PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Penguins’ depth has been on display all season. When their best players struggle as they did on Monday, however, all the depth in the world doesn’t really matter.
Sidney Crosby was silent, Evgeni Malkin’s misplay led to a goal and Erik Karlsson was responsible for two other goals against as the Penguins saw their six-game winning streak end with a thud in a 3-2 setback against the Ottawa Senators on Monday at PPG Paints Arena.
While the Penguins’ best players were very much off, they weren’t alone. Other than Arturs Silovs, who was sensational between the pipes, and a spirited performance from rookie Ben Kindel, the Penguins produced an utter no-show against a surging Ottawa team. The Senators outshot the Penguins 31-16, and it was only through an act of the hockey gods that the Penguins found themselves in a tie game late in the third period.
However, Claude Giroux, a longtime Penguins nemesis, got the last laugh.
Ottawa had taken a lead earlier in the third period when a miscommunication between Karlsson and Parker Wotherspoon led to a breakaway and an eventual Tim Stützle goal. Afraid of taking a too-many-men penalty, Wotherspoon froze on the bench when he saw the Senators had the puck. Karlsson came to the bench anyway.
It was one of those nights.
Goals by Egor Chinakhov and Tommy Novak had the Penguins in range to secure at least a point, but make no mistake, it wouldn’t have been deserved. The Penguins looked like a team that was rather pleased with itself most of the game, attempting to execute near-impossible passes instead of simply going to work against an Ottawa team very much invested in a blue-collar game.
“I don’t know what it was,” Rickard Rakell said. “We just came out flat and never really got going. We were not good. They outplayed us all night.”
Muse let the Penguins have it publicly when speaking with reporters following the game.
“We have to be better than this,” he said. “For me, this is so far off the mark of where we’ve been playing and working to get to. It’s an opportunity tomorrow to show ourselves there’s a much better game that we have the ability to play than that.”
Silovs stopped 28 of 31 shots on a night when his team showed little interest in defending for him.
“The only reason the game was close was Artie,” Muse said.
The Penguins have two games remaining before the NHL’s Olympic break, and they won’t be easy. After traveling to play the New York Islanders for a game 24 hours after this loss, they’ll play in Buffalo against the red-hot Sabres on Thursday.
10 postgame observations
• There was some controversy on the game-winning goal. Karlsson whacked Giroux from behind, and as a result, there was a delayed penalty on the play. It was initially not called a goal. Silovs appeared to make an initial save on Giroux, but the net came off the moorings around the time it crossed the line. Giroux’s second effort helped the puck cross the line.
The Penguins goaltender was rather incensed that the goal counted.
“What do they expect me to do?” he said. “I understand if it goes in straight away, then I would agree with the call. It’s a second effort. I don’t really agree with the call.”
Silovs believed Giroux illegally pushed his pads while scoring the goal. The Penguins challenged on the play and lost, which made a bad situation worse. There was just 5:08 remaining in the third, and because the Penguins lost the challenge, they had to kill a penalty late while already down a goal.
“I’d challenge that one again,” Muse said.
• I’m not sure if there was enough evidence to overturn the initial no-goal call there. It could have gone either way, but there was no way the Penguins were winning that challenge. Karlsson had already hit Giroux from behind and a penalty was coming; thus, Giroux was going to get the benefit of the doubt.
More to the point, the Penguins had absolutely no right being in a close game. Yes, they’ve been wonderful in recent games. Yes, they had just won six in a row. Yes, they’re among the very best stories in hockey. But this was a no-show. This had the look of a team that’s starting to feel a little too good about itself.
Maybe it’s going to serve as a little wake-up call.
• The Penguins had a disastrous third period against the New York Rangers Saturday, giving up four
goals while barely hanging on for the 6-5 victory. Players and coaches almost unanimously will tell you that such lapses don’t carry over to the next game.
I couldn’t possibly disagree more.
The Penguins were painfully sloppy in that third period against New York and all of the tendencies that we saw on display during the final 20 minutes of that game were on display in this one. There were too many forced passes through the center of the ice, not enough effort in transition defense and horrendous decision-making. Those traits have not been consistent with the Penguins this season, but they were in the third period, and they were against the Senators.
• That was among the most ineffective games I’ve seen Crosby play in a very, very long time. He didn’t register a shot on goal, was guilty of a few careless passes through the center of the ice and struggled to even handle the puck effectively.
This serves as a reminder that Crosby is human. It happens to the best of them. But he’s not been good for more than a week now. He’s definitely in a funk. And when he’s in a funk, he typically over-passes and doesn’t shoot the puck. We saw that on display quite a bit.
I wouldn’t worry about him, but he’s been way off his game, starting with the win in Vancouver on Jan. 25.
• It was Karlsson’s worst game of the season. He was credited with only two turnovers, which I’m assuming is a mathematical error from the official scorers. Karlsson was on the wrong side of the puck all evening, made careless decisions and generally played a thoughtless game.
He’s been outstanding most of the season, but this was one of his worst games in a Penguins uniform.
• Malkin did indeed set up Chinakhov’s goal, so there was some good in his game. He had his legs again and is playing with a bum shoulder, so I’m willing to give him some grace. It’s been a wonderful season for him.
That said, this is the second game in a row in which a misplay of his led directly to a goal for the opposition. The Penguins don’t need bad habits like that creeping into his game.
Ben Kindel, the Penguins’ youngest player, was among their best against the Senators. (Charles LeClaire / Imagn Images)
• Kindel was outstanding. He has been the Penguins’ best player for the past four games and is finding a second wind after hitting a bit of a wall earlier this month.
• The Senators are on a roll, and I think they’re a very interesting team. Perhaps the mighty Atlantic Division will prove too difficult for them to hang with, but we’ll see. They were pretty convincing in this victory.
• The Penguins are receiving strong goaltending almost every night. That can take a team a long way.
Stuart Skinner is getting most of the love these days, and for good reason. But don’t forget about Silovs. He was at his athletic best in this game; none of the goals were his fault in the least. He deserved a far better fate.
• The Penguins have a glorious opportunity to make this game a mere memory when they play the Islanders. It’s the biggest game of the season so far and perhaps the biggest regular-season game in at least a couple of years.
Good luck beating a good Islanders team with this kind of effort.
When the Penguins have been at their best this season, there’s been an honesty and a hardworking mentality to their game. Less style, more substance. There was absolutely no substance in this game. The Penguins merely looked to out-skill the Senators without putting in the necessary work.
Sure, it’s a long, grueling season. There will be nights like this. They’re human. But I think this game served as a reminder that the Penguins aren’t good enough to beat anyone if they don’t give maximum effort.
This was a no-show. Let’s see how they respond.
