Even with five games in seven days, it can be a little dramatic to suggest that the Pittsburgh Penguins need to watch out for March. But they certainly seem to have taken more precautions than Julius Caesar during a challenging part of the month.
“You have to rely on your off-season training. You have to trust what you’ve done so far with rest and nutrition and just try to keep your body well, ”said striker Bryan Rust. “And it kind of relies on the strength and conditioning team and the training team to help you go through stretches like this if you have minor aches and pains or if you are sore or whatever.
Of course, it is a little easier to deal with any physical tension – except an ill-fated visit to the Theater of Pompey – when you win. That’s what the Penguins did on Monday by defeating Boston Bruins 4-1 at PPG Paints Arena. The triumph extended the season’s winning streak to six games.
The Penguins’ streak of success coincided with a strong stretch from striker Evgeni Malkin. On Monday, he scored a power play goal and an assist, extending his goal streak to eight games.
During this period, Malkin has 12 points (four goals, eight assists). This represents a considerable improvement over the first 20 games of the season, when he also scored eight points (four goals, eight assists).
“He’s dominant,” said Penguins striker Sidney Crosby, without a fool. “This is what attracts the most attention is when he has the record, it is difficult to get out of it. He’s seeing the ice very well. He’s shooting at the puck. When he is doing this, there is not much you can do to stop him. He’s so big. The way he loads the disc, you can see that he is very confident. ”
The Bruins reached the lead at 6 minutes and 47 seconds of the regular period with a power-play score. After a pass in the center of the offensive zone, defender Matt Grzelcyk looked for a course of fire and lifted the wrister through an effective screen by striker Nick Ritchie who hit the right post, shook the left post and went to the cage. It was Grzelcyk’s first goal of the season.
Things were tied at 1-1 at 16:51 of the first.
Gaining the offensive zone on the left wing, Penguins striker Evan Rodrigues hit a knee in the net on the other side. Goalkeeper Jaroslav Halak appeared to make the defense initially, but allowed the puck to bounce off his sleeve and fell into the net for Rodrigues’ second goal.
The Penguins took the lead 2-1 less than two minutes later, at the 18:34 mark. After Crosby won the offensive zone at the center point, he gave a pass to striker Jake Guentzel at the right point. Guentzel crossed with Crosby and, from the high slit, gave a low pass in the right circle to Crosby, who started a bad angle timer that found a narrow opening between Halak’s left leg and his glove on the near side and hit the string to the right. Crosby’s 11th goal.
It became a 3-1 score at 11:40 in the second, thanks to a power-play goal. Resolving a puck in the center of the offensive zone, Penguins defender Kris Letang hit a pass to Crosby on the left half-wall.
Curving in the left circle, Crosby stepped over the opposite circle for Malkin, who slipped and lifted a hash mark wrister past Halak’s glove on the near side for his eighth goal of the season and 1,100th career point.
Guentzel’s goalkeeper – his 11th, tied for the team’s lead – at 19:44 of the third guaranteed victory.
Goalkeeper Tristan Jarry made 42 saves in 43 shots to improve his record to 12-7-1.
As for Malkin, he keeps improving.
“(Malkin) is a guy that I think depends a lot on his level of confidence and he puts a lot of pressure on himself to produce offensively for our team,” said coach Mike Sullivan. “When things don’t go right, I think he’s tougher on himself than anyone.
“When some of the records go to the network for him and he has the opportunity to score, you can see his confidence start to grow and usually the game goes on. He’s playing a strong game now. Obviously, he is a dominant player for us. He is contributing offensively, he is a threat when he is crossing the line. You just notice it every time it’s on the ice. It looks like the disc is following him. That’s when you know that he’s in this game. ”
Seth Rorabaugh is a staff writer for the Tribune-Review. You can contact Seth by email at [email protected] or via Twitter .
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