Penguins Blank Defending Champs
Game Review
October 30th, 2014
The Pittsburgh Penguins continued their momentum from an 8-3 drubbing over the New Jersey Devils by shutting out the defending Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings, 3-0, on Thursday night. Strong play by the top lines and by Marc-Andre Fleury pushed the Penguins to their sixth victory of the season.
Despite being outshot 36-23, the Penguins struck when necessary and prevented the Kings from picking up their first victory on the road. Marc-Andre Fleury's shutout marks his second of the season (and in three games), and his 30th of his career.
Positives:
Negatives:
The Pittsburgh Penguins continued their momentum from an 8-3 drubbing over the New Jersey Devils by shutting out the defending Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings, 3-0, on Thursday night. Strong play by the top lines and by Marc-Andre Fleury pushed the Penguins to their sixth victory of the season.
Despite being outshot 36-23, the Penguins struck when necessary and prevented the Kings from picking up their first victory on the road. Marc-Andre Fleury's shutout marks his second of the season (and in three games), and his 30th of his career.
Positives:
- Marc-Andre Fleury. An absolute bounce-back from a shaky performance against the Devils on Tuesday. Looked strong and focused in net. Glad to see him in his truest form.
- Evgeni Malkin. After being shoved around a bit, Malkin turned up his intensity level and became a noticeable force on the ice. Plus, he picked up his 400th career assist; only Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Ron Francis, and Sidney Crosby have more in a Penguins' uniform.
- Powerplay. The Penguins' powerplay struck two more times, clicking at 33% on the night. The Penguins have scored multiple powerplay goals in all but two of their contests this season.
- Penalty Kill. Have stopped 22 straight and looked more comfortable in the system. Coach Mike Johnston said it would take roughly ten games to get into the groove. He overshot that by three games, but we're not complaining.
- Kris Letang. Had an exceptional game, plus scored his first goal of the year, albeit fluky. He is only the second Penguins' defenseman to score a goal this season (Olli Maatta vs. Detroit).
Negatives:
- Indecision. Too many missed shot opportunities tonight. Players were holding onto the puck or making low percentage pass plays instead of getting the puck on net. Johnston wants "shot volume" and against the Kings, they did not convert on that goal.
- 5-on-5 play. While clicking at over 40% on the powerplay is outstanding, very little is said about the team's even strength play. Against the Kings, the Penguins were outmatched despite the defending champions being out their two superstar forward Marion Gaborik and Anze Kopitar.
- Olli Maatta. He did not have a bad game, not in any aspect, but it is a negative knowing that he will be out of the lineup very shortly. He is arguably the Penguins' best blueliner and his presence will be missed.