David Perron is congratulated on his second-period power-play goal Sunday night at Consol. — GETTY
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
If we’re all being honest, there isn’t much to cull from the Penguins’ 5-3 clubbing of Columbus tonight at Consol Energy Center. Hardly anything, really. Not the power play showing actual flow and converting three times. Not the seamless systematic play in the defensive zone and on breakouts. Not Daniel Winnik assisting in his Pittsburgh debut. Not even Evgeni Malkin’s two slick scores.
Sorry, but if anyone recalls that flat-line performance in Vancouver, they’ll readily accept that this is precisely how this one should have played out. Because these reaching, lunging, stumbling Blue Jackets were visibly drop-dead tired from playing less than 24 hours earlier, even as the Penguins, rested for three full days, could wait and pounce.
But hey, there’s no crime in winning when a team is supposed to win, right?
“Columbus is a good team, but they just played yesterday and we were fresh,” Malkin was saying afterward. “We won. We were OK.”
Exactly. And this particular win was the Penguins’ fourth in a row, their second-longest streak of the season behind a 7-0 surge way back in October and November.
So, sure, go right ahead and enjoy …
And while applauding, save a stick-tap or two for Jim Rutherford, the architect of this team that, even in the face of eleventy-billion man-games lost to injury and Pascal Dupuis and Olli Maatta lost for the season, is now 36-17-9, a mere three points off the Metropolitan Division lead and — dare anyone think, much less speak it? — beginning to shape up like a real, live playoff team.
“That’s what I see when I look around here,” Maxim Lapierre was telling me after this game. He’s got 75 playoff games on his ledger, including deep runs with the Canadiens and Canucks in 2010 and 2011. “I see a group that’s got a lot of skill, a great defense, a great goalie, and now maybe more size and grit than they had before. And I’ll tell you what I like most.”
He paused a moment, apparently to get the thought just right.
“Our guys know their roles. No, they love their roles. I’ve been on teams that have a lot of skill, and everybody would worry about their ice time or their points or how they’d get used. We don’t have that. We all know what we do best, and we love playing that way. I can’t tell you how much that means if you’re trying to win a championship.”
Lapierre has been around only five weeks, coming from the Blues in exchange for Marcel Goc to add real sandpaper to the fourth line. He’s getting there, as is his new team.
For an even fresher perspective, I turned to Winnik. His playoff experience is far lesser — only 28 games, only once beyond the first round — and he just came from the miserable Maple Leafs, where the mere mention of playoffs draws laughter. But his grinding two-way style is the epitome of the postseason model.
“Man, I can’t say enough about what I’ve seen already,” Winnik told me. “It’s not just the skill and the big names that everybody talks about around the league. It’s how tightly they do things, on and off the ice.”
Before I could ask for an example, he continued: “Right now, in this game, what got me was how quickly and smartly the D-men move the puck. You can tell that’s something they’ve really stressed. And the attack, too. I think we’re well past the day in the NHL where you can attack the opponent’s blue line with three forwards. You’ve got to have numbers. These D-men are up on almost every play. It’s part of the system. It really makes a difference in how you play.”
I liked Malkin’s response to the question enough to share it on video …
Good for him. This team isn’t done improving, but he says plenty for its ceiling.
That assessment won’t surprise anyone who’s observed these Penguins beyond the final scores throughout this first season under Rutherford and Mike Johnston. Those men had a smart plan going back to being hired by Mario Lemieux, Ron Burkle and David Morehouse last summer, and they’ve addressed that plan with an almost uncanny measure of patience and aggressiveness. They were patient through all the early injuries, correctly electing to wait on their biggest moves rather than tossing away prospects and/or draft picks when AHL fill-ins would suffice. At the same time, they were aggressive once a legit opportunity arose, such as the Oilers offering David Perron for a first-round pick. Imagine what Perron could have gotten for Edmonton in the current trade market — the NHL deadline is 3 p.m. Monday, and prices for players of his pedigree have soared — and that measure takes sharper form.
I’ll credit Johnston with the broader vision of how the Penguins should play, and I’ll do so beyond how blatantly disfigured they’d become under Dan Bylsma, whose primary motivation was to show that his system was so brilliant that he never needed to adjust or even match lines. Johnston has adjusted. He’s also matched lines. Above all, he’s installed — and enforced — a pack-mentality, puck-possession system that fits beautifully with the roster at hand.
But I’ll credit Rutherford more, albeit for some of the same reasons.
Rutherford, like Johnston, followed an ego run amok at his position. Ray Shero was all about the headline-grabbing trade, even if it came for a player his coach had no wish to use such as, oh, a certain future Hall of Fame right wing who was asked to give left wing a try. He was the mastermind of the monster move, even as all the minor moves — notably the nightmarishly shallow drafts — had gone to pot. Rutherford has been every bit the opposite. Every one of his moves has been made with a highly specific need in mind, as well as meeting Johnston’s wish for a mold.
That began, of course, with the James Neal trade, one in which the headline-grabber went the other way but the Penguins got what they — and Johnston needed — in Patric Hornqvist and Nick Spaling from the Predators. Neal has fared well in Nashville, but anyone who thinks the local team isn’t better for having Hornqvist and Spaling would do well to move on from the past.
Take a look at Rutherford’s body of trading work since taking over …
Feel free to disagree, but that looks like 5-0 to me.
Now, add free agents Blake Comeau, Steve Downie,Christian Ehrhoff and Thomas Greiss into the plus column — Greiss gets grief, but the cooler head will appreciate he’s 7-3-3 with a .906 save percentage — and you can notch that up to 9-0.
That’s a tantalizing transformation, not only in quality but also scope. The headliners remain the holdovers, of course, but this can now safely be called Rutherford’s team. Of the 22 players active against the Blue Jackets, nine were acquired since his hiring last June, and the eight skaters in that group have accounted for 65 of the Penguins’ 178 goals this season, led by Hornqvist at 19, Comeau at 14, Downie at 11, Perron at 10 and Spaling at nine.
You know, I was strongly in favor of firing Bylsma and Shero. Both are good men. It’s impossible to speak an ill word of either as a human. But lousy work is lousy work, and we’re all judged on that in the professional world.
I also was strongly in favor of Rutherford’s hiring, but I’ll confess here that it wasn’t anywhere near strongly enough. Part of my reasoning at the time was that I liked the way Morehouse and management had set out a plan of succession for Rutherford, where Jason Botteril, Tom Fitzgerald and Bill Guerin would conduct the proceedings while the old man would preside and offer wisdom.
Wow, that couldn’t have been more wrong.
Watch Rutherford at work, and he’s almost always got one of Botteril, Fitzgerald or Guerin at his hip. In Washington the other day, the two were virtually inseparable from two hours before faceoff to two hours after. And they talked. They talked about the game at hand. They talked about individual players. They talked about the minors. They talked about possible trades. And when I say talked, I mean Rutherford did most of it, even as it was evident that he always sought Guerin’s feedback.
Rutherford has presided over those three, as charged, but he’s also taken charge.
He’s taken charge of an organization that was a much bigger mess than most are comfortable acknowledging, one so bereft, specifically, of talent in the minors that paying customers were forced to watch Bryan Rust playing keepaway from Crosby and Malkin earlier this winter.
He’s taken charge despite cap constraints so outlandish he’s had to ask trading partners to assume the microscopic contracts of pluggers like Zach Sill and Rob Klinkhammer just to remain compliant.
He’s taken charge despite what outwardly would appear to have been a short-term commitment, a smooth segue into retirement for a guy who’d already crafted a Cup winner in North Carolina, of all places, and whose resume seemed impressively set.
I asked Rutherford about his goals since arriving, and his answer is simple: “I enjoy the job. I enjoy the challenge. I thought maybe I was done with it, but hockey’s always been a big part of my life. And to be asked to come here to Pittsburgh and now to work with all these great people I have around me … I couldn’t be any happier.”
Yes, he could.
“Well, yeah,” he came back with a smile. “We could win it all.”
Ask me, and Rutherford should be in strong consideration for Executive of the Year. If he weren’t 66 years old and such a known commodity, if he were some hot, young up-and-comer, I’m betting that would very much be the case.
But I’m also betting the man couldn’t care less. What will matter is that his team, unlike those of his predecessors, is built to last this spring.
I have one concern of giving away all our draft picks. I love everything he has done so far. And I love the new system...way better support than disco Dan. if out stars can shine we can dance with lord stanley
What was with the crowd tonight?! During the first period it was if no one was in the building. Watched NYR and PHI last night and the fans were loud throughout. Wish that atmosphere would take hold.
Regardless, power play looked polished and I liked seeing the movement of the players instead of being stationary.
4th line looked good as well. Lapierre has been quietly good in his end and in generating chances. Needs to get the first one to get rolling.
Building was half empty there was blizzard or something.. But agree wish those corporations would stop buying tickets and not using them and let actual people that WANNA go be there
It's exactly why the CEC will never be a true home ice advantage for the Pens. Can't have a advantage when you never have a crowd that gives you said advantage. Just a building filled with suits and people who leave halfway through the game. The Pens probably have the most pathetic fanbase in all of sports to be honest.
Eh, I didn't recognize anyone sitting around me. Had a lot of small children. I think there were a lot of people that didn't know to cheer when no one else was, and hence caused a domino effect. Plus 1st half of 1st period was BORING!!! 5-3 in shots and not any real scoring threats that I recall. Too much play stoppage and chip and chase.
The acoustics just aren't the same as the Igloo. It's great for concerts, but during a hockey game, it's really quite in there. All those people and you can still have a conversation in a normal tone of voice. I jokingly refer to it as the Consol Library
This got me a little excited for the playoffs...I like how this is coming together! It feels like the next couple of weeks is the opportunity to ramp up instead of crash land!
Winnik: "I think we’re well past the day in the NHL where you can attack the opponent’s blue line with three forwards. You’ve got to have numbers. These D-men are up on almost every play. It’s part of the system. It really makes a difference in how you play.”
Imagine what the Pens would have accomplished with a coach and GM who knew what the heck they were doing the last 5 years. At least one sees the makings of better decisions that are targeted and team oriented, Pens are a much better roster than a year ago. At the very least, the team is stronger.
Very good article, Dejan. Very inspiring. It's amazing how the Penguins has come together the last couple weeks. This is a really nice team. The signing of Comeau was magical. The heist of Perron should have caused Rutherford to get jail time.
Almost completely all right with DK. I only disagree with the fact that Johnson matched lines. He still has some work against the teams of the division Metropolitain which know well Penguins. Most of the time. these teams are able to put who they want against the Pens lines even Berube.
Great victory tonight. It's amazing how much better the Penguins look when they are healthy. I hear people keep saying how the defense is a weak point that needs addressed at the deadline, but with how well Pouliot has improved and the toughness Bortuzzo brings as a seventh defenseman, I don't think the defense is that much of s liability even with Maatta being shelved for the year.
Thank you for the article DK and I wish I could be so confident.
A well rested Penguins should have seriously manhandled a tired Blue Jackets. There are too many occasions where serious mistakes are being made, and too many occasions where the play just falls apart and the team looks lost. Drop passes to no one ... cross ice passes easily intercepted ... the most accurate shot in the game prefers to pass it away instead ... cringe worthy. Mistakes happen yes, but these are repeating themes nearly every game, and better organized teams will take advantage of each of these mistakes as we get closer to the playoffs, and beyond.
It's true the noise level at Consol is puzzling. Is it the arena or the fans? Penguins fan have sadly now been conditioned to expect the lackluster, and the opponents who used to fear the Igloo come to Consol fairly confident in their chances. The only way to fix this is to win, and win BIG, because that is what Pittsburgh deserves after so many years of sacrifice in order to build this dream team we have today.
March 1, 2015
Column: Rutherford’s Penguins built ego-free
by Dejan Kovacevic • Columns • Penguins
David Perron is congratulated on his second-period power-play goal Sunday night at Consol. — GETTY
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
If we’re all being honest, there isn’t much to cull from the Penguins’ 5-3 clubbing of Columbus tonight at Consol Energy Center. Hardly anything, really. Not the power play showing actual flow and converting three times. Not the seamless systematic play in the defensive zone and on breakouts. Not Daniel Winnik assisting in his Pittsburgh debut. Not even Evgeni Malkin’s two slick scores.
Sorry, but if anyone recalls that flat-line performance in Vancouver, they’ll readily accept that this is precisely how this one should have played out. Because these reaching, lunging, stumbling Blue Jackets were visibly drop-dead tired from playing less than 24 hours earlier, even as the Penguins, rested for three full days, could wait and pounce.
But hey, there’s no crime in winning when a team is supposed to win, right?
“Columbus is a good team, but they just played yesterday and we were fresh,” Malkin was saying afterward. “We won. We were OK.”
Exactly. And this particular win was the Penguins’ fourth in a row, their second-longest streak of the season behind a 7-0 surge way back in October and November.
So, sure, go right ahead and enjoy …
And while applauding, save a stick-tap or two for Jim Rutherford, the architect of this team that, even in the face of eleventy-billion man-games lost to injury and Pascal Dupuis and Olli Maatta lost for the season, is now 36-17-9, a mere three points off the Metropolitan Division lead and — dare anyone think, much less speak it? — beginning to shape up like a real, live playoff team.
You know, just as Rutherford boldly assessed four days ago in D.C.
“That’s what I see when I look around here,” Maxim Lapierre was telling me after this game. He’s got 75 playoff games on his ledger, including deep runs with the Canadiens and Canucks in 2010 and 2011. “I see a group that’s got a lot of skill, a great defense, a great goalie, and now maybe more size and grit than they had before. And I’ll tell you what I like most.”
He paused a moment, apparently to get the thought just right.
“Our guys know their roles. No, they love their roles. I’ve been on teams that have a lot of skill, and everybody would worry about their ice time or their points or how they’d get used. We don’t have that. We all know what we do best, and we love playing that way. I can’t tell you how much that means if you’re trying to win a championship.”
Lapierre has been around only five weeks, coming from the Blues in exchange for Marcel Goc to add real sandpaper to the fourth line. He’s getting there, as is his new team.
For an even fresher perspective, I turned to Winnik. His playoff experience is far lesser — only 28 games, only once beyond the first round — and he just came from the miserable Maple Leafs, where the mere mention of playoffs draws laughter. But his grinding two-way style is the epitome of the postseason model.
“Man, I can’t say enough about what I’ve seen already,” Winnik told me. “It’s not just the skill and the big names that everybody talks about around the league. It’s how tightly they do things, on and off the ice.”
Before I could ask for an example, he continued: “Right now, in this game, what got me was how quickly and smartly the D-men move the puck. You can tell that’s something they’ve really stressed. And the attack, too. I think we’re well past the day in the NHL where you can attack the opponent’s blue line with three forwards. You’ve got to have numbers. These D-men are up on almost every play. It’s part of the system. It really makes a difference in how you play.”
I liked Malkin’s response to the question enough to share it on video …
Good for him. This team isn’t done improving, but he says plenty for its ceiling.
That assessment won’t surprise anyone who’s observed these Penguins beyond the final scores throughout this first season under Rutherford and Mike Johnston. Those men had a smart plan going back to being hired by Mario Lemieux, Ron Burkle and David Morehouse last summer, and they’ve addressed that plan with an almost uncanny measure of patience and aggressiveness. They were patient through all the early injuries, correctly electing to wait on their biggest moves rather than tossing away prospects and/or draft picks when AHL fill-ins would suffice. At the same time, they were aggressive once a legit opportunity arose, such as the Oilers offering David Perron for a first-round pick. Imagine what Perron could have gotten for Edmonton in the current trade market — the NHL deadline is 3 p.m. Monday, and prices for players of his pedigree have soared — and that measure takes sharper form.
I’ll credit Johnston with the broader vision of how the Penguins should play, and I’ll do so beyond how blatantly disfigured they’d become under Dan Bylsma, whose primary motivation was to show that his system was so brilliant that he never needed to adjust or even match lines. Johnston has adjusted. He’s also matched lines. Above all, he’s installed — and enforced — a pack-mentality, puck-possession system that fits beautifully with the roster at hand.
But I’ll credit Rutherford more, albeit for some of the same reasons.
Rutherford, like Johnston, followed an ego run amok at his position. Ray Shero was all about the headline-grabbing trade, even if it came for a player his coach had no wish to use such as, oh, a certain future Hall of Fame right wing who was asked to give left wing a try. He was the mastermind of the monster move, even as all the minor moves — notably the nightmarishly shallow drafts — had gone to pot. Rutherford has been every bit the opposite. Every one of his moves has been made with a highly specific need in mind, as well as meeting Johnston’s wish for a mold.
That began, of course, with the James Neal trade, one in which the headline-grabber went the other way but the Penguins got what they — and Johnston needed — in Patric Hornqvist and Nick Spaling from the Predators. Neal has fared well in Nashville, but anyone who thinks the local team isn’t better for having Hornqvist and Spaling would do well to move on from the past.
Take a look at Rutherford’s body of trading work since taking over …
Feel free to disagree, but that looks like 5-0 to me.
Now, add free agents Blake Comeau, Steve Downie, Christian Ehrhoff and Thomas Greiss into the plus column — Greiss gets grief, but the cooler head will appreciate he’s 7-3-3 with a .906 save percentage — and you can notch that up to 9-0.
That’s a tantalizing transformation, not only in quality but also scope. The headliners remain the holdovers, of course, but this can now safely be called Rutherford’s team. Of the 22 players active against the Blue Jackets, nine were acquired since his hiring last June, and the eight skaters in that group have accounted for 65 of the Penguins’ 178 goals this season, led by Hornqvist at 19, Comeau at 14, Downie at 11, Perron at 10 and Spaling at nine.
You know, I was strongly in favor of firing Bylsma and Shero. Both are good men. It’s impossible to speak an ill word of either as a human. But lousy work is lousy work, and we’re all judged on that in the professional world.
I also was strongly in favor of Rutherford’s hiring, but I’ll confess here that it wasn’t anywhere near strongly enough. Part of my reasoning at the time was that I liked the way Morehouse and management had set out a plan of succession for Rutherford, where Jason Botteril, Tom Fitzgerald and Bill Guerin would conduct the proceedings while the old man would preside and offer wisdom.
Wow, that couldn’t have been more wrong.
Watch Rutherford at work, and he’s almost always got one of Botteril, Fitzgerald or Guerin at his hip. In Washington the other day, the two were virtually inseparable from two hours before faceoff to two hours after. And they talked. They talked about the game at hand. They talked about individual players. They talked about the minors. They talked about possible trades. And when I say talked, I mean Rutherford did most of it, even as it was evident that he always sought Guerin’s feedback.
Rutherford has presided over those three, as charged, but he’s also taken charge.
He’s taken charge of an organization that was a much bigger mess than most are comfortable acknowledging, one so bereft, specifically, of talent in the minors that paying customers were forced to watch Bryan Rust playing keepaway from Crosby and Malkin earlier this winter.
He’s taken charge despite cap constraints so outlandish he’s had to ask trading partners to assume the microscopic contracts of pluggers like Zach Sill and Rob Klinkhammer just to remain compliant.
He’s taken charge despite what outwardly would appear to have been a short-term commitment, a smooth segue into retirement for a guy who’d already crafted a Cup winner in North Carolina, of all places, and whose resume seemed impressively set.
I asked Rutherford about his goals since arriving, and his answer is simple: “I enjoy the job. I enjoy the challenge. I thought maybe I was done with it, but hockey’s always been a big part of my life. And to be asked to come here to Pittsburgh and now to work with all these great people I have around me … I couldn’t be any happier.”
Yes, he could.
“Well, yeah,” he came back with a smile. “We could win it all.”
Ask me, and Rutherford should be in strong consideration for Executive of the Year. If he weren’t 66 years old and such a known commodity, if he were some hot, young up-and-comer, I’m betting that would very much be the case.
But I’m also betting the man couldn’t care less. What will matter is that his team, unlike those of his predecessors, is built to last this spring.