The Pittsburgh Penguins suffered yet another third-period collapse against the Utah Mammoth on Sunday - and they can't seem to stop the bleeding
It's fair to say that folks are running out of words to describe whatever is happening with the Pittsburgh Penguins right now.
On Tuesday, they gave up the tying goal against the Anaheim Ducks in the last tenth of a second in regulation. On Thursday, they failed to respond to the Montreal Canadiens in a 4-2 regulation loss. On Saturday, they held a 5-1 lead over the San Jose Sharks with 12:27 remaining in regulation and ended up losing in overtime, 6-5.
Sunday, they needed a response against the Utah Mammoth, who were 4-6 in their last 10 games coming into this one and have fallen off a bit since the start of the season. They responded early, going up, 3-0, and they - once again - took that lead into the third period.
And just like that, they found themselves in the same exact place they were the night before.
The Penguins surrendered four early third-period goals and managed to respond with a tying goal, but they ultimately fell to Utah in overtime, 5-4, for their fifth-straight loss. Nate Schmidt, Michael Carcone, Sean Durzi, and Carcone - again - scored the four consecutive third-period goals for the Mammoth, while Dylan Guenther put the Penguins away with the overtime goal just 42 seconds in.
Justin Brazeau bookended the Penguins' scoring, kicking things off just 48 seconds into the game and delivering the tying goal with just under six minutes remaining in regulation. Bryan Rust scored Pittsburgh's second goal, while Ben Kindel converted on a second-period breakaway opportunity to put the Penguins up 3-0 before the collapse.
Takeaways: With Another Epic Collapse, Penguins' Mettle Being Tested
On Saturday, when the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a> went up 5-1 against the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/san-jose-sharks">San Jose Sharks</a> with less than 15 minutes to go in regulation, it felt like the kind of game in which the Penguins would continue to pile on. They were dominating in pretty much every facet, had three power play goals, and were outshooting the Sharks by a very hefty margin.
Rookie goaltender Sergei Murashov - recalled on an emergency basis from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS) ahead of Saturday's game because newly-acquired goaltender Stuart Skinner, along with defenseman Brett Kulak, are stuck in Canada due to immigration issues - stopped 32 of 37 Utah shots and made some big saves early to hold the Penguins' lead initially.
This one was different from the others. Utah controlled most of the play throughout, as shot attempts were 38-13 at one point during the second period despite the Penguins holding the 3-0 lead. But Pittsburgh was getting the bounces, and it seemed like they might escape this one with two points.
But the inexplicable happened yet again. And the players - as well as the coaching staff - knows that they have to stick together throughout what is certainly their toughest stretch of the season.
"Not in a million years did I think we'd be back here today 24 hours later having the exact same conversarion," head coach Dan Muse said. "I probably sound like a broken record."
He added: "I've never seen something where it just feels like it's the same thing coming in different ways. We aren't closing, and we have to learn how to close games."
Here are some takeaways from this back-breaking loss:
- Let's start with some smaller details before pulling out some bigger ones.
It's safe to say that the Penguins missed having Brazeau in their lineup.
Regardless of whatever the outcome of this game would have been, that second goal was a massive one. The celebration was cathartic. You could have heard Brazeau's scream from Fifth Avenue outside PPG Paints Arena.
It's unfortunate that the Penguins didn't end up with two points at the end of it. But he got them a point. It's certainly better than nothing.
- Kindel's outstanding start to the season has leveled out a bit in recent games. He doesn't quite stand out the way he was early on, and that should probably be expected of an 18-year-old going through the grind of a full NHL season for the first time.
But just because he hadn't been standing out as much, it doesn't mean good things haven't been happening. And he did, in fact, stand out on the scoresheet Sunday, too, ending the game with three points.
It continues to amaze me how much maturity Kindel plays with. In recent games, he has become a regular on the penalty kill, he's taken defensive zone draws, and he's relied on in some high-stakes situations. He's also taken the role of second-line center since Evgeni Malkin went down.
Aside from the occasional turnover - the overtime one was, obviously, detrimental - and getting knocked around just a little bit, he's playing well for the Penguins and is intelligent beyond his years. It's impressive that he's pretty seamlessly transitioned to being a center at the NHL level.
I think this guy is going to be a good player for the Penguins for a long time. The jury is still out on high that ceiling is, but I would venture to guess the production is just going to keep climbing. And he already has a lot of the details ironed out in his game.
Oh, and he should be given a look in shootouts.
- It's very, very evident that the Penguins are missing Blake Lizotte big-time right now. I talked about Lizotte a bit after Saturday's loss, and Evgeni Malkin is certainly missed, too.
But Lizotte has done so many things to help this team win this season that have largely flown under the radar. He's as solid a fourth-line center as they come, and his speed and center drive is certainly missed on that line. He - next to Noel Acciari - is the Penguins' best defensive forward, and his game complements Acciari and Connor Dewar tremendously. He's an excellent penalty-killer. He excels at defending six-on-five situations and even has a pair of empty-net goals this season.
Most importantly, Lizotte - when centering that fourth line - has the ability to pressure on the forecheck and put opponents on their heels when the Penguins have a lead. That line is more relied upon when the Penguins are trying to hold a lead, and he does an excellent job energizing that unit and forcing opponents to outwork him.
He can't come back soon enough. The entire makeup of that line changes without him on it, and the Penguins are worse for it. He's been one of their best players this season, in my opinion.
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Former Penguins goalie has made his debut for the Oilers.
- Sidney Crosby doesn't look himself right now. And I'm not sure I can fully explain why.
Crosby has gone through stretches like this throughout his career. We've seen him go through tough stretches - by his standards - and he manages to pull himself out of them every time. There's no reason to think it won't happen again.
But Crosby is a winner. You've got to think that these blown leads and frustrating losses have been getting to him just a bit, especially since he's been on the ice for a lot of the goals against. He was on the ice for five goals Saturday - including the overtime goal, where he was caught flat-footed - and for the overtime winner on Sunday.
He's harder on himself than anyone. I would venture to guess he knows he needs to be better - especially defensively, where it's been close to a nightmare for him and Rust all season long.
Crosby needs to be the one to lead them out of this mess they're in. He's done it before. And he needs to come through in a big way again. This team seems to have lost its pride to a degree, and Crosby needs to help them get it back.
- There isn't much else to say at this point.
Once the first goal was scored by Schmidt just 1:07 into the third, you just felt it coming. The Penguins aren't handing out goals like candy when they have a lead, they're surrendering leads so expeditiously that you might miss it if you look away for even just a few minutes.
Utah tied the game within five minutes and 35 seconds. They were winning the game within seven minutes and six seconds. This isn't dissimilar to Saturday, when they surrendered a four-goal lead to the Sharks within 11 minutes.
This isn't normal. Teams don't do this, and certainly not with this frequency. Not on back-to-back nights. Regardless of how it's happening, it's happening, and the Penguins need to very quickly figure out the "why."
After all of this, the Penguins are - somehow - still in the second wild card spot in the East. Their biggest blessing through this stretch is that no one within wild card territory seems to want to pull away. It's still there for the taking.
The course-correction - the reset - needs to start Tuesday in Edmonton. No exceptions. This loss could end up defining their season, and it's up to them to - as Kyle Dubas put it going into the season - change the story.
"We don't have a choice," Muse said. "That's the thing. The group, we have to, one, stick together. Because it changes from game to game... there's areas that continue to come up, but if you forget about the rest of the game, you suddenly just put all the weight on that one area, it might be something new.
"So, we have to focus in on each day. Things come up, we address them. We get better. We'll come back a day from now, and we'll get back to work. That's all we can do. The big thing right now is the group's got to stick together. Otherwise, it'll go the other way."
'It Just Made Sense For Us To Do It At This Time': Penguins' GM Kyle Dubas Gives Insight On Jarry Trade
It's safe to say that <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/latest-news/breaking-penguins-deal-tristan-jarry-to-edmonton-oilers">the trade sending Pittsburgh Penguins' goaltender Tristan Jarry and forward Sam Poulin to the Edmonton Oilers on Friday</a> - which returned goaltender Stuart Skinner, defenseman Brett Kulak, and a 2029 second-round pick - surprised a whole lot of people, fans and players alike.
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