Heading into their matchup against the Dallas Stars on Sunday, the Pittsburgh Penguins had won five of their last six games and were riding the high of getting two regular players back into their lineup.
Well, even if forwards Justin Brazeau and Noel Acciari rejoined the mix, the Penguins were down another, as Evgeni Malkin missed the tilt due to a day-to-day upper-body injury. But, despite that, the Penguins put out a respectable effort and deserved the two points.
And it ultimately wasn't enough.
The Penguins surrendered a game-tying goal during six-on-five play with less than two minutes remaining in regulation, and they lost to the Stars in the shootout, 3-2. Penguins' goaltender Tristan Jarry stood on his head during the overtime period and against a few high-danger opportunities by the Stars in the first 60 minutes, but unfortunately, the Penguins simply haven't found a way to exercise their demons in the shootout.
So far this season, the Penguins have yet to win a game in the shootout and have five shootout losses. While those squandered points continue to be a problem - and may or may not catch up to them by season's end - it's hard not to feel good about the Penguins getting five out of six points on this road trip.
That, however, isn't good enough for head coach Dan Muse and the Penguins, who have set high expectations for themselves.
"I thought with the overall game we played, you want to come out with two points," Muse said.
Penguins Activate Brazeau & Acciari Off Injured Reserve, Re-Assign Imama To WBSThe Pittsburgh Penguins made a bunch of roster moves on Sunday.The first period saw a lot of back-and-forth action with chances at both ends, and the Penguins' fourth line finally broke through within the last two minutes. Acciari made a play to get the puck to Blake Lizotte at the left offensive blue line, and Lizotte fed it to Connor Dewar, who was breaking into the slot. Dewar put it past Jake Oettinger to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead.
Dallas's Jamie Benn tied it at 1-1 within the first two minutes of the second period, but, from then on, the Penguins - even if they gave up the occasional high-danger chance - were largely the better team. Tommy Novak - who played to the left of Sidney Crosby on the top line - tipped a Kris Letang one-timer from the point in the back half of the middle frame to put the Penguins back up, 2-1, with his sixth point in five games.
That score held until Dallas decided to pull Oettinger with more than three minutes remaining in regulation - and after an icing call that left a tired Penguins' fourth line on the ice. With just 1:49 remaining, Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen took advantage of that tired unit for his sixth of the season to force overtime.
And Jarry really shined in the extra frame. He made several ten-bell saves in the overtime period - including one on Jason Robertson during a Dallas two-on-one - and he also stopped the first two shooters in overtime.
However, Bryan Rust, Crosby, and Kris Letang failed to score in the shootout, and Mikko Rantanen gave the Stars the win on their third shot.
Here are a few takeaways from this one:
- Let's talk about some of the positives first because there were actually quite a lot from this game.
I want to start with Novak. He has been playing some really good hockey for a few weeks now, and his lineup versatility makes him valuable to this team. He was effective on the third line with Ben Kindel and Ville Koivunen before playing a few games alongside Malkin and Anthony Mantha - not missing a beat there - and in this one with Crosby and Rust.
He's going to the danger areas a lot more. He's playing with some energy and helping generate a fair amount of offense on the forecheck. And he's also defensively responsible.
I was a bit down on him for the first month and a half of the season. I talked to Novak a few weeks ago regarding how he felt about his season so far, and he hesitated to say he was happy with it.
But it's safe to say that he's been one of their best players for the last six games. He's put in the work, and it's paying off.
Penguins Have Answered The Bell After Dan Muse’s First Big ChallengeEver since Dan Muse called out his team, the Penguins have responded in a big way. - They didn't register a point again, but I really like the makeup of this kid third line. They had some good shifts in the offensive zone and were generally successful at bailing themselves out of trouble in the defensive zone.
I do think Rutger McGroarty still does have some rust to shake off. But Ben Kindel continues to exceed expectations in a full-time third-line center role regarding faceoffs, generating offense, and handling defensive responsbilities. And Ville Koivunen played another solid game and was very, very close to putting the Penguins up 3-1 on a whiffed chance in the third period.
But I want to see them keep building on their chemistry. And, with Kindel apparently not headed to the World Junior Classic after all, they should have some runway to do just that.
- I can't say enough about how spectacular Jarry was again Sunday. Although the Penguins played a good game, they still gave up a few good looks, and Jarry shut all but two of them down.
He's certainly been a revelation during this stretch, and he has played in six of the last seven games. He has a .913 save percentage on the season.
I know Arturs Silovs has only played in one of the last seven - with the last being Nov. 29, when he was pulled after surrendering four goals on 16 shots against the Toronto Maple Leafs - but it feels like Jarry should get the net again on Tuesday against a good Anaheim Ducks team. Besides, the Penguins have a back-to-back coming up next weekend, and Silovs is probably guaranteed one of those starts.
Jarry has been that good recently. He's winning the Penguins hockey games, or - at the very least - securing points for them.
- Although everyone on the team played generally well, I didn't think this was one of Sidney Crosby's better games. He seemed a bit off all night with his passing and his reads, and he had a terrible line change in overtime that resulted in the two-on-one with Robertson and Roope Hintz.
Even the best of the best have occasional - very occasional - off-nights. And this was one of them for 87.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Earns Big Win Over Lehigh Valley On FridayWilkes-Barre/Scranton got a big win over Lehigh Valley on Friday night. - Shootouts are a very real problem for the Penguins.
Again, five of six on this tough road trip is commendable. But it really felt like they should have come away with six of six.
Yes, blown leads have been a problem for the Penguins since the onset of November. But this one was almost a bit more understandable given the circumstances of Dallas pulling their goaltender advantageously against a tired line.
At some point, they need to win a shootout. They're 0-4 this season. They've lost their last eight.
And I'm looking right at the shootout lineup.
Has goaltending been a problem, too? Absolutely. Arturs Silovs has lost three of the shootouts this season, and he's only stopped one shot in them. But goaltending is almost a moot point when your shooters can't score, either.
Crosby is one out of three, which isn't bad. But he dealt with shootout woes last season and converted on just 16.7 percent of attempts. Letang is three for his last 24. Rust is one of four.
They have to try something - rather, someone - else. Even if you don't take Crosby out of the mix, that's fine. Slow roll it by having Rust, Crosby, and a young player like Koivunen, who is known for his craftiness in shootouts. And if that still doesn't work, you tweak it again.
The Penguins have practiced shootouts this season. Kindel has won a few. Kevin Hayes is pretty decent. McGroarty - like Koivunen - has also shown a tendency to be nasty in the shootout at the AHL level as well.
If it were me - with Malkin out - I'd roll Rust, Koivunen, and Crosby as the first three and Kindel, McGroarty, and Brazeau as the next. Give the kids a chance. And just keep tweaking it until you find a hot hand.
At the end of the day, the Penguins can't be married to underperforming veterans in these situations. It could be costing them precious points, so it's something they need to address the very next time a shootout is in the cards.
Evgeni Malkin Out Day-To-DayEven though the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a> got a few players back in their lineup for Sunday's game against the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/dallas-stars/">Dallas Stars</a>, they lost a pretty prominent one.
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