Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images
RALEIGH, N.C. — The storylines were a study in contradiction. Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Stuart Skinner was brilliant, but allowed six goals. The Penguins overcame four Carolina Hurricanes leads. And defenseman Erik Karlsson delivered some jaw-dropping moments and another three-point game.
And yet, the Penguins succumbed to the same fate they have 10 straight times at the Lenovo Center, losing to the Carolina Hurricanes. The Penguins lost in overtime for the sixth time in those 10 games, 6-5 Wednesday.
After the cameras left, Skinner agreed that was probably the best game of his life when giving up six goals.
The third period began 2-1 in Carolina’s favor. And then the Penguins finally attacked. But Carolina rallied. And the Penguins attacked more. And Carolina rallied more. And the game exploded into an offensive brawl with great goaltending; the sheer intensity and excitement made up for the plodding slog that was the first 40 minutes.
The exciting loop ended with Carolina defenseman Sean Walker’s winner with just 28 seconds remaining in overtime.
This season, the Penguins are now 4-6 in OT games. Combined with the 1-10 shootout record, the extra time has been deadly for the Penguins, who are now 5-16 when the game goes past regulation.
Wednesday was another division battle, and the Penguins are keenly aware they could see Carolina again in the playoffs. In fact, there is a growing chip on the players’ shoulders. Make no mistake, they want to face Carolina in a game not decided by 3v3 OT but when it’s 5v5 to the end.
“They’re a fast, hard, deep team. They played well with all four lines, but I think we’re similar—we roll our lines over the boards,” said Rust. “We have guys from top to bottom who can make plays and score some goals. And I think, I think it’s a good measure (to play them).”
To say Karlsson was exceptional might be an undersell. He thoroughly deked perennial Selke Award contender Sebastian Aho, that he had 10 feet of space to blast his second goal of the game. In a game in which the Penguins’ defensemen were left holding the bag for the forwards’ disconnect, and the Penguins’ breakouts were at best pedestrian, Karlsson’s ability to push the play forward stood out.
A few other Penguins stepped forward, even as others wilted under the intense Carolina forecheck.
“It was a combination of things. Some of it was execution. Some of it was the puck support, too–getting into good areas. Some of it was the speed of (the game), too,” said coach Dan Muse. “There were times I thought we had the right pieces in place, in the right spots, and we were just taking our time. This is a fast team, and giving that extra second of that pause, time and space are going to close up on you or your options. We definitely felt like that was an area we could do better at.”
However, the Penguins’ chip on their shoulder for playing the Hurricanes in the playoffs got a little bigger, too.
I mean, overtime (in the playoffs), it’s five-on-five, so it’s completely different. I think they had a lot of speed today … I thought we managed the OT really, really well. I thought maybe we definitely had the majority of the chances in OT,” Skinner said. “We were able to give ourselves a chance to win. But yeah, they were able to kind of make a good play at the right time … but that’s the fun part about playoffs, is that it’s five-on-five. There’s no three-on-three, no shootouts. So it’s real hockey.”
Penguins Analysis
In the simplest terms, the Penguins began the game on their heels. Carolina’s forecheck pinned the Penguins in their own zone, and Carolina did not let up.
Several defensemen were especially underwater, including Kris Letang and Ryan Shea, but also Connor Clifton and Ilya Solovyov. The pairings were out of sorts with the puck and thus left to defend against an increasingly aggressive Carolina attack.
Jackson Blake’s goal late in the second period looked like it could be a decider as Solovyov went swimming in the middle of the zone and Blake merely skated around him to the net.
The third pair, with Solovyov and Clifton, were plagued by an inability to connect with the forwards to get the puck moving in the other direction. At times, they played glacially slow.
Turnovers plagued the Shea and Letang pairing.
Tactically, one crucial thing the Penguins failed to do was to provide some cover for the defensemen. Against Carolina, the forwards need to get back and get in the forecheckers’ way–giving defensemen an extra moment to play the puck.
The Penguins did not do that with any success Wednesday.
“I don’t know if I’d say we didn’t work hard, but we didn’t make fast decisions, which allowed them to get in your face,” Rust said.
As has been the case this season, when the Penguins’ breakouts connected and they generated some speed out of the defensive zone, they have been able to break Carolina’s defense.
Sidney Crosby returned to the team’s lineup after 11 games; the Crosby line got into the corners and played around the net. The fourth line, centered by Connor Dewar with Elmer Soderblom and Noel Acciari, was also forceful down low and outworked Carolina’s defense.
However, the Penguins’ middle six were a wild ride of big moments but far too many mistakes and defensive zone play.
Penguins Report Card
Team: D+
Don’t let the result provide any misgivings that the Penguins played well. Carolina horribly outworked and outplayed them for most of the first 40 minutes. Their goals in the third period resulted from finally getting onto their toes and playing with emotion, but it was a back-and-forth third period, not a period in which the Penguins dominated.
Stuart Skinner: A
A goalie who allowed six should not get an A+, but Skinner was exceptional. Pad saves on breakaways. Glove saves on point-blank chances. And a diving stop when all hope appeared lost.
“I felt really good. I think that’s why I’m really annoyed right now because I let in six goals. Wouldn’t have expected that, but it’s a hard game. It’s a hard league,” said Skinner. “These guys know how to score goals. They know how to make plays, and they got lucky on the six-on-five goal. And sometimes luck kind of goes another team’s way.”
Erik Karlsson: A+
Perhaps no Penguins defenseman in the last 30 years has played as well as Karlsson is performing. He’s controlling the game like no one in a Penguins sweater since Paul Coffey. His 5v3 power play goal was a shot that would have broken glass if it missed. He single-handedly launched the Penguins’ attack.
Bryan Rust: A
Rust looked to be in playoff form. He blocked shots and scrapped for pucks like he needed them. His breakaway goal was a gritty and skilled individual effort. He had five shots on goal.
Ryan Shea-Kris Letang: F
The Penguins needed their second pairing to provide some cover, but the second pairing was far too generous with the puck and too scrambled in the defensive zone. They were on the wrong end of a lot of Carolina’s zone time.
After a stellar road trip, Shea had a rough go. Letang was fighting uphill the entire game and had a few turnovers in the first period alone.
Ilya Solovyov: Ouch
Solovyov had a pair of sketchy games against Carolina on the trip. It’s not a good matchup for him; his strength is clearing the net and playing hard in the battle areas, but Carolina forces him to play fast and the forecheckers caught him too many times.
Tommy Novak: F
In a playoff-type game, the Penguins needed their second-line center to control the puck and get to the offensive zone. Novak’s line with Egor Chinakhov and Evgeni Malkin had just six shot attempts. Novak was not impactful in a game in which they badly needed him to settle the tempo and play in the offensive zone.
Justin Brazeau: F
Center Ben Kindel rose to the challenge in the third period, but Brazeau was invisible. The big winger had two shots in the game, but neither was dangerous. Brazeau neither caused trouble near the net nor was hard to play against on the walls.
Soderblom-Dewar-Acciari: A
The Penguins had 12 shots in the first period, and seven were from this fourth line. They weren’t on the ice for any goals-for, but they earned plenty of chances. Soderblom is not a hard player, but he used his size well, creating space and chances for Connor Dewar and Noel Acciari. The line got the puck deep, forced the lighter Carolina defensemen to play deep in the defensive zone and generated 10 scoring chances.
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