Nobody can claim Game 3 of the Penguisn and Rangers was uneventful. There was plenty of action throughout the night including a four goal first period explosion by Pittsburgh which chased Igor Sheskterkin after only one period. We had an inspired Rangers comeback to tie the game, but ultimately Danton Heinen scored the go ahead goal midway through the third period to elevate the Penguins to a Game 3 victory.
Let’s start with was the most surprising part of the game. The fact Igor Shesterkin only managed to play a single period. He entered the game with a .952 save percentage after two spectacular performances. After one period of play he saw that number drop to .928 for the series after going .733 in Game 3’s first period. This was a gift. You aren’t likely to run Shesterkin out of another contest. This needed to be a victory for the home team.
The other surprising part of the game was all the depth scoring. The Penguins had sorely lacked depth scoring through the first two games and for much of the season. Evan Rodrigues led the charge with two goals as well as the shot Jeff Carter tipped for his goal. It was a call back to a time earlier in the year when Rodrigues was the one keeping the Penguins afloat in the standings while the Penguins were waiting on injured players to return to the lineup, namely Evgeni Malkin. Brock McGinn and Danton Heinen were the other depth scorers on the evening. It wasn’t until the Rangers vacated the net in the third period when one of the Penguins star players scored. Guentzel added an empty net goal from long range to secure the win. It was an impressive catch and release from across the rink.
Something I didn’t find surprising was that the Rangers were never out of the game. This isn't about bashing Louis Domingue or slandering him. It's about the reality of trying to win a playoff game if your goalie is sub .900. It is incredibly hard to win on a consistent basis. When you look at the majority of NHL goalies it doesn’t look like there is a lot of space to shoot for. I feel like you see more net than you’d like with Domingue in net. He’s a third string goalie being placed in a pressure cooker. We all understand the situation. He’s trying his best. The opposition doesn’t care. What the Rangers learned is that they are never out of a game. This is not the kind of mentality you want the opposing team to develop. You want a 4-1 lead to crush their spirit. I don’t think it will moving forward.
I saw something last night that I thought summed things up perfectly about how the team has to play in front of Domingue
I think if the Penguins blow that 4-1 lead and don’t come away with the victory it would have been of the soul crushing variety. But they didn’t and they should feel good about the number of goals they put up.
Game 3 saw the return of Jason Zucker and he looked like he was shot out of a cannon. He was very physical and very noticeable on the forecheck. The Penguins desperately need him in the lineup to stretch their depth properly. Now they need to place him back into the top six. He doesn’t have a great history with Evgeni Malkin, but he should have been promoted to the Malkin line based on how he was playing. The center he was placed with isn’t capable of utilizing what he brings to the table. Jeff Carter is a liability at 5v5. Here’s how things looked last night.
Don’t give Zucker a death sentence at 5v5. Don’t keep playing Carter like he’s the 3rd line center. Carter played two more minutes than Teddy Blueger. I think this is an obvious area where Mike Sullivan can change how he allocates ice time. This isn’t a recent development. Carter has been pretty bad at 5v5 for the entire season. You can’t have blind loyalty when you have ambitions of making your way through the playoffs in what will be a likely underdog role. You have to maximize performances moving forward.
Sidney Crosby is playing great hockey this year and so far in these playoffs. One things I am noticing is he is playing with a little pizazz. I see him more aggressively taking on defenders and I’m here for every bit of it. I feel like he has gotten away from it in recent seasons. A very understandable thing considering he is in his mid-thirties. I think he’s starting to see he still has that gear. He’s starting to feel it. A little thing like going through his legs to saucer a pass to Carter on the empty net gives us a little window into how he’s feeling right now. I’d say pretty good.
John Marino finding his rookie season caliber of play has been a huge development in this series. I seemingly came out of nowhere
This has been a great start for Marino and really helps the forwards do their thing when the defense is helping push from the back with success. Only thing I’ll say is that I hope the team doesn’t think this makes Letang replaceable, because he is not.
The all-important Game 4 will be on Monday night. Can the Penguins hold serve and go up 3-1 in the series?
Thanks for reading!
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