Penguins Wrap: Karlsson Saga; Roller Coaster Road Trip

The Pittsburgh Penguins had their second significant road trip just a month into the season. This time, instead of traipsing across western Canada and coming home frustrated, they had three games in four nights against Metropolitan Division foes. It didn’t start so well. Then it got worse. And finally, an upbeat ending with a win before heading home.

Along the way, defenseman Erik Karlsson found himself under heavy scrutiny.

In the good news department, injured winger Bryan Rust returned, but a couple others were injured during the Penguins’ trip.

Catch up on the newsy week. Click the links.

Saturday: Sidney Crosby to the rescue. The Penguins captain was the star, and the team played a better brand of hockey before heading out on the road in a win over visiting Montreal.

Kris Letang offered up what he thought Crosby’s secret was. PHN had the reaction from an upbeat locker room.

The first chunk of games have not revealed a pretty picture, at least before the win against Montreal. In fact, PHN gave the Penguins a poor grade and took a look at what might come next in this evaluation so far.

Bryan Rust, listed as week-to-week because of a lower-body injury, resumed skating. That and other injury updates.

Sunday: To try to spark the offense, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan was practically forced to load up on the top line by moving Evgeni Malkin there, along with Crosby and Rikard Rakell. That was working, but what about the other three lines?

Monday: Mike Sullivan has altered his approach. The Penguins, despite what some north of the border are saying, aren’t dead yet. And what about the goaltending situation? PHN dives in in this version of 3 thoughts.

Looking at how things shaped up in practice, Cody Glass was staring at a shot in the top six. Plus, injury updates in this practice report.

Tuesday: After going 0-3-1 during their early-season trip to western Canada, the Penguins were looking at a new challenge. Could they redeem themselves against Metropolitan Division teams on a three-game road trip?

The first answer to the above question was not positive. The New York Islanders were depleted. The Penguins had a two-goal lead in the third period. But once again, they could not hold a lead and fell in a shootout.

It wasn’t the goalie’s fault. Other than that, things weren’t so great. Coach Mike Sullivan was critical of his team’s third period, and the letters weren’t good in this Penguins report card.

Wednesday: The culprits in all the blown leads and poor stretches of games are many. And they are identifiable. Find out who is to blame and what can be done in this Penguins analysis.

At a practice day on the road, there was good news about injured forward Bryan Rust. However, a couple other players turned up injured. Check out the practice report.

Could the Nashville Predators’ slow start and perhaps interest in making some moves pull the Penguins into some trade talks? PHN explores the options.

Thursday: Mistakes once again did in the Penguins. In particular, Erik Karlsson stood out, and not in a good way, and the Penguins lost to Carolina.

Coach Mike Sullivan never calls out his players for criticism by name, but he was miffed after the loss to the Hurricanes, and it wasn’t difficult to interpret who he meant. Get that and other postgame analysis in the Penguins grades.

Friday: The ups and downs — OK, mostly downs — of Erik Karlsson are outlined, and letting goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic off the hook is the right move. Read more in a Penguins notebook.

The Penguins got Bryan Rust back for their trip-ending game in Washington. That’s always a matchup that draws attention because of the teams’ rivalry and the fact that the game features the Penguins’ Sidney Crosby against the Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin. This time, those two Hall of Famers were not heavily involved in in the outcome as the Penguins finished their trip with a win.

Trends were bucked, the top line was broken up later in the game, and something might have finally clicked — all in a productive way. As you might imagine, things were looking up in the Penguins grades.