Having played back-to-back games on Nov. 15 and 16, the Pittsburgh Penguins had a couple days off from game action. On Tuesday night (Nov. 19), they will welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning for the first time this season. It is not going to be an easy game for the Penguins, not that there is such a thing, but the Lightning will be another big test on home ice.
The Penguins sit with a 7-10-3 record, which ranks them seventh in the Metropolitan Division heading into tonight’s game. The Lightning, on the other hand, sit third in the Atlantic Division with a 9-6-1 record.
However, the away record for the Lightning is not far off from the home record of the Penguins as Pittsburgh sits at 4-4-1 and Tampa Bay sits at 3-5-0 on the road. The Penguins will need to stick to three critical keys if they want to find themselves coming out with a big win, and not blowing yet another game.
Play a Full 60 Minutes and Dictate the Play
There is no surprise to this being a key to the Penguins winning. Their ability to play a full 60 minutes of hockey has not been there often and has even cost them quite a few games, despite finding a way to win or not. Most recently, they blew a 3-0 lead to the San Jose Sharks on Nov. 16. The first period of hockey for the Pens was perfect. They were controlling the pace, put shots on net early and often, and even led 2-0 at the end of the first period. As the game went on, their play went down and allowed the Sharks to force overtime and a shootout. Luckily for the Penguins, they found a way to win.
Related: Penguins Struggling to Close Out Wins
The boys in Black and Gold cannot do that against one of the better teams in the NHL in the Lightning. The slightest chance they give them or the slightest change in play, they will make the Penguins pay. If they cannot play a consistent fast-paced game like the Lightning enjoy, the Penguins will need to find a way to dictate the pace of play to their liking. Whether it be sitting behind their net looking for a good breakout or dumping the puck in and getting to work, they will need an entire game’s worth of effort.
Take Away Andrei Vasilevskiy’s Eyes
Yes, this may seem obvious, but it is a must against a goalie as good as Andrei Vasilevskiy. Pittsburgh has done a better job of doing this with other goalies over the last few games, but still not enough to get productive results. It is not just about screening the netminder, but being quick enough to find the loose pucks if there are rebounds lying around the net. The “Big Cat” as people like to call him got his name for a reason – his ability to move quickly like a cat.
Among goalies to have played a minimum of five games, Vasilevskiy ranks sixth in goals saved above expected (GSAx) with 7.4 GSAx. This is mostly due to being able to see the shot, and collecting rare rebounds he leaves out around his crease. I say rare as he only averages 0.0048 rebounds per save. For the Penguins to put up enough goals to get the win, they will need to take as many high-danger shots with screens in front as possible, though he has still been solid in that aspect. According to NHL Edge stats, his high-danger save percentage is at .826, which is in the 68th percentile with the NHL average being .808.
Shut Down the Top Line
Tampa has one of the most talented first lines in the NHL with Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, and former Penguin Jake Guentzel. Their top line, according to Moneypuck.com, is scoring 5.22 goals per 60 minutes (G P/60) while only allowing 1.30 G P/60. While it is not likely the Penguins will get too many chances while those three are on the ice, that just makes things on the defensive side of the game a bit harder. The likes of Erik Karlsson, Marcus Pettersson, and Matt Grzelcyk will need to be the difference-makers in this game on the defensive side of things.
There is no doubt this will be a big game for the Penguins. Not only do they need the points to stay in an early hunt for a wild card spot, but they can also use a win over a playoff contender as a huge momentum boost and prove to themselves that they do have what it takes to get back into the postseason.
