Twenty years together with the Penguins. Crosby, Malkin and Letang. Two of those guys are out of the lineup and the team misses their impacts. The other is fully healthy but the team might be better off if he swapped places with Geno. Kris Letang has been pretty terrible for a majority of the season. He was good with Kulak for about a month and a half and since Kulak was shipped to Colorado, Letangs play followed. I have been one of the Kristopher defenders over the years, his offensive ability and speed always made up for his deficiencies. However, as Letang has aged and as his medical problems piled up he lost his young legs. He can no longer duck around the net and create a one man breakout. He doesn’t move quick enough to generate offense like he used to and has needed to desperately simplify his game. What we see on a nightly basis is quite the opposite though; pucks turned over with regularity, poor angles on rushes, and a lack of making the simple play. Is Kris influenced negatively by the reemergence of Karlsson? Possibly. He’s an egotistical guy, that isn’t a knock all great athletes should be, and watching Karlsson take over his team cannot be easy. However, he would be more loved if he accepted his new role and played with just a little bit of a higher hockey IQ. What’s a real shame is that Letang actually played pretty good for two periods last night. He shut down a few Hurricane opportunities. He was physical. He wasn’t trying anything insane in the offensive zone that his body just doesn’t allow him to do anymore. He showed a glimpse of what he could be for his team. Then the third period rolled around and the Letang of old (in age) came out. Remarkably the Penguins entered the third period with a one goal lead. The lead didn’t last long as Letang couldn’t control a puck along the wall ceding possession to Carolina which eventually went in the net. The Penguins would ultimately fall behind 4-2 after a 5-on-3 goal. The very next shift, still killing a penalty, Letang carelessly got his stick tangled giving Carolina yet another extended 5-on-3. The Penguins penalty killers, and Skinner, bailed him out giving them a chance to tie the game.

There is a lot of talk about Dubas potentially letting Geno walk this summer. I really don’t think that should be the topic at all. Geno has proven he is adaptable. Letang is the real issue. He has shown no ability or willingness to change his game and it costs the Penguins constantly. His contract is buyout proof and I doubt they’ll find a trade partner for him (his no movement clause goes away in the summer). So it leaves the Penguins with little to no options but I would advise them to figure something out, even if it means making him the 7th defensemen. Letang is a serious problem every single night, Malkin isn’t.

Now that I got that out of my system… How about this fucking team?! What an insane comeback. Things were looking beyond bleak. Boston, NYI, and Columbus all won last night. So too did Montreal. The Penguins needed to find a way to salvage a point. I am still really not sure how, but they did find a way. They found a way because this team has more heart and balls than any team I can remember in a long long time. The teams captain, and best player, is currently injured but the Penguins are fortunate enough to have another guy in that room who deserves to one day wear a C on his chest, Bryan Rust. Rust scored the Penguins second goal on a gorgeous feed from Russian sensation Chinakhov.

Rust then assisted on a goal (so did Chinakhov) to make it 4-3 with 2 minutes left.

He capped off his incredible performance with the improbable game tying goal with roughly 30 seconds left in regulation.

When your team needs a whole lot of heart, and a whole lot of guts, you want a guy like Rust skating for you. He has consistently shown up for the Penguins in big games. During the playoff runs when you needed a big goal it was seldom Crosby or Malkin, but rather Rust who would cash in. Crosby is the engine that makes the Penguins go but Rust is the fuel that allows that engine to run. What a player he has blossomed into and if god forbid Crosby retires one day he’s the man that should captain the next generation of Penguin greats.

The Penguins were utterly dominated for most of this game. Rust had his late game heroics but before that the Penguins best line was centered by Ben Kindel. Kindel, Hayes, and Soderblom were causing chaos in the offensive zone all night. Elmer looks like he fits right in with Dubas’ plans as he used his hands and big frame to create several amazing looks last night, including one that went off the post. Chinakhov was great, as usual. Karlsson was the only defensemen that enjoyed a somewhat decent outting. However, for the most part the Penguins were basically skated out of the rink. Luckily for them, Tristan Jarry is busy fighting with his teammates in Edmonton and Stuuuuuuuuuuu Skinner is in Pittsburgh. Skinner was unbelievable in this game. He made so many ten bell saves that it was getting difficult to keep track. He made a glove save on a late 2-on-1 that seemed like a wasted highlight at the time, but ended up being the sole reason the Penguins could muster a comeback.

Overall, this was a great point by the Penguins. They have no ability to win in a shootout. They miss Malkin and Crosby dearly in overtime. However, neither shootouts, nor 3-on-3, exist in the playoffs so as long as they get there I am really confident in this team’s chances. On the Crosby front, don’t be surprised if he returns Thursday against Colorado.