Penguins Blow Three-Goal Lead, Fall to Bruins in OT

I knew we were going to lose. You watch enough hockey, you just get a sense of these things.

A three-goal lead against the Bruins last night should’ve been more than enough cushion. It wasn’t. That’s because we have no clue how to protect a lead or let the air out of a game.

Indeed, as the proceedings inexorably slipped through our white-knuckled grasp, our guys ran around the ice like so many chickens with their heads cut off. I’ve seen pee-wee teams with better positioning. It’s as if no one knows where they’re supposed to be and what they’re supposed to do.

Like watching dominos fall. Or in keeping with a Halloween theme, Nightmare on Fifth Avenue. Take your pick.

We’ve become the ultimate one-trick pony. We only know one way to play…outscore the opposition. That might’ve worked when Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin were in their prime. We’re not young enough or fast enough or good enough to win that way anymore.

If we’re not scoring? There’s no one to light a fire under the team with a big hit or…heaven forbid…a fight.

We have coach Mike Sullivan to thank. Overtly or covertly, he’s been the driving force behind the makeup of the team. He’s made it clear there’s no room for physically assertive types. Milquetoasts only.

Speaking of Sully, everyone talks about what a great coach he is. Maybe that’s true. But he never seems to adjust. If he and his staff are preaching any type of structure and defensive responsibility, it sure isn’t evident.

To be fair, I’m sure he’s as stunned as the rest of us, which I can appreciate. The Pens haven’t looked this consistently inept since he took over from Mike Johnston back in 2015.

But the same old, same old isn’t working. Just encouraging better puck management and greater attention to detail isn’t going to cut it. It’s time for a change in philosophy.

Forget run-and-gun hockey. Sullivan needs to introduce some structure…and pronto. A left-wing lock, a 1-4 delay, a trap…call it what you will. He’s got to stabilize the troops and he’s got to make protecting our net (and goalies) a priority.

Once the team settles down and gets a few wins under its belt, then perhaps gradually loosen the reins and reintroduce some volatility to the mix. But for now?

As former coach Michel Therrien once said, “You don’t become champions with no structure, no commitment, and no discipline.”

Amen, Michel.

The Goals

Thirty seconds in Crosby provided some hope (ultimately dashed) for a better outcome when he steamed into the slot and beat Linus Ullmark on a busted play.

Predictability, the lead lasted less than five minutes. B’s tough guy Trent Frederic blew around Jeff Petry and made a power move to the net. Tristan Jarry made the initial stop, but couldn’t smother the puck as it lie loose in the crease. While Petry and Drew O’Connor stood beside the net and watched, Brian Dumoulin fanned on a clearing attempt and Charlie Coyle knocked the puck home.

At 13:20, the Bruins’ fourth line cashed in on a 2-on-2 rush. Petry inexplicably angled into defense partner Chad Ruhwedel, giving rookie Jakub Lauko clear access to the net. Two-one Bruins.

The Pens drew even at 1:47 of the second period. Brock McGinn forced a turnover along the right wall and the puck skittered to Pierre-Olivier Joseph in the left circle. POJ sent a slap pass to Malkin at the right post that Geno easily converted to knot the score at 2-all.

We proceeded to grab the lead off a scramble at 8:42, with McGinn setting up Josh Archibald in the slot.

As I’d written earlier, nothing gets our juices flowing like scoring a goal. An offense that had been largely dormant for the better part of a week suddenly erupted for a pair of goals within 20 seconds. Bryan Rust cleaned up some garbage near the side of the net at 11:16, followed by a Rickard Rakell rocket from the right circle at 11:36 to make it 5-2 Pens.

Almost immediately we set about the task of giving the game away. Shortly after an apparent Bruins goal was negated by a Sullivan challenge, Brad Marchand struck on the power play at 12:57.

We managed to stave off our adversaries until eight minutes remained in regulation, when Pavel Zacha deflected a long-range bomb by Hampus Lindholm past Jarry to cut our lead to one.

You just knew it was a matter of time before Boston got the equalizer. Sure enough, with 1:17 to play Taylor Hall…quiet all night…beat Jarry from the slot to force overtime.

Still, the Pens had a golden opportunity to salvage two points when Lindholm tripped Geno 64 seconds into the extra frame. Instead, our power play laid a golden egg. As our big guns are wont to do, we stood stationary and passed the puck around the perimeter, while misfiring on a few shots.

Then came the inevitable. With 1:23 left in OT, Lindholm grabbed the puck off a faceoff, circled behind his net and set sail unimpeded (of course) for a good 150 feet before beating Jarry from the left circle. Bringing this comedy of errors to a most bitter end.

Puckpourri

This’ll be short and not-so-sweet. The Pens for the most part dominated statistically, with 79 shot attempts to the Bruins’ 60 and 23 high-danger chances to our foes’ 13. Boston held a slight edge in shots on goal (40-38) and a considerable advantage in faceoffs (55 percent).

The Pens surprisingly outhit the Bruins, 48-38.

Special teams were once again awful…0-for-4 on the power play while killing penalties at our customary 66 percent rate.

The other day I called out McGinn for being invisible. Well, last night he played very well, registering two assists, two hits and a plus-2 (tied for the team-best with Malkin).

Kris Letang sat out due to an illness. Ruhwedel took his place and for the most part acquitted himself well, registering two hits, two blocked shots, a takeaway and a shot on goal. He left the game late in the third period.

O’Connor replaced Jeff Carter. He won 44 percent of his draws and paced the black and gold with six hits in 10:40 of ice time.

After Bruins David Pastrnak and A.J. Greer took turns bowling over Jarry, ESPN color commentator Ray Ferraro stated that the Pens needed to “deal with the Bruins more forcefully.” Amazing how everyone but our own brain trust sees it.

Up Next

We shuffle off to Buffalo for yet another back-to-back tonight. Lotsa luck with that. Led by Tage Thompson the Sabres are an up-and-coming team. Then back home to face the Kraken on Saturday night.