Penguins Grades: Time’s Up. Another Bad Pens Loss Likely Seals Fate
EDMONTON, Alberta — Time is up for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Because of a pair of embarrassing losses this weekend, you may not see winger Jake Guentzel and several others in a Penguins sweater again.
With everything at stake on a four-game road trip, the Penguins followed a hard-fought overtime win over the NHL-leading Vancouver Canucks with three straight regulation losses. They were outclassed by the Edmonton Oilers 6-1 at Rogers Arena on Sunday.
Read More: Oilers Offense Much Too Slick for Penguins, 6-1
The NHL trade deadline is only four days from Monday, and the Penguins have just one game between now and then. The test was given, and the Penguins failed.
Yes, the gutwrenching loss on Saturday against the Calgary Flames was one of several factors that torpedoed the Penguins on Sunday, making that playoff mountain they must climb even higher.
“I think we had a tough loss (Saturday), and I don’t know if we did a good enough job of just moving by it,” said Penguins captain Sidney Crosby. “I think that you’ve got to find a way, even when it’s one like that, to move by it. We probably didn’t do a good enough job.”
The Penguins were outshot 38-24, badly outplayed, and bluntly exposed. They couldn’t crack Seattle, couldn’t lock down Calgary, and quickly wilted under late-night travel and relentless rush attack against Edmonton.
NHL Trade Deadline
The guillotine of the NHL trade deadline awaits.
Penguins president of hockey operations/GM Kyle Dubas punted a few self-imposed deadlines throughout the season, revising each to give the team more time to find themselves, more time to turn it all around, and more time to show they were as good as they and he thought they could be.
The Penguins are 3-4-1 in their last eight games despite professing to know their situation and the crucial nature of the games. If this has been the truest, desperate version of the team, that’s probably the biggest reason to admit this team didn’t work.
“It’s not a good feeling, being in this position, being here (in the standings),” said goalie Alex Nedeljkovic. “…But, all we can do is control what we can control. And that’s showing up to work every day, showing up to the rink, giving a good effort, good, honest effort, and just trying to win games. That’s all we can do.”
Sunday, the Penguins never found their mojo. After a soul-crushing loss Saturday against Calgary, the Penguins put up a bit of a fight early against Edmonton, though it wasn’t a coordinated four-line effort. Nor was it disciplined.
However, hockey has a way of showing teams the inevitability of their fate. By early in the second period, the Penguins were clearly recognizing theirs.
The odd-man rushes mounted as Edmonton flew the zone with impunity. Edmonton charged to the net. And the Penguins had no answers as Edmonton filled the back of the net, converting Grade A chance after chance.
Hey, the Penguins held Connor McDavid to one assist on the first five goals scored. That’s something, right?
The Penguins were done by the middle of the second period, as Edmonton attacked … and attacked. They didn’t ease up after goals; they bore down on the increasingly helpless Penguins.
Ryan McLeod scored the fifth goal and had two points (1-1-2). He was one of five Oilers with two points by the end of the second period. Zach Hyman scored a pair of goals. The distance on his two goals combined probably didn’t equal 10 feet.
McDavid also had a goal and an assist. Warren Foegele, and Brett Kulak were the Oilers with two assists. Leon Draisaitl had three assists to lead them all.
In a sense, it was sad to watch the last vestiges of hope evaporate in the ice-cold Rogers Arena. It wasn’t just this game the Penguins lost. They’ve used up all of their runway to convince Dubas not to sell.
They had a chance. They lost the games that mattered most. In a big picture, that should tell a GM everything he needs to know.
Penguins Analysis
We won’t rub it in.
Edmonton attacks unlike any team in the league. When they see a loose puck on the wall with their player on the right side of the battle, they’re gone. A tap, a pass, or a bounce off the wall to center and Edmonton had numbers on the Penguins.
Time and time and time again. As the Penguins’ deficit grew, they had less opportunity to play it safe. They needed to win those wall battles, but every battle lost was a potential two-on-one or three-on-two.
“It just boils down to details and staying above people, staying above the puck,” Sullivan said. “When there’s a puck battle at the top half of the zone or top of the circles or the hash marks, if our defensemen are going to go down the wall to try to keep the puck alive, we need a forward to replace him and reload above on the inside and. You know, if we don’t win the puck battle, then it’s obviously an odd-man rush. That happened on a couple of occasions tonight where that just boils down to discipline and detail.”
What the Penguins Did Well/Needed to Do a LOT More: They didn’t do nearly enough well, or at least do those things consistently. When they cycled hard in the low zone, Edmonton wasn’t necessarily interested in defending them. It created space for the defensemen at the top of the zone, and it allowed the Penguins to get to the net.
The Penguins, on a few occasions, were able to zip a defenseman through seam for a good shot. However, except for the Sidney Crosby line, the Penguins almost refused to go to the net. There was a crystalizing sequence early in the first period. The Penguins’ third line won possession in the low zone and set up a wide-open Chad Ruhwedel at the top, but no one went to the net.
Ruhwedel paused, was still wide open, but Emil Bemstrom and Jonathan Gruden were miles away and not headed in the right direction. Ruhwedel meekly clapped it into Edmonton goalie Calvin Pickard’s crest from 45 feet.
That was indicative of so much wrong with the Penguins’ loss and the bigger picture of the lineup.
The Evgeni Malkin line had one shot on goal until Sullivan busted up the line with Reilly Smith and Valtteri Puustinen. In fairness, Smith clanged the crossbar on one rush.
Penguins Report Card
Team: F
The plane out of Calgary was delayed. The boys didn’t get into Edmonton until about 4 a.m. They had their beating hearts ripped out of their chest and sacrificed to the playoff gods like some sort of Mayan ritual and then had to play one of the best teams in the league–and one that is tailor-made to crush them because of the exceptional rush ability.
The Penguins needed to grind Edmonton. But under circumstances and wounded hearts, they buckled. Almost no phase of their game was good.
Crosby was a minus-3, and I generally thought he was very good.
Performances to like
Valterri Puustinen. The Edmonton broadcast had plenty of love for Puustinen’s game. He really is playing hard, playing in all three zones to the best of his ability, and doing little things well.
Drew O’Connor. He’s playing fast and all over pucks. He’s creating space and pucks for Crosby and Rakell. Call that a win. Now, let’s see him bury a few, too.
That’s probably it.
Categorized:Penguins Penguins Analysis
Dan,
Could you explain to us in the fanbase why Mike Sullivan and Todd Reirden still have their jobs?
Go re-read the section *Performances to like*..one is barely an NHLer…and the other should be @ Wilkes…Sullivan is going to. war with the army he has…
Too many excuses from Sullivan apologists. This team, even when healthy and the players Sullivan and Reirden wanted in there, were losing. They came out of the gate bad and are still bad. They missed the playoffs last season and haven’t been out of the 1st round since 2018. A long slow death for this dynasty. On that Cup team was Kunitz – 5 Finals Appearances with 4 Cup wins, only 2 with Sullivan. MAF – 5 Finals Appearances with 3 Cup wins, only 2 with Sullivan. Crosby, Malkin, and Letang have been to the Finals 4 times with 3… Read more »
Sullivan isn’t going to war with the army he has, he is going to war with the army he created NB: You need a semi-colon instead of a comma ^^^^ Sullivan did not create this team; Ron Hextall and Kyle Dubas created this team. DOC is a best case 3rd liner…he has speed but 0 hockey sense…he’s a taller Lafferty…Pushover shouldn’t be in an NHL lineup…Carter should be lining up putts and Eller can’t play 60+ games at his age…something Washington figured out a year ago…Colorado used him for faceoffs and would pull him off the ice… And don’t get… Read more »
JR, Hextall, and Dubas all have catered to Sullivan’s whims. The GMs have just been figure heads for Sullivan. Dubas in particular has conceded to this coach.Furthermore, even before FSG put Sullivan in charge of finding the GM. Therefore any Dubas failures go right back to Sullivan, since he was involved in the hiring of Dubas. As fo Semi-Colons and Commas anytime someone has to resort to being a grammar cop they have nothing else of value to state. Puustenin has the 3rd highest points per 60 5-on-5 and has excelled at every level he has played so you are… Read more »
JR, Hextall, and Dubas all have catered to Sullivan’s whims. The GMs have just been figure heads for Sullivan. You have any proffer supporting this notion? Sullivan wanted Chychrun last year at the deadline. You may have noticed Chychrun has never been rostered as a Penguin. Therefore any Dubas failures go right back to Sullivan, since he was involved in the hiring of Dubas. It’s fairly well known that Sully wanted Stan Bowman. As fo (sic) Semi-Colons and Commas anytime someone has to resort to being a grammar cop they have nothing else of value to state. To each his… Read more »
Again you say nothing but engage in personal attacks.and try and deflect. You write as if you were on Sullivan’s payroll.
FSG did have Sullivan involved in the hiring process, that was widely reported
Try doing the math. 5 on 5, only Crosby and Guentzel are above Puustenin.
Again you say nothing but engage in personal attacks.and try and deflect. You write as if you were on Sullivan’s payroll. Non sequitur…and you’ve offered nothing that *proves* that Hextall (and, by extension, Brian Burke) and Dubas were/are mere figureheads for the *whims* of Mike Sullivan. FSG did have Sullivan involved in the hiring process, that was widely reported I didn’t dispute that he was involved in the process. Sully, while engaged in that process, wanted Stan Bowman. He was also involved in the process that brought Hextall here as Dave Morehouse asked him for candidates. Try doing the math.… Read more »
And what about the previous 5 seasons? Poor, poor Mikey! It’s never his fault
Mayan ritual: good imagery. Good writing.
With the way Dubas has balked after promising changes 3 times in the past, I will have to see changes before I believe. Front office credibility is rather low right now. Furthermore, even if Dubas does make any trades at the deadline, with a track record of 0 moves that have paid off so far under his watch, I am doubting the team would win any moves made, even if Dubas tries.
Dubas is King of the Almost Trade…he shocked the TO hockey world last year when he pulled off what was, undoubtedly, the best trade of his career when he brought in Acciari and O’Reilly at the deadline..but for years he drove the press over there crazy by doing…nothing.
Unfortunately for Toronto, they had Sheldon Keefe…
Not a single player Dubas has brought in has materially affected the team’s fortunes, just as his moves in Toronto did get the Leafs to the promised land. Moreover, Dubas has not followed through on a single promise of change. Unfortunately for your position reality doesn’t support your completely subjective defense.
Maybe you should have someone else read my response to you. Whoever did so the first time wasn’t very good at it.
I was agreeing with you. (eye roll). Dubas did squatina in TO and has done less than squatina here.
Times up. Everyone not named Crosby should be dangled. Unfortunately some of the guys that need to go are on multi year no movement clauses thanks to Hextall and a fan base that’s more interested in nostalgia and legacies. Seems to me that everyone on this site and others loved this roster in September. Dubas gave the golden boys one last chance and other than 87 they failed miserably once again. A coaching change needs to be done as well. Interesting that Graves, Smith, Rakell, Karlsson, Rust and others are having their worst seasons ever. There’s a major disconnect, or… Read more »
What happened to in Sulli we trust? They need to clean house if they can. It may take a while to rebuild but another year of these duds will not make the fans happy.
I don’t think FSG cares. Like the Steelers, they are more interested in real estate development around their arena/stadium to make money. Give the fans just enough interest with mediocre teams so they swing by and spend money.
I just feel bad for Crosby , he did all he could this season
Coaching: F
This team is Hextalls destructive nature, trading youth for veterans & protecting his buddy it’s that simple. Dubas had minimal amount of prospects to promote, and tried to make a move for an offensive minded D-man who plays totally differently outside this system. If Sullivan won’t allow players/lines to play differently to the best of their strengths, then Dubas & Sullivan need to sit down and dialogue the prospects & NHL players their eyeing in traded, that will play Sullivans system that can support this core and bring the best talent out of them. If Dubas sees it differently then… Read more »
First and the most important action needed done, fire Sullivan. His system is wrong for this team and has been for awhile. He can’t develop young players, he is not flexible and really not a great personality. He may work somewhere else but is done here. If he is back next year then Dubas is the worst gm in hockey.