Orpik, Niskanen Haunt Penguins In Return
Game Review
December 27, 2014
After only being able to watch a game here and there for the last month or so, it has dawned on me that the Penguins injuries are finally catching up to them and that they may be resorting back to older, unsuccessful ways.
Saturday night, the Penguins hosted the Washington Capitals and welcomed back some familiar faces in former defensemen Brooks Orpik and Matt Niskanen. Once the puck dropped however, the Capitals visit was everything but warm. The D.C. based squad shutout the Penguins 3-0 to hand them their first back-to-back regulation losses of the season. Marc-Andre Fleury was outstanding despite some poor mismanagement of the puck that led to two goals by Eric Fehr and Marcus Johannson. Orpik returned to Pittsburgh with an assist and a plus-3 rating on the night.
Braden Holtby, Capitals netminder, was incredible between the pipes, stopping all 31 shots he faced. The Penguins will look to get back on a winning track Monday as they square off against the New Jersey Devils.
Positives:
Negatives
After only being able to watch a game here and there for the last month or so, it has dawned on me that the Penguins injuries are finally catching up to them and that they may be resorting back to older, unsuccessful ways.
Saturday night, the Penguins hosted the Washington Capitals and welcomed back some familiar faces in former defensemen Brooks Orpik and Matt Niskanen. Once the puck dropped however, the Capitals visit was everything but warm. The D.C. based squad shutout the Penguins 3-0 to hand them their first back-to-back regulation losses of the season. Marc-Andre Fleury was outstanding despite some poor mismanagement of the puck that led to two goals by Eric Fehr and Marcus Johannson. Orpik returned to Pittsburgh with an assist and a plus-3 rating on the night.
Braden Holtby, Capitals netminder, was incredible between the pipes, stopping all 31 shots he faced. The Penguins will look to get back on a winning track Monday as they square off against the New Jersey Devils.
Positives:
- Marc-Andre Fleury. Stood on his head all night. Was phenomenal in net, just suffered an unfortunate loss. However, his stellar statistics are suffering, giving up six goals over the last two contests.
- Simon Despres and Scott Harrington. No defensive pair on the Penguins squad were more impressive all night. Despres was physical, moved the puck well and was offensive minded most of the time. Was a true threat all night. Harrington was stuck with the Ovechkin assignment and handled it spectacularly. Since his call up, he has made the most of his time and has proven to be a valuable asset for down the road.
- Sidney Crosby. Although he was held off of the score sheet and did make some errant plays, he was the most notable offensive player for the Penguins.
Negatives
- Braden Holtby. Not saying he was bad, because he was not at all. It was just unfortunate for the Penguins that he was as perfect as he was.
- Lack of Offense. Thirty-one shots are a good number, but how many were quality shots? Seven, maybe eight? Need to throw more pucks on net and that is directly pointed to Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby.
- Bryan Rust. I love his energy and speed, but his selfishness on the ice is more and more apparent each game. I like that he shoots the puck, but there were plenty of times tonight that he could have made the pass instead.
- Injury Strikes Again. Patric Hornqvist was injured early and did not return. Hopefully it is not a serious injury and that they were playing it safe tonight.
- Losing Trend. Suffered several losses in a row; need to right the ship as soon as possible.
