Snap Shots: Kings 1, Pens 0 (OT)
The Pens' red-hot offense cooled off tonight against the Kings. Entering this game, the Pens had scored at least four goals in each of their last seven wins. But they struggled to get anything going offensively tonight. The Pens knew they were playing a structured, defensive team and that it was going to be a struggle to get through the neutral zone. And they did a good job of combating that and gaining the zone, but once there the Pens couldn't generate a lot. That's because the Kings are a big, physical team who are so good in 1-on-1 situations, and are so difficult to play against - especially down low. They didn't give the Pens a lot of time and space, and as Evgeni Malkin told me, "They play so hard in the D-zone."
The Pens did end up registering a high volume of shots, finishing with 39 on the night. But I thought that was more quantity than quality, as many of them were lobbed from the perimeter and from low-risk scoring areas. The Kings did a good job of keeping them to the outside and allowing goaltender Peter Budaj to see pucks. Sometimes the Pens were able to get through and create that next-play opportunity, but it certainly wasn't often.
The Pens' power play didn't have much luck as well. The Pens had switched to using two defensemen and three forwards on Dec. 10 against Tampa Bay and went on to score seven goals in three games. But the Pens had to adjust with Kris Letang out, so they went back to a four-forward look with Justin Schultz as the lone defenseman. For the most part, they did okay. The players were pleased with their breakouts and how they moved the puck, but I thought they could have shot more. One bad habit the Pens fall into on occasion is overpassing and looking for the perfect play, and I thought they were guilty of that tonight. But they did get some terrific looks. They just need to finish them.
On a positive note, the Pens did a tremendous job of staying out of the box. We've talked about discipline so much with this team, especially the lack thereof. And I think that was magnified with how the penalty kill was struggling. But the PK has improved as of late, and it helps they're not getting called upon as much. The Pens took just one penalty in this game.
The Pens were already without Letang, who is out for a couple of weeks with a lower-body injury. They lost Trevor Daley with about five minutes left in the second and Brian Dumoulin took a puck to the face 1:21 into the third. Fortunately, Dumoulin returned about midway through while Daley remained out. That meant the Pens played the remainder of the night with either four or five defensemen, one of them Derrick Pouliot - playing in just his second game with Pittsburgh this season. A tough situation, but one they handled well.
If I'm going to sit here and talk about the Pens not scoring, I also have to give credit to them for not letting the other team score as well. Matt Murray took responsibility for the one that did go in, saying, "A 3-on-1, the guy made a pretty good play to stop up. Our D played it pretty well, to be honest. Played it perfectly and I just got to make that save. I could probably be a bit more aggressive on him. But 'Dumo' did a good job of taking away both options and left me with the shot. He had a pretty good angle, but I still could have played it a little better."
