John Tortorella made no mistake about what was guiding his lineup decisions Thursday after the Blue Jackets' practice at PPG Paints Arena.
"I'm concerned about speed," he said. Now two games into his team's first-round Stanley Cup playoff series, he has a right to be.
Although Columbus again commanded the first period, the Penguins had the lion's share of the legitimate scoring chances by the end of the night. The result was a 4-1 victory that built a two-game lead for the defending champs.
"I think if we play our game, it might frustrate them like any other team," Conor Sheary said. "If we use our speed, it's hard to handle."
Tortorella wouldn't disagree, but he didn't sound like a coach desperately seeking answers, either.
"I thought everyone in our lineup played their ass off tonight," he said late Friday. "I thought we did a lot of what we wanted to do."
He had it more correct the day prior. The Penguins' speed is to be feared, and especially at the top of the line chart.
Just examine how Sidney Crosby, Sheary and Jake Guentzel zoomed toward Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky on three separate odd-man rushes in a middle period that was decisive for the second time in as many games.
"That's part of our game plan," Sheary said. "We want to play fast. We want to catch them off guard. If we can turn the puck over, we can go right back in the zone and go on the offense. We had a few two-on-ones and three-on-twos tonight that were the result of that."
"They're a heavy forechecking team," Mike Sullivan said. "We've got to continue to try to work at beating their pressure. We would like to come out with possession, but sometimes we just have to make simple plays and chip the puck into areas and get into some footraces. I think we have the ability to be a quick-strike team, so think patience is going to be important for us. We've got to make the plays when they're there to be made, and when they're not we've got to make simple plays."
There was nothing really fancy about the Penguins' first rush chance of the second period, which started with Marc-André Fleury's alert headman pass and continued via Guentzel's quick touch to Sheary inside the Jackets' line:
No goal, but an example of how that trio can make things happen in a flash.
"We read off each other pretty well," Sheary said. "We try to stick pretty close, especially off the rush. If you can make those little five-foot passes, it makes their 'D' turn and make decisions quick. I think if we can make them make those decisions, it's going to be a long night for them."
Brandon Saad ripped a fine wrister to tie the score seven minutes into the second, but an ill-fated pinch by Columbus defenseman David Savard 45 seconds later turned into a rush chance for Sid and the Kids.
This time, with help from an Ian Cole outlet and a perfect Crosby setup, they converted:
"You want to have a good shift after they score," Crosby said. "Sometimes if the game's not dictating, you have to create your own chances. We were able to force a lot of turnovers. I thought we all (on the line) were skating. I'm trying to keep with them, for the most part."
The Penguins scored just three goals Friday on 14 high-danger chances, per NaturalStatTrick.com, so it could be argued they left something on the table.
However, the way they constantly soared through the neutral zone doesn't portend good things for the Blue Jackets when they return home for the next two games:
Perhaps the Blue Jackets should've known they were in for this type of night, since they out-attempted the Penguins 26-14 in the first period, yet trailed at the intermission.
"We played the game we wanted to," Brandon Dubinsky maintained.
The Penguins didn't have a single shot on goal through the first 8 1/2 minutes, at which time Sheary decided to pursue Bobrovsky behind the Columbus net as the Vezina Trophy candidate tracked down a loose puck. Sheary said he simply spotted an opportunity, regardless of context:
"I just saw he didn't have many options," Sheary said of Bobrovsky. "His 'D' were kinda slow getting back and he had his back turned to me, so I thought if I could get on him quick, he'd have to make a quick decision. He ended up holding onto it."
"Conor's quickness can catch people by surprise," Sullivan said.
The Penguins' team speed shouldn't have ambushed the Blue Jackets completely, not after four regular-season meetings and a Game 1 that also saw the home team flex its quick-strike muscle.
Although, the same could be said for the Penguins getting thoroughly stymied in the opening period for the second consecutive game. The Blue Jackets were winning wall battles, banging bodies and generally pressuring the Penguins into poor decisions.
"I think both games our start was a little slower than we'd like," Crosby said. "They come hard. They finish hits. They're fast. They create turnovers. We've got to make sure we're sharp early on. Once we got settled into the speed, we created a lot of chances."
That appears to be fine for Tortorella, who's staying on message.
"I'm anxious to get our suits on and get after it again," he said. "Hopefully we'll just keep bangin' away and maybe get some puck luck."
"I'm concerned about speed," he said. Now two games into his team's first-round Stanley Cup playoff series, he has a right to be.
Although Columbus again commanded the first period, the Penguins had the lion's share of the legitimate scoring chances by the end of the night. The result was a 4-1 victory that built a two-game lead for the defending champs.
"I think if we play our game, it might frustrate them like any other team," Conor Sheary said. "If we use our speed, it's hard to handle."
Tortorella wouldn't disagree, but he didn't sound like a coach desperately seeking answers, either.
"I thought everyone in our lineup played their ass off tonight," he said late Friday. "I thought we did a lot of what we wanted to do."
He had it more correct the day prior. The Penguins' speed is to be feared, and especially at the top of the line chart.
Just examine how Sidney Crosby, Sheary and Jake Guentzel zoomed toward Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky on three separate odd-man rushes in a middle period that was decisive for the second time in as many games.
"That's part of our game plan," Sheary said. "We want to play fast. We want to catch them off guard. If we can turn the puck over, we can go right back in the zone and go on the offense. We had a few two-on-ones and three-on-twos tonight that were the result of that."
The Penguins don't have to be overly precise with their breakout in order to hurt the Blue Jackets, but they do have to keep in mind that they can harm themselves by being too ambitious.
At least early in these first two games, it seems the Penguins are still figuring out exactly what they can and can't do against hard-charging Columbus. On top of that, the absence of Kris Letang takes away the solo breakout option, so discretion really is the better part of valor.
"They're a heavy forechecking team," Mike Sullivan said. "We've got to continue to try to work at beating their pressure. We would like to come out with possession, but sometimes we just have to make simple plays and chip the puck into areas and get into some footraces. I think we have the ability to be a quick-strike team, so think patience is going to be important for us. We've got to make the plays when they're there to be made, and when they're not we've got to make simple plays."
There was nothing really fancy about the Penguins' first rush chance of the second period, which started with Marc-André Fleury's alert headman pass and continued via Guentzel's quick touch to Sheary inside the Jackets' line:
No goal, but an example of how that trio can make things happen in a flash.
"We read off each other pretty well," Sheary said. "We try to stick pretty close, especially off the rush. If you can make those little five-foot passes, it makes their 'D' turn and make decisions quick. I think if we can make them make those decisions, it's going to be a long night for them."
Brandon Saad ripped a fine wrister to tie the score seven minutes into the second, but an ill-fated pinch by Columbus defenseman David Savard 45 seconds later turned into a rush chance for Sid and the Kids.
This time, with help from an Ian Cole outlet and a perfect Crosby setup, they converted:
"You want to have a good shift after they score," Crosby said. "Sometimes if the game's not dictating, you have to create your own chances. We were able to force a lot of turnovers. I thought we all (on the line) were skating. I'm trying to keep with them, for the most part."
The Penguins scored just three goals Friday on 14 high-danger chances, per NaturalStatTrick.com, so it could be argued they left something on the table.
However, the way they constantly soared through the neutral zone doesn't portend good things for the Blue Jackets when they return home for the next two games:
Perhaps the Blue Jackets should've known they were in for this type of night, since they out-attempted the Penguins 26-14 in the first period, yet trailed at the intermission.
"We played the game we wanted to," Brandon Dubinsky maintained.
The Penguins didn't have a single shot on goal through the first 8 1/2 minutes, at which time Sheary decided to pursue Bobrovsky behind the Columbus net as the Vezina Trophy candidate tracked down a loose puck. Sheary said he simply spotted an opportunity, regardless of context:
"I just saw he didn't have many options," Sheary said of Bobrovsky. "His 'D' were kinda slow getting back and he had his back turned to me, so I thought if I could get on him quick, he'd have to make a quick decision. He ended up holding onto it."
"Conor's quickness can catch people by surprise," Sullivan said.
The Penguins' team speed shouldn't have ambushed the Blue Jackets completely, not after four regular-season meetings and a Game 1 that also saw the home team flex its quick-strike muscle.
Although, the same could be said for the Penguins getting thoroughly stymied in the opening period for the second consecutive game. The Blue Jackets were winning wall battles, banging bodies and generally pressuring the Penguins into poor decisions.
"I think both games our start was a little slower than we'd like," Crosby said. "They come hard. They finish hits. They're fast. They create turnovers. We've got to make sure we're sharp early on. Once we got settled into the speed, we created a lot of chances."
Putting game results aside, Justin Schultz merely gave the Penguins' breakout an "all right" grade.
"I think we have some room for improvement," he told me. "They're obviously coming hard and it's difficult for us to get the puck out sometimes. ... They're doing a good job of taking our wall away. Our forwards are doing a great job of getting pucks out and using their speed. We just gotta continue it."
The Penguins haven't been great at escaping their zone with possession, but they've been good enough to generate a handful of terrific chances in each game. If they do continue their counterattack aptitude for Game 3 in Columbus on Sunday evening, the Blue Jackets will remain in that limbo state of playing well enough to stay in games, but not well enough to blow them open.
That appears to be fine for Tortorella, who's staying on message.
"I'm anxious to get our suits on and get after it again," he said. "Hopefully we'll just keep bangin' away and maybe get some puck luck."
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