As the old saying goes, you can’t win them all. Unfortunately, the Pittsburgh Penguins finished their four-game trip through Western Canada and failed to win a single contest, dropping the finale 4-3 to the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night.
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One night after getting shut out by the Edmonton Oilers, 4-0, the Penguins pounced out of the gate to grab a 2-0 lead, only to fall behind in the middle frame and never got close to tying it.
Their latest setback drops them to 3-6-1 on the season. The team now sits in seventh place in the Metropolitan Division, two points ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers.
Penguins’ Late Efforts Come Up Short
The Penguins were looking great early in the game, building up a 2-0 lead on a vulnerable Canucks squad. However, their luck changed in less than two minutes, and before anyone knew it, the game had been flipped on its head, and Pittsburgh was suddenly behind.
Despite starting strong in the first and second periods, Vancouver used a sliver of time to score three goals and deflate the Penguin’s bench. By the time the third period started, the visitors seemed lifeless, and only with time running out did they put up an effort to get a goal (Evgeni Malkin’s 501st) and scramble in the offensive zone to get shots on goal.
However, their late-game efforts went by the wayside, and the Penguins will return home, getting swept in four games by Western Canadiens teams. Sometimes, they were in it; sometimes, they weren’t.
Goaltending Continues to Lead NHL in All the Wrong Categories
Only one winless team remains in the NHL: the San Jose Sharks. They have surrendered just 39 goals through nine games, equaling 4.22 per game. Meanwhile, the 3-6-1 Penguins maintain a four-goal cushion on the Sharks for most goals against in the league at 43.
Even though their 4.20 GAA is slightly lower than San Jose’s, the Penguins have given up the most even-strength lamplighters, meaning their netminders are not getting torched on the man advantage, instead just getting defeated 5-on-5.
Interestingly, on a night when the Penguins were playing for the second time in 24 hours in Western Canada, their number one goalie, Tristan Jarry, was back in Pennsylvania, where he picked up a win and first-star honors with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
It’s been a disastrous start for the goalies.
The Worst is Now Behind Them
Pittsburgh doesn’t have another four or more-game road trip until January, when they visit seven cities in 12 days, including a three-game trip to the Pacific West Coast and the three California teams.
After losing their last four contests during a critical stretch through Western Canada, the Penguins can put the trip behind them and move on, especially with franchise wins leader Marc-Andre Fleury visiting on Tuesday night.
Related: 5 Possible Replacements For Penguins’ Mike Sullivan
There were many highs and lows in the past week, but there is no need to dwell on the lows. The highs should be the focus moving into the three-game homestand, which includes visits from Minnesota, Anaheim, and Montreal.
Gathering momentum before their next road trip, a difficult one against the Islanders, Hurricanes, and Capitals, is the only thing that could save this poor start and right the ship before it’s too late.
Penguins & Flames Trivia Answers
How did you score in our Game Day Trivia quiz? Here are the answers.
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Jake Guentzel
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Matt Murray
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Tom Barrasso
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Jean Pronovost
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Sidney Crosby
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Markus Naslund
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Matt Cooke
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Bryan Hextall
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Ken Wregget
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Johan Hedberg
