PITTSBURGH — Erik Karlsson scored his 200th career goal as the Pittsburgh Penguins had an easy time against the Chicago Blackhawks in a 5-0 victory at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday.
Kevin Hayes scored twice, Kris Letang also found the net and Sidney Crosby added another highlight-reel goal to his impressive season. Tristan Jarry pitched a shutout for the Penguins, who have three games remaining in their regular-season schedule.
“I’ve scored some goals over the years,” Karlsson said. “Hopefully I have another 100 in me.”
If he has more games against the Blackhawks, it would seem plausible.
The Penguins actually lost in Chicago two days earlier, but that was never in danger of happening in this encounter. While the Blackhawks looked lifeless throughout the evening, the Penguins played a solid game and didn’t commit the defensive blunders that have become all too common this season.
Ten postgame observations
• The Penguins obviously played a pretty solid game, but I wouldn’t read anything into it. This game serves as proof that the Penguins completely no-showed Sunday’s game at the United Center, because this Blackhawks team is sensationally terrible.
It felt like a preseason game in the crowd and it often looked like one on the ice. Oh, the Penguins played fine. They utterly dominated the game, in fact. They shouldn’t be discredited — I just don’t know what to make of it because Chicago was that bad.
• I think it’s important to give Jarry credit for how he has bounced back from tough situations this season. He’s been sent to Wilkes-Barre twice and that probably would have destroyed the psyche of most goaltenders. Then he endured those two awful games in Tampa and Buffalo, but that didn’t destroy him, either. This certainly says something for Jarry’s character.
Is he the goaltender of the future for the Penguins? No, I don’t believe he is. But who knows at this point? He’s been much, much better in recent weeks.
• Crosby’s goal was great simply because it looked like he had no idea the pass from Bryan Rust was coming.
Then Crosby instinctively whacked at the puck and absolutely buried it top shelf. He appeared to even surprise himself with that effort.
A PPG for PGH 💪
Crosby’s 14-game home point streak is the third-longest such streak of his career. pic.twitter.com/97mUtyS3R5
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 8, 2025
The truly great players do things every game that just make you laugh. That was one of those moments.
Crosby, incidentally, now has 21 points in his past 14 games. He just keeps trucking along.
• Rust’s celebration after the goal was hilarious. Neither Crosby nor Rust were available to the media following the game (that’s not a complaint, as they’re the two most media-accommodating players on the roster) so I didn’t get a chance to ask them about it.
But everyone seemed amused by the goal.
• Ville Koivunen’s feed to Karlsson was a thing of beauty.
2️⃣ 0️⃣ 0️⃣ NHL GOALS!
Take a bow, EK65! pic.twitter.com/mQuDjeglaD
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 9, 2025
My favorite facet of Koivunen’s game is how the rookie sees the ice. I believe he’s going to become a very accomplished power-play guy at the NHL level because of this attribute. His hockey IQ is high, as is his ability to deliver passes in the wheelhouse.
This was a very strong game for Koivunen, who got promoted to the top line. He didn’t look out of place.
• Ryan Shea is very quietly etching himself into the lineup next season simply by how he’s playing right now.
The Penguins’ blue line is an absolute mess, as you’re surely aware. There is next to no stability in this defensive group. In Shea, however, the Penguins have a defenseman who is at least somewhat dependable. There’s nothing special or flashy about his game, but that’s perfectly fine. There’s already too much flash on the Penguins’ blue line.
There’s something to be said for being a reliable defensive defenseman. That’s what Shea is. He looks like a left-handed Chad Ruhwedel, and that’s no knock. You need guys like that.
• Rutger McGroarty was injured blocking a shot in the second period and did not return. He appeared to injure his foot and was in a walking boot after the game. Penguins assistant coach David Quinn, who filled in for Mike Sullivan, offered no update on his condition following the game.
McGroarty was probably having his least effective game since being recalled and was demoted to the second line in the second period. He looked a little off, as will happen when you’re 21 and in your first few days of being an NHL regular.
He’ll be just fine. As I’ve mentioned consistently in the past few days, I love pretty much everything about McGroarty’s game. He just thinks the game at such of a high level. Hopefully the injury isn’t serious and he’ll be back in the lineup later this week. The more he plays now, the better.
• Connor Bedard was very, very quiet in this game, other than at the end of the second period, when he slammed the door on the Chicago bench loud enough for the entire arena to hear.
In that moment, I was reminded he’s only 19 and surely frustrated by the season he and his team have endured. I think the criticism he’s received this season is pretty unfair, given his age. There’s no doubt he’s going to have a wonderful career.
Is he Crosby or Connor McDavid? Nah, not by a long shot at this point. But that’s OK. That doesn’t mean he won’t be great.
On Tuesday, though, you could feel his frustration all night. He isn’t exactly surrounded by All-Stars on this team.
• The Penguins aren’t some great team, but they could have won this game in their sleep. This says more about the Blackhawks than it does about them, but still. It’s probably not fair to say the Penguins are a terrible team, but they’re a below-average one that hasn’t made the playoffs in three seasons.
This got me thinking about two years ago, when an equally horrific Blackhawks team was in Pittsburgh. That team was actively tanking and the Penguins only had to beat them and the equally terrible Blue Jackets in the final week of the season to earn a playoff berth.
And they lost to both.
For the Penguins, it was truly the day the music died. I was thinking about that game in the third period tonight, simply because tonight’s below-average Penguins would have won that game two years ago with such ease. And yet those Penguins, a much better team, were soundly defeated with everything on the line.
Funny game, hockey.
• The Penguins close the season by playing three games over the remaining nine days. Yeah, that doesn’t make a lot of sense. I think the practice time will serve as too little, too late for the Penguins. Nonetheless, after an off day on Wednesday, the Penguins will practice Thursday and then take on the New Jersey Devils in Newark.
(Photo of Erik Karlsson and Sidney Crosby: Charles LeClaire / Imagn Images)