It hasn’t been often so far this season that the Pittsburgh Penguins have shown much care in the defensive zone. The few times they have, they’ve looked pretty damn good. The game against Dallas a couple of weeks ago and last night’s 4-0 win against Florida were perfect examples.
The old adage in sports is that defense wins championships, and you can see why. When the Penguins commit to a simple, defensively sound game, they can compete with anyone. We saw it in spurts during the road trip, but they never put together more than a period of good play. When they lock in and compete on both sides of the puck for a full 60 minutes, I do believe they can win against anyone. The Penguins are still an extremely gifted offensive team, even with the myriad of injuries. The offense will always be there, but they cannot put themselves in a big hole like they did in the western part of the country.
Nick Robertson looked great last night, and it’s about time he gets another look with Sid (especially given Rakell’s play). Malkin’s line looked rather potent, factoring in on two of the four goals. Hendrix Lapierre is so much better suited to play center than wing. Rutger McGroarty played well enough to earn a shift or two with Sid despite only finding out hours before the game that he would be playing.
It was just a really sound performance. Sure, Florida might have been depleted of its usual energy after a spirited game in Ottawa the night before, but the Penguins couldn’t have been entirely settled either after the Kindel incident. No matter the energy levels, the Penguins need to take in this game and realize this is the path forward.
If they let the game come to them and don’t chase chances, they will enjoy better outcomes. Florida had a few good looks but was largely shut down for the entire game. The Penguins didn’t force anything to create offense, and yet the offense was still available to them.
It was just a very pleasant watch, and something we haven’t seen enough of so far this year. What do you think about the Penguins’ game last night?
