Pittsburgh Penguins: 2017-18 Atlantic Division Preview
The 2017-18 season is among us. Soon, the Pittsburgh Penguins will begin their 2017-18 run with hopes or pursuing a third consecutive Stanley Cup. Since the season isn’t too far off, it is the perfect time to size up the competition.
The 2017-18 season is right around the corner. There is no better time than to size up the competition the Pittsburgh Penguins will come face-to-face with this season. The Pens will be chasing a third consecutive Stanley Cup, with good reason, and will need to stay ahead of the competition.
Here, we’ll size up the Penguins’ Atlantic Division competition and see how they can stay on top.
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres aren’t the first team that come to mind when thinking about big Stanley Cup contenders. While the Sabres show promise of good play, they’re still a team that is still rebuilding. Despite not being that big of a threat, the Pens still want to keep up as unbeatable play as possible.
The Pens topped the Sabres in two of the three matchups they met for last season. In their wins, the Penguins used their offensive talent to get ahead and stay there. Pittsburgh’s only loss came as an overtime loss where the Sabres were able to beat Marc-Andre Fleury and take the win.
Despite Buffalo’s league-leading powerplay percentage, the Penguins are a stronger and more well-rounded team. Buffalo has some strong players, including Jack Eichel and Ryan O’Reilly, but the strong offensive abilities of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are unmatched.
The Penguins are coming into this season as strong as they have been and the Sabres still have some work to do. Buffalo might try and get an edge of Pittsburgh by forcing penalties and pushing hard to the net, but Pittsburgh’s overall skill has an edge on the team, systems aside.
Detroit Red Wings
The Penguins and the Red Wings faced off three times last season and only won one of the matchups. In the Penguins’ losses, the Red Wings led the Pens by three goals and used their defensive system to keep their lead.In the Pens’ win, the Penguins topped the Red Wings 5-3 and used their offensive system to infiltrate the Red Wings and get ahead.
The Red Wings’ defense-first system makes them a difficult team to play if one’s team isn’t pushing for offense. Pittsburgh needs to keep their offense high against teams with defensive systems. A defense-first team isn’t inclined to charge the net therefore having an offensive system, with blue line involvement, is the best way to take control.
The Penguins can take control of their series against the Red Wings this season by pushing to the net. By challenging the Red Wings with forceful offense, the Penguins can take control of the game, since Detroit’s inclination is to defend and not score. If the Penguins don’t start strong and let the Wings score on them, they’ll have a harder time beating their defense to take the game back.
Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers also finished in the bottom of the Eastern Conference but will be looking for a better run this season. While the Panthers weren’t the most improved team through the offseason, their intention will still be to win.
Last season, the Penguins topped the Panthers in all three matchups they took the ice for. Two of the Pens’ wins carried goal differentials of four goals and were a dynamic show of the Penguins’ top offense.
The Panthers have had problems finding their footing in the best system that works for them. Florida’s system is mostly defensive and their penalty kill is very strong, but when it comes to scoring and keeping leads they struggle.
Pittsburgh can keep their dominance over Florida by keeping their strong offensive play alive. The Penguins need to keep pushing to the net to make plays to get ahead, while their very reliable goal tending in Matt Murray can help them stay ahead.
Tampa Bay Lightning
This season, the Tampa Bay Lightning took the season without Steven Stamkos. The season wasn’t the team’s best but they won’t let the memory hold them back this seasn.
Last season, the Penguins topped the Lightning in all three matchups played. The Penguins topped the Lightning with strong offense and scored at least four goals in each game, with a high of six goals.
This season the Lightning will have Andrei Vasillevskiy in net full time and will be looking to channel strong defensive play to shut down the Pens. The best system, as discussed, to top the Penguins is to score early by breaking their defense and then shutting them down the rest of the way.
Luckily for Pittsburgh, the Pens aren’t shut down so easy and have had the Bolts figured out. The Pens will use their speed and production to their advantage to dominate the Bolts again.
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs went from the bottom of the league in 2015-16 to being the second wild card of the 2017 playoffs. The Leafs are looking to keep up their success and get as close to the Stanley Cup as possible.
Last season, the Penguins won just one of three matchups against the budding team. In the Pens’ winning game, they topped the Leafs with a lead of three goals on home ice in Pittsburgh. In their losses, the Pens fell to the Leaf’s victorious overtime system and was held back by pushing offense and strong defense in a 5-3 loss.
The Leafs are equipped with outstanding youngtsers, like Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, who have revitalized the overall team’s performance, especially regarding confidence. Toronto will plan to keep this confidence alive and use it to create production against teams like the Penguins.
The Leafs want to keep defeating the Pens- it shows they can get on par with the double Stanley Cup winners. Pittsburgh needs to strike first and push through defense to the net. Start scoring early with dominating plays by the net to shake Toronto’s d-men and Frederik Andersen in goal.
If the Penguins read the Leafs and decide just the right times to strike and when to defend the net, they’ll get ahead. Getting to the net is half the battle, if the Penguins get to the net they can beat Andersen.
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are another defensive minded team that the Penguins will need to use their best offensive system against. Last season the Pens defeated the Bruins twice in their three matchups.
In their two wins, the Pens topped the Bruins in an overtime matchup and buried them in a 5-1 victory. Pittsburgh’s loss was a 4-3 letdown in Boston, a result of a close game where Boston’s defense prevented the Penguins from tying the game.
The Penguins need to keep using their offensive system to top the Bruins. Pittsburgh is a well-rounded team that is offensively-driven and had very solid blue liners. The Bruins will excel in a game where they can get ahead first, but the Penguins will stay in charge if they control the game.
Offense tops defense and a defensive system team’s first objective is to protect the net, which means they’ll lag behind an offensive team in overtime or high scoring situations. The Penguins need to keep their offense pushing so that the game is always tied or in their favor. Easier said than done, but for a scoring team like the Penguins it is all about knowing when to strike.
Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators and the Pittsburgh Penguins faced off in an insane Eastern Conference Final matchup that resulted in a Penguins win. Despite it being a Penguins win, the series itself went to a game 7 and was decided in a double OT.
In the regular season, the Penguins topped the Senators in just one of their three matchups in a 8-5 win. The other two games were Ottawa victories, a 4-1 regulation win and a 2-1 shootout victory.
The Penguins and the Senators are teams with similar dynamics and systems. They both have balanced teams that can score when necessary, but the Penguins have an offensive advantage. Pittsburgh is a high scoring team and if they use that to their advantage they can get ahead.
Despite being somewhat equally matched, the Penguins can produce more and have solid, though less physical, defensemen who know how to get the job done. The Penguins need to learn when to charge the net and when to defend their own.
Matt Murray in goal is an advantage for the Penguins because of his consistency and ability at his young age. Beating the Senators isn’t an easy feat but the Penguins are more than capable and did an excellent job of showing that in the ECF.
Expect the Penguins to push them harder this season to get more wins out of the regular season series.
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a tough team but the teams that can top them have a good idea of how to beat their system. The Habs are a big tough team who use their size and skill to get to the net and score.
The Penguins topped the Canadiens two out of three matchups this season, one being an overtime victory. In the Pens’ loss, they were shut out by Carey Price and let the Habs offense excel with four goals.
The Pens will want to keep their dominance over the Canadiens, especially considering how much of a threat they can be. Pittsburgh, to keep winning, needs to use their speed against the large team. The Penguins are speedy and offensive while the Canadiens are a big and somewhat defensive team. With Price in net, the Habs will take his reliability as an option to use their big bodies to crash the net.
The Penguins can keep control if they keep their speed up and keep getting to the net to score. Scoring on Price isn’t an impossible feat and the Pens are more than capable of beating the Canadiens’ defense to get their goals up.
Next: Pens' 2017-18 Metropolitan Preview
The Habs will try to use their size to box out the Penguins and slow down their speed with big checks. The Pens will need to keep things moving by moving the puck, making good passes and taking their best shots on Price, from the blue line and from by the net.