Penguins Locker Room: Letang Hits at Soft ‘Demeanor’; Jarry Pokes Team

The Pittsburgh Penguins locker room was not a happy place Tuesday after the Colorado Avalanche dispatched them 6-2 at PPG Paints Arena.

After the highs of beating Toronto Saturday to the disappointment and self-conflagration Tuesday, a pair of Penguins players were especially critical of the team’s performance.

Defenseman Kris Letang seemed to indicate the power play failures on Tuesday suppressed the team’s energy as they attempted to dig out of a 3-0 hole they dug for themselves with defensive mistakes and a couple of soft goals against.

“It didn’t help,” Letang said with a head shake. “We rushed the zone entries … They’re a really aggressive penalty kill.”

Read More: Penguins Buried By Avalanche of Colorado Goals, 6-2

However, when pressed about the team’s letdown after the power play failures, the defenseman didn’t feel it was a matter of lack of energy but a far more serious matter of lacking mindset and physicality.

“I think it’s more of a question of demeanor and, yeah, a team like that, there’s so much skill, you have to play a physical game,” Letang said, implicating his team’s lack of physicality. “You have to slow them down with the forecheck. Your neutral zone forecheck (must) slow them down. If they come at you with speed, they’re going to hurt you.”

Colorado scored a couple of goals with speed past the Penguins’ defensemen and was left alone to defend oncoming rushers.

The Penguins also had only 10 total hits.

Tristan Jarry

There were a couple of soft goals allowed that deflated the team in the first period.

Coach Mike Sullivan didn’t shy away from that fact.

“I thought (it was a step back). I didn’t think he was as good tonight,” Sullivan said.

However, Jarry didn’t necessarily agree. Instead, he not so subtly slammed his team’s performance, citing the failure of the defensemen who were caught by the Avalanche’s speed and failed to clear sight lines.

“They had some good shots. (The shots) were obviously well-placed,” said Jarry. “I think that’s the hardest part about it when they’re getting behind us and behind me. I think it’s hard to see what’s behind me when I’m looking out front.”

Jarry stopped 21 of 26 shots, getting a piece of a couple of Colorado’s first three goals, including missing Mikko Rantanen’s short-side shot that appeared to be stoppable.

Mike Sullivan

The Penguins coach was caught between anger and resignation following the loss. His initial answers were short without elaboration but expounded on Sidney Crosby’s goal-scoring slump, making life far too easy on Colorado to generate offense and the power play struggles.

“I didn’t think we were stiff on the puck. I thought we could have hung on to pucks more in the offensive zone. I thought we could have controlled territory a little bit more and forced them to have to defend us a little bit more,” Sullivan said. “We tended to be one and done. I think it starts with just getting your nose over the puck and staying close … we lost a fair amount of puck battles. And I also think we weren’t as good on the wall, on breakouts, and coming out of our end zone.”

The Penguins’ power play was specifically bad Tuesday.

While Letang admitted to PHN that Colorado’s PK kept them off balance, Sullivan was more detailed.

“I didn’t think there was good tonight. We didn’t move pucks as quickly. Our entries weren’t as clean,” Sullivan said. “We were trying to make a lot of lateral plays on the entry, and they stacked the line. We’ve got to be willing to play behind them. And so I just didn’t think our decision making, our execution was as crisp.”