The Pittsburgh Penguins lost a crucial game in regulation to the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday, as teams behind them in the standings are gaining some ground.
At this time of year in the NHL regular season, every game and every point matters.
And, unfortunately, for the Pittsburgh Penguins in their fourth and final contest against the Metropolitan Division-leading Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday, they not only couldn't salvage any, they barely ever had a fighting chance.
The Penguins fell to the Hurricanes, 5-1, in what was one of their worst efforts of the season. Three power play goals for the Hurricanes led the way, and Egor Chinakhov was the only Penguin to light the lamp late in the game. The Hurricanes also scored less than a minute into regulation, setting the tone from the outset.
Penguins' goaltender Stuart Skinner stopped five of 25 Carolina shots on goal, and he - like many others in the locker room after the game - is aware of how difficult it is to play from behind against this team.
"You know that these guys, [they're] such a good forecheck-style team, really fast-paced, really skilled players," Skinner said. "They don't give up too much. So, yeah, when you get down on these guys, they shut it down really well. Not only that, they keep on putting themselves in a good spot for forechecks and making it hard on us and making it hard on every team.
"I think that's why these guys have done so well for so many years, but yeah, you definitely want to make sure the game's tighter than the lead we gave them tonight."
It all started when Penguins' defenseman Ryan Graves took a tripping penalty just 25 seconds into the game. Sebastian Aho made the Penguins pay less than 20 seconds later to put the Hurricanes up, 1-0.
In the second period, Carolina got another power play around six and a half minutes in, and Nikolaj Ehlers put a one-timer from the left point past Skinner to make it 2-0. At this point, the Hurricanes were completely controlling play, and they added another tally less than three minutes later in the form of a Jalen Chatfield goal that hit Chinakhov's stick on the way in.
The Canes added another power play goal from Seth Jarvis with less than three minutes left in the middle frame, and they shut the Penguins down until the last five minutes of the game. Chinakhov came in all alone and put home his 16th of the season - tying a career-high - with five minutes left, and the Penguins had a few good looks with the goaltender pulled.
But ex-Penguin Mark Jankowski scored on the empty net with a minute left to cap off what was one of the Penguins' most forgettable performances of a largely positive 2025-26 season.
"I think all parts of our game were off from an execution standpoint, from a support standpoint, from just managing the game, the way we didn't put together maybe some shifts to get momentum... it's a long list," head coach Dan Muse said. "That was up there in terms of bad for me this year... We've got a chance to respond here in two days. We're gonna have to prepare for that pretty quickly because, obviously, that's a big one, but everything we have moving forward is big.
"I can't change today. Wish I could, but I can't. So, we're gonna have to learn from it and learn from it quick."
Here are some thoughts and takeaways from this one:
- The Penguins didn't come out of the gate with their best on Sunday, and that was the case throughout. They took a penalty almost immediately that led to a goal after two failed clearing attempts, and they didn't register a shot until past the midway point of the period.
They turned on the jets in the latter part of the first, but none of that mattered in the second period. The Canes jsut kept coming, and the Penguins couldn't get anything at all generated.
This is a very hard team to play from behind against. And because the Penguins went down so early, they were chasing the entire game.
"They play just a simple game, they clog up the neutral zone, and we've got to put pucks in good areas so we can have room in the offensive zone," Noel Acciari said. "They're quick to get it out.
"We hope we get a chance to see them again."
- Graves was playing in his first NHL game since Jan. 21. He is fresh off a conditioning assignment in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS) as well as a stint on injured reserve.
He was a disaster in this one.
Honestly, no one outside of Erik Karlsson played a particularly strong game on the Penguins' blue line. But Graves took a tripping penalty 25 seconds into the game that ended up being costly, and he looked completely lost in the defensive zone throughout the entirety of the game.
The Penguins have a problem with their defensive pairings outside of Karlsson and Parker Wotherspoon. Nobody is meshing. Nobody is stepping up. I think Sam Girard looks a fair bit better than he did prior to his IR stint, but he and Letang together hasn't exactly worked.
I don't really know what the solution is other than to ride it out and hope that these guys can elevate, especially with Shea out of the lineup. Brett Kulak wasn't perfect, but he did help settle down that second pairing. The Penguins have no such player to do the same thing right now.
- It's not very often that you see the Penguins' penalty kill give up three goals in one game.
In fact, the last time that happened was on Dec. 16 in a 6-4 loss to the Edmonton Oilers, who have the best power play in the league.
- This was not the best performance from Skinner. It's hard to put too much on him because of how leaky the Penguins' defense was in front of him and how poorly the penalty kill performed and because a few of their goals were the result of lucky bounces and own-deflections.
Nothing he could've done on the first or third one, but he was deep in his net and a bit out-of-position on the others - including Jarvis's power-play goal from the low-slot.
He did make some key saves on a shorthanded two-on-one by the Canes in the second, as he stopped Aho with the right pad a couple of times. But, that didn't end up mattering, anyway.
He and Arturs Silovs have both been good enough on most nights to help the Penguins win hockey games, and - at times - they've stolen games. So, no need to burn the world down after one poor start. Can't pile those on, obviously, but calling up a rookie goaltending prospect - as some loud folks on social media have suggested - is not a good nor a necessary solution right now.
- Carolina is a legitimately good hockey team. They always are, at least during the regular season. They're a very hard team to play against when you're playing from behind, especially.
But I can't say I miss seeing this style of play from the 90s.
Look, they've been a bit more exciting this season. That last game between the Pens and Canes - the overtime win by Carolina on Wednesday - was insanely entertaining. But, by and large, this is how the games are against this opponent. Neutral zone trap, sticks on everything, lanes being clogged, a cycle setting up a shot from the point in the o-zone, no room, etc.
That's Rod Brind'Amour's style, and as long as he's there, it isn't going to change. It works for them, so why would they change anything? But as far as entertainment value, they're not at the top of the list for me.
Mar 22, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Carolina Hurricanes center Seth Jarvis (24) moves the puck against Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson (65) during the second period at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images- Once again, you could tell the Penguins were not happy with the officiating in this game. And that seems to be the case every time they play the Hurricanes. It's something that has been building up in this season series, but it reached a boiling point Sunday.
There was one sequence where Bryan Rust talked to an official for about a minute straight after Carolina's second goal, which was the result of a Sam Girard cross-checking penalty that was a bit questionable. Nearing the end of regulation, they nabbed Penguins' defenseman Parker Wotherspoon for roughing along with their call on Canes' forward Jordan Martinook for holding the stick, and Muse gave the officials an earful.
This team frustrates the Penguins immensely. They do not like these guys. And they certainly don't seem to love the way the games between these two teams are officiated.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets and the New York Islanders played each other Sunday night. The Isles won in regulation. With the Penguins' regulation loss, they sit just one point ahead of both teams with one game in hand on the Islanders.
The Penguins were never going to win every game. But, given how many games are interdivision matchups for everyone else, they'd be best-served not to lose too many more in the 11 games they have left.
Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!