Nick Bjugstad insisted that neither he nor his teammates were scoreboard watching Saturday night. With the Penguins knotted at three late in third period, the center said his focus was solely on the task at hand: Namely, the New York Rangers. It certainly was not on that other New York team, the Islanders, who ended up beating the Capitals down in D.C. And, he says, he was blissfully unaware of what the Hurricanes were doing across the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Philadelphia.
For the sake of the soon-to-be new father's blood pressure, that was probably a good thing.
"It wasn't our best effort this year, that's for sure," Justin Schultz said.
No, it wasn't the Penguins' best effort. They saw a 2-1 lead evaporate in the span of 1:16 but they still managed to take one point in their 4-3 overtime loss to the Rangers. That can't be underscored enough. That solitary point, the result of Jake Guentzel's 40th of the season, a goal as greasy as it was necessary, ended up being the difference between a first-round matchup against the Islanders and the Capitals.
For the Penguins, that's a great thing.
Because if they defended and were as careless with the puck as they were against the Rangers, Alex Ovechkin and Co. would have simply destroyed them. It remains to be seen how a performance like Saturday's would stack up against the Islanders. Barry Trotz's team allows the fewest goals-against per game at 2.36, but are just 22nd in goals-for at 2.72.
Fortunately for the Penguins, there is still some time to work on a few things between now and Game 1, be it Wednesday or Thursday. Clearly, Mike Sullivan must not have liked what he saw. That might explain why the coach originally called for a rare Sunday afternoon practice only to nix it a few hours later, presumably, after cooler heads prevailed.
"I thought we were loose as far as our play away from the puck and, as a result, we gave up more quality chances than we should have," Sullivan said.
Indeed, the Penguins had a 39-30 lead in shots on goal and a 64-37 advantage in Corsi For percentage, which measures all shot attempts. But the Rangers doubled them up in high-danger chances, 6-3. Against a playoff-caliber team, those last numbers would have been a killer.
At 2.68 goals per game, the 23rd-ranked Rangers finished right behind the Islanders in the goals-for department. On Saturday, New York -- basically, the Hartford Wolf Pack in Rangers clothing -- should have earned their two points way, way before Ryan Strome's goal in OT. If not for Matt Murray, particularly early, when he made 24 of his 30 saves over the first two periods, the inexperienced Rangers would have.
I'll allow Taylor Haase to get into the Penguins' power play struggles and Vladimir Namestnikov's shorthanded goal in the third period. Even after Marc Staal's shorthanded chance earlier in the second period, Kevin Shattenkirk should have had a breakaway chance coming out of the box. Instead, Brett Howden badly misfired the pass:
Anybody see Jordan Eberle missing that same pass to Nick Leddy? Me neither. That chance was the result of a Bjugstad turnover in the defensive zone and Marcus Pettersson being unaware that Shattenkirk had gotten behind him.
As bad as that was, it was not nearly as egregious as Garrett Wilson's turnover that led directly to Brendan Smith's tying goal at 12:49 of the first period:
After taking a D-to-D pass from Jack Johnson, Schultz passed the puck up to Wilson at center red where the fourth-liner blindly tried to fire a cross-ice pass that was ... I don't know what it was, but it was easily intercepted. After that play, Wilson was pretty much chained to the bench. He played just a minute and change in the second and ended up with a game-low 6:37 on nine shifts. Even before his miscue, it was interesting to wonder if Wilson fits in the lineup when Zach Aston-Reese returns. That's not to pile on Wilson, either. He's been good in his role, but as a fourth-liner, he -- of all people -- can't make that pass.
Indeed, the Penguins' poor puck management did not discriminate. On a night when Crosby hit the century mark in points, he also had four giveaways. And then there was Phil Kessel.
Here, was Kessel trying way, way too hard to force a pass to Evgeni Malkin cutting through the slot. Instead, he gave up the puck to Namestnikov:
Kessel was so incensed that he slammed his stick across the Penguins logo at center ice. Then, for good measure, he skated to the bench where he slammed his stick across the dasher. Poor Matt Cullen had to duck for cover.
Yeah, it was a rough one for Kessel, who saw his modest two-game points streak come to an end and was a minus player for the first time in seven games. Late in the second, he had this shot (pass?) in the slot easily blocked. This time, Kessel literally slid on his hands and knees back to the bench:
After Bjugstad gave the Penguins a 2-1 lead at 2:28 of the second, the Penguins gave it back up 10 minutes later. This time it was Guentzel who turned the puck over at the blue line after Brady Skjei casually poked the puck off his stick and turned up ice. With two defensemen leading the Rangers' 3-on-2 break, Kevin Shattenkirk dropped the puck to Skjei in the high slot. With Kris Letang and Erik Gudbranson parting like the Red Sea and failing to close in on the shooter, Skjei skated to within 27 feet where he wired the tying goal past Murray:
"We know we need to tighten up," said Guentzel, who, later, completely redeemed himself by hitting the big 4-0. "A lot of odd-man rushes we need to clean up, but we like where our game is going."
Indeed, for the last five weeks or so, the Penguins have played their most inspired defensive hockey down the stretch. They have been on the right side of pucks and their compete level is unquestioned. Playing sound defensively is far more about commitment than X's and O's. Here's hoping Saturday night was an anomaly, but the numbers were striking. On a night the Penguins gave away a pickup truck and even the jerseys off their backs, they also gave away 17 pucks to the Rangers' eight. New York, which had nothing to play for, blocked 20 shots to the Penguins' seven.
Maybe the Penguins were guilty of looking past the Rangers. Or perhaps they were lulled into a false sense of security, playing at home before a raucous crowd on Fan Appreciation Night. Or maybe they were emotionally drained after punching their playoff ticket two nights earlier and were playing "only" for seeding. But ...
"We've got to tighten up some stuff," Bjugstad was telling me. "You play a team like this, they still have a lot of skilled players and they're relaxed and kind of out there and having fun, and that creates a different game. Teams that we are playing in the playoffs seem to be all tight games, 2-1 games. This was opened up. A lot of odd-man rushes. We can't really play that game in the playoffs and expect to be successful. I don't have to say it; these guys know it, they've done it. There's a next level. I've only been in five playoff games, but it's another level of hockey."
No, the Penguins didn't get any help from the Capitals against the Islanders. But the Penguins didn't help themselves either. Because of that, the "next level" that Bjugstad was talking about will begin on Long Island instead of PPG Paints Arena.
And that might not be such a bad thing either. The road has been very kind to the Penguins this season. It's where they earned 50 of their 101 points. And it's where they have allowed just 2.83 goals-against per game this season. At home, that number jumps to 3.05.
"This team has the ability to play on the road," Sullivan was saying. "We've had a lot of experience to draw on as far going into hostile environments and a high-stakes environment and having success. We're going to control what we can to have success."
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
Penguins vs. Rangers, PPG Paints Arena, April 6, 2019 - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS