RALEIGH, N.C. — The Pittsburgh Penguins don’t just lose in Raleigh. They do it in the most painful of ways.
They’ve now lost 10 straight in Lenovo Center, six of them in extra time. On Wednesday night, it happened again.
In Sidney Crosby’s return to the lineup, the Penguins were brutal most of the evening, erupted in the third period, got unlucky on the game-tying goal and then lost in overtime, as they always do. Sean Walker scored with 29 seconds remaining in overtime, the final blow in the Carolina Hurricanes’ 6-5 win.
“It was unfortunate because we were actually playing well in the third period,” Ilya Solovyov said. “Bad bounce got us.”
He’s not wrong. But the Penguins were also terrible during most of the first two periods, consistently turning the puck over and making poor decisions against Carolina’s smothering attack.
“I definitely think it wasn’t our best effort,” Bryan Rust said. “I don’t know if I’d say we didn’t work hard, but we didn’t make fast decisions, which allows them to get in your face.”
The Penguins were dominated during the game’s first 30 minutes, but only trailed 1-0 because of some brilliant Stuart Skinner goaltending.
Then Crosby, as he always does after long layoffs, scored on a backhand shot — his old reliable — to even the game. This triggered a back-and-forth affair as the Penguins outscored the Hurricanes 4-3 in the third period. Erik Karlsson scored twice, and the Penguins also received goals from Rust and Ben Kindel.
It was Kindel’s goal that gave the Penguins their first lead, with 4:51 remaining in regulation. The Penguins actually felt in control for the first time all game as the Hurricanes, who played a night earlier in Columbus, looked to be tiring.
However, K’Andre Miller’s shot then caromed off of Parker Wotherspoon’s leg and past Skinner.
“The third was by far our best period,” Solovyov said. “They do have a good forecheck, but when we play with structure, we can easily break it. The third period, that’s what we did. We played well. Just got that bad bounce and got unlucky.”
As was the case one week earlier in Raleigh, the Penguins were pleased with their ability to roar back and create offense against Carolina. But they were not pleased with how they performed in their own territory.
“We’re comfortable in any type of game this year with this team,” Rust said. “But this time of year, you just need to get that extra point.”
The Penguins are now 5-16 in games that go beyond regulation.
Nonetheless, they remain in second place in the Metropolitan Division with 84 points. They are three points clear of hard-charging Columbus, though the Blue Jackets do have a game in hand. Pittsburgh is a point ahead of the Islanders, who they will face in a showdown in New York on March 30.
“Every game is so big right now,” Crosby said. “We just have to make sure our game is where it needs to be.”
Much like last week, it was one of the most wild games of the NHL season and was entertaining to the extreme. The Penguins’ poor defensive work was ultimately the difference.
“There’s a ton to clean up,” coach Dan Muse said. “It was a combination of things. Some of it was execution. Some of it was puck support. Some of it was the speed of it. There were times we had the right pieces in place in the right spots, and we were just taking our time. That’s a fast team (we were playing).”
The NHL announced that Wednesday’s clash tied a record for the most game-tying goals scored in the third period of an NHL game.
Nothing boring about this one.
Stuart Skinner had an incredible game despite giving up six goals. (James Guillory / Imagn Images)
10 postgame observations
• I talked with Crosby after the game and he confirmed his body held up well after playing for the first time in four weeks.
He looked a little off in the first period and, of course, he wasn’t alone. But when Crosby scored a beauty on the backhand in the second period, he looked like himself the remainder of the game. Rickard Rakell made a wonderful play on the forecheck to set the play up.
Crosby finished with two points and two penalties. He drilled Andrei Svechnikov with a right hand in the first period after the Carolina forward had been holding Crosby’s stick. They were each assessed a penalty on the play, and then Svechnikov received an extra two for unsportsmanlike conduct for a nasty slash to Crosby’s leg. The two went at it all night, with Svechnikov getting away with another slash in the third period.
All in all, it was a good return for Crosby. You could see his timing returning in the second half of the game. His feistiness didn’t require any time to reach its customary levels.
• A number of Penguins were unhappy with referee Garrett Rank following the game. They believe that, for a second time in the past week, Taylor Hall was guilty of taking a dive; this one resulted in a Wotherspoon penalty. Crosby was penalized for tripping Sebastian Aho in the third period. Referee Frederick L’Ecuyer had a clear view of the play and didn’t call a penalty, but Rank did. A furious Crosby yelled at Rank from the penalty box.
If I had to pick one referee around the NHL that gets under the Penguins’ skin more than any other, it’s Rank. They just rarely see eye-to-eye. That said, the Penguins did have four power plays to Carolina’s two.
• Yes, the Penguins got an unlucky break on the game-tying goal. And yeah, the Penguins have had plenty of legitimate gripes with Rank over the years, and perhaps they did on this night. But in no way did the Penguins play a good game.
The blue line, to me, was the biggest culprit. Kris Letang was sensationally bad most of the game, turning the puck over four times in the first period. He defended poorly in front of the net all night. It was just a horrible game for him. His defense partner Ryan Shea was uncharacteristically off as well.
Solovyov went swimming on a goal in the second period and struggled with the tempo of Carolina’s game. Connor Clifton had a brutal first period before recovering. Other than the terrific first pairing, it was a bad night.
• It wasn’t a particularly good night for Evgeni Malkin, either. One game after his brilliant return to the lineup in Colorado, Malkin was clumsy most of the evening.
He lost track of his assignment and allowed Jordan Martinook to get behind him for a short-handed breakaway goal in the first period. Making matters worse, Malkin really didn’t make much of an effort to get back on the play. No, he wasn’t going to catch Martinook, but had Skinner made the initial save and allowed a rebound, Martinook would have had all day to capture the rebound.
Malkin was mesmerizing in Colorado, but this wasn’t a great effort.
• Skinner’s performance, for a guy who allowed six goals, was outstanding. Seriously. You can’t play better than that and still allow six goals, as silly as that sounds.
• Karlsson isn’t going to win his fourth Norris Trophy this season, but I’m not so sure he isn’t playing at a Norris Trophy level. In fact, I’d say he was: He scored two goals, the second one a dazzling effort to tie the game in the third period. He’s produced five goals and 16 points in 10 games this month.
This is a truly great player at the very peak of his game.
• Rust now has 26 goals, and his third-period tally was a beauty. What else can be said about him? He plays his best in the biggest of games, more than just about any other player in franchise history.
• It’s hard to make the playoffs when you’ve lost 11 of 16 games that have gone past regulation. Those are 11 points the Penguins have lost out on — and yet here we are. The Penguins have only lost 18 games in regulation this season. The Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars are the only teams with fewer regulation losses.
• There is some genuine hostility between these teams, and the matchups in the last week have been mesmerizing. The Penguins and Hurricanes play again in Pittsburgh on Sunday.
From an entertainment standpoint, I’d sign up for this being a playoff series.
• Penguins assistant equipment manager Matt Mitchell had to leave the game in the third period when he was struck in the head by a puck. He required some stitches but seemed OK after the game.
Good captain that he is, Crosby went to check on him in the equipment room before heading to the showers.