{"id":170158,"date":"2026-04-19T14:10:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T14:10:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/170158\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T14:10:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T14:10:11","slug":"penguins-grades-inside-a-stubborn-loss-what-must-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/170158\/","title":{"rendered":"Penguins Grades: Inside a Stubborn Loss, What Must Change"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chaos. Interference. Cross-checks, turnovers, and heart-pounding crowd energy. Yet it was ultimately a disappointing performance by the Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a> (0-1), who never engaged their best attributes, and the Philadelphia Flyers (1-0) seemed to borrow a trick or two from their rowdy heritage, as the two offensive teams instead engaged in a dirty slog up and down the ice that produced only 37 total shots. <\/p>\n

It was the first Stanley Cup playoff game for the Penguins in four years, and the first for the Flyers in six. It seemed like the Flyers came prepared for a low-event game and adapted to it much better than the Penguins. The Flyers clogged the ice for a 3-2 win in Game 1 at PPG Paints Arena, and lead the best-of-seven series 1-0. <\/p>\n

The Penguins were terminally mired in the Flyers\u2019 neutral zone trap, frequently chasing their own mistakes, and the Flyers\u2019 clog became the Penguins\u2019 cage from which they never broke free.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey make it hard. I think that\u2019s part of their game\u2013They\u2019ve been doing that for a while. They have numbers back, and they can make it difficult,\u201d said Penguins coach Dan Muse<\/a>. \u201cI think we got away from the things that worked. Part of that was intensity. Everything was ramped up here in the place playoffs, but they\u2019ve been doing that. They\u2019ve been playing that way now for a while, so that it shouldn\u2019t come as a surprise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Muse\u2019s postgame analysis starkly differed from his Saturday morning optimism. The Penguins coach addressed the things the Penguins needed to be successful in his first playoff series, and his hopes were for that connected, puck support game. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think for us, just building our game. I think especially in Game One, it\u2019s getting to that point where that connection is there, in all three zones, for us controlling the things that we know we can control within our game,\u201d said Muse. \u201cAnd I think building piece is important. You don\u2019t go out there and try to win the game in one shift, in the first shift. It\u2019s just about having that patience for us to be able to establish our game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Instead, the Penguins were obtusely stubborn. Defensemen charged into the teeth of the Flyers\u2019 trap. Forwards cut toward the middle into multiple defenders, and the turnovers mounted at the worst spots on the ice. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think we tried to go through the neutral zone with control, trying to get through the line with control,\u201d said Kris Letang<\/a>. \u201cI think, especially in the second period, we kind of got away from our game of putting it deep, trying to grind them down low. I think we need to focus on that a little bit more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Evgeni Malkin agreed. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s what we talk about. We should play our game. We lost a little control in the second period, and we started fighting. This is what they want. We know it\u2019s a tight, physical game, but we need to play better,\u201d Malkin said. \u201cOur blue line, we should control the puck a little bit, play deeper and focus more behind the net. We gave them so many chances.\u201d<\/p>\n

Connection. Simplicity. The Penguins had little. By the end of 60 minutes, they had plenty of frustration. <\/p>\n

It took until later in the second period for the Penguins to create sustained offensive zone pressure with a palpable element of danger. At 15:51 of the second period, Evgeni Malkin finished an extended sequence begun when Sidney Crosby showed the power of countless offseason squats and held off two defensemen to maintain control of the puck behind the net. <\/p>\n

As the game progressed, the Flyers evolved from their 1-1-3 structure into something that looked and felt like a 1-4 trap. For the Penguins, it might as well have been a venus fly trap. <\/p>\n

However, the Penguins\u2019 defensemen were an adventure Saturday, but not the fun Kennywood sort of adventure. The Penguins defensemen far too many times made far too many brutal mistakes.<\/p>\n

Fortunately for the home team, goaltender Stuart Skinner was brilliant in shutting down a trio of breakaways, a two-on-one, and several clean looks inside the dots from the wings.<\/p>\n

After Malkin tied the game late in the second period, Game 1 was up for grabs in the third period, but the Penguins never grabbed it. Not even close. <\/p>\n

Penguins Analysis<\/p>\n

The Penguins were not able to get free from the clutches of the Philadelphia neutral zone traffic. Sometimes it was legal, other times it was extra-legal. The fault lies within the Penguins\u2019 inability to adjust to the center-ice traffic and their stubbornness to adjust their game. There was plenty of interference (it was called twice, could have been a half dozen more), and credit to the Flyers for knowing how to gobble up the Penguins\u2019 preferred attack. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s playoff hockey. <\/p>\n

What the Penguins didn\u2019t do in Game 1 will define Game 2. The Flyers will not change their approach\u2013it\u2019s a bit surprising how enormously effective they were, but it\u2019s why they were one of the hottest teams after the Olympic break. <\/p>\n

From a tactical standpoint, the Penguins desperately need to get the puck deep with possession. They need to play behind the Flyers\u2019 defensemen and force the forwards to defend. <\/p>\n

They also need to protect the pucks at the top of the zone. Their carelessness fueled the Flyers\u2019 advantage and emboldened the Flyers to attack with more ferocity at the top of the zone. <\/p>\n

And the most brutal but simple change for Game 2 is that the Penguins\u2019 defensemen need to play better, in all phases. It was an awful night for several of the blue liners, including Sam Girard, and a frustrating night for Erik Karlsson. Even the generally reliable Parker Wotherspoon made a couple of mistakes to allow Flyers behind him for clear rips at Skinner. <\/p>\n

Penguins Report Card<\/p>\n

Crowd: A+<\/p>\n

OK, I could have done without the \u201cF*** You, Philly\u201d chant. It was a bit too Philly for my taste, but you do you. The Pittsburgh crowd was unbelievably enthusiastic and engaged. There were a couple of moments in the game in which the players couldn\u2019t hear the whistle, or at least acted like they couldn\u2019t. Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen dumped Penguins winger Elmer Soderblom well after one of those whistles and earned a roughing penalty, which was ultimately harmless.<\/p>\n

\u201cA couple of times, you had to take a breath. The crowd was so loud, had so much energy,\u201d Skinner said with a smile. <\/p>\n

Make no mistake, Skinner loves the support he has received in Pittsburgh. It obviously tickles him to be so well supported. He notices you. <\/p>\n

Team: D-<\/p>\n

The team allowed four breakaways. A couple of odd-man rushes. And generated just 17 shots. Perhaps it was the Penguins\u2019 depth, in addition to the goaltending, that kept the game as close as it was for the entirety of 60 minutes, but it was the Flyers\u2019 game. The Penguins were never in control, nor the better team. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe tried really hard, maybe too hard sometimes, and we just didn\u2019t make the plays when they were there,\u201d said Karlsson. \u201cWhen they weren\u2019t there, we still tried to make them, and that usually that doesn\u2019t work out.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was one of those games\u2013they played better than us today. They won Game 1. We\u2019ll reassess tomorrow. Go through it. We\u2019ve got smart people behind the bench and smart people in this room. We\u2019re already excited for Game 2.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stuart Skinner: A<\/p>\n

The big man delivered a big performance. It could have been\u2013should have been a lopsided blowout loss. Skinner stopped the breakaways, controlled the rebounds, and kept the Penguins in the game. A stellar performance. <\/p>\n

Bad Grades<\/p>\n

Too many Penguins had subpar grades to list them all, and the stat sheet provides some dispute to the visually inadequate performances. <\/p>\n

Sam Girard: The Penguins\u2019 lefty defenseman was trying to skate away from trouble, but skated into it. He tried to charge ahead with the rush game, but turned it over. His mistakes and turnovers were far too many. <\/p>\n

Erik Karlsson: The game went sideways for the straw that stirs the Penguins\u2019 drink. He tried to lead the rush several times to see only Flyers surrounding him and be ensnared in the trap. <\/p>\n

Anthony Mantha: The 33-goal scorer didn\u2019t have any notable scoring chances, took two minor penalties that negated puck possession. <\/p>\n

Egor Chinakhov<\/a>: In his first playoff game, Chinakhov was not able to break free, but plowed ahead instead of chipping it forward. He did not get a shot on goal. His passes did not connect. He and Crosby continue to be ships passing in the night without much connection.<\/p>\n

Tommy Novak: Zero shots on goal. None blocked. His puck touches were quite limited. <\/p>\n

Good Grades<\/p>\n

Fourth Line (Connor Dewar-Blake Lizotte-Noel Acciari): They were the Penguins\u2019 best line and created the most offensive zone time because they did what the other lines could not: Get the puck deep and retrieve it. They battled and created more possession and loose pucks to keep the Flyers scrambling. <\/p>\n

Elmer Soderblom: In a greasy game, he was one of the best Penguins forwards. He maintained possession and had three of the Penguins\u2019 16 even-strength shots on goal. He was an inch away from tying the game 1-1 in the second period as he took the puck off the wall straight to the net. <\/p>\n

Kris Letang: This will be a controversial grade, but the PHN Report Card felt Letang did a lot of cleanup and kept his responsibility. His breakouts were as problematic as every other defenseman\u2019s , and he, too, charged into the gale-force winds of the Flyers trap, but the cleanup efforts give Letang a good grade for Saturday.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTags: Penguins Analysis<\/a> Philadelphia flyers<\/a> Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a> <\/p>\n

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