That’s It, Penguins Wave White Flag in Dispirited Loss
PHILADELPHIA — And that is just about it for the Pittsburgh Penguins (23-28-9). With just 22 games remaining on the NHL schedule and the NHL trade deadline approaching like a scythe-wielding cloaked monster, the Penguins looked every bit like a team that has accepted its ignominious fate.
Their surrender was painfully obvious when they allowed a pair of goals within 10 seconds late in the second period to the no-better-off Philadelphia Flyers (26-26-7) in a 5-1 loss at Wells Fargo Center Tuesday.
The Penguins have lost four in a row, including the first three out of the break, allowing 19 goals in the process.
“It’s hard to win when you don’t manage the puck, you turn it over in the wrong areas of the rink, and you don’t win a puck battle in any zone,” said coach Mike Sullivan. “For me, it makes it hard to win.”
Even Penguins captain Sidney Crosby played a little bit of casual defense on the Flyers’ fifth goal as the Penguins could keep up the facade of believing no longer.
There was a little something not in the air. The normally angry Philadelphia crowd that greets the Pittsburgh Penguins and Sidney Crosby lacked a little hate. Even the NHL’s No. 1 anthemist, Lauren Hart, didn’t seem to have the same spark.
Never fear, the Penguins’ old habit of allowing a goal on the first shot of the game reappeared for the first time in weeks as starter Alex Nedeljkovic let Philadelphia defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen’s (4) one-timer from the left circle sneak through the five-hole at 3:56 of the first period.
“The guys in front of us are playing really well. I mean, it wasn’t a 6-1 game. You put anybody else in the net tonight and it’s probably–I don’t know if we win, but it wasn’t 6-1, I tell you that,” said Nedeljkovic. “So, I don’t know. We’ve got to find a way to be better than that.”
With the echo of the overamplified music echoing in the arena, not even the unhinged mascot, Gritty, could inject life into the building. Fortunately for Philadelphia and unfortunately for the Penguins, a dejected effort spotted the Flyers a couple of early goals, which were more than enough.
It was the 10th time this season the Penguins have given up a goal on the first shot against.
Philadelphia claimed a 2-0 lead on another terrible Penguins sequence. The Flyers transitioned out of the defensive zone, but the Penguins’ forwards lagged behind.
A three-on-two became a two-on-one when Penguins defenseman P.O Joseph confronted Flyers puck carrier Jacob Pelletier in the neutral zone but didn’t stop the play. Two quick passes later, Noah Cates (11) beat Nedeljkovic from the left circle.
The Penguins found a little spirit in the second period. At 6:09, Michael Bunting completed the alley-oop pass to Philip Tomasino, rushing toward the net. Tomasino (8) quickly settled the arching pass in stride as it landed some 15 feet from the net and swooped past Flyers goalie Samuel Ersson with a backhand goal.
However, with a better Penguins effort came more mistakes. The Penguins allowed a few rush chances midway through the second period. After one big miss by defenseman Jamie Drysdale from the right circle, the Flyers regrouped and counterattacked again. This time, the scrambled Penguins forwards and defenders watched helplessly as Tyson Foerster (16) blasted another goal past Nedeljkovic from the left circle for a 3-1 lead at 11:55.
The downtrodden Penguins could neither keep up their elevated effort nor hide their crumbling mental state. Philadelphia scored a pair of goals 10 seconds apart late in the second period.
“I don’t think that we played particularly good today right from the start, and it obviously wasn’t our best night out there,” said defenseman Erik Karlsson. “It’s unfortunate. Hopefully, it takes a long time before it happens again. You know, it’s one of those nights where we didn’t feel like we had much of anything.”
Chaotic defensive zone coverage, which left winger Michael Bunting as the net-front defender, led to an easy rebound goal by Cates (17), his second of the game at 18:55.
However, 10 seconds later, the Flyers salted the game and the Penguins season when the Penguins offered nary a challenge to any of the Flyers’ touches, leading to an easy zone entry by Cates ahead of Crosby. His hard net-front front pass hit Bobby Brink (8), who was battling Joseph in the crease.
The Flyers stepped it up a notch in the third period. Owen Tippet (17) converted a short tap-in for the sixth goal at 6:06 of the third. Flyers fans were increasingly excited by embarrassing the Penguins, as “we want seven” chants broke out.
The Penguins mustered only 23 shots. Ersson stopped 22 of 23.
Penguins Notes
Tough Penguins forward Boko Imama was the only player not available Tuesday. Imama participated in the full morning skate, but it was his first team activity since suffering an injury before the season break.
Sullivan made a few lineup changes in the second period, moving Cody Glass from fourth-line center to second-line RW and switching his D pairs to include Joseph with Erik Karlsson and Matt Grzelcyk with Kris Letang.
Nedeljkovic stayed in the game. He stopped 32 of 38 shots.
Brink had a career-high four points (1-3-4).
Joseph was a minus-4. Danton Heinen and Erik Karlsson were minus-3.
(Starting) Penguins Lines
Rickard Rakell-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust
Anthony Beauvillier-Evgeni Malkin-Danton Heinen
Michael Bunting-Kevin Hayes-Philip Tomasino
Blake Lizotte-Cody Glass-Noel Acciari
Defense
P.O Joseph-Kris Letang
Matt Grzelcyk-Erik Karlsson
Ryan Shea-Vincent Desharnais
Categorized:Penguins Penguins Postgame
Terrible defense, embarrassing goaltending, pedestrian offense, and the inability to finish… what a piss poor display of hockey
So hard to watch it turned it off.garbage team
And Mike Sullivan is STILL the head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Yep. Local Boston man. This piss poor ownership won’t do anything about it. He’s their man. Of course there is no coach out there to hire.
There wasn’t one out there when Bylsma was hired or Sully either.
Thanks for my daily laugh. Folks thinking a change in coaching is suddenly going to make a horrible team that is all but mathematically eliminated from the playoffs play better is hilarious.
Every team EVERY team has a shelf life. If this is too painful to watch, then move on with the rest of the bandwagon fans and find some current winning organization to get behind.
We knew a rebuild would be needed. Now we are in that and you folks are thinking the coach is the problem. BRILLIANT.
Right on Kris. The roster is built with NHL castaways. What do you expect?
Let’s see. They will have missed the playoffs 3 years in a row, and have won 1 playoff series since 2018. Revolving door of a multitude of players. Yea,… it’s not the coaching. When Jesse P. literally pays the Penguins to leave the organization (by forfeiting a bunch of sheckles),…yea,… it’s not the coaching.
Time to dismantle the team starting with the coaching staff. Then players but we all know that the players are first to go. Then firecathe coaching staff. Sullivan’s coaching style is old and out of date. This team is not listening anymore. Harder they try the worse they play.
Kudos to those who can watch these displays. #lotterypick
Brutal to watch. Can’t take one positive out of that dumpster fire.
At least no one got physically hurt
Wonder how many players were hoping they did get hurt so they don’t have to play the rest of the year.
Good point!!
The positive is we will get a better pick
I’m not seeking a tank. I’m just seeking a draft pick that is commensurate with this team’s place as a bottom 5 team.
They don’t need to tank. They are just that bad w/o doing it.
Yeah dude. That’s exactly what he said.
Bottom 4 or bust!
Really it’s got to be bottom three to ensure we get a top 4 pick…Chicago & San Jose are locked in; Nashville is the primary competition
The Pens stink. Terrible players. Even worse coach.
I’m not saying they have been told to tank but they are playing like they have been told to tank!
The day after the season mercifully ends they have to FIRE SULLY!!
He is going anywhere.
Thats cool. Keep losing.
It’s a Tired take. Sully isn’t the problem and he’s not going anywhere. Sure, fire the coach chosen to represent the us national team. That will really fix everything 🙄
Sullivan should of been fired after the penguins lost to Montreal in the “Covid” playoffs.
I am embarrassed to be a pens fan.they haven’t had a goalie since murry left.and they can’t score when they get grade a chances.also sully can’t coach this team!
We didn’t have a goalie in Murray either
Embarrassed? Really? OK then move on. Can’t take the tough times and only want it when we are winning. Sounds like bandwagon to me.
I always make it a point to wear my teams hat the next day after a loss. It’s when your teams need the support.
So are we ever going to get a look at Kolyachonok or does he not have enough ties to Boston for Sullivan’s liking?
They must be getting him used to the system and teaching him how we play defense here!!!
That took 15 seconds.
Good one
Must be an unnecessarily difficult system, if it takes a new player weeks to learn sufficiently enough. Even these guys that have played it for ages make constant mistakes. Then Sully yells “play the right way”.
They already asked Sully about that and he said “who’s Kolyachonok? I think you mean Karlsson. It’s pronounced Karlsson, not Kolyachonok. You guys are funny,”
Please end the POJ experiment!
Can’t take you seriously. “Never fear, the Penguins’ old habit of allowing a goal on the first shot of the game reappeared for the first time in weeks as starter Alex Nedeljkovic let Philadelphia defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen’s (4) one-timer from the left circle sneak through the five-hole at 3:56 of the first period.” Ha ha… OK, if you count the 5-1 Nations tourney, it’s barely weeks. But it happened only 3 games ago! Actually the last 4 games, the penguins goalies gave up the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 1st shot they faced. You all scapegoated Jarry for this. “He gives… Read more »
It’s still a Jarry problem. Have you heard of price-performance ratio, or value for the money? Both Pens active goalies combined cost half a Jarry, if the performance is the same, Ned is twice better than Jarry, and Joel at least 6 times better. Unfortunately, even with poor performances, they’re still both better than Jarry. That about sums it up.
Brilliant analysis by you. Then DeSmith is 8 times better than Oettinger… Quick is 10 times better than Shesterkin… Knight is 2.5 times better than Bobrovsky. You should be a GM.
Speaking of DeSmith, how good would he look in a Pens uniform right now? Another Dubas mistake, do the Stars have more talent, or are the Stars just a better coached team?
I think it’s both.
Well, that just goes to show you’re incapable of reading what’s written. Are Shesterkin and Oettinger performing so badly that they need to be sent to the minors? It’s price-performance ratio, not price-price ratio. But hey, why would you read what somebedy you’re discussing with has written? You already have an opinion and you’re 100% right, regardless of everything.
Bad strawman attempt from you. Its not my opinion. I chose those goalies on purpose to show the idiocy of your comment. After considering salary disparities, DeSmith has higher sv pct than Oettinger, Knight has higher sv pct than Bob, Quick is .009 lower than Shesterkin. These goalie pairs are statistically similar behind their respective teams…. just like the Penguins goalies.
Jarry is losing games for Wilkes in the AHL.
Jarry had a shutout and number 1 star star just before they ‘called him up’ to sit for another two weeks so that blomqvist could finally try to remember what winning a game feels like. 2 pro wins for blomqvist since Christmas, yeay.
Then he went back to losing. Overall though 6-4 .917 and 2.31 GAA. Good, decent stats, but if you look at the games he is either great or bad.
The pens are 1-5 in the last 6 games, great for 2 games would be outstanding. Ned tried to go “maybe it’s rust” with an explanation – maybe it’s lack of fundamentals and overall talent. Caps didn’t seem to have any rust.
Strictly from a sustainability point of view, they should have stayed home. They weren’t there anyway, but by not traveling they could at least say they’ve done something for the environment. As for hockey, and I struggle mightily to call it that, it was simply appalling. The Pens managed to inspire pity instead of hate from Flyers and their fans. You can’t sink lower than that. Now, let’s talk. Did you say it’s better to have Jarry and Graves instead of Guentzel? 2 non factors that aren’t playing or a 40 goal scorer? But it’s for the future, Dubas is… Read more »
Or if you gave Jarry that much, why sign Ned for 2.5?.. should’ve just gotten a 8 mil goalie
Or give Jarry 7 mil for a yr or two…show me deal… instead, they saddled team, and put him in a bad position. If he helps get wbs to playoffs, they’ll end up sitting him on pitt roster so blomqvist can be on for playoff run… messed up every which way.
Are you related to Jarry? Ned is OK at $2.5m. The only person that put Jarry in a bad position is a guy named Tristan. It’s beyound me how he got that contract. Graves too.
DeSmith is an even better deal at $1m/yr.
Sure Ned is fine at 2.5m but he never should’ve been signed in the first place when they have Blomqvist, Murashov, and Larsson in the system waiting to move up. Jarry has been bad, Ned has been bad. They were already saddled with Jarry’s contract and never should’ve signed Ned.
For real! and the coach says it’s a team problem not a goalie problem. So was it a Jarry problem or a team problem? …team problem for sure (mostly)
Graves and Jarry were both signed in free agency with very few options and huge holes to fill. Nobody could have predicted the drop off from either. That’s what you get in free agency… a crapshoot. Usually past prime, mid-level players that command top dollar. Jarry had shown promise and Graves had been a steady #4 for a few years. The only reason the pens won multiple cups is because of generational talent picked at the top of the draft. That’s the only way out of this mess. It’s a cycle, that we’ve reached the end of, and must bottom… Read more »
The Pens were lucky 2 times. Some teams never were. It isn’t a rule, it’s an exception. You do what you can with what you have. You might never get lucky like that at draft. Ask Toronto or someone. You may get a McDavid and Draisaitl at draft and still be incompetent enough not to manageto build a team around him. Or maybe Marner and Matthews. You must still build around them and nobody seems to be capable in this organization. By the way, Guentzel is a proven player and goal scorer, and you spend $10m on 2 non factors… Read more »
Sure, there is plenty of luck involved but that’s the sport… 32 teams in a salary cap league. Once in a while, a solid team gets hot and makes a run, but for the most part, dynasty teams are led by a core of successive top 5 picks surrounded by developed homegrown role players. Right now, we are assembling a good cast of support players in wbs, but we need atleast 3-4 elite prospects to start the process again.
Not true, Gudas was available, was what we needed and signed for less!!!
Keep it going and hope the lottery ball bounces their way.
Indeed. Based on pts percentage, pens are in 5th spot in lottery (buffalo 2 points ahead but with 4 games in hand). Hunting Seattle next, then Nashville
It’s summer here in the land down under so after 2 periods I switched off and went and played 9 holes of golf at my local at 9 hole muni, the golf wasn’t great but was far better than sitting through another 20 minutes of whatever that was.
Geez, even the most positive fan has to admit this team isn’t good. I’m looking forward to the trade deadline and the draft. Still love the Pens !
Looking at the standings, seeing them in last place is something I never thought I’d see. It’s hard to take my friends.
I’m watching the saddest hockey team in the league. Get rid of all the old timers and start from scratch. Youth will prevail. Implosion needs to occur. How can anyone watch this crap? Now I have to watch something even worse…..The Pirates!!!!! Please help us!!!
Well, at least you can get tickets cheaper.
I went to a local bar/restaurant last night to watch the game. Unfortunately (or fortunately?), the bar closed at 9 pm last night so I couldn’t watch the whole game. Like the old American Express commercial – “Getting kicked out of the bar before the 3rd period started? Priceless.” I felt better than a J6er getting pardoned.
Let’s face some facts folks. (1) Last year, the Caps snatched the last wild card spot and snuck into the playoffs with 91 pts. Right now, for the Pens to do the same they would have to win 18 out of their last 22 games. Not impossible, but not probable. (2) Someone apparently showed this team this “new math.” They have literally checked out. They are looking to “not get hurt.” They showed absolutely zero fight yesterday. (3) Fire Sully yesterday. If you’re going to rebuild with youth, he is not your guy. Give the reins to Vellucci as interim… Read more »
When will you fans realize that this team has no talent other the big 3, the rest are just on for a ride
And at times even the big 3 has looked a step slow. Sid has been the only one who is consistent
That was the 11th time they’ve given up a goal on the first shot of the game*
Watched beginning of game,then it was time for Curse of Oak Island.. much better program
One show is about digging a hole, no idea what happens next and waiting eight years for some payoff. The other is Oak Island. hehe
Dan, you say “Even Crosby played a little casual defense” like it isn’t happening 10 times a game. He is not consistently the same 200 foot player as he was and while he plays great often, he is Sunday skating on a lot of shifts in transition and that’s not okay for a Center. Part of the reason Sully needs to go is that everyone has become complacent and comfortable in their roles and have no fear of reduced ice time or benching. I’m not saying reduce Crosby’s ice time, but if EK is disinterested, then make Shea and Vince… Read more »
I can’t believe Crosby will end his career with such a mediocre team. What a waste. I’m afraid it will overshadow everything Crosby has accomplished in his career. I wish Crosby had finished on a better note, especially knowing what a proud competitor Crosby is. Playing for a team that aspires to win the Stanley Cup could perhaps be an interesting solution for him. At the same time, I’m very happy with the way things are going for Ovechkin. It’s clear that Crosby and Ovechkin can’t currently have the same motivation to play hockey.