There is a belief around the NHL that the Pittsburgh Penguins can never fully bottom out in the standings — and, thus, completely rebuild — so long as Sidney Crosby remains on this roster.
Are we sure about that?
Crosby remains great and is functioning at a perfectly high level at 37, but the team around him is an absolute mess. Further evidence of this came Friday at Nationwide Arena, where the Penguins dropped a 6-2 decision to the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Penguins are 6-10-3 and are only 3 points away from being at the bottom of the NHL standings.
They were outshot by the Blue Jackets 40-25.
This loss hits a little hard because of the blowout nature and because it came against the Penguins’ little brother. They have owned the Blue Jackets over the years and were on an 11-0-2 streak against them entering this game.
Anthony Beauvillier and Michael Bunting scored for the Penguins, who managed to even the game at 2 in the second period.
But then the Blue Jackets took control, essentially toying with the Penguins.
Tristan Jarry made his return to the NHL after being sent to Wilkes-Barre to work on his game for two weeks. Though the goals against were hardly all on Jarry, it wasn’t a good night for the goaltender. He permitted a goal on the first shot against.
Reeser gets us the early lead! 💥@FanaticsBook | #CBJ pic.twitter.com/isW8LKyLhA
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) November 16, 2024
Jarry allowed two goals on the first three shots he faced.
Beautiful.
No notes. 🤌@FanaticsBook | #CBJ pic.twitter.com/JB1X1fiwfh
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) November 16, 2024
He was beaten five times on the 39 shots he faced.
Up next for the Penguins is a home game Saturday against the San Jose Sharks.
After hosting San Jose, the Penguins see an uptick in competition. The remainder of November sees the Penguins host the Tampa Bay Lightning, Winnipeg Jets and Vancouver Canucks before making a trip to Boston.
“Obviously, the biggest point of the third period was that we didn’t defend our net front,” Mike Sullivan said. “We had numbers. We just didn’t get into people.”
Ten postgame observations
• What a dismal performance. I can’t sugarcoat it. The Blue Jackets outskated the Penguins all night, outworked them and pretty much did everything better than the Penguins.
Though the Blue Jackets have started the season off in a better fashion than expected, we can’t ignore the reality the Blue Jackets are not a good NHL team and still made the Penguins look this bad.
In a season filled with bad performances, this one was among the worst. In the past five days, the Penguins have been embarrassed on home ice in a 7-1 thrashing against the Dallas Stars, saw trusted veteran Lars Eller get traded, lost at home to a highly mediocre Detroit Red Wings team Wednesday and then got run out of Columbus.
Games against the Red Wings and the Blue Jackets were supposed to mark an opportunity for the Penguins to make a move in the standings. It didn’t happen, and now one wonders how ugly things are about to get.
• Jarry’s tendency to allow a goal on the first shot of the game is stunning. And yes, I realize Zach Aston-Reese’s goal was a pretty deflection. It wasn’t a bad goal to allow, I know. Yet it was still a disastrous start for the Penguins and their goaltender.
I’m not sure how to gauge Jarry’s performance simply because his team was so bad in front of him. That said, I didn’t like a couple of the goals he allowed, namely Columbus’ second and fourth goals.
Jarry is in a very difficult position. He has started the season poorly, and I’m sure being exiled to Wilkes-Barre was very embarrassing for a veteran making more than $5 million annually. Then, consider how bad this team is defensively. He’s being set up to fail right now.
Still, he’s a professional and a highly paid one. He needs to be better.
BIG GUY – BIG GOAL🚨@FanaticsBook | #CBJ pic.twitter.com/VEEJa6w8G0
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) November 16, 2024
It’s a bad situation all the way around.
Jarry was asked about the game.
“It’s tough,” he said. “Obviously, their game plan was to get a lot of pucks to the net, get a lot of bodies to the net, just battle. They got to a lot of pucks before we did. It was tough to recover. They keep the pressure on most of the game. They kept pressing. It was hard for us to defend.”
He was also asked to assess his performance.
“Not bad,” he said. “It’s tough. They scored two early. Offside tip. Then they get a goal through a screen. It’s tough coming back from 2-0.”
• I’m sure some people are going to wave their hand at the idea of Jarry playing much more after what we’ve seen this season, not to mention Friday night.
But I think it’s probably in the Penguins’ best interest to play him some more.
You’ve got to see what you have in him, right? I’ve been critical of Jarry and wrote last month that it’s time for the Penguins to attempt to move on from him. And I still believe that. But if you’re going to boost his value — or even get an accurate read on what he has to offer — playing him makes sense.
Let’s be honest: This team is going nowhere at the moment. Figuring out what it has in individual players is important.
• I’ve written much about Erik Karlsson this season. I’ll continue doing so if he keeps making egregious mistakes.
Karlsson was trapped in Columbus territory after the Penguins had evened the game, which set the stage for a three-on-one and Mathieu Olivier’s goal.
Could Evgeni Malkin have done a better job of rotating back when Karlsson pinched? I guess. Sullivan implied this after the game. But it’s just the same old story every game. Karlsson is responsible for a staggering number of odd-man rushes against.
• Speaking of Malkin, he had a rough night. Malkin was a minus-4 and didn’t have any jump.
This is going to happen. He’s 38.
Malkin has been the Penguins’ best player this season, and I can’t say enough about how strong his overall play has been. But on some nights, the legs simply aren’t going to be there.
This was one of those nights.
• Kris Letang didn’t play Friday because of an illness.
As a result, Owen Pickering was called to the NHL for the first time but was a healthy scratch.
Given what we’ve seen from this blue line, is there any reason for Pickering to have sat this one out? I can’t think of one. This might well be the worst blue line in the NHL right now. I’m all for seeing what the kid can do sooner rather than later.
• The more young players who enter this lineup, the better. They couldn’t do much worse. I know that sounds like a very simple thing to say, but really, I mean it.
• Credit to Beauvillier. He leads the Penguins with six even-strength goals. The guy works hard, goes to the net and has been rewarded.
My expectations weren’t all that high for him entering the season, but credit to where it is due. He’s done a very good job.
• Bunting’s goal came on the second power play.
But that top unit is suddenly a mess.
The overpassing that we saw from the top unit Friday is a common theme when this group struggles.
• Noel Acciari’s goal in the second period was taken away on a goaltending interference infraction against Matt Nieto, who was playing his first game of the season.
“It’s anybody’s guess,” Sullivan said of the call.
(Photo: Russell LaBounty / Imagn Images)
