After falling to the Boston Bruins, 3-2, in a Saturday matinee, the Pittsburgh Penguins looked to bounce back in yet another matinee matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday.
Unfortunately, they couldn't quite take full advantage.
After falling to the Boston Bruins, 3-2, in a Saturday matinee, the Pittsburgh Penguins looked to bounce back in yet another matinee matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday.
Unfortunately, they couldn't quite take full advantage.
The Penguins managed to avoid giving up the first goal on the first shot for the first time in four games, but they did - once again - surrender the first goal within the first five shots. Blomqvist was ambushed early on, and Max Domi potted his fourth of the season a little more than two minutes into the game to put Toronto ahead, 1-0.
Conor Timmins added one for the Leafs just two minutes later, but by mid-period, the Penguins began to storm back. They got three consecutive goals - all within three and a half minutes - by Cody Glass, Rickard Rakell, and Sidney Crosby, whose 19th of the season on the power play officially surpassed Bobby Hull for 18th on the NHL's all-time goal-scoring list.
The Leafs knotted it back up at 3-3 on an Auston Matthews five-hole goal through a screen just over four minutes into the second period. Then, Bryan Rust did the "Bryan Rust" with under five minutes remaining in the second, swooping across the goal crease and putting one behind Jarod Woll on the backhand and making it 4-3 for the Penguins.
But there was still chaos to be had at the end of the second period. Leafs forward John Tavares was left all alone on a bad defensive change by the Penguins, and he was sprung on a breakaway on a great stretch pass from Jake McCabe. He put it home to tie it at 4-4 with just 56 seconds remaining in the period.
Then - with less than 10 seconds on the clock - Crosby won an offensive zone faceoff back to Erik Karlsson, who threw an errant pass to a breaking Matthew Knies. He put the breakaway shot behind Blomqvist with just 0.1 second left on the clock to pull the Leafs ahead, once again, 5-4.
However, the Penguins got that goal right back, as Rakell potted his second of the game and 28th of the season. The rest of the period saw chances traded back and forth between both teams, and the game went into overtime in a 5-5 tie.
And exactly a minute into the overtime period, Leafs star forward William Nylander shot a puck from the slot to win it for Toronto, 6-5, and secure the extra point.
Head coach Mike Sullivan wasn't entirely pleased with his group's defensive performance at different moments, but as far as Blomqvist, he understands there's a development process that needs to happen.
"Obviously, Joel's a young kid, and he's trying to find his way and establish himself in this league.. and it's a hard league," Sullivan said. "So, we recognize that we're going to go through some ups and downs, that he's no different than any other young kid that's trying to enter the league.
"He's a very good goalie. We believe he has great potential moving forward."
Just a few other quick observations from this wild one:
- On his first goal of the afternoon, Rakell became just the 37th Swedish-born player in league history to reach the 500-point plateau.
I asked him what that milestone meant to him, especially considering the talent that has come out of Sweden.
"Obviously, I've been lucky enough to play in this league for a long time," Rakell said. "It's a good milestone for myself."
I don't expect Rakell to be dealt by the Mar. 7 trade deadline unless a can't refuse-type offer comes up. Dubas is hesitant to move him right now - and with the cap increasing this summer and more teams likely in play, as well as the Penguins' rebuild on-the-fly plan - that makes sense.
In any case, he's having a remarkable season for the Penguins and continues to prove that last season was a fluke, as he's well on his way to his third career season with 30 or more goals.
I just mentioned yesterday how he and Rust haven't been producing much lately on the top line. Well, Rakell has three goals in the last two games, and Rust scored Sunday.
The reverse-jinx seems to have worked.
- Speaking of the trade deadline, there was a report by Kathryn Tappen of NHL Network prior to the game that Karlsson has not been approached about waiving his no-movement clause and that he'd "take a stance" if that happened.
Read into the "take a stance" part all you want. But the fact that he hasn't been approached should remind folks that it doesn't make much sense for the Penguins to move him before the deadline.
The cap will be spiking over the next several seasons, including this offseason. The cap going up only means that more teams should be in play later, and - ideally - some teams that Karlsson would be willing to waive for.
He had a great game on Thursday, then two not-so-great games on Saturday and Sunday. He is a polarizing figure.
But if you're a fan, it would probably serve you best to think about this situation logically. The Penguins may have more options later on that, potentially, wouldn't cost them as much. So that's the smart play.
If he goes anywhere now, I'd be very, very surprised. And let's not forget that he has to be willing to waive. And there's a chance he may not want to.
- I've said it before. But patience is needed with Blomqvist.
The Penguins are in the middle of a rebuild on-the-fly. Their season is all but sunk. They're at a juncture where development is the priority, and younger players - like Blomqvist - will be filling out this roster very soon.
People simply expect way too much from young players way too soon. Blomqvist had a good first stint with the Penguins at the beginning of the season, and this stint has been a bit rough. And that's okay. He needs to work through his struggles at the NHL level, and the organization and coaching staff need to show confidence in him by giving him the runway to work through his mistakes.
Be patient. It's a process. The Penguins are in a transitional period. If it's still bleak for him at this time next season, let's talk.
- This was a wild game from start to finish.
Early on, it looked like one of those games that could very well get ugly. Then, the Penguins stormed back and took over the game for a bit, then the Leafs would take over for a bit, then the Penguins... it went on and on, and it was exciting. Much more exciting than Saturday's game.
That said, the Penguins really did control much of this game after the first 10 minutes of the first period. Toronto already had 10 shots at that point, and they ended up with 33. The Penguins had one, and they ended up with 34. They also controlled possession for most of final 50 minutes despite a pretty evenly-played third period.
Toronto's a good team, and this was a great game. Their defensive corps and goaltending still give me a bit of pause, however; but their offensive attack is lethal.
- Philip Tomasino was rewarded for his string of good play and earned a promotion alongside Evgeni Malkin and Anthony Beauvillier today. That line combined for five shots and 13 shot attempts on the night, and they did some good things.
I don't expect Beauvillier to be in the picture much longer, but I do want to see Tomasino continue to get minutes alongside Malkin. I think he's - without a doubt - the best option for him currently on this roster.
- The Penguins begin a three-game road trip Tuesday against the Colorado Avalanche, and they will play one final game against the Vegas Golden Knights before Friday's trade deadline.
I would expect quite a bit of change in that time. Since the team is out West, it's going to be a bit more difficult for them to get any call-ups over there in the event of a trade. It's also possible the Penguins may take a contract back in a trade or two so they can get a better return as far as assets.
After the deadline, the team plays one more game on the road against Marc-Andre Fleury and the Minnesota Wild Sunday before a home matchup against the Golden Knights on Mar. 11.
The stretch run is upon us. Let's see what unfolds.
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