After earning just one of four points on a back-to-back weekend set against the New Jersey Devils and Los Angeles Kings, the Pittsburgh Penguins may just welcome the brief Swedish vacation they’ll embark on starting Monday.
Their PDO is no longer top-10 in the league, according to Moneypuck. They are dealing with a plethora of injuries. They have come back down to Earth a bit in recent games and were forced to show what they were made of after surrendering three-goal leads in two consecutive games.
Unfortunately, they let another third-period lead slip in this one.
On Sunday, the Penguins ran out of gas in the final frame, and they lost 3-2 to the Kings. The Penguins carried a 2-1 lead into the third period via goals from Tommy Novak and Anthony Mantha, but Los Angeles pushed hard in the third, scoring two unanswered by Corey Perry and Kevin Fiala to put the game away.
21-year-old rookie goaltender Sergei Murashov - making his NHL debut - stopped 24 of 27 Kings’ shots and made several nice saves to keep the game within reach. One of those included a shorthanded two-on-one opportunity in the second period.
Bryan Rust gave away the puck in the offensive zone, and Alex Laferriere took it up ice. He found Quinton Byfield on the doorstep, and Murashov stretched full-extension to make the stop and preserve what was a 2-1 lead at the time.
Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) on XSERGEI!It doesn’t take an expert to notice how athletic Murashov is. He reacts quickly and calmly, he isn’t afraid to challenge shooters, and he gets post-to-post with expediency and ease. All in all, it was a solid debut for the 21-year-old Russian goaltender, even if there are a couple of small areas to clean up.
“I need some time just to watch video and see what more I can do better, where I was good,” Murashov said. “But overall, I just like how I felt for all the game. I enjoyed it. Again, just a huge thanks to my team, because it’s [their] third game in four days, and they were battling.”
At the end of the day, though, for the team, this was the third time in four games where they weren’t able to hold onto a lead late in the game and surrendered a few precious points. Luckily, the Penguins put themselves in an advantageous position to start the season, but they have lost three out of the last four and understand that their details need to be better.
“I’m not at the point where I’m thinking it has to do with necessarily just the third period,” Muse said. “I think we got away from some of the defensive details that are important. I’m not going to look at just goals. You look at the chances and what we gave up, and I also think we need to do a better job of generating more five-on-five on both sides of it. We didn’t get it done here tonight.”
Penguins Earn Point In 'Prove-It' Game Against New Jersey DevilsAt this time last season - and in the two seasons before - there was always an overwhelming sense of frustration when the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a> lost precious points in overtime and in the shootout.
Here are a few thoughts and observations from this one:
- Pittsburgh collectively held its breath near the end of the first period when Kings' defenseman Brandt Clarke hit 18-year-old rookie Ben Kindel along the right wall, and Kindel then went down the runway and did not return for the start of the second period.
Connor Dewar took the place of Kindel on the top line with Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust in Kindel's absence, and it remained that way until an early second-period power play opportunity, when Kindel did, in fact, return to the ice.
It's amazing how much Penguins' fans already love this kid, and even in the 10 or 15 minutes that Kindel was unavailable, his absence on the ice was noticeable.
It's not often you can say that about a teenager missing a few minutes of a hockey game, but the Penguins were hemmed in their own zone for the final few minutes of the first without Kindel. He's already becoming a really important piece of this team.
Penguins' Top Prospect Ben Kindel Gets Big OpportunityThere have been a ton of boxes checked for <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a>' rookie sensation Ben Kindel in the last two months.
- Speaking of which, I do think the Penguins are a better team with Kindel as the third-line center. He's still generating chances on the Crosby line, but not having him down the middle really depletes their center depth.
However, I'm not sure they have much of a choice right now.
It's becoming abundantly clear that the Penguins' injury situation is catching up to them. They are down two top-six regulars in Rickard Rakell and Justin Brazeau, a starting goaltender in Tristan Jarry, and important role players in Noel Acciari and Filip Hallander. They are also missing defenseman Caleb Jones - who played in a lot of games on the left side to begin the season - as well as Rutger McGroarty, who has yet to play a game this season at any level.
Yes, Kindel playing alongside Crosby affects the center depth, but who else is going to go there right now? Dewar is an effective bottom-six player, but he'd probably be playing a bit above what he is with Crosby. Moving center Kevin Hayes up in the lineup presents the same kind of issue as bumping Kindel up. Ville Koivunen could play there, but then who would be left with Kindel on the third line?
The Penguins are in a really tough spot right now, and - all things considered - they're still in a pretty favorable standings position despite their injury woes. But it's not something that is likely to sustain itself for much longer without more help.
Pittsburgh Penguins Announce Latest Roster MovesThe Pittsburgh Penguins have made a few roster moves. If I were Kyle Dubas, I'd consider calling up someone like young two-way center Tristan Broz ahead of the trip to Sweden this week. The Penguins could use another young set of legs in their lineup to give them some more energy and skill as far as top-six options. They need it right now.
- This was a rough game defensively for Kris Letang and Bryan Rust.
As for Rust - I've said this before - it doesn't seem like he's fully himself right now. The points are still coming, but something is amiss in his game. And he's turning over the puck with far too much frequency right now. There were several instances of the puck just rolling off his stick or being misplayed by him Sunday, and that included the two-on-one shorthanded breakaway that Murashov stopped.
And, as far as Letang... I'm not really sure what's going on with him, but his defensive play is costing the Penguins goals and, arguably, some games right now. He had an egregious turnover in the game against New Jersey that led to their only regulation goal - and the goal that sent the game to overtime and gave them a chance to earn two points. And, in this one, Letang pinched and was caught back on the Kings' second goal from Corey Perry.
Opinion: Despite Struggles, Brunicke Should Remain With PenguinsThe <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a> made a flurry of moves Tuesday, sending young blueliner Owen Pickering back to the AHL, placing three others on injured reserve, <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/latest-news/penguins-call-up-3-players-announce-several-roster-moves">and recalling two veterans and top goaltending prospect Sergei Murashov from the AHL</a>.
This is the exact reason why I think the criticism of 19-year-old Harrison Brunicke - who has been a healthy scratch for three straight games after playing in his ninth game Monday - has been a bit too harsh. Brunicke has made some similar mistakes, but I'd argue that the 38-year-old veteran in Letang has made even more of those types of mistakes this season.
With a 19-year-old, you can chalk that up to a lack of adjustment to NHL speed at this point. For Letang - at this stage in his career - he simply needs to be better in these situations and play more responsibly.
Letang is a Penguins' legend and borderline future Hall-of-Famer. But he has lost a step, and I think he just needs to adjust his game to his age and ability at this point - especially with his defense partner, Ryan Shea, becoming more involved offensively this season.
LA Kings (@LAKings) on Xthat's 7 goals in 10 games for Corey Perry btw- There is, of course, plenty of season left. But the Penguins are now 9-5-3, which means they have gone 1-3-1 in the month of November so far.
The team heads to Stockholm, Sweden on Monday for the NHL Global Series, where they'll have the opportunity to practice for a few days before playing games against the Nashville Predators on Friday and Sunday. While the trip is, perhaps, coming at a good time for the Penguins, Muse emphasized that - at the end of the day - the team needs to be banking points.
"We need to win games. We need points," Muse said. "We've got an opportunity right now where we can get a couple of practices in, and we need to get points in. This is a trip where it's great opportunity with the team to be together to go on a trip like this, go over to Sweden... but at the end, we need points."
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