After handing out goals like candy the first two games of the year the Penguins did what they do best in 2017 and that is shutout the Nashville Predators.
It was a very physical game. Part of the reason was because it is the rematch of last year's Stanley Cup Final and I'm sure Nashville had this game circled on their schedule. The other reason is because the Penguins are under the assumption Ryan Reaves is going to deter things instead of stir them up.
Ryan Reaves is going to be raw meat for the lowest common denominator all year long. This much is obvious after last night. The goal he scored was a good thing. That should be complimented. Everything else was a meaningless sideshow that somehow still has people fooled in 2017.
Nothing Reaves did last night prevented anything. Everything he did was in response to something. Nobody on the Predators changed their behavior because of his presence. Especially, Scott Hartnell who is the exact kind of guy who Reaves is supposed to change. Reaves crosschecked Hartnell about 500 times in the first period and tried to fight him and Pittsburgh's favorite orange haired foe easily declined the offer(keep that in mind for later).
The very next sequence Sidney Crosby was laid out at the blue line. A rare occurrence in the 13 years I have watched him play hockey. Jake Guenztel was given the ol' Rob Blake treatment in the neutral zone when he got trucked over. Evgeni Malkin got lined up and obliterated. He was slow to get to his feet. Those are three of Pittsburgh's best players getting sized up and knocked over. Why? Because Ryan Reaves has literally no impact on this kind of stuff. Remember the Hartnell thing?
Well that will solve everything
So what you're saying is the guy who Reaves wanted to fight earlier in the game and the guy who was 15 feet away from Reaves at the time still did that to Sid? Weird. That's impossible. I've been told otherwise by so many people with anonymous handles on the internet.
The fact is when Reaves is running around and chasing hits he is just like the bear bumbling his way through a bee hive. He's stirring things up when things would be best left alone. Putting him out with Sid (or Geno) is going to draw more of the negative attention they don't want. All those fights were in hindsight. He had 24 minutes in penalties and was kicked out of the game. The Penguins best forwards were still targeted.
"Sidney Crosby wanted him so that should be all that matters"
Well I seem to remember this Wayne Gretzky guy who was really good at the hockey thing and I also remember that same Gretzky guy behind the bench in Phoenix. Being a great player doesn't mean you will make smart personnel choices. I mean how many former player general managers do we have to see fail for this to be accepted?
Let's make something else clear. I don't blame Ryan Reaves at all for any of this. This is his niche inside of a niche sport. It pays him seven figures to do it. It would be asinine for me to think he should change. The false dichotomy of his role is what pays the bills for him. He should play it up like a gladiator in the middle of the Coliseum in Rome. He should be endearing to the locals by putting on a Steelers helmet and feeding into the blood lust. This is straight out of the handbook for limited fourth line players to stick around.
The decision makers should be the ones that see through the side show act. It's not on Reaves.
The goal was nice, but those aren't going to be enough of a regular thing to overcome all the other stuff. All the physical nonsense the Penguins don't want to happen is going to continue to transpire. It did in St. Louis. It will in Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh may think they are the predator on this front, but they are still the prey.
Thanks for reading!
Pittsburgh Penguins Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»