A few days before the trade went down, I posted an article questioning whether or not the Penguins should trade Tristan Jarry. After all, he’d been one of the leading contributors to our surprisingly strong start and our recent (at the time) 4-1 run.
My sense? If we traded Jarry, it might considerably dampen our playoff aspirations.
I know it’s only one game. But if first impressions count for anything, my concerns were spot on. Perhaps a classic case of losing the battle but ultimately winning the war.
In his first start sporting the black-and-gold, Stuart Skinner proved to be no match for his former mates, as the Pens emerged from last night’s contest on the short end of a 6-4 score. While Jarry wasn’t exactly Vezina-worthy himself (.867 save percentage on 30 shots), he made the key saves when it mattered the most.
The game also reinforced my overall impression of Skinner, gleaned from watching a smattering of his performances, mostly in the postseason. Big guy, takes up a lot of net, not especially athletic. Handles the puck as if it were a live explosive. Sorta kinda reminds me of former Pens netminder Matt Murray.
Another impression? If we elect to ride a tandem of Skinner and Arturs Silovs in goal? We could be in for a long, ugly second half.
Puckpourri
To borrow from one of the TNT announcers, the Pens wrapped up their “homestand from h-e-double hockey sticks” with an 0-2-3 record. On the heels of the previously mentioned hot streak, we’ve now lost six in a row (0-2-4).
Wish I was more upbeat about our chances. However, I don’t see this jarring run of ineptitude ending any time soon. Not to overstate the obvious, but the team desperately misses centers Evgeni Malkin and Blake Lizotte. Without the latter, the PK is slipping and our overall defensive structure is crumbling like an earthen dam during monsoon season.
Is it me? Or have things gotten away from rookie coach Dan Muse in a hurry? He seems a little deer-in-the-headlights at this stage. I’m no tactician, but I’m not seeing any of the in-game adjustments he was noted for in prior coaching assignments. I know a coach is constrained to a large degree by the talent at his disposal. However, it’s like watching (a bad) Mike Sullivan re-run.
As for the game itself? Tommy Novak, Erik Karlsson, Bryan Rust and Danton Heinen scored for the Pens. One of the precious few bright spots of late, Novak collected an assist as well. He has four goals and 10 points in his last 10 games.
Sidney Crosby assisted on Karlsson’s power-play goal. He’s one point shy (1722) of Mario Lemieux’s franchise record. Speaking of, the big guy was in the house last night, always a most welcome sight.
Muse shuffled the deck and made several lineup changes. He benched unproductive kid Ville Koivunen in favor of Heinen and swapped out his third defense pairing of Ryan Graves and Connor Clifton for newcomer Brett Kulak and Jack St. Ivany.
I’ve been pulling for the latter to get a shot but admit was disappointed by what I saw. To my eye, he looked an awful lot like Graves at his worst…big, a touch on the slow side and unsure. He and Kulak each registered a team-worst expected goals for percentage of 10.33.
Up next, a getaway (perhaps much needed) to the Great White North to take on Ottawa (Thursday) and Montreal (Saturday) before a return match with the Habs here on Sunday.
Standings-wise, we’re tied for fifth in the Metro with the Devils and one point out of an Eastern Conference wild-card spot.
My word, is Connor McDavid DYNAMIC. To draw a baseball analogy, trying to defend against his otherworldly speed would be like attempting to hit a 120 mph fastball.