PITTSBURGH — The hockey gods are getting a little cruel at this point.
Or maybe the Penguins are really just this bad.
Either way, it was another dreadful night for the Penguins. And this time, it was a tease. The Penguins actually played quite well through two periods, and so did maligned goaltender Tristan Jarry. And then, the bottom fell out. Again. The Penguins lost a game in which they led, 2-0, for the fifth time in 21 games this season, falling to the Tampa Bay Lightning in overtime at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday, 3-2.
Goals from Jesse Puljujarvi and Rickard Rakell gave the Penguins a 2-0 lead. Through two periods, they were in control. The customary odd-man rushes against were largely eliminated, Jarry looked sharp and the Penguins were carrying play even if they weren’t generating an enormous amount of offense.
However, Brayden Point and Anthony Cirelli scored to even the game in the third period, setting off a sense of inevitability. Point ended the contest in overtime when Jarry, who actually played pretty well, was swimming outside of his crease, vacating the net for no particular reason.
Couldn’t have dreamt of a better ending 👏 pic.twitter.com/OYSAcxWNQz
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) November 20, 2024
It was a terse Mike Sullivan who met with the media in the minutes following the game.
He was asked about his team’s inability to protect leads. His explanation was to the point.
“Because we have to compete harder,” he said. “We need more guys to compete harder and have attention to detail, and take pride in playing defense.”
Sullivan wasn’t exactly complimentary of Jarry, though he noted that the goaltender was strong the rest of the evening.
Still, he added that there were two goals that Jarry would “probably like to have back.”
The mood in the Penguins’ locker room was especially somber following this game. There have been plenty of losses in which the team remained upbeat, trying to focus on the positives.
This was not one of those times.
It would appear that the frustration in the Penguins’ room is boiling over.
Sidney Crosby stared into space for a moment following the game, while only a couple of players remained. One of them was Marcus Pettersson, who always has something honest to say after losses. This time was no different.
“I don’t know what to say right now,” Pettersson said.
But then he continued.
“It’s frustrating,” he continued. “We have to find solutions to what’s going on out there. Everybody knows protecting two-goal leads isn’t easy. But we have to be on the right side of it more than we have been. We’re not where we want to be. We know we’re better than this.”
Jarry’s solid play through the first two periods made the loss that much more difficult to swallow.
“He made some unbelievable saves in the first two periods,” Pettersson said. “We wanted this one for him.”
The Penguins looked like an entirely different team in the third period, something that has been the case all season when they possess a lead.
“We gave them too much momentum in the third period,” Pettersson said.
Ten postgame observations
• I don’t feel any urge to be overly critical of Jarry. In fact, I thought he was the best player on the ice through the first two periods. He was outstanding. Even though the Penguins slightly outplayed Tampa Bay in the first two periods, Jarry was the difference.
That said, he gave up two shaky goals to give the Lightning the win.
And that’s the problem with Jarry. Ultimately, when the game is on the line, do you trust him to make a big save? If you answered yes, you’re probably lying to yourself. All of the physical talent is there and it was very much on display early in this game. To his credit, he rebounded from a shaky game in Columbus and played better. Perhaps he can keep that momentum going.
The last two goals, however, were bad ones.
• The Penguins had Jarry make his return in Columbus to avoid playing in Pittsburgh.
We heard why early on a couple of occasions. When Jarry’s name was announced in the pregame introductions, there was a smattering of boos from the crowd. When he touched the puck for the first time early in the first period, another smattering of boos was audible.
No, it wasn’t most of the fans. But it was enough.
In my 15 years covering the Penguins, I’ve never seen a Pittsburgh crowd turn on a player, even ones who were destroyed on the Internet. Jack Johnson never heard a boo, nor did Rob Scuderi. You name it. It doesn’t happen, other than the “Hextall sucks” chants that became a thing late in Ron Hextall’s tenure as general manager.
I’m not going to tell fans how to behave. You paid your overpriced ticket to get in, so do as you please. Personally, I don’t think this conduct is very supportive to the player who is struggling, so I don’t think it’s productive. But I’ll say this: It’s very interesting. Penguins fans are very well known for never turning on their own players, something that is commonplace in markets like New York and Philadelphia.
There is something about Jarry that rubs some fans the wrong way. That much is clear.
• At the risk of simplifying things, the Penguins looked good in the first two periods and scarcely allowed any odd-man rushes. What do you know?
I don’t understand why this team can’t eliminate the risk-taking in its game. Blame the coaches. Blame the players. All parties receive criticism.
Then the Penguins play low-risk hockey, they’re still a functional, decent team. But they’re rarely able to help themselves.
• Crosby made a pretty pass to set up Rakell’s goal but was held without a goal, leaving him with 599 for his career.
He had a beauty of an opportunity in the second period. Crosby cleanly beat Andrei Vasilevskiy with a slap shot, but the puck rang off the post behind the goaltender’s left shoulder. Half of the crowd in the west end of the arena jumped to its feet, having thought Crosby had registered the milestone tally.
It will have to wait.
• I don’t know this for a fact, but I would guess it was Cirelli’s goal that had Sullivan so furious following the game.
Clutch 🫡 pic.twitter.com/lpmr1hbhSw
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) November 20, 2024
Sure, it was badly misplayed in net by Jarry, who basically deflected a shot past himself.
But the defensive effort on this play from Noel Acciari and Erik Karlsson wasn’t very good, as Brandon Hagel was left all alone in front of the goaltender.
This kind of thing happens every game. It never stops. This is a terrible defensive team.
• I like Owen Pickering’s game quite a bit.
No, he wasn’t perfect but I wouldn’t expect a 20-year-old defenseman to be such a thing. I kept a close eye on him throughout the evening and was very impressed.
He’s smart, he’s well-schooled and his long reach really plays. Pickering played 17:39 and was really solid.
I happen to think he’s better than Ryan Graves and Matt Grzelcyk right now. Maybe that’s a stretch to say after two NHL games, but I’m just telling you what my eyes see. This kid is poised and smart. I’m interested in seeing more of him.
• Vasily Ponomarev has been perfectly fine as well. He doesn’t look out of place and, given where the Penguins are right now, I’d rather see him in the lineup than a bunch of veterans.
He adds some team speed and I thought his game was solid against Tampa Bay. I’d like to see some more.
• Puljujarvi has been a healthy scratch on a couple of occasions this season. It didn’t make sense to me at the time, and it really doesn’t now. He’s one of the Penguins’ best players.
The combination of Puljujarvi and Drew O’Connor was outstanding against the Lightning and is giving the Penguins a very strong third line.
• Seeing Jake Guentzel in a Tampa Bay uniform and not seeing Steven Stamkos made for a strange experience.
• This is the third straight game that Kris Letang missed due to illness. Strangely enough, he skated on his own during the past two days, but still didn’t play against the Lightning.
This is a player who has endured medical extremes and I simply hope he’s OK. I haven’t heard of anything seriously wrong with Letang, who has sustained two strokes, endured a career-threatening neck surgery, dealt with chronic migraines and numerous, serious concussions in his career. And this is no time for speculation. I haven’t heard a word that would suggest anything serious is wrong.
Hopefully this isn’t anything serious and he’s back in the lineup on Friday against Winnipeg. When Letang is out of the lineup and the reason isn’t perfectly clear, it’s always concerning.
(Photo: Justin Berl / Getty Images)
