Perhaps it’s a little too early to label a game “must-win.” Especially since most of our competition are struggling with consistency issues as well.
However, with a troika of very challenging games dead ahead in Colorado, Vegas and Utah, the Penguins really needed to take advantage of last night’s match-up with the lowly Blackhawks.
The fact that we didn’t, or couldn’t, doesn’t speak well of our chances for a successful season. Indeed, in many ways the 5-3 loss harkened back to a similar defeat at the hands of a dreadful Hawks squad back in April of 2023. The one that ended our 16-season playoff run.
Statistically at least, the Pens didn’t play horribly. They attempted 62 shots to Chicago’s 34 and held a 27-20 edge in shots on goal. They more than doubled the Hawks in scoring chances (37-15) and held a significant edge in high-danger chances (16-9) as well.
Yet we lost.
Once again, sloppy, disconnected play was a culprit, particularly in our own end. Brought on, in no small part by a fierce Hawks forecheck and a corresponding unwillingness by the coaching staff to adjust. Not to mention a stale, rancid power play that misfired on four chances to run our string of futility to 16 scoreless man advantages and counting.
Not to pin the loss on the kid, but Sergei Murashov’s 15-save (on 19 shots) performance didn’t help. In particular, the game-winner he yielded to Teuvo Teravainen from the sideboards at 15:42 of the third period should’ve been stopped.
In the good news department, Sidney Crosby broke out of his season-opening slump with a pair of goals. And Nick Robertson notched his team-high fourth goal while helping to drive what’s emerged as a buzz-saw fourth line with Blake Lizotte and Connor Dewar.
Sorry to be so brief, but life has intervened, specifically doggy-sitting duties, so that’s all for now.
As the Penguins continue to stumble through the throes of what for all the world…
In a battle of the birds in Anaheim last night, it was the homestanding Ducks…
The Penguins halted their four-game losing streak last night with a 5-2 victory over the…
To borrow from an old Tom Petty classic, the Penguins are free fallin.’ Losers of…
A couple of weeks ago I wrote an article where I confessed to my envy…
It wasn’t all that long ago I was singing praises to Kyle Dubas. Starting with…
View Comments
Rick,
A team should never lose a game when they limit their opponent to 20 SOG. They would have to work really hard to drop that one - and our Pens did.
The good news is (as you noted) lots of teams are struggling with consistency. The bad news is that even though the saying is "Victory has a thousand fathers and defeat is an orphan", our Penguins have reversed that saying - there were at least 21 fathers to last nights loss; the 19 skaters the Head Coach, and the HOHO who put them all together.
I do like Murashov and know he is 1,000 times better than Silovs but two of the four Goals he gave-up should have been stopped, including the game winner (give CBH a little credit for taking advantage of a couple of the kids mistakes).
Give Kindel some credit on that game winning Goal as well - his DNA was all over that play. Kindel's big whiff on that hip check (getting nothing but boards) put Murashov in a position to give up a soft Goal. Add to that Kindel's inability to take Kantserov's stick away on the Hawks third Goal. I am not sure how much muscle he really put on over the off season, judging how he just got plain brushed aside like a flea on that third marker. Kindel earned his -2.
What about his line partner, Kuzmenko (Mantha's replacement?) so slow that he gets caught from behind and has the puck stripped from him. He earned his -2 as well
Not to mention Carlile panicking 28 seconds into the game and coughing the puck up to Frondell and Bertuzzi.
So who thought is was a good idea to pay Vegas to take Wotherspoon off us? In exchange for another RHD? Oh that would be our resident HOHO, KD. Who thought Carlile would be able to replace Wotherspoon? You got it, our HOHO - KD. Who thought was it that though signing Kuzmenko to replace Mantha rather than promote from within? Yep, your right again, none other than KD. Who was it that thought TVR was going to be a great fit and be a viable Defenseman while playing his off-side? again KD. Who decided to trade gritty Filip Hallander for Milquetoast Stastney? chalk another one up for the HOHO. Even though we didn't give up much in the trade, who brought in another No Hit, No Block Gv artist Defenseman for Jones and Laatsch? KD has really struggled this off-season through the early part of the regular season.
Now, who thought that 35 year-old TVR would be a great pairing for 39 year-old Letang? Yep I am talking about Muse now. Who chose to flank the Penguins leading candidate for the Charles Atlas training system, Ben "just got sand kicked in my face" Kindel with guys either too small or too slow to buy the kid any time or space. Again Muse. (Losing Mantha and Brazeau as line mates is going to hurt Kindel.)
Watching Kindel get out muscled by Kantserov reminded me of several seasons back when our Pens brain trust traded Marino for smith and Boyle just shrugged him aside to score a GA us.