Sound the alarm. Our gliding penguins are in trouble and there don’t seem to be any easy solutions.
Yesterday we built a seemingly insurmountable 5-1 lead in the third period thanks to three power play goals, only to see it evaporate as the visiting Sharks put four goals past. Arthur Silov in just over 10 minutes to send the match to extra time.
The inevitable breakdown reached its nadir about three minutes into the extra verse. Veteran defender Johannes Klingberg escaped Sidney Crosby at our blue line and participated in a give-and-go Macklin Celebrini. With Sid completely out of the game, pretty much of his own volition, and two other frequent culprits on defense, Kris Letang And Bryan RustWith little resistance, Klingberg defeated Silovs at close range.
This was accompanied by a chorus of well-deserved boos from the 17,059 hearty souls who braved a snowstorm to witness the debacle.
Somewhere, Rangers coach Mike Sullivan It must be a knowing smile. And we thought we had big problems protecting leads under Sully! Child’s play compared to the almost nightly collapses under the new regime.
Not obvious, but hockey is a team sport. There is no single culprit in the team’s woeful inability to play and hold a lead, but numerous issues are at play.
However, it starts with And Muse and the coaching staff, something he readily acknowledged in his post-match comments yesterday. I was listening to the game on the radio and after Klingberg scored on the power play to close the gap to 5-2, color analyst said Phil Bourque suggested that our rookie coach call a timeout to refocus his troops. Like a shark smelling blood in the water, no pun intended, the Ol’ Two-Niner sensed a disturbing shift in momentum.
Muse finally called a timeout after the Sharks made it a one-goal game, but by then the tide had turned irreparably in San Jose’s favor.
Puckpourri
The Pens’ shocking collapse masked some positives. Rickard Rakell made his long-awaited return, rejoining Crosby and Rust on the top line and sending Danton Heinen to the press box.
The return of RikRak also had a trickle-down effect on the other lines. Tommy Novak centered in front Anthony Mantha And Ville Koivunen. Justin Brazeau joined the no longer “Kid Line” with Rutger McGroarty And Ben Kindel. Kevin Hayes dropped to the fourth line between Connor Dewar And Noel Acciari.
Crosby, McGroarty, Hayes, Rust and Mantha scored for the black and gold. After a recent break, the power play converted into three of five chances.
Mantha and Rust paced the team with three-point efforts (1+2). Sid had a goal and a helper within two points Mario Lemieux for the all-time club record.
Acciari, Dewar and Kindel collected assists, as did Letang and Erik Karlsson.
Now the bad, and there was plenty of it. Sid and Rusty both finished on a minus-three, as did Parker Wotherspoon. His partner, Karlsson, one minus two.
With 2:49 to play and the Pens clinging to a two-goal lead, Rust fired an empty-net effort from the right post. If he had converted, we probably would have had the upper hand.
Maybe.
He is definitely not an All-Star, but a newcomer Brett Ear (hung up at customs) can’t arrive fast enough. Based on another porous performance from Silovs (.813 save percentage), ditto Stuart Skinner.
Where have you gone Tristan Jarry?
In the meantime, Sergei Murashov has been recalled from Baby Pens. He is expected to start today against the Mammoth. Not to put too much pressure on the child, but we hope he can hit the brakes on our 0-1-3 slide.
Speaking of Wilkes, Matt Duma has been granted waivers and has been reassigned to the Baby Pens.
In the “somewhere Sully needs to smile, part two” department, the Pens (14-8-8, 36 points) have fallen into a tie for sixth place in the Metro with its Rangers, one point short of a wild-card slot.
Does Celebrini (three points including goal) remind anyone of a young Sid? He is a special player.
#RED #ALERT #Penguins #score #goals #lose #Sharks