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.