NEWARK, N.J. – Sunday night at the Prudential Center, penalty-killing specialist Teddy Blueger intercepted a cross-ice pass at the Penguins’ defensive blue line and took off with nothing but open ice in front of him.
He patiently deked Devils goalie Jon Gilles. Then, as the netminder went down and opened up, Blueger tucked the puck between the Gilles’ pads. The short-handed tally was the latest example of the Penguins' dramatic penalty killing transformation.
But as the game unfolded and the Penguins sweated out a 3-2 win, the early tally was just one chapter.
On a night when the Penguins ran their win streak to seven games, the effort was imperfect. Discipline was one of the many concerns, as Pittsburgh put the Devils on the power play five times – with mixed results. The Penguins finished the night 4-for-5 on the kill, with Blueger's shorthanded goal providing an early spark and a Devils power play goal creating some nervous moments late.
Entering Sunday, the Penguins had squashed 93% of opposing chances and had not allowed a power play goal over the span of 15 consecutive games.
The Penguins put their dominant special team unit to the test early and often on Sunday, beginning in the first period when they committed back-to-back penalties.
First, Dominik Simon went to the box for slashing. In this instance, the Penguins’ penalty kill was actually uncharacteristically unable to clear the puck. The Devils hemmed the Penguins in for about 1:45 of the two-minute minute minor.
Shortly after the Penguins stressfully snuffed out that threat, Sidney Crosby went to the box for tripping. This time, Blueger went to work to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead. Somewhat ironically, Blueger pointed out at the beginning of the season that the Penguins may have been trying too hard last season to score short-handed, which led to opportunities for the opponent.
The Penguins extended their lead to 2-0 just 1:03 into the second period. Marcus Pettersson zipped a cross-ice pass to Danton Heinen in the right circle. He buried a wrist shot for his ninth goal of the season. However, as has been a theme this year, the Penguins allowed a response goal just 1:13 later off a deflection from Janne Kuokkanen.
Then, in the third period, Penguins defenseman Mike Matheson found himself on both sides of the stat sheet. He fired a shot through a Sam Lafferty screen that provided a little insurance.
But moments later, Matheson committed a cross-checking penalty. With the defenseman in the box, Nathan Bastian scored to cut the Penguins lead to 3-2 and end the perfect PK streak at 15 games.
Even though the shot at setting a new franchise record is over, the success with a man in the box has nonetheless been noteworthy.
After finishing the 2020-21 season with the NHL’s fifth-worst kill (77.4%), coach Mike Sullivan addressed the inconsistencies during training camp in no uncertain terms, saying sternly, “Our penalty kill has to get better. There’s no question about that.”
Well, the PK isn’t just better. It’s actually the best in the NHL by a wide margin.
So what’s the reason for the turnaround? Well, the reasons are numerous. When assistant coach Mike Vellucci attempted to install a high-pressure kill last season, sometimes players struggled to understand when and how to pressure. Over-eager mistakes took the Penguins out of position, leading to seam passes and back-door plays.
This year, the group is working more as Velluci imagined. They’re pressuring hard, especially up ice, to frustrate opponents as they go through the neutral zone and as they attempt to enter the offensive zone. This is leading to many more zone denials at the blue line and, in turn, much less offensive zone time.
Add in some improved numbers in the faceoff circle, better personnel, better goaltending from Tristan Jarry, contributions from John Marino and Chad Ruhwedel and you can begin to paint the picture of the makeover.
With the win, the Penguins (17-8-5) remain one of the NHL’s hottest teams. Since Nov. 18, they’ve posted a 12-2-1 record and racked up 25 points during that span, most of any team in the league.
