Wanna blog? Start your own hockey blog with My HockeyBuzz. Register for free today!
 

Two points is two points

October 11, 2019, 9:10 AM ET [233 Comments]
Ryan Wilson
Pittsburgh Penguins Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
There are no style points to be had. There is nothing about the analytics which will be predictive for future results right now. The Penguins are a bare bones operation at this point. What happened last night is the blue print for consistent success over the next month. Sidney Crosby will have to drive offensive production and Matt Murray will need to be league average or better. Crosby finished with a goal and a primary assist and Murray finished the game with a .969 save percentage.

I don’t think the Ducks are a very good team and on most nights this formula is going to have even more of an uphill battle, but you can only play the game that has been scheduled for you. Earning the two points against lesser teams like Anaheim is a must and the Penguins did it. They will have some great challenges up ahead and they would be tough games even with a full roster (TB, VEG, DAL, COL).

Another variable the Penguins are going to have to be good at is the power play. Yes, they scored a power play goal last night. No, they aren’t very good at the moment. They could stand to Phil the net more often than they have. Last night is a very good example of what can work and what makes little sense. They need to stop playing Crosby on the left circle immediately. It is the worst spot on the ice to maximize his skill set. His power play goal came down low and it was on his off wing. Crosby is the best at redirecting shots in the league and one of the best of all time. The best spot for him is to be on his off wing being able to seamlessly move between the right circle and the right post. This should be blatantly obvious and not doing this is a case of overthinking things for the sake of overthinking things.

Let’s talk about John Marino. His skating looks good and his ability to pass looks fine. I think there is potential to get a bottom pairing player here. I’m not ready to coronate him, but this does show how asinine it is to invest heavily in bottom pairing players because the chances of finding one to play at a similar level as him isn’t very hard. Unfortunately, we aren’t going to learn a lot about him right now for the same reasons I spoke about above. This isn’t the real Penguins team. Furthermore being paired with Jack Johnson is going to squash his ceiling. Last night, Marino had the worst shot share on the team among players who played two minutes or more at 33%. Again, you aren’t going to get an authentic assessment on Marino right now playing with Johnson on a team with this many injuries.

Some good news is the Pettersson-Schultz pairing showed a pulse last night. They both finished with CF 18 CA 14 and that is an OK number for them. This team is going to need the shot attempts for and if it comes with a similar number against that is fine. Trading chances is a victory right now and Matt Murray has played really well in three out of the four games this season. If the Pettersson-Schultz pairing continues to get buried the next month is going to go sour.

We had a Dominik Kahun sighting. He was able to break free with some speed and rang the post on a breakaway. Nice to see evidence of a positive contribution. Even if it is the fourth game of the season.

The Penguins have another winnable game on Saturday against the lowly Minnesota Wild. Bill Guerin’s team is in no man’s land. They aren’t a contender and they aren’t in a rebuild. They are the embodiment of boiled kale. Nobody really wants to consume it. They say it is good for you, but you are left underwhelmed and unsatisfied. It never changes from its mediocre ways. Don’t be worse than kale. Take the two points Saturday.

Thanks for reading!
Join the Discussion: » 233 Comments » Post New Comment
More from Ryan Wilson
» Penguins earn victory on Jake night
» A salute to Jake Guentzel
» Sid puts on show as Avs dig out of hole
» A dud in Dallas
» My thoughts on Dubas' thoughts