Missed chances: That’s just the start to the issues for the Penguins
There a lot of various ways to dissect a game one loss, but last night for the Pittsburgh Penguins, it was simple; missed chances are what let the game run away from them.
If someone told you before the game that the Pittsburgh Penguins would go into a powerplay situation seven times and get a penalty shot, how many goals would you expected them to get? More than one, right? The PP unit has been scrutinized all season, and last night was no different, as there 19.9% of successful powerplays were put to the test a lot.
If you add in the missed penalty by Conor Sheary, that was essentially eight possibilities where the Penguins could’ve gotten the puck past the exceptional Canadiens netminder. 12 of their 41 shots on net where right outside of the crease, but after only finishing on 2 of those occasions, that’s where the second issue rears its ugly head.
Last night the Pens had an issue of finishing correctly, on top of the former problem of missing those shots. When they got the chance to shoot, 41 times in total, they didn’t do it with tact or accuracy. Now, as previously stated, Carey Price was a God among boys last night, so all credit to him, but Pittsburgh certainly could’ve finished their end of the bargain a bit better.
Missed chances: That’s just the start to the issues for the Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins are in the unfortunate predicament where everyone has picked them to win, clearly exploding the Canadiens to new heights. That leads us to the last issue, for this article anyway, and the fact that they didn’t take advantage of the short series.
Yes, it was only one game, but this isn’t your typical best of seven series. If the Pens slip up and let the Habs take a two-game lead, this could be all but over for the heavy favorites going into last night. But on the same side of that coin, comes the potential to fix the culmination of it all, and get better.
dark. Next. Pittsburgh Penguins: Final predictions for the qualifying round
There’s 100% still light at the end of the tunnel, but the Pittsburgh Penguins certainly missed the perfect chance last night. They will most likely not get that many shots in a game again, but they also will most likely not face a Carey Price like that either. It’s not yet time to panic, but there is certainly is a lot to progress on before Monday nights matchup.