Listless Pens Lose in Carolina, 2-1

The Penguins did not follow-up their come-from-behind shootout victory over Columbus on Wednesday with a similar effort and lost to Carolina, 2-1.

• Recap from TribLive’s Jonathan Bomboulie
• The view from the other side from Luke DeCock of the News & Observer

The Hurricanes outshot the Penguins 33-28 for the game (26-14 going) and held Crosby, Kessel and Malkin off the scoreboard. The Penguins only goal came in the first period on an odd man break when a pass was deflected perfectly to Brian Dumoulin who blasted home his second of the year.

Dumoul-IN THE NET! pic.twitter.com/t5m0ttupjq

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 30, 2017

Dumoulin’s goal gave the Penguins a one goal lead that lasted until Derek Ryan tied it up 6:25 into the second period. Carolina had a goal late in the second waived off because of goalie interference but then scored less than a minute later to take a 2-1 lead. The Penguins would muster 14 shots in the third but failed to score.

Mike Sullivan talked about the Penguins getting the first goal, but not taking advantage of the early lead and not handling the Carolina forecheck after the game.

Here’s Tristan Jarry after the game talking to the media:

Postgame recap from Brian Metzer and Paul Steigerwald:

Not the result the @penguins were looking for tonight losing 2-1 to #CAR. On #PenguinsLivePostgame Paul Steigerwald & @Brian_Metzer broke it down and we heard from HC Mike Sullivan. Take a listen to the podcast. https://t.co/FDn1cT6pxM pic.twitter.com/11ARMCtmRI

— Penguins Live (@penguinslive) December 30, 2017

If you’re into the whole advanced statistics thing, Corsica hockey will give you a good look at how the Penguins were dominated on the night.

Here’s the rundown:

• CF (Corsi) Carolina 65, Pittsburgh 47
• CF (5v5) Carolina 56, Pittsburgh 39
• CF%: Carolina 58.04% to Pittsburgh’s 41.96%
• xGF (Expected goals for): Carolina 3.3 to 1.9

The Penguins next game will be Sunday night in Detroit as they take on the Red Wings (14-16-7).