After a disappointing effort in a 5-0 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Friday, Pittsburgh Penguins' young goaltender Sergei Murashov declared that the team would come out much better on Saturday.
Well, it was a much better effort from the Penguins against the Seattle Kraken.
But, unfortunately, it wasn't enough.
The Penguins fell to the Kraken, 3-2, with just 49.6 seconds left in overtime on a Brandon Montour goal despite Pittsburgh dominating much of the extra frame. They are now 0-2-3 in overtime and shootouts this season, and they fell to 10-6-5 overall.
And - with an Ottawa Senators win Saturday - the Penguins have officially fallen out of playoff contention.
There was no score after one, and the Kraken went up early in the first when Mason Marchment used a screen to capitalize off of a defensive zone turnover by Penguins' forward Ben Kindel. Penguins' captain Sidney Crosby tied the game late in the middle frame off of a gorgeous feed by Connor Dewar from the left wall, as he was perched at the net-front and got on one knee to put it home.
Then, five minutes into the third period, Evgeni Malkin put the Penguins ahead on the power play with his sixth goal of the season by burying the loose change at the net front. However, the Penguins could not hold on, as Matty Beniers sniped a perfect shot past Murashov in the back half of the third to tie the game and force the overtime.
The Penguins are in a bit of a slide, and they need to find a way to come out on top of these close games in order to find their footing again. The response in general was good, but - according to head coach Dan Muse - it wasn't good enough.
"I'm not going to keep coming in here and saying that one point is good enough. It's not," Muse said after the game. "And I think we're better than that. Our standard needs to be better than that."
Takeaways: Penguins No-Show In 5-0 Loss To Minnesota WildWell, there certainly wasn’t much to write home about in this one.
Here are some thoughts and takeaways from this tough loss:
- I had seen former Penguins' head coach Mike Sullivan get angry a few times last season. Sullivan was very much reactive to the results of each game.
However, Muse was angrier Saturday than I've seen a Penguins' head coach in quite a while.
You could practically see steam coming out of his ears at the podium. He is typically such an even-tempered guy, but not Saturday. He couldn't stop saying how the Penguins simply haven't been good enough and that the results right now aren't good enough.
I'll just let you read this one.
"Our game was better. But we just came out of this weekend with one out of four points. That's not good enough. So, was our process better? It was. But we need to get points. We had an opportunity to, so, it's a fine line. Those little details, the little things, they make a difference here. Finding a way to get another opportunity. Finding a way to take away one of theirs. And so, I'm not going to sit here and say that that's good enough. It's not. We're past that. We need points right now, and we have a weekend here where the game was no good yesterday, it was much better today, but if you go through this month, it's been too many games here where we've said there's positives to take from.
So, I liked our game more. I thought we did a lot of things that we need to do on a consistent basis. I think we did a lot of things that are going to lead to success. But one out of four points on the weekend is not good enough."
- - Penguins' head coach Dan Muse on Saturday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Seattle Kraken
Frustration is starting to boil over for both coaches and players. The Penguins need to stop the bleeding fast, even if they feel they're getting the better of most of these games. They need to find a way to finish and shut things down like they were able to do at the beginning of the season.
- I thought Murashov was really solid for most of this game. However, I didn't like the overtime goal. It was a shot from distance that he was off-angle for and was simply beat on.
It's hard to blame him for this loss at all, and I'm not. He's also a 21-year-old rookie who has largely been a positive since his recall. But I think he'd tell you - after watching it - that he'd like to have that one back.
Still, this kid's confidence really is something. He makes himself as big as possible in net and challenges shooters at the top of the crease. There's no panic in his game whatsoever. It's impressive.
Penguins' Forward Hits MilestoneThe <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a> always seem to be hitting milestones, especially with all-time greats in Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and Erik Karlsson on their team.
- At this point, I'm not convinced that having Matt Dumba or Connor Clifton in the lineup is any more a net positive than simply letting the rookie in Harrison Brunicke get some runway.
I realize he's probably headed for an AHL conditioning stint right before getting loaned to Team Canada for the World Junior Championship. But if the Penguins' bottom pairing on the right side continues to be an issue, you reach a point where you just let the kid play.
It's been three weeks since he's seen a game. Not ideal for anyone, honestly.
And if it's not going to be Brunicke again at any point this season for the Penguins - it's becoming doubtful at this point - Jack St. Ivany should be given a look as soon as he returns from injury.
- The lack of production from Bryan Rust on the top line is starting to become a problem.
After a stretch of five points in three games, Rust has no points in the last five. With Rickard Rakell out of the lineup, he needs to be dependable in terms of putting the puck in the back of the net. And he has only registered 10 shots on goal in the last five games.
He needs to get more pucks to the net, and if he doesn't, the Penguins need to start thinking about shifting things around. This team is having a hard time scoring without two top-six players in its lineup, and sooner or later, they simply need to score more goals.
I'd give it one more game before a shakeup.
Penguins Captain Sidney Crosby Hits New Milestone Sidney Crosby hit a new milestone on Saturday night.- Speaking of, I really think it's time for the Penguins to give some of their youngsters a shot.
It's tough to expect the team to bring up Rutger McGroarty from the AHL after just two games in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, but he has two goals in those two games - and they were both beautiful skating plays, with the latest being a shorthanded tally that he carried almost 200 feet in a 1-0 win over the Providence Bruins. He doesn't look a step behind in the slightest over that two-game sample.
Tristan Broz centered McGroarty and Avery Hayes - who also just returned from a short-term injury - on Saturday. Broz, especially, has stood out this season, as he has eight goals and 13 points in 18 games and continues to play solid two-way hockey.
The Penguins need some help scoring goals right now, and they could use some young legs. It can't hurt to give these guys a look until the Penguins start getting healthy again. Pull the trigger. It's time.
- The Penguins are 2-4-3 since Justin Brazeau left the lineup due to injury.
Am I saying Brazeau is the MVP of this Penguins' season so far? No. But that's no coincidence. He was the second top-six player to go down, and - with Noel Acciari exiting at the same time - this team has not been the same ever since.
Of course, injuries are usually not an excuse. But there comes a point where they do start to actually become a bit of an excuse.
I think the Penguins are at that point. They can't tread water much longer as is. If some of these guys don't come back soon - or if they don't attempt to shake things up by trying some younger players in their lineup - things could get ugly very quickly, especially with a gauntlet of a schedule in the month of December.
Rakell, Brazeau, and Acciari are all skating. While Rakell probably still won't be back until the end of December, hopefully the other two make their way back as soon as possible. There is only so much a team can do and only so much depth a team has when an injury situation is as bad as the Penguins.'
They need a jolt. And they need it fast.
For Pittsburgh Penguins' Olympic Goaltender Artūrs Šilovs, No Stage Is Too BigPittsburgh Penguins goaltender Arturs Silovs - acquired from the Vancouver Canucks over the summer - has proven he can perform when the stakes are highest and will get another chance with Team Latvia at the 2026 Olympic Games.
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