At this time last season - and in the two seasons before - there was always an overwhelming sense of frustration when the Pittsburgh Penguins lost precious points in overtime and in the shootout.
Last season, they managed to reverse a lot of their overtime woes. They appear to play well in overtime this season, too, but the trouble is that they haven't yet finished a game in OT, which has led to three shootout losses - an area in which the Penguins have lost 10 out of their last 11.
But, even after yet another shootout loss - this time a 2-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils, the top team in the East - it doesn't quite feel like a loss. There is a new air around this Penguins' team, and they largely passed the test against one of the league's best teams on Saturday.
After the Devils came out strong in the first five minutes of play, the Penguins slowly began a takeover. They controlled play and possession for pretty much the entire final 15 minutes of play in the opening frame.
Unfortunately, a costly defensive zone turnover by defenseman Kris Letang led directly to an Arseny Gritsyuk goal. Letang had the puck near the left circle, and Gritsyuk was behind him. Instead of simply putting the puck up the wall, he tried a no-look backhand pass right into the slot, which Gritsyuk intercepted and took straight to the goal, beating Silovs.
And that is where it became pretty clear that the Penguins are simply a different team than in years past. We've seen egregious defensive zone turnovers from the Penguins before - especially from their core players - essentially deflate the team for the rest of the game and lead to disaster.
But that's not what happened in this one. The Penguins responded with yet another dominant period, spending most of the period hemming New Jersey in their own zone and generating scoring chances. They had all kinds of Grade-A looks, but they were rewarded with one of the most fluky goals of the season so far.
Defenseman Ryan Graves - recalled from the AHL prior to Thursday's 5-3 win against the Washington Capitals - simply threw a puck toward the net from the left point. The puck hit off of what appeared to be Devils' forward Ondrej Palat's face on the way in - he was okay after the shot - and went in the net to tie the game at 1-1.
The Devils pushed back a bit in the third, and the period was a bit more even and back-and-forth. The game went to OT - a thrilling one, at that - before Silovs could not stop either Paul Cotter or Jesper Bratt in the shootout and neither Bryan Rust or Sidney Crosby could score.
Of course, the Penguins don't want to keep surrendering points in shootouts. But all three of their shootout losses this season haven't exactly felt like games where they're giving points away. Instead, they feel like points well-earned - even if they could have gotten the two points.
Here are a few takeaways from this one:
- He did not register a point in this one. But Erik Karlsson was outright brilliant in this game. And, as good as he's looked this season as a Penguin, this is one of the best games he's played in the uniform.
His skating was on another level. He transitioned into the offensive zone with blazing footspeed on more than one occasion, and he was also able to bring himself back into the play on the backcheck when he needed to. He was outstanding defensively in the overtime period, and he made an excellent defensive stick play on the backcheck when the Devils were developing a two-on-one before stymying the play altogether.
This coaching staff is getting the most out of Karlsson, and I think it goes back to some things both he and Ryan Shea said to me a few weeks back about mutual trust between players and coaches coming as a result of communication and understanding what the other needs. Karlsson also made some interesting comments to The Athletic's Josh Yohe in the postgame, which - in a way - indicted the old coaching guard.
It's not an exaggeration to say that Karlsson - aside from Crosby - is the most important player on this team. It's not a coincidence that the Penguins are a good team this season and that Karlsson is in Norris Trophy form this season.
It's remarkable to watch. If he can keep up this level, the Penguins might be going places.
- Silovs was magnificent in this game. I'm not even going to expend the energy discussing how much he struggles in shootouts, as he is now just one of eight on shootout attempts this season.
I want to focus on how good he was in this game to get the Penguins to the shootout in the first place. Pittsburgh should have put more than one goal on the board with the way they were dominating. But they didn't, and Silovs had to make some tough saves.
The best of them came in the waning seconds of the middle frame, when Danton Heinen committed a bad turnover in front of his own net in the slot. The puck found its way to Jack Hughes, who sent the puck across the low slot area and over to Bratt.
And Silovs made what will probably be one of the best NHL saves of the year.
He is a legitimate problem in shootouts right now, and it's something the Penguins might have to address at some point. But he was brilliant in this game and deserves a lot of credit for the Penguins getting a point out of this one.
- The Penguins' penalty kill, once again, came through for them in this game. They killed off two penalties - and one of them came in the second part of the third period in a tie game and as a result of Evgeni Malkin delivering an ill-advised cross-check on former Penguin Cody Glass - and made it look relatively easy.
The power play only got one opportunity in this one and was zipping the puck around on it. That unit remains No. 1, while the penalty kill is up to eighth in the league.
Todd Nelson (power play) and Mike Stothers (penalty kill) have done wonders for the special teams units, and they are making a world of difference for this team.
- Graves has been perfectly solid since being inserted back into the lineup. He's making simple plays, he's not holding onto the puck too long in the defensive zone, he's controlling his gaps, and he's playing unafraid.
I think his defensive partner, Connor Clifton, has had some bouts of uneven play, even if he was pretty solid in this one. The Penguins still have some decisions to make regarding their defensive corps and 19-year-old rookie Harrison Brunicke, who played in his ninth NHL game Monday against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
If Graves keeps this up, I almost want to see how he'd do alongside the dynamic but flawed youngster in Brunicke, assuming he sticks around for the time being. It's only been two games, but I think Graves has - so far - been better than any other blueliner who has occupied that left side on the third pairing so far this season.
- It's abundantly clear that the second line is missing Justin Brazeau. I think Tommy Novak has been perfectly serviceable there, and he's been playing quite a bit better in recent games. But that line - with Malkin and Anthony Mantha as its other cogs - isn't nearly as dominant as it was, and I think their size was a big part of that.
We'll see who finds a home there without Brazeau, but I'm almost inclined to say that Ville Koivunen should get a look. Koivunen has been very good in recent games, but he simply cannot buy a goal. He and Malkin had shown chemsitry in that small sample size last season, and I'd like to see if they can build on that.
- The Penguins will face the Los Angeles Kings for the second and final time this season Sunday afternoon. It will likely be top goaltending prospect Sergei Murashov's NHL debut.
The Penguins have had their way with the Kings in recent years, as they have won four out of the last five games against them and have outscored them 17-10 in those games. They also tend to play a tight-checking game in these contests.
Either way, it should be a special afternoon for Penguins' fans and for Murashov, as it is a potential glimpse at the Penguins' future at the position.
Be there. It should be a good one.
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