Back-to-back Rangers power play goals turned tide in loss

This weekend of back-to-back games was a pivotal opportunity for the Penguins' playoff push, and they're halfway to squandering it after Saturday's 7-4 loss to the Rangers at PPG Paints Arena.

The Penguins entered the weekend in a good spot after everything went their way Thursday. They got a much-needed two points out of their 6-3 win over the Sharks, and coupled with some help around the league in other Eastern Conference matchups, found themselves just five points out of a playoff spot.

Nothing went their way Saturday. They failed to pick up points in their loss to the Rangers and sit at 67 points in the standings. The teams they're chasing gained ground: The Red Wings' win brought them to 74 points, leapfrogging the Islanders to take over the last wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Islanders picked up a point in an overtime loss and sit just a point behind the Red Wings at 73.

The Penguins sit seven points out of a playoff spot, and close out the weekend on Sunday against one of the teams they're chasing in the Red Wings. They could find themselves nine points of a playoff spot by Monday, with the runway to close that gap growing shorter by the day.

This was a game that was in reach for the Penguins. John Ludvig opened the scoring early in the first period with his third goal of the year and second goal in as many games, but less than a minute later the Penguins found themselves in a 2-1 hole after responses from the Rangers' Kaapo Kakko and Adam Fox. The Penguins crawled back to tie it later in the first period when Bryan Rust buried a pass from Sidney Crosby, but a goal from Artemi Panarin gave the Rangers a 3-2 lead entering the first intermission.

A power play goal from Lars Eller midway through the middle frame tied the game once again for the Penguins, then a pair of Rangers power plays proved to be the difference-maker. 

Noel Acciari took a tripping penalty, and Panarin scored 12 seconds later to put the Rangers ahead:

During that stoppage Kris Letang got an unsportsmanlike conduct minor, putting the Penguins right back on the penalty-kill. It wasn't clear in the moment what Letang did to warrant the call, but he confirmed afterward that it was the result of some words he had for an official.

"Just emotions on the penalty and the play," Letang told me of what happened. "That's it."

Mike Sullivan was irate on the bench after the call was made, and was still displeased with the call after the game.

"I'd like to believe that especially at this time of year, that the officials understand that the players have a lot at stake," Sullivan said. "These guys are invested. It's an emotional game."

It took the Rangers 65 seconds this time to capitalize on the man advantage, with a Mika Zibanejad goal giving the Rangers a two-goal lead:

K'Andre Miller made it a three-goal game in the third period to chase Tristan Jarry from the Penguins' crease, before Valtteri Puustinen's third goal of the year cut the Penguins' deficit to two goals. Chris Kreider's empty-net goal in the final minute made it a 7-4 game.

The Rangers are the top team in the Metropolitan Division, and one of the best in the league. The Penguins managed to hold their own in this game. They outshot the Rangers. 38-28. They were going to the net to get those shots off, and had a 19-15 edge in high-danger shot attempts, and an 11-9 edge in high-danger shots on goal. They got both depth scoring and contributions from their top line. Most of the concerns that popped up in Thursday's win over the Sharks improved: They scored on the power play, going 1 for 3. They had a better start. Aside from the empty-netter when the game was already out of reach, they didn't collapse and allow any late-period goals. 

It was those two penalties and the ensuing Rangers power play goals that changed the game.

"The game was flipped in that two-goal swing on their power plays," Sullivan said. "I thought a lot of the game, we were pretty good five on five, we had a lot of good looks. Give their team credit, they've got a lot of skill. They're opportunistic with the chances they get and they finished on them."

Eller, who was on the ice penalty-killing for both of those goals against acknowledged that the Penguins "generally competed well today, it's one of our best games in a while," and he's not wrong. 

"The game broke with their two power plays," Eller continued. "We tied it up. We had momentum. Then they get two power plays like that. I'm not going to go into details of what I think about that, but that's where the game turned."

There's no time to dwell on this one. Letang said that anytime a team is fighting for points, you have to "turn the page quick and get going," whether it's after a win or a loss. That's especially true here. Puck drop between the Penguins and Red Wings is Sunday at 6:08 p.m., and that's a four-point game. The Penguins could find themselves as little as five points behind the Red Wings, or as much as nine if they lose in regulation.

The Penguins need to turn their attention to that game, and they started doing that before this game was over. Usually when a goaltender is pulled in-game, it's either due to his performance or a coach looking to spark his team. This circumstance was a little different. Jarry wasn't particularly bad, and the team in front of him overall was playing pretty well aside from those Rangers power plays. Sullivan said the discussion with the coaching staff at intermission was that if the Rangers scored again early in the third, they would pull Jarry and get Alex Nedeljkovic in net in order to get him "an opportunity to get a little bit of work here going into tomorrow." When Miller put the Rangers up 6-3 at the 4:41 mark, Sullivan thought it was time to let Nedeljkovic get some playing time. He faced four shots on goal in the 12:44 that he was in net, and stopped them all.

Rust was asked what the team's mindset is going into that game against the Red Wings, and he was terse in his response.

"Win the game."

They better. Or this hole they're in is going to become insurmountable.