Despite losing 4-1 in Game Four, the Penguins actually played fairly well. Sidney Crosby dominated, and if not for the grace of Pekka Rinne, there might have been at least overtime.
As Head Coach Mike Sullivan observed afterwards:
I thought tonight, of all the games we played, we generated the most chances and the highest quality. It didn't go in the net for us.
There were a lot of things from a process standpoint that we really liked.
There are, however, more serious concerns for the Pens headed back to Pittsburgh, chiefly on a blueline which sorely misses Kris Letang. Letang chewed up 25+ minutes a night, along with hefty special teams contributions.
Duh, right? Any team would miss a player of Letang's caliber. But losing Letang is exacaberated by a lack of defensive depth.
After Letang, Brian Dumoulin and Ron Hainsey have emerged as Pittsburgh's top pairing. Especially for Hainsey, who's a solid journeyman, this is a role which has accentuated the flaws in his game.
Sullivan applauded their effort, but there's no question what -- or who -- is missing:
You know, our blueline crew, they're a simple bunch. They're trying to make plays to get out of our end zone. They're trying to help us along that offensive blueline. I don't think we have anybody back there that wows you offensively.
I believe that they're doing their very best to help us at both ends of the rink.
All this leads to my breakdown of some plays, big and small, which caught my eye in Game Four.
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Early in the game, Crosby got a rare shift against Nashville's Yannick Weber-Matt Irwin third pairing. Weber and Irwin are chasing, but they manage to get it out. Hainsey, who has taken Letang's right side, is unable to press the attack and take advantage of the mismatch.
Yes, I know Ron Hainsey is not Kris Letang. And that's not Hainsey's fault, he's doing what he can. Hainsey did nothing wrong here. But on this shift, in particular, I wondered what Letang could've done with the mismatch.
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Nashville's forecheck has been a terror for most of the series and had its moments once again last night:
On a shift like this, the Predators' fourth line didn't generate any offense -- and to their credit, the Penguins defense was firm -- but Nashville gained an offensive zone faceoff, and once again, Pittsburgh had no flow.
Speaking of contributions from lesser lights, it was a Weber keep-in and a hellacious forecheck which led to Calle Jarnkrok's opening goal. It was a P.A. Parenteau incoming stick which prevented Justin Schultz from moving the puck just seconds before Freddy Gaudreau's wraparound tally.
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That said, the Penguins, especially Crosby, found seams. How?
Here, an activating Hainsey, along with Bryan Rust, do a strong job keeping the play alive. Crosby takes advantage of how much attention Ryan Ellis and Roman Josi pay him, and Jake Guentzel is left on an island:
Here, Josi activates and James Neal takes his place. That's not bad. But then Neal, in Josi's position, misses Josi, who's playing forward, on the pass. Josi chases the puck and Neal, inexplicably, stops moving his feet.
Here, Crosby simply mugged Josi in the corner. Watch Crosby's foot, this is "best player in the world" stuff.
Here, Weber, who got one, almost gave one away. Weber pinches, P.A. Parenteau doesn't fill in, and Chris Kunitz is off to the races. For the offense-first Parenteau, who's not getting a lot of minutes, it's a rough play.
Finally, we're at what I believe was the turning point of last night's game. Midway, second period, 2-1 Predators. Pittsburgh has just killed a listless Nashville power play.
However, the Preds are threatening, and Josi, as usual, freelances. Jarnkrok fills in and Ryan Ellis snaps it from the point, but off of, guess who? A good bounce to Guentzel, Crosby smokes Ellis, and the Pens have back-to-back-to back Grade-A opportunities:
The score should be tied at this point, but Rinne keeps the Pens at bay. Four minutes later, Ian Cole gets caught pinching and Patrik Hornqvist has no chance keeping up with the Victor Arvidsson bullet train. 3-1.
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Going into Game Five, what's repeatable for both teams?
For the Penguins, Crosby is the best player in the world. He and Evgeni Malkin will benefit from getting better match-ups from time to time with the last change.
Their defense is game, but fundamentally lacking. Nashville's forwards will continue to victimize them on the forecheck.
Malkin needs to be better than his quiet Game Four. Phil Kessel was more noticeable, but needs to be less perimeter at 5v5.
As for the Predators, P.K. Subban was walking around after the game with a limp. If his ankle is a problem, this will seriously weaken Nashville's top-four.
Josi might consider less roving when Crosby is on the ice. But since the coaching staff encourages him to freelance, they're not likely to change up what's gotten them so far.
The Preds' D, as we've seen, is very aggressive. There will be opportunities to exploit this for the Pens.
Which brings us to the goaltending. Matt Murray swept Pittsburgh, while Rinne struggled. Rinne took Nashville, while Murray stumbled. With so many things cancelling each other out in this series, the marginally better netminder might just take it all.
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