It was another day, another loss to a playoff team for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Despite scoring a third-period goal after a valiant show of heart from their captain, the Penguins lost their second straight game to the league’s best team, the Winnipeg Jets, 4-1.
The Penguins trailed 3-0 heading into the third period. Just 38 seconds later, Sidney Crosby coaxed Winnipeg forward Kyle Connor into dropping the gloves, and the captain breathed some life into his lifeless team.
After eliminating Crosby’s extra minor for a cross-check, the Penguins gained a power play with Crosby still in the box. Michael Bunting scored his fourth goal of the season and second power play goal, and the goal gave them some momentum for the rest of the game.
However, it wasn’t enough against a team like Winnipeg, a stingy defensive team that doesn’t give up much. Although they played better in the third period, the Penguins managed only five shots on goal in the second and third periods.
“I thought we had a little juice after the Sid battle and then we scored,” head coach Mike Sullivan said. “But we need to produce that more consistently if we want to be tougher to play against. I just think physicality is a fundamental part of hockey, and we need to engage in all three zones more consistently.”
Pittsburgh is now 7-11-4 and is officially in the basement of the Metropolitan Division. The only teams with a lower points percentage than them in the league are the Chicago Blackhawks, Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks.
Here are some thoughts and observations after tonight’s loss:
– The Penguins have allowed a goal on the first shot of the game six times this season, including four times with Tristan Jarry in net.
When asked if there might be a reason for this, Sullivan appeared a little irritable.
“It happens in a million different ways,” Sullivan said. “For example, the first goal tonight. How do I explain that? Can you explain it? Because I can’t.”
Simply put, the Penguins often shoot themselves in the foot early on. If they want to turn things around, this is something that needs to be corrected and resolved one way or another, both on the defensive and goaltending fronts.
– Speaking of goaltending, Tristan Jarry didn’t play a bad game on Friday.
Winnipeg peppered him with 30 shots on goal, and the Penguins, once again, did not play well defensively in front of him. It’s still concerning that Jarry has given up a goal on the first shot of the game in four of his six starts, but he’s not the reason the Penguins lost this game.
-The reason they lost? Winnipeg is, quite simply, a much better hockey team.
There is a reason why this team is now 17-3 and is the best team in the league. Not only are they deadly and opportunistic offensively, but they are also a great defensive team.
They gave the Penguins absolutely nothing, even when Pittsburgh started to put pressure on in the third period. They obstruct all passing and shooting lanes and make it almost impossible for pucks to pass through. They win almost every puck battle along the walls. They pressure teams to the outside and force turnovers.
Their defensive work was clinical and their attack was deadly. They’re a very, very dangerous hockey team, and they’re playing very well in a way that seems pretty sustainable. I really don’t think there’s a better team in the league.
– Owen Pickering continues to impress me. His net-front defense and defensive zone awareness in general are head and shoulders above everyone else right now, which is saying a lot for a 20-year-old rookie who, in reality, wasn’t even supposed to be in Pittsburgh if early.
He is physical in front of the net. It gets big and takes up a lot of space. He smoothes traffic and is rarely out of position.
He’s the best defensive defenseman the Penguins have right now, and while that’s a good thing for Pickering, it’s definitely a problem for the Penguins. The way I see it, he just has no way out of the lineup right now.
More weird stuff from him.
– Erik Karlsson didn’t play his best game Friday, and honestly, it wasn’t even on the defensive side of the puck.
There were several instances in the offensive zone and on the power play where he simply lost possession, misread plays and dropped the puck at the blue line to allow the Jets to punt easily.
This was a very unusually bad game from him offensively, compared to what was pretty much his usual defensive output.
-Speaking of which, his partner isn’t doing much better at the moment.
Marcus Pettersson, after solidifying himself as a true top-four defender over the past few seasons, is having a lot of trouble getting going this season. The intelligence and defensive zone positioning that we’ve seen in years past just isn’t there right now, and it hasn’t been there all season long.
It’s still reasonable to assume that the Penguins should be able to get something decent for him if they decide to trade him, which seems to be the likely outcome for the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent. There aren’t many better options on the market.
But if he continues to play at the level he is currently at, it might be wise for the Penguins to trade him sooner rather than later or risk seeing his stock drop.
He is physical in front of the net. It gets big and takes up a lot of space. He clears traffic and is rarely out of position.
Good stuff from him.
– Bunting must be on the first power play unit.
I don’t know who you’re up against. I would probably say Rust. But he’s good and disruptive in front of the net, and as good as the power play looked optically speaking, he could use it for the pesky presence in front of the net.
Crosby was in the box at the time, but I think it’s safe to say he had 87 sticks on the first unit.
– Sullivan moved into the top six in the second period. He put Crosby, Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell together as well as Evgeni Malkin, Bunting and Anthony Beauvillier on one line.
That top line was the best five-on-five line for the Penguins in a small sample size last season. They were generating good chances when put together, and this line is something I would be willing to see more of.
The second line? I’m not sure.
Beauvillier has speed and forechecking abilityas well as a touch of scoring ability, to bring value to this line. However, Bunting appears to be regressing again – at least at five-on-five – after a pretty good run of games over the past couple of weeks.
As for someone who is fashionable? Jesse Puljujarvi. Put him on that line with Malkin and Beauvillier, and see if it sticks. He’s shown more value in the offensive zone than Bunting this season, and without Rust on that line, Malkin needs a guy who can finish.
Reward him for playing well. There’s no harm in trying it at this point.
– Drew O’Connor continues to struggle this season.
He actually played more minutes in the third period since Crosby was in the box, but at the start of the third period he had only seen seven minutes and 37 seconds of ice time – which was more than Sam Poulin.
Sullivan mentioned the other day that O’Connor’s work in the defensive zone has been inconsistent. I agree, and I don’t think he generates much offense either.
Kevin Hayes skates. Blake Lizotte and Cody Glass skate alone. It will be interesting to see some of the decisions made when everyone is healthy.
– I want to briefly touch on Crosby.
Crosby is an avid player, and everyone knows it by now. He seemingly single-handedly brought this team to life in the third period with his fight and subsequent play after coming out of the box.
He did not make himself available to the media after the game. Crosby is clearly frustrated, and rightly so.
“I think it’s just a wake-up call,” Jarry said of Crosby dropping the gloves. “It’s a wake-up call for all of us. You see the competitor he is, and losing games like this is tough for everyone. I think we need to play harder, and that’s not all. is just raw emotion. He wants better, and I think that comes from everyone.”
Sullivan stressed that he doesn’t want his captain to do these things in the future. But, until the rest of this team shows their pulse, he may be the only one with enough to act.
Hopefully this gives them some momentum heading into Saturday’s game against Utah.
