Well, there certainly wasn’t much to write home about in this one.
In their first game since returning from the NHL Global Series, the Pittsburgh Penguins were beat down by a hot Minnesota Wild team, 5-0. Minnesota was 7-2-1 coming into the contest, and they buried the Penguins early with three first-period goals.
After Kirill Kaprizov tipped a Jared Middleton shot for a fourth goal, Penguins’ goaltender Arturs Silovs was pulled in favor of Sergei Murashov, who stopped nine of 10 the rest of the way.
Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson improved to 6-7-2 and earned the 19-save shutout.
Matt Boldy started things off pretty early on for Minnesota, as he was left all alone at the net-front and deked out Silovs for his 12th goal of the season at just 3:57. Joel Eriksson-Ek followed up with a power play goal midway through the first in the waning seconds of a Blake Lizotte double-minor for high-sticking, and Marcus Johansson scored the third goal for Minnesota just two minutes later on a wrister from the right circle.
Then, a little more than a minute into the second period, Jake Middleton floated a puck toward the net from the right point, and Kaprizov tipped it on the way in to make it 4-0. Boldy added his second of the game near the end of the second to secure the 5-0 win.
So what went wrong in this one?
“Everything, honestly,” defenseman Ryan Shea said. “As a team, we were bad in the neutral zone. Turned a lot of pucks over in the neutral zone. I don’t know. They got a couple tip goals, pretty much goals off turnovers. So, we just gotta clean up all that, and it’s pretty frustrating.”
Truth be told, the Penguins looked like a team that had last played Sunday on another continent and were thrown back into the fire to face one of the league’s hottest teams. Of course, those aren’t excuses, but it’s safe to say that the Penguins’ situation probably didn’t help matters going into this one.
Still, one saving grace is that they will get right back to work against the Seattle Kraken on Saturday, which sometimes helps to flush a bad loss like this out of the system.
“I think it’s huge because in less than 24 hours, we get the chance to go at it again," Shea said. "I know, for me, it’s definitely a positive because you can actually go to sleep knowing that you gotta bring your best game tomorrow. That’s what we’re going to do, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
Takeaways: Penguins Put Together Strong Response Game, Take Home 3 Of 4 Points In NHL Global SeriesThe Pittsburgh Penguins secured three out of four possible points at this weekend's NHL Global Series against the Nashville Predators - it couldn't have come at a better time.
Here are a few thoughts and takeaways from this one:
- I don’t think it was for a lack of effort. I am not going to question this team on that because they have done nothing to indicate they’ve been at all checked out this season.
But, man, they had absolutely nothing Friday.
I do believe there’s a difference between “lack of effort” and it simply not being your day. This certainly wasn’t the Penguins’ day.
And - again - the best way to wash games like this out of your system is to get right back on the ice the next day. The Penguins will have a chance to redeem themselves Saturday when they face the Kraken, and - at the very least - I expect a much, much better start to Saturday’s game.
- This was not a good showing for the Penguins’ first line or for the Shea-Kris Letang pairing.
I’ll start with the Penguins' second defensive pairing, which was on the ice for all five goals against. They were just brutal in this game, and as of late, they’ve been guilty of quite a lot of turnovers and missed defensive assignments.
By Shea’s own admission, they need to be better.
“I don’t know what it was, it was just not really clicking with our execution,” Shea said. “And we got burned for it. Me and Tanger, we definitely got burned for it, and it’s pretty frustrating coming off a good last game in Sweden. For us to win, I think I got to be better in that case.
“It’s pretty frustrating, and just lucky that I didn’t break every stick that I have after a game like that.”
Penguins Have Found Their Ideal Fourth-Liner In Connor DewarPittsburgh Penguins forward Connor Dewar has been outstanding this season.Well, that’s quite a quote from Shea. And I will take his word for it that they’ll come back better Saturday.
As for the first line? Unfortunately, this is becoming a bit too regular of an occurrence. They were on the ice for three goals against, and Boldy’s goal was a result of missed coverage by Crosby and Rust. Crosby needed to take away the slot there, and Rust needed to stay on his man, Boldy.
It’s worth noting that Crosby was a career-worst minus-20 last season, and Rust was a career-worst minus-21. They’re even and minus-2, respectively, so far this season.
I don’t normally read into plus-minus. But you just don’t typically see numbers that drastic from a top forward line, especially one that puts up as many points as Crosby’s.
Simply put, they need to find a way to be better in their own zone. I think having a responsible two-way player like Rickard Rakell or Filip Hallander would serve them well. Oh wait, they’re injured. Rutger McGroarty would suffice as well, but he literally just returned from injury in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS).
Dewar is fine for now, but he doesn’t provide enough offensive punch to be a solution.
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.- This was a tough one to assess for goaltending simply because the Penguins played so poorly in their own zone.
But Silovs was certainly not sharp.
Not much he can do on a ridiculous deke move by Boldy, although a poke check may have worked. The third goal wasn’t the best. And I didn’t like the fourth goal despite it being tipped. Kaprizov tipped it in the high slot, and it was coming in slow enough that Silovs, perhaps, could have gotten a better read on it.
Murashov was fine after taking over. There’s absolutely nothing he could have done on Boldy’s second goal, which was another deflection right at the net-front as a result of blown defensive coverage.
Murashov will probably get the net Saturday. We’ll see how he responds.
- I don’t think Ben Kindel has looked quite the same ever since getting bumped up to play alongside Crosby for a few games. He’s played the last two as the third-line center again, but he’s still been relatively quiet.
Something to keep in mind with young players - especially teenagers - is that there are going to be highs and lows unless you’re at a Crosby kind of level. I don’t think he’s been at his best for the last handful of games, but that’s not an indictment on him.
The Penguins have said that they have Kindel and Harrison Brunicke on development plans. I know it’s not ideal to sit Kindel with the plethora of injuries the Penguins currently have, but I don’t think it’s the worst idea to give him a rest day during one of their upcoming games.
With Philip Tomasino clearing waivers, they have the ability to option him to WBS and call up someone else in Kindel’s place, even for a day. I know the team just had a pretty lengthy break between games, but I’d say consider it.
'We Always Want Him To Know What The Plan Is': Dubas Provides Update On Brunicke SituationPittsburgh Penguins' general manager and president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas elaborates on the plan for 19-year-old defenseman Harrison Brunicke, who is now eligible for an AHL conditioning loan. - I’ve said it before, but it’s worth saying again: I’m not sure how long the Penguins can sustain with the injuries they currently have.
Their offense has largely dried up, which tends to happen when two top-six forwards in Rakell and Justin Brazeau are out of the lineup. They don’t have enough scoring depth to attempt replacing those guys in any meaningful way. It also doesn’t help that their AHL team has been dealing with its fair share of injuries, too.
This team needs to find a way to tread water until they start getting a bit healthier. This is certainly the stretch for them to do it, as they mostly face teams not currently in playoff position.
At the end of the day - in stretches like this - they need their big guys to step up in big ways. In the last five games, Crosby, Rust, Evgeni Malkin, Anthony Mantha, Erik Karlsson, and Letang have combined for just four goals and 10 points.
As the top-six sources of offense in your lineup right now? That’s not nearly good enough. They have to start generating more and finding the back of the net, or this could be a rough stretch until Rakell and Brazeau return.
Penguins Notebook: Injured Players Skate, Vibes High To Close Out PracticeAfter an optional practice Tuesday, the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a> took to the ice Wednesday for a longer session that included everyone.
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