Empty Thoughts: Sharks 3, Penguins 2 (OT)

Observations from the Penguins’ 3-2 overtime loss to the Sharks:

The Penguins did just about everything right within the confines of their scheme and the limits of their lineup on Thursday but win the game. They went to overtime and took something of a poor penalty and got beat on a slapper by Brent Burns, one of the NHL’s greatest offensive defensemen, on a four-on-three power play.

There are far worse ways to lose a game.

At the same time, this was a game where the absence of Jake Guentzel, to say nothing of Sidney Crosby or Justin Schultz, could be noticed.

Sure, the Penguins generated 38 shots. But it’s one thing when those come from Guentzel or Crosby. It’s another when they come from Alex Galchenyuk or Dominik Simon in elevated roles.

Ultimately, the Penguins should not be ashamed of this loss. Yet, it’s fair to wonder how limited the offense will be moving forward with so many skilled players absent.

“We played really well,” said forward Patric Hornqvist. “That’s been our story the whole year. We have guys in and out of the lineup, big guys. And we still find a way to play really good hockey. A lot of credit to the coaching staff and the guys in here. We stick to the details and play hard for each other. If you do that in this league, you give yourselves a chance to win every single night. That’s what we did tonight but we came up short.”

What happened

The Sharks stepped up first at 2:48 of the first period. Fending off Penguins forward Dominik Kahun and defenseman Kris Letang in the Penguins left corner, Sharks forward Joel Kellman rimmed the puck around the boards. Corralling the puck on the right half wall, Sharks defenseman Brent Burns fired a shot/pass towards the crease where forward Tomas Hertl was able to tap it past goaltender Tristan Jarry’s left skate for his 15th goal of the season. Burns and Kellman collected assists.

(Video courtesy NHL)

Things were tied, 1-1, at 16:51 of the first. Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro made an errant pass out of his own left corner up the boards to Sharks forward Timo Meier which went through Meier’s legs and failed to connect. Coming off the bench on a line change, Penguins forward Patric Hornqvist claimed the loose puck and raced in on net down the slot and lifted a wrister past goaltender Aaron Dell’s blocker for his eighth goal of the season. The score was unassisted.

(Video courtesy NHL)

Exactly one minute later, the Sharks responded to reclaim a lead, 2-1. Lugging a puck up ice from behind own net, Penguins defenseman John Marino was hounded relentlessly by Sharks forward Patrick Marleau and forced a bad pass at his own blue line to defenseman Marcus Pettersson which Pettersson couldn’t handle cleanly. Marleau claimed the puck and created a two-on-one attack off the right wing with forward Logan Couture against Pettersson. From the right circle, Marleau fed a pass to Couture in the left circle. Couture ripped a wrister past a sprawling Jarry for his 13th score. Marleau had the lone assist.

(Video courtesy NHL)

The Penguins tied the game, 2-2, at 19:09 of the second. As a Penguins power-play opportunity expired, Penguins forward Alex Galchenyuk corralled a puck in the left corner of the Sharks’ zone and fed a pass low to forward Bryan Rust on the end boards. Cycling away from the cage, Rust zipped a pass towards the crease where Hornqvist, positioned just to the left of the blue paint, jabbed at the puck and redirected it between Dell’s blocker and his right ribs into the cage. Assists went to Rust and Galchenyuk.

(Video courtesy NHL)

In overtime, Penguins defenseman Kris Letang put his stick on Couture’s right leg and Couture sold the trip pretty well, drawing a minor penalty for Letang. That afforded the Sharks a four-on-three power-play opportunity. Settling a puck in the left corner, Burns meandered with it towards the left point then flicked a backhand pass to forward Joe Thornton at the left half wall. Moving into the left circle, Thornton dealt it back to Burns at the center point. Controlling the puck, Burns moved into the high slot, pulled up a half slapper and waited. As Penguins forward Zach Aston-Reese fronted the shot, Burns adjusted and chopped a slapper past Jarry’s glove hand. Sharks forward Evander Kane and Penguins defenseman Jack Johnson were in front serving as a screen. Thornton and forward Kevin Lebanc netted assists.

(Video courtesy NHL)

Statistically speaking

• The Penguins led in shots, 38-31.

• Hornqvist led the game with eight shots.

• Couture led the Sharks with six shots.

• Letang led the game with 25:59 of ice time on 29 shifts.

• Defenseman Erik Karlsson led the Sharks with 24:24 of ice time on 27 shifts.

• The Penguins had a 33-32 edge in faceoffs (51 percent).

• Penguins forward Teddy Blueger was 10 for 19 (53 percent).

• Hertl was 11 for 19 (58 percent).

• Marino led the Penguins with four blocked shots.

• Defenseman Brenden Dillon and forward Barclay Goodrow each led the Sharks with three blocked shots.

Historically speaking

• Hornqvist (247 points) surpassed Peter Lee (245) to move into 34th place on the franchise’s career scoring list.

• The Penguins’ last regular season overtime loss to the Sharks was also a 3-2 setback at home on Feb. 23, 2011. Marleau scored the winning goal.

• Thornton and Marleau, who were the No. 1 and 2 overall picks in the 1997 NHL draft staged at the Civic Arena, became two of 14 players in NHL history to play in four different decades.

• This was the Penguins’ first game against a team with two players 40 or older (Marleau and Thornton) since 2011. On March 21, 2011, they beat the Red Wings with Nicklas Lidstrom and Mike Modano (each 40 at that time), 5-4 in a shootout at Joe Louis Arena.

Randomly speaking

• Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin took an interference minor at 16:17 of the second period. That marked his fourth consecutive game with a penalty. Before this skid, he had taken penalties in only five of his first 23 games.

• Penguins rookie forward Sam Lafferty returned to the lineup after being a healthy scratch the previous game. He logged only 6:02 of ice time on 11 shifts. That’s not a lot, especially for a game with very little special teams play.

• The Penguins were 0 for 2 on the power play, but their second opportunity with the man advantage looked really good as it generated four shots, all quality. It might have been their best unsuccessful power-play opportunity of the season.

• Jarry was pretty locked in making 28 saves.

• Marleau might not have the offensive pop he once had considering he only has 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) in 38 games this season. But he still can play defense. He was a demon on the backcheck most of the night and did some wonderful work on the Sharks’ second goal by just being tenacious.

Publicly speaking

• Hornqvist was pretty confident in how the Penguins played:

“Overall, we were the better team. We had more chances. We played really hard for each other. Then in overtime, they get a power play. They have good players too. We have to learn from that. We can’t take a penalty in overtime. But that’s going to happen. But overall, we played a good game. It’s tough to lose these kind of games. But we should feel good about ourselves.

• Ditto Rust:

“I thought we were pretty good. It was kind of one of those games, there wasn’t too much (open) ice. They were trying to get their forecheck going, they were playing a simple game. There just wasn’t a whole lot going on out there. We did a pretty good job tonight. It just (stinks) they got a power play in overtime.”

• Sullivan is happy with his team’s details:

“I really like the discipline that our team has right now, in all of its forms. Whether it’s trying to stay out of the penalty box or whether it’s being sharp with line changes or puck management, all of the details that we talk about daily or work on daily to try to get better as a group. Discipline in all of its forms is what makes a team hard to play against. That’s something that we’ve challenged these guys from day one of training camp. We’re making a concerted effort at it. We’re not always perfect with it but certainly I can that see our guys are making a concerted effort at playing that type of game, that detail-oriented game, that it takes to win.”

• Jarry reiterated that point:

“That’s the way we want to play. That’s what we’re aiming for every game. We think we’ll be successful playing that way.”

• Sullivan lauded Hornqvist’s emotional impact on the team during these hard times:

“He’s great for our team. “His energy is contagious. He’s a real positive guy. I don’t think the guy has ever had a bad day in his life. He comes in every day and he’s got a smile on his face and he loves to play hockey. We love that about him. His energy on the bench is terrific. He’s one of the most competitive guys that I’ve ever been around. He means a lot to this team, both on the ice and off the ice.”

• The Penguins played well but not perfect. They allowed a few odd-man rushes in the first period as noted by Sullivan:

“There were three two-on-ones. Two of them, I just think we could have made better decisions, one with the puck, one without the puck. The other one was just a reload by one of our forwards. That’s part of the learning process. Sometimes, there are mistakes of enthusiasm. And that’s hockey. We’ll learn from those. But that’s not something we’ve done a whole lot of. I don’t think we’ve given up three two-on-ones in the last ten games. That’s the type of game that we have to play. We’ve got to make sure that we’re hard to play against. That we’ve got numbers back, that we’re on the right side of the puck. And when we play that solid team game, I think it gives us a chance to win.”

• Couture was high on Marleau’s play:

“He was good man, he was real good. He looked like Patty from 10 years ago flying around. All over the puck.”

• Couture lauded Dell:

“(Dell) has always been a guy that the better he is. And he’s been lights out. Thirty-something saves again tonight. A lot of saves on the penalty kill there in the third there. I turned a couple of pucks over and he bailed me out. I probably owe him a couple of beers.”

Visually speaking

-Game summary.

-Event summary.

-Highlights:

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