Is there anything new or insightful to say about the 2022-23 Penguins at this point?
Their problems are abundant and apparent no matter how well the team's top players mask them on certain nights. Even then, amid so many challenges across the board, it's a challenge in and of itself asking the stars to be absolutely perfect, game after game ... after game.
But that's what continues to happen.
The roster hasn't changed. The lineup has changed minimally (certainly not to any sort of consequence). And that was reflected again when the Penguins suffered a crushing loss Saturday here at PPG Paints Arena.
What might be more concerning than the team's inconsistencies, nonexistent depth and porous defense is that Sidney Crosby, who's having a historic season for a player age 35 or older, didn't come off all that confident in his latest rallying cry for his squad to right the ship.
"I mean, we want to find it," Crosby would respond when asked about inconsistencies following a third loss in four games. "Like I said before, we're gonna see what we're made of here down the stretch. That's the situation we're in and hopefully it brings out the best in us."
Crosby has shared similar sentiments at various points over the past month and change. The difference this time? It sounded a lot more like wishful thinking than his subtle confidence from before that everything would work itself out.
No one's ignoring the fact that Tristan Jarry's absence is only exacerbating everything that's going wrong right now. No one's ignoring the fact that the Devils are one of the top young teams in the league. No one's ignoring the fact that the Penguins were playing on the second night of a back-to-back just days removed from a week-long California trip.
And yet, all of that considered, Saturday's performance still paints a rather bleak path ahead.
Just as they were in Friday's 5-4 loss to the Islanders in Elmont, N.Y., the Penguins were just fine out of the gates Saturday. They even jumped out to an early 1-0 lead thanks to a power-play marker from Evgeni Malkin.
But it took just another minute and 20 seconds for the Devils to knot the score at 1-1.
The Penguins did not have a lead at any point for the remainder of the night:
Jeff Carter and his line on the ice for another goal against. Taylor Haase has much more on their struggles.
The score remained tied at 1-1 heading into the second period, but a poorly executed penalty-kill in the early stages resulted in a power-play goal off the stick of Dougie Hamilton. The Devils took complete control from that point forward:
Brian Dumoulin laying on the ice, Jeff Petry collapsing to cover no one, Bryan Rust completely leaving his stick out of the passing lane to the eventual scorer. It was a mess.
"I think it's a game of momentum," Mike Sullivan said. "When you have it, you gotta ride it, you gotta try to maximize the opportunity. When you lose it, you gotta try to get it back. We've talked all year about handling the ebbs and flows of the game, doing a better job in those circumstances.
"I thought we started the game really well tonight. I thought we came out with a lot of juice, a lot of energy. I thought the first period was really strong. As the game went on, we didn't have the same push."
Although the above clip was the only Devils power-play goal, it was a rough night for special teams. The Penguins went 1-for-5 on the power play, including allowing a back-breaking short-handed goal to Nico Hischier in the second to make it a 3-1 game. I broke it down in a Freeze Frame.
"I think special teams ended up being the difference," Crosby said. "They get a lead, we couldn't convert on power plays, we give up a short-handed goal and momentum seemed to shift there."
Crosby's frustrated. Sullivan's frustrated. Everyone involved is frustrated. But, as I mentioned, none of this is new. It will continue to be the same old story until purposeful change -- on multiple fronts -- is made.
"We gotta find a way," Crosby said. "We played pretty well in Long Island and then at least for the first half tonight, so hopefully we can build something from that."
JUSTIN K. ALLER / GETTY
Dustin Tokarski makes a save Saturday night at PPG Paints Arena.
MORE FROM THE GAME
• Here's the aforementioned Malkin power-play goal, snapping himself out of a three-game point drought:
It sure would be nice to see the Penguins attack off the rush like that on the power play more frequently. It's a rare occurrence, but as you can see, it's effective with the right buildup.
They've become so predictable in transition with the drop-pass that flying in with speed catches opposing penalty-kills off guard. The drop-pass simply isn't effective when the carrier isn't an actual threat to take the offensive blue line. Looking to attack in transition should not only lead to more opportunities, but it should also open up a bit of space when the drop-pass is utilized because teams won't be able to sit on it like they are now.
• And here's Malkin's second of the night, giving him 21 for the season:
He became the fourth 20-goal scorer on the team, joining Crosby (25), Jake Guentzel (23) and Rickard Rakell (21).
That's more 20-goal scorers than any other team in the league. Something, something ... shouldn't have brought back the core? Give me a break.
• Rakell nabbed the primary assist on Malkin's first goal. He's up to six points (three goals, three assists) in his last three games. Continuing to solidify himself as one of the best moves Ron Hextall has made as general manager, Rakell's pacing for 31 goals and 26 assists over a full season.
• This marked an eighth consecutive loss to Metropolitan Division opponents.
"I don't know," Sullivan bluntly responded when asked if he'd noticed any recurring theme in those losses.
Now with a .573 standings points percentage, the Penguins remain in control of the fourth spot in the division, but the Capitals and Islanders remain threats at .534.
• All situations, the Devils were plus-three in shot attempts, plus-eight in shots on goal, plus-eight in scoring chances and plus-10 in high-danger chances.
• I know John Marino got off to a blazing start with the Devils that garnered a bunch of attention, but he's pretty much the same player he was with his previous team: A really solid defensive defender that leaves you wanting more offensively considering his skating and puck skills.
Lindy Ruff predominantly matched Marino's pairing with Brendan Smith up against the Crosby line. During that head-to-head time, the Penguins had their way in terms of shot attempts (26-16) and high-danger chances (5-2).
• Very early on, Marino tripped up Crosby resulting in a penalty. Laying on the ice, Crosby took what I presumed was a playful swing at Marino, but after further review it seemed anything but playful. He wasn't happy. Crosby then got into it with Hamilton after the whistle later in the game.
• It's never a good night for a goalie when they surrender four goals, but Dustin Tokarski had little to do with the Penguins losing this game. I'd argue he even kept them within striking distance at certain points, like when he made this third-period breakaway save to prevent a second short-handed goal from the visitors:
He made 38 saves on 42 shots.
• Again, nothing new, but it's quite ridiculous how much worse defensively the Penguins are compared to last season. Last season's team allowed 2.33 expected goals against per hour at 5-on-5, good for sixth in the NHL. This season? Try 2.71 expected goals against per hour. Good for ... 22nd.
• If you've read my work for a while, you probably know I'm not a big proponent of gooning it up, or anything like that. However, there's a difference between gooning it up and showing some bleeping passion.
There was a point toward the end of the second period, Carter was in the box for his second penalty of the game, and Miles Wood tapped the puck into an empty net past Tokarski well after the whistle. The Penguins did not do a thing about it. Nothing. Petry skated toward him and that was the end of that.
Think that would fly against the Bruins? The Hurricanes? The Rangers?
Do opponents even respect the Penguins anymore? It certainly doesn't seem like it. And really, why should they?
• In case you missed it, we've rebooted Podcast on Fifth Ave. I'll be co-hosting with Taylor every week. You can check out the latest episode here.
• Thanks, as always, for reading!
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Live file
• Scoreboard
• Standings
• Statistics
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE THREE STARS
As selected at PPG Paints Arena:
1. Nico Hischier, Devils C
2. Evgeni Malkin, Penguins C
3. Dawson Mercer, Devils RW
THE INJURIES
• Goalie Tristan Jarry missed his ninth game in a row with an upper-body injury and remains on injured reserve. He is continuing to skate and progress, per Sullivan.
• Defenseman Jan Rutta is getting closer to being activated from long-term injured reserve with an upper-body injury, but did not play. He is practicing with the team.
• Forward Ryan Poehling was a late lineup scratch on Tuesday in San Jose with the same nagging upper-body injury that's had him in and out of the lineup over the past couple months. He is skating.
• Defenseman Mark Friedman is dealing with an upper-body injury suffered on Feb. 11 in Los Angeles. He is skating.
THE LINEUPS
Sullivan’s lines and pairings:
Jake Guentzel - Sidney Crosby - Rickard Rakell
Jason Zucker - Evgeni Malkin - Bryan Rust
Drew O'Connor - Jeff Carter - Kasperi Kapanen
Brock McGinn - Teddy Blueger - Josh Archibald
Brian Dumoulin - Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson - Jeff Petry
P.O Joseph - Chad Ruhwedel
And for Ruff's Devils:
Tomas Tatar - Nico Hischier - Dawson Mercer
Yegor Sharangovich - Jack Hughes - Jesper Bratt
Ondrej Palat - Erik Haula - Fabian Zetterlund
Miles Wood - Michael McLeod - Jesper Boqvist
Brendan Smith - Dougie Hamilton
Ryan Graves - John Marino
Kevin Bahl - Damon Severson
THE SCHEDULE
The Penguins have a scheduled day off on Sunday. They're back on the ice Monday when they host the Islanders at PPG Paints Arena, 7:08 p.m.
