For the second time in five daysThere wasn’t much to like about the Penguins’ game day performance.
And this time, it was against a team that was chasing them from the basement of the Metropolitan Division.
THE Pittsburgh Penguins fell to the Columbus Blue Jackets, 6-2, to secure their third straight loss, and they are just one point ahead of Columbus for last place in the Metro. Anthony Beauvillier and Michael Bunting scored the Penguins’ only goals during a second-period comeback that saw them recover from a two-goal deficit for the second time in as many games.
However, Columbus followed up with four unanswered goals to seal the deal. Goalie Tristan Jarry, who was getting his first start since October 16, allowed two goals on Columbus’ first three shots and made 38 saves on 43 shots. His goals-against average fell to 5.36 this season and his save percentage dropped to .847.
When asked if he would rate his performance, Jarry thought he improved as the match progressed.
“Not bad,” Jarry said. “It’s tough. They scored two points early, and they got an offside signal, and then they scored through the screen. Obviously, it’s tough to come back from 2-0 down at this point- there, but I thought as the game went on, then they sent a lot of pucks to the net, and I did a better job of finding the pucks, and they just kept pressing.
I don’t have much to say tonight that I haven’t already said, so I’ll be brief. But nonetheless, here are some thoughts and observations on tonight’s game.
– The first line was again very good this evening, as was Anthony Beauvillier.
I mentioned him in my last article, but he looks very comfortable with Sidney Crosby and Rickard Rakell. He presents himself as the exact type of player Crosby thrives with, and his forecheck and net-front abilities make him a great addition to Rakell as well.
I will write an article about him in the next few days. But he is now on pace to score 26 goals this season, which would match his career high of 21 with the New York Islanders in 2017.
Right now, he’s transforming into a brilliant commercial chip.
– After a strong defensive performance against Detroit, the Penguins were once again a mess defensively.
The bottom defensive pairing of Ryan Graves and Ryan Shea was particularly bad, which contrasts with how Graves has fared so far this season. In this game he looked like old Graves, which was not a welcome sight.
But it’s not just the defense corps that is playing putrid defense. They are also the attackers. In fact, this is a systemic problem resulting from players not being able to execute simple, fundamental plays.
It’s crazy how much this defense has dropped from last season. When you look at the staff, they shouldn’t have fallen so badly.
– Kind of building on that last point, it amazes me how bad hockey this team is playing this season compared to last.
If you really step back and think about it, yes, the Penguins did not replace Jake Guentzel. This is obviously a big blow. But they have improved three major weaknesses from last season, namely their bottom six, their power play and their near-NHL-ready prospect pool.
With all of that improving – and much of the rest of the team remaining pretty much the same – it’s just baffling how they seem to have completely forgotten how to play hockey at times.
If you expected the Penguins to be worse this season before this all started, that’s right. But on paper, this team had better depth than last season, so it’s just amazing to see how far they’ve fallen, especially defensively.
– Just like following the last bad loss to Dallas, I would expect to see some roster changes in the second game of a row on Saturday against the San Jose Sharks.
I think Vasily Ponomarev will be in the lineup for this match, perhaps in favor of Valtteri Puustinen. The Penguins have been very impressed with Ponomarev’s camp, and he’s exactly the type of guy you want after a lackluster defensive performance. In two NHL games with Carolina, Ponomarev has a goal and an assist, and the center could well replace the third or fourth line.
However, I’m not sure what to expect from Owen Pickering, who was called back Friday morning when Kris Letang fell ill. Pickering is a left-side defenseman, so he doesn’t figure to help the Penguins’ ailing right side much.
Unless Graves or Matt Grzelcyk is scratched, I have a hard time seeing the Penguins play Pickering on his offside in his NHL debut. Therefore, I still expect Pickering to stay out of the lineup on Saturday, but it would definitely be nice for the Penguins to take a look at him either way.
