Penguins Perspectives: Finding an identity
Welcome to Penguins Perspectives, a weekly column by KDKA-TV Digital Producer Patrick Damp. Each Friday, Patrick will talk about the week that was, the week to come, what to watch for, and more.
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Last night was fun, wasn't it?
We all collectively grit our teeth, held our breath, and waited for the inevitable whooping that was going to come at the hands of arguably the best team in hockey right now, the Colorado Avalanche.
Instead, we wake up this morning to the Penguins as 4-0 victors and Tristan Jarry recording his second shutout of the young season.
It was enjoyable, it was beautiful, and it should be a lesson.
This is who the Pittsburgh Penguins are now. It should be their identity.
We all look back on 2016 and 2017 with great reverence. The rejuvenated Pittsburgh Penguins, scoring goals and outskating every team that dared get in their way.
All while working their way to the top of Lord Stanley's Castle two years running.
It's not 2017 anymore. It's 2023. The Penguins are older, wiser, and slower.
They also are slower simply by happenstance.
Professional sports are the ultimate copycat industry. When something works just about everyone attempts to emulate that. When the Penguins won the first pair of back-to-back Stanley Cups in the NHL's salary cap era, they did so with overwhelming speed, an aggressive forecheck, and a roster that came at you in waves. Sure, the top six were great, but the bottom six were also a threat.
The NHL took notice, especially because no one could dethrone them until May 2018.
General managers and presidents of hockey operations are now building teams in that image.
With that in mind, it's time for the Penguins to find that new identity.
This isn't asking Mike Sullivan to turn the 2023 Penguins into the 2003 New Jersey Devils. They don't have the defense or the goaltending for that kind of neutral zone trap system.
What they did last night was a case study in how this team can win with a youthful, fast NHL at their backs.
The Penguins didn't try to go shot-for-shot with Colorado. Instead, they committed to the defensive zone, the forwards were committed to playing positionally-sound hockey in the defensive zone, and they always had a counterpunch ready.
Trying to match speed with the likes of Colorado, Dallas, New Jersey, Carolina, and many others in the league will lead to outcomes like we saw Tuesday night against the Stars - a good start that ends in a multi-goal loss.
It's not an indictment on the Penguins, they still can score goals in bunches, but it can't be through a mixture of speed and relentless forechecking. It's just not who they are anymore.
With the likes of Kris Letang, Erik Karlsson, Marcus Pettersson, and PO Joseph when he's ready to go, the Penguins have the players who can create a transition and counterattack that few teams can answer.
That's how the Penguins beat the red-hot Avalanche on Thursday night.
Three of the four goals came from the Penguins being willing to defend, counter potential mistakes, and make the most of what the game gave to them.
Take a look at the third goal, Lars Eller's first as a Penguin, with the Avalance trying to start their breakout, the line of O'Connor, Zohorna, and Eller immediately got themselves into position for a good backcheck, this forced the Avalanche to make a rushed play and Chad Ruhwedel was able to step up, get the puck to the forwards and the Penguins scored off the transition.
With early leads, responsible play, and understanding who they are - the goals will come…so will the wins.
They say when the fall comes people find themselves, maybe staving off an Avalanche will give the Penguins the identity they've been so sorely missing.