on changes, there’s no reason to think that they can’t make this a series.
The Penguins got another good sign on Thursday: a goal from Blake Comeau. Comeau hadn’t scored in nine straight games coming into the playoff opener, and had just two goals in the months of March and April. The Penguins’ secondary scoring will have to be better than it was in the regular season if they want to have playoff success, and Comeau getting hot would go a long way in accomplishing that goal.
Comeau played alongside Max Lapierre and Nick Spaling and made up the most productive line for the Penguins offensively, scoring the team’s only goal and continually getting into the face of Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist.
The Penguins ability to finally produce a full lineup on offense allowed Comeau to be pushed down to the fourth line, and the results were obvious. The bad news is that the Penguins fourth line may have been their best.
On a team that has struggled all season to score goals, the Penguins are going to need offensive contributions from their star players. Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby combined for just three shots on goal. Both players were well under their average ice time for the season.
The Penguins took five penalties while only drawing one power play, keeping Crosby and Malkin off the ice for long stretches of time, especially in the first period.
“I think we were just tentative,” Crosby said of the team’s lackluster start. “I thought in the first period, we were just thinking a little bit too much, trying to play the right way, be disciplined, play our position, but sometimes when you’re thinking out there, you’re not reacting and you get behind.”
Crosby, along with Ben Lovejoy, was caught flatfooted by the gorgeous breakout pass that led to the Rangers first goal. It was hardly a serious crime, but the Penguins captain wasn’t able to make up for it offensively, passing up on his best scoring chance to make an off-the-mark pass intended for David Perron on the Penguins lone power play.
The captain hit the nail on the head when it comes to what the Penguins need to do better in Game 2. “We’ve got to find a way to get some more pucks to the net,” he said.
The Penguins were outshot in the game 38-25 and were also outshot in all three periods. Even when removing the power play discrepancy, the Pens were outshot 31-23 at even strength.
The New York Rangers defensive corps earned some credit, as well. Despite playing much of the third period without Dan Girardi, the Rangers managed to block 22 shots. Girardi had six blocks when he left the game and Marc Staal finished with four. Girardi left the game after taking a deflected puck – one of his six blocks – off his face near his cheekbone. Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault did not have a specific update on Girardi’s status after the game, other than that he was seeing the team dentist.
For the Penguins, as has so often been the case this season, their success was a partial measure. One awful period of hockey was followed by two good ones. A sudden desire to crash the front of the net was negated by a goaltender interference penalty. When they were able get themselves into a shooting position, they frequently found the pads and sticks of New York defenders instead of the back of the net.
The pieces of the puzzle are all there on the table. The question that remains is whether or not the Penguins will be able to put them together. The team’s stars leading the way would be a good start.
Photo credit: NHLI/Getty Images
