Penguins lose control, suffer damaging loss to Blue Jackets: Yohe's 10 observations

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PITTSBURGH — The Penguins have missed the Stanley Cup playoffs by mere points the past two seasons.

Nights like this are a pretty good reason why.

Up 3-1 in the third period, at home, against a Columbus Blue Jackets team that has been making a move in the standings, the Penguins collapsed and ultimately fell in a shootout, 4-3.

They’ve now lost three straight games, all in extra time. Since the holiday break, the Penguins are a disappointing 1-2-3, and up next is a visit from Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday.

“Well,” coach Mike Sullivan said, “we had complete control of the game.”

He’s right. The Penguins, after a sluggish first period, were very good for most of the second and third periods and looked well on their way to what would have been an important two points.

Sullivan’s team, however, possesses an unfortunate knack for blowing leads. It has happened time and time again this season. Just 48 hours earlier in Raleigh, the Penguins went up 2-0 before falling to the Hurricanes.

It happened again this time.

As usual, it wasn’t just one party at fault.

With the Penguins up 3-1 past the midway point of the third period, Tristan Jarry hesitated with the puck on his blade and then made a poor play, leading to a turnover. A few seconds later, Dmitri Voronkov scored to make it 3-2.

Then, a questionable call on Blake Lizotte gave the Blue Jackets a power play.

The penalty kill let Jarry and the Penguins down for the second time against the Blue Jackets, as Adam Fantilli was left alone and redirected a shot past Jarry.

Sullivan was fuming about the penalty. He referred to it as a “head-scratcher.”

“It was a stick lift,” he continued.

Jarry was beaten in two of the three shootout attempts.

Sullivan wasn’t thrilled with his goaltender’s performance.

“Well, obviously the shootout’s the shootout,” he said. “It’s hard to win when you give up two out of three. We’d like him to be better there. I thought he made some saves most of the night. I would have liked the goalie exchange (on the second goal) to be a little bit cleaner. So, for me, I think it’s a little bit of both. I thought he had his moments when he made some nice saves. I think he’s capable of more.”

Sullivan likely thinks the same of his team in general.

The Penguins were on an 11-3-1 roll before the holiday break and, while they’ve played at a reasonable level since then, they’ve lost out on a number of crucial points. This was the worst night of all in that regard.

Ten postgame observations

• This one is particularly painful for the Penguins because they played so well in the second and third periods. Really.

Sullivan is right. They were in control. Or so it seemed.

Jarry actually looked sharp most of the night but he made a mistake on the second goal. The problem with goaltenders who are comfortable playing the puck is that sometimes they try to do too much. I think that’s what we saw on that goal.

And this is Jarry in a nutshell. Even on nights when he’s pretty good, which he was, he will still make the occasional mental error that will be costly.

• Speaking of Jarry, his performance in the shootout was lacking in confidence to the extreme. I don’t know how else to describe it.

His body language suggested that he wasn’t comfortable in that spot, which I suspect was indeed the case. He was a sitting duck.

Gone are the days of Marc-Andre Fleury when it was a foregone conclusion that the Penguins would bag two points when they entered a shootout. Now, almost the opposite seems to be the case.

Jarry is at his best when he can simply play and react. When he starts thinking about the moment, it’s pretty clear that he struggles. And that’s a problem.

• Speaking of shootouts, Crosby hasn’t looked good this season in his few attempts. He’s been opting for the slow-motion, Patrick Kane-style attempt in recent seasons and hasn’t enjoyed a ton of success. (I am reminded of the advice that Mario Lemieux, the greatest breakaway artist in hockey history, always gave players seeking his counsel: “Go in with speed.” No one in the NHL seems to do this anymore.)

This is a shame for Crosby, incidentally, because he was by far the best player on the ice on Tuesday. That’s been the case for a while.

Crosby has been sensational for three weeks now. His goal scoring remains strangely spotty, but his playmaking and overall play have been brilliant in recent games.

He set up the red-hot Michael Bunting for the Penguins’ first goal.

 

Later, his faceoff win started the play that led to Rickard Rakell’s first goal.

Then, in the third period, Crosby made a sensational play behind the net to set up another Rakell goal.

If you’re looking for optimism concerning the Penguins, look no further than Crosby’s current form.

• Evgeni Malkin was a late scratch because of what the Penguins are calling an “upper-body injury.”

He is considered day to day, so it can be assumed that he’s not dealing with anything especially concerning. This was the first time Malkin has missed a game since he didn’t play on April 21, 2022, against the Boston Bruins.

Malkin and Crosby had played every game in each of the past three seasons until this one.

“I don’t know when it happened,” Sullivan said. “And I don’t have anything else to add other than other than what the team put out.”

• I feel like I’ve been commented on officiating a lot lately. Honestly, I hate doing that.

But that call on Lizotte was absolutely terrible.

It all goes back to my “officiating the score” belief. If that game was tied, Lizotte wouldn’t receive that call. But with his team protecting a one-goal lead, he does. Really bad call.

• Jesse Puljujarvi made his return to the lineup.

He showed some rust but enjoyed a couple of nice sequences in the second period.

I’d like to see him receive a string of games. I think there’s real talent there. With his speed and size, he should be able to help the bottom six.

• That’s 20 goals on the season for Rakell, who is almost on pace for 40 goals. He’s simply been outstanding all season, and not just in the goal-scoring department.

The shot he made to give the Penguins a 2-1 lead in the third period was as good as it gets. What a release, what shot placement.

• Speaking of that goal, how about the pass Erik Karlsson made?

I’ve never covered a player quite like Karlsson. He can be so bad and infuriate everyone in the building for stretches. But then, when the light switch goes on, he becomes Hall of Famer Erik Karlsson.

The last couple of weeks haven’t been perfect by any stretch, but it’s the best we’ve seen Karlsson look in a Penguins uniform. This is a significant development.

• Stick tap to the Blue Jackets. That was a very gutsy win and they’re becoming a very intriguing story. They were projected to be among the NHL’s worst teams entering the season and they’ve been anything but that.

I have spent enough time in Columbus over the years to know that it’s a great NHL city just waiting to happen. There is an interesting crop of young talent evolving in central Ohio.

• The Penguins are still accumulating points, which is great. The last two weeks aren’t the end of the world for them.

However, they have become reliant on their top line and power play. Those two units were responsible for all three of their goals in this game. Sure, their penalty killing and goaltending are what ultimately betrayed them in this game, and the penalty kill, so good most of the season, is suddenly becoming a big problem.

Looking at the big picture, though, we knew goal prevention would be a problem for this team, and it is. If the Penguins don’t find a way to generate offense from their second, third and fourth lines — a problem that will become much more difficult if Malkin misses more time — there will be more nights just like this.

This is the biggest homestand of the season for the Penguins.

It started in an especially disappointing fashion.

(Photo: Charles LeClaire / Imagn Images)





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About The Author

Fannie Hogan is a writer and editor who covers lifestyle, books, sports, education, and tech. She's always loved to write—from the time she was a little girl writing stories about talking animals to the day she got her first job as an editor at a lifestyle magazine. Her hobbies include long walks on the beach, running, and taking breaks from work to read a good book.

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