Saturday wasn’t a gift for Pittsburgh’s sports fans.
Not only did the Steelers lose to the Ravens in Baltimore, but the Penguins were cooled by the Devils in New Jersey. Focusing on the latter, a 3-0 final score looks a lot worse than the Penguins actually played.
In fact, the first period might have been their strongest of the season.
But just as Evgeni Malkin couldn’t convert an early chance, the Penguins failed to turn their territorial advantage into a first goal — and that gave the Devils an opportunity they would not squander.
Look, losses happen to even teams that are on a good run.
The Penguins are 8-3-1 since Thanksgiving Eve. They’re back in playoff contention. Their remaining schedule until the New Year is favorable.
This loss is no reason to panic. So, let’s quickly move on to the observations, then move on, period.
Owen Pickering’s injury
The Penguins didn’t collapse defensively in the third period, but they were noticeably on their heels. That was in part because they played the period down a defenseman, rookie Owen Pickering.
He’s been a revelation since making his NHL debut. He might be to these Penguins what Olli Maatta was in 2013-14 — a rookie who outperformed expectations to become a key cog on the blue line.
Pickering has been paired with Kris Letang for a reason. He’s a smart player who reads plays well. His stick defense is on the higher end. He is usually in the right position.
Pickering seems to be the type of defenseman who is more noticeable when he’s out of the lineup. That was the case on Saturday.
The Penguins are already without a top-four defenseman in Marcus Pettersson. They don’t need Pickering to be out for an extended period of time, too.
Defenseman Owen Pickering (upper-body injury) will not return to tonight’s game.
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 22, 2024
Missed chances
Malkin couldn’t control the puck on a prime scoring chance early. Sidney Crosby failed to score into an open net in the second period.
If either of those pucks goes past Jacob Markstrom, perhaps this game goes in the Penguins’ favor. But that’s hockey.
This was a game when the Penguins really needed a secondary scorer to come through. They have had quite a few of their so-called role players score over the past month. If anything, depth scoring has been a strength over the previous 10 games.
No need to overreact.
Still, Drew O’Connor hasn’t scored a goal in 29 games.
O’Connor was good in the season’s early weeks. It’s to the point now where scratching him might be best, because he appears to be feeling the weight of this funk.
He can’t score from the media level. But if he can’t score on the ice, O’Connor might benefit from watching a game rather than playing — not as a form of punishment, but rather relief from the pressure.
Being a healthy scratch did Pickering good earlier this season.
Falling behind first
Winning often masks issues.
This recent run has somewhat obscured the Penguins’ penchant for allowing the first goal. They did it for a sixth consecutive game Saturday.
Only seven teams have allowed an opening goal more than the Penguins’ 18 times. This game was anomalous in that the Penguins didn’t give one up early in the game and, in fact, were the better team in the first period. But they did fall behind first, and that’s a recipe for losing in the NHL.
The Penguins either need to start getting the opening goal or do a lot better than a .389 winning percentage when allowing the first goal — at least if they are to make the playoffs.
(Photo: Ed Mulholland / Imagn Images)
