Takeaways: Penguins Can't Sustain Fast Start, Allow Five Unanswered Goals In 5-2 Loss To Avalanche

The Pittsburgh Penguins came out like a house on fire against the Colorado Avalanche on Friday night, but couldn't sustain it for a full 60 minutes. 

They played a strong 20 minutes and took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission, then allowed four more goals to lose 5-2. The Penguins had no answer for the Avalanche's pushback to start the second period, and their defensive zone woes continued in a second straight loss. 

Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust scored for the Penguins. Malkin made a beautiful move to the slot to score his fourth goal of the season, and Rust scored 29 seconds later off a great pass from Sidney Crosby. 

Crosby's assist on Rust's goal was his 1,110th career assist, moving him into seventh place on the NHL's all-time assist list. 

Here are some takeaways from this one: 

- Let's get some of the positives out of the way. Sidney Crosby played his best game of the season on Friday, and it wasn't close. His pass for Rust's goal was great, and it felt like he had eyes in the back of his head all game. 

He was threading the needle beautifully and even had some glorious chances of his own. He's very much back after a slow start, which will be a big deal if the Penguins can get out of this rut. 

- I didn't mind the Penguins' 5v5 play at all and thought they got plenty of quality chances throughout this game. However, the problem is that nobody outside of Malkin or Rust could finish their chances.

Rickard Rakell had a glorious semi-breakaway in the second period, but Mackenize Blackwood turned it aside. Andrei Kuzmenko was stoned on the doorstep during a third-period power play. Tommy Novak was denied twice. Ville Koivunen had a ridiculous tip earlier in the game when it was still 2-1, but it hit the post. 

It simply wasn't their night. 

- Speaking of Koivunen, this was his best game since opening night against the Flyers. He fit well on the Malkin line in place of injured Egor Chinakhov and made a beautiful play to start the rush that led to Malkin's goal. He was engaged all game long and, as mentioned above, almost had a highlight-reel goal, but it hit the post. 

It was a much-needed performance from him. 

- Alright, let's get to the negative. Just like Tuesday, special teams killed the Penguins in this one. They were way too passive on the penalty kill, allowing the Avalanche to do whatever they wanted on the power play. 

T.J. Hughes's goal won't be scored as an official power-play goal, but it may as well be one since he scored it immediately after the penalty expired. Declan Carlile was too slow and didn't get to Hughes in time, giving him an easy goal. 

- As for the power play, what more is there to say? The first unit is an absolute disaster right now and needs to be broken up. The zone entries are pitiful, and even when the unit gains the zone, the players fold under pressure, leading to easy clears. If you ask me, they need to experiment with Rakell and Malkin on PP2. They look lost on the first unit. 

- Declan Carlile was a mess on the top pair again. This has been a theme over the last week: he looks out of his depth. He's trying to do way too much and isn't opting for the simple plays. 

He was out to lunch in his own zone and didn't look comfortable. It'll be interesting to see whether Muse moves him away from Karlsson so he can face some lesser competition and regain some confidence

- I also didn't like Karlsson's game tonight. He was making some strange decisions with the puck in the offensive zone and wasn't winning his assignments in his own end. I know he has eight points (all assists) in eight games, but the Penguins need more from him if they want to get to where they want to be this year. 

- The schedule doesn't get any easier for the Penguins since they have a matchup with the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday. Like the Avalanche, the Golden Knights are one of the best teams in the NHL and have been steamrolling teams since the season began. 

It would behoove the Penguins to take two points in that game and split the back-to-back before they close out this four-game trip with the Utah Mammoth, who are also red-hot, on Monday. 

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