Pittsburgh Penguins @ New Jersey Devils
12/27/2016
Period 1
- Shift 1 - KMH - Took some traffic to the net allowing Hornqvist to come through the open area and get a shot on net. Didn't stick on his man all the way back to the net allowing him to score the goal.
- Shift 2 - KMH - Kunitz skated too far up the boards allowing for a Devil to cut a pass off to him in his own zone allowing for more zone time.
- Shift 3 - KMH - Made a bad decision to cut into the middle with the puck right into a Devil d-man and lost the puck.
- Shift 4 - KMH - Couldn't win a 50/50 battle, and the Devils exited the zone.
- Shift 5 - KMH - Slow with a shot allowing a Devil to tie up his stick. Abandoned his d-zone responsibility at the point and lazily skated to it allowing for the Devil to get a shot on goal.
= Shift 6 - KMK - Had a decent pass to Kessel to create a chance for Geno in front of the net. Not enough to give him a + for the shift though.
Period Recap - 5 Minuses, 1 Even. It was a pretty terrible period for Kunitz. He was often found floating in his own zone, and slow to react in the offensive zone. He is doing a good job of shutting Malkin down right now.
Period 2
+ Shift 1 - KMK - Worked hard along the boards in the o-zone, and supported his linemates.
= Shift 2 - KMH - Nothing of note, good or bad.
- Shift 3 - KMH - Made a bad pass to Malkin at the offensive blue line, and then got turned around looking for the puck in his skates. Gave Hornqvist a tough pass in the air that Horny luckily knocked down and got a shot on goal.
- Shift 4 - KMH - Lost a puck battle along the boards that he shouldn't have lost allowing the Devils to clear the puck. Couldn't one time an easy pass from Malkin right in his wheelhouse.
- Shift 5 - PP - Turned the puck over deep along the boards and the Devils cleared. Couldn't take a pass from Sheary in the slot and it exploded off his stick instead of getting a shot on goal.
- Shift 6 - PP - Refused to get in front of the net to screen the goalie on Dumoulin's point shot allowing an easy save.
Period Recap - 1 Plus, 4 Minuses, 1 Even. It was more of the same from Kunitz in the 2nd period. He was lazy, made bad decisions with the puck, and looked generally lost at times. He just doesn't look like he really cares tonight, or if he does his body just can't do it. Malkin's and Hornqvist's best shifts have came when Sullivan had them away from Kunitz (either because of the PP or shifting lines after a PP or PK).
Period 3
- Shift 1 - KMH - Kunitz was floating the whole shift in his own zone.
= Shift 2 - KMK - Lots of looping in the defensive zone, but the puck never really came to his side so I can't say he did anything good or bad that shift.
= Shift 3 - KMH - Lost 50/50 board battles again in the offensive zone. Was in good defensive position a couple of times in his own zone though.
Period/Game Recap - 1 Minus, 2 Evens. Kunitz didn't really play much in the final period because of the penalties called for and against. Even still, his effort was pretty poor. Overall for the game Kunitz was terrible. He looked lost, slow, and had poor decision making. Basically he looked like he's looked for the majority of the season. It's been a steady decline since getting promoted to Malkin's line.
