Empty Thoughts: Penguins 5, Flyers 2

Observations from the Penguins’ 5-2 win against the Flyers:

Bryan Rust seemed to appreciate the question.

Either that or he thought it was stupid.

Regardless, the Penguins’ do-everything forward gave a chuckle and smiled when it was pointed out that the team gets asked all the time about the penalty kill when it struggles — and that has been a steady line of questioning often this season — so it was only fair to ask about the penalty kill when it succeeds.

Such was the case at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday when the Penguins won, in large part, due to a penalty kill which had a rare perfect performance going 5 for 5. And while the Flyers haven’t had a particularly potent power play this season — they entered the game ranked 18th in the NHL — they do tend to dice up the Penguins when they are on the man advantage.

If you recall, the Flyers were a combined 3 for 9 on the power play in the first two games of the season against the Penguins in Philadelphia.

And the table was set early in this game for the Flyers to do some damage as the Penguins took two penalties in the first period.

Regardless, the Penguins held firm.

“We were able to work as a unit, we got some good pressure up the ice,” Rust said via video conference. “We had some real big, timely saves by (goaltender Tristan Jarry). That’s always key to a penalty kill. Guys were out there working together doing their job.”

The job isn’t done. Even after Tuesday’s success, the Penguins have a conversion rate of 74.2%, the 24th-best total in the 31-team NHL. And they’ve still given up an opposing power-play goal in 15 of the 21 games they’ve played.

There is still a lot of progress required to fix this unit. That was evident even with Tuesday’s positive results as they allowed the Flyers to pump 11 shots on net with the man advantage.

But for one rare night this season, the Penguins won as a result of their penalty kill.

“Tonight, we competed hard,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “It wasn’t perfect. I thought our best penalty killer was Tristan Jarry, especially in the first period. He made some big saves early on our penalty kill. That allowed us to get into the game. We’ve got to make improvements there. We know we have to be better there. We’re up against a real good power play that the Flyers have. I give the guys a lot of credit. We competed hard on it tonight. We’ve got to try to learn from it and get better at it. But I thought Tristan was our best penalty killer tonight.”

What happened

After a scoreless first period, the Flyers claimed a 1-0 lead at 2:32 of the second period. Following a neutral zone turnover by Penguins forward Teddy Blueger, Flyers forward Sean Couturier fed the pass up the right wing for Flyers forward Joel Farabee. Gaining the offensive zone, Farabee saucered a pass from the right half wall over sliding Penguins defenseman Mike Matheson to the slot for Couturier. Moving to the left circle, Couturier dealt the puck low in the right circle for Farabee who slammed a forehand shot behind a scrambling Jarry for his ninth goal. Couturier had the only assist.

The Penguins wasted little time in responding as they tied the game only 67 seconds later. Stealing an errant pass by Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere at the Penguins’ blue line, Penguins forward Kasperi Kapanen created his own breakaway. Approaching the net from the right circle, he faked a slapper, jammed up the mechanics of goaltender Carter Hart and slipped a clever forehand shot through the five hole for his fourth goal. There were no assists.

Kapanen scored again at 8:41 of the second on a power play to give the Penguins their first lead. After Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim blocked a wrister in the slot, Rust settled the puck and fed a backhand pass to the left of the crease for forward Jake Guentzel. As Hart lunged out of position, Guentzel one-touched a pass across the blue paint for Kapanen and he tapped in an easy forehand shot. Guentzel and Rust collected assists.

It became a 3-1 game at 10:45 of the second. Off a drop pass from Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin, defenseman Kris Letang chucked a wrister on net from the right point. Hart made the initial save but allowed a rebound. Rust, parked above the crease, immediately shuffled the puck through Hart’s five hole for his seventh goal. Assists went to Letang and Malkin.

The Flyers pulled within one at 11:00 of the third. Jarry corralled a dump-in behind his cage but was pressured into a turnover, losing the puck to Couturier in the left corner. Couturier shuffled a forehand shot to the crease where Jarry, scrambling to get into position, booted it to the slot. The puck bobbled loose between the hashmarks before Sanheim corralled it and pumped a wrister. Penguins defenseman John Marino blocked the shot above the crease. On the ensuing scramble, Flyers forward James van Riemsdyk jabbed the puck on net with a forehand shot. Jarry kind of hopped up to make that save but allowed a rebound to the left of the crease where Farabee was able to lift a wrister over Jarry’s right leg. Assists were recorded by van Riemsdyk and Sanheim.

An unlikely source restored a two-goal lead for the Penguins only 68 seconds later when defenseman Cody Ceci collected his second goal by finishing off a tic-tac-toe passing sequence. Ceci cut through the neutral zone with speed on the right wing and fed a pass to forward Brandon Tanev along the wall, allowing him to gain the offensive blue line. Tanev left a drop pass for defenseman Mark Friedman. From above the right circle, Friedman slid a pass to the left circle for forward Jared McCann who one-touched the puck to the right of the crease where Ceci completed the sequence with a forehand re-direction under Hart’s left leg. Assists went to McCann and Friedman.

The scoring was capped at 16:06 of the third period. As Flyers forward Travis Konecny tried to make an offensive zone entry on the right wing, Matheson stripped him of the puck with a poke check, pushing the puck to the neutral zone. From in front of his own bench, Matheson air mailed a wrister as Hart tried to depart the ice for an extra attacker. It was Matheson’s second goal and it was unassisted.

Statistically speaking

• The Flyers controlled shots, 42-27.

• Couturier led the game with seven shots.

• Kapanen led the Penguins with five shots.

• Marino led the game with 25:01 of ice time on 30 shifts.

• Defenseman Ivan Provorov led the Flyers with 23:02 of ice time on 28 shifts.

• The Flyers controlled faceoffs, 36-22 (62%).

• Flyers forward Claude Giroux was 14 for 21 (67%).

• McCann was 5 for 10 (50%).

• Provorov and Sanheim each led the game with four blocked shots.

• Blueger led the Penguins with three blocked shots.

Randomly speaking

• This was a strange day for the Penguins. They were eagerly anticipating being able to play in front of their fans for the first time since March 8, 2020, as restrictions put in place by the Pa. Department of Health were lifted somewhat and 15% of capacity was permitted.

All that enthusiasm was deflated considerably on Monday morning when Sullivan announced forward Sidney Crosby would be sidelined after being placed on the NHL’s list of absences for covid-19 protocol. That led to them making a few minor transactions in order to fill out their lineup properly in the afternoon. And that was followed by the team announcing assistant coach Todd Reirden — who oversees the defensemen and the power play — was also going to be absent for covid-19 protocol less than an hour before the opening faceoff.

Oh, by the way, the Penguins were not permitted to have a morning skate due to the league’s covid-19 protocol. Nor did they practice on Monday as that was a scheduled day off.

So without the face of the franchise and without the person who oversees a significant portion of the team and without the benefit of any on-ice work to maintain their skating, the Penguins took on their most enduring rival in front of a crowd that looked like something you’d see during the X Generation days across the street at the Mellon Arena featuring Kelly Buchberger, Dan Focht and Rico Fata.

And they offered one of their best performances of the season

Sometimes, this game just doesn’t make sense.

• With Crosby absent, the Penguins had to shuffle all four lines. First, Malkin was promoted to the first line, centering Guentzel and Rust.

With the second line, Jared McCann slid from left wing to center and skated with Kapanen on the right wing while Tanev, promoted from the right wing of the third line, manned the left wing.

Blueger centered the third line with regular left winger Zach Aston-Reese and Sam Lafferty, promoted from the fourth line, on the right wing.

The fourth line was compiled of Colton Sceviour on the left wing, Josh Currie, promoted from the taxi squad, at center, and Anthony Angello on right wing.

The defense was even altered a bit due to Crosby’s absence. With P.O Joseph still on his entry-level contract and exempt from having to clear waivers, he was assigned to the taxi squad and that allowed Currie as well as forward Drew O’Connor to be recalled to the NHL roster.

In Joseph’s place, Friedman was inserted into the lineup. A right-hander, he manned the left side of the third pairing with Ceci, a fellow righty.

• Malkin seemed to have some extra jump to his game. Whether he felt urgency due to Crosby’s absence or was boosted by some new linemates, he just seemed to skate better. It’s was a small step forward for a player who needs any kind of positives this season.

• Kapanen obviously stepped up given his two goals. But his game has been steadily moving forward ever since he was benched a week and change ago.

• Lafferty took two penalties in the offensive zone. That’s a bad way to maintain your promotion in the lineup.

• Currie and Friedman each made their debuts for the Penguins. Friedman was the more notable of the two. It was quite a change in venues for him from his last game when, as a member of the Flyers, he skated on an outdoor rink against the Boston Bruins on the shore of Lake Tahoe. His eagerness to jump in on the play leading to Ceci’s goal was very impressive.

In all, Friedman had 10:07 of ice time on 16 shifts and recorded one assist.

• Given his station as a fourth-line center, Currie was limited in what he could offer. That said, he went full bore on the limited shifts he was afforded. He can move on the ice.

Currie logged 7:24 of ice time on 12 shifts and had two shot attempts, each blocked. Additionally, he was 2 for 5 on faceoffs (40%).

• The Flyers bombarded Jarry with a ton of shots, but a lot of them were “junk” shots from the perimeter. That said, there wasn’t exactly a shortage of quality chances for the Flyers. More often than not, Jarry was locked in. He continues to be one of the main reasons this team’s fortunes have trended in the right direction the past few weeks.

• Couturier has really matured into such a complete player. Early in his career, nearly a decade ago, he was almost strictly a defensive player who would pester opposing forwards such as Malkin into frustration. Now, he’s one of the most dangerous players on the ice anytime he jumps over the boards.

• There wasn’t a lot of post-whistle activities such as scrums or facewashes. But there were a few signs of friction. At one point, Blueger and Konecny jabbed each other in the crotch with sticks before an official stepped into separate them. With two games left against one another this week, things could get cantankerous between these two teams.

• The fans who did come to this game came to play. They were booing, cheering, chanting organically without prompting from the video board. Lots of “GO-HOME FLY-ERS!” and “Carrrrr…Tttteeerrr. Carrrrr…Tttteeerrr…” sing-song chants. This crowd waited a long time to do that and it was given red meat in the form of the hated Flyers.

• There was a poignant moment that reminded us of all our humanity during the second television stoppage of the game. On the video board, the 28th anniversary of franchise icon Mario Lemieux returning to play after getting past his bout with Hodgkin’s disease during the 1992-93 season was recognized.

Mindful that Lemieux was given a standing ovation that night by Flyers fans in the typically voracious Spectrum of Philadelphia, the Penguins transitioned the segment and welcomed Flyers forward Oskar Lindblom — himself a survivor of Ewing’s sarcoma, a form of bone cancer — upon his first game in Pittsburgh following his recovery:

One big hockey family.#HockeyFightsCancer pic.twitter.com/ILFCQwaGKY

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 3, 2021

Historically speaking

• Currie became the seventh player to wear No. 41 in franchise history. His predecessors are Shane Endicott, Jocelyn Thibault, Nathan Smith, Martin Skoula, Robert Bortuzzo and Daniel Sprong.

• Friedman became only the second player to wear No. 52 in franchise history. His lone predecessor is Rusty Fitzgerald.

• Currie became the third native of Prince Edward Island to play for the Penguins. He was preceded by John Chabot and Bob Stewart.

• Rust (187 points) surpassed forward Bryan Hextall Jr. (186), the father of new Penguins general manager Ron Hextall, for 44th place on the franchise’s career scoring list.

• Malkin (1,089 points) surpassed forward Theo Fleury (1,088) for 64th place on the NHL’s career scoring list.

• Jarry’s 40 saves were the second-highest total of his career. His high mark is 45 saves on 48 shots in a 3-2 road loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Oct. 23, 2019.

Publicly speaking

• Rust on the chaos of the day:

“That pretty much sums up the ‘covid season.’ There’s a lot of unexpected things that happen. You’ve just got to kind of roll with the punches. The staff did a really good job of just kind of making sure we were sharp today. I give a lot of credit to the guys. Everyone came to play. They knew the circumstances and a lot of guys stepped up today.”

• Kapanen admitted he was inspired to try his fake shot after watching his former Toronto Maple Leafs teammate, forward Jason Spezza, score on a similar tactic last week:

“The big daddy himself. I wanted to try it out. His was a lot nicer than mine. I’m just happy that it went in. … Everybody saw that move. He actually texted me after the game and said, ‘keep the move alive.’”

• Rust was asked about the uncertainty of being tested regularly after Crosby’s status was revealed:

“Anytime something like that happens, there’s a big ‘what if.’ There’s maybe kind of a little bit of worry in the back of guys’ minds. Are you going to fall into the protocols? I think they do a good job of letting you know your results as soon as you can. That just helps things flow a little bit better.”

• Kapanen on his improved play as of late:

“I’m just trying to be in the play a bit more and be a bit more active. I’ve been peeling out too early and I think that’s just me being cautious and not wanting to be in the wrong place. I’ve just got to trust that and be close to the guys when we’re forechecking and getting pucks back. Just using my size and my skating to try to make a difference out there. I’ve felt good these past five, six games.”

• Rust on the power play looking sharp as it went 1 for 3:

“Guys just kind of followed their instincts. I don’t think guys were overthinking things or trying to get to spots or trying to make certain plays. Guys were just acting on their instincts. When we do that, we’re quicker, we’re faster and we’re better.”

• Sullivan on Malkin’s game:

“He had a real good game. He had the puck an awful lot. He’s a threat every time he goes over the boards. Our opponents need to pay attention when he’s on the ice. He was competing hard. His play away from the puck was improved tonight. (His line) had significant zone time offensively so they had a fair amount of shifts where they were putting pressure (on the Flyers) and forcing them to expend energy defending. That’s when our team is at its best. It’s not always about goals and assists. Sometimes, it’s just about playing the game the right way. We need that from our leaders, we need that from our best players. I thought (Malkin) did a good job in that regard tonight.”

• Kapanen on having fans on hand:

“It was unbelievable. It’s been a while since we played in front of fans. Even though there was 2,800 tonight, it felt like there was 20,000. It was a great boost from them. It for sure felt like things were going back to normal.”

• Jarry on the impact of fans:

“You see how much it changes when there are fans. It’s a different feeling. Whenever you step on the ice and have them stand up and cheer, that motivates us that much more.”

• Sullivan on the presence of fans:

“It just creates the environment that we’re all accustomed to, that we’re all longing for, that we haven’t had in quite a long time. So to have some fans in the building, I know our players were fired up for it. And you get some energy from it. Our guys got some juice from the crowd. It just creates a different environment and we haven’t had that environment in a long time. To have a semblance of normalcy, I think was so welcoming for all of us.

“There’s nothing better as a player than playing in front of a packed house. Our guys, quite honestly, are accustomed to that. They’re used to that. It’s fun. It makes the experience so much better. To have that tonight was welcoming to our players and it certainly gave us a burst of energy.”

• With Reirden absent, skills and skating development coach Ty Hennes filled in for him on the bench:

“This is Ty’s first NHL game behind the bench. We were thrilled for him. He was excited to experience it from behind the bench. He does such a terrific job with our players in preparing them with some of the skill work that he does with our guys and some of the position-specific skill work he’s so good at. He’s such an asset for our coaching staff. For him to watch the game from the bench and get that vantage point, I think was invaluable for him. But it was exciting for him at the same time. I know our players were excited for him.”

• Flyers coach Alain Vigneault suggested he didn’t have enough players making a contribution:

“(Couturier’s) line played a real strong game. We needed a little bit more from the other guys. But at the end of the day, this is a team game and a team effort. We lost tonight as a team.”

Visually speaking

• Game summary.

• Event summary.

• Highlights:

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