It was a relatively quiet night in the NHL.
There were only three games on the schedule, but that doesn’t mean it was uneventful.
Here are three things we learned:
Penguins offence wakes up…a bit: It’s hard to believe that a team with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Phil Kessel is having difficulty scoring but that’s certainly been the case with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Entering Wednesday’s action, the Penguins didn’t have a single player in the top 40 in scoring and they ranked 29th out of 30 teams in terms of goals scored.
However, things got a bit better against the Washington Capitals. The Penguins went scoreless for the first two periods of the game, including an ugly second where they were outshot 14-4, before a three-goal third (goals from Beau Bennett, Phil Kessel, and Nick Bonino) that included an empty netter.
The goals aren’t yet coming at a consistent pace for the Penguins but you have to imagine things will get better.
Senators, Flames don’t look like playoff teams: The Calgary Flames and Ottawa Senators had a wildly entertaining contest on Wednesday night, but it’s hard to not to see issues with both Canadian clubs.
The Senators, who allowed the first goal for the seventh-straight game, were badly out-shot (38-23) and have had their share of defensive lapses all season. The club has allowed the second-most goals in the Eastern Conference and couldn’t slow down a Flames offence that had averaged just two goals per game prior to Wednesday.
The Flames, on the other hand, are giving up goals too frequently. They rank last in the West by a significant margin and goaltending depth issues continue to hurt the club. Jonas Hiller left Wednesday’s game with an injury following a collision with Bobby Ryan. He made 14 saves before he was replaced by Joni Ortio.
Calgary opened up the year with three goalies but now might need to recall Karri Ramo after he was sent down and placed on waivers earlier this month.
Following the shootout loss, the Flames have now lost three straight and it’s hard to imagine both of these Cinderella teams from last season making a playoff push without drastic improvement across the board.
Fleury shining for Penguins: While the offensive production has been a problem, Marc-Andre Fleury has been a reliable performer for the Penguins.
The veteran netminder was the best player on the ice during Wednesday’s win over the rival Capitals, registering 33 saves on 34 shots and coming up with key stops on two Washington power plays during the second period.
Fleury has allowed two goals or less in five of his last six games and has let in only nine goals in total over that stretch.
The Penguins could be a very scary team — when the offence eventually wakes up — if Fleury can maintain this level of play.
