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Penguins Reaction: Deflating Bounce; ‘Tough to Swallow’ Another Bad Loss

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Pittsburgh Penguins game, Alex Nedeljkovic

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.”