The Pittsburgh Penguins had another big come-from-behind win, this time against a non-playoff team in the Ottawa Senators. As the regular season winds down, what did we learn in the Penguins most recent game?
1. Penguins’ Resiliency
This Penguins team does not give up. Ever. Down three goals to a non-playoff team in that team’s home arena. No matter. The Penguins have the resiliency and fortitude to keep playing hard. You have to think, even though some of the young guys continue to contribute, that it is the veteran leadership on this team which brings the resiliency. Sidney Crosby scored two goals in the comeback victory, granted one was an empty-netter. When the chips are down, he’s the guy this team will look to.
2. Hagelin’s Value
Carl Hagelin has become a valuable asset for this Penguins team. In Hagelin’s last 7 games, he has notched 8 points (5 goals, 3 assists). This is the type of scoring production we expected to see from the Swedish forward when general manager Jim Rutherford acquired him from Anaheim earlier this year. During the recent 7 game stretch, Hagelin has twice scored 2 goals in comeback victories.
In the Pens 7-2 triumph over the Detroit Red Wings, he helped stretch the lead to 2 goals, after the team went down 1-0 early in the game. He then put another puck in the net in the third period to help clinch the game. Then in the Penguins contest against the Senators, Hagelin scored the game-tying and the game-winning goals to essentially give the Pens the victory.
With Evgeni Malkin and Scott Wilson out long-term, Hagelin has stepped up to the plate to add some much-needed firepower. We also need to acknowledge the contributions of Nick Bonino, Matt Cullen and Phil Kessel who have all increased their production as well.
3. Penalty-Kill Prowess
While the game was knotted at 3-3, there were some tense moments for Pens fans as penalties needed to be killed. Their was 1:32 of 5-on-3 hockey, where the Penguins needed to keep the puck out of the net. The thing the Penguins need to correct here is staying out of the bin. To their credit though, they kept that puck out of the net. Ian Cole was a large reason for that success, as he was on the ice for the duration of the PK. With his gritty play, he blocked pucks and did whatever was necessary to help netminder Matt Murray stave off the Senators’ attack.
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For the season, the Penguins are sixth overall in the NHL on the penalty-kill. They have an 84-percent success rate. They’ve achieved this success for the most part with Marc-Andre Fleury in net. Murray did an excellent job himself against Ottawa however, and in the last three games, all victories for him.
The Pittsburgh Penguins won their seventh game in a row, to continue showing that they are the best team in the NHL right now. And three of those games came with Matt Murray in net, consecutively. He has a .940 save-percentage with 79 of 84 shots stopped during that three game span. We don’t know how long Fleury will be sidelined with his concussion, but it is comforting to know that Murray has stepped up and done a phenomenal job while the team is without Fleury.
What do you say Pens fans?