Penguins Show Heart ‘n’ Holes in Shootout Loss to Islanders

If ever a team had an excuse to lie down and die, our Penguins did last night. The Islanders had stormed back from an early deficit to snatch a 3-1 lead, including a soul-crushing tally in the final minute of the opening frame.

Adding injury (or sickness) to insult, our beloved Rusty Razor, Bryan Rust exited after skating just two shifts. Evan Rodrigues would soon follow, leaving us two forwards short. Three if you counted Evgeni Malkin, sitting out the first of a four-game suspension.

I thought we were goners for sure.

But the Pens didn’t roll over. To the contrary, they dug their heels in and began clawing away at the Islanders’ lead. Eventually knotting the score not once but twice before pushing the game to overtime and then a shootout.

No, we didn’t win, coming out on the short end of a 5-4 score. But we did earn a point. Perhaps more important, we showed more heart and moxie than at any time in recent memory. Something to hang your hat on.

Casey DeSmith typified the team’s performance. Although he yielded four goals on 37 shots, hardly Vezina-type numbers, he hung tough and made a number of huge saves, none larger than an incredible end-of-the-blocker stop on Brock Nelson with the game on the line.

The Goals

The Pens drew first blood at 5:52 of the opening frame. Working on the cycle, Sidney Crosby fed Rickard Rakell cutting through the slot. The silky Swede’s backhander was blocked by Adam Pelech, but Jake Guentzel, opportunistic as always, pounced on the loose puck and drove it past Ilya Sorokin.

The Isles countered. With Jake in the box, a wide-open Zach Parise struck on the power play to knot the score at 1-1. Three minutes later Parise scored again, this time shorthanded on a beautiful setup at the goalmouth from Jean-Gabriel Pageau. Josh Bailey delivered the potential dagger with 38 seconds left in the period, slipping undetected into the left circle and beating DeSmith far side.

But the Pens didn’t fold. To the contrary, they stormed back with a vengeance, outshooting their hosts 19-7 in the second period. Kasperi Kapanen used his speed to skirt the Islanders’ defense before slipping a pass to Danton Heinen in the slot. Heinen lofted the puck into a wide-open net for his 15th goal of the season.

Next, the black and gold wove a little late-period magic of their own. Eighty-six seconds before intermission, Guentzel scooped up a loose puck and circled the net. With Crosby providing traffic in front, Jake found an opening and snapped the puck home to tie the game at 3-apiece.

Once again, the Islanders countered. Brian Dumoulin chipped a perfect pass from the boards to Bailey in the slot. The ubiquitous winger pulled the trigger and beat a helpless DeSmith again.

How does that old saying go? It’s better to be lucky than good? Well, our guys got lucky. Very lucky. Around the five-minute mark, Kapanen stepped on the puck and fell. Anthony Beauvillier had the misfortune of being in vicinity and was whistled for a phantom tripping call.

As another old saying goes, don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. The Pens seized the opportunity. Guentzel got all of a shot from the top of the right circle and Jeff Carter deflected it home.

Each team had their chances in overtime, none better than when Casey Cizikas barreled into our zone and sent the puck, cage and DeSmith flying simultaneously. Replays proved inconclusive and the “no goal” call stood. The Pens failed to convert on a late power play and the contest went to a shootout. Decidedly not our domain any more.

Coach Mike Sullivan went with his big three of Guentzel, Crosby and Letang (something like a combined 3 for 27 this season on shootouts). While our big guns predictably misfired, Kyle Palmieri struck to snatch the extra point for the Islanders.

A disappointing wrap-up, to be sure. But I give our guys an A for effort if not execution.

Somewhere Geno Must Be Smiling

Not that Malkin would take the slightest pleasure at his teammates’ misfortune. But it’s been widely inferred that No. 71’s been the root cause of our sloppy play of late. Well, the Pens “structure” continued to display more holes than a jumbo hunk of Swiss cheese last night, as witnessed by a staggering 24 giveaways.

I don’t know what it’s going to take for Sullivan & Co. to tighten things up. (An Act of Congress perhaps?) But until we do, our chances for postseason success remain microscopic.

Puckpourri

As they are wont to do, our guys controlled the game from a statistical standpoint. We held an edge in shot attempts (68-62), shots on goal (47-37), scoring chances (44-29) and high-danger chances (16-9).

Did I mention we’re something like 30th in the league in finishing?

Guentzel paced the attack with two goals and a helper to earn the third star. Sid and Rakell had two assists apiece.

My goodness is Rakell a player. He’s fast, strong and skilled, with good size, excellent instincts and a nose for the net. Surprisingly physical, too. Since joining the black and gold, he’s averaging close to a point per game (10 points in 12 games to be exact). Someone on another blog pointed out that he’s a playmaking winger in the mold of Marian Hossa and I agree.

Given what looks like a blossoming partnership with Sid, I sure hope we can find a way to sign him.

Brock McGinn returned to the lineup after missing 15 games with an upper-body injury. Thank goodness Rust and Rodrigues weren’t hurt. They departed due to a non-Covid illness that’s working its way through the team.

Brian Boyle (an assist) continues to shine. He has four goals and nine points in his past 16 games. With 11 points in his past 18 games, Carter’s been on an upswing as well.

The Pens (42-22-11, 95 points) lead over the fourth place (and red-hot) Capitals has dwindled to three points…and they have two games in hand.  I wonder what the weather’s like in Florida this time of year?

On deck, a return match with the Islanders on Thursday night in the ‘Burgh.