Madden Monday: You know what Penguins did wrong. What did Canadiens do right?
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Since the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 3-2 overtime loss in Game 1 to the Montreal Canadiens, Mark Madden and I have spent a lot of time grousing about the result and what the Penguins did wrong.
We could use another day or two to get through it all.
But what did the Canadiens do right? There was plenty of that, too.
“The Canadiens knew when there was a chance to forecheck aggressively and get on the puck hard,” Madden said during this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast. “But they also knew when it was time to lay back and trap. So, at some points, the Penguins were penned in their own zone. And, at some points, Montreal clogged up the neutral zone so the Penguins got frustrated moving through it.”
Madden admits he’s not sure if that was a strategy of Canadiens head Claude Julien or if the game simply worked out that way. Regardless, it worked. And the Penguins need to be ready to combat that approach on Monday night for Game 2.
As far as the issues the Penguins created for themselves? There are plenty of those.
• Their inability to finish.
• Their inability to screen Montreal goalie Carey Price.
• The third line was frustratingly bad.
• The power play is miscast.
• Personnel questions abound.
Mark and I discuss all those situations. We also talk about John Marino, who was the best player on the ice for the Pens Saturday night.
Meanwhile, if you think the Penguins offense is struggling, how about the Pirates lineup? The Pirates played 29 innings of baseball over the weekend in Chicago. The Cubs blanked Bucco bats in 25 of them.
As the Cubs were sweeping the Pirates, the Chicago pitching staff accumulated 28 strikeouts in three games.
Are they “tanking” as some suggest? No. We don’t think so. Simply put, neither of us believe that they are any good.
Then we mix in some football, specifically how Notre Dame fits into the ACC. And why Steelers coach Mike Tomlin seems so protective of wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster.
After you listen to the podcast, don’t forget to join Mark and me for the “Hockey in the Hub” postgame show immediately after Game 2 in Toronto on the TribLive Facebook video page.