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Penguins Report Card: Kindel Gets 2, but Pens Waste Performances
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- Penguins Report Card: Kindel Gets 2, but Pens Waste Performances
Penguins Report Card: Kindel Gets 2, but Pens Waste Performances
TORONTO —It looked like a laugher. The Pittsburgh Penguins took the puck away from the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second period and did whatever they wanted for the entirety of the period, building a 3-0 lead.
And yet the Penguins lost to Toronto 4-3 Monday.
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It was the first time since the disastrous 2023-24 season in which the Penguins gave away a three-goal lead, but it was an excruciating disappointment nonetheless.
"It's tough. I think losses like this are tough," said Erik Karlsson . "I think this was a winnable game for us, and it might be points that we could have needed down the road, and now we're just going to hope that we can be on the other side a couple of times and take this one back."
The Penguins' passes were crisp as they echoed through the silenced Scotiabank Arena. Tape to tape. Rookie Ben Kindel scored a pair of goals, and his second was a pretty snipe when he whistled a wrister past Toronto goalie Anthony Stolarz that rang the post so loudly that it echoed off the 18,000 fans in attendance.
Kindel's second tally was also a power play goal that put the Penguins up 3-0.
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The sun shone on the Penguins' faces as smiles ran the length of the bench. However, there was a storm coming.
With five games in seven days in five cities, including Pittsburgh, the Penguins had reason to be gassed, but they merely had to keep it together for 20 more minutes.
With no small degree of irony, for just the fifth time in 14 games, the Penguins outshot their opponents, and for the first time did so in a lopsided fashion. While the Penguins have made a season of winning games despite being well outshot, on Monday, the same was done to them.
"I think we played two good periods, and then we got a little flat in the third, and obviously they kept coming, and they stepped up their game," defenseman Erik Karlsson said. "And we couldn't find a way to maintain the level that we had for the first 40, and I think we started playing probably a little bit too safe, and you know that's usually a sign when you don't feel your best, and maybe we ran out of gas."
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The Penguins limited Toronto to only 20 shots on goalie Tristan Jarry , but four of them lit the lamp.
According to morehockeystats.com , the Penguins became just the third team this season to squander a three-goal lead and lose in regulation.
The Penguins' lineup was jolted early in the game when Noel Acciari left the game due to injury. Coach Dan Muse juggled his 11 healthy forwards, often putting Evgeni Malkin on Sidney Crosby 's wing, Kindel up to second-line center, Tommy Novak in the middle of a third line, and juggling everyone.
Penguins Analysis
Tactically, the game had two different stanzas when the Penguins did almost everything right, and the final 20 minutes when they did everything wrong.
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"I thought we were playing north-south, we were moving pucks, and I thought our puck support was good," said Muse. "I thought defensively, we came from a game in Winnipeg , and the number of odd man rushes that we gave up, I didn't think we were seeing that (Monday). I thought we were defending well; we had everybody pretty consistently stacking shifts together, and we were limiting their chances. So, that's more in line with how we want to play, but it's got to be a full game of that."
In the first 40 minutes, the Penguins traveled in packs. There was less use for their neutral zone setup because, especially in the second period, they rarely left the offensive zone.
And when the Penguins did allow Toronto the privilege of leaving the zone, their defense was stellar. Goalie Tristan Jarry faced just three shots in the second period, and nothing remotely resembling a high-danger chance.
In the end, the rookie defensemen were victimized on the winning goal when Owen Pickering was beaten to the net, and Harrison Brunicke didn't react to the danger or the rebound.
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Penguins Report Card
Team: D?
What grade do you earn when you ace the quizzes and midterms, but absolutely bomb the final? There were so many great performances that fizzled in the third period.
Tristan Jarry : F
Jarry wasn't called upon until the third period, and those were a pair of soft goals that turned the game from 3-1 to 3-3.
Stopping 16 of 20 speaks to Jarry's difficult evening. He seemed to lose the puck and stumble on the second goal, and he was beaten cleanly from the blue line on the third. A clapper from the blue can't get through.
Evgeni Malkin: A+
My goodness, Malkin was good. He was really, really good as he danced with the puck. He skated well, stopped and changed directions, eluded defenders to create speed, distributed the puck effectively, and otherwise looked like 25-year-old Evgeni Malkin.
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Erik Karlsson: A
Karlsson played nearly 28 minutes but was exceptional for most of the game. After a couple of seasons of lackluster play, at least compared to his standards, Karlsson is showing an engagement under Muse that is unearthing the player general manager Kyle Dubas thought he was acquiring on Aug. 6 in 2023.
Karlsson's passing is noteworthy. He's finding seams and launching transitions, but also stepping into the offensive play at the top of the zone to create additional pressure. He looks like a $10 million defenseman.
Monday, Karlsson had three shots on goal, four blocked, and five misses. He was letting the puck fly.
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Tommy Novak: B
He played his best game of the season last Thursday in Minnesota , but with the increased demands on Monday, he was good. He held onto the pucks and distributed well. He also played fast. However, he didn't have a shot on goal.
There are deficiencies in his game–he's not strong on the puck and struggles on the walls, but he made an impact Monday.
Ben Kindel : A+
The rookie had seven shots on goal and was strong all night. Several of his passes to launch breakouts or create chances were a step ahead of the game. His defensive work lacks nothing.
His two goals were well earned.
Owen Pickering: C
He's fighting his game and played just 11:05. He was a minus-2 and had a direct hand in Toronto forward Bobby McMann 's game-winner. He got turned by McMann and lost his man (McMann) in the corner, which set in motion the chain of events that led to the goal.
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Pickering was a step behind Monday, which was disappointing for the affable rookie.
The post Penguins Report Card: Kindel Gets 2, but Pens Waste Performances appeared first on Pittsburgh Hockey Now .
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