Tim Benz: The ‘assists before the assists’ make the difference as Penguins blank Boston
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Sometimes two assists just aren’t enough. And sometimes it’s the assists before the assists that can help make a difference.
That’s something the Penguins personified during Thursday night’s 4-0 victory over the Boston Bruins at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday night.
On the Penguins’ first goal in the first period, the three forwards created the highlight portion of the scoring play. In the neutral zone, winger Rickard Rakell executed a deft shovel pass from a tricky angle to a waiting Sidney Crosby at the offensive blue line.
Crosby then made a lightning-quick, precise feed to a streaking Jake Guentzel who beat Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman with a nifty backhand-to-forehand finish.
Five-nine goes five-hole ???? pic.twitter.com/oxARpj4RD5
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 21, 2022
But go back and look at the play that defenseman Mike Matheson made right in front of the benches to start the whole sequence.
The Bruins lobbed a halfhearted attempt to clear the puck across the red line in order to get a change.
Realizing the numbers advantage, Matheson quickly got the puck to his forehand as it was bouncing and rolling through the snow in front of the benches. In one motion he fired the puck up ice, through the neutral zone, and hit Rakell right on his tape, so he could make the touch pass to Crosby.
“That’s when we are at our best. When we are playing fast,” Guentzel said. “Just a real heads-up play there (by Matheson) to spring us going up ice. Then a really nice play by Sid and Raks to find me, and I just tried to get the puck on net.”
On the second goal, Penguins forward Jason Zucker helped his own cause with a different type of effort along the wall.
In the second period, the Penguins exited their own zone with a hard wrap-around clear. The puck was slowed along the boards in the neutral zone near the Pens’ defensive blue line. It appeared to get tied up in the skates of one of the officials. That led to a puck battle between Zucker and Boston’s Charlie Coyle, which Zucker won by pushing it back to Marcus Pettersson in the defensive zone.
From there, Zucker bolted into the offensive zone. Pettersson made a crisp D-to-D pass to John Marino. He lasered a pass up ice that Jeff Carter cleverly directed right onto Zucker’s blade. He then finished in the corner over Swayman’s glove.
Quick play. Quick hands. Quick 2-0 lead. pic.twitter.com/gaRgBjN25u
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 22, 2022
“It was a good play by (Pettersson),” Zucker said. “He was talking to me, looking at me to come back to him. Typically you want to go north as much as you can. But in that instance, I had to go back to him, and it was a great play by the rest of the guys.”
Carter and Marino got the assists. But credit Pettersson’s first pass and Zucker’s effort along the boards to get the play going before the team even gained possession. Essentially, Zucker assisted on his own goal.
“The wall play in all three zones is such an important aspect of the game. If you can win the walls and win the net-front … it increases your chances for success dramatically,” coach Mike Sullivan said after the game. “Not just the wall play, the wall support. So that we’ve got people coming to the puck and have options.”
Even Guentzel’s third goal of the night — and 40th of the season — came by way of stealing a puck along the wall before he fired it into an empty net.
HATS OFF TO YOU, JAKE GUENTZEL! pic.twitter.com/k4vWR13qp8
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 22, 2022
The trend of uncharted assists could even be extended to the Pens’ lone goal that Guentzel didn’t score. That occurred in the second period when Crosby better illustrated to the Bruins how to buy some time to get a change.
He flipped a puck into the air above the defensive zone before leaving the ice. Upon landing on the ice, it backed off the Bruins defense and took a few tricky hops. Boston failed to get possession. Kris Letang made a gorgeous move to gather the puck, free-up space and went rink-wide to a waiting Guentzel who cashed in for a second time on the evening.
With this goal, Jake Guentzel hits the 80-point plateau for the first time in his career.
Since 2005.06, only Sidney Crosby (11x) Evgeni Malkin (5x), and Phil Kessel (2x) have accomplished this feat. pic.twitter.com/wulUEoRHkk
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 22, 2022
Letang got the only assist, but it was Crosby’s flip into the zone to get the change that set up the play.
Sure, Guentzel’s hat trick and goalie Casey DeSmith’s 52-save shutout were the big stories.
But when speaking to the media, Sullivan is big on stressing the little things. The details.
Sometimes it sounds like coach-speak. Other times they really do help determine the game.
Thursday night’s win was an example of the latter.