Stanley Cup Playoffs: Nightmare Start Dooms Pittsburgh Penguins In Game 1
By Matt Gajtka
Apr 16, 2015; New York, NY, USA; New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist (30) makes a save on a shot by Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Steve Downie (23) during the first period of game one of the first round of the the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
There are many encouraging things to be taken away from the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2-1 loss to the New York Rangers on Thursday night in Game 1 of a Metropolitan Division semifinal series.
However, if the Pens plan on making this a two-week battle, they’ll have to learn quickly from their mistakes.
There were plenty of those made during a nightmarish first period that yielded two New York goals, four Pittsburgh penalties and countless poor passes and decisions.
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Moreover, the whole concept that starting on the road might be somehow easier than the alternative went out the Madison Square Garden window in a hurry. The Pens trailed just 28 seconds in, when Derrick Brassard scored off an inelegant rebound given up by Marc-Andre Fleury.
Fleury (36 saves) was much better from that point forward, even though a point shot by Ryan McDonagh eluded him later in the first. Marc-Andre’s teammates caught up with him in the second period, making it essentially an even game over the final 40 minutes.
The Penguins broke through for their first goal of the series 6:15 into the second, when Blake Comeau jammed in a rebound from the top of Henrik Lundqvist‘s crease. Pittsburgh was buzzing around “The King” all evening, funneling pucks to the front of the Rangers net and generally doing well to create turnovers along the boards with an effective forecheck.
But once again the Pens struggled at the business end of their scoring chances, and so their skittish start cost them the game.
In their defense, the penalty standard employed by referees Jean Hebert and Marc Joannette was borderline indecipherable. At least two out of the four infractions whistled against the Penguins in the first period were phantom calls.
Only the fourth of those penalties directly led to a goal – McDonagh’s power-play strike through a screen at 15:16 – but playing 6:43 of the opening 20 minutes shorthanded limited the Pens’ opportunities to get their feet under them.
Pittsburgh coach Mike Johnston did his best to get Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin more involved in the second period. The Pens earned their lone power play of the game at 13:04 of that frame, when Rick Nash went off for boarding, but after that it was open season on obstruction and interference.
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To be clear, both sides were guilty of committing apparent penalties in the late stages of the game, although the team that trails is always going to be at a disadvantage when potential offense is restricted.
It was completely on the Penguins for falling behind in the first place. In particular, they tread water in their own zone way too much for comfort. The all-rookie defense pairing of Taylor Chorney and Brian Dumoulin had its rough moments early on, but so did the rest of the Pens, who were outshot 13-5 in the first.
The execution wasn’t there from the start, which belied what some players talked about in the run-up to the series: that being the underdog had relieved some of the pressure that comes with playoff time.
It was the Rangers who looked loose at the opening faceoff, as they channeled their nervous energy into something constructive. The Pens should be be encouraged by how they rebounded from that hellish opening frame, although they can’t risk repeating it in Saturday’s Game 2.