Faceoff Factor

Pens At Ruiners of Hockey Grades

Mike Adams | Grade "A" Reviews

Mar 26, 07:52 AM | Hype this story!

Great bounce-back effort

Offense: D

Rest assured, the offense at even strength did not win them this game. They had a couple good chances early on (most notably, the breakaway by Malone), but then generated next to nothing the rest of the night. This was partially because they were protecting a lead, partially because they were tired. But they never got a good forecheck going, and the transition was almost non-existent. They were playing it very safe, dumping the puck in at every opportunity. That wasn’t the wrong strategy, but it sure didn’t lead to any offense.

Defense: B

The defense was decent, but they did allow a decent number of good scoring chances. The one they thing did very well was protect the front of the net. The Devils had a couple open looks on first shots, but there were virtually no second chances. They were doing a tremendous job of tying guys and their sticks up. It was playoff-style hockey, and the Pens executed that very well. The one thing they had problems with was clearing the puck when they got a chance, leading to more zone time for the Ruiners of Hockey than what they probably wanted.

Power play: A

It was a Kerry Hairspray game, so you knew they wouldn’t get many chances. But they got one early and took advantage of it. They had a picture-perfect power play where everyone touched the puck in the sequence before Malone scored. It featured one pass through the box that kind of got the Ruiners of Hockey running around. They passed it around the perimeter until Whitney found Malone alone in the high slot. He one-timed a shot past Uncle Daddy. It was a key goal because it quickly erased the aftertaste of the previous night’s debacle. And the first goal against the Ruiners of Hockey is always important, as they can’t just play the trap all night long like they do when they get the lead. That’s what a good power plays does—it gets a goal when it needs one. They did that last night.

Penalty kill: A

It is always music to my ears to hear the home fans booing their own power play, and that’s what I heard last night. The Pens did a tremendous job keeping the Devils at bay. They allowed few good chances, and Flower stopped those that did get through. They allowed only three shots on goal in three chances. They also blocked a fair number of shots, too.

Goaltending: A

Make no mistake about it. Marc-Andre Fleury won them this game. He was absolutely brilliant. In the third period, the Pens were backing in way too much, but he just would not allow the Devils to score. It is performances like this that can help him chip away at his reputation as a guy who isn’t at his best in big games. Well, he played two huge games against the Devils in the last four days, and stopped 54 out of 55 shots in the two big wins. I cannot say enough about how he played. He had several great saves when the defense broke down and allowed cross-crease passes, most notably on Jamie Langenbrunner.

Overall: A

They finished off a sweep of the Devils with a solid, though unspectacular, road game. They got the lead and protected it very well, despite having played the night before. It did appear they wore down a bit in the third, but Flower was there to bail them out every time. The backcheck was tremendous all night long, as was the positional play. They allowed few, if any, odd-man breaks and no rebound chances. They out-Devilled the Devils and are within site of both a division and conference championship.

And now, the rest of the story…

Leaders: A

I criticized the leadership for the listless effort the night before, so I must praise them for this one. The guys were ready to play from the opening whistle. They were engaged the entire game. They got that quick goal and made it stand up the rest of the night. Everyone deserves praise for gutting this one out.

Marian Hossa: A

Man, when he gets those wheels going, he is something! Last night, he was an animal on the backcheck, and got back from the offensive to the defensive zone in what seemed like a flash. I am really liking what I see out of him.

Ryan Whitney: A

He gets an A not for playing defense, but filling in at forward. He didn’t look terribly out of place. In fact, he looked less out of place than he sometimes does as a defenseman.

Ryan Malone: A

He got the only goal, and had a couple other good chances that were stopped. He came up huge in a big game. As Chico Resch said, all you can hear every time he scores is, ca-ching.

Mick McGoof: A

This is the only A he will ver get from me. And it isn’t for calling a game. It’s because he apparently decided to make the NHL just a little bit better by retiring.

Striped Buffoon Huh? Call of the Game

We have two, which is about 20 below average for a Kerry Hairspray game. At the end of the first period, there was a scrum for which Orpik and Jan Hrdina got matching minors. But Sheldon Brookbank punched Orpik in the face several times, but got nothing. Then we had the call that baffles me every time. Aron Asham barreled through the crease, with perhaps a slight shove by Letang, and knocked Flower over. Brookbank then put the puck in. The goal was disallowed, but there was no penalty. This is one of the classic cases of why the Garage League can’t attract new fans. I, as a fan of almost 40 years, don’t understand a call like this. How can you expect new fans to?

Monk Moment

The Pens win back-to-back games against the Ruiners of Hockey.

Icehole of the Game

Bitter Beer Face, for banging a stick on the boards to argue with the refs about the aforementioned no-goal call.

A Guide to the Grades can be found here