SALT LAKE CITY — Life is not getting better for the Pittsburgh Penguins (3-6-1).
After a goal in the first 71 seconds of the game, the Utah Mammoth (7-3-0) blitzed the Penguins. After the early goal, Utah raced to a 5-2 lead by early in the third period and held on for a 5-4 win at the Delta Center.
The news got even worse for the Penguins. In the second period, winger Bryan Rust slammed into the wall and left the game. He did not return.
Erik Karlsson and Rickard Rakell scored power-play goals as the Penguins’ man advantage was two-for-two. The highlights begin and end with that statistic. The Penguins have lost four in a row and seven of eight (1-6-1).
Utah outshot the Penguins 29-18, but it was 25-13 after 40 minutes.
However, the Penguins did make a game of it later in the third period. Just 1:19 after Utah’s Nick Schmaltz scored Utah’s fifth goal, Penguins winger Egor Chinakhov scored his second goal of the season on a rush that became a breakaway.
Then Declan Carlile atoned for mistakes by scoring his third goal of the season by putting Rakell’s rebound home.
Penguins Goal-Cap
1-0 Penguins: The first shift of the game had a few twists. Penguins defenseman Spencer Stastney iced the puck off the opening faceoff, but on the subsequent Penguins’ zone faceoff, Utah’s Dylan Guenther tripped Blake Lizotte at just :19. On the power play, Erik Karlsson’s point shot was deflected by Utah defenders past Sebastian Cosssa at 1:11.
1-1: The Penguins were confused in their own zone. Stastney chased the play high in the zone, and Clayton Keller got a half step behind Penguins center Sidney Crosby. Lawson Crouse made a perfect pass to Keller (4), who beat Silovs from just 12 feet at 6:00.
2-1 Utah: Penguins defenseman Declan Carlile didn’t box out in front of the net, and Kevin Stenlund (1) poked the rebound past Silovs as Carlile grimaced in frustration at 10:10 of the first period.
2-2: The Penguins scored a second power-play goal midway through the second period. Just eight seconds into the advantage, Bryan Rust passed to Rickard Rakell on the side of the crease. Rakell (1) scored on a front wrap-around beyond Sebastian Cossa to the far post at 7:01.
3-2 Utah: A simple offensive zone possession that was a continuation from an unsuccessful Utah power play yielded a long-range goal. Nate Schmidt’s (1) snap shot from the point went through a screen in front and to the left post as Silovs was sliding toward the right at 11:44.
4-2: Kyler Yamamoto finished a tic-tac-toe play in which three Penguins were soundly beaten. Barrett Hayton shed Carlile near the blue line to make a pass to Nate Schmidt near the circle. Schmidt eluded Kaedan Korczak to make a hard pass in front to Yamamoto (2) at 14:40.
5-2: The Penguins’ penalty kill left high-scoring center Nick Schmaltz wide open at the top of the crease. Silovs stopped the first deke, but defenseman Erik Karlsson raced toward the crease and knocked the loose puck right back to Schmaltz (7), who swept to the backhand to beat Silovs at 1:36 of the third period.
5-3: The Penguins’ first even-strength goal of the game. Egor Chinakhov (2) got behind defenseman Mackenzie Weegar on the left wing and beat Utah goalie Sebastian Cossa with a short-side wrister at 2:55.
5-4: The Penguins finally cycled the puck low as Rakell raced on the right wing and around the net. Rakell deflected Kaedan Korczak’s point shot, and Carlile (3) buried the rebound.
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