With the excitement of a new season in full swing, the Pittsburgh Penguins hope to continue their two game winning streak at home tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes. But first, what did the Penguins do right in their previous bouts to earn the win?
THE THIRD LINE
As most hockey fans know, a team has four forward lines, each with a specific purpose. The first and second lines are typically set up as the scoring lines, while the third is a hybrid "two-way" line, and the fourth is made up of enforcers. For the Penguins over the last two games, the third line (with rookie Beau Bennett, Brandon Sutter, and new acquisition Chuck Kobesew) has been as explosive than the star studded first line (Dupuis, Crosby and Kunitz). This step up by seven through nine forwards shows the depth of what has in recent years been the best NHL team on paper. But what makes this line so great isn't only the two goals by Kobesew, with assists from both Bennett and Sutter, but the ability that the line has to complete hits, cycle well in the defensive end and work with multiple defensive pairings to create traps at the blue line that causes turnovers, resulting in the odd man rush.
DEFENSE
Penguins hockey has been characterized in years past by a highly offensive team, while lackluster in defense. This is even more evident in the fact that Kris Letang, the Pens most talented defenseman is typically among the top 5 scoring defensemen in the NHL, and sits high in the standings for the Frank J. Selke defensive player of the year, mainly for his offensive efforts and ability to cause turnovers. Letang however is yet to start a game this season. In his absence, the Pens have become a defensive powerhouse, allowing only one goal in two games. The key to their newfound defensive success is a new defensive scheme, designed to trap the offense coming across the blue line into the Penguins defensive zone. With a progressive 2-2-1 defensive pattern, the Penguins have been able to shutdown the New Jersey Devils, a team pegged to be an outstanding name in the race for the new Metropolitan Division title this season, as well as the Buffalo Sabres. The Devils are a particularly fast paced offense, relying heavily on the odd man rush and quick passing when crashing the net to put the goaltender out of position. In the Pens home opener last thursday, a strong defensive effort limited the Devils to only 28 shots. This is a surprise given the Penguins failure to stand defensively during the preseason.
GOALTENDING
An equally impressive effort by veteran goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury held the Devils off to record Fleury's 250th career win and his first shutout win of the 2013-2014 season. In game two Fleury only allowed one goal in 24 shots. Fleury is currently tied for 1st place in wins and shutouts across the league. This is a welcomed surprise by Pens fans and coaching staff after a lackluster showing in both the preseason and the post season last summer.
FACEOFFS
Penguins captain and star forward Sidney Crosby has not only been doing his part on the scoresheet by getting assists or putting pucks in the net, but also by blowing the opposition away in the faceoff dots. Crosby took 24 of 41 faceoffs in saturdays home game against Buffalo, posting 59 percent success and surpassing his then record of 36 which happened in an Oct. 2009 game against the Florida Panthers.
NOTICEABLE ABSENCES
With Kris Letang out of the lineup long term (lowerbody), second line forward James Neal still sitting for an undisclosed upper body injury and the lack of a tried second goaltender, the Penguins have stepped up their play and carried on without a league leading scorer (Neal), and a top defensive presence.
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