The Pittsburgh Penguins entered their western road trip without the services of Erik Karlsson, who is out with a lower body injury. Last night, Kris Letang joined him in the press box nursing his own injury. Despite missing two important defensemen the Penguins were able to overcome and defeat the Calgary Flames by a score of 4-1.
With the victory, Pittsburgh has maintained second place in the Metropolitan Division. Doing so allows them to avoid a very packed wild card race. The team has done an impressive job of overcoming the stretch of losing they suffered in December.
Erik Karlsson last played on January 11th against the Boston Bruins. I thought the team would be susceptible to falling back in the standings. Karlsson has had a great year and is one of the most important pieces of the lineup. Instead, the team has rallied and since his injury have taken eight out of the last ten standings points. They have won three games and the two games they did lose they made it to the shootout.
The team is now halfway through their four-game road trip out west and are positioned well to get out of the trip without dropping significant ground in the standings. There would be a lot more anxiety heading into tonight’s matchup against the Edmonton Oilers if they hadn’t banked these points, already. A victory tonight over the Oilers, or on Sunday against the Vancouver Canucks, and this road trip will be a bonafide success.
Chinakhov continues to contribute
At the time of the trade there was a lot of trepidation about Kyle Dubas trading a second and third round pick for Egor Chinakhov. He really only had one season you could point to where you could say he was contributing on a regular basis. Some of it was injury based and now some of it appears to be Columbus Blue Jacket based.
Chinakhov scored his fourth goal for the Penguins last night and it turned out to be the game winner. The goal came on Chinakhov’s impressive quick release and was the result of some nice passing by his linemates.
I spoke previously about Malkin’s ability to create space for others and how Chinakhov doesn’t need a lot of time to get that shot off
Aside from the common spoken language they share I think they can speak the same language on the ice, too. At this stage of his career Malkin is not going to be racing up and down the ice like he used to. He is going to slow down and manipulate east to west passing lanes. His playmaking can free up others so they have time to make plays. When you think about Chinakhov’s speed and shot he becomes a great candidate to be the recipient of those passes
As the chemistry grows we are going to see Chinakhov get more and more opportunities to utilize his terrific shot.
It’s early in his Penguins career, but his 82 game goal scoring pace for Columbus this year was ten goals. His 82 game goal scoring pace for Pittsburgh is currently at 30.
He asked for a trade over the summer and now that he had his request granted he is making the most of his opportunity as a Penguin, thus far. Each passing game helps make the cost to acquire Chinakhov seem more and more reasonable. Great stuff
Skinner on a heater
Stuart Skinner is another Penguin who needed a change of scenery and after some clunky starts to begin his Penguins career he has been playing fantastic.
Last night, he stopped 18 of 19 Calgary shots for a .947 save percentage. His last seven games have been really good.
There’s an argument to be made that he maybe should have been awarded an assist last night, as well.
With Skinner playing last night it should open the door for Arturs Silovs to be in the net tonight in Edmonton. I like the choice for Dan Muse to give Skinner the start in Calgary. Now, he doesn’t have to play against his old team while his team is on the second game of a back to back. Skinner is clearly on a hot streak and I think playing against his old team in his old building has the potential to mess with the hot run.
It is the first time Muse has used a goalie in back to back games since December 4th and 7th with Tristan Jarry. I think this was the right time to do it again. This was good coaching.
Novak providing quality play
When the Penguins originally acquired Tommy Novak I thought it was a nice player to target. He had an offensive pulse in Nashville. After watching him play you could tell he had slick hands and could move quite well.
Things did not start off great for Novak. Last year, he was injured and only played in a total of two games before he was shut down for the rest of the season. This year, he looked apprehensive and skittish at times early in the season. You could tell he had skill, but it wasn’t being put to use.
He put up nine points in the months of October and November, while not looking the part of an upper-tier depth player. In December, things started to turn around and he put up 5 goals and 11 points in 14 games played. He has looked a lot better and has been more assertive out on the ice.
Novak is up to a 2.01 5v5 points per 60 and a 53.3 xGF% on the year. These are great numbers for his role and what the team needs from him. He is a big part of why this year’s Penguins have been able to navigate the standings all the way to second place at the moment. In year’s past this team just didn’t have quality depth players and with the core aging it was too much for them to overcome. Players like Novak have helped this team turn the corner.
He got to show off those slick hands on a silky 2v1 goal. He took his time and space and deked the goalie silly
Novak, Malkin, and Chinakhov are a super interesting combination of talent. You saw how well things can look on the Chinakhov goal from this evening and you can see how Novak can also take it upon himself to finish plays off with his goal. I’m looking forward to seeing this line continue to gel as the season goes on.
Tonight, the Penguins will be up against it. They are on the second game of a back to back and they are visiting the high octane Edmonton Oilers. Even if the Oilers depth players are meh, Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Zach Hyman are not. They are tremendous players and likely to give an older Penguins team fits.
Crosby vs. McDavid, should be fun.
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