Penguins Blow Late Lead, Bow to Wild in Shootout

The Penguins succumbed to Minnesota last night at PPG Paints Arena in thoroughly distasteful fashion. After nursing a 4-2 lead into the waning minutes of the third period our guys caved in down the stretch, allowing a pair of tallies in the last 3:19, including the tying goal with just 2.2 seconds left. In the process, spoiling a breakout game by Kasperi Kapanen and ending an extended eight-game homestand (3-3-2) on a decidedly sour note.

The Wild opened the scoring on a goal by budding star Kirill Kaprizov at 9:44 of the first period off a net-front scramble. But the Pens countered at 16:33 on Kapanen’s first goal of the campaign. Fighting for a loose puck in a scrum along the wall, Jason Zucker made an incredible pass through a tangle of legs to Kapanen, who was wide open in the slot. The snakebitten Finn went forehand to backhand to forehand again to beat Cam Talbot.

For No. 42, it was the tip of the iceberg. Showing great chemistry, his line struck again in the final minute of the period, with Kapanen again doing the honors. Zucker fed a short pass to Evan Rodrigues, who in turn found Kapanen cruising at the top of the right circle. Kasperi unleashed a bullet that zipped past Talbot stick side.

Next, it was Jake Guentzel’s turn at bat. With Jeff Carter providing a perfect screen, the Omaha native whipped the puck home from the high slot for his third goal of the season.

You know what they say about a 3-1 lead in hockey. Unfortunately, the old adage proved spot-on. With half a game to kill and too much time on their hands, to borrow a line from the old Styx song, the Pens frittered away the lead.

Three minutes before the second period horn, Joel Eriksson Ek struck to pare our advantage to 3-2. However, Kapanen stepped up to the plate again. In the waning seconds of a third-period power play, he launched a missile from the top of the left circle that caught the left post before deflecting in off ex-Pen Alex Goligoski.

Again, the Pens held a commanding two-goal lead, this time with just over half a period to play. Again, they couldn’t make it stand. With just over three minutes remaining and Talbot pulled for an extra attacker, Jared Spurgeon smoked Tristan Jarry with a missile from center point.

After Talbot stopped Kapanen with 2:36 remaining, the rest of the period was pretty much played in the black-and-gold zone. Following a crucial faceoff win by Mike Hartman with seventeen seconds remaining, the Wild coolly worked the puck through our stick-waving defense. Leading to Hartman’s crushing game-tying tally.

Still, hope remained that we’d pull this one out and gain the extra point, especially after we held serve in overtime. Guentzel opened the shootout with a goal. But Talbot stiffened and the Wild toasted Jarry on three-straight attempts, including the game-winner by ex-Pen Nick Bjugstad.

Puckpourri

The Wild enjoyed a slight edge in shots on goal (40-39) and faceoffs (51 percent). The Pens held a surprising advantage in hits (39-28).

The Zucker-Rodrigues-Kapanen line was a force, combining for three goals, seven points and a collective plus-seven. Likewise, the Danton Heinen, Brian Boyle and Drew O’Connor trio dominated (72.73 Corsi) in limited ice time. However, the top unit of Carter, Rust and Guentzel (45.16) and the “Grind Line” of Teddy Blueger, Zach-Aston Reese and Brock McGinn (37.50) were decidedly underwater.

Following an icing call, Rust and Guentzel…hardly known for their defense…were trapped on the ice for the game-tying goal. Fixated on the puck, Jake lost track of Hartman, who flew in undetected.

Rust replaced Dominik Simon and tallied two assists (with six shots on goal). He finished a minus-one. Kris Letang logged an extraordinary 29:19 of time and delivered a game-high eight hits. Tanger assisted on Kapanen’s third goal and finished a plus-one. Thanks to his hat trick, the first of his NHL career, Kasperi earned top-star honors.

Rodrigues tallied two assists and finished a plus-two. So did former Pen and personal favorite Frederick Gaudreau.

Solid enough during regulation play and overtime, Jarry’s been positively sieve-like in shootouts. He’s allowed five goals on seven attempts.

On the heels of a strong start defensively, the locals have yielded a staggering 153 shots on goal over the past four games. They haven’t allowed less than 30 shots in a game since the victory over Toronto on October 23. Not by coincidence, we’re 1-2-1 during that stretch. So much for run-and-gun hockey.

Todd Reirden once again handled the coaching reins in Mike Sullivan’s absence. With a record of 4-3-3 and 11 points, we’ve slipped into the Metro basement, seven points behind division-leading Carolina.

The immediate outlook doesn’t appear too rosy. The Pens take to the road for 12 of the next 16 contests, including Tuesday’s matchup with the Blackhawks in the Windy City.