The Pittsburgh Penguins, despite trailing by one after the first period, are off to a solid start. We’re seeing a defense that’s playing better than expected, mainly due to an effective system that they’re executing well. It’s helping to hide Rob Scuderi… So far.
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Dallas Stars Observations
Period One
Daniel Sprong wants to stay in the NHL and he’s making a case to do so. It’s only one period but he has been good. Very good.
Beau Bennett is also playing very well. He looks more comfortable and confident than any point in his young career and it shows in his quick decision-making. He’s getting pucks to the net and creating chances. So far so good in his make or break season.
Evgeni Malkin‘s flying and the Crosby/Kessel duo is clicking. It’s only a matter of time before one of these guys strike. Will Sid finally score a goal in Dallas?
Another random stat. Crosby has never scored a goal in Dallas. In a hair over 85 minutes TOI he has 3 assists there.
— Mike Necciai (@Michael29Angelo) October 9, 2015
Rob Scuderi and David Perron have been the only real negatives so far. The Pittsburgh Penguins coaching staff has to realize that Scuderi is a liability. The Stars are a quick, offensively minded team like Pittsburgh. Adam Clendening would have been a much better decision tonight.
Period Two
The Pens are spending a ton of time in Dallas territory. However, they’re falling victim to the Stars’ quick breakout and speed through the neutral zone. If they keep giving up odd-man breaks, Dallas is going to put this game out of reach.
I normally don’t like to admit this but Bobby Farnham has been decent so far in his limited time-on-ice. He backed the Dallas defense up a few times with his speed after dumping the puck deep and keeps winning those foot races. I’d still obviously prefer he not be in the lineup but I also can’t complain about how he has performed thus far.
Mike Johnston has to make a change to these defensive pairings. Brian Dumoulin isn’t fit to carry Rob Scuderi against a team like the Stars. Ian Cole had success with Scuderi last season, I’d go back to that pairing for the third. Though it’s unfair to Cole and he has looked good with Letang, it’s necessary.
I’ve seen plenty of chatter about Nick Bonino and how average he has looked so far. Keep in mind, Bonino is a fairly average player. He plays a well-rounded game, though he’ll focus more on the offensive side of things, and will offer more stability on the third line than his predecessor, Brandon Sutter. But, he isn’t going to take over a game.
Period Three
Phil Kessel has not lived up to his reputation as lazy. He was pretty active in the defensive zone tonight and made some huge plays on offense, as expected.
Sidney Crosby continues doing Sidney Crosby things as he and Kessel build familiarity with each other. It was evident in the fact that Sid knew exactly where to look and lay this pass for Kessel.
Antti Niemi was unbeatable. The Pens outshot Dallas 34-24 but couldn’t solve Niemi in his first game with the Stars. Some questioned why he was starting over Kari Lehtonen and I’d say he answered that tonight. Kessel had six shots, even more impressive was the fact that Letang recorded eight.
How will the Pens address their lapses on defense? They were torched by Dallas’ stretch pass tonight. They played overly aggressive with one defenseman constantly pinching and kept getting caught with two-on-ones and three-on-ones. Adjustment will be needed but remember, it’s only game one.
Final Thoughts
The Pittsburgh Penguins ran into a hot goalie, struggled defensively at times and took too many penalties. Why do I feel like I’ve written that line so many times in the past?
At this point, there’s no need to panic. The worst part about tonight is that the Pens can’t go 82-0 anymore. The best takeaway is that Scuderi struggled yet again and hopefully Mike Johnston and staff recognized it. He should have played himself out of the top-six but we’ll see how it shakes out on Saturday in Arizona. Somehow, he logged more minutes than Olli Maatta. I understand that Maatta hasn’t played a regular season game since early last season but I still don’t see that as an excuse to have Scuderi logging that much time.
Next: 5 Thoughts As We Enter 2015-16