Connor Clifton, an unspectacularly mobile member of the Bruins' blue line, picked up the puck in the Boston zone, skated a stride forward ... then another ... then another until he'd collected enough momentum to split through Rickard Rakell and Evgeni Malkin at center red, then pace onward into the Pittsburgh zone.
It's in the image just above, from the third period Tuesday night at PPG Paints Arena.
This one's from overtime:
Right. Hampus Lindholm, another defenseman, similarly lugged the puck from Stanwix to Smithfield to Grant, and his path was so unimpeded, even by three-on-three standards, that the trajectory was a straight line worthy of Liberty. What's more, that ticketed, top-shelf wrister past Tristan Jarry would pulled the plug on what'd been a promising opening 30-plus minutes for the Penguins, by a 6-5 count. And what's way, way more, that was the visitors' fourth unanswered goal.
Talk about collecting momentum.
Oh, and collecting the wrong kind, as well.
"We're learning the hard way right now," Mike Sullivan would say after a fifth consecutive loss -- 0-4-1 -- has now mirrored a 4-0-1 start. "If we're going to be the team we want to become, we can't beat ourselves. And the easiest way to beat yourself is to not take care of the puck in the critical areas of the rink, you know? Most specifically, in and around the blue lines, on both sides of it. If you don't make good decisions there, if you don't take care of the puck there, you feed an opponent's transition game. And it's hard for your team to get into any sort of a defensive posture. I don't think we've managed that area of the rink as well as we need to, consistently enough, to win hockey games."
Nope. Not even in most of the games they've won, if we're keeping it real.
And this, too, from Sullivan: "We need to force teams to play goal line to goal line."
That latter sentiment might sound too vague, but it isn't in his world. Because it pretty much translates to being tough to play against, which is both the tangible and intangible foundation of his system. Make the smart plays, particularly in those aforementioned areas. Have the forwards track back upon losing possession. Have the defensemen keep sturdy gaps. Keep everyone in a tight shape as this occurs. And when there's a fair shot at getting that puck back, pile not just one, not just two but three sticks into the scene.
None of this has changed. Not for years now. It's a demanding, high-energy system that the players themselves have long professed to love, and it's worked well enough to have won some jewelry.
The players can perform better within it than they have for a couple weeks now. They certainly can be more consistent within it, as this evening exemplified.
I brought this up afterward with Sidney Crosby, underscoring the bona fide positives that fueled the Penguins' 5-2 lead, topped off by goals 20 seconds apart midway through the second period by Bryan Rust and Rakell:
"We did a lot of good things. A lot of good things. In every area," Sid would reply without a flinch. "That's why it's disappointing to not come out of this with two points. But we've gotta build off it, take that into the next one, turn the page quickly."
Crazy quickly. Faceoff with the Sabres is 7:38 p.m. Wednesday in Buffalo, N.Y.
But sorry, the broader solution just doesn't feel like it'll arrive in a snap. Not with all that we've witnessed to date.
See, Sid, too, mentioned not allowing opponents to go "200 feet," as the Bruins routinely did, and that reflects, at least to me, on a slew of missing components, not just a few. It reflects on the roster composition. It reflects on the average age being the NHL's oldest. And it reflects, I dare say, on the compatibility of that same system I was praising a moment ago.
Something's ... off. And it didn't feel any less off when the record was 4-0-1.
To reiterate, the system's a chore. And there's a reason we've seen it peak when, one, the overall group was younger or, two, when a minivan full of AHLers would rideshare across I-80 from Wilkes-Barre in an emergency. It's like a burnout job. It's a blast at first, and then a hole here or there will pop, and soon enough everyone looks gassed. Even if they all aren't.
I've advocated in recent years that Sullivan could install more variations, more different looks, notably based on specific situations. Like, say, a two-goal lead in Game 5 against the Rangers. Or another two-goal lead in Game 6. Or a third-period lead in Game 7. Or hey, a three-goal lead here and now.
That'll prompt some to turn up their nose, maybe fearing that the Penguins could disintegrate into the old Devils or Wild, who never saw a forecheck they didn't fear was fatal, and risk wasting all the elite offensive talent that's still here.
See also the latest case for the captain's statue someday having him drop to one knee:
I'd counter to any skeptic that not falling back into some defensive posture risks wasting their twilight years. Because not only are all of this team's top players exceptionally high in hockey IQ -- they could handle change of approach at mid-game, as Dan Bylsma used to prove regularly with a myriad of rotations and scripted faceoffs -- but also that being more guarded with leads, most urgently bigger leads, could come with the added bonus of sparing some wear and tear.
Put it this way? Why chase somebody's defenseman the length of the rink when you can just wait him out?
I asked Sullivan after this game if he's got or if he's considered any such Plan B, some alternative strategy he'd be able to deploy.
"We've gotta defend better," he replied. "We've gotta make better decisions with the puck. We can play the type of game that sets us up for success, but we just have to manage the game better. A lot of that is just your calculation of risk, making sure you stay above the puck. You don't have to manufacture things that aren't there, things of that nature. That's just learning how to win."
Allow me, please, to translate: No.
Sullivan knows more about hockey than most of us could ever forget, myself included. I respect that. I respect his stance.
It's just that it's been a while since I've written about it into May or June.
JUSTIN BERL / GETTY
Tristan Jarry controls a rebound in front of the Bruins' Patrice Bergeron in the third period Tuesday night at PPG Paints Arena.
• The trademark way to escape any team-wide rut, of course, is to have the goaltender do the heaviest lifting. And while Tristan Jarry couldn't have been any rational observer's culprit in this game -- too many quality saves amid 40 Boston shots -- neither was he the difference.
• My goodness, the Bruins are good. Beyond their 9-1 start. They're airtight across the rink, they're effectively physical, and they've got a top-six to match any in the league. Not sure Linus Ullmark's going to win anyone a Cup, but they've got skaters in abundance.
• Always worth reminding there are two teams out there and two sets of divergent emotions when something like this happens.
This was Jim Montgomery, their new coach by way of Dallas: "It's amazing. They believe in there. It's incredible. It was 5-3 there in the third and I'm sitting there…we're generating chances, I'm like, 'I just love the fight in this team.' There was like nine minutes left, it might not be our night. But jeez, it was."
• The Bruins' push was so hard, their goals so fluid that I found it hard to assign fault on most, though not all, of their offense.
This, for example, was Taylor Hall's equalizer with 1:17 left in regulation:
I wasn't nuts about Ryan Poehling's coverage of Lindholm at the left point in feeding across to David Pastrnak, I thought Jake Guentzel could've sacrificed a bit more to keep Pastrnak from getting the shot through, and that's that. Down low, there are ample bodies, none of whom could've anticipated Hall, a one-time Hart Trophy winner in Newark, whacking that puck out of mid-air, when whirling around for the slam finish.
Sometimes you just get beat.
• Anyone remember the industry roundly mocking the Bruins for the Lindholm extension -- eight years, $52 million -- signed last year?
Well, he had four points in this one, becoming the NHL's first defenseman with one of those this season -- plus three blocks and a game-high 29:38 of ice time.
"I'm just super-stoked about the team win," he'd say afterward. "You don't want to be down, 5-2, to a team like Pittsburgh, but it shows a lot of character the way we came back."
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• Rakell logged 13:33 of ice time. Still scored. Still registered five shot attempts, two hits and a 2-0 mark on draws.
That doesn't add up for me. Really good player, maybe the Penguins' most consistent of late.
• Not getting how Brian Dumoulin's still securing votes of confidence, but OK.
• Teddy Blueger was sorely missed. Can't match up against the Bruins without a matchup center. No Blueger, no Jeff Carter, a babyfaced Drew O'Connor at center ... yikes.
• The net also was sorely missed. Meaning on the one, two, three, four attempts the Penguins missed on an overtime power play, two by Malkin from right in the kitchen.
Wouldn't have altered my feeling about the performance overall, but it sure would've lightened the mood some. Tough room.
• Bear in mind -- pun intended -- that these teams will meet again Jan. 2, 2023, at Fenway Park in the Winter Classic, the logo of which was unveiled before this game:
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• Allow me this rant: The Penguins' new ownership/management exhibited an extraordinary level of being out of touch with the franchise's fan base and history in recognizing Franco Harris, who was in attendance on what the team was calling 'Pittsburgh night,' by presenting him with a No. 32 sweater during a brief videoboard mention.
I swear. Couldn't believe my eyes.
No one was more vocal, more visible in lobbying against the Penguins' preferred vehicle for funding a new arena -- a casino plan -- than Harris was two decades ago in being paid by another casino to be the front-man in opposing them. He even insulted Mario Lemieux in the process, referring to him as an "absentee owner." Among local hockey fans, over a span of about a year and a half, Harris became public enemy No. 1.
And he's welcomed in this place?
Man, that's awful. Embarrassing. A stain on the Fenway Sports Group and their new front office.
• If Harris and the people paying him had their way, all we'd have for entertainment in these parts would be the 2-6 Steelers, the 100-loss Pirates or 'Office' binges on Netflix. And this place where I'm typing would've been a parking lot.
• Thanks for reading. I love writing about hockey, and I'll love it again Wednesday in Buffalo.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Live file
• Scoreboard
• Standings
• Statistics
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE THREE STARS
As selected at PPG Paints Arena:
1. Hampus Lindholm, Bruins D
2. Taylor Hall, Bruins LW
3. Evgeni Malkin, Penguins C
THE INJURIES
• Kris Letang, defenseman, missed the game with an undisclosed illness. He's day-to-day.
• Jeff Carter, left winger, has a lower-body injury. He's day-to-day.
• Teddy Blueger, center, has a lower-body injury and is on LTIR. He's eligible to return Saturday.
THE LINEUPS
Sullivan’s lines and pairings:
Jake Guentzel-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust
Jason Zucker-Evgeni Malkin-Rickard Rakell
Danton Heinen-Drew O'Connor-Kasperi Kapanen
Brock McGinn-Ryan Poehling-Josh Archibald
Brian Dumoulin-Jeff Petry
Marcus Pettersson-Jan Rutta
P.O Joseph-Chad Ruhwedel
And for Montgomery's Bruins:
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Jake DeBrusk
Taylor Hall-Pavel Zacha-David Pastrnak
Trent Frederic-Charlie Coyle-A.J. Greer
Nick Foligno-Tomas Nosek-Jakub Lauko
Hampus Lindholm-Brandon Carlo
Derek Forbort-Connor Clifton
Matt Grzelcyk-Anton Stralman
THE SCHEDULE
Another day, another game. The Penguins will face the Sabres, 7:38 p.m., Wednesday in Buffalo. Taylor Haase and I will double-cover on the road.
THE MULTIMEDIA
THE CONTENT
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