By Kevin Gorman
April 10, 2019
Jordan Eberle #7 of the New York Islanders scores a first period goal past Matt Murray #30 of the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game One of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at NYCB Live's Nassau Coliseum on April 10, 2019 in Uniondale, New York. (Photo by Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images)
UNIONDALE, N.Y. – Mike Sullivan made a double-edged decision on his defensemen that he kept calling difficult, one that ultimately backfired on the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The first part was simple: If Brian Dumoulin was good to go, playing him was a no-brainer. The second part was a struggle: Making Jack Johnson a healthy scratch after he played in all 82 regular-season games sure looks like a lapse in judgment.
Not that their coach fell on his sword.
We might not be second-guessing Sullivan’s decision if the New York Islanders hadn’t taken advantage of defensive breakdowns for a 4-3 overtime victory Wednesday night in Game 1 of their Stanley Cup first-round playoff series.
But they did, and the Penguins provided no defense for their coach’s choice.
The Penguins expected Nassau Coliseum to be loud and raucous (which it was) and for the Islanders to come out flying (which they did). What they didn’t anticipate was for the defense to struggle to adapt to that sound and fury.
Sullivan said the coaching staff spent a week talking about what to do with the surplus of defensemen. The Penguins chose to play the puck movers – which is the weakness in Johnson’s game – and statistics showed that it was a smart move.
The Penguins held a 70-49 advantage in even-strength shot attempts, proof that they spent plenty of time in the offensive zone and had a clear puck-possession edge over the Islanders.
The player who was considered the leading candidate to sit, Marcus Pettersson, might have been the best in that category. The Penguins had a 16-5 advantage in even-strength shots when Pettersson was on the ice, including Phil Kessel’s game-tying goal in the first period.
Olli Maatta is a different story.
When Maatta admitted that he could have been better, it was an understatement. The Penguins were at a 13-10 deficit in even-strength shot attempts when Maatta was on ice, and he was the only one with that distinction of their six defensemen.
Worse yet, Maatta messed up on a pair of Islanders goals. Maatta and Dumoulin left Jordan Eberle all alone near the crease, allowing him to take a point-blank shot on Matt Murray to give the Islanders a 1-0 lead at 1:40 of the first period.
Maatta’s major mistake came in the third period, although this one was under duress. The puck came to Maatta near the bottom of the right circle, with Sidney Crosby skating nearby and Islanders forward Leo Komarov bearing down.
Instead of a dish to Crosby, Maatta attempted to circle back. Komarov came crashing hard, seized control of the puck and fed it to Nick Leddy at center point for the go-ahead goal and a 3-2 lead at 12:35 of the third period.
The Penguins know better than to blame one play on one player. So they didn’t point fingers at Maatta, who has played in 68 career playoff games and was a member of two Cup champions. That’s especially true, given that he missed six weeks with a shoulder injury before returning on March 29.
“We’ve been here before so we know it’s a long series,” Penguins defenseman Justin Schultz said. “You can’t hang your head on each game and each play. You’ve got to move on and worry about the next shift.”
The Penguins had to play a few shifts early without Dumoulin after a collision with Brock Nelson knocked him off his skates and out of the game in the first period. They had to play the end of the game without Erik Gudbranson, who had his leg taken out by Islanders captain Anders Lee and crashed into the boards.
Perhaps that’s why Sullivan refused to pin this loss on his defensemen, instead calling it a “five-man effort.”
“We’ve got to do a better job of supporting them when they’re under pressure,” Sullivan said. “It was a hard-fought game. It wasn’t perfect out there by any stretch but I thought we played hard.”
Now, the hard question for Sullivan is who to play in Game 2. If Gudbranson’s injury is as serious as first appeared, that’s an easy call. For what it’s worth, Gudbranson was walking around the locker room without a boot and didn’t appear to be in pain.
But you have to wonder whether Johnson would have fared better under pressure in his own zone than Maatta did, and whether the Penguins can afford many more mistakes.
That goes for coaching choices, as well as in-game gaffes.
Sullivan seemed to tip his hand that he expects Johnson to play a role in these playoffs for the Penguins. After being a healthy scratch for Columbus in its first-round series against Washington last year, Johnson was the Penguins’ prominent free-agent acquisition and was pumped about the playoffs.
Perhaps he can provide a boost.
“Jack’s played a lot of great hockey for us,” Sullivan said. “I told him he’s going to be a big part of it moving forward. He’s such a great teammate, he took it really well. But he’s going to be ready for us and I know he’s going to help us win.”
Johnson is the one defenseman the Penguins can’t blame for this loss.
Kevin Gorman is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Kevin by email atkgorman@tribweb.com or via Twitter .
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