DENVER — Whatever penguin hockey has looked like for most of this tumultuous season, what it can look like was revealed Wednesday night.
A wow gosh goal from a star. A snipe by a veteran. Timely saves by the goalkeeper.
But wait, there’s more…
An opportunistic power play. puck possession. Rush through neutral zones. Activate defenders. Serenity in critical moments. So many blocked shots that several players wore ice packs after the game.
Oh, and an away win against the defending Stanley Cup champions.
The Penguins delivered a clinical performance on the ball in the Ball Arena in their 5-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche. That was the stuff that might make someone wonder what the Penguins are capable of when they make the playoffs.
Jeff Carter, who once won the Stanley Cup with an 8th-seeded Los Angeles Kings team, said he still sees the Penguins as title contenders.
“I do, I do,” Carter said. “You have to play your best hockey going into the postseason.
“Of course you want to be locked up as soon as possible. But sometimes when you’re fighting for your life, it kind of gives you a boost and you have to move on with it.”
The Penguins’ win sparked a four-game losing streak and temporarily earned them a wildcard berth in the Eastern Conference.
The latter is the important part as the Penguins, Florida Panthers and New York Islanders are in a three-way battle for two available postseason slots. One of those clubs will set the season aside and look to the post-season and the Penguins are keen to avoid that outrage.
They’re on an NHL-best streak of 16 straight postseasons. Ending that run would potentially put jobs at risk as Fenway Sports Group (FSG) might not take kindly to sitting out the playoffs in their first full season.
Also – and perhaps just as interesting to the owner – the Penguins budget for six playoff home games to turn a profit on hockey-related revenue.
FSG is in the process of losing over $20 million annually in revenue from its broadcasting deal with AT&T SportsNet, whose parent company is reportedly liquidating all assets and returning broadcasting rights to its teams at the end of March. Missing out on playoff home games, which usually sell out at inflated ticket prices, would prove a disappointing double whammy for an ownership group still digging into this hockey thing.
Although deep-pocketed company ownership — such as paying $900 million for the Penguins midway through the 2021-22 season, but also committing $30 million toward renovations to PPG Paints Arena — was evident, executives at the FSG’s Penguins failed to franchise their third pro with the idea of disappointments on the ice and financial strains off the ice.
So, yes, it’s important to the Penguins’ overall picture that they pull together and make the playoffs.
It’s also important for a proud core of cup winners. This group is led by trainer Mike Sullivan, captain Sidney Crosby and his two top lieutenants Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang.
You have known that defeat comes with triumph.
Heck, they’ve endured four straight first-round exits and losses in five of six postseason series since back-to-back championship seasons in 2016 and 2017.
Still, neither their Big Three nor their coach have experienced the bad feeling of ending a season without a taste of cup competition. (The Penguins last missed the playoffs in Crosby’s rookie season, but never since Malkin and Letang joined him in 2006-07.)
Sullivan, speaking after a short practice session with the Penguins in Mile High City on Tuesday, was asked if his famous three-player core was personally going through a season of ups and downs.
“I think we all do,” Sullivan said. “These guys are proud guys – and we all take responsibility for that. We all care. We all want to lead this team to success.”
The Penguins and their Defense Corps MASH unit supported their coach Wednesday night.
There were early signs that the Avalanche, winners of their last six games and running 14-3-2, were getting the best the Penguins had to offer – whatever the best might be.
Tristan Jarry, pulled from four of his previous 11 starts, appeared selected from the opening faceoff. He played on his crease to challenge shooters. He froze pucks to force faceoffs, of which the Penguins won a majority (59 percent). He was on the go, seemed to read sequences correctly and also put himself in a position to save on risky chances.
The Avalanche generated seven such chances in the first 20 minutes. Jarry denied every single one.
He didn’t look at all like a goalie, having only had a .862 save rate the previous month.
Jarry wasn’t perfect on Wednesday night. He also can’t be blamed for either of the Avalanche’s two goals, and that leads to back-to-back games where Jarry wasn’t a reason for the Penguins’ defeat.
Perhaps this week will be the start of Jarry’s transformation into the true No. 1 goaltender the Penguins will need from him.
Not that he’s thinking too far ahead.
“It’s just another game,” he said. “I want to be good in every game. That is my goal.”
The Penguins’ power play – which was maddeningly ineffective for much of the season – provided a couple of goals against the Avalanche. Jake Guentzel pounced on his own rebound to capitalize on a five-for-three in the second period. About 10 minutes later, Carter shot past Avalanche goalie Alexandar Georgiev with a hard shot to restore a two-goal cushion in a five-on-four overtime game.
Carter struck again late in the third period, this time repelling a nice pass from Brian Dumoulin.
The same Carter who had scored just two goals in his previous 31 games scored twice in about 22 minutes of play. The same Dumoulin who was battered to the brim at home in the Ottawa Senators’ late winner Monday night was up 2 in almost 21 minutes of ice time.
Carter and Dumoulin have served as public punching bags for many frustrated fans in recent months. But few players are more respected among teammates.
“I don’t care what you guys write, to be honest with you,” Carter said. “You can do whatever you want.
“The only thing that matters to me is in here, and it’s been a huge win for us.”
However, Guentzel said it was “amazing” to see how Carter and Dumoulin contributed to what might be the Penguins’ most impressive win this season.
“You just want to see the guys produce and do well,” he said.
Then there was Crosby, whose stunning goal opened the scoring just over a minute into the second half.
It was old Crosby who brought out all his trademark strengths: that speed boost, that mix of power and creativity, and arguably the strongest backhand the game has ever seen.
For Crosby to score in this manner just hours after being named the most complete player in the league by an NHLPA pool for the fourth straight year—well, Crosby has always had an inherently perfect sense of timing. He is the only player to have scored 30 goals between the ages of 18 and 35.
“I just had open ice and was trying to be aggressive,” Crosby said in another vintage callback — that would downplay his own greatness.
“That’s basically it.”
Sullivan provided a little more perspective.
“I think that’s one of his main goals,” he said. “I remember those kinds of goals when I was training against him back then.”
Crosby and his penguins turned back the clock — at least for one night — on Wednesday. Whether they can play the hits again over the next few weeks will likely determine their post-season fate.
“I’m not really judging her at this point,” Crosby said. “I’m just trying to score points. It was a good performance all round.”
(Photo: Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images)