Musings: PHI 3, PIT 0 (Round 1, Game 2)

WHAT HAPPENED:

The Penguins got shut out by the Flyers in Game 2 on Monday at PPG Paints Arena. Philadelphia earned a 3-0 win to take a 2-0 series lead back home to Xfinity Mobile Arena.

“We got outplayed for two games at home. It hurts,” Erik Karlsson said. “But we got no one else to blame but ourselves, and all we can do is take care of that and move forward.”

SETTING THE SCENE:

The Flyers executed their game plan flawlessly in Game 1, with the Penguins saying that simply put, they had to be better in all areas.

Pittsburgh’s puck management, particularly at the blue lines, was lacking. That led to a good number of high-danger chances against, with the Flyers being a good transition team. The Penguins didn’t generate many chances, both 5-on-5 and on the power play.

Overall, they just didn’t play to their identity of being a relentless, connected team across all 200 feet of the ice.

MORE FROM TONIGHT:

While they didn’t give up as much, Pittsburgh’s offensive woes continued through the first 40 minutes of Game 2. The Penguins only registered two shots in the first period, despite drawing three penalties and having a good chunk of time on the power play. It’s been an uncharacteristic showing from a team that finished the regular season with the best offense of the Sidney Crosby Era (2005-Present).

“I think some of the little things that you can do to create higher-quality chances, we need to do better,” Head Coach Dan Muse said. “We got to get pucks to the inside. Can't just be on the outside the whole time.”

Things didn’t improve much in the second, particularly when it came to the man-advantage, as the Penguins surrendered a shorthanded goal. They could have given up another in the third if it wasn’t for a terrific breakaway save from Stuart Skinner. They ended up going 0-for-5 on the night.

“We don't really get in sync, and you would think that we would dictate what we want to do out there,” Karlsson said. “But they're doing a good job, and we're not. That's the bottom line.”

The coaching staff did switch up the top-six around the midway point of the middle frame, flipping Egor Chinakhov and Rickard Rakell. Chinakhov had instant chemistry with Evgeni Malkin and Tommy Novak when he was acquired from Columbus at the New Year, while Rakell, Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust are a proven combination.

It helped the Penguins finally start to generate some sustained offense in the third period. They had chance after chance after chance. But Flyers goaltender Dan Vladar, who went 5-1 down the stretch to help his team make the playoffs, was as solid as it gets between the pipes.

"I thought we just had a little bit more urgency,” Crosby said. “We played in their end a little bit more, generated some really good looks, had a couple of really good chances there. We've got to build off that. It wasn't the difference tonight but if we carry that over, maybe that's something that we can feed off of, for sure."

And speaking of goaltending, Skinner was a bright spot once again. He did what he needed to do to keep his team within striking distance, including stopping a penalty shot in the third period.

LOOKING AHEAD: 

So far, this hasn’t looked like the Penguins team who flipped the script and earned the right to be here after being counted out by so many on the outside. They aren’t playing with the confidence that they had in spades over the last few months, regardless of who was in the lineup. But moving forward into Game 3, they have a chance to showcase the resiliency that became a big part of who they are.

“We've been in some tough spots all year. We've always responded really well to adversity,” Crosby said. “It seems like it's brought out the best in all of us. I think that getting on the road and having a situation like this hopefully brings out the best in us again here." 

We’ll leave you with this insightful answer from Karlsson, about the determination to turn this around:

“I think the will and the determination is there. Now, it's all about either we figure it out or we don't. There's no real beating around it. We've played 82 games. We know how to play hockey in here. I think maybe we're overthinking things a little bit too much, and we're not playing on our instincts, which we've done a great job at throughout the year. I think that everybody in here is looking forward to getting out of Pittsburgh for a little bit and going to Philly, and hopefully the hostile environment can make us just focus on playing the situation we're in and not what's going on around us."