Game Day Post (12/22/14): Pittsburgh Penguins (22-6-4) @ Florida Panthers (14-9-8)

Summary:

Hmm, it’s like a sauna in here. The first game of the Penguins/Panthers home-and-home series saw a rash of penalty minutes and a lot of energy being thrown around. Needless to say, the game was steamy hot. It was the Penguins, though, that handed the Panthers a humbling loss at the end of the night. However, we’re not done. Round two comes to Sunrise tonight and if Saturday night was any indication, it would be a safe bet to say these two teams don’t like each other very much. Good! The best hockey happens when the teams involved aren’t in the mood to exchange warm, fuzzy feelings. Can the Panthers strike back at their new best friends? On to the game!

Know Your Enemy:

Panthers All-Time Record v. Pittsburgh: 34-33-9 with 4 ties

2014-15 Season Record v. Pittsburgh: 0-1-0

Last Game: 12/20/14 @ Consol Energy Center (Pittsburgh, PA), Panthers lost 3-1
The man who stole the show in Pittsburgh was Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. He withstood the strongest offensive torrent the Panthers have directed at an opponent since they shelled Sergei Bobrovsky with 99 shot attempts back on December 4. This time around, Fleury faced a mere 80 shot attempts, of which 46 were on net. Furthermore, Fleury was perfect during even strength play, stopping all 30 shots. It was a rare Panthers power play goal that eluded him for his only goal against. The heat of the game was somewhat historic for one player as well. With 6 penalty minutes Saturday night, Evgeni Malkin made December 2014 the 2nd most penalized month of his career, with 24 PIMs. This ties December 2008, and sits only 4 PIM back of his most penalized month, when he collected 28 PIMs in December 2009. One supposes that the holiday season might be making Geno a little antsy. It wasn’t all goaltending and sin bin action though. Sidney Crosby struck the final nail in the Panthers coffin, after scoring all of 1 point against the Panthers last season. Rookie defenseman, Derrick Pouliot, joined the First NHL Shot/First NHL Goal club. Nick Spaling and Steve Downie each had two points, highlighting a strong performance from Pittsburgh’s depth players. Yet, the Penguins power play was silent among the action, a performance which has knocked the team down from 2nd to 4th in the league. Also, consider that all of this is happening with 8 guys on Injured Reserve. It was a very interesting game from one of the best teams in the league.

The Rundown:

Panther Leaders & Special Teams
Goals: Nick Bjugstad (12)
Assists: Aaron Ekblad (14)
Points: Nick Bjugstad & Aaron Ekblad (19)
Shot Attempt (Corsi) Rel: Sean Bergenheim (+7.2%)
Shot Attempt Differential: Sean Bergenheim (+97)
Power Play: 13.4% (27th)
Penalty Kill: 81.5% (14th)

Penguins Leaders & Special Teams
Goals: Evgeni Malkin (15)
Assists: Sidney Crosby (26)
Points: Evgeni Malkin (38)
Shot Attempts (Corsi) Rel: Chris Kunitz (+8.1%)
Shot Attempt Differential: Chris Kunitz (+80)
Power Play: 24.3% (4th)
Penalty Kill: 86.1% (5th)

*Shot Attempt (Corsi) Relative calculated at 5v5, having played at least one half of team’s games.

The Hat Trick:

1. The Panthers fell to 0-2-3 against Top 10 teams in 5-on-5 goal scoring with their 3-1 defeat to the Penguins (Note: I made an error counting these games in the last game day post, I apologize). This is not the result the Panthers wanted and the time for moral victories is waning. That being said, were there any measurable steps forward taken by the Panthers in this game? Yes, there was. For the first time against a Top 10 opponent, the Panthers drove possession and arguably controlled significant chunks of the game. In all previous games against Top 10 opponents (Tampa Bay, NY Islanders, Nashville, and Minnesota), they were getting a mere 41.4% of the shot attempts. The Panthers were getting out-chanced by a wide margin and played up to their potential only at times during these games. Saturday night’s outing against the Penguins was different. The Panthers did stumble out of the gate. However, beyond that stumble, the Panthers played a remarkably solid game. They grabbed 2/3rd of the shot attempts at 5-on-5, 54 to the Penguins 27. They threatened to tie the game on many different occasions right up until Sidney Crosby’s 3rd period goal. The Panthers were right there, hanging with a top team. Now, they must take the next step and put away a top team.

2. If the Panthers really want to hang their hat on something though, they should hang it on the Penalty Kill. The Penguins Power Play was ranked 2nd in the league entering Saturday night and the Panthers PK whitewashed them. This is not the first time this has happened either. Their 6-for-6 outing Saturday night was their second of the season, the first coming against the Flyers on November 1. In 15 games against Top 10 power play units this season, the Panthers have surrendered 10 goals on 51 shorthanded situations, good for a respectable 80.4% success rating. This total, however, includes lackluster efforts in the first two games of the season against Tampa Bay and New Jersey, when the Panthers looked like they were still figuring themselves out, giving up 5 power play goals on 12 opportunities. Since those first two games, the Panthers have given up just as many power play goals on 39 opportunities against Top 10 power plays, good for a success rating of 87.2%. If that was the success rating of the penalty kill as a whole, it would rank 3rd in the league. If there’s one thing this team can truly hang their hat on and feel accomplished about, it is the job they are doing on the penalty kill.

3. A congratulations is in store for Vincent Trocheck and Aaron Ekblad. For Trocheck, it was vindication after being scratched for two games, scoring a power play goal in his hometown of Pittsburgh, with friends and family watching on. For Ekblad, he adds to his remarkable rookie season by setting a franchise record for assists by a rookie defenseman. Next stop: most points by a rookie defenseman.

Projected Lineup:

Florida Panthers

D1: Campbell | Ekblad
D2: Mitchell | Kulikov
D3: Olsen | Gudbranson

SG: Luongo
BG: Montoya

Pittsburgh Penguins

D1: Harrington | Letang
D2: Dumoulin | Despres
D3: Scuderi | Pouliot

SG: Fleury
BG: Greiss

Courtesy of Daily Faceoff (Accurate as of 10:00 am)

Closing Thoughts:

You could say Saturday night’s defeat was just a mump in the road. (Okay, seriously, no more mumps jokes!)

AJ can be reached for contact on Twitter .