Despite all of the excitement and fanfare surrounding the start of the 2025-26 Global Series, Friday simply wasn't the night for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
And - despite nearly sneaking off with the two points - it showed in the results.
The Penguins were defeated in overtime by the Nashville Predators, 2-1, in a game where the Penguins were outplayed for the final 40 minutes. Evgeni Malkin scored a fluke second-period goal to put the Penguins ahead 1-0 until the final two minutes of regulation, when Swedish forward Filip Forsberg knotted things up for the Predators and sent the game to OT.
Steven Stamkos got a partial breakaway just 44 seconds into the extra frame and buried the opportunity to give the Preds the win.
It was a sloppy game for the Penguins in general, but their goaltender gave them a fighting chance. Arturs Silovs made two breakaway saves and came up huge on several occasions, and he was - really - the only reason the Penguins even earned a point with the game they played.
He stopped 28 of 30 Nashville shots.
"I thought he was outstanding tonight," head coach Dan Muse said. "I mean, he kept the score the way it was. We got a point because of him and the way he played, so I thought he was great."
Let's get to some observations, both from this game and just in general right now:
- The Crosby line was pretty good in this game, regardless of the fact that they did not show up on the scoresheet. They were generating chances that they simply didn't finish, even with some brutal defensive zone play from Crosby at times. At the end of the day, Kindel, Crosby, and Rust have some real chemistry.
That said, this team is really hurting without Kindel as its third-line center.
The Penguins May Now Have Three Pieces Of Their Future Core - And That's A Big DealObviously, there is such a thing as getting too far ahead of the curve in sports.
The problem, however, is that they don't really have anyone else to plug on 87's other wing right now. Injuries have caught up to them. Rickard Rakell isn't an option and won't be for a while still. Justin Brazeau isn't an option, either, and will still be out another few weeks. Filip Hallander is no longer an option and won't be for another three-plus months.
So, who does that leave? There's Kindel. There's also Ville Koivunen, who is struggling to produce anywhere close to the numbers he put up in a short stint last season. There's Tommy Novak, who is currently filling Brazeau's spot on the second line next to Evgeni Malkin and Anthony Mantha. You could try Connor Dewar there, but it's probably not a sustainable thing, and he and Blake Lizotte have some serious chemistry.
Yes, you can move Kindel back down. But the top line will be worse as a result. And what is more important right now?
- On that note, I think it's time for the Penguins to give forward prospect Tristan Broz a look.
Obviously, that won't happen ahead of Sunday's game to wrap up the Global Series in Stockholm. But the Penguins' bottom-six is lacking right now, and a large part of that is because they do not have an effective third line without Kindel centering it.
October Penguins' Prospects Update: ForwardsIt's a new season, and with the month of October in the books, that means it's time for the first <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a>' prospects update of the season.
They could use another set of youthful legs in the bottom-six. They could use a guy who has some good two-way potential and has shown an ability - at least at the AHL and NCAA levels - to put the puck in the back of the net. It also gives them the flexibility to keep Kindel on Crosby's line - or at least bump someone like Koivunen up - because there will still be two capable young players left on the third line.
This team desperately needs center depth and scoring depth. They need to make a move to try and address that now, especially with things beginning to go south and with some of their top producers still on the shelf for several weeks.
- Speaking of young players, this was the fourth consecutive scratch for 19-year-old rookie blueliner Harrison Brunicke.
I wrote a detailed piece a few weeks ago speaking on the potential for an AHL conditioning stint if Brunicke is scratched for five consecutive games. If he does not play Sunday, that will be five consecutive games, and he will have gone two weeks without playing a game.
If I were a betting person, I'd bet that's what's happening here. If not, why take him on the trip if they're not going to ice him and just plan to send him back to the WHL right after?
What Will The Penguins Do With Top Defensive Prospect Harrison Brunicke?On Thursday, it was confirmed by <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a>' head coach Dan Muse that 18-year-old center <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/players/penguins-top-prospect-ben-kindel-to-remain-in-pittsburgh">Ben Kindel will remain in the NHL through his 10th game</a>, meaning the first year of his three-year entry-level contract will kick in.
Besides, Kris Letang, Connor Clifton, and Matt Dumba (save for a nice play he made on the Penguins' lone goal Friday) haven't been doing much to help their team defensively as of late. In fact, they - like Brunicke - have made plenty of defensive mistakes and misreads.
If he's going to remain at the NHL level, he's got to see the ice at some point. But, I do think the conditioning stint - at this current point - is what's probably best for both sides right now.
- All that said, I do think Ryan Graves has been quite a bit better in his short four-game sample size so far. And he's honestly looking like the kind of defense partner that wouldn't be the worst thing for Brunicke, should he stay.
If Graves continues to play a solid game, I'd try it at some point.
- It was a really special moment for Erik Karlsson, who had the opportunity to play in front of his own country. He was the last player announced in the Penguins' starting lineup, and he got a nice ovation from the Swedish faithful.
SportsNet Pittsburgh (@SNPittsburgh) on XThat crowd pop when Erik Karlsson is announced during the player intros đ
Sweden is READY for some hockey đ¸đŞKarlsson was operating at a pretty high level during the first period in this game. Like everyone else, he didn't quite stand out as much as the game went on, but it was a perfectly solid performance from him.
And Stamkos's overtime winner? Yeah, he was the defenseman on the play, but he couldn't catch up because he was clearly out of gas. Can't really put that one on him, in my opinion.
- All in all, these losses happen. In a vacuum, losing to one of the league's worst teams isn't a great look, especially on the international stage - and when things haven't been going your way in general.
But I don't think it's time for folks to write off the Penguins yet. They've been a little less dominant as of late, their five-on-five metrics have taken a hit, and they can't find the back of the net like they were doing with regularity before.
Is There Reason For Concern With Penguins' Recent Stretch?After an 8-2-2 start to the season during the month of October, all seemed to be going well and right for the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/">Pittsburgh Penguins</a>.
But that tends to happen when two of your team's top goal-scorers are out of the lineup. It's not a mystery why the Penguins are struggling to score right now.
I wouldn't read too much into their hot start, and I also wouldn't read too much into this current stretch for now. Yeah, you've got some of the "I told you so" and "see, this team just isn't good" folks populating sound boards.
The truth is that this team is likely somewhere in the middle of where they started and where they are now. Injuries have played a big part, but they're not the only thing. Team defense hasn't been great, either.
And that's why their start was so important and why this stretch is so important. Somehow, they just need to find a way to tread water and play at least .500 hockey until some of their key players start to return. And that won't be easy come December, when they have a gauntlet ahead of them.
Seven of their next eight opponents are outside of the current playoff picture. They need to bank the majority of those points, and it starts with getting two points on Sunday and three out of four on this trip.
Starting in Sweden, Penguins Must Win Upcoming Stretch Of GamesOn Friday, the 2025-26 NHL Global Series kicks off.
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