For as chaotic and nonsensical this season has been for the Penguins, it's quite fitting that a 31-year-old with 61 games of NHL experience effectively put the dagger through the heart of their postseason aspirations.
That would be Buddy Robinson, who scored the Blackhawks' crushing go-ahead goal in the third period of their 5-2 victory over the Penguins Tuesday night here at PPG Paints Arena.
Not long after Evgeni Malkin scored to tie the game at 1-1 in the third period, Robinson made the most of a fortuitous bounce and beat Tristan Jarry:
Yeah, that's a tough break on the bounce. But how, exactly, did the Penguins allow Robinson, who had a whopping three career goals coming into the game, to get so wide-open in the middle of the ice?
Well, it started with what happened in the neutral zone prior to the Blackhawks establishing possession in the offensive zone. Jeff Carter was standing flat-footed along the left side of the ice, though he was able to force a dump-in.
The problem is that after the puck was dumped, Carter drifted his way back into the defensive zone. He's the center on his line, obviously, yet it was Danton Heinen and Josh Archibald who had to assume those defensive responsibilities. Those aren't two forwards you want assuming the defensive responsibilities of a center with the season on the line.
Heinen had to track his man into the corner and Archibald had to step up to the point once the puck was worked there.
While that was happening, Dmitry Kulikov did a whole lot of nothing and watched the puck land right on Robinson's stick as he scored.
It only takes a moment. This one proved fatal.
