Penguins Grades: Sullivan Rips ‘A Few Guys,’ Not Hard to Figure Out Who
RALEIGH, NC — Coach Mike Sullivan praised much of his team. They outshot the Carolina Hurricanes 36-18 and had more scoring chances, too.
Yet they were shellshocked in the locker room following their 5-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. The Penguins have just two wins in their 10 games (2-6-2), but it was how they got to their result that chapped Sullivan on Thursday. He didn’t name names, but he had praise for many of the players and scorn for one who rightfully drew his ire.
“I thought we had a lot of guys that played really hard and didn’t get rewarded for their efforts,” Sullivan said before getting to the crux of the matter. “I think there were a few guys that that didn’t live up to the expectation. And that’s hard. We need everybody to bring it every night to give ourselves the best chance to win.”
It wasn’t hard to figure out which player he wanted to rip, but he stopped just short.
Goalie Alex Nedeljkovic boldly took the blame, but it was not his to take. The Penguins’ worst performer and the obvious subject of Sullivan’s tense avoidance was defenseman Erik Karlsson, who demurred when asked about his performance.
Read More: Karlsson Implodes, Penguins Crushed in Carolina
There’s little reason to sugarcoat Karlsson’s game, which included a minus-3 rating. The first goal was the direct result of his mistake, and the second could only be described as indifference. There were multiple moments in the first period of Karlsson’s malaise.
Even Karlsson indirectly admitted he was stuck in the quicksand.
“(My game was) not bad. Unfortunately, sometimes, it’s tough when your first shift–they score on the play, and it starts snowballing the other way,” Karlsson said. “It’s just one of those days where you got to keep your head down and try and be in the right position at all times. And even if you’re just a little off, sometimes it doesn’t go your way. And that’s just one of those nights. I’ve had many of them, and I’m sure I’ve had some more. I just got to figure out a way to control them.”
Karlsson broke coverage on Jordan Martinook 52 seconds into the game. As Karlsson separated from his man, a saucer pass floated over his stick, and Martinook deflected the hard pass into the top corner past Nedeljkovic. Had Karlsson simply stayed with Martinook, the play was likely nullified.
In the middle of the first period, Sebastian Aho and Jack Roslovic skated 180 feet faster than Karlsson skated 50. Karlsson allowed both to get behind him for a three-on-one. He was in position. He could have regained position. But Karlsson turned and glided behind the play:
At the risk of piling on, Karlsson was in the proper position to defend a net-front pass later in the first period but simply kicked the puck back toward the wall, and Carolina maintained offensive zone possession.
In the final seconds of the first period, Martin Necas walked him at the Penguins blue line. Sullivan rarely calls out his team, but did he Thursday?
“I thought a lot of the group tonight played extremely hard,” was all Sullivan could muster, figuratively biting his tongue a second time.
If one merely looks at the statistics, it would seem Nedeljkovic was terrible and had a meltdown, allowing five goals in 18 shots (the scorers revised the shot total downward after the game). However, Nedeljkovic was more of a victim than a perpetrator. There were rumors that Nedeljkovic’s jersey didn’t need to be laundered after the game because his team had already hung him out to dry.
The Penguins goalie did his best to plug the leaks, but there wasn’t a soft goal until Carolina’s fourth, which came on their 12th shot.
Lest one thinks Sullivan looked the other way, he pulled Karlsson from the Penguins’ top power play after the first period. That’s probably one of the biggest punishments Sullivan can afford to deliver–starving a star player who traditionally feasts on the man advantage.
Xs and Os
What the Penguins Did Well: They had puck possession and shots against Carolina. To get 36 shots on a team that leads the league in shot suppression was something of a victory.
The Penguins often got the puck into the Carolina zone and executed more than a few tip-plays, which Carolina goalie Pyotr Kochetkov swallowed up. The Penguins also kept Carolina from getting second or third pucks for most of the game, limiting them to only four shots in the first period and nine in the second.
What the Penguins (team) Did Not Do Well: The Penguins did not get enough second or third chances despite their zone time. They accepted Carolina’s domination of the middle of the ice, opting for those drive-by tip plays. Perhaps if one or two of them worked (and a couple nearly did), the game would have been different.
The Penguins power play also had 10 shots on goal in four opportunities, but their regression to the maddening and plodding 2023-24 form was evident. They had some shots, but they did not create pressure. They didn’t build momentum.
Penguins Report Card
Erik Karlsson: F
I know you needed to see it in print. After a couple of solid games, his struggles returned with a vengeance.
Alex Nedeljkovic: B-
He was not nearly as bad as he said. Nedeljkovic didn’t make the big save early, but that might have taken a miracle. He otherwise made some spiffy saves.
Lars Eller: D
It was his worst game of the season and perhaps his only bad one. He didn’t get the puck deep on the Carolina first goal, and he failed to close the lane on the third.
The Crew That Should Have Been Rewarded: Blake Lizotte scored once and nearly had a goal in the second period when he dove head-first into the net to poke a loose puck behind Kochetkov. The puck hit the post.
Rickard Rakell was fantastic. He was skating hard, delivering the puck with crisp precision and creativity. Rakell had a couple of tips near the net and set up others. He gets an A.
Categorized:Penguins Penguins Analysis Penguins Postgame
Karlsson “(My game was) not bad”
Report Card: F
If Sullivan is seeing some guys who are not putting forth full effort then those guys need to be scratched. Mistakes are one thing. Laziness is another.
Karlsson=pathetic. Only wonder what this does to a locker room?
Karlsson is the worst trade in Pens history….$11.5 for “Not Bad”….yuck
A couple weeks ago Karlsson said his play was “great”. Last night was “not bad”. I can’t image what it looks like when he thinks he has a “terrible” game. After those comments, I wonder if anyone in the locker room has any respect for him.
I expect to see his face on the side of a milk carton. Missing 3 x Norris trophy winning defenseman Erik Karlsson. Last seen April 13,2023 in Edmonton when San Jose played there.
Karlsson needs to go. Quinn apparently can’t get through to him. He only wants a paycheck.
Why did they bring this guy in in the first place. They knew he doesn’t play any defense. They shouldve brought in a true defenseman who could shutdown another team and play properly. They won the last cup without Letang that should tell you something
They also had better players and their top players were in their prime still. So you can’t compare.
If Karlsson was playing at the offensive capability he did before he got here no one would be saying anything bad. It just hasn’t worked out. That is either him being the problem, the coaches system or the fact his play doesn’t really work well with our players. Karlsson has never played with a Sid or Geno type of player or system where the object is to get it to the forwards and not him bringing it up the ice.
Can outshoot teams by double, but when the Canes 2/4 on high danger chances and the Pens are 0/7, that’s a recipe for disaster. Also Kochetkov with an expected goals against of 2.8 and allowing just 1 while Ned’s eGA was 1.44 and he allowed 5. The Pens make mid-tier NHL goalies look like Hasek/Roy while other teams make the Pens’ goalies look like it’s their first NHL hockey.
Find a way to get rid of EK. Even if you have to eat most of his salary. The Pens are a better team with him gone and a WBS defensive replacement. Seriously. EK is losing us games. And to, “not bring it,” is without excuse.
Easier said than done. Karlsson has a full NMC. Not to mention, a 34 yrs old and 2 more seasons after this one of a $10M cap hit.
So what. Release him now. It’s a sunk cost at this point.
Nathan – EK is not losing us games, Sullivan is losing us games. Every player we bring in under performs under Sully, and EK is no different. Last year when it looked like we were out of the playoffs, and Sullivan turned him loose he played his best Hockey as did the rest of the team. When you have a talented player like Karlsson you have to use him correctly to get the maximum out of him, Sullivan refuses to adjust, not only to Karlsson but to the rest of the teams roster. His system is flawed and his ego… Read more »
EK is another analytics darling who hasn’t led any team to a championship ever. What the math behind analytics does not calculate is heart, grit, and the mentality to win at all costs. Damn- the Pens could have brought in two crease clearing defenseman for the money they are wasting on EK.
Mark, the bigger problem is Sullivan – he doesn’t want those types of Defenseman and
that’s part of the reason we struggle defensively. He teaches stick checking instead of
taking the body and this is why we end up with our Defenseman and our opponent
standing in front of our net screening the goalie. “Can you say Letang”??
Jack St. Ivany. Jack Johnson. et al.. Also, Sullivan doesn’t “teach” stick checking over taking the body. I’m not sure how you arrive at that conclusion.
I thought Jesse was pretty good in the offensive zone although I must admit that I wasn’t paying much attention after the 4th goal. Definitely agree on Raks, he was really good.
JP is still getting caught on the wrong side of the puck a bit too often. If he cleans that part of his game up, he’ll be just fine.
Jesse Puljujarvi get’s a B+. All this guy has done, since being a Penguin is bring it every single shift. He dumps the puck when he’s supposed to, lays the body hard, uses his size to control the puck and can chip in a few goals. He gets rewarded by being healthy scratched this season (Undeservedly so) and has played 4th Line minutes. Finally, last night he gets the 15+ mins TOI that he SHOULDVE been getting all season. This is where Sullivan needs to look in the mirror when it comes to “accountability”. Do you think Karlsson will be… Read more »
Sully is a joke. If he had an ounce of courage EK would spend the next 2 games with your press box nachos. The desire to play hard (or not) depends in a large part on the coach. This clown can not motivate, can not properly evaluate and will NEVER bench a lazy star.
Keep Sully, keep losing!
This is certainly no excuse for his level of play, but Karlsson thought he was coming here to get a chance to compete for a Cup. After the off-season moves by Dubas, Karlsson probably realizes that he’ll never play a playoff game with this team and has (maybe) lost the enthusiasm to compete. Again, this is still no excuse!
When is Sullivan going to pull shoes in the sand Malkin from the power play????
Too Old and Too Slow for a pp squad. half the time Malkin is figure skating.
My question is why isn’t anyone piling on Letang who has 2 goals and 3 assist and a -8, while Karlsson has 1 goal and 7 assist and a – 7. Letang has been horrible, his puck handling and passing are a joke and he’s 4th among Penguin defenseman in scoring. No one seems to be talking about how Letang handed the Islanders a victory two nights ago. I’m not defending Karlsson’s game, he’s definitely struggling but IMO it’s time to start directing our criticism towards the culprit “Mike Sullivan” Why do many, many players under achieve under Sullivan?? His… Read more »
Karlsson only an F? Maybe an H or J or a K. Trade him and eat salary using the remainder to get a defensive defense man. One offensive Dman is enough of a handicap. Thy don’t need two.
Norm, good point and that’s exactly why Letang needs to go.
Sullivan is a clown. He needs to put on his big boy pants and act like a coach. This team tuned him out 2 years ago. Please replace him with anybody I don’t care who.