December 10, 2025<\/a><\/p>\nHere was Muse\u2019s explanation for his lineup decision on that play.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth of those defensemen are out there on every situation,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re out there in five-on-six (situations). They\u2019re both guys that are used in defensive situations as well. You get into a situation like that, you have possession, you know pressure is going to be coming. It\u2019s a key possession. The goalie doesn\u2019t come out of the net. It didn\u2019t happen. We tried to make a play there. It ends up going in. They pull the goalie. They get the space to get it to the net. It can\u2019t happen. The question as for who is out on the ice, that\u2019s it. The line that was out there was the same line that was out there for a chunk of the five-on-six as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Penguins\u2019 locker room was stunned into silence following this one.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got to watch it,\u201d Karlsson said of the play. \u201cI was obviously on the ice. It hit my hand and went in. There was no question about it. How it came to be that way, I really don\u2019t know. I haven\u2019t watched it. But it\u2019s definitely something that should not happen. Seventeen seconds left, up a goal and on the power play, we win the face-off \u2014 and they score a goal.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Penguins had taken a late lead on Anthony Mantha\u2019s power-play goal after out-shooting the Ducks by a 47-28 margin.<\/p>\n
The Penguins had a four-on-three power play for 1:47 in overtime but failed to score, despite Crosby coming inches from ending the game. Crosby later set up Connor Dewar, who faced a wide-open cage only to clang the puck off the post.<\/p>\n
When the game went to a shootout, it was a foregone conclusion that Anaheim would win. Dating to last season, the Penguins have lost 11 of their past 12 shootouts.<\/p>\n
10 postgame observations\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2022 Muse\u2019s explanation and having puck possession players like Karlsson and Letang on the ice in that situation to theoretically help chew up time are understandable. But I still utterly disagree with his thinking. Parker Wotherspoon and Ryan Shea have been, without question, the Penguins\u2019 best two defensive defensemen. One of them absolutely needs to be on the ice in that situation. Letang and Karlsson have not played well in their limited minutes together and can be a hand grenade waiting to go off in the defensive zone.<\/p>\n
I also didn\u2019t love Novak being on the ice in that spot. He\u2019s been very good lately, but he\u2019s not a great defensive player. Crosby and Rust on the ice was reasonable and makes sense. I\u2019d have put Dewar or Noel Acciari on the ice with them. That\u2019s what those guys are paid to do, to play like adults in situations such as that.<\/p>\n
Muse did something very similar in the home opener against the New York Islanders, putting his top power play on the ice with 15 seconds left in the offensive zone. The Islanders came inches from tying it.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Karlsson has been great this season. The real problem on that goal was Letang. All he had to do is take the man. Instead, he tried to strip the puck, which is always what he tries to do while defending two-on-ones instead of simply taking away the passing lane. This is why he shouldn\u2019t have been on the ice. He displayed a total lack of understanding of the situation.<\/p>\n
No Penguin has been responsible for more goals against than Letang this season, and by a wide margin. Under no circumstances should he have been on the ice.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The Penguins have blown a third-period lead in their last three games and seven of their past 14. That\u2019s an almost unimaginable number.<\/p>\n
Many fans on social media are disgruntled about their performances in shootouts, and we\u2019ll get to that, but this is the far bigger problem. Shootouts are gimmicky and while they are important because those points are real, they wouldn\u2019t be an issue all that often if this team were remotely capable of protecting late leads. That\u2019s how you miss out on the playoffs.<\/p>\n
\u2022 For what it\u2019s worth, the Penguins took it to the Ducks most of the evening. With the exception of the final 10 minutes of the second period, they were clearly the better team in this game.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Arturs Silovs took a step in this game and he wasn\u2019t perfect but was much better against one of the NHL\u2019s more potent offensive teams after being yanked from his previous two outings.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Crosby has never been more lacking in confidence or imagination than in recent shootout attempts. He swings out wide to the left, slowly skates toward the goaltender and shoots a wrist shot glove side almost every time. It\u2019s getting predictable and it\u2019s not working.<\/p>\n
![\"Ville](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/USATSI_27781911-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Ville Koivunen\u2019s line with Rutger McGroarty and Ben Kindel played well against the Ducks. (Charles LeClaire \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n
\u2022 The Ben Kindel-Rutger McGroarty-Ville Koivunen line was by far the Penguins\u2019 best. That trio was outstanding and needs to stay together.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Evgeni Malkin is out week-to-week with a lower-body injury. This is a problem. The good news is Malkin probably isn\u2019t at his best when he plays in 82 games, given he\u2019s 39. Maybe some time off will help down the road.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Blake Lizotte is also \u201cweek-to-week\u201d and the Penguins missed him in a game like this.<\/p>\n
\u2022 I can\u2019t get over how the Penguins lost this game. It\u2019s beyond baffling and I\u2019d be concerned that there could be a psychological impact. This is the kind of loss that can trigger a losing streak.<\/p>\n
The head coach has done a masterful job this season. This was his first bad night behind the bench.<\/p>\n