Pittsburgh Penguins: The Morning After Winnipeg News And Notes

The Pittsburgh Penguins were shutout in Winnipeg by Connor Hellebuyck in just his ninth NHL game. The loss snapped the Penguins two-game losing streak and dropped the team to 2-5 under new head coach Mike Sullivan.

After playing perhaps the best hockey of the season on Saturday night in Minnesota, the Pittsburgh Penguins followed up that effort with an uneven affair in Winnipeg that saw them shut out by a fresh-faced goaltender. A goaltender not much more seasoned their own prospect Matt Murray.

The Pens put 30 shots on Connor Hellebuyck‘s net and none found paydirt, though he certainly had some help along the way.

After a dynamic start to his call-up to Pittsburgh, Conor Sheary has gone ice-cold in the points department and found himself demoted to the third line yesterday. I do wonder who be the eventual odd man out between Kevin Porter, Scott Wilson, and Sheary.

More from Pens Labyrinth

The Pittsburgh Penguins don’t play again until Wednesday night. In the meantime, here’s some links to get your morning started:

About Last Night

Penguins shut out by Jets, 1-0 [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – Dave Molinari]

Sullivan said the Penguins “started to come on” during the middle period, but clearly was unhappy with how often they lost possession of the puck at center ice. He also made it known that his team could have been more aggressive about sending bodies to the Winnipeg net.

Penguins vs. Jets recap, Pittsburgh shutout by Winnipeg [Pensburgh – Hooks Orpik]

In fact, 5v4 was a real momentum killer for Pittsburgh in this game. They looked great for the most part at 5v5, but with the man advantage, very lackadaisical and sloppy.

ROOKIE HELLEBUYCK TOO GOOD; PENS SHUTOUT 1-0 [Pittsburgh Post Game – Dan Kingerski]

Some nights it just doesn’t go. However, the struggles of the Penguins wingers were magnified. Too often Chris Kunitz, David Perron and Patric Hornqvist are not able to finish chances. Snake bitten would be an understatement. Not making good shot attempts would be a strong argument. Low shots often create more rebounds, and trying to pick corners is a high risk-high reward scenario. However, the trio often shoot into the goalie, which neither creates goals nor rebounds.

Pens Chatter

Huge If True: It’s ‘Trade Crosby and Malkin’ time again [Puck Daddy – Ryan Lambert]

So we wouldn’t be talking about this at all were the Penguins any good, which they are not, or were Crosby not shooting like 60 percent below his career norm, which he is.

The Underlying Numbers: Penguins vs. Wild [Pensburgh – Mike Darnay]

Through the six games the Penguins have played since firing Mike Johnston, Mike Sullivan’s Penguins have put up a 61.5% Corsi For at 5v5. Same sample sizes be damned, that’s fantastic.

Around The League

Canadian Shannon Szabados became the first woman to post a shutout in men’s pro hockey [TSN BarDown – Staff]

There’s a first time for everything, and this “thing” was way overdue. On Saturday night, two-time Olympic Gold Medalist for Canada, Shannon Szabados, recorded the first shutout by a woman in men’s pro hockey.

Lightning reunite military family with dad hidden in goal (Video) [Puck Daddy – Jen Neale]

Hiding in the net behind the wall with the slats is a man in military fatigues and a hockey helmet. As the wall drops, it takes the girls a couple of seconds to realize who it is – their father, Paul Fahrenbach, of the United States Navy, returning from a long deployment in Bahrain.

Next: Pens Shutout By Winnipeg 1-0

Shane Doan Played Key Role in NHL’s Family-Friendly, 3-Day Holiday Break [Today’s Slapshot – Craig Morgan]

“It’s a big concession on their part because it’s potential revenue,” he said. “People want to sit around and watch hockey and you can make money off of it, so it was big of the owners and (commissioner Gary) Bettman to understand that this was important for guys.”

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