Tim Benz: The Winter Classic looked great, until we looked at how and why the Penguins lost
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Monday’s Winter Classic hockey game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins looked great on television. Fenway Park was an excellent venue. The ice seemed to hold up. And the game was tight for three periods.
Just one problem. The Penguins lost 2-1 and blew a third-period lead in the process.
Oh yeah, and goalie Tristan Jarry got hurt in the game. So there was more than one problem I guess.
Let’s get to a few more.
• The loss for the Penguins is the team’s fifth in a row. That comes not long after a seven-game winning streak, which occurred not long after a seven-game losing streak.
This is not a space where the Penguins want to live. They don’t want to be a team that is so constantly up-and-down for extended periods of time. With the loss at Fenway Park the club’s record is 19-12-6. So, removing losses after regulation, that means 19-18. Just one game above .500.
It also means that the Penguins point total is 44. That’s tied with New York Islanders for the last playoff spot as of now in an Eastern Conference that is indicating it may have a bit more depth between those competing for the post season and the cliff that occurred last year between the postseason and non-postseason teams.
In the vacuum of one game, this defeat was totally understandable. In the vacuum of it being a goofy, outdoor event against the best team in the NHL (Boston has 62 points), losing 2-1 carries no shame.
Related:
• Penguins goaltender Casey DeSmith vows to be ready in Tristan Jarry’s potential absence
• Penguins defenseman Chad Ruhwedel returns to the lineup in Kris Letang’s absence
• Casey DeSmith takes loss in relief as Bruins surge past slumping Penguins in Winter Classic
Unfortunately, the game counts and it’s not in a vacuum. It’s part of a five-game losing streak with another contest against the Vegas Golden Knights coming up on Thursday. Those guys have the most points in the Western Conference (54).
“We played a good game,” Crosby said. “Our game wasn’t great since the Christmas break, I think. So we did some really good things, just got to find a way to close it out.”
Crosby and company need to find more consistency. Fast.
• I didn’t understand how head coach Mike Sullivan attempted to manipulate the lineup in the wake of Kris Letang’s absence. Letang was in Montreal following the death of his father and has also been battling a lower body injury.
Yet, the team ended up dressing seven defensemen. But the only defenseman on the ice at the end of the game with the goalie pulled was Marcus Pettersson.
If the alleged offensive talents of Pierre-Olivier Joseph and Ty Smith aren’t to be trusted in that kind of scenario, I tend to side with what Phil Bourque and Josh Getzoff pointed out on the radio broadcast. At that point, why not just play with six forwards?
• Why was Drew O’Connor a healthy scratch? Ryan Poehling was injured. Why go with seven defensemen in the first place? What did that accomplish?
And why not play Danton Heinen and Kasperi Kapanen more?
After all, Kapanen scored as a result of a Heinen assist for the team’s only goal. Heinen only played five minutes, seven seconds. Kapanen played only 7:21.
“We have a lot of reasons why we did what we did. I’m not going to share them all with you. We chose to go with 11 forwards and seven defensemen tonight for a number of reasons,” Sullivan said.
I’d love to know what those reasons were.
• Sullivan seemed less than pleased with the officiating at times. Especially when Joseph got a second-period penalty.
Mike Sullivan respectfully disagrees with that call pic.twitter.com/gI2Tbf98Yt
— Tim Benz (@TimBenzPGH) January 2, 2023
I gotta say, though, with that Scally cap on, it’s a little tough to take Sullivan’s outrage seriously. His reaction had a “Tom Izzo in his ugly Christmas sweater” vibe.
Tom Izzo getting called for a technical foul while wearing an elf sweater is the gift that keeps on giving. pic.twitter.com/Evd9XwJfDS
— Ben Stevens (@BenScottStevens) December 22, 2022
The Penguins and Bruins both had three penalties called against them.