Tim Benz: No power plays? No complaints from Penguins’ Mike Sullivan

If ever there was a Pittsburgh Penguins game that could’ve used a few power plays, this was it.

Too bad there weren’t any.

Thankfully, the Pens and Dallas Stars reached 3-on-3 overtime tied at 1-1 Tuesday night at PPG Paints Arena. There was finally a little flow with multiple chances and open ice.

Aside from that, offense was nearly impossible to come by.

Once the game got to a shootout, I was expecting the officials to allow each team to have three players form a wall in front of the goaltenders.

The Stars were content to fall back and pack in defensively —en route to what became a 2-1 shootout win for them. And the Penguins — while tops in the NHL in goal scoring with 15 goals in three games to start the season — are still playing without star centers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

A power play or two sure would’ve been nice. But neither squad got one.

The whole night.

As Penguins historian Bob Grove pointed out, this was just the fourth regular-season game in franchise history without a power play and the first since 2016.

Tonight marked the fourth regular season GP in Pens' history without any power plays. The others:

3/22/69 @ St. Louis (2-1)
4/11/15 @ Buffalo (2-0)
12/28/16 v Carolina (3-2)

— Bob Grove (@bobgrove91) October 20, 2021

The only penalties administered all night were to Pittsburgh’s Jason Zucker and Dallas’ Luke Glendening for coincidental roughing infractions at 9:28 of the third period.

According to Penguins coach Mike Sullivan, there weren’t a lot of whistles that were warranted.

“I didn’t find myself saying, ‘This is a penalty’ or ‘That’s a penalty,’” Sullivan said. “Is there one or two that you would like to have? Probably. But if you ask their coach (Rick Bowness), he’d probably say the same thing. I thought for the most part the officials did a real good job as far as how they officiated the game. I didn’t find myself behind the bench getting frustrated with non-calls.”

It’s not as if the game was absent of chances. Both teams had a handful prior to overtime. The Stars ended up with 29 shots on goal. The Penguins had 28. But the extended offensive threats were few and far between.

“It wasn’t as open of a game,” Sullivan said. “It was a tighter checking game. Dallas defends hard. They block a lot of shots. They have good size … They defended really hard.”

In all, there were 24 blocked shots on the night, 16 by Dallas and 8 by the Penguins. That contributed to the low score, as did the Stars’ defensive posture. But the occasional man-up situation sure could’ve helped.

“Your top guys don’t get the power play time when they are feeling the puck. Special teams tend to swing momentum, too. Either way,” Sullivan said. “There weren’t as many transition opportunities. They stayed above the puck a lot. Our guys stayed above the puck a lot. There were a few flurries here and there. But not as much as the first few games we had.”

In a game that low scoring and 5-on-5 dominant, the goaltending has to be sound. Braden Holtby was for Dallas. And Tristan Jarry sure was for the Penguins. In fact, at times he sparkled, moving quickly through his crease. Diving with his stick to deny a goal in the shootout. Sliding slickly on his pads to make up distance when necessary.

JARRY! JARRY! pic.twitter.com/OmhYsTBLj2

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) October 20, 2021

You shall not pass! pic.twitter.com/zdxh1q4HMQ

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) October 20, 2021

“I felt good. My game has been growing every game. I’ve been getting more confident,” Jarry said.

After an offseason of questions about Jarry from fans and media in the wake of a poor 2021 playoff performance, he’s been very good so far this year. Through three starts, Jarry is 2-0-1, with a .935 save percentage and a 1.62 goals against average. Sullivan says he is oozing with confidence.

“I watch his body language a lot,” Sullivan said. “His body language right now exudes confidence. He is seeing the puck. He’s tracking the puck. His goalie handles are improving every game that he plays.”

The fans even broke into a few celebratory chants of his name during the game. Jeers that Jarry heard throughout the offseason are quickly turning into cheers to begin this campaign.

And that was especially needed Tuesday night. Because that 5-on-5 grind didn’t give the fans in attendance much to cheer in the way of offense.

From either team.