Penguins Reaction: Deflating Bounce; ‘Tough to Swallow’ Another Bad Loss
ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Pittsburgh Penguins did not like their start despite taking the first seven shots of the game. They liked their pushback even though they never tied the game, let alone took the lead, in a 5-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center.
The Penguin’s locker room was a mixture of disappointment, acceptance, and anger.
With a chance to close within two points of a playoff spot, the Penguins joined the crop of teams in the Eastern Conference that lost Thursday and are now only 2-2-0 on the seven-game road trip that could well define their season.
“I just didn’t think we had the same intentions that we had in the game prior. You know, I just didn’t think we played with the same conviction,” coach Mike Sullivan said.
The Penguins closed the gap to 2-1 after two periods, but a bad bounce submarined their effort and any comeback. Defenseman Jacob Trouba’s dump-in hit the stanchion in the glass awkwardly and bounced to the slot instead of the corner. Mason McTavish quickly snapped the puck to his forward around Nedeljkovic to regain Anaheim’s two-goal advantage at 2:06 of the third.
“I think it was a slow start. Even with that, I thought we still had some good chances in the first for it to be a tie game or not be down by two,” Sidney Crosby said. “But, we had a good second and got ourselves back in it. We got a bounce that went against us. We’ve got to find a way to stay in it, even after that.”
Also, Anaheim goalie John Gibson was good. Really good. He robbed defenseman Erik Karlsson at the end of the second period. On a two-on-one, Gibson did the splits to make a toe save on Karlsson’s shot that he neatly whipped toward the inside of the post.
Following the game, Karlsson could only shrug and credit Gibson for making several difficult saves that kept the Penguins at bay.
“No, I don’t think we started well. Obviously, we were down two in the first. We were sloppy, but they were sloppy, too,” Karlsson said. “They scored two, and we scored zero. Their goalie made some timely saves. Letting the third and fourth made the game go away for us, unfortunately. And it just wasn’t our best effort.”
The defenseman also had a little gallows humor when asked about Gibson’s acrobatic save on him specifically, “Of course he did,” Karlsson said with glib acceptance.
ERIK KARLSSON
Penguins winger Rickard Rakell probably offered the most technical response to the Penguins’ disappointing loss. The team was nearly even in shots, sending 32 toward Gibson while absorbing 34. And while the general scoring chances were dead even according to NaturalStatTrick.com, the high-danger chances visually favored Anaheim.
The dangerous chances tilted toward Anaheim on paper, too. Anaheim outchanced the Penguins 11-6.
“In the neutral zone (we were loose), too many easy entries. We were playing a little bit in between,” said Rakell. “So, yeah, we were just disconnected.”
Alex Nedeljkovic
The Penguins goaltender was rewarded for his recent stellar performances with a second-straight start. After shutting down the LA Kings Monday, Nedelkovic held the fort until the defensive lapses allowed too many scoring chances, and the goals piled up.
Nedeljkovic also took some blame for not making the save at the 19:01 mark of the first period. Anaheim forward Alex Killorn walked defenseman P.O Joseph at the blue line and had a clean look at Nedeljkovic from the left circle. Killorn won the battle, making it a 2-0 game.
Not usually at a loss for words or plain honesty, Nedeljkovic sized up the Penguins’ loss in the same disappointing terms. He also referenced McTavish’s gift from the hockey gods that deflated the Penguins early in the third period.
“We just weren’t very detailed in that first period, and it doesn’t matter who you play; you can’t spot a team for a full 20 minutes. Shots were pretty even, but I don’t think we were at our best, honestly, in the first period,” Nedeljkovic said. “I think we got to it in the second and the third.
“A lucky bounce there for them right after a power play … They get one off the stanchion, and their guy buries it. It’s a two-goal game. It was a tough start for us, I think. We could’ve been better, and if I had found a way to save that at the end of the period, maybe things would have been a little different. It (would have been) 1-1, so it’s a tough one to swallow.”
Categorized:Penguins Penguins Postgame
No words, just excuses. Inconsistent
Time for a change
POJ was really bad in the 1st. He was barely touched for the first and fall, and was too slow and weak on the 2nd goal. That makes it 4 straight and 5 of last 6 with penalties. When is he going to sit?
Glad I went to bed so I didn’t have to see the rest.
Yeah, it looked like he was doing a Pettersson impression.
Which roster is worse, the Pens or the Pirates?
Question. When a team is as inconsistent as the Penguins have been. What needs to be done to improve on the performance?
(Not the Tom that defended the puck thief)
Ask the captain who went to the same school as Sully for interviews… why does this team year after year bring there A game for A teams and there B game for B teams?
That’s the nature of bad teams.
Strange take on the game by the team. The early part of the 1st period, the Pens’ structure dominated the game. It was a fairly long time before the Ducks even had a shot on goal (shots started out 6-0). From the interviews, the Pens seemed to think that was a slow start? Then inexplicably, the Pens decided to try to run with the youngsters and abandoned their structure. Track meets tend to favor the team with more speed and better goal tending. The Pens aren’t fast, especially without Lizotte (illness) and Rust (injured by Gudas). Gibson was good. Ned… Read more »
If Jarry was in goal, all the comments would be about how bad he played. But nothing about Ned getting absolutely cooked on 3 of the 4 goals allowed (5th was empty netter). The team played well to start, was stonewalled by Gibson, and then just fell apart both defensively and their goaltending.