PITTSBURGH \u2014 Call the Penguins fragile. Call their habits very poor. Call their inability to defend leads sub-AHL level.<\/p>\n
All of the above is accurate.<\/p>\n
In a week of meltdowns, the Penguins took their inability to protect leads to an extraordinary low in Saturday\u2019s 6-5 loss to the San Jose Sharks.<\/p>\n
The Penguins were ahead 5-1 with under 14 minutes remaining in regulation time.<\/p>\n
Then, disaster struck.<\/p>\n
In a week that started with Dallas evening the game with the goalie pulled, and continued with Anaheim tying the game with 0.1 seconds remaining \u2014 while the Penguins were on a power play \u2014 the Penguins saved their worst for last.<\/p>\n
They\u2019ve now permitted four goals with the goaltender pulled in their past four games.<\/p>\n
San Jose pulled within three goals on John Klingberg\u2019s power-play goal. It was a five-on-three power play, as Connor Dewar was in the box for an unnecessary hooking penalty and Erik Karlsson took an even worse penalty when he failed to drop his stick after it had broken.<\/p>\n
Kris Letang, whose recent play has been indescribably bad, then had a horrible shift that resulted in a William Eklund goal.<\/p>\n
Still, the Penguins found themselves ahead by two goals with less than three minutes to play and the puck on Sidney Crosby\u2019s blade. Crosby found Bryan Rust, whose shot at the empty net \u2014 goaltender Yaroslav Askarov had long been yanked for an extra attacker \u2014 clanged off the post.<\/p>\n
About 20 seconds later, with Letang and Karlsson remarkably on the ice together again in a situation where the Penguins were attempting to protect a late lead, Macklin Celebrini scored to make it 5-4.<\/p>\n
The silence in PPG Paints Arena at that moment was pretty deafening.<\/p>\n
With 2:28 remaining, Dan Muse called a timeout.<\/p>\n
He sent a defensive-minded group onto the ice. That plan didn\u2019t work, either.<\/p>\n
Ryan Shea and Parker Wotherspoon were deployed as the defensemen for the upcoming shift with Noel Acciari, Dewar and Kevin Hayes at forward.<\/p>\n
It took less than a minute for Tyler Toffoli to even the game, as the Penguins were simply caved in on the play, looking horribly tentative, like a team that knew it was about to allow another goal.<\/p>\n
Less than three minutes into overtime, Klingberg danced around an exhausted Crosby, sent a pass to Celebrini, then received a pass back and buried the game winner.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll look in the mirror first,\u201d first-year head coach Muse said.<\/p>\n
Muse\u2019s first season behind the bench started magnificently, but this has been an agonizing week.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll take responsibility,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have to be better. I have to be better because it\u2019s happened a number of times now. \u2026 It\u2019s cost us too many points. Obviously it has to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n
Muse wasn\u2019t finished.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to be disciplined,\u201d he said. \u201cWe clearly have to be better five-on-six at the end of games. There are multiple parts to it. We\u2019ll continue to work on it, continue to address it. There\u2019s no question in my mind that this group can play much better than they are. But we have to get there.\u201d<\/p>\n
They\u2019re still in the playoff mix for now, but they won\u2019t be for long with more performances like this.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got to close out games,\u201d Crosby said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to be better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ten postgame observations\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2022 It\u2019s hard to pinpoint just one thing when a team endures a meltdown like this. These meltdowns are becoming a habit, after all.<\/p>\n
Bad penalties? Check.<\/p>\n
Bad goaltending? Check.<\/p>\n
Bad defense? Check.<\/p>\n
Bad situational play? Check.<\/p>\n
And here\u2019s another item: Far too many Penguins look more interested in empty net goals than winning the damn game. I see way too many forwards leaving the defensive zone before the puck has been secured. Not a good look.<\/p>\n
\u2022 I don\u2019t specifically blame Art\u016brs \u0160ilovs for any of the goals except for the first one, which was terrible. \u0160ilovs was way off his angle on Toffoli\u2019s shot.<\/p>\n
TYLER TOFFOLI! \ud83d\udea8 pic.twitter.com\/VL7qeoiraB<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 NHL (@NHL) December 13, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n It was more of a meltdown defensively than it was anything else.<\/p>\n However, the numbers aren\u2019t pretty as they pertain to \u0160ilovs.<\/p>\n The Penguins are 1-3-6 in his past 10 games. He\u2019s given up 33 goals in those 10 games and has been yanked in two of them.<\/p>\n He\u2019s hardly the only problem, and I thought he played better against Anaheim on Monday. Still, those numbers and his performance are a problem.<\/p>\n If making the playoffs is the goal for the Penguins this season \u2014 Kyle Dubas spoke pretty passionately about the Penguins\u2019 postseason chances 24 hours earlier \u2014 it\u2019s time to think about recalling Sergei Murashov right now.<\/p>\n Oh, he was the backup in this game on an emergency basis because Stuart Skinner wasn\u2019t able to play due to immigration reasons. I\u2019m talking about even when Skinner can play.<\/p>\n Skinner will receive some playing time following Friday\u2019s trade, as he should. He might not be a star, but he\u2019s a perfectly competent NHL goalie. I\u2019m not sure what \u0160ilovs is, but if the Penguins are going to make the playoffs, they might not have time for much patience with him.<\/p>\n Murashov is putting up video game numbers in the AHL and is the most talented goaltender the Penguins have. If they are going to make the playoffs, I think they need him in Pittsburgh permanently.<\/p>\n \u2022 Letang and Karlsson were on the ice together for a goal against. Again.<\/p>\n It\u2019s baffling beyond words. Even if the Penguins were caught in the middle of a change, those two should never touch the ice together in a defensive situation.<\/p>\n I think we\u2019ve seen enough evidence.<\/p>\n Mack’s goal for ya. \ud83d\ude24#TheFutureIsTeal<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/4xToqPfOES<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) December 13, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n They stood on each side of the net, allowing two Sharks to set up shop in front of \u0160ilovs on the Celebrini goal. \u0160ilovs probably should have made that save, but still, it was a terrible defensive look and an even worse look for the coaching staff.<\/p>\n \u2022 Letang endured another brutal outing and was especially bad on the Sharks\u2019 third goal.<\/p>\n Eky puts it home. \ud83c\udfe0 pic.twitter.com\/BcQb35AyGW<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) December 13, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n He\u2019s absolutely lost right now, and while there aren\u2019t necessarily \u201cbetter\u201d players behind him, I\u2019m not sure how much longer the Penguins can use him in serious situations.<\/p>\n \u2022 Crosby stayed on the ice far too long on two occasions.<\/p>\n After Rust missed the empty net, Crosby had an opportunity to go to the bench, and he was already on the ice for a fairly long time. He opted to stay on the ice despite looking tired, and Celebrini scored 20 seconds later.<\/p>\n In overtime, Crosby looked tired and skated toward the bench. Then, he circled back and stayed on the ice.<\/p>\n CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?! #TheFutureIsTeal<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/rHuVtpVAOc<\/a><\/p>\n