So Close and Yet So Far: Penguins Fall Just Short in 3-2 Shootout Loss to Panthers

I thought we had this one. I really did. Not just when Evgeni Malkin beat Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky with a Lemieux-esque, sharp-angle shot from the goal line to tie the game at 2-all with 41.5 seconds left. But also when goalie Alex Nedeljkovic sprawled to the ice to poke the puck off Brandon Montour’s stick as the Panthers’ defender flew in on a breakaway with roughly 1:45 left in overtime.

Heck, even in the shootout we appeared to be destiny’s child when Bobrovsky thwarted Jake Guentzel, only have the puck magically squirt out of his glove and flutter into the net.

Then it all came crashing down when sharpshooter Sam Reinhart cruised in and caromed an iron shot past Nedeljkovic. In the process snatching the vital second point from our grasp.

But, oh, how we battled. Tooth-and-nail. Eye-for-an-eye.

The Pens may not be a playoff-caliber bunch. But they sure fight like one.

In addition to being a very good hockey team, the Panthers are also extremely tough, boasting the likes of marauding Matthew Tkachuk, hard-nosed Sam Bennett, feisty Ryan Lomberg and heavyweight Jonah Gadjovich, who laid a pretty good whuppin’ on Marcus Pettersson last season as a member of the Sharks.

Tkachuk set the tone for a heated evening of hockey 22 seconds into the first period when he shot the puck into the Pens’ net on a delayed penalty. Subscribing to the theory that revenge is a dish best served cold, Jeff Carter stored that nugget away for future reference.

That moment came later in the period after each team had scored a goal, the Pens on a backdoor power-play tally by Guentzel at 1:51 and the Panthers on a marker by old friend Evan Rodrigues at 4:52, also with the man advantage.

Following a whistle near the 17-minute mark, Carter nudged the puck toward Bobrovsky, setting off a wild 5-on-5 scrum between the Pens’ fourth line and Tkachuk’s unit. Bringing emotions to a frothy boil, where they remained throughout the game.

Indeed, in the immediate aftermath, Noel Acciari engaged the loquacious Tkachuk in some lively banter from their respective benches, while Lomberg challenged Carter to a fight on the next shift.

Game on, as they say.

Unfortunately, it was the visitors who got a leg up midway through the second period. With Kris Letang serving a double-minor for sending Panthers’ captain Aleksander Barkov sprawling into the boards, Reinhart dropped to a knee and beat Nedeljkovic from the high slot. A pity, because the Pens piled up a 15-10 edge in shots on goal (and 32-19 advantage in shot attempts) during the period, aided by five power-play opportunities. Unfortunately, we couldn’t beat Bobrovsky.

After we misfired on power play number seven early in the third period, coach Mike Sullivan…clearly exasperated…yanked Malkin and Erik Karlsson off the top unit in favor of Letang and rookie Valtteri Puustinen on our final power play opportunity with 5:25 to play. Our best chance came a minute in when Guentzel ripped off a bullet from the slot, only to be denied by Bobrovsky.

With the locals desperately in need of a goal, Sullivan pulled Nedeljkovic with about 80 seconds remaining. Eetu Luostarinen barely missed the empty net with 66 ticks left, setting in motion the glorious final sequence.

Karlsson made a crisp point-to-point pass to Guentzel, who fed Letang above the left circle. Tanger hesitated, then fired a shot on goal that relayed from Sidney Crosby to Bryan Rust before popping off Bobrovsky’s pads and back to Sid. Crosby zipped a hard pass to Malkin to the right of the net and Geno did the rest, banking the biscuit in off his beleaguered countryman to knot the score and touch off a wild celebration with his teammates.

Having clawed their way back, the Pens relaxed and it nearly cost ‘em. Fortunately, Nedeljkovic made a huge glove save on Reinhart with seven seconds left in regulation before doing his star turn in overtime.

At the other end of the ice, Geno was nearly a double-hero. With one tick left on the OT clock he unleashed a sizzling backhander from the slot that Bobrovsky just managed to flick aside with his blocker. 

Alas, in the shootout, the Pens zigged when they should’ve zagged. Both Rickard Rakell and Crosby took winding, s-curve routes to the net and failed to score. By contrast, the Panthers used the direct approach and beat Nedeljkovic on two of three attempts to grab the second point.

Puckpourri

The Pens held the edge in shot attempts (76-66) and shots on goal (37-32). Scoring chances favored the Panthers (32-30). High-danger chances were even at 10-apiece.

This marked the third time in our past six games that we scored the tying goal with our goalie pulled in the final minute of regulation play, which surely must be some sort of record. Unfortunately, we failed to earn the second point in any of ‘em.

Malkin earned the third star of the game. Geno was our top forward in terms of driving play (an expected goals for percentage of 63.14). At his emotionally invested best, he nearly dropped the gloves with Montour at the end of OT.

Speaking of extracurriculars, Letang was at the eye of the storm all night long. After dumping Barkov, he was repeatedly targeted by the Panthers but stood his ground and dished out a game-high five hits. I so admire his character and mental toughness. Tanger doesn’t back up an inch. He asks no quarter and he gives none.

Great to see the Pens stick up for themselves and get involved physically. Still wish we had a hammer or two (or three) along the lines of Bennett.

This may (or may not) come as a surprise, but we’re the worst finishing team in the league.

While our power play largely misfired (1-for-8), the Panthers were 2-for-3. Our inability to convert cost us the game.

Sullivan put his second and third forward lines in a blender, with mixed results. Although limited to 10:29 of ice time, Puustinen played a spirited game and registered a Corsi of 58.33, second to Rakell’s 62.50.

On defense, Sully leaned heavily on the trio of Karlsson (29:11 TOI), Letang (26:53) and Pettersson (21:48).

Think the Sabres regret trading Reinhart (36 goals and counting) to the Panthers? Imagine where they’d be if they still had him.

On Deck

The Pens (21-17-7, 49 points) close out their pre All-Star game slate tonight against the Canadiens (20-21-7, 47 points). Although we have games in hand over our competition, we’re currently six points behind in the wild-card chase.

Am I being too Captain Obvious by stating we absolutely, positively must come away with two points against the Habs?