"No answers, but we gotta figure it out because it’s not good enough."
It's not too often you'll hear those words uttered by a player after their team posted a plus-39 advantage in shot attempts, a plus-21 edge in shots on goal and a mammoth plus-34 advantage in scoring chances.
Alas, that was a very frustrated Jason Zucker following the Penguins' inexcusable 6-4 loss to the Canadiens here at PPG Paints Arena Tuesday night.
The truth, though, is that there are answers as to how the Penguins managed to lose a game in which they quite literally dominated: They were done in by the same defensive lapses from the same players that have been at the forefront of those issues all season.
They couldn't get a save when they needed it, either.
"I thought we worked hard throughout the course of the game, we didn’t always work smart," Mike Sullivan said. "And as a result, some of the looks that they got — even though they didn’t get very many of them — the ones they got were high-quality."
The Penguins jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but it took less than a minute after their second goal for the Canadiens to cut the lead in half.
Each of Jeff Petry, Brian Dumoulin and Danton Heinen left a not-so-pretty mark on the play:
Coming out of his own end, Petry forced a low-percentage stretch pass to the offensive blue line that was promptly picked off, sparking an immediate counterattack. It happened in a snap of the finger, but Heinen took too wide of an angle on the puck carrier, then offered a rather pedestrian attempt to impede them as they raced toward the Penguins' zone.
Take a look at Dumoulin's positioning as the carrier reached the UPMC logo. Why was he so wide? And how did he manage to turn his back to the middle of the ice before pivoting? Dumoulin -- for quite some time now -- has been cheating to the outside in transition defense because his skating isn't what it once was. He's afraid of getting burned and tries to compensate for it.
The problem with doing so, however, is that it forced Petry to cut across from his side of the ice, pulling him way out of position. As so, the carrier made him look like a fool by threading a pass right to the area he had just vacated.
And to cap the sequence off, Dumoulin locked onto the new carrier barreling in on Tristan Jarry, completely ignoring the possibility of a drop pass to Mike Hoffman until it was too late.
Hey, it was a decent look for the Canadiens. But it's OK to make a save there.
Not even two more minutes passed before the Canadiens knotted the score at 2-2 off the stick of Jesse Ylonen:
Too loose. Discombobulated. And then there's P.O Joseph getting worked at his own net-front, effectively taking Jarry's sightline away. Combine all of it with a perfectly placed shot and, voila, tie game.
The Penguins didn't possess the lead for the rest of the night.
The Canadiens' third goal several minutes later was the straw that broke the camel's back. Both Petry and Dumoulin converged behind the net as Jeff Carter stood flat-footed and watched it happen:
In almost every single case, there's no reason for both defensemen to chase below the goal line, but Dumoulin abandoned his post and did so anyway before failing to take the body or make a play on the puck.
Teams get into trouble when they start chasing mistakes with more mistakes, but Carter absolutely had to man the net-front after Dumoulin vacated his post. He didn't.
Despite all of that, I'll repeat: It's OK to make save there.
Then, with 15 seconds to go in the opening period, Carter cleanly lost a defensive-zone draw. The puck was in the back of the net within seconds:
Unlucky bounce or not on the actual shot, Carter's value to this team starts and ends with his faceoff ability. To lose the draw there is one thing, to get absolutely wiped in that fashion is another.
Jarry allowed four goals on seven shots and was yanked for the start of the second period. It marked the fourth time in his last five starts that he posted a sub-.875 save percentage.
"It is what it is. He’s had a challenging year from an injury standpoint," Sullivan said of Jarry's struggles. "This is just circumstantial. Nobody can really control that. We just have to control what we can, and that’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to find opportunities to get him reps in practice and give him a chance to build and develop his game and his foundation. And then obviously, he’s gonna get some of that through the games. It’s just the reality of the circumstance at this point."
The Penguins eventually battled back to tie the game at 4-4 heading into the third period, but another defensive lapse from Joseph caused him to get burned, resulting in the game-winning goal for Anthony Richard. I broke it down in a Freeze Frame.
"It’s obviously not good enough," Sullivan said, "because we didn’t end up on the right side of the result."
JUSTIN BERL / GETTY
Josh Archibald shoots in front of the Canadiens' Joel Edmundson is congratulated on his goal Tuesday night at PPG Paints Arena.
MORE FROM THE GAME
• Carter is cooked. C-o-o-k-e-d. Cooked. He is a complete non-factor offensively, in transition and on the forecheck. He continually makes a mess of himself in the defensive zone and the battle areas. After he was on the ice for three goals against at 5-on-5 in the first period, he received all of three shifts in the second period. His very first shift of the third, the Canadiens scored. While Joseph is to blame for getting beat, Carter's pressure further up the ice was far too loose, allowing the stretch pass to be made in the first place.
He didn't see the ice again until the final minutes when the Penguins were looking for the equalizer. Surprise, surprise, they gave up a high-danger chance during that shift after they'd spent the previous 10 minutes taking it to the Canadiens at the other end of the ice.
• This might be the only time you ever see me cite plus/minus, but I'm only doing so because each of the four goals he was on the ice for were at 5-on-5. Carter is the 15th NHL player since 1998 to play fewer than nine minutes (8:28) and post a minus-four rating. It's even worse considering he played just 5:48 at 5-on-5.
The Penguins have now been outscored, 36-20, with him on the ice at full-strength this season. Among 527 skaters to play at least 500 minutes at 5-on-5, Carter's 35.7% share of on-ice goals ranks 509th.
• Sullivan said Jarry is "fine from a health standpoint." If that's true, it's a major problem. The Penguins aren't going anywhere without Jarry playing at an above-average level. They don't need him to be Connor Hellebuyck, but they also don't need him doing his best Matt Murray impression at the most crucial point of the season.
• DeSmith stopped 13 of 14 shots in relief of Jarry and looked pretty solid when he was tested. That's four appearances in a row in which he's been at or above a .900 save percentage. Same goes for five of his last six appearances. Still, I'm not sure that it makes a ton of sense to suddenly get him more starts because, as mentioned, the Penguins aren't going anywhere without Jarry. I can't imagine letting him ride even more pine will fix whatever issue is at hand.
• Jake Guentzel was the one to open the scoring for the Penguins. It was his 400th career point:
He also scored a deflection goal on the power play to even the score late in the second period for his 29th of the season:
Guentzel finished the night with three points, the third time he's done so this season. He's up to five goals in his last five games after a nine-game stretch in which he scored once.
• Kris Letang scored for the second consecutive game, giving himself double-digit goals for the ninth time in his career:
He added a pair of assists for a three-point night, as well.
• Letang's pairing with Marcus Pettersson enjoyed another fantastic night. The Penguins were plus-two in goals and plus-12 in shot attempts with an 85.5% share of expected goals with the two of them out there at 5-on-5. Since being reunited last Tuesday against the Blue Jackets, the Penguins are up 7-0 in goals at full-strength.
"It’s probably a number of things," Sullivan responded when I asked what's different now compared to their middling results together earlier in the season. "They’re executing, they’re getting pucks through. I do think the more you play with somebody, you get to know their tendencies a little bit. You get an opportunity to build and develop some chemistry. I’m sure that has something to do with it, as well. Right now, they’re executing, they’re making good decisions with the puck, they’re getting pucks through from the offensive blue line. They’re helping us create offense in that regard."
• Individually, Pettersson attempted a whopping 12 shots during all situations. That led the Penguins. He was inches away from burying a backhand shot after making a glorious power move to the front of the net.
• Evgeni Malkin scored the last Penguins goal yet to be mentioned with a vintage clap bomb one-timer on the power play:
That snapped a seven-game goal drought for him. Regardless, he's up to nine points in his last five.
• This appeared to be the best game yet for the Drew O'Connor - Mikael Granlund - Rickard Rakell line. They were on the ice for a goal and out-chanced the Canadiens, 10-1, with an 84.4% share of expected goals. Progress.
• Granlund hasn't been very strong at the dot throughout his career or since the Penguins acquired him, but he went a perfect 12-for-12 on faceoffs.
• Sidney Crosby extended his point streak to five games with an assist on Guentzel's first goal. He has two goals and six assists in that span.
• Josh Archibald led the team in hits with four despite playing only 5:52.
• The Penguins now trail the Rangers by eight points in the standings with the same number of games played. Even if they waltz into New York and improbably take both games from the Rangers in regulation later this week, it seems unlikely they'll catch up before time runs out.
• 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. Anthony Richard, Canadiens C
2. Jake Guentzel, Penguins LW
3. Kris Letang, Penguins D
THE INJURIES
• Defenseman Jeff Petry left the game early and did not return. He is being evaluated.
• Defenseman Jan Rutta also left the game early after taking a shot to the inside of his left knee. He did not return and is being evaluated.
• Forward Nick Bonino is out week-to-week with a lacerated kidney suffered last Thursday against the Islanders.
• Forward Ryan Poehling remains on long-term injured reserve with a nagging upper-body injury. He is currently skating with the team in a full capacity. Sullivan believes he is nearing a return.
• Defenseman Dmitry Kulikov is out week-to-week with a lower-body injury suffered on Sunday against the Rangers.
THE LINEUPS
Sullivan’s lines and pairings:
Jake Guentzel - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust
Jason Zucker - Evgeni Malkin - Alex Nylander
Drew O'Connor - Mikael Granlund - Rickard Rakell
Danton Heinen - Jeff Carter - Josh Archibald
Marcus Pettersson - Kris Letang
Brian Dumoulin - Jeff Petry
P.O Joseph - Jan Rutta
And for Martin St. Louis' Canadiens:
Rafael Harvey-Pinard - Nick Suzuki - Jesse Ylonen
Denis Gurianov - Jonathan Drouin - Josh Anderson
Rem Pitlick - Alex Belzile - Mike Hoffman
Michael Pezzetta - Chris Tierney - Anthony Richard
Mike Matheson - Jonathan Kovacevic
Joel Edmundson - Justin Barron
Kaiden Guhle - David Savard
THE SCHEDULE
The Penguins will not practice Wednesday, a change from their original schedule. Their next game is Thursday against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden in New York.
