Takeaways: Spooky Defensive Zone Play Dooms Penguins In 5-4 Loss To Canadiens

Two nights after a gut-wrenching loss to the Utah Mammoth, the Pittsburgh Penguins traveled to Montreal to take on the Canadiens in a Halloween matchup. 

And, unlike their Mammoth counterparts on Thursday, they were unable to play late-game heroics.

Despite a commendable effort in the third period by the Penguins, they were unable to muster enough to tie the game in the final minutes, losing by a score of 5-4. Sergei Murashov, who got his first start between the pipes in two weeks, surrendered five goals on 27 shots, while the Penguins put 29 shots on young Habs' netminder Jacob Fowler - most of which came in the final frame.

The Penguins were actually the first to get on the board in this one, as they cashed in on an early power play opportunity. Sidney Crosby set up Erik Karlsson for a one-time shot, and he buried it, giving Crosby his 1,112th career helper to break the NHL record for most assists with a single franchise.

However, the Penguins' only lead in this game didn't last long because, just 33 seconds later, Canadiens' forward Oliver Kapanen put one past Murashov for a bit of a shaky goal to tie the game. Then, only 24 seconds after that, yet another egregious defensive zone giveaway by the Penguins - this time, by forward Hendrix Lapierre - led directly to a goal against by Josh Anderson to make it 2-1.

A few minutes later, the Penguins' first line broke into the offensive zone on a 3-on-2. Crosby came down the right side and dropped it Rickard Rakell down the middle, and Rakell quickly put the puck on the tape of Tommy Novak coming down the left side. Novak cut across the net-front and went five-hole to beat Fowler and tie the game at 2-2. 

Shortly after that goal, Montreal appeared to have scored again, but as it turns out, Penguins' head coach Dan Muse challenged the play for goaltender interference and won to keep things knotted up.

But the Habs still managed to take the lead early in the third period on a goal by Alexandre Texier. And, once again, the Penguins surrendered another goal within the span of a minute - this one, 27 seconds later to Chris Kreider - to make the score 4-2. 

Less than a minute and a half later, Karlsson made an outstanding play at the offensive blue line to keep the puck onside, and he cut across the slot. He made a no-look backhand pass to Rakell, who was cycling into the high slot area, and Rakell beat Fowler to once again cut the Penguins' deficit to one. 

Unfortunately, with a little less than seven minutes to go in the second period, Anderson netted his second of the game off a fluke play. Murashov made the initial save, but the puck hit off Kris Letang's leg and went into the back of the net, giving Montreal the two-goal lead. 

The Penguins pushed hard in the third period, registering 15 shots and coming to within one after Crosby scored with the extra attacker and a little more than three minutes left in regulation. However, they could not muster another tally before the clock ran out, giving them their sixth loss in the last eight games.

Here are a few takeaways from this one:

- It's easy to say Murashov had a bad night, especially after the first goal he surrendered. And, yes, he could have made a save or two extra. 

But the Penguins are absolutely leaving him out to dry in every single one of his starts. And it has been that way since the beginning of the season. 

Another bad defensive zone turnover led to the second goal. The third and fourth goals from the Habs were results of poor defensive zone coverage. Say all you want about Murashov needing to be better, but it's not a particularly easy ask or reasonable expectation for your 22-year-old rookie goaltender with 10 games NHL experience under his belt to have to stand on his head each and every outing.

No, the AHL won't do anything to help Murashov. He's beyond that. The Penguins having only four games in two weeks didn't help, either, especially with Arturs Silovs performing the way he is. He has to ride it out and figure it out. 

And that's just something that is going to come along with the youth movement in the NHL. Folks ask for young players. Young players are not going to have it figured out right away. Murashov needs time and NHL reps, and if the expectation is for him to semi-regularly steal games for the Penguins right from the start like he stole a point for them in Columbus, that expectation needs to be taken down a few notches. 

Especially with this defense.

- The giveaway by Lapierre on the second goal was, again, egregious. But It's a mystery what Declan Carlile was trying to accomplish on the next two goals against. 

On the third goal, he committed to coverage higher in the zone, where Egor Chinakhov was already covering his man, leaving Texier exposed. On the fourth goal, he was all the way up near the blue line in defensive zone coverage, leaving Lapierre to defend the net front. 

Carlile positions himself in the defensive zone like a forward, and stuff like this simply cannot happen at the NHL level. As a general rule of thumb, it is a defenseman's job to defend the net-front and defend down low as a whole. Leaving your forwards to carry that load in those situations, especially when there was already coverage higher in the zone, is not something that should happen. 

The 26-year-old has some offensive talent, but he is a minus-9. Normally, that stat is a bit arbitrary, but in this case, that minus-9 is entirely indicative of his play in his own zone. At this point, it's nearly a nightly occurrence that he makes a defensive zone gaffe that leads to a goal, or multiple goals, against. 

That slight offensive upside, in no way right now, outweighs his defensive zone liability. I'm not sure how much longer a leash the Penguins can have with him.

- On a positive note, Crosby sure looked like himself Saturday.

He was affecting the game everywhere. He was cycling and turning on the jets down low in the offensive zone. He broke an NHL record and also tied Marcel Dionne for sixth all-time in scoring by the end of the night. His chemistry with Rakell was on display. And Rakell himself scored his fourth goal in the last five games. 

His line was, by far, the best line for the Penguins in that game. Novak looked far more comfortable Saturday, too, than he had in the previous games. If they can begin to gel - and the second line can continue to build - the Penguins should have no trouble scoring. 

It was good to see the version of 87 that everyone knows and loves. 

- Karlsson now has three goals and 16 points in 14 games. He was very, very good for the Penguins Saturday, and he was particularly good when they put Sam Girard on his left in the third period. 

This pace for Karlsson is a big deal for a great many reasons. If the Penguins cannot stop the ship from sinking in the next couple of weeks, I would reasonably expect his name to pop up like crazy in trade rumors. 

If he can't help the Penguins win, he could sure help another contending team win. And his value would be far higher earlier in the season at a point-per-game pace than it would be at the trade deadline, when he would be a pure rental. 

There is a lot at stake for the Penguins in the next few games, even if it is early in the season. They will have some tough decisions to make regarding personnel this season, but depending on which direction their season goes quickly, that could make some decisions a whole lot easier.

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