DENVER — The Pittsburgh Penguins looked good for 15 minutes, but could not withstand the pressure of the Colorado Avalanche. A coordinated, skill game quickly became puck chasing, blown assignments, and wide-open goals against. Again.
It looked good for a minute, anyway. Ultimately, the Penguins both self destructed and could not keeep up with Colorado, which scored five straight goals for a 5-2 win at Ball Arena.
Also Read:Penguins Collapse; Mistakes & a Better Team in ColoradoThe Penguins’ recent problems of construction and structure abated for part of the first period before reemerging with an unquenchable vengeance as their defensemen again gifted the opposition several goals. And the Penguins’ power play gifted back momentum. The Penguins had their legs, and several players brought their best, but the defense remained a festering problem. It was a rocky road for Declan Carlile, who was on the ice for three of the first four Colorado goals and was directly beaten on one, while not covering his man on two more.
“We’re working through things and still working hard,” said Carlile. “I mean, at the end of the day, it’s just a couple bad bounces here and there, and happens.”
Erik Karlsson had his defensive foibles on one goal (after Nate MacKinnon sliced past Carlile), and Kaedan Korczak committed a turnover behind the Penguins’ net that directly led to Artturi Lehkonen’s second goal that tied the game early in the second period.
Since starting the season 2-0-0, the Penguins are 1-4-1. If skiing and shooting themselves in the foot were an Olympic sport, these Penguins would be Nordic gods.
In fairness to the Penguins, Colorado is a Stanley Cup contender that has an extra gear. Few teams can keep up when Colorado cranks up the pressure. However, the Penguins’ mistakes were glaring, basic, and destructively consistent with their struggles over the last six games.
Xs and Os
There were three different Penguins teams contained within the 60-minute game. There was the sharp, connected team that was playing well on the rush in the first period. There was the abysmal, defensively challenged, mistake-prone, ugly team in the second period. And the third period was probably the one closest to their form that would make them successful if they choose to adopt it.
In the third period, the Penguins’ puck movement was simple, straight ahead, but they also showed fantastic movement away from the puck in the offensive zone. They dominated stretches of the third period with simple passes, but were a whirling dervish of white and gold as they cycled and rotated defensemen low and forwards high and back again.
“I feel like everyone had pretty good jump, and we were skating well. Yeah, I have to go back and look at everything that happened, but a few breakdowns they capitalized,” said Tommy Novak. “They’re obviously a super skilled team. I don’t know how many power players they had (4), but yeah, I mean they capitalize. We had a lot of good moments throughout each period, but we’ve got to capitalize more and avoid those breakdowns.”
In fact, what blunted the Penguins’ momentum in the first and third periods were their own power plays. They were 0-for-3 and did not threaten.
When playing well, the Penguins’ puck possession allowed them to play with substantial controlled zone entries. For better or worse, the Penguins did not often chip the puck deep and establish a forecheck. Especially in the second period, when they were on their heels, a simple chip-and-chase would have been wise to slow the game, but this season the team has been fond of forcing the rush even when it’s not in their best interest.
On the very negative, Nathan MacKinnon attacked the Penguins’ defensemen in the same way penalty killers attack a lone forward back on defense. He charged them and beat them too many times. Carlile and Karlsson were in his crosshairs.
Penguins Report Card
Team: B-
As a team, there were a lot of good performances. A lot of scoring chances (30) and plenty of high-danger chances (18). In total, the Penguins’ top line with Sidney Crosby was quite good, defenseman Sam Girard was flying, and Ville Koivunen played one of his best NHL games. Goalie Arturs Silovs was sharp.
And yet…five goals against. It is becoming increasingly difficult to weigh the rising performances against the catastrophic mistakes, typically by defensemen. However, coach Dan Muse deferred breaking down the performance of the Declan Carlile-Erik Karlsson pairing.
“Again, everything’s fresh right now. We’re going to go back. We’re going to look at things. We’ll address things tomorrow. As a whole, (Carlile-Karlsson) have been really good for us. They play big minutes in a lot of situations … even just looking at them, just some of the speed, it doesn’t take much for Colorado if they get a little bit of a step on you. It doesn’t matter who you are. So that’s not always just on the D. But again, right now it’s fresh. We’ll look at it.”
Rakell-Crosby-Rust: A
The boys are back in town. They were flying, and each had glorious chances, though only Rust converted when Crosby laid a buttery saucer pass on his blade to complete a two-on-one.
The line had 16 scoring chances at 5v5. Rakell had five shots on goal, including a second-period breakaway.
Arturs Silovs: B+
Five goals is a tough stat line, but he stuffed Nathan MacKinnon on a penalty shot and a couple of breakaways. He denied some loud, very, very loud chances with stellar saves. This is one of those games that drag down a goalie’s stats but have no bearing on the reality of his play.
(Remember that when I say Silovs is playing well and someone tosses his save percentage at me in rebuttal).
Declan Carlile: Driving the Struggle Bus
He was on the ice for three goals against and directly responsible for two, and beaten by MacKinnon on Lehkonen’s first goal—Lehkonen beat Karlsson to the net, creating what was essentially a two-on-none.
Carlile’s job is to be the steady, responsible anchor on the pairing, but he has looked exposed playing over 20 minutes per game.
Ville Koivunen: One of his Best
Koivunen not only had some hop, but he was moving the puck well and impactful. If he continues to play that well, he’ll earn a full-time spot in the lineup.
Nick Robertson: B
Robertson had some great moments in the first period, though he was not as impactful later in the game. He has big moments and scoring chances, but the dark side is that he is not finding any chemistry with any of the centers.
Sam Girard: A
In short, that was his best. In his first game back against Colorado (where he won the 2022 Stanley Cup), he was outstanding. He pushed the puck, distributed, and was a constant presence.
Girard was not able to play due to injury when the Penguins visited Colorado last season. He made up for lost time and was quite good.
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